GAME: Show Off Your Favorite Excerpts!

[Welkamo]

Are you really proud of something you just wrote? Looking back on old gems you wrote years back? Post them here! Fluff? Angst? Dialogue? Humor? All genres are welcome! If you want, feel free to comment your favorite parts of the excerpts

* Please tag content warnings accordingly

 

[Cresselia92]

Yo! I've got a draft of a future scene for The Meaning of Power. A fluffy piece depicting Silver and Kotone huddling together to endure the cold night in Orre.

Rated W for "Wholesome". :3 [Actual rating is Everyone. No warning tags needed, it's just pure fluff.]

Spoiler: A Tsundere Showing His Tender Side

“But that’s the first and last time we…” Silver groaned audibly, and his voice dripped with annoyance, “huddle together! Got it?”

Kotone smiled gratefully, unaffected by Silver’s tone. She could tell that he wasn’t nearly as angry as he wanted her to believe. “Of course.”

“Okay, so how do we—?”

Silver froze when Kotone scooched closer and pressed herself against his side. She was very mindful of his injury, he noticed, as she didn’t put any pressure on his ribcage and rested her head on his left shoulder. Strands of brown hair tickled his nose, carrying in the delightful scent of her shampoo — Pecha Berry, or something similarly sweet. Her melodious breathing caressed his neck, making his heartbeat surge. He shivered, but that wasn’t because of the cold, no. Actually, he wasn’t feeling cold at all.

“Sweet dreams, Silver. And… thank you…” cooed Kotone, her voice soft and velvety. She yawned, then made herself more comfortable, mumbling incoherently as she did so. Soon enough, she fell asleep with a tender smile on her face, lulled by their combined warmth and the songs of the desert winds.

It took several minutes for Silver to register that she had fallen asleep, his mind much slower than usual due to how abashed he felt about the entire situation. He shut his eyes and shook his head in chagrin.

‘I can’t believe I agreed to this!’ He gritted his teeth and groaned. ‘What the heck is wrong with me?!’

Unable to find an answer to that question, he glanced at the sleeping girl with ajar eyes. Pell-mell thoughts and contrasting feelings echoed furiously in his mind. Sure, the idea was to huddle together to stay warm, but he was feeling way too warm. Was that a result of his awkwardness?

Silver breathed deeply, trying to regain some semblance of composure. ‘This is ridiculous!’ he hissed mentally, before shutting his eyes once more.

There wasn’t anything he could do about the situation… other than pushing her off of him, of course. However, even if he hadn’t agreed to that arrangement, he found himself unable to gather the will to do that to Kotone. Which was weird; he never had any problem shoving away whoever annoyed him or made him feel uncomfortable, so why was that an issue now?

Hm. Perhaps spending so much time with those overly cheerful kids had softened him way too much…

After mulling things over, Silver reasoned that overexerting himself would have just worsened his injury, and he was way too tired to consider other options. As such, the best course of action was to suck it up for the night, as much as he hated it. He stuck to this decision (albeit with some reluctance) even as the still-sleeping girl curled up and slid her hand across his chest. Another frustrated groan escaped his lips.

‘The sooner this night ends, the better!’

Silver took many calming breaths. The boiling blend of annoyance and embarrassment evaporated, his breathing and heartbeat slowed down, and a soothing feeling washed over his body. With a much clearer mind, he registered that Kotone had placed her hand right over his heart. How very appropriate. If he was someone else, he would have even considered that act adorable. Though, the realization stirred something deep inside of him, making him feel… comforted?

Slowly, with some hesitation, he moved his free hand on hers and clutched it gently. He frowned; her hand still felt cold to the touch. No wonder she wanted to sleep closer to preserve warmth. That was still an embarrassing proposal, but it was somewhat reasonable. Well… Kind of, at least.

Still silent and careful, he focused on Kotone and brushed his fingers against her cheek. Her skin felt so smooth, but also a bit… cold. What if the temperature dropped even further?

A vague idea occurred to him, but he quickly shot it down. If having Kotone so close was already embarrassing as is, that was going to make things even more awkward.

‘But what if she catches a cold or gets sick…?’

Silver scowled at his own thought. Why did he care? He wasn’t the one who couldn’t produce enough body heat to endure the night. It was her problem, no? Yeah, of course it was! And yet, he couldn’t help it — the nag of concern tugged at his mind, reminding him to be more considerate. After all, she helped him out during his convalescence, so it was only fair to reciprocate the favor. Right?

A disgruntled but soft sigh echoed in his throat. In an unspoken attempt of preserving whatever was left of his dignity, he tried to justify his plan with pragmatism. ‘It’s just for the tournament! She needs to be in a good shape for tomorrow. I can’t participate in a Multi Battle Tournament without a partner, can I? And we really need that prize money. Yeah… It’s just for that. Just for that…’

Without thinking a second too many, the redhead carefully shifted his position to lie on his side, facing Kotone. A wave of apprehension and uncertainty rushed through his mind, but before he even knew it, his arms wrapped around her sleeping form and pulled her in an awkward embrace. He took a deep breath to keep his jumbled thoughts in check, then he rested his head on top of hers, shielding the girl completely from the cold night.

A big part of him was beyond bewildered by his own gesture, but as the seconds passed by Silver felt the initial embarrassment simmer down.

All things considered, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. Feeling Kotone safely tucked in his arms made him realize a few things he hadn’t considered before: She was safe, she was there. Not scared, not hurt, not missing. She was there; he wasn’t alone. Not alone. Together.

The notion brought Silver some much-craved reassurance and, much to his own surprise, joy. His eyelids fluttered slowly, exhaustion flooding through his body until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.

As the sleeping veil crept back on him, one last thought resonated in his barely conscious mind, filling his heart with relief. ‘Goodnight, Kotone…’

And he fell asleep. The two teenagers slumbered snugly all night, enwrapped by the small pocket of embracing warmth and their sleep devoid of nightmares.

 

[Welkamo]

Yo! I've got a draft of a future scene for The Meaning of Power. A fluffy piece depicting Silver and Kotone huddling together to endure the cold night in Orre.

Rated W for "Wholesome". :3 [Actual rating is Everyone. No warning tags needed, it's just pure fluff.]

Spoiler: A Tsundere Showing His Tender Side

“But that’s the first and last time we…” Silver groaned audibly, and his voice dripped with annoyance, “huddle together! Got it?”

Kotone smiled gratefully, unaffected by Silver’s tone. She could tell that he wasn’t nearly as angry as he wanted her to believe. “Of course.”

“Okay, so how do we—?”

