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My grandfather enjoyed woodworking; in his retirement he would make decorative bears and hiking sticks to sell to locals and every so often someone would commission a work. He enjoyed that type of work. My father was a machinist; he worked with steel, aluminium, iron, and brass most of the time. I think my father enjoyed it most of the time, but I doubt he enjoyed being in the shop during the musty heat of the southern summer without so much as a shop fan. I learned what I could from both of them but I was always interested in something greater. Materials to surpass steel and machines made from it to have greater use to everyone.

I wouldn't call myself a magnate or a tech giant or anything so gaudy as the news people love to post in the headline; I would say I'm just an engineer and business man. I've worked hard; moved from working at repair shops to becoming stable in my own financial endeavors to starting my company. The culmination of not only my own knowledge, skills, and experience but of others who specialize and innovate within the field is always a great source of pride for me. The goal is, as always, to implore that spirit - that special little characteristic that sets a new model apart from the old. We hope it shows, perhaps not always to the untrained eye but certainly to others in the field, that we are the best at what we do - and we're always striving for something greater that makes each new robot better than the last. With that said, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce our newest ground model defense machine: PRINCE.

"I have bad news," said SSGT Ampers. The Colonel sighed, today had been mostly good news - he knew it had to balance out. "Colonel--" the sergeant was cut off by the Colonel raising his palm - "A moment... Alright," the Colonel let his shoulders down, "I'm ready."

"The lieutenants'...your sons' transport went down over enemy lines about an hour ago. 06-03," the sergeant gulped, "Hostiles have been spotted in the area - it's likely they were the ones...Colonel?" The Colonel was shaking, but held a stern face.

Trying to sound clear, but failing, "What needs to be done?" the Colonel proceeded.

SSGT Ampers couldn't bare to say more - he switched gears and clicked his boots together, reporting as formally and emotionless as possible: "Sir, Because of the unlikelyhood of survival," the sergeant almost paused too long, "and the fact that a large number of the enemy have been confirmed on site - there is a request to fire upon the enemy, sir."

Who knew hell could get worse? the colonel thought. "Light 'em up. Try to concentrate fire away from the wreckage as best you can and if there's even a hint of unusual movement around the site, I want a medevac ready to go that instant." the colonel ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the sergeant confirmed. Just as he was about to close the door and leave the colonel, SSGT Ampers saw the colonel take out a bottle of whiskey from his desk. After getting the colonel's orders squared away the sergeant let everyone know not to bother the colonel unless absolutely necessary. I'll check on him later tonight...just in case, he thought.

*bear not bare

**as in bear a burden not as in shave a bear to bare it.

Are these going to continue and wind up related or are you just using the thread to post writing blurbs?

The second one works on its own as a flash fic. The first one I think you must have posted somewhere before, it feels like an opening with a good hook but still just an opening.

there's some relation. first one was posted elsewhere a while ago - needed a thread for more so they're not spread out over the forums in case people want to find them.

oh cool another bot story

In a dark alley of Shanghai, China, there's a night club notorious in underground crime circles. The Big Apple - the main hub of organized crime in East Asia. The beat of the club music rang in Mayana's ears as she walked down the unlit alleyway to the seedy building entrance. Once inside, the price of the luxurious amenities was palpable. A two-storey club with extensive lounge area and guards armed to the teeth. Mayana wasn't here for criminally luxurious relaxation though.

"I'm sorry, no jobs to give you," the bartender said, sliding her a drink, "maybe you should take a breather - a vacation could do you some real good."

"Holding out, Tim? On me?" Mayana asked, irritated that Tim was being unusually uncooperative, "I'll speak to Thara since you don't feel like being cooperative today."

"Wait," Tim said, "don't. She's in a bad mood right now, and you know how she doesn't like talking about...work."

"Are you going to give me the next job or not?" Mayana asked, walking towards the stairs. Tim could only stand in silence. "Thought not." Mayana said as she climbed the stairs to the second floors' VIP section. "Move. I'm here to talk to your boss." she said, approaching a couple guards. Before the less experienced guard could stop her, the guard who was able to recognize they were no match undid the red velvet rope and let her pass into the VIP lounge area.

In the presence of Thara, East-Asia's defacto organized crime leader, even the most hardened warriors could feel the sensation that death was near. Mayana followed the feeling of Tharas' piercing gaze until she was standing directly in front of her. Thara put her glass down and in a fraction of a second Mayana was surrounded by guards. "To what do I owe the pleasure of Medusa letting me face her without turning to stone?" Thara teased. Mayana stood, unaffected, and requested Thara give her a job. "Tim didn't give you one?" Thara asked.

"He didn't," Mayana replied, "I know you have work - give me something worth my time."

"Leave us." Thara commanded the guards. When the last guard was far enough away Thara divulged a job so difficult and criminal even Mayana was surprised. "Of course you have no choice but to take it now that I've told you that much," Thara smirked, "I suggest you get started."

Decent. Mayana is of the few that I believe that I'd be able to overcome in a fight. 

Mayana's mind swirled in confusion as she walked out of the club. A difficult job? No...Impossible. A suicide mission... she thought, even if she had all the help and resources in the world there's no way she could get even close to killing such a man; if he even was such a thing. She began to think, taking the job because she had been forced to simply by hearing it. She was provided his entire minute-by-minute schedule for the next two months and even got some helpful positions that would be "conviniently lacking guards" from Thara. Even so... while she reviewed the information in her head she made sure she wasn't being followed. Was just thinking of the mission so revealing? Yes. She knew the disturbed aura she gave off would be detectable if an expert were tasked to follow her. She found a dark alley to calm herself in - a quick minute of meditation to clear her mind and focus on getting to her hotel room without being noticed. No. They could be waiting for her there - Thara owns every inch of this town - she'd know. Mayana instead walked to the pier and planned to leave the country as soon as possible. If she were not followed, then the middle of the ocean would be the optimal place to think of a strategy. For now, she would hold back her thoughts and focus on stealth.

The next day, she was a hundred miles out in the pacific. Doing one more triple-sweep of the small merchant boat confirmed that she hadn't been followed. It was time to review and strategize. If she doesn't do it, she's dead. If she makes an attempt, she is also dead. Therefore she can give it her all. Though her sentimental attachments were strong, her old Sako TRG-42 wouldn't do. If this is my last job, then I should get the best gear. She knew who to call.

