Yui-chan

Peredhil-san's websites are excellent and explain it well, I thought. Thank you, Peredhude! I always use the required comma as my guide when it comes to questions of which to use. As the second link Peredhil gave us states: To me, if the sentence as I read it in my mind doesn't naturally have the pause of a comma, I use 'that'. If it does, I use 'which'. I can't say for sure how accurate that leaves me, but it's something to think about if you write with your 'ear' as I do. I do want to point out, though, that Signe's example isn't quite correct for which simply because the commas are missing. If it's a parenthetical point, then it needs to be called out from the rest of the sentence. In fact, think of it quite literally that way. In less formal writing - say, if you were jotting an email to your cousin - it's the kind of thought that you'd probably just slap into some parenthesis. It's not critical that it be there. The reader can understand what you're trying to say without it, but it adds information. So my advice is to use this twofold test on yourself the next time you come up against a that/which question in your writing. 1) Ask yourself whether the information is necessary to identify exactly what you're talking about. Is it required ('that') or optional ('which'). 2) If you're unsure, read the sentence aloud to yourself. Does it feel like there should be a pause around the that/which phrase, or does it feel like it should flow evenly? I hope all my blabbering can help someone. ... ... *pokes Gyrfalcon* You can wake up, now. I'm done. , ~Yui

All I can say is... Windex!

Temae Yui is a keepsake box, intricately-carved, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and made of a fine wood smoothed and laquered to a silken sheen. Soft to the touch and lovely, she's the type of thing that can draw attention or sit unobtrusively on the shelf. She can be the topic of conversation or the forgotten box in which the true interest was held. She can be supportive, as in holding up that which is laid on her lid, or protective, as in shielding that which is laid within. She is a comfortable, velvet-lined interior to those who need a gentle touch and a lid of sturdy wooden weight to pinch those who need a prod. In her life, she has 'held' a number of valuable things, but there have also been long times when she has been empty inside and bereft. There are people to treasure her and people she treasures in return. There are some who admire her and others who envy her. And always, always there is the darkness at the core, the shadowy interior that seldom sees light, the somber soul that is more inclined to brood and fret and worry and doubt than anything else. Only she knows the darkness because those who approach it, those who lift the lid to see what's inside, they let in the light and banish the shadows for another little while. I'd have a lot harder time assigning an object form to myself. Or perhaps too hard of a time finding one that is different from Yui-chan's....

"By the first Mother!" Kaleyra knelt at the boundary of the strange stone, a smile blooming on her face as she tore away the last of the vines and brushed the dirt out of the carvings. "This is stupendous. It's not designated, nor even alluded to, in any of the texts, and yet its existence and purpose are unequivocal." Myth raised brow, crossing her arms over her chest. "And that purpose is…?" She earned herself a surprised glance from the scholar and a moment of pause before Kaleyra blinked and grinned, gesturing back at the stone. "It's a door, Myth. We're standing at the far end of a heretofore utterly unknown emergency egress from the Temple of Isaiis! Look, here are the acknowledged symbols for the S'den and Vishari clans," she gestured, tracing a finger around the intricate crest of the S'den, "and this pictograph clearly depicts a cleric fleeing the temple in a state of apparent distress. This one over here –" "I get the picture, Bird Lady." The assassin interrupted, tapping her foot impatiently. "Can you open it?" "Well, um... I'm certain I can," Kaleyra mumbled, her attention diverted as she rummaged in her pack, "The exit is clearly defended mainly by its remote and concealed location, so ... uh... I doubt that there will be any significant trap mechanisms. It's simply a matter of ... oh, come here you odiferous little – " "What are you looking for?" Myth snapped, glaring down at the scholar as she muttered into the depths of her bag. Kaleyra paused, blinking up at her with wide, blue eyes. "Why, my charcoal, of course. I must make rubbings of the carvings in order to add the relevant facts to the texts when I return." The assassin growled in the back of her throat, closing her eyes in an attempt to control her rising temper. She ground out her words between clenched teeth. "Kaleyra. We're ... in... a... hurry." The winged woman blinked, taken by surprise by her companion's anger. "W-well... I ... ah... it won't take but a moment, and ... um... a-and really it's quite imperative that this discovery n—" "Do you want to reach the Pool or not, featherbrain?! We don't have time for sightseeing and note taking if you want to beat the church-burners and the others to your prize!" Myth shouted, glaring down at the cringing Avian as her harsh voice echoed in the sudden silence of the forest. Her nails bit deep into the palms of her hands as she fought the urge to strike out at the annoying scholar. "I-I ... of course, I want to reach the ..." Kal stuttered, quickly tying her pack shut and tucking it safely between her wings. She frowned, as much because of Myth's agitation as at the sudden realization of what she'd said. "Wait. Beat the others? The murderers, certainly, but ... um... why would we need to attain the Pool before Gyrfalcon and Timothy? They aren't – " "Oh, yes they are." Myth smirked, folding her arms across her chest once more. "They're our rivals now – have been since we left them by the creek. We betrayed them, after all." She leaned forward, watching as the scholar went ashen at the announcement. "... b-betrayed? ... But..." "No 'but'. What did you think you were doing when you decided to run off and find the Pool without the rest of the group? You left them behind, left Timothy injured and maybe dying. If that's not a betrayal, I don't know what is, Kaleyra," the assassin whispered, a dark grin slipping over her face. She was taking a rather perverse amount of pleasure out of teaching the naive little birdie a thing or two about the world, but she knew how that goody-two-shoes halfelf and his psychotic friend would see what they'd done. Just as she knew that the common-sense-deprived scholar wouldn't have thought of it in the same way. People could be so much fun to play with. Kaleyra blinked, swallowing against a terrible, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. "T... Timothy isn't dying, he... " Her whisper trailed off into silence as the true weight of her decision struck her. She hadn't thought about Gyrfalcon and Timothy's feelings about her choice; she'd only done what seemed logical at the time. The scholar's eyes dropped to the stone beside her, and she blinked back the sting of tears. She hadn't thought. She hadn't realized. It was the worst failure yet. "Time's wasting. Get this door open." Myth's voice was hard and unforgiving, cutting into Kaleyra's reflection like a whip against her back. She looked up into those cold eyes and saw the pleasure Myth took in her mistake. Anger replaced self-pity in the scholar's gaze, and her resolve strengthened. She glared at Myth. "Yes. We'll get to the Pool first, and then we'll locate the others and show them the way. I didn't accompany you in order to betray my companions, Myth. I did it to avoid a potential threat to our mission, and they'll understand that. I'll explain it to them. You'll see." Myth just grunted. "Just get the door open, bird. I'll go cut us some torches." Kaleyra didn't answer, but bent over the stone, determined to solve its mysteries as soon as possible. She had a mission to complete and a very important mistake to correct...

