#action scenes arent my specialty

[yourlocalzombie]

(Regrowth - Chaos)

Edit - rewrote the ending

_______

Some time had passed, which led to its own new event: Total Chaos.

The fighting game run by Cub, filled with violence, blood, potions and fire. It was always quite the event. Cleo, of course, participated.

For someone who claimed to abhor fighting, they always a way to do so.

The players all met and had the rules read to them. Etho had his wary eye on cleo, who herself was eying him down intently. But, she felt her own breath starting to fail. Her skin was sweating. And, of course, became acutely aware of bugs that had, once again, started to take residence in her abdominal cavity.

They'd get rid of the things soon enough.

Everyone donned the iron armor. Everyone picked up their iron sword. And Everyone fashioned their Totem of Undying onto their waist.

They entered the pale, white, concrete room.

Cub stood above them, watching:

"When the first dripstone falls, you may began!"

A lever could be heard as it was moved.

After a short delay, it fell.

And with that, everything rapidly descended. Totems were used, people out almost as fast.

Cleo was often overlooked. She wasn't a threat to fight, unlike false, who often drew everyone's ire. And perhaps some still remained scared of cleo, given her massive stature. She towered over almost everyone else, and given her durable nature, it just wasn't worth fighting her on that front either.

Joe was the only one who went after cleo, finding her standing beneath a healing spot. He knew she wasn't a big threat, but cleo knew he was the same.

They fought more like cats smacking each other than anything serious. As everyone else was actually injuring or even killing each other, the two had mere scratches.

Some of the hermits were shouting about healing areas, and Joe added, of course:

"Yeah! Look for the red areas, like where cleo is getting stabbed!"

"Honestly Joe, you're not stabbing me hard."

And with that, Jevin had snuck up to attack Joe. Cleo scurried away, knowing she wasn't a big enough threat to be focused.

On top of the general chaos, shulkers were hidden beneath, shooting at the contenders. Cleo, within due time, found herself floating on numerous occasions. She had even reached the lava within the ceiling, the too of her head and part of her face burning and even starting to melt off. Nonetheless, even after falling several high heights, she carried on.

There was something cleo always was: patient. A vulture who waited on predator to hunt prey and profit. She saw everyone else tear each other to shreds. And waited.

They knew a vulture was there, but too distracted to see it.

She waited for Etho to shoot false down, and swooped in. Etho ran before turning to fight, moving rapidly against cleo's harried strikes.

That is, of course, cleo remembered her hands are a better weapon than this clunky blade.

Letting one hand leave the handle, she reached out, grabbing the man with startling speed. No amount of struggle even made the zombie flinch or loosen up.

Cleo lifted their sword, impaling the poor man through the chest. She would've used their hands but...no, that would've been too brutal and painful. Perhaps on some level, it was revenge, but he was undeserving of such. A sword had its nobility and cleanness, even if cleo never learned how to use it.

The chaos had ended, cleo standing above the rest. She had forgotten to breath, having held in a breath from...who knows when. And she felt...off. Wrong.

The half-skeletal watcher took shape from beetles, which had been rattled out of Cleo's body from the fighting.

"Cleo, my vulture, I have unfortunate news."

"Grand. What is it, then?"

"This chaos has attracted a watcher."

Cleo sighed. Of course it did.

The skeleton faded to beetles once more, this time to leave the room. As this happened, skulk sprouted from the walls. The hostile moss eventually took shape that resembled a warden, but...animalistic. The six-legged beast still had the signature open ribcage, seemingly doubling as a mouth. The head held only horns, which Cleo had assumed grown in place of eyes. A tail made of souls followed close behind.

"Death, how good for the skulk!" The thing hissed, continuing, "but it craves some more."

"I'm not easy prey, beast. Go. Away."

"We both know you're lying, sombie."

The beast started to cackle, "so let'ss begin!"

The beast circled its prey, and cleo threw her sword to the side.

The clunky thing was more harmful the useful.

The combatants stared at each other, waiting for one to make a move.

The false warden proved less patient lunging forward first. The zombie moved to the side, grabbing a leg and knocking the beast off balance. In return, the tail grabbed her and threw her to the wall. Barely reorienting herself, she responded to another pounce, grabbing onto two teeth protruding from the chest.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was something she could always do. Regardless, the hermits watched in amazement as cleo threw the best off themself.

She then launched her own offensive, throwing punches. Many missed, but what did land left the beast rather dazed. At one point during this bout, she grabbed onto a spiky horn.

They found the horn to be more loose than expected. Perhaps it wasn't a natural growth, coming with the skulk. Regardless, it was surprisingly sensitive and loose.