*bark!* Came through the other side of the telephone. A few more, and most people would hang up. Corgi didn't particularly dislike his job, he got to get some gossip here and there and for the most part was paid to lay around all day and just answer the phone in order to turn people away.

"Corgi, it's Mayana, put Ford on." she wanted to make her call as breif as possible, partly due to the urgency of the situation and partly due to not liking Ford or his K-9 receptionist. "It's an emergency."

Corgi's ears had peaked - something important? - "What could be so urgent that you can't tell me?" Corgi used his translation collar to speak clearly to Mayana now. She hated his voice. She hated that she had to talk to a dog in order to talk to an even more absurd person; the kind of person who would assign an animal to be his receptionist purely to avoid phone calls. "I'll buy you a lifetime of treats and a female dog if you put me through right now and say nothing else." she didn't care about money anymore, it would only slow her down if she had anything left to lose. Corgi was at a crossroads not making a sound. His few brain cells weighed the options and decided quite clearly to let this call go on through. Thats the second call he let through today; the second call he let through this month.

"How's my favorite blind person doing today?" Ford said in his usual unbearable tone.

"God I hate hearing your voice." Mayana said in disgust, "I need gear. Money is of no concern."

"So I've heard." Ford replied, "Your benefactor has made a generous donation on your behalf - it should cover a good 75% of the costs. The rest, well, I suppose you won't be needing any of your current funds. In fact I've already had them tranferred over and your 'gear' is being made as we speak. I'll need to know of any particular specifications in the next eight hours - you can forward them to 4012D-PRXBTL9-MFGD00-MFR01. Would you like fries with that?"

Mayana hung up. She thought of all the things she would need and crypto-messaged them to the ID Ford gave her. Some of her requests were simply "the best you can do" while others were specific to the shape and type of brass used in the bullets.

Fourteen hours after the call, a drone with the package flew low over Mayana's boat, dropping the crate nearby into the ocean where it would float for a minute or so while Mayana used a scanner on the security code on the package to ensure it was not only from Ford but not a bomb. After confirming, she floated her vessel closer and hauled the crate from the oceans surface. Popping it open and throwing out the packaging directly into the virgin sea she found what she expected and more. A packet of information about the gear was included - printed in braille.

These were no ordinary weapons - these were weapons of light blessed by paladins and triple dipped in the holy grail. Centered with gold and sparing no expense on the precision and accuracy of everything built. The stealth was important - thermoptic camoflauge would make Mayana cold but invisible for as long as her body could provide the appropriate amount of heat to power the tactical suit. It was simple thin fabric - if she was caught, then protection would be useless so she had specified to skip it in favor of mobility and silence. She suited up and loaded her rifle. It was the smoothest and most silent she's ever loaded any gun. "God damn." Mayana wished she could keep it, but a custom job requires a custom tool - and she wouldn't need it outside of this application.

A footnote of the braille packet read about experimental technology. "You'll probably die if you use it more than twice." it said. Mayana gulped, "Instant teleportation." her suit would not be able to be thermoptically camoflauged but if she could strategize around teleportation - she could have a better chance of surviving. One teleport there, followed by her shot, and one teleport out. Then what? she thought. Laying as low as possible for the rest of her life would be her best option. Where she would do so, she could not think at that moment. An overwhelming amount of things were to be considered in the time leading up to her assassination job: Kill EndMaster.

She reviewed the schedule Thara had given her and decided the best opportunity would arise in one months time. But the second best opportunity would be in only three and a half hours. End would be visiting an old friend who lived in a desolate mountain area. He would have one cup of tea on a balcony - open to the natural world for a minute or two. The balcony overlooked a river valley, and on the other side of that valley would be the place for Mayana to be. Exact coordinates were provided with every time entry of the schedule. Did Thara know about the teleportation technology? It wouldn't surprise her.

Mayana went through the motions. One teleport in - the coordinates were set with five minutes to go. Put the teleport trigger on the end of her barrel, such that when the bullet leaves the barrel she'd teleport back instantly. One teleport back to the boat. She wouldn't know whether her shot hit or not, but she would never miss. Two minutes, she got in position, planning to teleport on a little known abandoned trail that led to a mine a hundred or so years ago. She would move swiftly from there - echolocating a small clearing and ensuring her rifle was aimed at the correct coordinates. Wind wouldn't matter - the shot would be travelling close to the speed of light. It would leave a ray of light back to her location, but by the time anyone could investigate she would be long gone on a boat out in the middle of the ocean.

Thirty seconds to the first teleport, End should be just sitting down on the balcony with his friend and Thara standing by somewhere close. Mayana was prepared for any physical effects of the teleportation, carrying some sickness pills and headache medicine.

A stationary boat with a single passenger on board in the middle of the ocean had become a world record holder for the fastest de-boarding of any sea fairing vessel. The boat felt proud of its accomplishment, though nobody would ever know if it.

Mayana felt a slight dizziness. Her mind did not comprehend being at a different elevation, location, and climate in an instant. During the initial dizziness Mayana layed low to the ground and scrounged up leaves and mud to cover herself quickly but quietly. Though she was over a mile away from her target she was not one to underestimate a formidable opponent. End sat idle, chatting to his partner in tea. Thara was dressed very regally, she was probably only there for decoration.

Once the initial effects of teleportation subsided, Mayana had to move quick - her vantage point would be a ways up a tree. She managed her time well despite being in a rush. Ensuring that no branches broke or creaked on her way up and remaining out of view from her target until she found a good branch to rest on with a clear shot.

Wind was 9.65 mph through the valley, enough for the whistling foliage to cover any sounds she might have made. A storm was blowing in from the East but still far off. Tea time was almost done. In her golden moment, as soon as End stood up, she fired. A beam of ultra-bright light trailed across the valley for no more than the barest moment. It could've easily been mistaken for lightning in the distance by anyone not looking directly at her.

She was already back on the boat, in the hull where she teleported from, suffering from the dizziness but breathing a sigh of relief. She got up slowly and unzipped a portion of her suit to cool off. Coming up to the bow to get a cool refreshing splash of the ocean air, she found her body had gone cold with fear. "Nice shot." End said, staring out at the ocean. A sickening feeling overcame Mayana, one that caused the training inside her to slowly reach for the pistol at her hip. She wouldn't be aiming for End this time. Just as End turned to see her, Mayana shot down into the hull causing Thara's head to explode.

