#Seaside Lagoon

[parallaxaview]

Lobos Island, Fuerteventura, Spain.

[beauty-funny-trippy]

Sunrise, Ria de Aveiro, Portugal – by Paulo Rebelo

[boneszphoto]

witty's lagoon, 35mm

[summerglowinglight]

[imflyingsolo]

Bulukumba, South Sulawesi — Indonesia

[plumsaffron]

I keep forgetting seaside hill is also ocean palace. Which means I will add ocean palace as a tag to whatever is based on seaside hill for the allstars racing games.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Describing Scene Locations

Anonymous asked: I've been writing for a decade, mostly short stories, and have recently started writing a fantasy set in the 17th century. My setting is a world pretty much like ours, but with made-up names for specific towns and whatnot. The characters are pirates, and a few are non-human. I'm finding it difficult to figure out where certain plot points take place when the story is mostly character-driven. There are parts where they need to be on land, but apart from 'vague port/island', I don't know what else to do with it. (Am I overthinking this?) I suppose my question is: How specific do secondary locations have to be for it to be immersive and realistic (for their world) without it being lackluster or overdone? I don't want it all be "it's a beach with a village," but adding a giant seaside kingdom seems overkill if it's only mentioned in passing once or twice. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these - this whole blog is a gift, really.

[Ask edited for length]

First, thank you... that is very kind of you to say! ♥

So, I think it really helps to think of your story in terms of scenes, and to think of each scene almost like a scene in a play. Your scene's setting is like the stage in the play, and the amount of description is the amount of scenery and props on the stage.

If you've been to plays, you've probably noticed that the scenery can be very minimal or very elaborate, depending on the needs of the show:

With fiction, it works the same way. How little or how much you describe the scenery (setting) depends on the needs of the scene, but you do need to make sure to give the reader a sense of place. Looking at the first image, just with the little bit of scenery that's there, we know this scene is taking place in a home, perhaps a living room. If the two men were just sitting on chairs with no other scenery, we wouldn't have that sense of place.

However, that doesn't mean that any of your scenes need to be set in sprawling seaside kingdoms. There are all sorts of land-based settings for pirates:

-- bustling port town like Port Royal or Tortuga -- coastal village, town, or city -- isolated island or cove -- small fishing village -- seaside castles or estates -- pirate's stronghold on a hidden island/cove/cave/bay -- tropical jungle or rainforest -- remote island -- colonial outpost -- swamps and marshlands -- rural countryside -- ancient ruins

There are all sorts of reasons pirates might go ashore in these places:

-- to resupply (food, water, liquor, gunpowder, ammunition) -- to buy specific items (weapons, clothing, equipment for ship) -- to sell, trade, deliver, hide, or bury loot -- to hunt and gather resources -- to recruit crew -- to maintenance, repair, or refit the ship -- to meet with allies, informants, business partners, etc. -- to visit friends/acquaintances -- to avail themselves of various goods and services -- to drink in a bar, gamble and carouse with friends -- to enjoy some much needed rest and recreation -- to learn or exchange information -- to seek medical treatment/medicine/remedies -- to seek legal assistance or meet to discuss legal matters -- to "case" a potential target for a raid -- to visit family and love interests

Within these settings and potential errands, there are many specific settings you could use:

-- the docks of a bustling port -- the tavern of a coastal village -- a quiet moonlit cove where pirates are laying low -- the great hall of a seaside castle -- a masquerade ball at a country estate -- the crumbled ruins of an ancient civilization in an isolated jungle -- at a freshwater lagoon on a remote island during resource stop -- busy market at a colonial outpost -- fisherman's shanty in a quiet bayou -- an official's luxury town home in a big city -- the coastal farm belonging to a family member

So... having the different locations in mind, how much or how little do you describe them? Once again, all you have to do is create a sense of place for the reader. If your pirates are having a heated argument on the docks of a busy port town, you may at least want to give a vague description of the docks, whether it's night or day, what the weather's like, how crowded it is, and maybe a brief sampling of what the crowd is doing, notable sensory details (sounds, smells, visuals) etc. You can also weave those details into the narrative in a way that serves a dual purpose. For example, maybe in the argument, one pirate gestures to a toothless fish monger and uses them as an example in a point they're trying to make. Not only is this a necessary part of the dialogue, but it also fills in some of the scenery detail. Or, maybe instead, they're perusing spices in a bustling seaside market while they talk/argue quietly. Here are some posts from my description master list that will hopefully help further:

The Right Amount of Description (5 Tips!) The 3 Fundamental Truths of Description Description: Style vs Excess/Deficiency How to Make Your Description More Vivid Adding Description to Your WritingWeaving Details into the Story Guide: Showing vs Telling When “Telling” is Okay

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[vestaignis]

Заброшенное судно-отель на Ко Чанге.