That was probably why it was as spiky as it was.

It left cleo's hand bleeding heavily, but she had found her victory. And the creature knew it.

The creature clawed in retaliation, leaving hefty wounds on cleo's torso. Then, trying to grab her with its smaller pair of front limbs.

Cleo and the beast grappled, as if even in physical strength.

The teeth clattered, vaguely resembling speech, "and here I thought that deer wass going yo be the hardessT!"

"What?"

"The deer you're sso fond of! Been too long ssince I had good venisson!"

Cleo understood now. A small part of them believed the beast to just be getting a rise out of her, but the rest was lost to fury.

"You son of a bitch!"

Cleo threw the beast to the side, rushing over and working to ensure the beast could not get up again. She clawed and tore at joints best she could. Ravaging the flesh of the creature, who, while able to stand, was finding it increasingly difficult.

The creature pounced one last time, narrowly missing the enraged zombie.

The zombie returned the favor, moving to climb on top of the beast. And when she had dome as such, she grabbed onto a horn and pulled. The beast tried to grab at Cleo, to no avail.

And in this struggle, the beast's harried movements failed to remove the zombie. Cleo pulled and in time, yanked out the horn. Red and blue blood mixed, and as the beast screamed in pain, and the zombie repositioned the horn in their hand.

The enraged zombie then took the horn and stabbed the beast's head repeatedly, only falling off as the creature lost shape and retreated into moving skulk.

Cleo's hand gripped the horn tightly, and her hand was further torn. She bled heavily, her body seemingly making no attempt to heal. The white room had been stained mostly red with this blood, with patches of blue from the skulk-beast watcher.

Some breaths later, cleo had reoriented herself enough to leave. Her body ached tremendously, but they managed to find an exit. She walked past the group of her former combatants, who were stuck in awe, and made the fastest exit she could. Some attempted to go after the woman, trying to aid her, but she simply walked on. They responded to neither plea nor force, trudging away.

...

As time passed, so did distance, and Cleo found themself in the forest. They had, knowingly or otherwise, found instict guiding them to Gem's palace. Much of the blood had now dried, but her undeath limited what healing they were capable of. Her wounds often required magic or replacement, unable to close entirely on their own. In some cases, stitching was just enough, but often needed to be replaced.

The watcher that had warned them did was not present but its words rang in cleo's mind, as the skeleton briefly praised them for fighting away the beast.

And tge skulk had left its own message, suggesting Gem's demise or harm.

But their legs began to fail, and their mind fading. But she continued with a crawl, using the horn as leverage and pulling themself.

But, alas, it was futile, and the zombie fell unconscious in the forest.

The last thing they had seen were the hooves of a deer.

[skeletorific]

I Like My Coffee Like I Like My Skeleton

The name changes. To some its known as Reaper’s Grind. To others, Bones and Brew. To still others, MarshMarrow. It depends who’s in charge that month. Regardless of the name, it is always painted in black script on a driftwood sign, carved so that it appears to be cradled by giant skeleton hands.

Most see this sign and assume its some kind of Halloween or Goth themed establishment. However, the caffeine addicted of the city know there’s no better place to get your fix. As long as your willing to put up with the quirks of the owners.

The cafe is a cozy space, varying levels of clean depending on who’s on staff. The walls are beige, with abstract murals of black paint covering the walls. Frequent patrons will notice that the murals seem to expand as time goes on. Every now and then they’ll come in to the walls completely blank, having apparently been painted over, only to start again. Rumor has it that if you squint you can make out swear words, or even bad jokes in the design. Squinting is not encouraged. There is also a shelf of books for customers to peruse or even purchase. Mostly trashy romance novels for reasons no one has ever been able to figure out, as well as joke books, science textbooks, car magazines, and, most bewilderingly, puzzle theory. 

The cafe has 8 owners, usually with only two or three on staff at a time. They all look so similar that most believe they’re related. Some will even call each other “brother” or “bro”, which seems to confirm it, but everyone worries it’d be racist to ask.

Papyrus is usually on staff in the mornings, which is a good thing. He’s a bright and perky presence to start your day with, and he does his best to create a welcoming environment for those on their way to an early morning commute. He specializes in perk ups, something to get help you shake off those last remnants of sleep while preventing those midmorning crashes. He’ll usually try to coax customers into the healthier versions. “REALLY, ALMOND MILK IS MUCH BETTER FOR YOU!” He also is very good at remembering small details about his regulars. Some of them come to depend on him as a daily reminder to take their meds. Now if only he was better at remembering names...he tends to come up with nicknames for people he sees a lot and they stick with him more than their actual names. An absolute sweetheart who keeps the store spotless, but if he tries to get you to sample his latest pastry invention, politely decline.

