Coricus' Personal Writing Challenge Hut

[Coricus]

I've built a little place out of thatch here in this group in order to organize my personal writing efforts to contribute to the challenge. If anyone feels like offering input/discussion specifically about my stuff, this is also a good place to do it without clogging/getting lost in Thread Prime. Tippity type, let's get. . .nevermind.

The soft clop of sneakers against tarmac echoed in the glittering night. She'd already walked much of the long stretch of empty road that wound behind her. It was lined lovingly with railings and cones, she noted glancing behind herself, but the whole thing hung an unsettling distance off the ground over a vast sea of oddly shaped grassy hills. The road didn't quite end at the spot where she'd managed to walk to since she'd finally pried herself off the ground, though, but instead turned upwards like a roller coaster, looking almost like a giant piece of modern art were it not for the lawn of grass clinging to either side of it that had apparently decided to tell gravity to go screw itself. She might have mistaken it all for a dream, but the lingering sting of having fallen apart earlier and the welcoming scents of burnt rubber and motor oil snapped her out of it easily enough.

She scratched the back of her head with her gun of choice and glanced to either side. The area was urban enough, that was reassuring. But every billboard and sign was painted in a language that seemed just short of making sense, and the happy faces painted on every advertisement were unlike any squid or jellyfish she'd ever seen. She watched TV and movies, obviously she'd ended up hopping dimensions somehow. It was far too alien to be any place back home, but simply wasn't alien enough to be, you know, aliens. But she was still freaking lost regardless.

Suddenly from the corner of her eye she noticed a couple sets of headlights approaching from the distance. Reasoning that it was a coin flip whether people from another dimension would be hostile or not, she glanced frantically around herself for a place to hide and settled on ducking down into a stack of tires. The great new tire smell helped to take the edge off the situation a bit, but she was still more than nervous enough to rigidly duck down as the light of the vehicles passed over her hiding spot.

"Well if anything did fall out of that breach it can't have made it any further than this, right?" Said one voice.

"Not unless it could-a fly." Said another in a curious accent. "Not that we should-a count that out, of course. But if they didn't run for the starting stretch where we-a pulled in from then this is the best place we have to start-a checking."

"Right, and if it's dangerous? That was a U-Zone breach, if something fell through there it's probably stronger than it was in the first place."

"If it didn't wreck the track then I'm sure it's-a fine. There isn't much we can't-a handle together if it comes to that. If something was out there that we-a had to panic about, we'd already be-a calling for reinforcements."

The first voice huffed in slight dissatisfaction. Clearly whoever or whatever these two were, the weird sounding one was a whole lot more confident than the other one. Well, really, they both sounded weird, it's just that one sounded like a someone who had inhaled a balloon had gotten the hiccups and the other one just sounded strangely smooth and muted. Neither of them sounded all that scary despite their strangeness, fortunately, but at this point she had already gotten settled into her spot and was starting to get curious what exactly they were talking about.

The agent kept a fair distance away from the Octoling ambassador they'd been sent to tail, trying to keep their footsteps as silent as possible on the hollow metal flooring. This was where the exchanges had been going on, Agent 2 had insisted. Octolings traded high level tech to Salmonid forces, and the Salmonids offered whatever they could scrounge up from the trenches. Normally it was pretty routine, the New Squidbeak Splatoon kept an eye on proceedings but never really interfered. It was illegal to cut in on Salmonid activity, no matter how questionable. This time around, however, the trade partners involved had been. . .excited. Apparently they'd pulled up something interesting.

"I hope what you have for us today is worth all the ruckus you made on our communication networks, Mefishto." The Octoling said coolly. "Anyone could have overheard that if they had the motivation to bother. Fortunately the citizens of Inkopolis seem more than content to ignore us, but it couldn't hurt to be more careful. Who knows when they could finally come to their senses."

The agent crept as quietly as they could towards the meeting room doorway and peeked in. Sitting on the table was a Chum with their dorsal fin arranged in what appeared to be a combover, wearing an expensive if slightly ratty looking suit and trying their best to overcome the somewhat goofy expression most Chum had.