The dark overlord had no face, not that she would be able to see it anyways, but she could tell he was smiling despite this. The cold of darkness enveloped her. "You're the third." End said, pulling her into a cloud of darkness punctuated only by faint and distant stars. Mayana didn't know what he meant, but she was prepared to die. Just before leaving the reality she once knew, she could hear Thara being choked beside her, "We can be cell-sisters. You'll love daddy's punishment room."

They both went unconscious and the boat now boasted beating its personal best for quickest de-boarding. The boat was getting a bit pretentious now.

That last line of dialogue was gold lol

As was the last little paragraph

Well done

Smh. Such a willfull and rebellious daughter

A wasteland of scrap metal and trash covering an area large enough to fit a city. She stood at the edge, waiting to feel the sun no longer upon her face - but covered in shadow cast by his temple. A standing structure so large yet so desolate it could be the next wonder of the world for tourists to flock to. The chinese style temple structure paid homage to the region it was in. Seven miles out from the center, she finally felt her face covered by a cool shadow. Her rifle did not have all the fancy baubles most others had. No scope, no sights, no need. With a sigh, she got down on her belly and set up her first shot. "Time to get started."

A plethora of screens decorated the room. Displaying his wasteland and temple in not-so-great resolution; but it didn't have to be. The security bots were equipped with motion sensors and video feeds. He enjoyed watching the local bird or two wander about their day in his small lapses of technical work. It was peaceful.

Feeling nature call, he got up from his chair and keyboard, taking one last look at all the video feeds. Just as he was leaving the room, one feed went out. This wasn't unusual; some of the security bots had old cameras - a gust of wind could jiggle the wires and cause a couple seconds outage. "I guess I'll take a look at the diagnostics for that one when I get back," he said, walking leisurely to the restroom.

A few minutes passed and he returned to his computer, comfortably leaning into his chair. He cracked his fingers and laid them on the keyboard but realized before he began: something was wrong. He looked over to the monitor whose feed cut as he left for a bathroom break - it wasn't just static anymore. The monitor displayed two words: "NO INPUT" it would be rare but not impossible for a rat to have chewed through the feed wire. It had happened before, after all. But something more than that was amiss because, of the hundred or so monitors that displayed video feeds from a mile perimeter about his temple - nine of them, cameras zero through eight, had no input. The tenth camera feed cut as he looked at this collected group of monitors. His mind raced for what was going on. Natural event? Ambush? A prank? Who had he angered recently? Who had he talked to recently? He couldn't think of satisfactory answers. The only thing he knew was that the west side visuals had been cut.

He quickly typed some commands into the nearest terminal, sending out some bots to check what was going on. Five cheetah bots equipped with 100x9mm rounds within their slender frame, a firing mechanism out the mouth, and forward cameras would be enough to handle pranksters or any unfortunate souls brave enough to encroach on his land. He put their wireless video feeds up on the main monitors and watched as they rushed through the piles of scrap to get to the west. Another security feed went out in the west. He took manual control of one of the cheetah bots.

Like shooting fish in a barrel, the sniper had hardly a need to look at her targets; not that she could anyways. This blind sniper used her super-human hearing to pinpoint the machines purely on their ambient frequencies which did not match their surroundings at all. She heard larger bots coming - their accurate but clunky footsteps created her signal to move in. She strapped the rifle to her back and threw a preliminary charge before she moved in.

The EMP charge wouldn't affect the bots coming for her now - they were too advanced. But it would disable any seismic activity detectors underground. "..four...five," she counted the bots approaching and took a wireless switch from the pack on her waist.

He raced - through the familiar piles of rubble and trash which created a labyrinth around his temple. Heading west, following the other cheetah bots, an explosion of arcing electricity was caught on visual feed about 80 meters ahead. That's when his confidence boosted - it was a solitary attack. The knowledge of what he was facing made him the slightest more comfortable. Had he not gained this near imperceptable feeling of comfort he would have failed to notice the monitors on the other side of the room going out - one by one just like the west side feeds the east was under attack as well.

He felt the sensation of challenge - one he had not felt in many years. Like muscle memory, his hands moved swiftly and without need for thought into action. He released a dozen more cheetah bots and set up heavily armored turrets at the immediate perimeter of his temple. He took control of a second cheetah bot heading east. Perhaps it was all those years placing Starcraft that allowed his hands to control such a complicated animal bot and start his main playlist at the same time. AC/DC - Shoot To Thrill. Things were heating up.

She ran at incredible speed through and over the mounds of junk. "More than I thought he had...no matter," the sniper said cooly, "the best kill is overkill, after all."

She took out two things from her utility pack: a grenade and another wireless switch. She pulled the pin and threw the grenade over a wall of rubble behind her. On the satisfying sound of destroyed technology, she squeezed the trigger and rushed directly towards the temple. A barrage of thunderous explosions followed surrounding the temple - creating a dry moat that entirely surrounded the structure. A rough circle of craters where many a murderous cheetah bots used to be now decorated the land. "Aaaaany second now...he'll be forced to--" she was cut off by the ground violently shaking and a roar that would make the devil wet himself. She knew this would happen, but her ears were more sensitive than she thought and she bit her lip until it bled to get through the pain of her ears. She kept rushing to the temple. "God dammit," she screamed, "I'm not done with you yet, fucking bastard!"

Both cheetah bots that he controlled went dark - one just before the other; and the rest followed in what could only be an arial bombing. It wasn't in his nature to get more than flustered, much less be angry or feel vulnerable. He had been taught that the powers within himself were evil and should not be used for the sake of his humanity (and the rest of humanity). In adulthood, he took solitude from the world for this reason, but he could not contain this boiling rage any longer. The great dragon within him wasn't just awake - it was pissed.

A blinding rage overtook him and he began transformation into a great winged serpent of legend. It would destroy his temple, but he had no care for that in the moment. His size grew and grew until the temple structure could no longer contain this beast the size of a few large skyscrapers put together - and it burst.

The sniper ducked for cover and wrapped herself in urban camo as the building fell not but a few yards in front of her. "NOW! NOW! NOW!" she yelled into her comms unit.

