draft about a space elf prince’s coming of age.
ELVES IN SPACE
so i’ve been ruminating about an elf prince just traveling to other cities in his kingdom. like he learns that it’s something other elven royalty used to do, but then it stopped. but now he wants to do it. and i want to write that. :3
oh shit i forgot to prepare names
fuck
MY NEMESIS
i wonder if i could name them all after my cats? XD NO. no we can’t give them even bigger egos
i’ll find some names after this sacer.
i have to beat some more bugs to get some scissors.
ooh i like the name Astrophel
maybe Estellonos for one of the family members or Estellenos?
just trip up everybody by having one named Estellonos and another one Estellenos XD
Starros?
Estellono
Estellano, yeah there we go
Astarros???
Estellano = older brother
Astrophel = ? either the prince or the dad
Staravio
Galavio
Galaxio???
okay Estellano = older prince, Astrophel = younger prince (the star of the show), Stellanios = king
the king is also known as The Star of War / The War Star
should i name the ship?
YES
i gave it a name when i thought this was going to be a fantasy story, why not modify the name
yes i had a name for the horse, and not the people XD i have priorities straight
a ship just doesn’t make sense to be named fleetfoot tho XD
Fleet Wing, Rapid Model H843
Rapid Model H5 (since this is the fifth story i’ve streamed live, in front of your eyeballs, i think)
we had (1) the ballad of brian, (2) a bloody tale, (3) the huntsman thing i never finished
has there been anything else???
i don’t anymore XD
HX0
Rapid Model HX0
(hi hachiko, if you’re here)
wings compact
body compact and sleek, for minimal resistance. engines maximized for acceleration and maneuverability.
there, that’s all we need for a ship description, right XD
no personalizations yet. very shiny. hasn’t been used yet beyond test flights. startlingly shiny in the sun of the creeping dawn.
Astrophel
Estellano
Stellanios
fingers crossed we may be ready to being the story
i keep forgetting i have the stream manager in the same window as 4thewords XD
i just have it like that cuz it’s easier to check in with the chat when they’re in the same window
Astrophel watched his brother [fuck how do words work. what do i want to say here. i keep wanting to go go go cuz i wanna finish these sacer battles but my thoughts don’t work that quickly]
proudly and bitterly
astrophel got eliminated in the first round, estellano just won the semi-finals. stellanios proud of both his sons.
okay what exactly is astrophel feeling right now? he’s not jealous of estellano, he’s disappointed in himself.
stellanios reassures him that he’s proud of both of them. he did very well for his first tournament
okay what color is estellano’s star blade? purple???
stellanios = red for war
estellano = purple for luxury?
astrophel = blue for
stellanios = red for war
estellano = yellow for gold
astrophel = blue for solitude
okay there we go
Prince Estellano bore every inch of his grand stature with pride. [He waved and blew kisses and bowed to several members of the crowd, setting hearts ablaze.]
He set hears ablaze with waves, bows, and kisses; flourishing as much outside of battle as he did during this most recent match.
His younger brother, Prince Astrophel, watched him bitterly. He’d been eliminated in the first round of his very first tournament. [He was disappointed in himself.] He wanted to burn it all away with pride for his older brother, but [his need to be perfect won out.] [he was too disappointed in himself to feel anything positive.] his disappointment in himself throttled his positivity.
[oh cool only 5 more sacers to go. then we can move on to something else. prolly some wignow. i have a whole bunch of those to fight too]
Astrophel was not alone with his emotions, however. His father, King Stellanios, the War Star himself, looked over at him.
“My son, you’re hurting,” King Stellanios did not delay to say. “What pains you?”
Astrophel found it difficult to speak at this time. Now that his father knew… Astrophel didn’t want to push himself over the brink of crying. He thought he’d been doing well at hiding it. He thought he’d be over it by now, before it bothered anybody else.
“Is it the crowd? The sun?” Stellanios hazarded a guess. “We’ll go somewhere quieter, darker. We’ll rest there. Do you have your tablet with you?”
Astrophel nodded, clutching the dark blue device with his life.
Stellanios led him out with an arm ’round his shoulder. There were some whispers throughout the domestic staff and visitors, but the warriors remained professionally silent as the king and younger prince moved through the halls.
Finally, they came to an alcove. One of the reading nooks Stellanios had constructed for specially Astrophel. The seats were cushioned to sink into. The windows adjusted their transparency automatically with the brightness and dimness of the sky. There were end tables for setting supplies onto, and a fridge stocked with several snacks. There was even a well tended to blanket, soft and heavy, for grounding and warmth.
