Ethel’s tiny bakery looks rather run-down from the outside, all exposed brick and perhaps in need of a lick of paint. But inside, it’s always warm and smells of sugar and rising yeast. She loves to experiment with new and interesting flavor combinations, but there’s always something to be said for the classics. She frequently hums while she works, classic rock to musicals to whatever pop is playing on the radio. She leans to vintage fashions, with fluffy A-line skirts and sweetheart necklines, although they’re constantly covered by an apron (and oftentimes quite a bit of flour). In addition to the more usual baked goods, she particularly enjoys making things unique to her heritage, wanting to bring a little bit of it in the city she’s settled in.

Given that she’s always quick to sit down with a cup of tea and have a heart-to-heart, it’s hard to ever guess that she holds back a secret. But in the treats that her little bakery produces, there’s a tiny bit of magic. There are good luck charms in the croissants, the muffins conceal a touch of liquid joy, and the chamomile cookies have a bit of calm baked in. She never lets on and she doesn’t charge extra for it; she just likes the thought that maybe, in some small way, she’s made someone’s day just a little easier to get through.

Most people who saw Alice couldn’t make sense of her contradicting personality. At first glance, she looked intimidating: black clothes, chains, dyed hair, all of it caused people to stare at her when she walked by. But once they started to really look at her, things changed. She wore lacy, frilly clothes with pastel colors underneath her black jacket, and her hair was a mix of light pastel colors that floated around her head. Her personality, too, was different than what people expected: she was always kind and smiling, always willing to give someone a helping hand or make their day brighter in some way. One thing stopped them from just thinking of her as someone who had an interesting taste in fashion: if someone needed help, she’d say something along the lines of “don’t worry, I can take care of that for you”. And though no one would know what she did, things would always turn out for the better.
However, Alice knew what people thought about her. And as long as they didn’t mistreat her or anyone she cared about, she couldn’t care less. She was just happy to help out people with a little bit of her own brand of magic: glittery chalks and pastels drawing sigils to protect people, and fix their problems. Just because she used magic didn’t mean she cursed people, or was dark - she just liked her pastels. (And so maybe the skulls and chains and black added a bit of aesthetic. Sue her for wanting to look cool.)

Yeah… This is totally out of the parameters… this will never be a custom

At the old abandoned factory, at the very top of the hill, there lives a mad scientist. He tampered with life, and played his little game. He saw himself as god, and created and took away life. From bio engineering, to artificial life, his experiments were cutting edge and highly controversial. One of his creations was the Man of Metal. This fine specimen, was constructed of iron and steel and bronze, wired with pure flowing energy. Heartless, soulless, but almost alive. This creature of steel, this Man of Metal, he was designed to be the ultimate weapon. Unfeeling, cold, indestructible.

When the secret lab was destroyed, all of his creations escaped and made their way into the world. Some of them adapted and live comfortably within society. Others achieved their makers dream and began wrecking havoc on the world. The Man of Metal stayed at the place where the abandoned factory used to stand. Waiting for his maker, waiting for an order, just… waiting. He can be seen lurking around the rubble and the surrounding forest, his energy will never burn out, so he will wait forever.

One day, a ghost was flitting through, and she came to the Man of Metal. She tried to talk with him, but he just stared through her with his cold, lifeless eyes. Then she touched him, gently on the shoulder. Something happened. A piece of her soul infused itself into his circuits. He became alive. The pair have been together ever since.

This one inspired me to write about a location.

On the south bank of the planet Ferrithus, lies a space hub. It is a major trade route, and stopping point in the Diaphinus galaxy, and it is known as The Circuit Point of Trade and Travel. Or CPoTT for short. It is filled with merchants, making trades, delivering wares and picking up new supplies. Traders line the street, each hawking their wares. Some of these merchants get their goods in more… questionable means. The CPoTT is really the only place in the galaxy where Space Pirates, Merchants, the Galactic Police and other travelers come together in more or less a truce setting. Of course the occasional scuffle will break out in the streets and the occasional bar fight. But all in all they can coexist without much violence.