Abandoned ship-hotel on Koh Chang.

На побережье острова Ко Чанг, входящего в состав морского национального парка Таиланда расположен крупный туристический комплекс «Koh Chang Grand Lagoona Resort» (60 гектар), изюминкой которого был круизный лайнер The Galaxy (Aunchaleena)  в качестве главного здания отеля. Это стометровое судно, перестроенное в гостиницу с 7-мью этажами. Что бы отбуксировать судно-донор для отеля вглубь территории парка, пришлось рыть канал, который потом засыпали. На огромной площади курорта тогда появились фантастической красоты пруды с лотосами, тропические парки, кокосовые рощи, гигантские статуи слонов, водопады и великолепный пляж с белым песочком. На данный же момент комплекс пришел в упадок, но туристов продолжает манить заброшенный лайнер — отель, он даже стал своеобразной достопримечательностью острова, для любителей отдыха в необычных местах. Причины угасания популярности этого места просты: проблемы с транспортной доступностью (придется взять на прокат машину и отправиться вглубь острова) и с самой инфраструктурой на Ко Чанге. А также есть версия, что морской курорт попросту закрыли из-за отсутствия разрешительных документов на строительство в заповедной зоне.

В настоящее время прогуливаясь вдоль пляжа, можно увидеть колоритные лодки-шале и оригинальный административный корпус, расположенный в заросшей лагуне. Несмотря на то, что главный отель курорта совсем в плачевном состоянии, ходят слухи, что часть корпуса еще функционирует, там сдаются номера по бросовой цене. Также сдаются номера в кораблях-шале, правда, былой роскоши там уже нет, но провести несколько ночей любители экзотики и экономии тоже могут. Мало вероятно что "флагман" курорта когда-нибудь восстановят, это слишком нерентабельно.

On the coast of the island of Koh Chang, which is part of the marine national park of Thailand, there is a large tourist complex “Koh Chang Grand Lagoona Resort” (60 hectares), the highlight of which was the cruise ship The Galaxy (Aunchaleena) as the main hotel building. This is a hundred-meter ship, converted into a hotel with 7 floors. In order to tow the donor ship for the hotel deep into the park, they had to dig a canal, which was then filled in. The huge area of ​​the resort then featured fantastically beautiful lotus ponds, tropical parks, coconut groves, giant elephant statues, waterfalls and a magnificent white sand beach.

At the moment, the complex has fallen into disrepair, but tourists continue to be attracted by the abandoned liner - a hotel; it has even become a kind of landmark of the island for those who like to relax in unusual places. The reasons for the fading popularity of this place are simple: problems with transport accessibility (you will have to rent a car and go deep into the island) and with the infrastructure on Koh Chang itself. There is also a version that the seaside resort was simply closed due to the lack of permits for construction in a protected area.

Nowadays, walking along the beach, you can see colorful chalet boats and the original administrative building located in an overgrown lagoon. Despite the fact that the main hotel of the resort is in a very deplorable state, there are rumors that part of the building is still functioning and rooms are being rented out there at a bargain price. Rooms are also available for rent in chalet ships, however, the former luxury is no longer there, but lovers of exoticism and economy can also spend a few nights. It is unlikely that the “flagship” of the resort will ever be restored; it is too unprofitable.

Источник:https://t.me/+hAtkre-p-zI3Njdi, /satang.ru/otel-prizrak, /novate.ru/blogs/030521/58646/,/tursputnik.com/2021/08/zabroshennoe-sudno-otel-v-tayskih-dzhunglyah.html, /www.ixbt.com/live/travel/kak-poddelnyy-kruiznyy-layner-okazalsya-v-dzhunglyah-tailanda.html.

[st-rarepairbang]

the sea calls to me (with salt on her lips)

Author: brakers91 Artist: @im-not-batman Characters: Robin Buckley, Chrissy Cunningham, Steve Harrington Relationship: Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham Rating: Explicit Additional tags: alternate universe - fairy tale, romance, smut Warnings: none Word count: 10.7k

Summary

A seaside palace, a princess with a secret, an enchanting lagoon. Robin has always felt drawn to the water, has always taken comfort in the ocean. The lagoon on her island home has always held a special attraction to her. There is something in the water. or: Robin is doomed to a loveless marriage and a life of gilded cages. Then she meets a mermaid.

