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 Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:45 am
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Prompt 10: Two Queens
This is your final destination: the end of the marsh, as promised to you, the end of the quest, and with it comes your queen. She looks tired, eyes drooping as she struggles to keep her chin high, just a little wobbly where she stands.
"Well done," she says, but her voice is raspy, now, most certainly exhausted. Idly, she stretches, looking between the pair of you, and if she's disappointed by the two who have made it through the end, it doesn't show on her face. She must be, at the very least, satisfied.
"That poem...the one in the back of your mind..." It was a long time ago, but now you recall more of it. Waking up with snippets, you can't help but think that there was more to it. A lot more. In fact --
"It's a lullaby. And I need you to sing it to me, so I can finally get some sleep."
Exasperation sneaks in at the end, and you're surprised to find that, no matter what you feel about singing at large or lullabies in particular, you feel compelled to obey her. Such is the power of the queen of this place.
Such will be your power, if you do well.
_________
OOC INFO:
This an elimination prompt! You must reply to the prompt by writing your character's response to the above prompt. You can reply in any way you'd like, but must include somewhere in bold a lullaby written by you.
Please also include your preference list, between the buck and the doe, at the bottom of your post!
This time the winner will not be decided by chance, but will be judged bast on their reply in general and their lullaby in particular, so please write your best!
You have until January 22nd at 11:59 PM EST to complete this prompt and join in the event [but, realistically, I'll probably accept entries until around noon on the next day. XP].
_________
THE FOLLOWING PARTICIPANTS ARE STILL IN THE GAME
_________
OK....GO!
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:46 pm
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Web was shocked when eventually, though he thought he was running away from these silly quests and trials and all of this nightmarish ... nightmare, he came upon a familiar looking doe. Was she the doe he'd met when all this started? That couldn't be... could it? He stared at her in what could only be described as horrified disbelief. He tried convincing himself it was a different doe, but she knew about the verse that occasionally crept into his mind. Even Web couldn't remember where he'd heard it, or when.
When the doe asked him to sing the verse, no, a lullaby that he was only sort of recalling, he seemed at first apprehensive, but slowly started to relax. "Alright." He said softly, feeling drained from this whole ordeal. He felt like he needed some sleep as well, so singing a lullaby to this lovely lady may help him as much as it helped her.
He wondered where he'd even heard this song before. Was it something his mother had sung to him? Or... Web swallowed hard, was it something his father had sung before he'd hatched? He felt sick all over again and decided to stop thinking and just sing.
As he started singing, he was surprised that he even recalled a melody to go with the words that suddenly started flowing from his lips, as if he'd known the song the whole time.
"When the skies are no longer blue
Though you feel small
And the darkest night surrounds you
I pray my words you will recall
When to sleep, your head is laid
Do not be afraid.
The whole night through
Behind the veil of stars
Know that I am watching o're you
Anywhere you are
When to sleep, your head is laid
Do not be afraid."
It was intended to be sung over and over until a fussy child had fallen asleep. Web chose to only sing it three times, then simply hummed the tune a few times.
-----------------------------------------
Pref: Doe, Buck |
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 2:44 am
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Prompt 10: Two Queens
As Endless struggled to help the zikwa free his foot, he saw the fleeting images of others rushing past. No, damnit no. His heart quickened and his chest tightened. He couldn't wake up, not now, not after all of this.
The buck did not even shout a goodbye, for as soon as the hoof was free, Endless was running, running, running to catch up. His heart was slamming against his breast bone in time with his hooves slamming on the ground. Must catch up, must catch up.
And in a step, suddenly, there she was. Her Highness.
She looked about as tired he felt, and he smiled a little as her head and eyes drooped as she struggled to stay awake.
The poem? Those words that tugged at the back of his mind whenever he had had a moment of peace? It was a lullaby? Endless cleared his throat sheepishly. Singing wasn't something he..did..exactly but...