"I assure you that what we've managed to find on this day is of greatest interest." The Chum rasped out. "On our daily salvage dives into the trenches, we found what appeared to be some sort of light source far below any depth where natural sunlight could conceivably penetrate. After some degree of searching, we managed to successfully track the source of this shininess and pull it to the surface with a few cranes and some bungee cord work. We lost some troops in the process, of course, such an artifact as this one likely would be the source of a few casualties, but nothing outside of acceptable quota. Unfortunately it's of little actual use to our operations, so we figured since your sort seem to be so clever perhaps the Octarian military could get rather more use out of it."

The Octoling could be heard shuffling a bit in mild impatience. To the agent's amusement, "Mefishto" seemed to be visibly sweating at this.

"So I suppose whatever you've got for us is under that giant blanket, then?" The Octoling asked. "I suppose it's suitably large and not shaped like a giant pile of garbage. That's reassuring, at least."

"I-I, of course, yes!" Said Mefishto. "My recitation practice wasn't quite enough preparation for your impressive level of attentiveness, but yes. Underneath this luxurious piece of cloth is what may potentially be the future of, uh, something. I'm sure your wonderful leader will find some magnificent use for it. And it is indeed, quite a-"

"Just pull the cloth down." Said the Octoling impatiently.

The Chum gulped audibly and shuffled over to the edge of the curtain, obliging. He jumped comically for a bit trying to pull it down, stature clearly not quite suited to the level of grandeur he wanted to present. After a bit of struggling he finally managed to land a lucky grab, however, and soon the entire mass of fabric fell down. On top of him.

"Mmph. As you can see. It's quite impressive!" He said, voice muffled from being underneath that much cloth.

The Octoling stepped back in slight surprise. If it weren't for the fact that they needed to be hiding right about now, the agent might have given into the urge to do so as well. Sitting under where the curtain had been was a huge ring of stone, filled in the center with what could best be described as a huge glowy hole. The sides of the ring were decorated with carvings of stereotypical fairy tale dragons, albeit caked in deep sea grit and draped over with the odd seaweed and flotsam it had hit on the way out.

The Inkling hustled around a corner and into the nearest alleyway. Somebody was following them. Probably. They'd noticed something weird from the corner of their eye about a half an hour ago. Initially they hadn't thought much of it, but it kept happening. The same shape, the same color. As rustled as their jimmies might be, though, they weren't gonna let anyone else know it. Let whoever it was come. Let 'em come. We'll see how they handle a girl packing some heat.

She pulled out her preferred main. A Splattershot, old model style but still in good condition. The gun was average, to be sure, but the plus with that was that the fire hit steady and wide. Good for a confrontation where you couldn't spend time being flashy. She aimed it back and forth quickly, trying to scope out her surroundings. No one had walked in between these buildings yet. Maybe they still wouldn't. Maybe she'd finally lost them.

Things were oddly quiet for midday in Inkopolis. Too quiet, if coughing up that cliche made sense. It hadn't been this silent in the city for as long as she could remember. Even her old hometown had at least been punctuated with the sound of ocean waves. It felt like she was in an insulated building with the doors sealed too tight, to be honest. Which made no sense outdoors. Even the smells of motor oil and fried food seemed oddly absent compared to normal.

A few beams of sunlight shone through a crack in the stone ceiling, but for the most part the light in the room seemed to simply exist of it's own accord. You could see the dust from the carved rock floating around in the air, and smell it just as well. The whole area was clearly in ruins, though for ruins it was in surprisingly good shape. Aside from a few columns toppled here and there with no seeming source and the damage they'd done to the floors, the place mostly seemed in perfect condition.

Of course, none of that explained how the place just appeared out of nowhere within the last couple of days.

A lot of these places had appeared out of nowhere, actually. I'd seen it on the news this morning. Some of them appeared in people's houses, or in the middle of city streets. Others appeared in the middle of nowhere, only being noticed from planes and helicopters flying overhead. It was one of those things you just assume could never happen near you. I mean, something as weird as that? Only people who live in big cities or have cushy jobs as government officials or scientists see that kind of stuff in the movies. But these places really must be appearing everywhere, because here one had popped up in the woods just a couple miles from my house. From the looks of it, I was most likely the first one to check it out, too. I had to be, if anyone else had been here the place would have probably been covered in police tape.