The great legendary beast had skin of ember and wings of gold - it's evil eyes shone a deep ruby and looked in bloodlust for the enemy. For a moment one might consider it a beautiful mix; passionate colors always seem to compliment each other in nature. It was not to last. A fluid stream of large caliber bullets hailed down upon the beast - rending its flesh from bone and putting fresh holes the size of which ranged from large watermelons to washing machines. The roar of an A-10 followed: BBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTT! The super-sonic bullets landed on their target well before the sound of the gun.

But the dragon was not finished. Another deafening roar from the beast and a fireball the size of the temple which once stood near shot into the sky - instantly bringing in nearby storm clouds and seemingly summoning the anger of mother nature herself. Lightning struck the land hard and rain began to pour. The dragon was airborne now - going straight for the aircraft circling above.

Meanwhile the sniper moved cautiously on the ground - further in and onto where the temple once stood. She hid in the shadows and thought of that poor pilot for a moment. "Not worth," she thought. The pilot was new, he was given the chance to fly an A-10 and actually fire the gun. Nobody would pass up such an opportunity. Now he realized why he was chosen. Hubert Gaylord, code name Serpent, was now strapped in for life; letting the last of his tears go down to his trousers along with the rest of his vile excrement, he watched the large masterpiece of modern aeronautic weaponry become wrapped in the body of the beast. The dragon coiled itself around the moving airplane creating a large tunnel within which it flew.

It put its head at the end of the coil - facing the oncoming plane which was undoubtedly out of ammo now. The dragon took a deep breath in and disintegrated the flying machine to a melty pulp of metal and slag - boiling the rain surrounding it's own body.

The dragon began to settle - and return to human form. He fell gracefully to the ground outside his temple - skin still covered by scorching hot scales that boiled away rain before it could reach his naked form. He sighed in anger, mostly at himself for letting go. As he stepped back to the temple he had spent so long creating: a gun cocked behind his head and the sniper emerged from the shadows.

"We need to talk, Brad," she said.

He had exhausted his anger - he was weak from the battle and the gun she held certainly had mortal power over him, but she would die too if she decided to shoot. He sighed, "There's a bit of construction going on right now...how about some tea to glaze over the rudeness of inviting yourself over?"

no it was just the one. I saw a fantasy artwork of a big ass dragon with a giant sword through its skull and came up with this scene

I like it

lol ok

Evil Tim is so kewl. Mayana too, but she's always evil

I always wondered why no one ever shoots the other person mid sentence in stand offs 

The dark master was pleasantly surprised to welcome such an esteemed guest into his lair. Her majestic features drew the eye from top to bottom: long pointed ears, a slender face, and hour-glass curves that could make any mortal drool. "Care for a drink?" he asked, materializing a table of live wood from the shadows. "Tea first." she said graciously. End was keen to the fact Mizal wanted to discuss a serious matter first before moving on to a less serious, alcoholic, conversation. He materialized his drink-master from the shadows, who bowed in the presence of both. "How are you these days, Tim?" Mizal asked. Tim poured a fresh pot of the finest tea leaves into two cups while the Master and his guest sat. "Very well. Thank you." Tim properly answered. "An aged special on your way back, Tim." End waved him away at this request. Tim bowed and disappeared into the shadows once more. "So what is the tea-time-topic?" End asked humorously.

Mizal took a sip of the fine drink, feeling the rejuvination of the curated leaves trail about her body. In a sigh of regret she said "Unfortunately, this topic requires the utmost confidentiality. If you wouldn't mind, I'd be greatful if we were in a more private area."

End nodded in understanding, releasing his full divinity over their immediate surroundings, and creating a new reality in which they could discuss things in private. Once out of the eyes of reality and the gods which preside over it, Mizal bared her shoulder. "I'm not interested in you that way." End said, sipping from his cup of tea. Mizal rolled her eyes and turned away, revealing down to her hip on one side. The dark master recognized the severity of what he saw: a black hand print embedded into her skin, emitting a magic as ominous as his own. "I have some questions." Mizal said with suspiscion and a touch of ferosity, redressing her side and sitting back down at the tea table.

"It's not of my own," End started, "and, as long as you resist the callings, you will be fine. Had you been any lesser a being, you would be wrought with madness and driven to a place which exists and yet doesn't. It is beyond my control, anyone's control."

Mizal twitched once, "It has killed those around me and seeks my power."

"It will continue until you die. I can help to seal it, lessening the effects of the calling and severing its influence from your life - but it will persist as long as I. It has persisted through countless realities and countless more it will find its way." End said, finishing his tea.

Mizal finished her tea with a final gulp. "What is 'it'?"

End's power subsided and allowed them both to return to the reality they know best. He materialized a thick book of ancient magic from the shadows and turned to a page with the same blackened hand print.

"The Labyrinth"

Here's corgi and cricket metaphorically sittin in a tree.



here's corgi getting cucked by cricket with herself



corgi tries to do the same but it doesn't work out



corgi tries treating her to a fancy dinner to win her back but she's not interested. she just came for the food.



corgi's hygeine takes a bit of a hit. maybe in an attempt to get her to notice or complain or anything. cricket has created an onlyfans.



cricket's e-boyfriends chip in to buy corgi a nindo swit. he is very happy and now accepts the onlyfans as friends, though he isn't allowed to join them or see what cricket shares with them.



corgi finds a cool online community where he feels accepted and meets people like him
and they lived happily ever after
the end

This commissioned work is sponsored by Mizal with a capital M.

... It's beautiful! ^_^

That's interesting and would imply the problem is client-side. Try clearing cache?

Art!

... Squeeeee! <3

Thara was a promising young mage. Ever since she was taken in by End, she had access to essentially unlimited magical resources and the most grand library of magical tomes. At the age of twelve she was deep in the study of magical stones and, in particular, soul stones. She admired End so greatly she would focus much of her magic study to that of necromancy and dark arts, but to understand these would unfortunately require much less interesting foundational knowledge.

So here she focused, on an old creaky desk in the grand study, clenching various "lesser" samples provided by her father and analyzing them under a spell of superior sight. The stones were mesmerizing - crystals whose surface was smooth but inside was a twisting storm of loops and rainbows. This directionless pattern was due to the captured souls attempting to find a way out of the crystal. Their struggle created randomness that was difficult to control, but once freed created a large burst of energy that could imbue inanimate objects with life or reanimate the dead.