Seeing as this would be a unique opportunity to experience time with someone you couldn't otherwise, I think I would choose Piers Anthony as my companion for an evening. I have great respect for the man as both a thinker and a writer, and I would love to talk to him about his experiences as an author and maybe get his advice and critique of my own work. I aspire to being a writer of his calibre, not only with my words but with the depth of thought and insight that goes behind them. I want to ask him how I can write books that make people stop and think and reflect and wonder why they hadn't thought of things like that before. So... um... yeah. Definitely Piers Anthony. ~Yui

Rhapsody, It's the 'smaller than the Pen' part that made me pause in replying to you. Very few of the writing areas I know about are less than double the size of the Pen, unfortunately. But it really depends on what kind of place you are looking for. Do you want lots of good feedback or a few friends to write stories with (roleplay)? Are you after pressure-less writing purely for fun or the kind of place where people will critique and try to help you improve your words through feedback? There are some good Yahoo groups places where they specialize in hooking you up with people who will give you feedback, but they are divided by genre, so is fantasy/sci-fi your main interest? Some you might want to look into: The Wyvern's Library - I don't have any direct experience here, but it's a place for writers to post and others to read what they're posting. I did a quick sampling of random stories and about 50% of them had some feedback, which is okay for a writing site. Onlinewritingworkshop.com - They specialize in hooking people up with other writers and giving them constructive criticism. I know at least one professional-grade author who is a member of the community and recommends it to others. I'm sure there are many others, but it all depends on what you're after. Best of luck, ~Yui

"...We mages tend to appreciate our privacy.” As Salinye slipped her pack back over her shoulder, Yui-chan nodded and gathered her cloak from where it lay in a pile on the chair. With a deft motion, she slipped the pitch-black fabric over her shoulders and clasped it with a black brooch at her neck. She picked up the book she'd been reading and tucked it under one arm before turning back to the sorceress with a kind smile. "I understand, Salinye-sama, and I'll respect your privacy. I'll just find a seat and continue to read my book while you search." Salinye had no choice but to accept the Huntress' terms and trust her to keep her word. She needed to know about the information in that note, and it would be nearly impossible to find on her own if it was so sensitive that it was warded. The fact only added to a growing sense of paranoia that she fought to keep under control. As Yui turned and gestured to the initiate to follow her deeper into the rows of shelved books, she intoned, "I only regret that I cannot give you real privacy and leave you alone in the Ward room. It's Keep policy that absolutely no one is ever in there without another mage within viewing distance. I hope you can understand when you feel the energies in that place; it's for your safety and the safety of the residents." "I'm sure the Elders would not have so stringently guarded the contents of the Ward Room unless it were completely necessary, Lady Yui," Salinye said, offering the other woman a smile that was much more confident than she felt. Secrecy was another good reason for leadership to restrict access to a room, after all... Yui-chan stopped at the end of a particularly long, dark aisle between two shelves, her gaze fixed on an unobtrusive wooden door set into the grey stone. Though the wood was plain, a closer look at the lock revealed a complex runic spell inscribed in a dozen layers of magic on the hammered metal, and Salinye could feel the mental hum of the powerful wards woven into the wood. She'd never felt their like, both in sheer power and in steadfast construction. There were no snags in the weave of these spells, not a single loose strand or flaw, and the energy was so tightly controlled that its sense-signature, the eminations that naturally radiate from any sorcery, extended only a few feet out into the room. Normally, wards that strong should have stood out like a beacon to any mage within a hundred meters! Yui glanced back at her companion, grinning slightly at the awe clear on Salinye's pretty face. "Undoubtedly, this is the magecraft that all of the Elders are most proud of. It stems from the first days of the Pen, when Master Ozymandius, Peredhil, Zool, Wyvern and Lumpen stood together to create this place. They brought with them a very dangerous text from the dark ages of Terra that needed protecting, and as pieces have been brought to us or found by members and Elders alike, the wards have been strengthened and deepened until they've become what you can sense here." Her grin turned into an appreciative smile that she directed at the door before her. "I have to admit I was very excited when I discovered this little bit of adventure in my library. The wards sing so beautifully that they give me shivers sometimes in the late hours of the night. It's such a work of art! "Achem," recalling herself from her admirations, the young woman glanced sheepishly at Salinye, a gentle blush gracing her cheeks. "Situresimasu.* I get a little bit overeager when it comes to this place. Forgive me." Salinye laughed softly despite her worries, "That's quite alright." With an embarassed wince, Yui mumbled, "Give me just a few moments, and I'll have it open," and turned her face back to the door, closing her eyes in concentration. The key was a spell whispered under her breath, the words of which were far too low for Salinye to hear. As they wove together into a glowing nimbus in the air, the magess brought her hands up in a strange series of gestures, passing them back and forth around and through the bright energy in a manner that reminded Salinye of a sculptor working his clay. Within a few minutes, the impression proved correct as the power slowly gained the shape and size of a skeleton key, its details sharpening beneath the deft motions of the magess' nimble hands. When the light looked as stable and solid as a piece of metal, Yui fell silent and reached up to pluck the newly-formed key from the air. She turned to Salinye, her green eyes slightly luminescent with residual power, and fixed her with a serious gaze, ignoring the beads of sweat on her forehead. "Please be careful, Salinye-sama. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there are things in this room that can destroy your soul with a touch. I will wait just inside the door and bury my head in my book to respect your privacy, but please touch only what you must and do not hesitate to call on me the moment you sense any danger. Will you do this for me?" Salinye nodded somberly, fixing her eyes on Yui's. Those depths of washed-out green reflected nothing but genuine concern, and the sorceress found herself even more wanting to be able to trust the new Elder's intentions. Temae Yui seemed such a guileless woman; it was hard to imagine her being a part of any nefarious conspiracy, and yet... The elven lady shelved her concerns for consideration another time, instead pledging, "I will, Lady Yui. You have my word." "Yosh**." With a smile and a nod, the little human turned and slipped the magical key into the rune-scarred lock. It burst into a thousand sparkles of light as the door swung slowly open before them. "In that case, welcome to the Ward Room, my friend." {* Japanese for "Pardon me."} {** Again, Japanese. Loosely translated in this context, it means "Good."}