[taper that description down later. definitely keep the blanket, the fridge, and the windows. talk about the seats as they sit in them]
[i’m always impressed by how many of y’all come out ❤ thanks for sticking around, everyone]
[gonna go make a stream promo real quick]
[my cat hobbes is snoring ^-^ cutie]
[alright 8 minutes to write 63 words let’s go]
[turning off autobattle cuz i need a quick break after this]
[everybody remember to stay rested and hydrated. and brush your teeth! don’t ignore them like i do XD ]
[idk why autoscroll turns off every time. oh well]
Astrophel sunk into his seat, whereas Stellanios gracefully landed in his.
[this is the danger of looking at twitter on stream XD ]
[ooh we’re at 1000 words already 😀 granted they haven’t all be text but i don’t care, i’m just happy. i’m mostly just happy to be streaming writing again 😀 i hope screen share never becomes a nightmare again XD that was horrible]
“I lost in the first round,” Astrophel typed out, “in my first tournament!”
[oh my god hobbes is so cute. there’s also a bird chirping outside ^-^ ]
[oh i need to describe these characters i guess.]
[tall, dark, and handsome? XD ]
[do i want to put on a hat?]
[i have put on a hat. it’s my flat brim stich cap :3 ]
[alright 3 hours to write 1000 words, i think i got this XD ]
[“It’s your first time competing,” said Stellanios.]
“It’s not a mark against you to lose,” said Stellanios. “There are many great warriors competing this year. I’d have been pleasantly surprised if you won.”
Surprised? So Stellanios was expecting him to lose? He spoke as if that was comforting.
“You won your first tournament,” wrote Astrophel. “And Estellano’s doing really well this year…”
Stellanios chuckled. “Estellano has quite a few centuries’ experience over you.” He turned less jovial, more matter-of-factly. “And I was at war from the time I came of age, until well beyond Estellano’s. I was nearly disqualified from my first tournament, in fact.”
Astrophel had never heard of this.
“Oh, yes,” Stellanios nodded, smiling seemingly to himself. “An alarming amount of my competitors ended up in the healing halls.”
[maybe stellanious is drinking canned coffee from the fridge :3c ]
“Even with the dampeners?” Astrophel asked, in awe of his father’s power.
Stellanios waved. “I may have been the impetus for developing such technology.
Astrophel fell back in his seat, less impressed and now more concerned for Stellanios’s opponents.
“Fortunately,” Stellanios continued, “everyone ended up with only minor injuries, and my final opponent managed to match my power… mostly.” He ended with a smirk. He had still won, after all. “Don’t measure your power against mine. I want you and your brother to be able to defend yourselves, of course; [but I’d much rather you two be known for leisure than for] [but you don’t gain that sort of power without imperiling your lives.] but you only gain that sort of power when your life is at stack. Mine is a ferocious power. I hope you never have need of it. I would sooner fight another Devoid armada before…”
Astrophel watched his father curiously, waiting for him to finish.
Stellanios didn’t seem intent on doing so.
[“I want you and your brother to be able to defend yourselves, of course; but you only gain that sort of power when your life is at stack. I would sooner fight another Devoid armada before…”
Astrophel watched his father curiously, waiting for him to finish.
Stellanios didn’t.]
Astrophel knew now how serious his father was. Stellanios wouldn’t have invoked the Devoids otherwise.
“So this is where you’re hiding out,” Estellano grinned when he ducked in from around the corner. He swept through the alcove and plucked a can of dark cocoa coffee from the fridge. His hair was down, evoking a veil of shadows, albeit a crinkled one. Understandable. He’d put it up for the tournament.
Rather than sitting, he stood. Estellano seemed to become energized from activity rather than exhausted. He ran his free hand through his hair [to fluff it out] [and swayed to his inner beat], always in motion.
[swayed to a beat only he could hear?]
[swayed to a beat only he ever heard?]
[might cut out the swaying all together. the coffee drinking and the hair twirling might be enough]
“I was just telling your brother about my first tournament,” Stellanios said. “Perhaps you’d like to recount yours?”
“Oh my god!” Estellano said. And right away, Astrophel knew he was in for a tale. “Well, first of all, on day one, I had to use my backup blade because I couldn’t fucking it anywhere! I found it for the next round, but I lost it again after that! It was awful! You know how hard it is to fight with someone else’s star blade? Or worse! A factory model??? [Everybody says a real warrior can fight with any weapon they can get their hands on. But it sure is a lot easier with one you built yourself.]”
By dinnertime, Astrophel had plenty of stories about his family’s tournament disasters to make his own seem forgettable in comparison. Losing his blade, then finding it only to lose it again. Classic Estellano.