I attempted to climb one of the massive stone columns up to a balcony that it lead up to. The positioning was just perfect to make it up, so long as I kept my balance. Fortunately it was big enough that I could manage it without being too worried. Unfortunately, it was still round enough that I couldn't trust walking on it normally, so it was by awkwardly shimmying up on my hands and knees. I made the climb though, and with my jean legs intact thankfully enough.

I peered through the doorway the balcony opened into. It was a little darker in the hallway without the splash of natural light, but still oddly well lit. The walls were lined in various carved murals that looked like something off of a documentary. Little depictions of people, things written in some language I couldn't even begin to understand. It didn't really look like hieroglyphics or anything like that, though. I looked everything over more closely, being careful not to touch anything that looked too cool and risk getting my finger oils all over it. I didn't see any little green men in the carvings, at least. I guess some of those documentaries lied to me.

 

[Natz~]

i don't know why but the word choice of "gravity can go screw itself" made me laugh lol

any way good initial start, setting is clear and the idea come across very well so that a reader understands what the idea and setting is~
rest of the chapters should be continuation of the storeis

 

[Coricus]

i don't know why but the word choice of "gravity can go screw itself" made me laugh lol

any way good initial start, setting is clear and the idea come across very well so that a reader understands what the idea and setting is~
rest of the chapters should be continuation of the storeis

Just to double check and make sure I didn't bork anything, what DID the setting and idea come across as?

Every once in a while I think something is clear and then it ends up being a total mess, LOL.

 

[Natz~]

Just to double check and make sure I didn't bork anything, what DID the setting and idea come across as?

Every once in a while I think something is clear and then it ends up being a total mess, LOL.

inkling stuck on a floating platform transferred out of her world to the world of smash that is foreign to them :V

 

[Coricus]

inkling stuck on a floating platform transferred out of her world to the world of smash that is foreign to them :V

Well I was going for "Mario Kart 8 track as an easing in point," so my Week 1 work may still need a bit of polish on top of making it up to the word count before I call it a day.

 

[Natz~]

Well I was going for "Mario Kart 8 track as an easing in point," so my Week 1 work may still need a bit of polish on top of making it up to the word count before I call it a day.

it came off more like ontop of a giant fighting platfrom sorry lol

but hey~ point still mostly across~

 

[Coricus]

it came off more like ontop of a giant fighting platfrom sorry lol

but hey~ point still mostly across~

I'm gonna try to

patch in a couple of sentences as a starter attempt at being more clear.

It'll probably fail, but hey more wordcount.

 

[Coricus]

Aaaand then I decided to write a different concept out today, LOL.

 

[Natz~]

pretty sure ya don't have to follow your original story :V

do whatever ya want as long as it something

 

[Pazzo.]

Splatoon fanfics! Fun, I may try my own hand at one next week.

 

[Pazzo.]

I like today's entry, especially the ending lines.

Motor oil and fried food, I can smell it now.

 

[Natz~]

lol

anyway collection of short stories wooomy?

 

[Coricus]

What I did isn't actually Splatoon related this time. Yes I skipped a few days.

*pops into word counter*...Aaaaand I think with those four I'm good for the week!

 

[Natz~]

i like the wording and how its played out, but if its reference to something i don't know what it is towards

either way not everything needs reference, i'm doing original work and i like that~

 

[Coricus]

Yeah, it's not a reference, I decided to do something original this time. I figure my writing attempts could be a mix of fanfic and original fic. Maybe I'll come up with something either way by the end of it all worth working further on.