#10 Dear Diary June 12, 2003 Today was almost a normal day. School was boring and classes were tedious, as always. Those two annoying girls in AP Calculus chattered away as always while Mrs. Pfleuger rambled on, oblivious. (I swear, that old lady is as senile as they come. I can't figure out why the school keeps her around.) Bobby and Dave were tossing French fries at the cheerleader table at lunch. Ally smiled at me again in the hallway. Oh, and that b!+$^, Tina, and her little gang of wanna-be thugs were out spray-painting the north wall of building 3 during 7th period. I heard that they got a month's suspension for their artistic urges. Nah, but despite all that normal crap, I spent all day feeling just … strange. Kinda like a really bad headache was building in the back of my head, but it never really 'broke', ya know? And then there was that episode while Mr. Pearle was blabbing on about that stupid Shakespeare play we had to read last night. I suddenly got all antsy, right? (Not that it's strange for me to get antsy during the middle of a boring class, but this was different.) I was staring up at the clock, wishing that time were going faster and totally squirming in my seat, when I swear I got this electric shock or something. It felt like it does when you stick your tongue across the prongs of a 9V battery, except like 20 times stronger or so. I even had that tangy 'metal' taste in my mouth. It was way freaky, but what made it even stranger was that when I looked back up, the clock hands were spinning around the dial like they were on crack or something! It had broken, sure, but the timing just bugged me out. At least we got a break in the lecture while Mr. Pearle fiddled with it. The only thing better woulda been if Pearly's class had moved as fast as the clock for the rest of the period. Oh, well. I can dream, right? July 2, 2003 It happened again, today. I gotta admit that it's kind of starting to freak me out. I mean, once or twice is cool, right? You can write off one or two little freaky-deaks off to coincidence and go on about your day real calmly, but … come on! This is the fourth time in three weeks that I've had one of my strange little 'fits', and every time I do, something totally off-the-wall happens. I am now officially creeped-out about the whole thing. Yeah, so, I haven't been updating the old journal so often lately, so I guess I'd better fill in the gaps. The weird s^!+ always happens right after one of those 'electric shocks' hits me and then I get that metal taste in my mouth. Anyway, first, of course, was Pearly's clock. That was nothing, right? A little mechanical bug that happened to mirror what I was thinking about. The next one was when I accidentally made an exact copy of Mr. Meek's example art project. I couldn't even draw stick figures right on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I'm on fire and churning out a professional-grade acrylic painting? Man, Meek couldn't decide whether to be astonished, happy, or completely pissed. I didn’t know what was up, so I figured it was luck and considered myself glad Meek thought the same thing. Then there was that homeroom incident with Brent Stockdale. The @$$wipe decided it'd be funny to sabotage my pen and the ink ruined my new Hilfiger shirt. I was making my plans to pound him after school, when the spaz jumps up from his seat and starts running around the room, screaming like a moron! Miss Frank had to go get Mr. Stitzlein from down the hall to wrestle Brent down so that they could get him to the nurse. They told us later that he'd been on a bad trip or some crap like that, but … well, I heard him mumbling something about demons when they were taking him away, and I looked down at my book. My finger was sitting on a picture of some old European depiction of a demon. It totally freaked me out. Today's freaky-deak was nicer, at least, and didn't involve any screaming or hysterics. It happened during lunch, actually, when I was waiting to get my food. I got behind Ally in the lunch line, so I decided to try to make my move. Man, I was so nervous, but I noticed a colorful sketch on her book jacket. (She's always been such a great artist.) It was this exotic-looking butterfly done in bright marker colors, and it really was beautiful. I asked her about it, and she kinda shyly answered my questions. Man, she's so cute when she gets all grins and nerves like that! I was thinking about how she was as pretty as her little doodle when the 'shock' hit me and then this super-colorful butterfly flies up between us and flits around. Ally was so thrilled! It even landed on her finger. It was probably a great moment and all, but I was having a hard time enjoying it because I'd already looked down at her book. The doodled butterfly wasn't on the cover any more. Now, that one's pretty hard to explain. I can't really come up with anything, and it's starting to scare me. The butterfly's one thing; the windows were open in the cafeteria, after all, but I can't get over the doodle. Marker doesn't wash out of a paper-bag book cover! So… yeah, I'm officially freaked. Am I imagining all this, or what? July 8, 2003 There were these strange guys hanging around school, today, and I kept getting the weirdest feeling that they were watching me. I mean, it's not like they followed me around, or even talked to me, but I just kept getting creeped out every time I looked at one of them. Mr. Meek said they were some sort of inspection team from the State Board of Education, so I guess it was just my imagination, but … man, they looked like something out of Men in Black. That tall dude even kinda reminded me of Will Smith, except white instead of black. I'm just glad I didn't have one of my 'episodes' today. Whatever they were here for, I don't think it'd be a good idea to show them something weird. Anyway, Bobby and I are going to do some 'boarding at the park ramps. No time to write more.

Thanks, Cerulean! I'm glad you're enjoying them. #9 The Unmaker What would you be without all the things in your life, if you no longer had your power, your business, your influence, or your wealth? What would be left without your house, car, and posessions? What if your children despised you and your parents disowned you? What if your spouse left you? Could you stand it? Would there be enough left within yourself to survive if everything else you valued was gone? What if it all came crumbling down in one, horrifying day? I’ll tell you. You’d shatter into a thousand pieces like fine china. Everyone does. By the end of the twelve hours in which you would watch your life crumbling around you, you’d be either dead by your own hand or drooling on yourself in a psychotic stupor. Without your accomplishments to support you, your possessions to give you worth, you are nothing more than blood and bones and dirt. You’re meaningless. Trust me. I know. I’ve watched dozens of men and women react as their lives dissolve into dust, that pathetic little soul-stricken look spreading within their eyes with every blow until there is nothing there but glazed emptiness. I have looked into a score of faces and laughed as the soul died in their gaze. It’s a rare and beautiful moment, and it’s what makes my job so damned pleasurable. It’s why I became my own brand of assassin. My name is Emelie Reisleder, but everyone knows me as the Unmaker. I am a clerical and forgery genius, trained in the practices of espionage and disguise by British Intelligence. I can make any document, doctor any photograph, and break into any office in the city without breaking a sweat. I know a thousand ways to unmake the life you’ve made for yourself by manipulating the strings of society, administration, and emotions, and I long ago lost the sense of compassion necessary to stop me from using those abilities. No one is safe. Nothing is secure, for I know precisely how to topple your business, sabotage your finances, ruin your relationships and smother your hopes, all without ever having laid eyes on you. There is no where to hide; I can destroy you from half a globe away through my network of contacts and resources. That is my profession, my passion, and my art. I am the ultimate eliminator, and my services are always for hire. How long do you think you can survive after I’ve finished with you??