Silver froze when Kotone scooched closer and pressed herself against his side. She was very mindful of his injury, he noticed, as she didn’t put any pressure on his ribcage and rested her head on his left shoulder. Strands of brown hair tickled his nose, carrying in the delightful scent of her shampoo — Pecha Berry, or something similarly sweet. Her melodious breathing caressed his neck, making his heartbeat surge. He shivered, but that wasn’t because of the cold, no. Actually, he wasn’t feeling cold at all.

“Sweet dreams, Silver. And… thank you…” cooed Kotone, her voice soft and velvety. She yawned, then made herself more comfortable, mumbling incoherently as she did so. Soon enough, she fell asleep with a tender smile on her face, lulled by their combined warmth and the songs of the desert winds.

It took several minutes for Silver to register that she had fallen asleep, his mind much slower than usual due to how abashed he felt about the entire situation. He shut his eyes and shook his head in chagrin.

‘I can’t believe I agreed to this!’ He gritted his teeth and groaned. ‘What the heck is wrong with me?!’

Unable to find an answer to that question, he glanced at the sleeping girl with ajar eyes. Pell-mell thoughts and contrasting feelings echoed furiously in his mind. Sure, the idea was to huddle together to stay warm, but he was feeling way too warm. Was that a result of his awkwardness?

Silver breathed deeply, trying to regain some semblance of composure. ‘This is ridiculous!’ he hissed mentally, before shutting his eyes once more.

There wasn’t anything he could do about the situation… other than pushing her off of him, of course. However, even if he hadn’t agreed to that arrangement, he found himself unable to gather the will to do that to Kotone. Which was weird; he never had any problem shoving away whoever annoyed him or made him feel uncomfortable, so why was that an issue now?

Hm. Perhaps spending so much time with those overly cheerful kids had softened him way too much…

After mulling things over, Silver reasoned that overexerting himself would have just worsened his injury, and he was way too tired to consider other options. As such, the best course of action was to suck it up for the night, as much as he hated it. He stuck to this decision (albeit with some reluctance) even as the still-sleeping girl curled up and slid her hand across his chest. Another frustrated groan escaped his lips.

‘The sooner this night ends, the better!’

Silver took many calming breaths. The boiling blend of annoyance and embarrassment evaporated, his breathing and heartbeat slowed down, and a soothing feeling washed over his body. With a much clearer mind, he registered that Kotone had placed her hand right over his heart. How very appropriate. If he was someone else, he would have even considered that act adorable. Though, the realization stirred something deep inside of him, making him feel… comforted?

Slowly, with some hesitation, he moved his free hand on hers and clutched it gently. He frowned; her hand still felt cold to the touch. No wonder she wanted to sleep closer to preserve warmth. That was still an embarrassing proposal, but it was somewhat reasonable. Well… Kind of, at least.

Still silent and careful, he focused on Kotone and brushed his fingers against her cheek. Her skin felt so smooth, but also a bit… cold. What if the temperature dropped even further?

A vague idea occurred to him, but he quickly shot it down. If having Kotone so close was already embarrassing as is, that was going to make things even more awkward.

‘But what if she catches a cold or gets sick…?’

Silver scowled at his own thought. Why did he care? He wasn’t the one who couldn’t produce enough body heat to endure the night. It was her problem, no? Yeah, of course it was! And yet, he couldn’t help it — the nag of concern tugged at his mind, reminding him to be more considerate. After all, she helped him out during his convalescence, so it was only fair to reciprocate the favor. Right?

A disgruntled but soft sigh echoed in his throat. In an unspoken attempt of preserving whatever was left of his dignity, he tried to justify his plan with pragmatism. ‘It’s just for the tournament! She needs to be in a good shape for tomorrow. I can’t participate in a Multi Battle Tournament without a partner, can I? And we really need that prize money. Yeah… It’s just for that. Just for that…’

Without thinking a second too many, the redhead carefully shifted his position to lie on his side, facing Kotone. A wave of apprehension and uncertainty rushed through his mind, but before he even knew it, his arms wrapped around her sleeping form and pulled her in an awkward embrace. He took a deep breath to keep his jumbled thoughts in check, then he rested his head on top of hers, shielding the girl completely from the cold night.

A big part of him was beyond bewildered by his own gesture, but as the seconds passed by Silver felt the initial embarrassment simmer down.

All things considered, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. Feeling Kotone safely tucked in his arms made him realize a few things he hadn’t considered before: She was safe, she was there. Not scared, not hurt, not missing. She was there; he wasn’t alone. Not alone. Together.

The notion brought Silver some much-craved reassurance and, much to his own surprise, joy. His eyelids fluttered slowly, exhaustion flooding through his body until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.

As the sleeping veil crept back on him, one last thought resonated in his barely conscious mind, filling his heart with relief. ‘Goodnight, Kotone…’

And he fell asleep. The two teenagers slumbered snugly all night, enwrapped by the small pocket of embracing warmth and their sleep devoid of nightmares.

This is so cute omg my heart <3

 

[silurica]

This is from my latest edit/small rewrite of chapter 7 of Luceat Lux Vestra. It's a small snippet about Arceus and Mew. I've misplaced the original, but I rather like how the new version sounds more like a proper myth/old tale that the Shaymin would tell. The original was pretty bland lol

Spoiler

After removing another flower, she leans forward and whispers, "As for who… say, have you ever heard of Mew?"

"The super rare Pokémon said to carry the genes of all Pokémon?"

"That's a very… modernistic take, but fine, close enough," says Sheila with a shrug. "If the Great Lord was the soil, so the story goes, then the Esteemed Lady was the seed of the tree we call the world. She was the first Mew, and every other Mew are mere branches of hers. And not just that – since she was the original seed, other living beings also descended from her, including the myriad of plants and humanity."

 

[Unforgettable_Flygon]

Here's my snippet, planned for Chapter 3! Depicts injury and non-graphic mention of death.

Spoiler: Snippet from planned Chapter 3

The Flygon stared at Trevor as he approached. Hey," Trevor said, straightening his lab coat. "So what brings you here today-- oh..."

Ragged holes had been punched in its wings. "Fuckers shot at me with thunder-sticks as I tried to fly away." the Flygon replied. "Incinerated them; taught them a lesson alright. Almost had a bad landing..."

Trevor's eyes bore bags underneath them, and he blinked a few times before applying medical gauze. The hero of Melbourne during the Shift, the so-called 'Last Light' who had saved so many lives during the few months the city was a war zone. He still looked the same as ever. "Uh... right... Hang on, are you that same talking Flygon I met some months ago?"

"Well, I recognize you; you certainly smelled as stressed as you were last time. I saw you once or twice during the Shift... we met for ten seconds, if that. I'm sure you don't remember me... and well I don't remember your face either, no offense. But I do remember that I met you, and what you smell like." It shook its head. "My name is Liam. You are the Last Light, am I right?"

