WLC 3.A: A Fishy Ending

Thinking about Writing

I don't know how many people are actually reading this dumb lizard story, but I'm having fun writing it, improv-ing it one day at a time. I already know the main beat of Chapter 3: How Li'l Jevoi Met the Shadow Queen.

Locking Swords

Blade clashes in Bushido Blade 2 are more interesting visually than the first game. The character who is winning actually pushes the loser around in a far more obvious way.

POV: You've locked blades with the leader of the enemy clan on a castle roof.

POV: You've locked blades with a shrine maiden on competition grounds.

POV: You're just gals being pals when she just lets you win.

The motion of actually flinging the loser is something I'm sad the sequel lost, but the clarity of who is winning is more important.

As Pokemon had already proven, tank plus animal is top tier design.

Here’s the best fighting game character of ALL TIME….. Beartank! 🌻🧸💣

WLC 4.3: Queen of Swords

"We'll be right outside," says Jevoi to Dalini, "If you need me, just speak up." She exits the room and scowls at Ling.

"Sorry, I don't have fancy pipes," mocks Ling, "Apocalypse is happening."

"It's not about the toilet, Mum," snaps Jevoi, "You're a wizard; you have magic."

"Always thinking magic'll solve everything." Ling shakes her head. "Never thinking about the consequences."

"You don't think it's terrible conditions you were raising her in?" asks Jevoi.

Ling walks over to the little table and stares at the mock tea set. "Better conditions that Nana Ning had... minus the eternal freezing night. At least I've done a better job than Nana Ting."

"Ting?" Jevoi's caught off-guard. "You've never told me anything about Ting."

"How could I?" laughs Ling, "I never met her."

Suddenly, the door from the hall opens and six-armed elf-esque woman with a serpentine lower body slithers into the room. She's wearing a green sweater and, for the brief moment that she was entering the room, a smile. But then, she saw Ling. Now, the smile is gone; replaced with rage.

"YOU!?" yells the raven-haired demon, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? I"LL KILL YOU!" She conjures six swords and advances toward the wizard. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Ling sighs in resignation. "Not expecting to be forgiven, demon."

Jevoi jumps in front of the swordswoman. "Calm down, Angustias, my queen."

"Why are you stopping me?" asks Angustias, her eyes still trained on the wizard, "Why did you bring her here?"

"You know why," says Jevoi, pushing the swords down, "I want her dead too, but do you want to explain to your daughter why Nana Ling had to die?" Jevoi grabs the bronzed amazon's face and forces their eyes to meet. "She doesn't even know you yet. Don't lose sight of what matters, my queen."

Angustias drops her weapons, which fade away, and picks up Jevoi in six-armed hug. "Of course, my empress." The demon's eye briefly twitches in pain and she makes a threatening gesture toward Ling with one hand.

"Mum!" yells Dalini from the bath, "What do I do now?"

Jevoi dismounts her wife and races to the door. She hops quickly in place, alternating legs. "Oh, I'm going to help my daughter get dressed for the first time!" she squeals before calmly walking the door.

"She's stoked about this mum s***e, isn't she?" asks Ling.

"Don't f*****g talk to me," says Angustias, trying to figure out how to pose her arms in loving, motherly way.

Checking the List

I have significantly underestimated this scale of this task.

While doing this, I've reconsidered the lizard for now, but I have another idea: Tumblr structure seems a fine place to try writing a "found document" type of story. It's about a corporate lawyer devil in a post-apoc city.

Edit: I may go through with the lizard story.

WLC 5.B: Slippery When Wet

Jevoi awakens slowly. Her body greatly resists separation from the bed, adhering itself to it like honey. With considerable effort, she rises.

The cabin's shower is pleasant and its water warm. As she cleans her scales, Gank keeps watch on the cabin. The ship's distractions may not avail the lawgnome's thievish intent.

There had been no disturbances during the night, or whatever could be considered night in space. Does time even flow here in this outer void?

'She's here,' thinks Gank, 'Keep the water on.'

Jevoi slips silently back into the cabin's other room. Despite the door out still being shut, Jevoi can clearly see the gnome searching her things. Naked, but armed, Jevoi sneaks closer.

Tanglepork suddenly turns around, gun drawn. "Walked right into this, Kiddo," she says, "Where's it at?"