At the outskirts of the hub is the massive docking area. The largest in history. There is space for a million ships of various sizes. The way they regulate the docking is through a portal system. Each incoming ship is transported to its dock, and the owner, captain and crew of the ship are given this docking number. That is how they get back to the teleportation system by entering the number and teleporting directly to their ship’s dock. If they forget this number, or lose the reminder, it is a very lengthy process to retrieve this information. In fact, there are some residents of the CPoTT who forgot their number long ago and simply chose to live there instead of paying a copious amount of money to catch a ride with a merchant ship. It is estimated that there are at least 10,000 ships in holding that are more or less permanently there.
On the outside of the city, in the middle ring, that’s where there are warehouses and many street merchants. There are some houses here, but they are all very small and cheaply made. It is the dangerous part of the CPoTT. But, it is the best place to go if you are looking for a good deal on any merchandise, just be aware, that it may be either stolen, counterfeit, or defective in some way. Only go for the deal if you have a very good eye for the real thing, or you don’t mind potentially losing out. While muggings are not common, it isn’t unheard of.
The center of the city is filled with bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants and other commercial places. This is generally where the merchants and wealthy space pirates meet. Galactic Police and rich vagabonds also frequent the center ring. Gambling rings set up by the space pirates are notorious for their nefarious ways and many unbeknownst travelers may find themselves in trouble here if they aren’t careful.

Vera wears long maroon, pink, and orange robes. They are maroon with orange at the end, pink and yellow patterning line the sleeves and ends of her robe. Her hair is deep reddish-brown, and it is very curly and usually frizzy. No matter how she tries to tame it, it just keeps coming back frizzier than ever. So she has more or less just decided to let it have a mind of its own. Her eyes are a pale golden, and have a burning intensity to them. She is taller than most other mages, and she has narrow, sharp features. Her nose is much like a hawk’s sharp beak, and her eyes are just as severe.

Vera is a fire mage. She has a temper, but a calm demeanor. She has the tendency to mutter her displeasures. Most of the time when people do this, they wait for the other person to be out of earshot, or they mutter under their breath. But not Vera. Vera will mutter loud enough for someone to hear her. No one is really quite sure is she is simply being outwardly passive aggressive, or if she just doesn’t quite know that they can hear her. Usually, after such an encounter, the other person will just kind of glance back at her and then look angry and confused and then leave. Vera tends to be a little bit socially awkward and doesn’t really pick up on cues very well. She is very dedicated to her work as a fire mage, and is very good at what she does. She just doesn’t quite get the whole “team player” vibe that some of her fellow mages have.

Alice is the owner and operator of a very large casino. She is very rich and a self-made girl. When she was a baby, her mother left, her father died when she was six so she was on her own. She grew up on the streets, doing odd jobs and stealing when it was absolutely necessary. She has always had an intuition about people and a rough and tumble street smarts. When she was a little older, she wandered into a casino, looking for work. She became a card dealer and learned the game. From then on, she went to different casinos and played the game. She got better and better and made more money. Eventually, she bought out the casino from her boss. She has moved up in the world and runs a very rich casino. She is cold and doesn’t trust anyone, but that’s how she made it to where she is. She usually has a smug, almost sneering expression on her face.
Alice is very beautiful with thick, wavy raven hair and sharp blue eyes. She wears a black gown with white accents and rubies. She is very, very rarely seen without her black gloves. Under her gorgeous, lacy gown, she has a concealed dagger. She has had to use this on occasion as she is really not very popular. From people who owe her money to rival casinos, there are usually group of people who are angry with her at all times.
She lives a lonely life, but she doesn’t mind. She has her lovers, but she does not trust anyone enough to settle down. Her baby is her beloved casino and she is far too busy dealing with it to even really make friends. She is not above turning on her allies and partners. She has a strictly business mindset and questionable morals.

Celeste is a very beautiful woman. She has long, shimmery silver hair that seems to shine softly in the moonlight. Her eyes are a pale, silvery blue and shine mysteriously. As if she has a secret that no one else knows. She wears a long, flowing gown. It is a deep blue, and the skirt part is sheer, so you can see the silvery lining underneath. It is adorned with sparkles and white starry markings. She wears silvery jewelry adorned with sapphires. She has a sapphire circlet, and a silver bracelet. The bracelet is engraved with the phases of the moon.

Celeste is calm and serene. She doesn’t let things phase her, and she just goes about what she was doing. When looking upon anyone she meets, she can come off as aloof and condescending. Because she spends most of her time doing star readings and mapping the constellations, she doesn’t really know how to effectively communicate with others. She will greet them with an ancient star greeting, and she speaks in a very scholarly way and often talks over those who she is around. She was raised from a young age to read the stars, so she really did not get much socialization with her peers. This sometimes frustrates her, because she really does want to make meaningful connections and friendships, but she often times finds herself misunderstood. She tries telling a joke about the lunar eclipse, but no one seems to get it. Because of this, she is very, very lonely. But she does her best to do good and be kind.