"Trevor, actually. I'd rather be referred to by my actual name."

The last time Liam and Trevor had met during the Shift, Trevor's attire consisted of a suit of motorcycle armor, worn down and damaged from alterations with Pokemon. While the suit hid his body from the neck down, it was easy for anyone to imagine the myriad injuries that lay beneath. Liam's eyes were drawn to the old makeshift bow hanging on the wall. "What's that thing for?"

Trevor smiled. "It's a bow - a weapon that launches bladed projectiles named 'arrows'." He looked at it. "Just something I put together for self-defense, in the early days of the Shift."

Liam shook his head. "It seems like every other human carries a thunder-stick or other weapons here! They're lethal... one blast, and whatever target is hit slumps over, just like that. What do your people even face to need them?"

Trevor just shrugged as he tended to Liam, not wanting to answer the question.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

A fave excerpt of mine from a previous chapter! Content warning for some mild horror and gross description.

Spoiler: Excerpt

Espurr walked through the woods, trying to trample as little foliage as possible on her way. It was a ways out from the village to the southwest, and the ground was muddy here, sucking in her feet. She checked the sun. Afternoon. Overcast.

The breeze blew in her direction, and Espurr caught a whiff of that familiar rotting stench—the scent of a mystery dungeon. The wind was blowing from her right, so she looked that way. Just through the trees, she could see an unusually shrouded grove of forest, all viny and tangled. That must have been it. Espurr trudged through a small stream as she headed there. The water splashed against her feet and the bottom of her bag.

It was definitely a mystery dungeon. And a powerful one too. Espurr could feel its presence practically vibrating in the air around her. Even from outside, the dungeon felt malevolent. Doubts crept into her head—maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe it was better to go back. She could tackle this another time, w-when Tricky was there with her.

Then, with a pang of shame, Espurr shook the thought off. She hadn’t even entered the dungeon yet, and here she was getting scared. Some hero she made. Besides, it wasn’t like she was helpless anymore. No, she’d prove she wasn’t helpless. Once and for all. With that thought driving her onwards, Espurr took a deep breath, stepped forwards, and felt the hot, humid breeze vanish into the damp, stale air of Mystery Dungeon.

The place was deserted and grimy, even for a dungeon. Tall, dead trees leaned in towards her, gnarled branches grasping down as if to snatch up unwitting travelers from below. Vines hung from everywhere, black as the tree bark and rotting in places. Almost no light escaped the canopy above, casting the swamp below into a black, murky darkness. Espurr trudged determinedly through the marsh that barely even qualified as mud, looking for that scarf. Despite herself, she was starting to really hope she found it soon. This place sent chills through her.

Every once in a while, Espurr got the feeling she was being watched. There were things that swam silently in the murky water, taking care to stay far out of view. Even though she never caught full sight of any creature other than herself, Espurr kept a wary eye on her surroundings anyway, hugging her bag close like it would protect her. The swamp was vast, and she knew she wasn’t alone.

The first floor of the dungeon was cleared without any major incident.

On the second floor, the dungeon suddenly went cold. It wasn’t natural cold—it was the kind that sent chills down one’s back and made them feel like they were being stalked. This was an evil place. More evil than all the mystery dungeons she had encountered so far. And she still hadn’t found that scarf. Maybe it had been lost to the marshes long ago. Thoughts of completing the mission and proving herself a hero were first slowly undone by thoughts of just getting out of here alive.

Maybe something had happened to this place, Espurr thought as she walked through the third floor. The absence of dungeon ‘mon was beginning to unnerve her just as much as the surroundings did. Dungeons were almost never deserted like this. Not unless there was something worse around. And there was something worse around—Espurr could feel its presence in the air, making it heavy, getting closer with every floor she passed. And eventually, she’d have to face it. There was no going back: all she could do was be ready.

However far away she felt from being ready.

The dungeon only got more overgrown as she went, and the marsh deeper. It sucked in nearly her whole legs now, and the bottom half of the exploration bag was dragging through the grime. The only relief was that the ground seemed to be thinning out into swamp water instead of just thick mud, and it was getting easier and easier to wade through the dungeon. But even so… any higher, and Espurr might not be able to cross. She was already waist-deep, and feeling a sickening pit in her stomach at the thought of all that mud covering her.

She did not find the scarf on the third floor, either. Instead, she found the stairs, half-submerged by the marsh. Espurr didn’t ask questions. She just pulled herself out of the mud with a squelch, her bottom half painted a blackish-brown, and hurried up to the next floor as quickly as she could.

The next floor led onto dry land, and Espurr could finally move her mud-caked legs freely again. But her relief didn’t last long—if the last couple of floors had crept her out, then this floor terrified her. The tree branches definitely looked like hands now, twisted decaying claws grasping out as if they were reaching upwards in pain. Everything was a rotting, stinking black, shaded by only the dimmest fragments of light. The plants drooped, blackened and dead. The ground squelched and splashed under her feet, soot-black, liquid muck that smelt like bile. A weak breeze smelling of rotting flesh whistled through the canopy, creating a sound like a distant anguished moan as it blew.

Espurr nearly puked, the smell was so strong. She had to cover her nose as she walked through the wasteland, barely keeping herself from quivering along the way. She was willing to admit it now: this place had her scared out of her wits. Where was that stupid scarf?

 

[Welkamo]

This is from my latest edit/small rewrite of chapter 7 of Luceat Lux Vestra. It's a small snippet about Arceus and Mew. I've misplaced the original, but I rather like how the new version is sounds more like a proper myth/old tale that the Shaymin would tell. The original was pretty bland lol

Spoiler

After removing another flower, she leans forward and whispers, "As for who… say, have you ever heard of Mew?"

"The super rare Pokémon said to carry the genes of all Pokémon?"

"That's a very… modernistic take, but fine, close enough," says Sheila with a shrug. "If the Great Lord was the soil, so the story goes, then the Esteemed Lady was the seed of the tree we call the world. She was the first Mew, and every other Mew are mere branches of hers. And not just that – since she was the original seed, other living beings also descended from her, including the myriad of plants and humanity."

Omigosh I love Sheila so much

 

[Welkamo]

From Chapter 10 of I'm a Marionette.

CW//Mentions of drug use and eating disorders, mental illness, feelings of worthlessness

Spoiler

Wallace’s face fell into his hands as he started sobbing. Juan reached his arms out to hug him, but Wallace weakly tried to push him away.

“Wallace, every human and Pokémon is born with equal, intrinsic value. No one and nothing can take that value away. No matter what. Do you understand that?"

"No..."

"Wallace, when you were born, did the doctors tell your parents 'you have created a child with no worth'?"

"...No..."

"Do you think that worth has faded as you've grown older?"