"Where's what?" asks Jevoi.

"Don't be coy~, Jevoi~," sings Tanglepork, "The faeriedust: where is it?"

"You think I'm some addict?" snarls Jevoi, still dripping wet, "Why would I have that?"

"You make it?" Tanglepork's voice carries sarcastic confusion. "I'm the one keeping my overzealous deputies from undoing your mommy."

"Cretin," yells Jevoi, "You have done my mum!"

"Every woman in town has done your mommy," Tanglepork rolls her pretty little eyes, "Regardless, you need to pay your taxes~."

"I'm not bribing you," says Jevoi, "How did you even get in here?"

L: I wish.

A: She doesn't pay taxes?

J: That's not- can we focus here?

"I asked Lurentooz for the key." Tanglepork holds up a purple tendril-esque key; it squirms in her hand. "Even out here, the law is abided."

WLC 1.2: In the Long Quiet Night

In the half-buried atelier, surrounded by broken equipment and furniture, the two geckos continue to stare each other down. A soft red light faintly fills the room from the window of a large metal pod. Likewise, the bubbling from within it serves as the sound in the dead eternal night.

In front of the wizard, the remains a fire pit erupt back to life. She leans forward again. "Another cold summer day," she says with the faintest laugh, "Bring a gift? Or just more disappointment?"

"What I have brought are demands," says her daughter, scanning the room, "Where is she?"

"Look at you," scoffs the wizard, "Dressing like an elf, standing like an elf. Want me to turn ya into one?" She pulls one arm out of her robe; the long violet fingerless glove blend back into them, as she traces her finger up and down her daughter's image. "Nana Ning would be so disappointed."

"And whose fault is that?" exclaims her daughter, "The time I spent with her was measurable in days." She adjusts her fine black leather gloves. "And it's not as if you knew anything about us. How would you? But that's not the point. You're just trying to distract me from-" A shadow appears, just briefly, in the doorway in the back. "My daughter."

WLC 3.9: BLOOD

"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do I do?" chants Gank, walking in place. The unconscious child on the floor continues to bleed from her arms in front of Gank. "Right, blood. I have to stop the blood," she says to herself.

Gank begins running around the room looking for anything that could help her situation. As she paces about, she licks the blood from her own claws.

J: I can see you struggling to keep your mouth shut, Mum. L: I wasn't saying anything.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Gank searches frantically for the salve she knows is somewhere in this room. "I know ya keep it somewhere here; ya suck at healing, mom." She spots a box sitting beside a shelf, and throws it open. "Jackpot."

The box contains potions, powdered medical herbs, and other supplies. "I'm going to get caught the next time she checks this thing." She grabs the salve and a towel and races back to the bleeding child.

J: Why didn't you grab the potion? G: You were bleeding; I was panicking. L: She was, like, fourteen.

Gank slathers it over Jevoi's arms, desperately trying not to cut her further. She then wraps the towel around the limbs and pushes gently on them. She feels the slowing rhythm of Jevoi's heart.

"I think this was how it worked. How'ya feeling?" she asks and receives no answer. "Yeah. That makes sense." She looks at the blood drying on the floor and has an idea.

Dipping her claw in the blood, Gank begins painting a magic circle around Jevoi. "It's like this, and this," she says to herself. Her claws shaking, she manages to etch the runes she knows. "Okay, okay, okay." She slaps the circle, the spirits of the cave answer the call and pulse life through Jevoi's body.

"All I have to do now is..." Gank looks at the bloody evidence still around here. She sighs.

Gank begins licking the blood off the floo-

D&J: EUAGH L: Why? G: Ya don't have room to judge me. I know where ya put your tongue. J: No, eeegh.

To repeat: Gank begins licking the blood off the floor and a primal urge rises within her. The soft meat of a helpless animal is right there. It must taste so good. A rare cut from so far away.

"No, focus." Gank throws those thoughts away and keeps at the floor.

L: So, on the topic of rituals: outside we were blessing the land.

WLC 2.6: A Whole Lot of Hole

Down into the darkness the party did travel, climbing down by hand. One of Kalyani's staves carried a spell that allowed Maraja to imitate Ling's natural climbing.

"Do you really do thhiss every week?" asks Kalyani, carrying her entire weight on her hands alone, "Care to ssay why, dear?"

