[Lex.]

username + ID: lex. 959439
name: genie
lyrics: [up to 10 lines]
prompt: [750 words OR 1 art piece]

wip!

[Ucanthandleme]

username + ID: Ucanthandleme + 809102
name:
lyrics: (Tempest- Huckleberryfinn)
“Without anyone knowing, I went my own way
Over my head, those shining lights
Like brushing off dust I threw away my past
Even the fear in me
In a twisted place I was born, and made it here
Then I met you”

prompt: (650)
The villain, the puppeteer, the maestro on the stage. He watched from the darkness, the moonlight, the only light, rained down on his skin. He was not sure, was he a villain born or made. His childhood was not kind, but neither was he. He remembered early days, in the old musty orphanage, just like rats him and the other children scattered through the halls. They ate crumbs, fought over scraps yet at the same time bundled together for warmth in the dead of the winter, wiped each other tears and held each other's hands. The lowest of society, abandoned, unwanted, forever to be alone. He did not mind his childhood; it seemed to suit him after all, a dirty rat in the sewers. As he grew up, he realized, the child who was polite, the child who was sensible, the child who was warm, would cause everyone to gravitate towards them. So, he became that child. The other children called him brother, the teachers gave him treats and everyone loved him dearly.

The first pick, with his smarts, his looks and his supposed personality it was easy for him to be adopted by a family. He lucked out, an older couple who couldn’t conceive, they had many riches but no heir, he was the perfect fit. Number one, he was always number one in everything, they sung his praise, gave thanks for his kindness, they gave him all the love. Only he knew deep down, this was not him. He was rather indifferent to it all, scheming, smart, playing everyone like pieces on a chess board. He enjoyed it, watching all the people play to his tune. His parents were old and passed when he had just reached adulthood and others though they could take a piece of the pie. They were sorely mistaken. With one fowl swoop he took hold of the company, got rid of the maggots that lay at its foundations and bought it to new heights.

People called him cruel, a shark of the business world who appeared to be a fox. An empire that would not fail, not with the iron fist he wielded. He knew of their whispers; a villain who didn't leave even scrapes for his once dead parents' relatives. He chopped them off with no mercy, traitors and leaches alike were sent to the guillotine until no one dared cross him. He did not mind these words, after all it was all true, he did not care for familial affection nor for so called loyalty. That is what he said to himself. Deep down he knew though, he feared the times of his childhood, fighting for scrapes, so he wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of his goals, in the way of his life. That was what he thought, stronger alone than together, that was until he met him.

All that he was not, kind, caring, truthful. The hero of the story. He led with compassion and grace; the people followed him blindly. Why?! Why were they so different? He slowly harbored hatred, for what he didn’t know he longed for but wanted all the same, yet despite that he couldn’t do anything but watch. For he too longed for the light, the care of this person. The villain hated the hero yet couldn't help but want to love him all the same. So, he appeared, again and again, fighting him in business, fighting him in friends, fighting him for love. He didn’t know if he wanted to be him or simply wanted him. A distorted love of a villain, a villain who did not know.

Without anyone knowing, I went my own way
Over my head, those shining lights
Like brushing off dust I threw away my past
Even the fear in me
In a twisted place I was born, and made it here
Then I met you

[fuiuki]

username + ID: fuiuki + 368610
name: Quinn
lyrics:

"What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?"
Foo Fighters- The Pretender

prompt:

As the teacher left the room during their 15 minute break, Quinn put in his earbuds and sighed as his favourite song flooded his ears. It's a great song with a lot of powerful lyrics, but the chorus was his favourite part. Glancing around at his classmates, he felt the lyrics resonate with him, as he sighed once again in teenage angst and suffering.

Truly, he was not like the others. They were so fake and superficial, lame, all pretenders thinking they were cool and important. Truly, there were none quite like him in this class, this school, possibly the world. Quinn, on the other hand, was bright, mature, sometimes he would even call himself enlightened. He understandood everything from politics, physics, ethics and many more topics about how the world works, in a much deeper and better fashion than his peers. Really, there was truly only one word he could describe himself with: Special. Compared to everyone else, all these sad bystanders with no real lives, he was Special. He alone was a rebel in society, he alone had a bright and special future ahead of him. He just knew he was going to do great and important things in the future, he was DESTINED to be great.

Scoffing to himself, Quinn settled his head on his desk, listening to the blaring music in his ears. He was different from everyone around him.