Art masterpost

[bloodcoveredgf]

what do you recommend for pre-70s horror? 👀

well of course you have the classic monster flicks like phantom of the opera (1925), frankenstein (1931), bride of frankenstein (1935), the curse of frankenstein (1957), the invisible man (1933), creature from the black lagoon (1954), nosferatu (1922), dracula (1931), and dracula (1958). house on haunted hill (1959) is a classic and such a good fun mystery horror. you've also got night of the living dead (1968) if you want zombies and a good thrill with a good message. the innocents (1961) if you want a bit more mystery but with more serious melodrama this time. the comedy of terrors (1963) is a good one if you want comedy and two guys (The horror guys of the time aka peter lorre and vincent price) getting into hijinks and shenanigans. the city of the dead (1960) is good for an atmospheric witchy / ghost town horror and stars christopher lee (another horror icon of this time). the cabinet of dr. caligari (1920) is THE horror film and nearly every horror film after it took from it and it is a huge inspiration throughout history and is seen by many as the first true horror film especially when looking at it's cultural significance + it's a great gothic german expressionist horror with a killer lead character who we all love. if you think you'd enjoy more edgar allen poe adaptations starring vincent price (because i know i do) there's the masque of the red death (1964), the pit and the pendulum (1961), house of usher (1960), and the raven (1963). for extra vincent price there's also the haunted palace (1963) which is fun if you enjoy gothic romance horror and want to see a man being deranged and strange, the bat (1959) which is another murder mystery, and the tingler (1959) which you should just see for yourself i think! the hound of the baskervilles (1959) is a sherlock adaptation starring christopher lee again And peter cushing (who you will find in maaanyyy movies of this time yaaayy we love them!) + it's a classic hammer horror film! night tide (1961) which is a spooky atmospheric seaside horror about a maybe-mermaid. and last but not least for now, black sunday (1960) which again i think you just have to see for yourself! and honestly that goes for all of these recs because as hard as i try to give a very small description about them to peak someone's interest it's way too hard to do that and actually be successful at it... just trust me <3 also here is an additional list of just every pre-70s horror film i've seen so far

[rosedere]

𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 ❤️‍🔥

F̳i̳n̳i̳s̳h̳e̳d̳ ̳s̳e̳r̳i̳e̳s̳:

🩸Ｍｕｒｄｅｒ　ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎ　苛殴 (ᴛᴡꜱᴛ) Azul Ashengrotto x Fem Reader/ Yandere (Modern Au)

Parts: 6

🪷 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 (ᴛᴡꜱᴛ) Jade Leech x Fem Reader x Azul Ashengrotto/ Yandere (Modern Au)

Parts:11

O̳n̳g̳o̳i̳n̳g̳ ̳s̳e̳r̳i̳e̳s̳:

❄️🌊𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚢𝚞𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚝𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚂𝚗𝚎𝚣𝚑𝚗𝚊𝚢𝚊 (ɢᴇɴꜱʜɪɴ) Pantalone x Fem Reader/ Yandere

The Antique Pearl 🐚 (Twst) Azul Ashengrotto x Fem!Reader/ Soft Yandere

Fandom list:

Twst masterlist

Soon to be added:

Genshin masterlist

𝔘𝔭𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔖𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰/𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 ♟

Ｅｓｃａｐｅ (𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘) (Yan! Pierro x Fem Reader)

Working under the fatui and tired of the abuse you receive from Pierro you plan to go AWOL only it isn’t as simple as you’d assume

𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐦! 𝐀𝐳𝐮𝐥 (𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭) (Yan! Fem Azul x Fem reader)

Every time you swim outside in the lagoon outside your backyard the feeling of piercing eyes watching you following you has you search for the source only to find a Octomer scared and holding her tentacles in fear somehow being swept into the channel one stormy night.

Seaside Daybreak: Field Trip to the Coral Sea (series) (Soft Yan! King Octomer Azul Ashengrotto x Fem reader)

Apart of "The Antique pearl series" (Name) and Grim get invited along to come on Summer vacation to the mysterious coral sea isle's where the celebration for the giant sea witch is being held.