"Plant research," says Ling, climbing slow enough to keep pace while also carrying the priestess' bag, "I'm experimenting with biolumies in the Cave."

"Bio loomies?" asks Kalyani.

"Rocks and shrooms that glow down there," says Ling, "Trying to find a way to farm in the dark."

"For what purposse?" asks Kalyani, "The food crississ issn't from lack of light."

J: It is odd that you started there. L: Well, it's all I could afford at the time.

"If food can grow in the Caves," answers Ling, "That's a reason to get those b*****ds down there to stop raiding other parts of the Glow."

"Iss thhat why you moved here?" asks Kalyani, "And from where?"

"From Ozzel," says Ling, "Went to Lemonbum's Wiz School. Thought my accent would make it obvy. Where ya from, Sister? Ya don't sound local either."

"Her eyess led me here from thhe cloudss of Shheshhaparvata," says Kalyani, her voice more melodic, "Every few yearss, I-"

"CAN YOU STOP TALKING?" shouts Maraja, whose descent was far more cautious, "HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?"

"Breathhe, dear," says Kalyani, "Move one limb at a time."

The light from above suddenly ceases to be; Bobbobo had closed the dome.

"THE OPENING CLOSED," yells Maraja, her voice cracking, "I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!"

J: Why didn't you have any light with you? L: Ya think seeing how far down it was would help? Or seeing the light be swallowed by the abyss? The temptation of looking down would've killed her. J: Point taken.

"Mate, panicking is just making ya slower," says Ling, "Which means ya're up here longer. I'd be bottomside already if I weren't watching ya. Remember why ya're here."

"I'M TRYING!" screams Maraja, "WHAT IF WE FALL?"

"Then I'll jump after ya," says Ling, "I'm a wizard; I've a spell to save ya."

"WHY NOT USE IT NOW!?"

"If I use it too soon, it won't work."

"Remember, what shhe ssaid yessterday," says Kalyani, "Disstractsion. Tell uss more about thhiss lady we're following."

"Okay, okay," says Maraja, trying to calm her breath, "I can... do that."

WLC 5.D: Too Cool for Pool

The pool of the ship is a happening place. The fake sun hanging like a disco ball shines loving warm rays all around. There are couples and crowds swimming, relaxing, and playing pool volleyball with a demilich sealed in a magic bubble. (She's loving it.)

Stretched out prone and naked in a beach chair is Luminița. The lycan drifts in and out of consciousness to the waves of the crowds' mirthful sounds. This bliss is interrupted by a shadow cast upon her.

"Take it," says Jevoi, dropping the bag by the side of Luminița's chair, "Where's my tome hidden?"

"What's your rush?" asks the lycan, her eyes refusing to open, "We'll do this after the cruise."

"Or we can do it now, while we're far from everyone."

"Nope, mourning," says Luminița, flipping onto her back, "My bunica was just sent to Hell."

"That's not my fault," says Jevoi, "And she was trying to kill us."

"Trying to kill you," says Luminița, eyes firmly shut, "Besides, you just want me to have the sheriff on my tail for the rest of the trip."

"No, I don't," says Jevoi, kneeling down closer to Luminița, "She has no reason to think you have it, she'll keep chasing me."

"Oi, Ling," yells a withered voice from the pool, startling Jevoi back up, "Fancy seein' you's 'ere."

Jevoi turns toward the disruptor: a decrepit old sea hag with wet leathery skin and in a tiny black bikini. "You're mistaken, miss, but you're not the first."

L: Salica, maybe? J: How am I supposed to know? L: She'd have been like forty; that's not old. J: She didn't look forty; she looked eighty.

"Really?" The hag crawls out of the pool, her seaweed hair dragging limply. "You look just like 'er." She slithers along the ground, limbs desperately trying to lift her water-logged body; her long claws scrapping as her hands search for footing. "You sound just like 'er." Her neck cracks as she twists her head to better look at the gex. Her smile is marred with broken teeth. "You smell just like 'er."

"Not willingly, I assure you." Jevoi steps back, scratching he wig. She looks about and spots, out into the pool, the volleyball game which has seemingly paused. "I think your coven's waiting for you. Shouldn't keep them waiting."

The hag jerks her head around to look, then she swings back. "They'll be- huh?" Jevoi is already gone.