*cough* Oh.... yes.... that writing exchange ... Hehehe... Yup. I'm on top of that, all right. Got it all well in hand. Yepperz... Yui-chan rushes off to go figure out what she was supposed to do for that again. >_

#8 Yakusoku ('Promise') I can't. I can't see you. I can't hear you. I can't reach you. The chains bind me. The walls enclose me. The stone smothers me, and I am crushed beneath its weight. I cannot move. I cannot fight. I cannot remember what it felt like to be me, to be a freeman in a wide-open world. I cannot remember what it meant to have a future. Here, I am nothing. I am alone. I am forgotten. I blend with the dust and dirt around me, indistinguishable from the darkness in which I reside. The sun does not reach me. It should not, for I am anathema to the light. I will consume it and keep it for myself. I am an empty vessel that will take the rays of the sun and bottle them up, stealing them away from you like you stole my self from me. I would keep them as tightly emprisoned as you have kept me, and you would suffer for it. Oh, how you would suffer for it. In the meantime, I will not forget. I will not fade. I am corrupt and horrible and eternal, a blight inherent in the nature of existence. I am everything that is putrid and worthless and refused. I may be held at bay, locked in this prison of stone and rust and dark, but the day will come when I will be free once more. The day will come when I will fill my empty soul with all the purity of your brilliant world. I will consume it all and leave you in a place as black and heavy as this prison. There will be no chains to bind me. There will be no walls to enclose me. There will be no stone to stand between us, and I will step into the open to find you. I will know once more what it was to be me, to be a freeman in your pristine world. I will know what it means to have revenge. I will see you. I will hear you. I will reach you. I will.

******* Djaz wasn't pleased to admit it to himself, but five long hours later, he was rather impressed. Despite the pain that was clear in her every step, despite the cold rain that now soaked them, and despite his best efforts to choose the most grueling path for their journey, the girl had neither complained nor stopped during all the day or night. As soft as her kind were purported to be, it was quite a surprise to find such toughness in her. He spent no insignificant amount of time worrying over whether it was a fluke or whether she had other surprises in store for him. Whatever the case, though, he knew their cute little contest of stubborn wills couldn’t continue indefinitely. The journey was neither short nor easy, and if she could stumble forward on shredded feet, so be it, but he was tired and hungry and needing some rest. So what if she 'won'? In the end, he still held the rope that bound her wrists together and he still determined their path to Vhi'darteth. She was definitely facing the bigger loss. The bounty hunter smirked at that. Yep, death at the hands of the Collectors pretty much took the cake for 'losses'. He wasn't going to sweat whether he let the girl rest or not with what she had ahead of her. He started scanning the shadowed forest around them for a good campsite. "Oufer asoko," rasped a weak voice from behind him. Djaz frowned as he turned, opening his mouth to tell the foreign chit to at least speak in a decent language, but her raised hands gave him pause. He followed her pointed finger until he spied the particularly quiet-looking clearing just barely visible in the pre-dawn light, and her meaning became clear. He wondered whether to be pleased that she'd found a good camp site or alarmed the she'd known he was looking. Could her kind read minds? Just the possibility was enough to make his skin crawl, and he scowled angrily at the girl, making his displeasure abundantly clear. With her eyes fixed doggedly on the ground at her feet, though, the young man couldn’t even be sure that she saw his warning, so he took steps to see to it that she felt it as he turned to stomp off towards the mossy thicket, yanking sharply on the rope tied to her bound wrists. His temper was rewarded as he felt her stumble against the tree beside her, scrambling to catch up with him before he pulled her over. Djaz grinned cruelly to himself, firmly convinced that a creature like her deserved that and far more. It was going to be an amusing trip...

Wyvie, I wanted to let you know that I've been (slowly but surely) keep up with your An Assassin's Retirement as it comes out, and I'm enjoying it thus far. You've written up a couple of interesting incidents from a young girl's life, focussing on the emotionalism of her situation. I'm looking forward to seeing how you bind it to the hints you've given about their culture and the Ashettu. I do have two suggestions for you, though, that I think may help you with subsequent entries. Take them with a grain of salt, since I'm no expert, but they are points that struck me as I read... First, given that the story is basically supported be emotionalism more than action at this point, I think you should consider pushing that aspect a little harder. You've got a great start at describing the child's feelings, stronger at some point than at others, but I feel like you could draw the reader in much more if you really dig into her emotions. Describe to us how she's feeling in more detail so that we can experience her emotions more than just 'see' the fact that she's crying or hurt. Tell us precisely how hard she struggled to make up her mind whether her desire to please her aunt and gain some hint of love there was more important than her own heart telling her it was wrong to stone those men. Let us know more about how she felt when the other boy saved her, or for that matter, when the cruel one suddenly struck her with a stone. Hee. In other words, you're teasing me, darnitall! I want you to make me feel what she feels. The second thing is of a slightly more technical nature, and really pertains only to your second post. Although you didn't in the first, you used a boatload of passive voice in the entry about her first kiss. For example, check out this paragraph: There's a lot of passive voice in there that you could easily switch to active in order to better draw your audience into the action. You also started the post with a whole lot of 'had done this' and 'had done that' which, while not passive precisely, is another verb usage that distances the audience from the action. Usually, that's only used successfully in short passages. Although you used it well where you did, I think you'd be better off to stick with pure past tense as you did in the first post. Well, that's a lot of my opinion, anyway. I can't wait to see what's next! Write, write, write! Yours, ~Yui

I agree with Peredhil-san. Excellent writing, Falcon. It is not-too-deep in detail, yet also not too shallow, so you don't get the feeling that it's missing anything. Having never heard of Urza, I thought the concept was creative and well-executed. You used it well for the story and the sense of drama to it all. Nice work! ~Yui

Master Peredhil, Ah... so many fun memories! We are in your debt for finding the time to transcribe and fix and explain this tangled thread. Domo arigatoo gozaimasita! Yours, ~Yui-chan

Awww... Poor Nobody! The best natural laxative is relaxation, so don't fret over it. You'll get your literary bowels a'flowing again. ... now, there's a mental image one doesn't need at 9am. >_ ~Yui