She was told not to attempt to use them, as it may animate a dangerous book and cause mass havoc. Thara didn't want to mess up the library, but she did have desire to play with the mesmerising stones.

"Miss Apples," the voice of the head maid broke Thara's focus, "you must be getting to bed. Master End has plans for your birthday that you must be well-rested for." At nine years old, going on ten, Thara still had to obey the head maid. She sighed, and took one last focused look at the soul stone and its ever-changing inner patterns. Thara slept well with those satisfying fluid movements fresh in her mind.

Ah, yes, very intriguing and good. Is this setting something up? And no, I'm not just saying that because it's Thara-centric. 

Definitely not a setup for the next --- post. I would never use this thread to set something like that up.

End sat in the top room of the central spire to his home. Light fed through a decorative window onto the pages of a book in his lap. As he took a sip of the finest cola, the sky severely darkened and he closed his book with a sigh. He snapped his fingers, summoning a maid. "Yes, my lord." she said, kneeling and bowing her head to him.

"Whats with the sky? Another challenger come to die?"

"Not so, my master. I believe Miss Apples is creating her first lich today, using the courtyards' darkstone."

"Ooh, a lich. I do enjoy the pretty light shows from lich awakenings. Let us watch from a respectable area." End snapped his fingers again, and he appeared beyond the columnade of the courtyard with several onlooking maids and servants.

Thara felt their presence. Jeez dad, even when you make your aura neutral it's still the most obvious thing for miles... she thought. She made some last minte checks of her circles and the placement of the mages' corpse. It had been two years since End cursed her with immortal healing, and though it severely increased her magic ability she had plateued for some months. With this lich summoning, she may gain the power necessary to go further into magic. Her current mana wasn't enough to fill the lich creation circle adequately, so she had attached a magic amplification circle - a triangle with two lines coming from one face and another out of the tip. The line from the tip of the triangle connected to the grand lich circle, and she used one of the face-side lines to connect to the darkstone of the courtyard. Her circles were impeccable, they were of shimmering bloodquartz and beset with impregnated adamantite.

She consulted her notebook: from the basics such as the circles being made of some material that would not be found within the circle area (so as to not sully the spell), to the more intermidiate checks like how her lich circle was set up and the sigils within in it aligned with the corpse, and finally the advanced checks such as the incantation order and the geometry of the stars used to determine how much mana would be necessary for everything to go smoothly. Thara clasped her notebook closed, and focused. Everything was ready. At the age of only 12, she would be the youngest in recorded history to awaken a lich on her own. She had defeated this mage in battle a few days prior, and noted his affinity was higher than average - perfect for a lich. She had treated the body with salts and spells to prepare it for soul decomposition and realignment.

End watched his daughter go through her final checks, noting that the body was in superb condition despite suffering a fatal loss. "A basic lich summoning using a circle is very inefficient," he said to the maids around him, "the wasted mana creates a wonderful lightshow in the surrounding area though. Really only happens once per mage, as later lich summonings are more mana-efficient and less showy." The sky filled with thick dark clouds as Thara began to channel her mana and start the incantation. End raised his hand and clenched it into a fist - signaling all activity in the greater castle area to halt. The air was now saturated only by Thara's mana with no magic interference.

She finished the incantation and placed her mana-laiden hand upon the lesser lead of the magamp triangle. The amplifier would detect the difference in power between her and the blackstone, and amplify this difference to the output - filling the lich circle without Thara having to use up all of her own power. It did so successfully. Too successfully. As the corpse of the mage began to lift upwards and lines of mana began to seep out into the air, creating miniature aurora's throughout the courtyard, it became obvious there was simply too much magic about. It needed to be siphoned off. Thara had considered something similar, and lifted her free hand outward towards the on-lookers, "A drawing stick!" One maid stepped forward, ready to toss her a wooden stick, but End stopped the maid and tossed Thara a copper spear. Plenty sharp to cut through the grassy courtyard, but blunt on one side to dig into the dirt.

She caught it, and upon almost touching the ground with it, she refrained. End smirked. Thara saw the copper tip and decided she would be pissed off later. Copper would taint the ground with its alchemical properties, and a circle drawn with it was likely to fail. The lich circle was losing control fast - she had to act rashly, and stabbed herself in the lower leg with the spear, breaking off the copper tip and unveiling a blunt of clean wood. Though in severe pain and bound by mana flow to the magamp circle, she drew a summoning circle by memory for a vampiric entity. She would use some of the excess mana to summon it, and once it was here she could command it to siphon some of the lich circle's mana, bringing the whole operation under control. Or at least, that was the plan.

Gusting wind and circling mana made it difficult to draw, but once she had the sigil of Buer engraved upon the earth and a lesser sigil of a mana vampire to it she was set to connect the circles to the output of the magamp. When the lines connected she chanted twice, threw the stick away, and slammed her free hand down onto the circle. It glowed with great fevor and fire - burning her hand in the process. A vampiric gargoyle emerged and immediately began extruding some mana from the lich circle.

End enjoyed the light show with popcorn. Some maids looked on anxiously. Some were impatient and wanted to get going with their chores instead of standing still.

Thara was beginning to show some control over the situation, and continued with the latter half of the lich incantation. The mages' corpse was saturated with mana now, and the soul began to take form. It was then that Thara took her hand off the magamp and focused with all her might on forming the soul into something sinister and evil. She had a backup stone which would give her the darkness she needed, but it would feel like cheating to use it now. She thought of all the pain, torture, sadness, and anger she could while morphing the mana-laced soul into shape about the corpse. It began to take form and the lich opened its eyes for the first time since death. Thara released her hold and put the drowsy lich under a commandment spell to obey her. She knelt to the ground in fatigue.

As the lich awakened further, Thara yelled the order "Human!" and a maid threw out a hog-tied man who was captured earlier that month. If her soul moulding worked, the lich would naturally attempt to kill the man. End raised his fist, and opened his palm, ready to put the castle service back in motion. He waited for the results. The lich looked at the struggling man, squirming in the dirt. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Thara thought hard, but the lich turned away and began drifting aimlessly about. End flagged down his hand in disappointment. Service began bustling about the castle again.

