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The Pen is Mightier than the Sword

Headstands


Quincunx

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Minta skipped-rope into the Conservatory, while a pair of ill-maintained zombies wearing sandwich boards tried to lurk in the doorway. Once she got several steps beyond the door, though, the air between zombies and neato necro gnomie girl grew thin--Akallabeth, walking towards the exit at the time, gasped for oxygen--and vibrated with a magical hum. The note abruptly stopped as the two zombies lost their grip on the doorframe and all the potential energy turned into the kinetic energy of undead being dragged behind Minta. She sang as she skipped and her zombies, unable to move their feet fast enough, fell and tumbled along end-over-end:

 

"Zombie, zombie, from the ground,

How long have you been around?

Did you die just yesterday

Or were you there for man's first day?

Zombie, zombie, from the ground,

How long have you been around?

 

"You can have this back nownow," she told one zombie, handing over the skipping-rope, as it tried to feed the length of gut back into the gaping hole in its abdomen. "Hold me!" she told the other zombie, and bent double to touch her head to the ground, and then kicked upwards. That zombie caught her ankles and raised them up so Minta was doing a headstand, then lifted her slightly off the ground as the first zombie stepped forward, then lowered her down again so her head was comfortably resting on zombie insteps. "Okok, TIME!" shouted Minta, and the second zombie gave her ankles to the first zombie, then wandered around the room so that everyone could read its sandwich board:

 

Head Standing Contest!

I betcha I can do this longer than anyone

An' you can use two familiars 'cause I did.

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"Make way! Make way! Zool coming through!"

 

Grimmael, sweating profusely under his heavy load, was making one of The Portrait of Zool's frequent moves, the life size portrait dwarfing his faithful servant's half shrunken form. Zool had demanded he be moved from the Grand Entrance Hall back to the pantry through the kitchen where he sometimes got the urge to hang, sometimes for days at a time, so he could look upon and dream about all manner of food, which he used to eat regularly back when he had a body.

 

"Make way!" Zool called again with self-important urgency in his voice. Grimmael's view was almost totally blocked by the giant painting. "Zool coming throooaaaAAAAGGH!!" Just then the strained servant stepped on a winged globe that had been left rolling on the floor, shooting the globe one way as servant and painting went spinning in two other directions.

 

*CRASH! BANG BANG BANG! OOF!! ACK!!* Conservatory guests ran to aid the fallen man.

 

Fortunately, there was a small eating area off to one side of the Conservatory, and Grimmael had broken his fall on a table, two place settings of Hai Chow china, and two chairs, only one of them occupied.

 

"Are you okay? Are you all right?" asked the concerned onlookers.

 

Belchfire started to answer that he was a bit perturbed to be wearing his $28.95 Chicken Viscus entree, but was cut off when he was pushed aside by a dozen arms reaching to assist the addled Grimmael.

 

"Uuungh..." moaned Grimmael, "What was that...?" Straightenening as he suddenly regained his bearings, he cried out, "Zool!" All eyes turned to the large painting leaning against the opposite wall. Like some kind of wierd hundred-legged beast the concerned onlookers all ran en-masse to investigate the fate of Zool.

 

He appeared to be none the worse for wear. His frame was stout, and he fortunately had not toppled onto any of the many potential canvas-piercing projections loose in the conservatory, but had skipped along the wall, turning end over end. He had landed back to the wall, even standing upright... sort of...

 

"I'm okay, I'm all right," reported Zool. "I was a bit disoriented, but now I... am... fine..." As Zool finished his sentence his depicted eyes had caught the sight of Minta being ankle shuffled by her Zombie familiar. He then looked nervously around the Conservatory, but his eyes kept returning to Minta. Also, he was holding his arms above his head, bent at the elbows, and Matt, his sweeping toupee, had been flattened on the top where his arms bent. All in all he looked okay, but odd - odder than usual even. Minta's other minion with the sandwich-board was still strutting around, but Zool was always in too much of a hurry, even when doing nothing - he couldn't be bothered to read sandwich-boards.

 

It took Grimmael a second to take it all in and figure out what happened, and then he had to stifle a laugh. Zool must have been pretty disoriented by his spinning fall, and then coming to rest with everything topsy turvy. Perhaps he thought he had straightened himself, but why the ground was now at the top of his painting he hadn't thought to question.

 

"Zooliolio, weeeee! I can go longer than youuuu can..." sang Minta brightly.