Sans is a less energetic presence to be sure (he can usually be found asleep and propped up in some corner if no one on shift bothers to wake him up), but he’s also a well-liked staple of the cafe. He has an easy, laid-back small talk that can set even the most agoraphobic introvert at ease, and writes bad jokes on coffee cups. His coffee is mostly pretty basic stuff, but if you know him well and ask him for the secret stuff....well, you’d be be prepared to deal with the fallout. That particular menu option is the last resort of grad students trying to get through their thesis. The effects are somewhere between Red Eye and Speed. One girl reported a full week of being unable to close her eyes, by the end of which she could taste color and was carrying on active conversations in a language that she did not know. It is varying levels of legal depending on who you ask. Just dont narc. And don’t ask in front of his brother. 

Its easy to tell when Red is on the clock, his motorcycle is easily the most ostentatious thing in the parking lot. So much so that he insists on a two parking spot bubble around it to avoid scratches. He also refuses to take off his leather jacket, wearing it over his uniform. No apron. Not a fuckin chance. His customer service is at best ehhh (unless he considers you attractive, in which case, prepare your flirtatious barista fantasies), but the boy makes a pumpkin spice latte so good it should be illegal. Spiced drinks as a whole are his specialty. When fall and winter roll around he brings customers in like flies to honey to get a taste of it, and it make the cafe smell amazing. Don’t tell anyone but he has a habit of “forgetting” to make people pay for their coffee when they look like they’re having a rough time. Not that he’d ever admit it, but he’s kind of a softie. Abysmal cleaning, and he’s usually making drinks for himself on the clock, but once you get to know the guy, he’s a pretty good dude. Also his music taste is fire and the cafe playlist gets infinitely better whenever he’s on staff.

Edge is a different story. While all of them technically own the store in equal parts and no one is legally in charge, it was pretty quickly discovered that mixing Edge with customer service was a recipe for disaster. So he takes on a more managerial role, dealing with finance, shipment, rent, and advertising deals. Everything needed to keep the place afloat. When he’s on shift (and he usually is), he can generally be found in the office unless the place is absolutely slammed. Though he’s not much for dealing with customers, he’s excellent at making gourmet drinks. His skills were made for Instagram. He also has just a biiiit of a soft spot for the kids that sometimes come in,  and may have quietly slipped in some more child friendly options to the bookshelf, as well as a couple action figures that Red swears look familiar. 

If you want a high octane burst without risking your life, Blue is your guy. I mean, the dude’s practically a walking five hour energy. He is more than generous with his definition of what a shot is, and blends in truly irresponsible amounts of sugar and sweetner for an extra kick. Kids naturally love the insanely sweet taste but it is not recommended that parents let them finish a full sized one. If Edge is on the clock he will straight up slap it out of his hands before people start bouncing off the walls. Blue is also incredibly sweet and friendly with the customers, and has amassed a decent sized collection of regulars who only became regulars due to a crush on him. He flirts shamelessly but never lets it go too far.

Stretch likes doing novelty drinks. Did someone say Unicorn Frappucinnos? The weirder and more poorly conceived the better. He also does most of the baking for the cafe. Muffet taught him a lot about pastries back underground, although it took a while to make the transition from spider carcasses to just...you know, normal flour. He switches the menu up a lot when he gets bored of making the same thing, although for some reason corndogs are always an option. The kitchen really is the best place for him. Leaving him unattended on the front tends to lead to miscief, especially if his brother is there to egg him on. He’ll loosely detach his hand only to enjoy the horrified looks when it pops off as he hands a drink to the customer. They get more negative Yelp reviews that way, but a lot of customers enjoy his sense of humor. He has absolutely tried to pull the Salt and Pepper diner bit by editing the playlist for the cafe 

Black is a bit of an odd duck in the cafe. He doesn’t have the patience to sit still long enough for managerial responsibilities. He’s terrible with customer service. His drinks arent bad, but the coffee is as black as his soul regardless of what they actually ordered. Even when forced to make something a little less straightforward he makes it incredibly bitter, because to him, coffee should never be sweet! If you don’t want bitter, don’t get coffee!! some wonder why the others even bother to let him on staff. But Black’s role is vital. Its inevitable that asshole customers pop up in a coffee shop. Entitled, being a dick to either the other baristas or even other customers. And this is where Black shines. Come hell or highwater he can get any customer out in less than a minute with little to no scene, both reducing the time they’re  in the store and the risk that watching the altercation might cause an anxiety spike in one of their customers. He just up and carts them out of the store, then returns a few moments later, quietly checking in on everyone involved to make sure no one was hurt or too shaken up. When asked what happens to these guys the only thing Black will ever say is “NOTHING YOU CAN PROVE”. He also keeps the place spotless. May or may not help Blue and Stretch with the pranks, though he’ll deny it to the bitter end.