T͓̽h͓̽e͓̽ ͓̽S͓̽a͓̽g͓̽e͓̽'͓̽s͓̽ ͓̽I͓̽s͓̽l͓̽a͓̽n͓̽d͓̽ ͓̽C͓̽a͓̽s͓̽e͓̽ ͓̽f͓̽i͓̽l͓̽e͓̽s͓̽ (𝐻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉! 🎃) (Yan! Twst cast x Various darlings/Investigator Darling)

(Name)- A regular homicide detective; but when a promising tip is received about a string of murders occur at various locations on Sage's Island: Night Raven College, Royal Sword Academy, and Nobel Bell College. (Name) goes undercover as a unsuspecting Student to catch the most notorious killers on Sage's Island.

ᴹᵉˡᵃⁿᶜʰᵒˡⁱᵃ (𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭) (Yan! Sunday (hsr) x Idol darling)

You assumed the threats and creepy letters were for Robin not the side act that opened for her; shes pretty and a great vocalist. So why is a certain halovian running into you everywhere you go.

𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝙶𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 (𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭) (Yan! Adventurine x Escort darling)

Having the attention of one of the Ten Stonehearts you tried your best to keep your best client hooked on your body. But unfortunately, it worked too well.

Sugar (Oneshot) (Yan! Pantalone x Golddigging Darling)

You fall into a expensive relationship with a harbinger everyone warned you about, But looks can be very deceiving.

Promise (oneshot) (Yan! Jamil x Servant darling)

You wouldnt leave him for Kalim would you? You swore that you would marry Jamil.

Dew dips (oneshot) (Yan! Jade x Mountain goddess Reader)

You made up the urban legend to seperate you from the undesirable humans; but one is so desperate to keep you as his.

*some Titles in this section are subject to change but the plots should be the same once it’s published/out of wip hell 🫡

𝓤𝓹𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭: September, 24, 2024

[kinopioa]

Sonic ancient civilization notes (only on Sonic's direct planet);

Westside Island had an ancient civilization whose misuse of the emeralds led to ruin. Date unknown, though Aquatic Ruin shows remnants

Seaside Hill/Ocean Palace has various structures and ruins affected by the tide, alongside distinct icobography. The weathering and some areas being submerged at least dates it a century or two

Superstars has 4 ruins levels on their island, mostly deserted. The fact they have different architecture each implies at least 2-4 separate civilizations, or an evolving culture that migrated

Marble Garden Zone and Labyrinth Zone Sonic 1 has unique architecture. The former has ruins submerged in lava, the latter has ruins submerged in water. Potentially the island's shifting landmass caused both to cave in, or another unrelated disaster occured

Death Ruins in Shadow are covered in heavy moss and lichen, very clearly overrun by the surrounding jungle. It seems to be a key strategic point in the Black Arms invasion...

Soleanna has the tradition to celebrate the Fesrival of the Sun. Given the area has a consitutional monarchy, one can infer that this nation has existed for at least several hundred years

Dusty Desert in particular houses more ruins submerged in sand! And of course, the Castle of Soleanna, showing the old monarchy's influence

Mirage Road has spinning contraptions and channels to transport sand. It's tech is impressive, still functional

Water Palace similar to Mirage Road has operating pressure water pumps, underwater turbines, and water cannons

Lost Labyrinth Zone is another water flooded ruin. There's a lot of these...

Sylvania Castle spans a large coniferous area, featuring water flooded segments and relevant abandoned water milled powered platforms to cross

The Black Arms laid their flying base 2000 years ago on Earth, keeping it in reserve until the Chaos Emeralds were found. They return 1950 years later after seeing the newfound Bernal Sphere orbiting the planet, their leader making a deal with Gerald for the Emeralds, in 50 years time

Chaos ravaged Pachamac's tribe 3000 years ago and was sealed in the Master Emerald. The stragglers also created Angel Island with surrounding landmass to prevent the Master Emerald from being accessed. For those on the island, remaining members had unique art and ruins at various sites. For the area on ground, warning murals of Chaos' perfect form are displayed, now called Mystic Ruins

Wild Canyon/Dry Lagoon and surrounding desert have noted Echidna iconography. It's unknown if that civilization was related to Pachamac's, though the different iconography and habitat makes this unlikely

Holy Summit is noted set of ruins made by Echidnas alongside an extinct volcano. Connection again seems unlikely to Pachamac's tribe, though Knuckles temporarily lived here during Battle's events showing that he can leave the island if he wants to

Emerl originates from a civilization 4000+ years ago, having destroyed it due to overflowing power. Contrary to what Chronicles states, it is not specified as an Echidna tribe in OG Battle