Estellano had turned in early that night. The final match would be held the next day. He was actually going to sleep. At night, even!
“It’s a tournament miracle!” Astrophel said.
“Shaddup!” Estellano took the teasing in stride. He playfully shoved at his brother before breaking off into his own chambers.
Astrophel did likewise. However, he stayed up that night, vowing not to tell Estellano about this twist in habits. He’d started reading their grandmother’s journals. They’d just recently been converted to an ebook. She was very insistent on writing her thoughts down on physical paper.
He’d skipped to when she’d turned 200, his own current age. She had written about how excited she was to undertake her star travels. Apparently, Stellan Royalty used to journey to the other planets in their solar system.
[alright we’ve been streaming for over two hours now. i think i’m gonna take a longer break. yeah i’m gonna take a longer break. i’ll be back on the hour (about 8 minutes from now) or some time. i’ll be breaking at least ’til the hour. i’ll still be at my computer, so if you send something to the chat, i’ll see it.]
[alright, i’m back, baby. let’s beat up another curator. then i might have to end??? idk yet. my dad and i are doing something at 4:30 so we’ll see what we can get done by then]
[i say i’m back but then i immediately run off to check what’s happening in another tab XD ]
[hobbes is so cute ^-^ ]
[caaaaaaats]
[fuck what the fuck did i write XD this is the danger of taking breaks]
[Astrophel was eager to ask Estellano and Stellanios about theirs, but the tournament had sponged up their time. And since the day was dedicated solely to the final match, Astrophel knew where to find Estellano.]
[okay the screen is sharing. XD that’s important]
[Estellano danced with the practice bot, meeting its saber blow for blow.]
As Astrophel read more and more of her journey, he grew eager to ask Estellano and Stellanios about theirs.
He didn’t sleep until exhaustion claimed him hours later.
It was not Stella’s sun that woke him, but Estellano.
“Ready to watch me win?” he grinned.
[wonder how high the levels go on 4thewords? :3c ]
[oh wow. all of a sudden, my lights turned brighter XD ]
Astrophel threw a coat over his pajamas, a blue headscarf over his hair, and boots over his feet.
As he followed Estellano out the door, he finally asked him, “How were your star travels?”
“My what?” Estellano looked at him, as confused as he was whenever Astrophel asked him about literature. Or as confused Astrophel was when Estellano asked him about trends and gossip.
“Your star travels. You know…” Astrophel then explained it to him.
“Oh, those!” Estellano said. “Yeah, Dad said not to worry about that. He didn’t do one either.”
“What?” Astrophel said, shocked. “Why???”
“He was at war at the usual time people do them,” Estellano shrugged. “And since the war dragged him everywhere anyway, they probably figured he basically did one.”
Astrophel nodded. That sounded reasonable. [Their father hadn’t exactly returned from war]
They both moved together, amicably quiet until Astrophel asked, “Do you wanna do one?”
Estellano scoffed, “Cram myself into a tiny little ship with nobody to talk to and no room to move for months on end? No thanks.” A couple minutes later, Estellano locked his gaze on Astrophel’s and asked, “Did you wanna do one?”
Astrophel nodded, determined. He wanted to learn from their distant kin.
“How long do you think it’ll take Dad to find me?” Astrophel said.
“If you leave now?” Estellano smirked. And in that moment, he was a perfect mirror of their father. “People are gonna be way too busy with the tournament to keep an eye out for rogue princes.” He passed some keys to Astrophel. “Take my ship. The new one. I haven’t used it much yet, so folks’ll just think a mechanic’s taking it out for an inspection.”
“Thanks!” Astrophel hugged him.
“Good luck,” Estellano grinned.
“You too!” and with that, Astrophel went to pack a bag.
Astrophel, still in pajamas and steel-toed boots, plodded through the hanger with a rock slide’s lack of grace. He glanced around the room. No Elves were about, only robots. They were mostly just cleaning the area. A black, brick-shaped one shadowed his every step, intent on wiping down every stray particle of dirt that invaded the area. Astrophel almost tripped over it.
Astrophel gave it a look.
The robot just beeped and chirped at him in response.
Astrophel rolled his eyes and continued on his way.
Estellano’s new ship, Fleet-Wing, was a Rapid HX0. Its build was compact and sleek, maximized for acceleration and maneuverability. The creeping dawn sun glared off the chrome. Estellano hadn’t even painted it yet!
He took off his sunglasses and readjusted his headscarf once the keys were in the ingnition.
The cleaning robot trilled.
Astrophel looked back at it.
It beeped again.
Astrophel got up and set it back in the hanger.
Astrophel sat down at the pilot’s seat once again. He went over all the takeoff checks, got a feel for the wheel.