 

[Natz~]

well its a good start and plothook for further elaboration~

 

[Coricus]

Week 2: The Post (Maybe)

"You know, it's a fascinating thing about intelligent life." He said, voice seemingly coming from nowhere. "In the end, all it truly fears is itself. Oh sure, a man will cower and quiver in the face of a storm or earthquake. But he knows it doesn't have intent, so in the end he fancies himself able to overcome it. A man can lie awake at night wary of a wild animal, but he fancies himself smarter and able to outwit it. Anything a man thinks he's smarter than isn't a true fear, really. And to alleviate his true fear, he often attempts to convince himself that things that are smarter than him really aren't. Not just animals, but even other men, for whatever illogical reason he can come up with, so long as he can tell himself that he's smarter, that nothing could pose any true threat to him. Because though many things can overpower a man, a man can still at least trust he can outwit it. But something he can't outwit, that he has no true defense against."

You could almost feel the heat swirling around grinning at that last sentence. Not a bitter grin, but perhaps more a dark mischief. No, that was too dignified. He was an *******.

"So what's your point" I asked.

"My point is that taking a form that your kind can recognize is twofold. It allows me to be more properly related to, of course, but in the long run it's more intimidating as well. Of course, appearing entirely human removes the aspect of unfamiliarity that still gives false fear it's twinge. But that's easily worked around. Once I've planted the seed of being more intelligent, I can play with my appearance more freely. As long as I still offer something recognizable the majority of the time I am present, the fear of being outsmarted remains. And that way I can have my cake and eat it too."

"Is that a figure of speech, or are you being literal there?" I asked, oddly not as nervous as I should be asking that kind of question.

I could feel heat waves pulse rhythmically a few times through the air. Someone who had less of an idea of what was going on might have been confused, but at this point it was pretty clear to me. He was laughing.

"Depends on my mood really." He said.

The town priest has become increasingly erratic in the conducting of their rituals. We have not sacrificed any animal larger than a fish in this town in years, but he's begun requesting goats and cattle as of late. Not a single man woman or child in this town dares complain, though, if their livestock will help protect the town then that's all their is to be said. Most of us remembered what happened the last time we'd taken our solemn duties for granted.

I was still a child then, but the memory stuck out like a sore thumb in a lifetime of largely mundane work. My mother and father rushing me inside, blood drained from their faces, ushering me into the cellar with them and locking the door behind them. I still remember the sound of something rattling at the door, my mother clutching me, my father standing a few feet away sword drawn, never breaking eye contact with the hatch. I still remember the stray corpses lying on the road when we finally dared to come out a couple of days later. My parents were too afraid to ever speak of that horror again, but as for the other folks they were more than happy to explain in their place. It was a curse, a punishing blight for our faithlessness.

Since then I'd become an acolyte of the priest. There were many things he never told me, but I never once judged. Our lives were in his hands as much as in our own, after all. Our messenger between mankind and the gods, at least to some small extent. I was lucky to have received such a gentle job, really. I'd been born a farmer, destined for menial work, and had at least a taste of it. But after that day, so many years ago. . .well, there weren't many people left in the town to take up trades. I was the only child the right age to begin training for such a task, and my parents never dared argue with that either. But I was happy here. The townsfolk shared their food and coin with us, and we never lived in want of anything. I'd even learned how to read and write, a rare skill this far out into the wilds.

Being the hub of such a small town, naturally we held worship for every god and goddess one felt the need to offer prayer to. The Goddess of Light was a common choice, revered as a beacon of intellect and purity. Even moreso anymore. Traveling bards often regaled us with tales of her glories, claiming she had been the one to drive away the blight that had plagued the world during the Dark Days. Sounds like a bit of a flight of fancy, but as a man of the temple it would be out of place for me to judge. But as of late the wars had divided the attention of the locals some. More prayers to the gods of death and the afterlife wishing for the safety of the souls of their kin as they passed on. Though many still prayed to the goddess, perhaps harder than ever before, hoping she would perhaps intervene in some way and force the senseless bloodshed to end as she had the bloodshed of years ago.

Ah...but I suppose I've rambled on. This is the first I've been able to get ahold of some paper of my own in years, and I feel I'd best keep some sort of record of events. If the clergy won't record what happens in this day and age, who on earth else will? Seeing as the priest would disapprove and most others here wouldn't even be able to make sense of it, however, I might as well indulge myself with my personal opinions on all this as well. Some have said I'm a bit too opinionated, if anything. Better the paper hears it than unwilling ears, in that case.