It's unknown when Babylon Garden came to the planet, though many legends of the Babylonians are noted in other civilizations, having devolved to thinking they're genies. Their thievery was supposedly punished at one point, sinking the Garden into the ground. Sand Ruins and the Gigan Rocks are related

The Ancients supposedly crash landed on the planet 10,000+ years ago, bringing the Emeralds with them

Light/Dark Gaia have had repeated feuds every million or so years. Ancient civilizations have protected temples related to this to assist Light Gaia. It's unknown who made them, but the local communities till present day guard them

[zonadelcaos]

Super Sonic Drawing #1: Classic Sonic

Para todos los fans que desean dibujar personajes de Sonic, el Sonic Channel comenzó una serie de videos en youtube llamado Super Sonic Drawing.

Tomoko Hayane nos guía a través del proceso paso a paso para crear a Sonic. Además, nos da tips y curiosidades sobre los personajes bastante valiosos.

En el primer episodio, Tomoko nos brindará una lección magistral sobre cómo dibujar al icónico 'Classic Sonic'.

¡Activad los subtítulos, que a esta serie de videos le han añadido subtítulos en español!

En esta serie de videos, hechos para que principiantes puedan comenzar a dibujar a sus personajes favoritos, gran parte del Sonic Team, incluyendo al Director Creativo, Hoshino, así como Hayane comparten sus ideas y opiniones para hacer los videos divertidos y fáciles de entender.

La canción de fondo es Whale Lagoon de Team Sonic Racing, arreglado por Senoue especialmente para estos videos. Esta canción a su vez es un remix de Seaside Hill de Sonic Heroes.

Vamos a destacar las partes más importantes:

Classic Sonic es "Adorable pero a la vez, Cool"

Lo que más destaca de Classic Sonic es que es más redondito y adorable

Lo importante es que las púas de la cabeza sean más o menos del mismo tamaño

La comida preferida de Sonic es el Chilidog

Es como si le escucharas decir..."¿Podrás alcanzarme?"

La pose del dibujo es la emblemática del primer título del juego.

¡Podéis añadir a vuestros dibujos que os animéis a hacer el hashtag #音速おえかき en twitter para mostrarle a los miembros del Sonic Channel vuestras creaciones!

[your-average-multifandom-mess]

Admittedly, as a massive Peter Pan fan who considers the 2003 movie to be nothing short of perfection, Peter Pan and Wendy was WAYYYYY better then what I was anticipating. There were good changes, questionable changes, good additions and questionable additions. Small details were removed or added that only fans as picky as me care about, but overall it was a pretty damn good adaptation of a story that's over a hundred years old. 

I’m still unsure how I feel about certain parts of the film, but there’s one thing I'm sure of: 

Neverland was so boring. I think that they tried to keep it realistic, but it’s about fairies, pirates and flying children!! Make Skull Rock look like a huge skull! Have a sapphire blue sky with bright pink clouds and disproportionate mountains and waterfalls!! give us the giant compass in the sea! Show us dazzling fairly glades! a turquoise mermaid lagoon! Give us more colour and stop making neverland look like the Cornish seaside!! 

[altocat]

Genesis beach adventures ⛱️

His favorite hobbies include sunbathing, picking fights with seagulls, and making Sephiroth incredibly uncomfortable in his swimsuit.

Honestly, he'd spend every day by the seaside if he could. But duty calls! And Genesis honestly finds getting all that sand out of every nook and cranny kind of a hassle. Besides, Genesis Rhapsodos simply cannot be confined to the shoreline for the rest of his life. He has to share himself with the world ❤️

Angeal quietly mutters to Sephiroth that if they come up from behind real quiet, they can dump him in the lagoon with the crabs. No one would have to know.

[the-badger-mole]

AU Bot Plots

This is actually a story I've been mulling over for a while now (even though I can't figure out an end...or a beginning). I love the idea of the ATLA crew encountering aliens especially if the aliens are us. I have an idea for a story which would be a straight up alien encounter. I think it would be more Sokka-centered, which is probably why I'm having so much trouble with putting the story together. I am not used to writing for Sokka as a main.