“Beep-beep!” the cleaning bot chimed again.
Astrophel glared at it.
He didn’t stop until it left the ship.
Astrophel triple-checked that he had everything in his bag before taking off. [Tablet, hand lotion, blanket, headphones, two sets of public clothes, extra socks and boxers. A small, squeezable plushie; and a fidget cube.] He lurched, then lurched again when he hastily drew the wheel back. The controls were much more sensitive than he was used to. He exhaled slowly, then panicked a little when he almost hit the ceiling of the exit.
[use the name astrapher for something. maybe a spacy furry or one of those robot furries? i forget what they’re called. OMG PROTOGENS. that took embarassingly long to remember. i think i’ll definitely stop streaming after this battle. also to get ready for the thing i’m doing with my dad. i might stream some art later, or i might continue on with this.]
[oh i should organize all my story cards XD ]
[oh and i should write another story cards story 😀 😀 😀 i don’t think i can fit any of my story cards into this one tho. none of them are really sci-fi themed]
[but anyway something with furry robots]
[furry robots left behind by a forgotten civilization, coming back online in a land of magic]
Finally, he got himself and the ship outside.
[awww hobbes has hopped up
[everyone, go pet your cats (if you have one)]
He pushed the ship onward and upward, not relaxing until he was free of the planet’s gravity.
Astrophel set the autopilot to Lunla. He turned around to see Stella. His home was a nursery of green and pink, with some purples from the clouds. It filled him with awe, to see his home from the outside.
“Roooo,” the cleaning robot cooed.
“How’d you get back on?!” Astrophel asked, exasperated.
“Beep!” it said, sounding mirthful.
Astrophel closed his eyes and rolled them.
[i didn’t plan on giving him this robot companion, it just happened.]
“Well, get comfy, cuz we’re not going back for a while,” Astrophel wrapped himself up in the blanket and put his feet up on the dash.
“Beep, beep!” it said. Then it got to scrubbing what few specks stained the ship.
Astrophel bolted awake when the sensors started yowling at him. The little stowaway was beeping too. The small space of the ship quickly became a clusterfuck of noise.
Astrophel checked the sensors.
An asteroid field lay before him. An army of space boulders marched onward.
Astrophel double-checked that he’d set the autopilot correctly.
He sighed. They were indeed on the way to Lunla.
This bullshit was on the way to Lunla.
Astrophel made a note to warn Estellano about the autopilot.
[okay yeah i’m definitely gonna end after this. i can feel the steam leaving my body. if anyone has anyone they wanna raid, feel free to suggest people in the chat ❤ ]
[oh my god there’s over 500 words left. what the hell did i commit to XD ]
[alright well. fancy maneuvers happen. they escape the asteroid field with minimal scrapes and paint damage.]
[also figure out how the little cleaning friend can contribute. besides cleaning XD ]
[and also describe these goddamn characters. i don’t even think i ever put in a description of shiver into a bloody tale. i think i just drew faer and considered it done. lmao.]
[oh my fucking there’s so many words left.]
[i think in the future, writing streams should be kept to 3 hours. i have definitely lost it in this past half hour.]
[why curator? why are you so long??? i did the other two in like a couple minutes, and this one won’t fucking go away. also thank god i have autobattle off.]
[don’t need the thesaurus open right now.]
[i made a giant easter egg-shaped cookie. it was a baking kit we bought around easter time. we just now got to it XD ]
[just wanna take this time to scream ELVES IN SPACE!!!]
[granted there’s only one elf in space in this but you know. whatever X3 ]
[caaats]
[hobbes left me after that impromptu cuddle session. maybe he was warning me that i should end the stream soon XD ]
[i’m sure there are people who stream their cats to twitch. like that’s what they stream: their cats. cat stream!! i wonder if animals is a category on twitch. you know for all those zoo cams and stuff. that’d be fun.]
[alright 200 more words left we can do this.]
Astrophel turned off the autopilot and gripped the wheel with both his hands. The bot cooed, sounding worried.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get through this,” Astrophel said, trying to effect the confidence of his brother.
The robot cooed again. It didn’t sound convinced. Granted, Astrophel was also trying to convince himself.
He gulped as he entered the field. He had his eyes glued to the sensors, the window, and the shields. The specks, the shields deflected and recovered from just fine. It was the bigger chunks Astrophel was keeping an eye on. Every once in a while, he got stuck between a rock and another rock. He had to pick which rock to skim over. Later, a couple was close together, packed in with even bigger rocks. He overshot what angle he needed and ended up hitting both.
Each hit dropped the shields bit by bit. By ten percent one time!
Astrophel glanced at the shields.
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