When he opened his mouth, the words sprang from him, melodious and soft.
Will you, will you
come and follow me?
My love gave me a red flower
Bowed down on one knee
And here we joined together
Underneath this tree
Will you, will you
come and follow me?
They came with their red eyes
We couldn't even plea
Their anger was abated
Underneath this tree
Will you, will you
come and follow me?
They gave me a red crown
My love was forced to flee
But I'll wait for him forever,
Underneath this tree
Will you, will you
come and follow me?
My love came wearing red sleeves
and he laid down next to me
And now we're together
Underneath this tree
Strange, the more he sung the lullaby, the more tired he was beginning to feel himself. Eyes drooping and consciousness fading, the buck laid down at Queen's hooves, quietly singing the lullaby over and over. The dream was rapidly coming to it's end. Before the darkness between this world and the waking one closed in on him, Endless Dreaming hoped she would sleep well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
pref: doe, buck
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:03 pm
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PROMPT 9 RESOLUTION
The zikwa was hardly compliant, more a hindrance than a help in freeing his own foot. Finally, when it popped loose, he wandered away, not even a thanks for her trouble, muttering about his quest. It seemed that the struggle had knocked his mind loose from his head and then he was gone. Eyes narrowed, she watched him go, too exhausted, too ground down by this dream to chase him. It took her a while to gather her thoughts enough to continue her journey.
On and on she walked, almost listless. There was an unusual heaviness to her limbs and she veered dangerously from side to side, almost tumbling off the path at times. Her mind, usually sharp and gleeful, was muddied, slow, and exhausted, exhausted with feeling, with joy, with sadness, with anger. One step in front of the other, she kept walking until she reached the edge of the marsh, but there was nothing there waiting for her.
Faintly, she thought she could hear the queen speaking, but she was not really there. It was only an echo of things passed. But still, it spoke to her and cut through the haze in her mind, if only a little.
'It's a lullaby...'
And she thought, suddenly vicious, No, it's a wakeup call.
The answer, whatever it was, was the end of this wretched dream. The poem was not a lullaby; here trapped in this endless dreamscape, it had the power to wake her if she could just remember it.
...your heart
...your soul
...your eyes
...see...
...seen...
The voice, hers but not, that other hers, echoed, grasping at the snippets of the poems even as she sunk to her knees. She struggled to stay awake; she did not want to know the poem, but she already knew it. Down and down and down the feeling dragged as her mind began to fill in the gaps.
'I don't want to know,' she protested feebly, but there was nothing she could do.
Open up your heart,
Split open your soul,
Wake up and open your eyes.
You must see others
and be seen by others.
To be seen is to be understood
and to let others see is to understand.
Let go of your heart,
Undo the shackles of your soul,
Let them see through your eyes.
And then it all disappeared.
When she woke, she was shaking. She felt raw and split open, her chest heaving with the desperate need to keep from falling apart. She pressed her eyes closed tight and for the first time since she tumbled, small, open and vulnerable, from her sac, she felt tears running down her face.
Laying there, in the Swamp, she finally let herself cry.
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:30 pm
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PROMPT 10 RESOLUTION
As the pair of them begin their songs, it is clear that it's working. The queenly doe in front of them sways just a bit where she stands, slowly sinks down to the ground, her head nodding and her eyes drooping. Before either of them is done, she is sound asleep, the exhaustion washed from her face and replaced with a blissful kind of relaxation.
But they are not done. Not quite yet.
They find that they can't stop singing. The lullabies take them over, and they also sway where they stand, each listening to the other's and struggling not to fall asleep.
But eventually, one of them must. Endless Dreaming finds he can't keep his eyes open any longer, and gives in to sleep.
_________
THE FOLLOWING PERSON WAS ELIMINATED THIS ROUND.:
This makes you the runner up! Endless Dreaming will fall asleep peacefully and wake up disappointed but not unhappy, I think.
Please hold for the next post & more information.