While Blue may lowkey flirt with a few and Red may highkey flirt with a lot, Rus is flirting with everyone. No, seriously. Everyone. Not being creepy, but chances are you’re leaving with red cheeks that have nothing to with the hot drink in your hand. He’s fairly popular for precisely this reason, though very few have ever gotten a serious date out of it. The man makes a mean cappucinno, great herbal  teas and has those smoky bedroom eyes. There’s buzz that he’s also the one responsible for the ever evolving mural, though he never confirms it. Rus takes far too many smoke breaks and doesn’t clean worth a damn but is responsible for nearly half of their consistent customer base. He has a sixth sense for creeps. If he sees a date going on where one of them is looking exceedingly uncomfortable, he can effortlessly swoop in and charm the pants off them until the other asshole leaves in frustration. If he sees someone looking nervous he has ways of subtly getting out of them what the problem is. And if he ever gets the vibe that someone is being harassed he may or may not sic Black onto them without batting an eye. Much as he seems not to give a damn about anything regarding work, Rus takes it as a minor point of pride that their cafe is a safe space for people to get away from it all, if only for a couple minutes.

Bonus:

Axe is their maintenance man who comes in whenever equipment breaks, while Crooks is the night janitor who will often come in with his brother on daytime calls. Both of them are a bit too...unstable for regualar shift jobs. Maintenance positions allows them to be on their own if they need to be and generally avoid stressful triggers. Still, Crooks loves the cafe. On his good days he helps Stretch with the baking, and when the day is really slow Blue and Papyrus will teach him how to mix drinks. Axe is a little more grumbly about it but even he admits its kind of a calm space to be in. The man drinks exculsively black coffee though so he kind of misses out on most of the menu. When he’s in a good mood he competes with Red over flirting with customers. 

Special thanks to @jezziconvair who gave me the idea for a lot of the drink specialities and who Tumblr isn’t letting me tag for some reason!

[bayobayo]

So what did you think of the Assassin's Creed movie? Personally, it exceeded my expectations which were incredibly low in the first place considering how most video game movies usually turn out :/

OMG I KINDA FELT THE SAME????? Mostly what I felt BEFORE I watched it was worry because I’ve been wanting to see it since it was announced, but all the negative reviews popped up and I just desperately tried to avoid them so I wouldn’t feel so doubtful about it (especially since, you know, video game movies arent the best these days).

Overall, I’d consider myself satisfied with how it turned out, but that’s probably because my own personal wish for the games (which is to have the story focus more on the present day character) came true. I don’t know if it was mentioned in the reviews but the changes in the little story elements seemed reasonable to me (e.g. the Animus, the history). The action scenes were good and the parkour was pretty awesome (shout out to Damian Walters! You guys can see his stunts on the movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SY0EhJcciw). I personally like the script though the cutting felt fast a few times. DEFINITELY loved all the little Easter eggs and symbolism they used (which I hope didn’t fly over everybody’s heads).

Jeremy Irons was a great good guy with Batfleck and he can be just as equally good a bad guy, apparently. Marion Cotillard was great, too. Personally knowing how it feels to prove yourself to your father, I felt the same emotions through her performance so good job for her.

Of course Michael Fassbender did a fantastic job. I loved that I could easily forget that Aguilar and Cal were played by him. One thing I didn’t like was that a small part of my brain kept crying “this could’ve been Desmond”, but I gently pushed that away and said, this is Cal, not Desmond. Speaking of which, I’m glad he pushed to make this movie a reality, even though it’s not for everybody. I guess that’s one thing I liked, too. That the movie was written in a way that people who haven’t played the games could understand. It made them aware of the story therefore aware of the games.

VFX was exceptional. Again, changes on little story elements are reasonable because this is a movie adaptation, so I’d like to commend on how they did the Bleeding Effect and the Apple. Nitpicking really isn’t my specialty, so I apologize if that’s what you’re here for, plus I’m on mobile too so there’s that.

So, just to avoid spoiling everybody, I guess I’ll stop here and give it a 4 over 5 stars. But this is coming from someone who likes the games and not someone without any prior knowledge. Hope this rambling answers your question! :)