Tharas eyes watered in frustration. She pulled the copper spearhead from her calf and used it to draw a simple transmutation circle in the dirt - converting the spearhead into a small steel dagger. She glared at her father and threw it at him with a "FUCK YOU!". He did not dodge. The dagger flew right through him. The maid at his side picked it up and bit her lip. She had a soft spot for Thara, and didn't like to see the young master so frustrated, but she kept her composure.

End walked over to his teary-eyed daughter and gave her head one pat. "It was a good show of lights."

Thara didn't want his pity and brushed his hand away. She got up and walked off in a huff, wiping away tears. As the sky began to clear, the maid following End asked if he wanted her to take care of the aimless lich floating about the courtyard. "Hmm. Lock it up. Check on Thara in a bit and see if she wants to do anything with it."

"Yes, my lord."

"And send a cold coke to my room; get Thara a hot chocolate or whatever kids like."

"Yes, my lord."

====================================

Thara pouted in bed, tossing and turning. Some maids had tried to come in, but she turned them away until the head maid came - who she was not old enough or powerful enough to boss around yet. "Miss Apples, I brought you warm cider with a cinnamon stick." Tharas stomach growled; she hadn't eaten dinner.

"What do you want?" she said into her pillow. The head maid set down the cider on Thara's nightstand.

"I have nothing to want from you except your own well-being."

"mmprph" Thara rolled her eyes and mumbled.

"I bet you didn't smell these when I walked in the room," the maid set a bag of cookies on Thara's nightstand. Thara turned one eye out to her. She sat up and took a cookie and a sip of cider. Her eyes were a bit red about the edges, but a cookie gave a bit of color back to her face.

"I could've used a stone. I had it in my back pocket." Thara said regretfully.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be very satisfying to use a stone instead of your own power would it?"

"I should've swallowed my pride and used it. Now I just wasted a perfectly good corpse." Thara stuffed a cookie in her mouth and took big gulps of cider in annoyance and frustration with herself.

"Well now, we can always find more mages around."

"Yeah but one THAT perfect? I doubt it." She sighed, wondering when her next chance would be.

"The circle is still all dressed up in the courtyard, it would be a shame to let it fall apart now. How about we go mage hunting tomorrow? I know some good spots where they're likely to be, and you can try again as soon as possible. You'd still be the youngest to ever make a lich on your own even if you took another year to do it." the maid looked kindly at the young girl taking the last gulp of cider.

Thara considered it for a moment. "Alright. Let's do it! I'll make one for sure next time." she was already thinking of ways to improve the circle and control the mana flow better. The head maid took the empty cookie bag and cider cup with her on the way out of Thara's room. "Wait - can I have one more cookie?" Thara asked sheepishly.

"You're lucky I let you have cookies for dinner instead of bringing you up a pile of vegetables. Now rest up - we leave early tomorrow if you want to have a good chance for a mage." the maid exited the room, happy that Thara was in a better mood.

That was a fun read :)

This was strangely wholesome.

Wow. that was all well paid off. I feel so flattered by Ford's surprisingly descriptive writing and world-building.

Now if only I had a head maid for reals. That would certainly make both life and my time on CYS easier, time-management wise. 

Well Ford finally managed to get my attention with his fanfic.

Very good.

This was the best birthday present Ford could have possibly received.

Thara, now fourteen years old, sat at her study area in the main library. Stacks of large tomes, some ancient and some new, lined the floor around her desk; lit only by the feint light of candles in sconces upon the walls. She had stacks for all manner of magic, but was deep in the study of necromancy. She had been inspired by her father, and ever since her first successful lich she began to channel more mana every day. He had allowed her some soul stones to play with and examine for study.

She snapped her fingers, "lüm." A bright white light, about the size of her pinky nail shined down upon the desk. It wasn't as good as when she used her wand, but she could tell it was getting easier to use simple magic without need for such tools.

According to her book on magic patterns, soul stones were "often translucent crystals with swirls of mana able to be seen beyond their surface." The randomness of the swirly pattern is created from the souls themselves attempting to find a way out of the prism. This creates powerful potential for the soul stone energy to be used near instantaneously - but the power is directionless. "It will not do to use a soul stone in an incantation which requires directional elements, as the souls create a directionless space within the stone and, when released, rarely go any particular way without extreme care and guidance." The author stated. At the moment she was simply mesmerized by the colors randomly floating about inside the stones. She examined the dynamic swirls closely under a magnifying glass.

"miss apples...MISS APPLES... THARA!" The head maid yelled loudly, startling Thara out of her trance-like state. Thara looked at her. "It's time for dinner. We have guests over." Thara cringed in disgust, but sighed, taking a stone in her pocket and heading for the door. "I believe Master End said those were to be kept in the study." the maid said, "don't give me that stink-eye. Hand it over." Thara reluctantly took the stone out of her pocket and placed it in the hand of the head maid. "And the other one." the maid said, as she stepped closer to the door. Thara grumbled and squinted in annoyance at being caught. She took a stone out of her other pocket and handed it to the maid. "Thank you. Now please go clean up for our guests."

Thara sighed heavily. "k." she walked down the hall, hoping anyone over would leave soon after.

"Your father is out today - so dress appropriately." The head maid said down the hall.

====================================

Thara sat at the head of the table, as acting-master while End is away. She dressed in her finer garments with a gold circlet inlaid with ruby prominent on her forehead and a small royal cape to keep her shoulders warm. The dinner was just another gathering of End's high-ranking advisors and underworld leaders. She had no desire to converse with them, nor did she care about her fathers work; but they would still coerce her into conversation and attempt to garner her favor as one day she would rank above them. Some tried talking about things their sons or daughters around Thara's age liked, others simply didn't converse with her - hoping that a rule of "speak only when spoken to" would at least not be seen as negative. Most conversed amongst themselves about various dealings and contrivances in the underground crime scene.

The only conversation she enjoyed was a short one between her and the grand con, who sat near her by her own request. "Have you practiced what I taught you last time we talked? About misdirection and controlling peoples attention?" he asked, cutting into some roast chicken on his plate.

Thara smirked. "In fact I have." She felt the soul stone in her shoe which she had managed to sneak past the head maid. "I've found some recent success with it."

"Is that so? Well, perhaps you're ready to learn another little trick."