✦✦✦✦✦

Bright lights flash towards him, faster and louder, until they reach him. At once, he is no longer home, he is Somewhere Else.

✦✦✦✦✦

It's been a month since he entered this strange new world, full of magic and dragons. He had been told it was his destiny to help save the world, to travel with this diverse group of people across the land, to experience what nobody before him had, at least from his own world. He was to carry the fate of the land on his shoulders. Quinn had, at last, gained proof that he was Special.

And Quinn was terrified.

Compared to the rest of the group, he was just a kid, a regular kid. He didn't have special powers, no magic, no great ancestry. He wasn't brave, strong, extraordinarily brilliant. Walking next to his new companions, he felt... out of place. He felt like a fraud. None of them knew of his origins, where he came from, or who he really was. Really, all they knew was that a "Great Prophecy" said he was special and should join them, and it's not like Quinn was about to say no to that! At the time, he had just entered this strange new world, and he was confused, alone, and utterly without resources. He had nowhere to stay, nowhere to go, nothing to eat or drink, he knew nobody. It didn't take long for him to realise that coming to this place wasn't a blessing, it wasn't cool. He was in real danger. So he took the offered companionship, because what else could he do?


Thinking back to his favourite song, the lyrics resonated with him more than ever, but not like they had before:


"What if I say I'm not like the others?"

What if he told them that he's not like them? That he's not from this world, that he doesn't belong?

"What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?"

What if he tells them he doesn't want to play along with destiny? That he's just playing a role, but really, he's just a scared kid who wants to go home?

You're the pretender"

He was a pretender in this world. He's not supposed to be here.

"What if I say I will never surrender?"

He used to think of himself as a rebel, and now that he's with a real group of rebels, defying the rules of this land, he's never felt less like being a rebel. He doesn't want to make enemies out of the rulers of this land. What will happen if he tells them all he wants to surrender? What will happen if he DOESN'T? He's already been close to death more than once on this adventure, and it's only been a month. What will happen if he continues to defy the ruling class?

Swallowing his ever growing fear, he tries to settle down for the night, but all he can think is: He's different from everyone around him. And he is NOT special.

[rabbit...]

username + ID: rabbit... 45716
name: Mingyun
lyrics:

As the end draws near, we could only walk right into the trap
And resignedly acquiesce to an impending death.

Where on my body must I carve out a place to hide you
To keep you forever engraved in my memory?

No matter how bitterly cold the tides are
I will always have my heart.
Heart sung by Ayunga | Full Version | Translation

prompt:

It was a beautiful spring day, likely even the best Mingyun has ever experienced. The jacaranda tree gifted by ambassadors just the year prior bloomed and bathed the courtyard in purple. The groundkeepers, servants, and guards enjoyed the spring day while Mingyun's world feels like it is withering beneath his feet.

The once familiar throne room decorated with dragons now snarl down at him as the court officials whisper about his sentence.

"Your esteemed majesty, we have sworn our loyalty to you. Have we not been your fervent servants? Just look at how our gift has blossomed so well here. It can only show our earnestness," Ambassador Lingzi from the Northern province intones. "We have found one of our members murdered, the Head Ambassador! We beseech you to provide us justice."

Ambassador Lingzi brandishes a sword with a hilt of purple and set with ruby. "We found this sword impaled through our departed Ambassadors body and we shall not rest until we see justice."

Mingyun could see the look on the Emperor’s face, ghost pale, when they both understood the ploy. It was his missing sword found stabbed through the emissary, his broken entry talisman found at the scene of the fight, it could only culminate to him taking the blame.

Mingyun has been a dedicated servant ever since the young Emperor, Tian, was a mere prince vying for the throne. It is just as well that he was guarding the Emperor’s carriage procession when they were ambushed. His sword was just one of the items that was stolen. How insidious to use it against him now.

Ambassador Lingzi called upon a fox eyed court official to testify, "This humble aid knows that the sword belongs to Commander Mingyun. When the ambassador sent word of the occurrence, we could only point to him."

Any court official would be able to testify that was his sword, few would speak up to say that it was stolen. Is this all it would take for his dedication to betray him?

The Northern party could not stand the slight and so Mingyun was chained in jail. The moon's light and purple breeze did so little to assuage his plight.

Scholars exiled from the Imperial posts wrote poems as if they were spurned lovers and he would scoff at the melodrama. But Mingyun understands now. How it feels to be cast away in the name of the greater good. It feels like the meaning of his life has been ripped asunder.