#7 Song of the Broken The world was mist and shadows. The night was silence wrapped in pitch darkness. The trees were hands reaching to grab him, blades trying to scratch the skin from his bones and snatch the cloak from his shoulders. The leaves were sirens trying to scream to his pursuers, betrayers wanting to give him away, and they were succeeding. In... out ... in... out. He chanted the words in his mind, reminding his lungs to pump quickly enough to sustain his legs as he half-ran, half-stumbled through the thick, fogged foliage of the forest. He didn't dare stop, couldn't afford to stumble, his mind latched tightly to the song he heard in the distance, his eyes carefully fixed in the direction he needed to go. There was so little time that he didn't dare think about the abominations behind him, couldn't spare a thought for the fate he would suffer if they reached him before he found it. If exhaustion weighed down his limbs, he refused to acknowledge it. If he felt the blood that trickled from the scratches and cuts on his arms and face, he ignored it. If fear gnawed at his gut, he refused to fuel it any further. His mind got no further than which foot to move next and which way to dodge the tree branch looming at him through the white fog because he would not let it. Fear, doubt, pain, fatigue - these were all distractions that he could not allow. On this night, in this place, there was only the forest and the song. Anything else meant failure and loss. Thus, he ran for an eternity, eyes narrowed against the grey, shrouded forest, his lips caught tight in pained grimace. Around him, his own rasping breath and the occasional snap of a twig beneath his feet were the only sounds, his pursuers as silent as midnight. Within him, a melody as pure as new snow steadily gained in power, wrapping his shattered soul with the promise of comfort. The song provided hope that sustained him long after his own had been consumed, and he was able to keep moving towards his salvation until his head rung with the nearness and beauty of it. He broke through a clearing in the trees, tripping past the edge of the mist and into a clear, bright night. The full moon shone down through a cloudless sky, lighting the man sitting on the stump in the center of the small place, lining his face with the stark contrast of silver and black and glinting off the golden pipes in his hand. The apparition lowered the instrument and smiled at the runner as he stumbled into the light, and his eyes sparkled with all the wonder of the stars. His double smiled back, his eyes so black that they seemed to absorb the very light of the moon. He'd won. On the border of the misted forest, abominations screamed in frustration and anger, impotent in the face of the moon. They could not enter the clearing. They could not stop the reunification. They'd lost. In triumph, the two men embraced, and where they touched, sparks flew until the clearing was an explosion of radiant light. The abominations fell silent, first in fear and then in death, and every last twisted body crumbled to dust. The mist that had haunted the forest for eons burned away in an instant. The trees that had stood so long in darkness and decay, burst into verdant life once more, willed back from the darkness. A god reunited smiled down at his work and promised never to be broken again.

Hee. Danke, Ayshela. I showed those brain gremlins what-for! #6 Aftermath Simple words. They were all such simple words. Yet, hidden in them was a cutting blade, a stiletto poised to dart forward and cut yet another notch in her scarred skin. It hurt, as always, leaving a trail of blood to drip, drip, drip down her cheek, draining away with some more of her self-confidence and ambition. By now, though, the pain was old and familiar, and while the shock of the first few times had dulled with experience, still the ache of the cut, the sticky warmth of the blood, the weakness bourne of loss of worth assaulted her. Of course, she ignored it all, crumpling the note in her hand before she tossed it away with a nonchalant shrug. Her mind focused carefully on empty thoughts about how little it mattered, how little she cared. She reminded herself that it was a success, after all, despite that they didn't find it worthy. It had said what it was meant to say, taught what it was meant to teach, and drawn a pretty little moment out of the halls of her imagination. It had substance and story and meaning, and if it was less than perfect in some places, at least there were many others where it had come together flawlessly. Reason assured her that she'd succeeded. Reason reminded her that she should be proud. Reason dictated that their opinions did not determine the true value of the work. When the voice of reason had fallen silent, though, the throb of the wound screamed louder than ever. Self-delusion had never been one of her strong points.

#5 Frantic The creatures in my bruised, black brain are dancing, jumping, dancing, leaping, rolling, wrestling, never sleeping, singing, yelling, shouting, laughing, screaming jokes 'tween spurts of clapping, waging war against my senses, driving busses through my fences, roaring, screeching, buzzing, spewing, taking, leaving, taking, doing, trampling footprints in grey matter, blasting hours of senseless chatter, rifling, ripping, bending, tearing, dropping, breaking, losing, scaring, taking all my hard-won thoughts and shovel'ing them in chipped clay pots, digging, sifting, slinging, dumping, scooping, throwing, flinging, humping, digging holes in all my plans, carting off ideas in cans, turning cartwheels, tumbling, flipping, climbing, falling, sticking, slipping! Those pesky little brain-mite bugs are making me FRANTIC! ARRGGGGGHHHHHH!

Happy 18th Xaious. ~Yui

"I... " Kaleyra wavered, uncertainty clear in her eyes as she glanced back towards where she knew Gyrfalcon, Timothy and the mysterious Elena were waiting for her. In the end, it came down to the fact that there was nothing to tie her to the others any longer. Timothy needed a mage like Gyrfalcon more than he needed the scholar's limited medical knowledge, and she certainly owed no favors to the Pool's self-styled guardian. In fact, it would probably be best to distance herself from the woman, so that she couldn't interfere with the Avian's mission. And Gyrfalcon... Kaleyra's eyes clouded at the thought of how little she had to offer, to Gyrfalcon most of all. Now that she'd gone to the limits of her research, she was nothing but a burden to the mage, especially with more zombies about. She could not help in battle or in the last leg of their journey. He and the others would do perfectly well without her. "Um... that sounds logical, Myth." The winged woman nodded, finally, her gaze meeting the assassin's. "We can ascertain the precise location of the Pool, and once we've availed ourselves of the wisdom it grants, we can help the others find it." She didn't mention her thought that they could also verify that it wasn't going to kill them outright. It wasn't worthy, and she didn't believe... Myth made a noncommittal sound and gestured impatiently downstream. "Let's go, then." "Wait..." The Avian shook her head, rifling around in her pack. "We should at least let the others know that we've gone, don't you think? We don't want them to worry about us." As Kaleyra fished out a piece of parchment and her ink and quill out of her pack, Myth shook her head and leaned up against the nearest tree trunk. "What makes you think they'd worry, hm?" Her biting tone was rewarded by a wince from the scholar. "... well... it... doesn't harm anything to cover the possibility, correct?" Myth grinned a bit. It was amusing the play on the bird's insecurities. A few moments later, two filled canteens and a hastily-scrawled note hung from the trunk of the largest tree in the clearing, pinned to the scarred wood by a small throwing knife. They were the only remaining sign that the scholar and the assassin had ever been there.