Sokka took a deep breath as he drew deeper into the trees and away from his friends. He was the life of the party, but even he needed a break from time to time. It was a good thing he was able to slip away unnoticed. Then again, perhaps it was unsurprising. Katara and Zuko were to busy not being completely absorbed in each other to notice Sokka edge his way into the tangle of jungle bushes; Aang was to busy trying to get Katara's attention to see Sokka change directions away from the seaside villa into the overgrown woods; Toph...well, she had probably noticed, but she didn't care about Sokka's quickening steps as he broke away from the chattering of his friends and retreated into the raucous quiet of the night. Suki had gone to bed early, otherwise Sokka was sure she would've insisted on joining him. Not that Sokka would've minded.

Growing up in a village where everyone was constantly in everyone's faces, Sokka had long ago learned the value of alone time. Tonight, he had no real aim. He wandered along a meandering trail that he was certain had once been well manicured. The sounds of night creatures and the waves crashing on the beach were soothing. After weeks of seemingly non-stop talking and people interrupting special, intimate moments to seek his advice, and refereeing arguments between a raging hot-head and the guy who'd just joined the group, the sounds surrounding him were a balm.

Eventually, Sokka emerged on a cliff overlooking a lagoon. Zuko had mentioned it, but no one had cared enough to trek through the tangled vines and overgrown paths to find it. Until now, that is. Sokka gazed down at the water. It sparkled invitingly under the moonlight. If it had been daytime, Sokka might've tried diving off the cliff, but the moon did little to reveal any potential dangers in the water below. It would be just his luck to crack his head on a rock and drown with his waterbending sister not more than a hundred yards away. Instead Sokka lowered himself to the ground and let his legs dangle off the cliff-edge. He leaned back and sighed contentedly.

In spite of the nearly full moon that night, the stars glowed bright. Sokka let his eyes drift away from Yue after a few moments and traced the constellations he recognized. One star in particular caught his eye. It was one he wasn't familiar with. It was bright and pulsed in that strange way larger stars seemed to if you stared at them too long. If he focused a bit, it almost seemed to get bigger and brighter. It seemed to shift if he blinked.

Sokka blinked, and suddenly the star was much brighter. And bigger. Was it moving closer? Sokka gasped, and leapt to his feet. Was it a meteor? Was he about to be killed by the same stone that his sword was made of?

The star suddenly flickered out. Sokka squinted into the sky, trying to find it again. Then, suddenly, the stars directly above him were gone. It took Sokka a moment to realize that the stars weren't actually gone. They were being hidden by something large. Something large and dark. It was an airship of some kind, Sokka realized with a gasp. Had the Fire Nation found them? Had Ozai suddenly decided on a whim to visit the beach house he'd abandoned years ago? But how did the ship get there without notice? Sokka had barely blinked and suddenly it was there. The Fire Nation airships weren't capable of that...were they?

The racing thoughts in Sokka's head came to a screeching, crashing halt when the bottom of the ship began to open. A light was suddenly visible. It was red, and if he hadn't been standing directly under it, Sokka wasn't sure if he'd even be able to see it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should get away. He wasn't sure what exactly he was looking at, but he was sure it would be best not to be spotted by whoever was in that ship. Still, he gaped up at the dim red opening, his legs refusing to listen to his brain's urging to run.

A smaller circular shadow appeared in the opening, and to Sokka's surprise, it began a slow descent. Was this the Mechanist's work? Something he'd provided the Fire Nation before he'd come to his senses and defected ? It was too late to run now. If he caught the attention of whoever was on the platform, he might be spotted. He did his best to curl tightly into the shadows of the bushes and watched. The platform was close enough now that he could see who was on it. He blinked hard and then rubbed his eyes. What exactly was he looking at? The figure looked all wrong. The head was too big, the body too thin and lanky. Was it a spirit? Sokka peered closer trying to make sense of what he was seeing, but then the...creature's head turned sharply towards him, and Sokka did his best to swallow a yelp. The thing's angular black eyes took up roughly two thirds of its face, and it's mouth was non-existent. It must've been a spirit, Sokka thought. That was way out of his league. All thoughts of caution be hanged, he thought. He turned and fled back from where he came, crashing through the bushes and trees, heedless of anything but getting away from...whatever that was back there. He could hear it pursuing him. Panic flooded to Sokka and sent adrenaline rushing to his legs giving him a powerful burst of energy, but suddenly, he froze. It was like being bloodbent, but different somehow. Bloodbending he knew he could at least struggle against, but this felt as if his body had been completely shut down. He couldn't move. He couldn't cry out. Even his eyes refused to move at his command. Then suddenly, he was being dragged backwards, though no one was touching him. He was being pulled back towards the cliff and that strange airship that he was now absolutely certain was not a Fire Nation vessel.