"Yes."

"What makes you think that?"

"I'm not a strong enough trainer," Wallace gasped in between sobs. "I'm a failure to Megalos and Sootopolis City, I'm a drug user, I'm an alcoholic, a purger, an anorexic—"

"But you're also a wonderful partner, if Steven and Winona's word is to go by. And I believe it is. And do you really think you have no worth to your sister, your brother in law, your niece, your Pokémon, or me?"

Wallace looked up at Juan. "I mean something to you?"

Juan chuckled a little. "Of course you do, Wallace. Why would you ever think otherwise?"

"I'm not a good Gym Leader... and I'm not good enough for Megalos."

"Am I Megalos?"

"Well... no."

Juan smiled. "That's my so—boy. That’s my boy.”

 

[Nitro Indigo]

This visceral description of an event in a fic I have planned for way in the future just popped into my head:

Spoiler: Dangerously high blood pressure

The next time I woke up, I felt like I’d just run a marathon. I was soaked with sweat, it hurt to breathe, and my circulatory system was pounding like a rock concert. The drummer was in my heart, the bass players were in my wrists, and my eardrums felt like they were about to explode from being too close to the speakers.

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

I’m pleased to present here an except from Chapter 4 of Mirror Adventures: A Tragedy of False Smiles! Consider this as “proof of progress”, so to speak, after a long dry spell of actually posting any content related to it here, haha.

Let’s begin!

CW: A brief reference to death.

Spoiler

“Welcome!…” began Ms. Green before her face drooped instantly upon scanning the classroom, “…all nine of you who actually bothered to show up today. I’ll be—“

As if on cue, the classroom door opened again with two new students entering the room, their faces tilting ever-so-slightly towards the ground as they made tentative steps towards their desks.

“Oh, there they are,” said Ms. Green with a frown. “I’m sorry; let’s wait for all of them to come in, shall we?”

And with that, an awkward silence would fill the room for several surprisingly long minutes — as far as Ash was concerned, at least — as more students trickled their way into the classroom, dodging the cold stare of their teacher as they made their proverbial walks of shame across the classroom floor.

“Now that’s more like it,” said Ms. Green, after the final late student reached their desk. “Shall we begin? Alright! To start: the nine of you who walked in late today, congratulations. You’ve all just been expelled from the class.”

“W-What!?” one of the late students practically screamed.

“No way!” yelled another.

“Y-You’re not… really going to do that to us, are you!?”

“No, of course not!” Ms. Green replied almost with a laugh, as if she had just stated the obvious and much to the very visible relief of the late students.

“But tell me,” Ms. Green suddenly continued, “why shouldn’t I expel you all?”

No response.

“Alright, let’s try this another way. One of you, raise your hand and tell me: what’s the single most valuable resource on Earth?”

A flurry of hands almost instantly found their way into the air in response, before Gary tentatively raised his hand last.

“Gary Oak?” called Ms. Green, at which Gary flinched as if he didn’t quite expect to be actually called on before he recovered and gave his answer:

“Um, time?”

“Ah!” said Ms. Green, smiling in obvious satisfaction. “You are Professor Oak’s son, aren’t you? Yes, time is indeed the answer. Now, can you tell us why that’s the answer, Gary?”

Silence filled the room for several seconds after that before Gary, lowering his head slightly, shook his head no.

“Time is the single most precious resource on Earth,” said Ms. Green, addressing the entire classroom now, “because it’s the one thing in life that you can never, ever get back. There’s always more food, there’s always more money, and there’s always more gold and silver and all of that, but no matter what you do, or no matter how hard you try, there is never enough time.”

“So tell me,” she continued, a dark look suddenly appearing on her face, “if you’re not able to respect the concept of time, then how could you ever hope to understand money, or how to balance a budget for food and supplies and all of the things that you take for granted from Mommy and Daddy? Or, how would you be able to ration all of that food and all of those supplies so that you don’t run out in the middle of Viridian Forest, or on Mount Moon? Or, what if the worst-case scenario happened and your Pokémon got burnt or poisoned or worse, and the nearest Pokémon Center is miles away and there’s no antidotes or cell signals or scouts to speak of? How would you know how much time you have left to run like hell before your Pokémon succumbs to its wounds? And by ‘succumb’, I do not mean ‘faint’.”

Ash could swear that he heard more than a few gulps behind him in response to that last bit there.

“Pokémon aren’t just some simpleminded pets with cool powers,” Ms. Green went on. “Or superheroes on TV or in the movies who save the day every time. Or mere pixels and numbers in your video games that you can just control and manipulate as you please…” She shook her head. “Pokémon are living, breathing creatures with feelings, thoughts, and needs, just like you and me and every other human being on Earth. And even when they can breathe fire and shoot lightning bolts and all of that while we, of course, cannot, we are far more alike than we are different.”

“And that, young ladies and gentlemen, is why you are here. As an officially sanctioned representative of the Pokémon League Battle School Program — or in other words, your teacher — it is my job to determine your readiness to take care of these living, breathing creatures on your journeys to become Pokémon Masters, Top Coordinators, the best Pokémon Breeders, or whatever. A job that the League has granted me to perform at the highest level of discretion! Which means that if I decide that being late to class is an indication of the level of responsibility that you’ll take with your Pokémon, then it is not only my right, but my responsibility, to deny you the chance of getting anywhere near a Pokémon, let alone fulfilling any of your dreams in that big, bright world out there. Instead, you’ll be right here this time next year, looking out that window saying, ‘Darn! If only I had listened to Ms. Green that day! If only I had… ahem!… been on time.’”

She stopped abruptly after that last line, leaving everyone in stunned silence at the epic mass of words they just heard.

“Or to put it another way: don’t be late again! Am I clear?”

“Yes, Ms. Green,” everyone promptly responded.

“Very good!”

 

[CynthiaLover]

Here's a little something from Dawn of Courage. Specifically, Chapter 73: The Longest Day of the Capital.

Warning: Contains violence, blood, death, mass destruction

Spoiler

The Undead Soldiers stopped at a certain point before they opened up a massive portal in the sky. Suddenly, a huge number of Undead Soldiers appeared, followed by a terrifying sight. Out emerged a gigantic creature. It looked like an undead centaur, only its lower body was that of a triceratops, complete with three horns in the front, while its upper body was a massively bulky decaying man wearing impressive armor with a dragon-like head. As he touched down onto the ground Dominic went pale.

“Hey!” he protested. “This isn’t what we agreed on! You said you’d let me destroy some Undead Soldiers to gain the praise I deserve from the capital in exchange for me giving you the Demon King’s champion!”

“What did you say?” the party and the female soldiers growled collectively, making Dominic go wide eyed in horror.