The agent clicked her claws on the floor in anxiety. She wasn't scared, to be sure, years of experience in every field of violence she knew and a good number of more specialist pacifistic ones had built up her confidence in her own intuition and abilities. Even though, part of this perspective was knowing that she wasn't flawless or infallible. She simply had a better perspective on unpredictable situations than most. And it was for this reason that the Organization had called her in.

"We've no time for fairy tales and ancient superstitions." Screenreader Sharia said sternly. "We need an honest and measured analysis of what we're dealing with, and we need it fast. I trust you not to be biased too far in one direction or another, Akarii. The fact that you're alive is proof enough. But I need you to be as thorough as possible."

Akarii rested her chin on her hands and looked Sharia dead in the eye. More than once she had made a mockery of the Organization's work methods. It's why she wasn't with them, it's why professionalism wasn't expected of her. But she wanted it to be known that, at least this once, she full well took this situation seriously.

"Well, they're weak enough, physically." Akarii said. "Not beyond the point of being a danger, one could still get a lethal hit in if it was lucky, and they've more than enough weight to leverage in the event of a combatant or something near them being off balance. They could also use their body weight to pin someone down and suffocate them, provided they weren't thrown off first. Granted, in theory these situations could be avoided easily enough with some basic combat awareness, but that's the problem here."

"And what is the problem?" Sharia asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"That exact weakness is their driving force. We know how technology develops. We figure out something we're incapable of doing, so we keep trying until we can do it. That's the process of curiosity. That's the basic understanding we have of the world. Now imagine that in the hands of something with no teeth, no claws. Something with barely any body strength to speak of, but still every bit as intelligent and clever as we are. Compensating for that requires a lot of thinking. And that's what they've done. That's what they will do."

"So you think they're more intelligent than us, then. So is your concern that you assume they'll be violent? Unable to be reasoned with?" Sharia asked.

"My concern is that they're like us, which all signs indicate they are." Akarii said. "Of course we can be reasoned with. But we pick fights with each other over insignificant things. The slightest difference causes endless amounts of suspicion. It doesn't matter if we can reason with them. We can't reason with all of them. If we're lucky, it will just be an influx of terrorists. Terrorists able to outsmart the every move of anyone unable to adjust rapidly, willing to use weapons any sane individual would ban. If we're unlucky...well, let's hope their governments aren't looking for a fight. Compared to squabbles within a species, an entirely different world would be a tempting scapegoat. I've concerns about other governing bodies here as well, but at minimum the Organization isn't built for that kind of petty interaction. That's part of why I'm willing to advise everyone here."

"...So the truth is you don't expect anything out of the ordinary. You expect the same. But smarter." Sharia said.

"Essentially, yes. Of course, it'd hardly be the most difficult thing we've ever had to deal with. But after all those fairy tales we've read since we were children in the first place, I'd advise prioritizing diplomacy above all else. Barring the majority of the species turning on us purely for superficial reasons, we don't want to pick a fight with these creatures. And if our hand is forced in that regard, then may gods help us all."

"Don't say those words lightly, Akarii." Sharia said. "Any time in the past that they have been, it's caused nothing but trouble. Remember why our system of figureheads had to be dismantled in the first place. We can't afford to treat anything lightly."

"I don't like to say it, but if we were truly backed into a corner than that's no epithet. That's how it ended centuries ago, and if it came down to it that's how it would end again. It's dangerous, obviously. More dangerous than nuclear war, more dangerous than even aerosol based warfare. It's solar system level warfare when our species has barely even made it off the ground, and with life we can barely even begin to understand. Life that we absolutely, under no condition can control and can barely even implore to bail us out of a borderline apocalypse. But it would be our only option nonetheless."

 

[Coricus]

I guess this is kind of a weird halfway point between a story and worldbuilding for my latest one??

It's a fanfic thing rather than an OC thing, but extremely deep into "yeah I'm just making this up as I go along" territory.

 

[Coricus]

Yeesssss I think I just spouted a lot of nothing but I'm pretty sure I hit my wordcount