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:30 pm
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Finale: A Winner is Crowned
And so, with the other buck lulled into a deep sleep, disappearing as his eyes close, Tangled Web is left as the only kin standing, crowned king of this dream realm, and here he will live out a long and productive life. He will wander for decades, exploring every crevice of this strange dreamscape, meeting every single one of its inhabitants and learning its strange secrets. He will be greeted at every turn as royalty.
He grows older. His life becomes less transient, less exploratory, and instead becomes something more serious and still. His people come to him as he becomes too frail to go to them, bring him gifts and questions, ask for his expertise on strange matters.
He becomes sick. He is old, now, older than anyone else in the dreamscape, and he knows that when he passes this place will go with him, for he is the only thing that sustains it. This is a bittersweet thing, for it means, truly, this place belongs to him and him alone.
When he dies, he is not alone, but surrounded by all the strange friends he has made, and full of memories he can take with him to another life.
_________
And lo, the event is over! And the winner is...
Tangled Web lives out a long life in the dream -- which you are welcome to remember to any degree, which could serve as a great story or as a wonderful memory.
More specific information will come in the next [final, ish] post!
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:30 pm
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The Prizes
Grand Prize
lural Congratulations! You have won the following, colored by and be blue:
______________________________
Second Prize
Astraea Pandora Congratulations! You have won the following, colored by and be blue:
______________________________
Runners Up
The following two people, for making it very nearly to the end, will each win a semi-custom, unedited Zikwa!
Please PM an image of your choice or a list of three colors and three adjectives to and be blue, along with your preference of eyes or eyeless template!
______________________________
Consolation Prizes
I want to personally thank so many of you for coming out for this event. To reward you for your participation, you'll all of course get one RP point that counts toward Legendary, for the kin you entered.
But that's not all! We want to give each and every one of you something special, so we're working on that now. Once we're done, we'll quote you with your special gifts.
Thank you all again! This event is now over, but I encourage everyone who posted, even if it was only once, even if you were eliminated many many rounds ago, to post your exit/wakeup post at any time in this thread.
Please keep this thread only for RP, though, and give your congratulations to the winners in the Event Thread instead.
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 8:55 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 2:15 pm
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[EXIT]
The smell of his home was pleasant to wake to, if a bit colder than he'd anticipated. He'd never have anticipated what he'd dreamed, nor, it's outcome, but it was not a.. unpleasant experience? It was just another experience, and like all experiences, he'd need to carry on and move with it rather than against.
Shaking his neck to rid himself of kinks, the bones on his horns clattered about while he drank in the sight of the new day. Dreams were for another time, when he was not newly woken, and not hungry for his morning meal.
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:05 pm
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Tangled Web watched as the doe slowly sank to her knees, and eventually laid her head down. He was unaware that the other male with him was falling asleep as well, he was focused on the doe who seemed to have been the one who called everyone here. As she drifted off to sleep, Web thought she murmured something to him.
"You wear your crown well..."
Before he knew it, Tangled Web was alone. The doe, and the buck whom had made it this far in the journey both vanished, surely they had woken up. Web too felt the need for rest, and wandered away from where he'd met the queen, and found a soft patch of grass in a meadow to lay down in.
Web expected to wake up once again in the swamp, but when he opened his eyes, he was still in the strange dream world. Had he only... dreamed he'd fallen asleep? This confused him, and he began wandering the land. Again, when Web went to sleep, he expected to wake in the swamp, but again, the next morning he was still in the dream.
After a few days, Web began to grow used to being in this strange world, and his explorations took him all over the lands. He made many dear friends, including 2 young toma, a dark eyed male acha, and a soft spoken female acha. They became some of his closest friends.
Days became months, and years, and Web lived a lifetime in this strange dream kingdom. It belonged to him as much as he belonged to it. Soon he forgot this was even a dream as he and his friends explored the world.