“You mean to tell us you made a deal with Muu’s army?!” Van spat.

“You slimy, cowardly, good-for-nothing scumbag!” Nina roared. “You are willing to side with Edyn’s greatest enemy so you can make yourself look big! As if I didn’t have enough reasons to hate you!”

“You traitor!” Angelo growled.

The massive monster chuckled, “They are right, Dominic. You are a traitor to the people of this world. All because you can’t stand not getting your massive ego stroked. I may have said I was going along with your plan, but in reality I had my own agenda. Your ‘plan’ was just convenient timing that I took advantage of. Now that you’ve outlived your usefulness I’ll be sure to kill you along with the Demon King’s champion party and the people of this city. I, General Juggerrot, will ensure that every soul standing before me will be collected and given to Master Muu. And I brought with me a platoon of 10,000 Undead Soldiers to ensure that I harvest every single soul in this city. Prepare to die! Skull Meteors!”

A brief pause occurred before a barrage of skull-shaped meteors rained down upon the area, striking everything and causing huge amounts of damage to the city, even tearing down part of the city walls. The party and the female soldiers were able to weather the attack thanks to Sir Reginald erecting a barrier to shield them.

“Not bad, knight boy, but let’s see you handle this. Gravity Crusher!”

Gravity started to intensify, forcing the party and the soldiers flat on the ground, although Dominic was, strangely, unaffected.

“Now, with that active, let’s try this again. Skull Meteors!”

Another brief pause followed by skull-shaped meteors raining down upon the party and soldiers, heavily bashing them with their power. Dominic then gained a devious idea. He marched up to Nova and sneered.

“That’s a good place for you, pink vermin,” he taunted.

He then started to stomp his foot down on Nova’s head repeatedly, much to the disgust of the rest of the party.

“You back off, you overblow blowhard!” Zeeker spat.

“Leave Nova alone, you bully!” Nina yelled.

Dominic ignored them and continued to stomp on the already heavily battered Nova. It got to the point where he created a wound that started to ooze blood down Nova’s face, much to Nina’s horror. Dominic started to laugh as he saw this, stomping his foot down harder to make the wound worse. Suddenly, without warning, Nova lashed out his hand, grabbed Dominic’s leg, and somehow threw him off, causing the egotistical man to fall over. To everyone’s surprise Nova started to force himself to stand. Slowly he managed to rise up to his feet despite the intense gravitational field that he was in. He glared at Dominic with hateful eyes despite the fact one was getting covered in his own blood.

“Dominic, I knew one day you’d sink to extreme levels of villainy to satisfy your own ego,” he said in a surprisingly calm tone. “You are the slimiest of slimeballs, willing to side with Muu in order to get what you want. You are nothing more than a terrorist, a traitor, and an idiot who only cares about yourself, no matter who you have to step on to get your way. You betrayed the world so now you must pay the price.”

Dominic started to mock Nova, “Ooh, I’m all a-quiver! Get it? Quiver. Because you’re a wannabe archer! Bwahahaha! You can’t stop me, pink punk. Not when I have General Juggerrot and his army behind me.”

“Wanna bet?” Nova replied, still surprisingly calm.

He primed his bow despite the intense gravity around him and began concentrating. To Dominic’s shock and everyone else’s surprise the bow began transforming. It was engulfed in white light that molded it into a more divine form, with a pair of energy angel wings sprouting at the top. A matching pair of energy wings formed from Nova’s back. The front of the bow gained a sapphire blue disc, followed by four strange protrusions appearing around it, then pointing forward, almost looking like the frame of a cannon. A large base formed at the bottom of the bow before sprouting feather-shaped legs, becoming an anchor to the bow.

“W-What is that!?” the obnoxious traitor sputtered.

“I-Is that the Goddess-tier skill that Aerrow taught Nova?” Nina said in awe. “The Celestial Judgment Arrow?”

Nova then nocked an arrow onto the newly transformed bow. The arrow started to glow and transform, becoming more divine.

“To give it some extra kick… Lucifer Mode,” Nova said.

The Demon King Ring adjusted itself, now set to Lucifer Mode. This power shift caused the arrow to grow even more until it was easily as big as Nova was. A targeting reticle appeared and locked onto Dominic, making his eyes widen in horror. He gave a girly scream and started running. He ran through the legs of General Juggerrot and started to push his way through the platoon of 10,000 Undead Soldiers, trying to escape the soon-to-be-fired arrow.

General Juggerrot growled, “Not on your life, puppet boy! Gravity Crusher!”

He started to intensify the gravity around Nova but to his surprise the pink-haired man managed to remain upright even though the ground around him started to crack and crumble. Nova continued to take aim undeterred.

“Grr! Skull Meteors!”

Another brief pause followed by several skull-shaped meteors rained down, this time only targeting Nova. Nina’s eyes widened in horror as Nova was bombarded by this attack. However, when the attack waned, to everyone’s surprise, Nova was still standing. General Juggerrot’s eyes widened in horror.

“My turn!” Nova said in a cold tone. “Celestial Judgment Arrow!”

He fired the divine attack, which caused the four protrusions to fire beams of energy. They combined with the arrow to create a powerful beam with an arrowhead front. General Juggerrot braced himself for the attack. To his horror the attack effortlessly plowed through him, completely annihilating him with ease. The attack continued onward, destroying every single Undead Soldier in the area. Before long all that was left was a still running and screaming Dominic, with nary a trace of any member of Muu’s army left. The destruction of Juggerrot caused the intensified gravity to end, freeing everyone from its effects. The attack continued onward, rocketing toward Dominic. Dominic looked back to see the attack continue its path toward him. He got an idea and took a hard left turn while still running. To his horror the arrow-shaped beam merely bent its path to continue pursuing him.

Nova said in a cold tone, “Face it, Dominic. You can’t outrun or outmaneuver it. When the Celestial Judgment Arrow locks onto its target… nothing will deter it until it strikes its designated victim.”

Dominic made another hard turn, this time to the right, but the Celestial Judgment Arrow merely bent its trajectory to continue chasing after him, rapidly closing in on him. Dominic wasn’t looking where he was running until he ran smack into a large boulder, stunning him. The Celestial Judgment Arrow began its final charge toward the traitorous man. Dominic managed to recover only to start screaming in fear as the Celestial Judgment Arrow struck him, engulfing him in a massive explosion, seemingly annihilating him, leaving no trace of any of him or the Undead Army behind.

 

[Unforgettable_Flygon]

Something from the upcoming Ch4 of Paradigm Shift! I wanted to show just how cruel and spiteful Liam is - the first time the reader sees his awful side.

Warning: strong language, reference to injury, mentions of death.

Spoiler

Trevor sighed. ‘Why, Liam? Is there any reason you hate the Children of Earth so much?”