 

"Shhhh!" said Grimmael, after also taking in the sandwich-board. He gave Minta an exaggerated wink which Zool couldn't see. "If you tell him he's playing, the game will end," he whispered conspiratorially. Grimmael was a bit miffed at Zool's constant demands to be moved. He knew it wasn't at all necessary, and he thought a little revenge was in order for his fall - perhaps Zool would think twice before his next impulsive demand - poor Winged Globe! - and then he had to turn away from Zool lest his wrathful grin be seen.

Edited by The Portrait of Zool
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Kaitlyn flew through the Conservatory door at hearing the word "Headstands". Looking around, eyes shining brightly, she caught sight of Minta and Zool who were both decidedly upside-down. She jumped up and down, excitedly clapping her hands, then flung herself across the room amazingly tripping no one in her flight!

 

"YAY!!! I LOVE headstands! Can I play too? Please please pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease????? I can do them really good! Watch this!"

 

Kaitlyn did a quick somersault then straightened herself out into a very wobbly headstand, nearly kicking The Portait of Zool in the process. "Ooooops! Sorry!" she giggled, then took a deep breath and concentrated on steadying herself.

 

None of this would have been unusual at all, had she not steadied herself upside down and promptly begun singing A Song That Never Ends.

 

:P

:D

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"See Pilocanssci?" Wyvern waves a claw over the shakey Almost Dragonic Brand Catapult.™ The cheap firearm juts from Pillow's giant spaceship like a jagged piece of meteorite leftover from a turbulent flight. "It'sss a perfect fit! And just wait until you hear about the discount prices..."

 

"Hmmm..." Pilocanci stares at the catapult in mock consideration, having already made up his mind about it upon hearing the product brand tag. "I don't know Wyv, it looks a little unstable to me. Y'know, taping it to my spaceship like that is gonna cost you if there are any de-"

 

"Unstable?" Wyvern lets out a loud hiss and jumps onto the tip of the catapult, hopping up and down on it as Pillow cringes and protests. "Unstable? There's nothing unstable here! Just imagine Pillow - an additional cannon to fire big rocks and-"

 

Pillow ducks down as the catapult suddenly swings into motion, unable to sustain Wyvern's continual jolts. A girlish scream rings out through the courtyards of the Pen as Wyvern goes soaring through the air, headed on a rapid collision course towards the Conservatory roof...

 

---

 

"This is the Song that Neeevvverrr Eeeeeennnnnds... It just goes ooonnn and ooonnn myyyyyy friiiiiieeeeeeennnnnnnds..."

 

The hundred-legged-beast-crowd begins murmering as the sound of girlish screaming is faintly heard in the background, ignoring Zool's portrait for a moment in order to focus on the two competing girls. Kaitlyn's mouth was busy with her song, while Minta's seemed focussed on ordering around her zombies. The spectators turn to one another confused, even ceasing their humerous comments about Belchfire's Chicken Viscus suite as the screaming grows louder.

 

"Aiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

 

The crowd jumps back as a large piece of the Conservatory ceiling caves in, crashing down upon the Conservatory walls yet miraculously missing Zool's portrait in the chaos. Wyvern plummets down head first, several flattened birds fluttering away from his form and a classic yellow rubber chicken kite caught on his tail. The lizard smacks the ground with large *CRACK,* letting out a loud cry only to find himself upside down with his horns embedded in the floor.

 

"Oh great" coughs Wyvern when he realizes his situation, fidgeting and struggling but unable to move. "Hey, could somebody help me out of this?"

 

The crowd takes a collective step back, turning to one another and whispering in a mixture of reluctance and hidden glee. Nearby, Minta's zombie assistants ignore Wyvern's requests as they busy themselves with removing chunks of ceiling debris from their already-disfigured heads.

 

"Somebody? Anybody?!"

 

;-)

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*rebounds off the wall, bouncing off a couple of random pillars, and the taut canvas of the Portrait of Zool, finally coming to rest -- nay, imbedded -- in the head of a mindless zombie*

~O~

"I have a couple questions: First, does it have to be MY head that I stand on? And does it have to be MY familiar?"

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OOC: In general, using someone elses familiar is tantamount to RPing their character. If in doubt, PM the author whose familiar you want to use and ask/coordinate with him/her.

 

As for using someone elses head, that depends on the extent of use. Again, to be safe it is best to PM the involved person beforehand.

Edited by The Portrait of Zool
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