"I'm not the same little girl as a couple years ago. You won't be able to fool me with any sort of simple spell - I've read books on every magic; and I've acquired a new skill in the process of study."

"Oh really now? What skill might you have learned in only a couple years I've not seen you?" he smirked.

"Magic sight." Thara looked proud of herself. "I can see the flow of mana and even differentiate different kinds of magic as though I'm watching oil separate from water. Even if you fool my senses, I'll still see the magic you use - and I can figure out the rest from there."

"Oh ho..." the grand con stroked his beard, "I suspect you may not see as much as you think."

"Try me." Thara's eyes flickered with gold as she focused her mana. She could see the various magics in the air, the mana pouring from each person in the room, and the intent of signage whereby the symbols she sees within the mana can have various intents such as hostile, neutral, or many others. Everybody at the dinner table was emitting neutral or positive intent mana, keeping it professional and not overbearing.

"Well then, I will demonstrate! It is as simple as it gets - yet you will be fooled no matter." he got loud enough that he drew the attention of a couple of the elites around the table. They watched as he explained what was about to happen. "I will simply make a gem disappear. If you would kindly provide any sizable gem of your liking, Master Thara." he held out his hand. Thara squinted in suspicion, but snapped her fingers to bring a maid from the shadows.

"Yes, your majesty?" the maid bowed solemnly, as was appropriate and professional in this setting.

"A selection of gems most neutral and stable." Thara ordered, holding out her hand. The maid disappeared for a moment and reappeared a moment later with a selection of some gems about the size of the largest ruby in Thara's circlet. All highly stable, some imbued with mana and some not. Thara chose one which had a distinctly stable structure and handed it to the grand con. He took the gem to his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and began his little act.

"Watch closely now, you might miss it." he said, smiling. Some others sitting at the table smiled, knowing the trick already and knowing the grand con could do it so perfectly was a minor spectacle. Thara enabled her magic sight, and focused on his hands and the gem. She figured he would use invisibility magic extremely quickly and cleanly, leaving hardly any residue. However, Thara had practiced her magic sight for over a year now; any microfluctuation in his mana would be obvious to her, and that cannot be faked. She nodded, showing she was ready.

The grand con showed there was nothing unusual to do with his hands, nor anything unusual about the gem. And with a turn of his wrist and a show of his palm, the gem was gone. Thara's eyes went wide. There's no way he used magic! There wasn't even the tiniest fluctuation of his mana! she thought. He revealed all around his hands and even stood to show his chair and empty his pockets. The gem was nowhere to be found. Thara squinted and thought for a moment. "I've seen right through your simple trick." She decided to bluff.

"Ah, I see you are indeed wise, Master Thara. Then I will show you an even greater trick if you would please hand me the gem again." he said, smirking. Some about the table were smiling at the little performance going on. Others still talked amongst themselves. Thara frowned and glared at the grand con - for she did not know where the gem was and thus could not produce it for him. Meanwhile he seemed to see right through her bluff, which made her even more angry.

"Hmph! Well, I wasn't really trying that time. So I'll give you that one. Where is it, then?" She asked, turning away with her arms crossed in frustration.

He reached for her and while she initially jerked a bit away, he procured the gem right from the back of her ear. Thara was in awe. The grand con was laughing heartily. Thara's awe turned into being peeved when others who were watching began to chuckle a bit. Thara slammed her palms on the table, looking angrily at the grand con. "Once more." she demanded, this time she was serious. She snapped for a servant to get her jewlery box, and procured a special ring from that box. Her eyes went full gold, and she strengthened her magic sight to the maximum. The ring allowed her to see in slow-motion, so no detail could be lost. Now everybody at the table was paying attention to what was going on between the young master and the grand con.

"Once more then, as you wish." the grand con smiled warmly and held the gem for all to see and showed his hands and arms were nothing unusual. This time he even put his other hand on his head for good measure. "Watch carefully now." he pinched the gem lightly between his fingers, and made a simple and slow movement with his hand. As the gem would be obscured behind his fingers for a moment, Thara concentrated extra hard on its location - observing all things in even slower motion. The moment the gem left her sight, he revealed his palm. Where the gem should have fallen onto the table, there was nothing to be found.

Thara considered the options. Could it be magic I do not know of? No. I have studied all areas - I know what's possible. Could it be ultra-fine control of invisibility magic? No. I would have noticed an invisible object. She went through several possiblities before settling down and swallowing her pride. "I do not know where the gem is." as she admitted this small defeat, some at the table smiled, most stayed stone-faced so as to not be seen as patronizing. The grand con laughed again, closing his fist and reopening to show the gem in the palm of his hand. "Any guesses, Master Thara?"

She could only come to one conclusion. "A finely controlled mix of magic types and perhaps an illusory spell which transcends the protection of my circlet."

"Well, seeing as I have no affinity for the use of magic, and am essentially just a normal human, I'd say you're a bit off."

Thara was shocked more by this information than the trick itself. She couldn't believe her father would have a normal human as one of his top associates. That would explain how his mana was unmoved the entire time though... Her thoughts made sense of it.

A man down the table spoke up for everybody. "God dammit, you do it so practiced and advanced - anybody would be fooled! Hell, I'm sitting where I should be able to see the whole damn trick and I still didn't catch anything!"

The grand con smiled, "perhaps it's a bit advanced for most."

Thara pouted. "Keep the gem. Teach me later." She got up, thanked everybody for coming, and headed out of the dining hall. On one hand, she was glad to get out of her restrictive formal garments. On the other hand, she didn't like the feeling of being fooled. She went up to her room and took her shoe off, intending to clear her mind by looking at the soul stone she snuck past the head maid earlier.

Where the stone should have been was a note, "Nice try."

Thara vowed then to fool both the grand con and the head maid within the next year, and to never be fooled by such trivial actions ever again.

Man, I sure do hate being fooled. 

This particular entry has really spoken to me. 

Hopefully story Thara can fulfill her aspirations of not being tricked. Oh, and this was a pretty nice entry in my opinion. I mostly say that because it was once again about me, but there's a part of me that's being objective, so no worries.

I'd have let you commend it, but I thought you were self exiled to do schoolwork or something.