The Flygon - Liam bared his fangs. “Two reasons, Trevor. One: they injured me at one point. They also want to to remove Pokemon simply because we exist on your damn world!” He glared at the ground. “Do you not see anything wrong with that, Trevor?” The Children of Earth recruitment pamphlet that Trevor had given him to see was clutched in his claws. He held it up before incinerating it with a Dragon Breath.

Trevor groaned. “I don’t, not exactly.”

Liam snarled. “What!? How? I want to know how you even arrived at that fucking conclusion.”

“I was there when the Shift occurred. See my ribs? They were broken when I was attacked by hostile Pokemon. Secondly, as much reason you hate the Children of Earth, I also have reasons to dislike Pokemon.” He pointed to the partially-ruined streets outside. “Look out there, Liam. Families were torn apart because of Pokemon. My home was destroyed and now my parents are believed to be missing – or worse.” He stared at the pile of ash that had once been the pamphlet. “So many people died when the Pokemon arrived; quite a lot of them didn’t deserve it. You guys are--”

“Monsters?” Liam asked, his mouth twisting into a fanged sneer. “Hah! The real monsters are the Children of Earth and those who support them. Despite your occupation... The real monsters are you. Do you not think for a second that the Pokemon – like me – were just as scared as you were when we first arrived?”

Trevor shook his head. “I -”

Liam sighed. “All the Children of Earth are doing is trying to bring back something that can’t ever be regained. I heard of your world’s history of conflict. What makes this any different – what about the Pokemon and the families that they killed?”

Trevor did not answer.

 

[bittersweetVICTORY]

okay so this isn't recent or proper fanfiction, but i'm still rather proud of it.

this is a seven month old roleplay turn with one of my more recent partners. sometimes i still can't believe i typed this.

Spoiler

He fell silent for a moment, caught between relishing in Esrey’s gentle touch and the ebb and flow of overwhelming emotion as his fears slowly washed off for a time. He took notice of those sharp orange eyes, seeing as how they were so close to him now he could see them in all their fiery brilliance, still intense but shimmering as embers do when seeking to be stoked again. And without meaning to, he was quietly pondering appearances again, the poor fool. What if, he wondered, what if he got to see that brilliant, terrifying form yet again in a more peaceful context, the heaving and shuddering of lungs as large as his torso shielded by thick leathery skin against his comparatively tiny and dainty hand, would he still be so quietly disturbed by what he witnessed? No, he figured, he had no reason to fear the man, terrifying though his power was. They were friends. Good friends. And as he had swooped in to check on him now, he could trust him to do so again later if necessary - as he would do for him.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Here's a rather funny scene from Chapter 91) Knight and Day, from Dawn of Courage.

Spoiler

Everyone looked ahead to see what looked like a good dozen merchant carts stopped in a cluster. The party exchanged concerned looks and raced up to see what the problem was. They wove their way through the various merchant carts, most of which were being drawn by firokokos, until they found the issue. There was a barricade set up on both sides of the bridge that crossed the yellowish river. There was a warrior or knight who was guarding the barricade, seemingly blocking the merchants from getting across, much to their frustration.

Zeeker asked a merchant, “Hey, what’s going on here?”

The merchant replied, “This punk set up a toll on this bridge. He won’t let anyone cross unless they pay 100 gold to go just one way. Both sides of the bridge have been closed off because of him. We refuse to pay the toll as he just set up shop at this spot because it’s the only bridge across Yellowstone River for days so he can squeeze some easy money out of travers and merchants. This bridge never had a toll from the get-go but this punk decided to make quick cash off of unsuspecting people and put up the barricade to ensure we pay or we cannot cross.”

Sir Reginald’s eyes narrowed, “The nerve of the guy. This is a free bridge, as it belongs to King Rand, thus it’s not supposed to have a toll. Leave this goon to me.”

“This should be good,” Kettu smirked.

Sir Reginald walked up to the warrior who was blocking the bridge. The warrior pointed his sword at Sir Reginald, eyes narrowing.

“Halt!” he stated. “No one can cross this bridge without paying a toll of 100 gold.”

Sir Reginald replied calmly, “This bridge is not yours. It belongs to King Rand. Therefore you’re not allowed to set up a ridiculous toll on this bridge. I suggest you shove off before you get shoved into the river.”

“Ooh, I’m soooooo scared!” the warrior mocked. “You can’t intimidate me, punk. Go ahead, try it!”

Sir Reginald gently tapped the hilt of his sword, sighing, “Always the hard way. Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

A few minutes later the punk warrior was huddled next to a small campfire by the riverbed. He had been stripped of all his armor, weapons, and clothes, leaving him in just his underwear, clearly humiliated. The barricades had been destroyed, their remains rapidly flowing down the river, allowing the grateful merchants on both ends to cross the bridge. Sir Reginald was overseeing everything to ensure that the merchants got across without any further incident. After the last merchant had crossed they all turned to talk to the party.

“Thank you so much for dealing with that goon,” one said.

Sir Reginald nodded, “My pleasure. It’s a knight’s job to resolve any issues that plague the people. Hopefully after this that guy learned to not try to make easy money off of travelers again. Especially since I confiscated his money to further drive the point home.”

Angelo looked at the disgraced warrior, saying, “I wonder if he’s the reason shipments have been having issues getting to their destinations? I mean, this is the only bridge over Yellowstone River that’s on the main road, as every other bridge is days out of the way. Do you think his toll is the reason the shops have been out-of-stock of various items?”

Van replied, “He might be one reason, but I still think Muu is the main reason. He just dogpiled onto the current issue with his stupid toll idea. Hopefully after Sir Reginald humiliated him he won’t pull that again otherwise he’ll lose what he’s got left. Especially since he was such a weakling.”

Nova said, “The term that would be most accurate for him would be ‘paper tiger’. It means something that looks fierce and intimidating but in reality is very weak and pitiful. And it’s not feasible someone like him would’ve stood a chance against Sir Reginald anyway, as Sir Reginald is a top-tier knight. Merchants and regular travelers would be easier to pick on but he was really punching out of his weight class when Sir Reginald stepped up to the plate.”

Nina giggled, “I gotta say, though, that was almost savage what you did to him, Sir Reginald. Now all he’s got left are his undies as everything else, including his dignity, has been washed downstream. Harsh but an appropriate punishment for him. Hopefully he’ll stop with his get-rich-quick scheme, especially if he doesn’t want to end up washed downstream.”

Sir Reginald looked proud, “Yes, well, like I said, it is a knight’s job to ensure the wellbeing of the people and to stomp out any problems that may arise.”