There was a clattering in front of his cell. In a set of ill-fitting ensign clothes was Tian. "Get up, I won't see you to your death."

"But Your Majesty, what will happen to the ire of the court?"

"Don't think about this, let's just go quickly before the guards check." Mingyun scrambled quickly to follow Tian to the surface. They escaped the palace through secret passages they used to play in as youth. How bitter that those simpler days ended.

"I must be the Emperor before I am your friend but I can do this one last favour for you. Live well for me Mingyun." Tian handed Mingyun his sword and the reins of a horse.

"It has been an honour being your soldier and your friend. I swear I will find out who did this and clear my name. Be safe in the predator's pit, live until I see you next. " The cold air cooled his burning anger before Mingyun set off into the night. He still has his life, he still has his memories, and he still has his heart.

[CHALE4]

username + ID: CHALE4 + 823146
name: Auge (Greek Pronunciation is Aw-Jay)
Loosely based on the Greek myth of Auge.
lyrics: [up to 10 lines]

Love In Paradise - Epic The Musical
Timestamp 3:33

[POLITES, EURYLOCHUS, ANTICLEA, ODYSSEUS]
No matter the place, we can light up the world
Here's how to start
How much longer 'til we all fall down? You rely on wit—
Oh
Waiting, waiting
Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open—

[ODYSSEUS]
ATHENA!!!

[ATHENA]
He needs my help...

prompt:

She had trained in secret.

While the palace halls expected her to walk with grace, she taught herself to move with precision. While they placed gold in her hands, she sought the weight of steel. She carved herself into something sharp, something strong. She knew strength was never given. It had to be taken.

But it didn’t matter.
When they came for her, her sword was no match for theirs. She was outnumbered and overpowered; her movements were once careful but now desperate. Each strike, blocked. Each breath, stolen. And then- her sword, wrenched from her grip. Her back, to the cold stone floor. The glint of a blade raised high, ready to fall.

She could have begged.
Could have cursed. But in that final moment, there was only one thing left.

She called out.

"ATHENA!!!"

It tore from her like a wound.
A name, a prayer, a demand. Not just for salvation, but for recognition- for something greater than her father’s judgment, greater than the men who stood over her. She had fought, she had tried, but she was still waiting. Waiting for something to answer, waiting for something to prove her right.

And something did.

Light- fierce, golden, blinding. The clash of steel that was not her own. The feeling of being lifted, shielded, seen. When she woke, she was no longer a prisoner. She was a warrior.

Now, when she hears Odysseus cry out, she knows that voice. That desperation, th last shred of defiance before the end.

Now she fights, not for vengeance, not for glory, but for Athena. Because when she called out, Athena answered.

And now, she will do the same.

[LOSTINUNKNOWN]

username + ID: LOSTINUNKNOWN 1002427.
name: Mene Keramos Renasci Lunae.
name meanings (for additional context):Mene is derived from the epithet of the Greek goddess and personification of the moon, Selene, whilst the non-traditional surname "Keramos" refers to "potter's clay" in Greek and serves as the root word to "ceramic". Additionally, the Latin terms "Renasci" and "Lunae" are defined as "to be reborn" and "moon" respectively.
lyrics: "Raise your boys to be sons / And your girls to be daughters / To walk in a straight line / And do as they’re told / Tell them they’re worth only as much as they’re making / That no one will love them if they don’t fit the mold / We need a new god / We need a savior / Maybe a new start / Isn’t the worst idea" - New God by Moon Walker.
prompt: 665 words. Apologies for any errors.
Renasci is a Kalon characterized by the bold actions she claims, the ego she scarcely reveals and, moreover, by the bouts of mystery that encompass the name she answers to - thereby hangs a tale directly linked to the song aloft, all unspoken unless vaguely by Renasci:

Despite her exterior shows, Renasci was reared within the confines of a household wherein conformity and callous practices were consistently entertained across a plethora of generations as a means to both press forth the job the training is intended to veer them towards and to form an "unquestionable prestige and worth" amongst those who bore the surname. The named "Sire", a proclaimed "God" for the family and responsible for enforcing/ inflicting the training, was which "Keramos" was oldest and most able - often nursing the belief and expectation that their offspring (male and female offspring merely seperated by the topics of their respective studies and the methods to "enhance their innate strengths") were to hold no more than the obligation of their duty to the utmost precedence, and that if their offspring fail to do such, they are not worthy of affection.