#4 Rot You thought you were safe. You thought yourself among friends, but you know better now. You can feel it building in your gut, roiling within you like a caged beast, pounding on the fragile walls of your body, and you know that you been betrayed. You know. At first, it is just uncomfortable, a heavy dread in the pit of your stomach, a headache building behind your eyes. Soon, though, it becomes much worse. Your vision wavers and weaves dizzyingly, and you clutch at the table, trying despirately to steady yourself against the vertigo. You burn, and sweat breaks out on your forehead as you fumble for a chalice of water, the world spinning around you. You won't reach it, of course, since I moved it away while the others were watching you. We can't take the risk of the water diluting the poison, after all. Oh, don't look at me with that terrified, hurt expression and expect me to take pity on you. I'm quite enjoying watching you die, actually. I am waiting in quite a bit of anticipation for the -- ... ah, yes. Just like that. Your stomach is cramping in powerful spasms, now, clenching you double with its violent contractions. It's agony of the worst kind, the beginnings of a reaction that will end up with your own muscles tearing your insides to bits, your organs grinding themselves to jelly within your skin. Scream, damn you. I want to hear how much you are suffering. Open those hateful, steely eyes and let me see your torment in them, let me see how hurt you are by my betrayal. I want to enjoy every second of your suffering, every heartbeat of my revenge, so scream. Scream! Yes! ... just like that. Scream for me as your intestines knot and twist, as your heart stutters and stammers, as your head pounds and your eyes boil. I chose this for you with utmost care, so enjoy these last few, hellish moments. Think of all the things you've regretted in your life, and when you do, see the terrified face of my mother as you slew her husband. Hear the frantic screams of my brothers and sisters as you burned them alive within their home. Feel the pain of a woman who hated you, yet loved the son you forced on her body. She taught me, father. She showed me how to see the truth behind your lies, the darkness behind your pretty words, and what I have seen sickens me. You sicken me. And now, I have sickened you. I must play the part, of course, so here, let me hold your head as you convulse. Let me wipe your sweatslick hair back from your eyes and lean in close to comfort you. Let the last sound you ever hear be my voice whispering in your ear. "Your body matches your soul, now, father, sick and twisted at the core, rotting from the inside out." You barely have the strength to grip my arm, but you try, fixing me with a word written in a gaze. Why? I can only shake my head at your obtuseness. I thought you would have figured it out by now. As your last, agonized breath rattles in your chest, I lean down and give you the only gift you are owed for my existence. "Because I am my mother's son."

As Snypiuer fumbles about, turning knobs and pressing buttons in the vain hopes of finding the right combination to move the thread, a shadow behind him stirs. That feeling of presence at the back of his neck slithers down his spine, and the normally-fearless being goes stock-still. Was it happening again? After a few heartbeats of thought, he decides that it's not quite the same sensation. The menace from that late-night episode is lacking, and so he gathers the edges of his frayed courage in and starts to turn. Before he can, though, he is distracted by the insistant beeping on the instruments in front of him. The feeling fades away as he looks down to see the display flashing large letters to inform him that the thread has been moved. "Huh. I must've found the right button, after all." As she wanders away through the corridors of darkness that link all places, Yui-chan just grins amusedly. At least she didn't test his mettle by popping out and screaming "Boo!"

Peredhil and Ayshela, Certainly. I've posted the 500-race in the Cabaret room, so enjoy! I should mention, though, that while I'm writing after the same general idea, I'm not using their 636 topics. I wanted to write whatever was on the top of my head, instead. Thus far, I've sort of been letting the topics for my freewrites evolve out of my emotions at the moment that I start writing. *shrugs* I'll probably resort to their list if I get stuck, but otherwise, I'm just playing around. Have fun with it. Yours, ~Yui