 

[Palamon]

I wrote the most hilarious shitpost level scene once that I'm particularly proud of:

Spoiler

Placing his rear down on the cold floor, a particular villain greeted his eyes. The zipper on the side, his worst enemy. As the hyena placed the black shoes on the currently human feet, he made eye contact with his arch nemesis begrudgingly. If desires were allowed to him as a Fatui Soldier, requesting such ridiculous contraption to be cut off would certainly come to fruition.

Looking down, the adolescent stared at the slider endlessly. How does one get the slider through the fangs of the shoe? The chimera did not know; he cared not for such contraption. Letting the zippers remain open like the free wilderness in Teyvat, Siorc rose to his feet clumsily. Surely, no Fatui would notice, anyway. It was a Holiday. Readying to exit the military barracks to teleport to the Bishui Plains, the young man exited the room quietly. There was no more time to waste, daylight was not an unlimited phenomenon.

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

I whipped the below in a burst of inspiration that I refused to not take advantage of. I’m actually kind of surprised by how fast I’ve found myself being able to write nowadays, haha. I suppose that the skill of writing really is a muscle, indeed.

CW: one f-bomb plus some generally impolite language from a certain character.
It’s recommended that you read Chapter 4 of Mirror Adventures before this, as there are some spoilers if you care about that. There are also some mild spoilers for the impending Chapter 5 (although it’s really not that much a spoiler, honestly).

Spoiler

“Again, Serena?”

“She started it!” Serena snapped back almost instantly.

“Serena, does it really matter who started it?” Grace responded. “I mean, look at the mess you’ve just made! Again! I mean, you’re totally gonna bankrupt me if you keep this up!”

“Mom, we’re fuckin’ rich—“

“Language~!” Grace interjected in an almost sing-song voice, wagging a finger at Serena.

“I-I— ugh!” Serena grunted in annoyance before continuing on. “I mean, you just gave her thirty thousand Pokédollars, Mom! I think that’s more than half the guys at my school have to spend in a year. I bet she’ll be doin’ just fine with that…”

“…even if she doesn’t deserve it, the punk…” she muttered under her breath.

“And do you expect someone to swoop in with thirty thousand Pokédollars every time you get into a scuffle, Serena? Do you think that’s going to happen on your Pokémon journey, or whatever you call it?”

“N-No, but—“

“Serena, you’ve got to learn how to just let things go without getting into fights all the time! I mean, really—“

“I-I literally didn’t do anythin’!” Serena shouted. “Like I said, she started it! She was bullyin’ this… poor girl, I guess… and then I tried to stop her before she pounced on me like some wild Pokémon or somethin’! She was totally crazy!”

“You were…!? Ah, so that’s what it was! Tried to be the hero again, huh? Well, my dear, I’m afraid that’s what happens when you get yourself involved in business that you shouldn’t. I know you want to swoop in and save the day and all, but you could’ve just called a teacher and let them handle it. That’s what you should’ve done.”

“Yeah, and any of that crowd that was watchin’ the whole thing shoulda called a teacher too,” said Serena. “Just shows how totally useless everyone at that school is.”

“Wow, you sure do have a grudge against that school, don’t you? Tell me, is it really that bad?”

“You have no idea,” Serena said bitterly, crossing her arms in frustration.

“Serena, I really think that your anger clouds your judgement a lot—”

“Didn’t I just tell you that there were a whole bunch of people there already!? No one was gonna come! So I had to take care it myself. Or are you sayin’ that I shoulda just let that girl bully her?”

“Serena, I see no reason why calling a teacher wouldn’t have just solved everything. It’s a school filled with professionals who are paid to do their job. Someone has to care over there. The whole world’s not your enemy.”

“Is it now?” Serena replied. “Why don’t you tell that the paparazzi who follow us around everyday, yeah? To the people who be writin’ all those bullshit stories about me all the time, huh!?”

“Language—”

“Maybe if we were still in Johto we wouldn’t be dealin’ with any of this crap at all!” Serena screamed at her mother. “I wish we never even came to this hellhole!”

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

Apologizes for the double post, haha, but this thread can move a bit slowly at times and I wanted to record this one for posterity. Basically, a surprising burst of inspiration after exposure to a certain Pokémon fan project led me to write this over the span of about a day or two, which is an expansion and alternate interpretation of a particularly climactic part of its story. So it’s basically a fanfic of a fanfic, haha. I experimented with a very different writing style from what I’m used to with this one, including some prose that’s rather flowery — one might argue even purple — but was soooooo much fun to write along with the sheer indulgence of the rather insane plot elements. I don’t know if a full version will ever be published, but feel free to take a read below if you’d like!

(Oh, and bonus points if you can figure out which “certain Pokémon fan project” I’m referring to here, haha.)

C/W: Bloody, descriptive violence and gore including multiple character deaths, and a brief suggestive reference. Probably equivalent to a MATURE chapter.

Spoiler

Lance had given us the scraps, as if we were mere dogs to be fed. Mere dogs to obey him. As if he himself were not merely the lapdog of someone far greater than he. As if he were not just as disposable as his brothers and sisters that he had slain in cold blood.

But that fool wouldn’t be satisfied until every last person in that room was slain. And so I took my blade, and did what needed to be done.

I did not indignify myself by slaying the young ones; I left that necessity to my own children. Instead, I set my eyes on one of the doomed in front of me: an old man. The famous one, who they called Professor Oak.

He knew it was all over from the moment our eyes met. He didn’t even run, when I withdrew my blade and marched towards him. Didn’t even resist, when I drove my blade straight through his chest. Didn’t even flinch, when I retracted the blade and sealed his fate. Didn’t even say anything, before his body fell to the ground.

It was almost an honorable way to die. To accept the inevitability of one’s impending death, before death indeed came for them.

But another one of the doomed could not accept it. A boy. The spitting image of the slain man; clearly a relative. Most likely his grandson.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. Not long ago, I too had seen a loved one slain before my very eyes, helpless to do anything. And I could see in the boy’s eyes that very same helplessness as he fell to his knees with tears flowing down his face. That very same pain as he watched the blood flow out of his grandfather’s lifeless corpse…

I thought I had known true pain that day. But as it turned out, I did not truly know pain until I saw it in another. Until I myself was the one inflicting that pain. Until I was forced to inflict it, not in the name of some grand purpose, but in the name of a coward who couldn’t do it himself.

The irony, indeed, wasn’t lost on me.

I ended the boy’s pain with a single stroke of my blade.

I sheathed the blade as the body crumpled over; I couldn’t do any more. I let my children finish off the rest, finally satisfying that madman. That fool, who now called himself the Elite One.

That fool, who would soon die.