Years passed. Web had raised children and watched them find their own ways in the world. He had met every single life in this kingdom from the greatest birds, to the wiliest kin, and the smallest bugs, and he loved them all.
Web grew old, though his friends always seemed to stay the same, and when he was no longer able to travel, they stayed with him, and those who couldn't be with him always, visited often. They would call him "The Good King" and tell stories of their adventures together.
Finally, one warm day in spring in this dream-kingdom, Tangled Web passed away. The last thing he heard were the promises that they would all meet again in another dream, some day.
Tangled Web's eyes shot open. He was in the swamp, and he was alone. He got up quickly and looked around for those he had grown so close to in that strange dream, but they weren't here. Why should they be? He sank back down to his knees and put his face against the moist earth and wept. He'd lived a lifetime in that dream world, and had learned so much and loved so deeply, that waking up from the dream was almost as much a nightmare as the very first day in that dream world. After several long moments, Web calmed himself. His kingdom would always exist in his heart and memories, and he had adventures to tell. Surely tales of The Good King and his companions would bring as much joy to the swamp as they brought to him.
---------------------------------------
The end is only just the beginning |
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:35 pm
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Here we go...!
The semi-custom Zikwa are still to come, but in the meantime we wanted to give out very small prizes for everyone who participated, as a little thank you. This concludes the CYOA, though I will still leave it open, if anyone still wants to write their exit!
So, without further ado, here are your specially-tailored gifts. Feel free to take them to the certing thread~
ELIMINATED PROMPT 8
And finally, in memory of the kin that ruthlessly murdered you, you've all been given blood-stained WOLVES colored not like your kin, but like your murderers, colored by Rejam!
ELIMINATED PROMPT 7
In memory of the creatures that burst fort from their eggs and devoured you, you've all been given FEATHERED SERPENTS matched to your kin, colored by and be blue!
ELIMINATED PROMPT 6
In memory of the rushes you didn't eat, you've all been given special ACCESSORIES for your kin, made by Rejam! You are welcome to take these to the courting thread for a new cert, if you'd like, but are absolutely not required to!
ELIMINATED PROMPT 4
In memory of your wandering lost and alone, you were all given SONGBIRDS matched to your kin [or random, for Yushika], colored by phoenix kiss!
ELIMINATED PROMPT 3
In memory of your death smashed on the river rocks, you were all given FROGS matched to your kin, colored by Patmos of Endtimes!
ELIMINATED PROMPT 1
In memory of your death torn apart by the betting crowd you were all given BEETLES matched to your kin, colored by Amorpheous!
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:55 am
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 Exit
Apathy stood at the edge of the river, turning first one cheek, and then the other, towards the waters, as if to calm the currents with the sight of a pretty face. Alas, they'd no eye for beauty (no eye at all, really), and remained as turbulent as her belly after a bad case of berries.
A smart doe would have tried another path, and a smarter one would have found said path while eating good berries. Ah, but Apathy; she saw her fellow dreamwalkers try to swim through and fall to their deaths instead, and now she had something to prove.
"Watch what a real swimmer can d—"
She stumbled, landed sideways on the river, and joined her brethren in the jagged rocks' embrace.
---
Apathy stirred, blinking slowly. She was back where she'd fallen asleep, with solid land beneath her. That was good. After that pitiful swim, she didn't even want to be reminded of water for the next few—
Ribbit.
Apathy went back to sleep.
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:20 pm
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 Exit Post
As the feathered serpent ripped into his flesh, pain that exceeded what he thought would be possible tore through Errant, a gasp strangling in his chest.
With that same gasp trying to emerge as a choked squeal, Errant jolted awake. That dream...had seemed particularly real, but he was back amongst the familiar, so clearly that's all it had been...
or so he thought, until he noticed the feathered serpent curled up in the sand beside him, colors matching his pelt perfectly...
((super belated exit post, but I couldn't not do one, especially since it provided a suitable spot to have him meet his new familiar!)) |
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