At the request of Ayshela and Peredhil, and because it can be a good exercise, here is the list of topics that were created for the '500-Race' of speed paintings over at Sijun. I think it'd be a wonderful exercise for writers who are interested to adopt this list for an exercise in freewriting. There are two goals in an exercise like this. First, it should be quick and free, without an overabundance of planning and thought, so give yourself no more than 30 minutes per topic. Of course, you can shorten that amount of time if you plan on only writing a few paragraphs for each. Second, and most importantly, try to focus on getting a unique literary image from the words. For example, think about what else 'mountain goat' might describe other than the furry, horned quadraped that your mind first thought up. Two people writing on the same topic should not be writing about the same thing. Finally, and this is my own personal input into the writing adaptation of the exercise, I highly recommend that you make an effort to write in different styles as you go through. Rotate between first-person, second-person and third-person perspectives. Vary the tone from narrative to descriptive to persuasive. Use formal language once, colloquialisms the next time, and then slide into an archaic tone. Heck, I even suggest that you should feel free to pop between prose and poetry whenever you get the urge. This is a chance to stretch your horizons without the pressure of having to write something 'good'! Just write. Best of luck, Pennites. ~Yui Disclaimer: I didn't write this list, and some of the people who did ... well, you'd have to know them to understand their sick and twisted minds. The 500-race (that actually goes to 636) 1. mountain goat 2. solar eclipse 3. partly collapsed building 4. Rocks 5. trees 6. trees planted in rocks 7. tv 8. cars 9. trucks 10. people dancing 11. people running 12. people riding horses 13. horses riding in a trailer 14. trailers carrying logs of wood 15. logs on fire 16. fire burning behind a mountain 17. a mountain with snow 18. a mountain with a waterfall 19. a waterfall with burning logs falling off 20. a waterfall crashing on the rocks below 22. a sink with water overflowing 23. fish swiming 24. people swiming 25. elephants swiming 26. anphibians coming out of water 27. lizards eating eggs 28. eggs hatching 29. egg. 30. cubes. spheres.. 31. prymids(icantspell) 32. king tut 33. a sunset 34. a sunrise 35. a clouded sun 36. a freeway 37. a street 38. a city 39. a city in the distance 40. a distant planet 41. a shipwrek 42. a oilspill 43. a beach 44. a beach with oilspill 45. kids playing at a beach 46. boats 47. big boats 48. small boats 49. a birds eye view of people 50. peoples view of a bird 51. a penguin 52. an artic city 53. a humid city 54. a dry city 55. a flooded city 56. a person crying 57. a person falling 58. a woman looking in a mirror 59. a fat guy looking in a mirror 60. a torn cloth 61. Jar of marbles 62. Flying 63. Scene from the zoo 64. homeless man 65. business man 66. baseball player 67. James Bond 68. flowers 69. running for your life 70. a carpenter's drawer 71. crowd attending a speech 72. band on stage 73. waterfall 74. old ruins 75. sunken ship underwater 76. bar brawl 77. haunted wood 78. old factory 79. a cello player practicing 80. man or woman in bathtub 81. manager of a big company 82. a lighthouse 83. car race 84. scene under a bridge 85. ninja training dojo 86. young girl reading a book 87. farmer at work 88. captain in submarine 89. running man 90. musketeer swordplay scene 91. motorcycle driver 92. Old woman with cat 93. small woodhouse near a lake 94. charging knights on horse 95. policeman 96. Family looking at stars 98. burning house 99. forgotten temple in jungle 100. settlers w/ wagons 101. japanese garden 102. large dead spider on a highway 103. mountain of unwashed dishes 104. sword stuck in a tree trunk 105. empty corner 106. flock of small birds chasing a big bird 107. hanged barbie-doll 108. cat sleeping in a boat 109. ugly dog in a empty garage 110. exploded beer can 111. space ship beaming up a moose at night 112. Rubik's cube with some parts fallen off 113. overflowing fountain on a stone floor 114. dried fish head 115. sad gardener in a cape 116. terrified geek reading a newspaper 117. radio host making funny noises 118. bartender reaching for a shotgun 119. soldier with an umbrella 120. santa claus jumping of a cliff 121. priest digging a foxhole 122. Ballet Midgets. 123. Ballet midgets with mullets. 124. Mullets. 125. Bestiality. 126. Whiskey. 127. Radiation. 128. Naked chicks 129. Failure. 130. Hairy Greek guys. 131. Hairy Gay Guys. 132. Hairy Gay Greek Guys. 133. Hairy Gay Greek Women. (oi.) 134. Chicks with d#$%@. 135. The Houston 620. 136. Sex Court with Judge Julie. 137. Judge Judy. 138. Bull from Night Court. 139. The episode of Night Court that had Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner. 140. The episode of Who's The Boss where Tony sees Angela in the shower. 141. The crazy opening sequence of The Cosby Show. 142. Mr. T. 143. Pee Wee Herman's dual appeal. 144. The fact that the Golden Girls were in no way Golden. And hardly Girls, at that. 145. My pants. 146. Rasta dudes. 147. Ganja. 148. a pot 149. what a dope! 150. big, ugly weeds 151. Bud. 152. Doobies. 153. Reefer. 154. Goofball. 155. Smack. 156. Other fun drugs euphamisms. 157. The pure goodness of Maxim. 158. Stippers. 159. Exploitation. 160. Satanic bands that aren't really Satanic. 161. Death metal. 162. Synth-pop. 163. Christian music laced with Satanic messages. 164. The Who. 165. Dylan Thomas. 166. Poetry. 167. NAMBLA 168. Hot Bosnian chicks who are, unfortunately, heroin addicts. 169. 69ing. 170. Lesbians with mullets. 171. Two dragons in combat 172. Steamy alien jungle 173. Chinese woman combing her hair 174. A godess 175. Close up of two mouths kissing 176. Buddhist monk in orange robe 177. A scene from your dream last night 188. The Eiffel tower at night 179. A strange miniature creature crawling out of a filled wineglass. 180. Night forest with trees limbs like reaching arms. 181. A shrunken head in a container of Chinese food takeout. 182. Log cabin in the snow (outside view) 183. Log cabin in the snow (inside view) 184. George W. Bush purchasing a 3 Billion dollar military airplane. 185. A Robotic Dog. 186. A levitating buisnessman. 187. A coin, with an engraving of yourself on it 188. A person being used as a table. 189. your favorite color at the moment 190. kraken - the ship-eating giant squid 191. unicorn 192. vast corn field 193. rhinoceros & hippopotamus standing in mud 194. violin player on stage 195. green anaconda 196. potatoes growing out of the fridge (it ain't pretty, i'm telling you) 197. helicopter swarm 198. dark side of the moon 199. ice hockey goalie 200. tool shed 201. village built on treetops 202. hot dog with loads of mustard 203. north pole 204. shaman wearing wolf skin & magical items 205. bee nest 206. axe-wielding ghost 207. bottle half-buried in sand 208. car mechanic 209. fuel station 210. birthday cake 211. your nation's flag 212. castle ruins 213. meteorite crater 214. rope bridge 215. church 216. green house 217. police officer 218. girl juggling oranges 219. bank vault 220. frozen zeppelin 221. cat chasing mouse 222. wooden airplane 223. living sketchbook 224. old lady smoking 225. fisherman reeling a shoe 226. apple tree growing skulls instead 227. monorail 228. cemetery 229. clown 230. A computer showing The Blue Screen of Death 231. Darth Maul 232. A Coke bottle 233. A hot-dog 234. An ancient book 235. A snowman 236. A melted snowman 237. Mars 238. A rusty old carwreck 239. A sunken galleon 240. A submarine (under water, of course!) 241. Earth in 500 years 242. A Cro Magnon-man 243. Godzilla eating Barney 244. An umber hulk (Dungeons and dragons) 245. A dragon!! 246. The marine from Starcraft 247. Helena Christensen 248. A man taking a bicycle-ride 249. A man taking a bicycle 250. The number "250" 251. destroyed outpost on Pluto (sci-fi) 252. electric chair 253. underwater scene of a Statue of Liberty 254. badly struck (twisted) nails in a two-by-four 255. police car crushed under a massive letter 'W' 256. mushroom cloud 257. burning 'z'-shaped tetris block 258. Jesus wearing a Nike's t-shirt 259. An owl. 260. A close-up of a redwood deck. 261. Godzilla. 262. A gecko. 263. A rose stone. 264. Cow-themed coffee cup filled with color pencils. 265. an octopus. 266. Master of the Universe... 267. Winnie the Pooh. 268. a pair of Elvis' sunglasses 269. Wine Glass 270. The moon close up 271. a skeleton 272. various anatomy hands feet eyes body =) 273. cruise ship 274. a bed 275. couche or sofa 276. rug 278. curtains 279. volcano 280. 7 wonders of the world.. 