It would be too easy. He was the Elite One, which meant that he was the only one. And that there was also no one. No else else to protect the fool. Only his Pokémon, perhaps, but by then…

He wouldn’t even know what hit him. He would be killed as he himself had killed: like a coward. A single thrust of my blade through his chest from behind, while he was gorging himself in the kitchens. Or while he was pilfering through the belongings of his victims. Or while he was indulging himself in… other ways.

Yes, it would indeed be too easy. Almost pathetically so. It would barely even be enjoyable. Merely a matter of honor. A man who lived like a coward, had to die like a coward. I could not allow it to go any other way.

And then, with that fool out of the way, we will finally have our true prize. That American bastard, who had so utterly destroyed our lives. That interloper, who went where he didn’t belong, and took what was never his to take. That monster who, even with his Legendaries, will be no match for the fury of a family scorned. No match for the might of a family with fifteen Pokémon at their side, all trained for years in preparation for this very moment. No match for the will of a family with the weight of countless bodies behind them. It wouldn’t even be a fair fight. The outcome was guaranteed. Ordained, even.

His death will not be quick. We will take our time with our revenge, as we had taken so much of our time to achieve it. We will enjoy every last minute of it, as he begs for mercy that he will never receive. As he screams in agony at the torture he will endure for hours on end. As he cries at the pain of having his skin and organs devoured before his very eyes, before those too are taken from him. As he whimpers pathetically at the warm blood leaving his body, reducing a once proud and powerful man into nothing but a cold, dead corpse. Slowly but surely.

It’s already over. Only a matter of time, before our revenge will be achieved at long last.

I smile at the thought as I clutch the hilt of my blade. The blade that will bring death to that bastard.

 

[Palamon]

This is a public chapter, but this is something I put A LOT of time into.

tw: medical procedure:

Spoiler

Seeing a pill in Loba's left hand, the young man let out a labored wail. The pill in her hand, was Her Majesty ordering Loba to poison him? Already receiving lethal doses of poison from the mad malpracticing doctor, the thought of someone else doing such was a no brainer for the soldier. Capsule still in front of him, his body shook on repeat.

Soldier shaking and crying in front of her, it was obvious what had been on his mind. Fatui being unconventional as they were, toxins disguised as medicine must have been a common sight within the military barracks. The Fatui were wicked creatures.

"I assure you, honey, it isn't poison," Loba said. Her voice was soft, but absolute. "It's just a tiny pill so the procedure doesn't hurt." Her voice was getting softer and lower with every word being spoken. "I need to look at your heart." If both her hands had not been occupied, she would hold his. But, consoling was all that she could do, at this point in time. "I would never feed you poison. It's going to be okay."

Words of reassurance reaching his tired eardrums, Siorc took the pill in Loba's hand with due diligence. Swallowing the pill as instructed, he blinked as the pill travelled through his body. Shot of numbness pulsing through his body, he focused his attention on the jackal's right hand. Feeling within him dissipating he had to focus on something, anything to distract him from slight feeling disappearing.

In her right hand was a strange device. Watching as she uncoiled it, he watched carefully. The device was a strange metallic instrument with a tube at the end. On the other side of the device had been odd looking shapes he had never seen before with unusual buttons and coils littered throughout. What was that device about to do? The chimera did not know, but he knew he had to comply no matter what.

Pill being swallowed, and device being ready, Loba turned to the patient. "I'm going to insert this into your throat," she said, holding the tube in her left hand. "But, it will be okay. It's not going to hurt."

Siorc tilted his head at such remark. How would such a tool be inserted into his throat? The hyena did not know, but he knew he had to remain diligent. Diligence was key to successful living as a Fatui Soldier. Reassurance leaking throughout him, the soldier nodded.

Taking the nod as confirmation, Loba prepared herself. "It might be a little uncomfortable," she replied to his wordless confirmation. "But, I won't hurt you, I promise."

Device completely uncoiled, Loba placed the tube in Siorc's throat in a precise and careful manner. On the screen behind her had been images of the body. They were oddly realistic to an eerie degree. Other end of the device being in her not dominant hand, she continued pushing the tube down as gently as possible. Tube eventually reaching its destination, images of the inside of the heart could be seen on the screen behind her. As the inner chambers had been present upon the screen, a frown graced her partially visible face. In his heart had been two stones living inside it. They were big, and volcanic ash in color. She knew, seeing those, it could mean one thing, and one thing only. They needed to be removed. But, the tools to remove such were not with her. Knowing if such stones were not removed, it would lead to permanent damage or death, she had to tell the patient right away. Removing the device from his throat, a dark shadow covered her face.

"She marked you," she exclaimed, somber tone in her voice. "Your heart has suffered internal damages, it's just as I've feared." She could feel herself shaking slightly, but stopped herself from doing so. Shaking ceasing, she continued explaining the situation to the patient. "I need to take further action, but I must discuss this with Her Majesty." She placed Siorc's hand into her own. Guilt had begun to feast inside her with every minute passing.

Information being presented to him, the chimera's eyes grew wide. The Pyro Archon marked him? What did any of that mean? If he had not been so tired, tears would stream down his face. No energy being within him, no words could escape his lips. All the hyena could do was stare into Loba's eyes. Nothing about what he had just been told made sense. His heart was damaged? She needed to take action? No matter how many questions swam inside him, he knew he was not allowed any. Keeping his mouth shut, his quiet stare continued.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Here's a snippet from one of my soon-to-be posted and freshly edited chapters in Dawn of Courage.

(Warning: mild language, mild violence, "reason you suck" speech)

Spoiler

Nova turned to Eoleo, “There you have it, Eoleo. We warned you that your attitude would come back and bite you in the arse and it has done exactly that. Now you’re no longer welcome among your fellow Werecats; not if Ian and Hunter have anything to say about it. And it’s entirely your fault. Face the facts, Eoleo: your pack has abandoned you because of your attitude, ego, and ungratefulness. Now you’ve got nothing. And we’re not gonna lift a finger for you, either, as you’ve been a thorn in our side for a long time. Face it: you screwed up and you’re paying the price.”

Eoleo punched Nova, snarling, “It’s all YOUR fault, human! I did nothing wrong!”

When he removed his fist he noticed he did no meaningful damage to Nova, who had a disappointed look on his face.

“Once again you prove our point, Eoleo. You’re a childish, immature, filthy, egotistical, idiotic, weak, and pathetic person. And when things don’t go your way you have a temper tantrum and lash out at those around you. Even I was never as bad as you: even at my lowest and that’s saying something. And yet you think you’re this invincible warrior? Hah! You’ve become just like Dominic, the very thing you despise, and it’s all because of your own issues. There are many reasons why Nina hates you, and your reaction to getting lectured for your sins is just proving it. Looks like the honeymoon is over for you, Eoleo. You’re on your own now. And only your fleas will mourn you when you finally bite the dust. Let’s go team, as we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”