There’s a creature known throughout the galaxy, a legend across the universe.
This rad creature’s got a mad sick beat, and plays in rhyme and verse.
She spins the discs on her table, and cranks out beat after beat.
People line up to hear her, all up and down the street.

This DJ’s got the skills, she makes the party hop,
Once she’s on the turntable, you’ll dance until she stops.
With a wicked grin, she plays you a new song.
There’s really nothing you can’t do to stop from dancing along.

Xenogeneous Xylophone is the name of this DJ,
So quick go out and see her, don’t let there be delay.
Just spend one night and hear her play, your life won’t be the same.
You’ll realize that every DJ you’ve met before was really just lame.

She’s very good at what she does, and you won’t soon forget.
A single show is all you need, you won’t have any regrets.
Go as a couple, in a groupe or alone.
But remember her name: Xenogeneous Xylophone.

By -Aku

by -Aku

by Kippie

by Rhyme

There once was a merchant named Aro. He lived with his wife, Cordelia in a cottage on the coast. They lived a very happy life together. Aro would go to sea for a couple of weeks and then be back and then be away for a couple of days and return home. Working on a merchant ship was dangerous work, but he provided a good life for his little family.
The day that Aro’s son was born was the happiest day of his life. Fortunately, he was there the day his wife gave birth. He was so proud to hold his little boy for the first time. Kai, that is what Aro named him. His perfect little son, the his little ocean man. The family lived happily together for several years. Aro at sea, and Kai begging to go with his father. On Kai’s thirteenth birthday, Aro and Cordelia finally agreed that he could accompany his father on his latest merchant trip.

The trip started out really well, things were going according to plan. The weather was beautiful, they were ahead of schedule, and not a pirate in sight. They reached their delivery location, and then they were all geared up to return home. Halfway to their destination, a terrible storm hit. It tore the vessel in two. As the storm hit, Aro said a prayer to the god of the ocean. He prayed that the ocean god would grant his son safe passage, and that he would be watched over every time he was near the ocean. He asked for the ocean to bless his son.
The ocean heard his prayer. And as the ship was ripped apart by the storm, and as it went down, Kai was spared. The lone survivor clung to the floating remains of the boat. He floated there for a day until another merchant ship saw him amongst the rubble. They picked him up and took him to the nearest port. From there, he hired himself out and eventually made it home to his mother.
Cordelia grieved the loss of her husband, but she was happy to have her little Ocean’s Gift back home safe and sound.

For Sintra, the Cave is made of two layers. She feels the one that everyone else does — the one that’s occupied primarily by stone and mushrooms. It’s solid underfoot, which is reassuring, but it’s also a little dull. The magic there means anything is possible, including rolling plains and deep pools tucked away in a cavern somewhere, but magic has nothing on the secondary layer that she sees every time she opens her eyes.

This layer is all tall, sweeping panes of glass, delicate as a whisper and cool to the touch. There are skyscrapers everywhere, buildings that disappear into rocky ceilings and extend, perhaps endlessly, into the sky outside. Sintra lives in one of these towers, and the cool halls echo with her footsteps, the glass walls singing her every motion back at her. She could walk back and forth down the spiral stairs all day, her paw on the railing, and watch her reflection travel along the pale green windows.

Sintra tried to tell a friend about it. This was a mistake she made only once. The friend had stared at her, tail drooping slowly in dismay, and Sintra had smiled and said, “I’m fairly certain it was just a dream.”

She knows it isn’t, though. You don’t dream structures like these, or the cathedrals that nestle in the darker caverns, their stained glass windows lit from within and their gothic arches the bruised purple of twilight. Sintra’s dreams are mundane things, compared to the windows she sees when her eyes are open. They look into another world entirely, one where the buildings have ghostly souls of their own, and Sintra passes, privileged, through their shadows.

Jem is a barn-owl harpy, and odds are they don’t like you. For all that barn owls, and their harpy counterparts, are generally quite substantial in size, apparently their body didn’t get the memo. Jem is tiny. Needless to say, this doesn’t do much for their attitude. The runt of the clutch, they were rather doted on by their mother, who showed affection by food as much as by attention. They’re a bit pudgy, which is just how they like it. They also are generally very confused by the gender binary some of their human friends believe in, but then there’s quite a lot about human behavior that confuses them. They try not to think about it too much.

Partially inspired by their mother, Jem is an extremely talented chef. They started work at the very bottom of the ranks, and through a lot of hard work they got up to be sous chef, where they feel quite content. On their days off, they dabble in both pastry and in chemistry, because their two great passions in life are curiosity and gluttony. On the plus side, they haven’t managed to blow anything up. Yet.

by Hush

by TheGermanTaco