By consequence of the simple fact that Renasci, under the moniker of Mene amidst, faltered in the face of her Sire and their generational standards, she was more prominently reared within a household that deemed her unfit and "unworthy of the Keramos name/mark upon the paw and tail". Unlike the majority of the other offspring neglected, resulting from the dismissal of their frivolous desires to fufill the expectations of their surname and under the belief of the teaching they are to be "unlovable" if unable to conform, she didn't back away from her Sire therein. Instead, she opted in favor of directly seeking her Sire's attention suceeding the delegation of cruelly spoken terms upon her name, claiming every chance presented to interact with him and endeavor to prove that she wad worthy of his weighty affections. That was, until she met the age of maturity and was bestowed an expulsion from her Sire's homestead - one that went unjudged due to the age she was when such occured - and the official strip of her surname to "Skoupídia" (meaning "junk, litter, rubbish, or refuse").

Having been heedlessly cast aside, without the Keramos surname and without the monetary means of accommodating her needs, abrupt spite for her Sire smoldered within Mene's heart. She hence delegated her time into indulging in the various books and scripts of her town's library which affirmed the fact her family's training is one that is unjust, gradually resolving herself to serve as a reminder to her Sire's faults beyond her expulsion; labeling most all of his acts with "he enacts the trainings of wolves trailing shephards", "he conjures fatuous endeavors to persaude failure to meet unobtainable standards", "he prizes a lack thereof in thought over what poses to harm the surname's dignity", as recited to both townsfolk who harked upon her words and who were more than willing to spew harsh cacophonies of support to her Sire. Consequently siezing the name of "Renasci Lunae" and staining her pelt with stolen paints - lighter hues upon the fore of her body, various gold/white patterns along the back of her pelt, and with a sword shine she claims is "The Sword of Mercy, Meant For a God" atop her tail - she found herself a "new God" in knowledge, pride, and confrontation then.

Presently, Renasci continously presses forth with preaching the various criticisms etched into her former surname, often broadening her words to others of the same motives/practices as her Sire, as a makeshift "activism" movement - despite lacking the proper audience and support to begin such, which she doesn't quite mind. She leads a life for the lack thereof in enforced conformity and limited speech born from her generational training, under the credence that perhaps her Sire's punishment of expulsion was an unintentional push to live for herself and not for her surname.

[jinkori]

hello hello, i'm here with results! <3

to start, i just want to thank you all for entering 🥹 i went through such an emotional rollercoaster reading through everyone's stories, while listening to awesome new music that i've never even heard of before! i loved each and every one of your interpretations of all these lyrics, so it was really difficult to narrow down winners for this kal </333

✦ now, i'd like to name ellyenchanted as the winner!

i didn't expect anyone to actually write their own lyrics for my comp, so i was pleasantly surprised ^o^ your lyricism itself was already stunning and left me curious, but your story really tied it all together and punched me in the gut! the instrumental you chose was so calming and hopeful, it made me wonder what a sweet soul lies behind antares' now hardened exterior. the way you subtly characterized antares was amazing too! it made me want to empathize with someone i've yet to come to know. i hope to see antares around in the future, and what becomes of his fate!

✦ next, i'd like to name aventurine. as the runner's up!

your choice of song and lyrics was already gut-wrenching, so i wasn't really prepared to then read something even more painful than all that! i loved loved loved the pacing, characterization, and imagery in this—it was all absolutely beautiful. your writing had me hooked and intrigued from the first few sentences. it makes me want to question: what kind of person was mori before? what could he have possibly done to deserve all this? what will become of him now? i can't wait to design another kalon that hopefully embodies this story even better!

✦ finally, i'd like to award the following users an honorable mention!


boogiebug #1118796
CO1LD #699164
Ucanthandleme #809102
rabbit... #45716
CHALE4 #823146
these songs and lyrics that you all chose, either had me shedding big fat tears or just staring blankly at the wall while gripping my hair 🥹 just absolutely amazing reads all throughout, thank you for contributing to my playlist as well! congratulations everyone! <3

[ellyenchanted]

ahh oh my goodness! thank you so much this was such a lovely surprise ;u;
i had so much fun writing about Antares, and i can't wait to explore more with him <33
thank you thank you <3

[scadualtus.]

thank you so much for the ru!! i can't wait to see what you come up with for it, i'm sure it'll be amazing no matter what!

[rabbit...]

Congrats Ellyenchanted and Aventurine!! I think your stories were so descriptive.

Thank you for the HM as well!!

What a great way to kick off your GA position jinkori, I look forward to your future adopts!