Ruins of a hospital in a cold wasteland. A surgical lamp blinks to the rhythm of a seizure. Time ticks. Blood stained hallway. Warm red mixes with cold black. Flesh slides slowly off the walls. A vomit covered giant cries softly. The lenses of your beaked mask freeze over.

Go back.

Blood enters your body. A chair reforms around your head. Glass unbreaks and lights turn on. The flesh on the wall becomes a face. A bullet comes out of its forehead. Memories of a playful time at the beach return: the ocean was so cool that day, the sun was setting but we still had energy to play with a ball in the water. You get pushed back down the hall to a grasp around two small axes. A skull forms around each as they come from the wall to your hand and back down to your side. This time you'll use fire. This time you'll kill them all. Oxygen leaves you, carbon dioxide fills you. Warmth returns. A pin returns to its grenade. It's time to do it again.

Go forth.

An explosion of charred flesh moves by you. A room of pink mist awaits. One bullet each. Bang bang. Two more dead. In a couple seconds one will run from the hall. A well timed axe splits his skull upon the wall. Your other axe is for the man sneaking up behind you. It's becoming routine now. Dashing down the hall you slide on that one guys brains and fire a bullet point blank into the forehead of a man in a lab coat. Big guy is next. He'll come around the corner and throw a chair at you. A click of the pneumatic controller on your wrist signals that the fuel lines are connected. You turn as the big man does - he's holding the chair up. He gets charred by a whistling rocket blast which lights up the entire floor of the building. A whole fuel cell was used for him - the mass of charcoal flesh is hardly recognizable as a man that once was. His friends get a similar treatment. You light up entire rooms of them. Some try to rush you. Those some get a hole melted through their skull.

Like a raven perched upon a spire you look out upon the snowy wastes. "Building clear."

Is this what happens when you reload a save after a loss?

I'm still puzzling out the other one, but since was posted as a reply to it does it mean they're meant to be related?

They are standalone but come from the same storygame idea.

[music]

"Seems like they're having fun." Cricket smiled devilishly.

"I do enjoy a good party. We should have tea afterwards." Mad stretched her arms, cracked her neck, and tilted her hat to a bloodthirsty angle. "Race you there?"

Cricket wrapped her arm around Mad, "I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE!" she used her free arm to direct a nuclear blast of flame through the magic-leaden wall. Mad blushed in excitement. They burst forth in flame, appearing between the strong fighters they had sensed before; their sudden stop created dual shock waves that echoed throughout the nearby labyrinth. Without letting the ground settle they made eye contact with their new opponents.

Cricket stared into a pair of deep green eyes which seemed only to be mildly annoyed that the God of Hellfire stood in the way. Cricket let off a punch twice as powerful as the last toward her foe.

Mad was jittering with bloodlust. She looked upon a pair of golden eyes caught in surprise, but which returned in no time to a cold gaze of experience and poise. She made a fist and, though around 20 meters away, threw an uppercut.

The green eyed mage took on the hellfire attack without moving a muscle. The land was scorched and molten. The punch had garnered a look of pity toward Crickets effort. The mages' emerald gaze returned to her original opponent.

In the split second of the Hatters' punch, the golden eyed enemy had seen through Mad's power and moved their head a few inches back before the instant materialization of a fist could touch her chin. Mad looked surprised. The golden eyes looked upon her with disgust.

Four gods among the labyrinth now stood in striking distance of eachother and they were all quite peeved.

Wait bruh. They're cheating.

"Dearest, I'll be back for tea later."

Cricket wasn't listening. She was tunnel visioned on the mage who just shrugged off a double nuclear laser punch like it was nothing.

Thara stared at the soul of this oddly dressed woman in a large hat and saw her inner flame flicker and twitch unpredictably. It was broken and expertly sewn back together. Well, more like against it's will, writhing in pain and confusion. Glancing at the souls of the alleged god of hellfire and her previous colorful opponent, she was glad to not be fighting them in her current state. "That much raw power would be an issue at my current magic level," she thought, annoyed that her setup for defeating the green mage would go unused. Turning her attention fully to the hatter, "this one, however tedious and disgusting her power might be, I can probably take." Thara believed her opponent's magic to be unrefined and thus full of holes to take advantage of, albiet requiring more efficient use of her mana to emerge victorious.

Thara spat toward the ground but it never landed, for with a wave of a hat the battlefield had changed to the abstract and undefined. A darkness enveloped her surroundings, even her magic sight had been blocked..."or there's nothing here." She closed her eyes, they would do her no good anyway. She heard Mad give a girly giggle, though strained and muffled. A sudden pain like her eyes were being stabbed wracked Thara's brain - she felt thick rough strands drag through her eyelids guided by a large needle, sewing her eyes shut. "SHI--" the moment her mouth opened her cheeks were slit and tongue ripped out. Her hands were then bound by similar thread piercing her fingers through each tip, each joint, through her palms, and around her wrists - tied to the ground causing her to kneel. Similar threading was placed through her toes to her ankles.

Despite the immense pain and unknown location of her enemy, she could feel the presence of others. More than just her enemy, more than just the people she knew, and more than the people she had killed in her life. She began to feel them walk through her one at a time. Some were young and sickly while others were older and full of anger or regret. Over the course of what felt like years, she experienced thousands of peoples feelings toward her - it burned her brain and scuffed her spirit. Blood gushed from her half-mouth while her lungs struggled to produce air to scream with.

"You've got surprisingly little magic for someone who seems so familiar with my techniques." Mad spoke from the shadows, dragging her freshly painted nails across Thara's face - ripping flesh as she went. "You wouldn't hide it from me, right? You'll die against me without it."

Thara was going in and out of consciousness from the pain and mental overload at this point. It was difficult to think of a way to turn the situation around. Even the small mana transferred through skin contact was so jumbled up and uneven it was worthless to try and use.

Mad spotted a necklace and as she went to pull it by the chain the necklace withered her fingers down to the bone and set her hand on fire. "Why seal such power away?" Mad smiled devilishly, digging her finger bones like knives into Thara's back. It was now obvious to Mad what was going on - no retalation or protective magic came forth from the necklace after all. "Poor thing, someone really put you in a bad spot. I'm sure if I were to take this necklace off it would be much more excruciating than anything my little dark age has put you through. You'd surely die."

Haven't seen this thread in awhile. MHD really is branching out with her art

I'm really getting anally penetrated here.