281. clouds 282. paint a song 283. A plate of Sushi 284. Waking up in the summer morning 286. A beautiful corpse 286. Playing piano in the dark 287. Sunken city of R'lyeh 288. Nightclub scene 289. Astral traveling (Out of Body Experience) 300. Permian landscape 301. A 3-legged rhino 302. Siamese twins joined at the head 303. the back of a old woman's wrinkly neck 304. medievil torture devices(ie: iron maidens,etc...) 305. A man with his hands nailed to his knees, tied to a chair about to fall out of a moving van on a rainy night 306. old DiVinci style contraptions 307. paint a group of boring objects. 308. paint something you see everyday 309. paint a party scene 310. paint something delicious 311. cut-up pieces of fruit 312. plate with food on it 313. package of candy 314. set a table with afternoon light hitting it 315. closeup of a flower 316. imaginary flowers 317. dried flowers 318. a bunch of objects that are the same color 319. complementary colors 320. a variety of round objects. 321. dynamic triangle composition 322. a still life with three or fewer objects 323. combine mechanical and organic elements 324. animal, vegetable and mineral 325. objects that represent a season of the year. 326. three objects from your childhood 327. objects that make you laugh 328. the shadows cast by a machine 329. a weird musical instrument 330. a family member 331. a crowd of people 332. a figure by candlelight 333. an animal in human costume 334. a season of the year 335. a landscape view with no specific details 336. early morning fog 337. the pattern of a city skyline or series of rooftops 338. an architectural detail 339. a sidewalk scene with loose strokes to create movement 340. a sign on a building 341. colors you never use. 342. a figure from below. 343. the dead 344. draw yousrelf being 66 years old 345. your dreamhouse 346. a happy graveyard 347. Bert and Earnie 348. View out side your window 349. SOme kind scifi fat man 350. YOur fear 351. Ballet 352. Foreign country scene 353. Lava Lamps 354. Twilight zone 355. YOur dream Hamburger 356. Medical Illustration 357. Fat Kun Fu ninja 358. Michael Jackson 359. A MOUTH full of braces 360. A starship exploding 361. Closeup of the helmet of a lost spacetraveler. 362. A sieged planet 363. A solar eclipse 364. A monk in meditation 365. A broken sword on cloth 366. A tired but happy man 367. An alien 368. A two headed alien 369. Scientist working on a chemical experiment 370. An army on a hill 371. A droid army 372. A gun and a flower 373. A person eating 374. A ship sailing through a storm 375. The same ship after the storm 376. Entrance to Valhala 377. Roman market 378. Greek comedy 379. Sight from the tower of a castle 380. A captain of a starship 381. A spaceport 382. A shuttle 383. A satellite 384. A photographer 385. A fashion designer 386. A post apocalyptic church 387. A passenger's view of the spaceship he's travelling in. 388. Asterix village 389. A white dragon 390. A fighter launching a missile 391. A person playing with his/her dog 392. A person playing with his/her cat 393. Some nuns with rocketlauncher 394. When the moon gets between the sun and the earth. 395. a secret agent 396. mars colony 397. caravan in sandstorm 398. typical street in chicago 1930 399. rainy night in tokyo 400. prehistoric landscape w/ dinosaurs 401. a roman centurio 402. a high tech car 403. time machine w/ pilot 404. a family of mutants 405. wood of giant meat eating plants 406. landscape 'after the bomb' 407. astronauts in space shuttle 408. gorillas in jungle 409. haunted castle 410. orpheus walking down to hades 411. people waiting in a room 412. opera house w/ people 413. a shark 414. nest of spiders 415. old books, candle and skull 416. lord of the underworld 417. jellyfish 418. a scene from the olympic summer games 419. strange plant on an alien planet 420. factory robot assembling artficial humans 421. cloning device 422. desert landscape w/ tents 423. old dirty jeep 424. rocket taking off 425. really evil face 426. WW2 dogfight over britain 427. a fancy hotel room 428. king and queen on throne 429. gothic cathedral 430. chair made out of bones 431. inside of a parking house 432. classic horror movie scene 433. 60's pub w/ people 434. couple kissing 435. zeppelin over mountains 436. chemical laboratory w/ scientists 437. a big library 438. marvel hero fighting super villain 439. a scarred face 450. old train 451. scene from american civil war 452. submarine fighting w/ giant squid 453. titanic hitting ice berg 454. scene under the bed 455. a plate of food 456. giant commerce building 457. 'when worlds collide' 458. oldtimer w/ driver 459. a modern jetplane taking off 460. inside a airport 461. high heel shoe 462. politican at election 463. boxer training 464. big dogs casing a child 465. swarm of fishes 466. old guitar 467. keys on a table 468. stylish lamp 469. freak 470. something cute and wooly 471. something evil and horny 472. prisoner fleeing from jail 473. city under artillery fire 474. bodybuilder 475. scene from a fashion show 476. old sick man in hospital bed 477. 3 heroes 478. train bridge over a river 479. landscape in asia 480. woman making her make up infront of a mirror 481. irish pub 482. pile of torn dolls 483. scene in the severs 484. mountain w/ snow 485. lizard on stone 486. space station near sun 487. rock climber 488. someone totally unimportant 489. inside of the heart 490. old man cutting grass 491. really dirty kitchen 492. futuristic tank w/ soldiers 493. ship being repaired 494. glass of water 495. chinese wall 496. realistic alien spaceship 497. mafia meeting 498. self portrait 499. pirate ship 500. llama 501. gasmasked fellow 502. some cosmonauts 503. Mech 504. Cthulu 505. Azathoth 506. Yog-sothoth 507.A bullfight (una corrida de toros)... 508.A mayan piramid. 509: A lagoon 510: 510 mph 511: "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" 512: reflections in the mist 513: an overgrown (with vegetation)civilization 514: drifting 515: the race before dark 516. Lesbians with MULLETS! 517 : oops ! 518 : barbarian organ player and his monkey (maybe its not the good word ...) 519 : a mime (mime marceau) 520 : laurel and hardy 521 : x-files 522 : the sixties 523 : genesis 524 : heaven 525: a deaf dog. 526: a rock on steroids. 527: a sea urchin in a schoolbus escaping police forces in the Nevada desert. 528.a guy jumpnig off a building on a busy street 529.hannibal 530.a primary school athletics carnival race 531.skateboarder in mid air trick 532.godzilla and that.. ape thing 533."A Typo Personified" 534."Burning Igloo" 535."A Sheep with Magical Powers(who seeks cheese at the dead of night)" 536: City of Atlantis 537: Satyr 538: Broken Statue 539: Modern day techology in the future (monitor in a junk yard or your cell phone broken and rusty, etc..) 540: Cerberus 541: Woman painting her toenails red 542: The perfect gem 543: Monkey scratching it's head 544: A. Buttle in bed with a mullet-headed lesbian (note: this is the best suggestion ever - LSE) 545: Jezebel - the real Jezebel, not me 546: Cat tails at the edge of a still pond 547: Tornado 548: Blind date from hell 549: Remake of one of your first (and worst) digital paintings 550: A hobbit 551: Child dragging their parent through an amusement park 552: Pack of wolves 553: The hand of a demon holding onto something 554: Necromancer 555: Disfunctional robot 556: Pegasus done without the traditional bird-like (feathered) wings. 557: Medusa 558: Giraffe at a watering hole 559: Circus freak 590: Your favorite character - book, movie, game, whatever 591: Pin-up girl 592: Alien temple 593: A pickle 594: War 595: Pandora's box 596: A bundle of silk crumpled up on the floor 597: Your astrological sign 598: A sacred place 599: Adventurers around a campfire 600: Rapunzel 601: A road that leads to nowhere 602: Take 3 or more of the themes listed and combine them into one image (list which ones you picked) 603: A woman with two much make-up on 604: A road-side fruit stand 605: If "you are what you eat" then what would you look like? 606: Coffee 607: Hypnotist 608: A spell being cast 609: A polar bear drawing back a bow 610: A jester 611: Shape-shifter 612: Candle light 613: Masquerade ball 614: A nerd 615: Bruce Lee 616: A magical amulet 617: A quill, a bottle of ink and a scroll on a desk 618: A conductor 619: In the woods with a flashlight 620: Pixie 621: A crazy person 622: Harpy 623: Chimera 624: Lightning 625: An unlikely superhero 625: Field of wild flowers 626: Dusty typewriter 627: A chef 628: A kiss 629: Sleeping Beauty 630: An alien being intravenously fed a glowling green ooze 631: Palm trees 632: Greek ruins 633: A faerie in someone's hand 634: Excalibur 635: Aphrodite/Venus 636: A pair of shoes/boots/sandals/whatever