CobraToon

Always making up

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Garden of Tools by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Garden of Tools

Long ago, one garden covered the entire known world. A great many people lived and worked in that garden, tending to the plants which provided all of their food. The people slept below the trees, danced around the bushes and loved one another just as we do today. Among the ways they differentiated themselves was the tool each person preferred to carry with them when gardening. Roughly half used buckets, which had many benefits including the transport of water or dirt, and especially gathering food. The rest kept pitchforks, useful in turning over the soil, moving dead leaves and fallen grains, or even fighting off wild animals. If you asked people of this time, they would say that almost no one carried both a bucket and a pitchfork. Gardeners preferred to work alongside someone with the other tool instead of carrying both themselves. Many even claimed that pitchfork or bucket preference was inherent in a person from birth and influenced their personality. Bucket people were thought

3 Tips for Thick Skin by CobraToon, literature

Literature

3 Tips for Thick Skin

I've heard so many people say they want thick skin. Having developed a pretty good thick skin care routine myself, I thought I would share some tips. Frankly, the people I hear wishing they had thick skin seem to have one wrong idea to begin with: they talk like thick skin means being invulnerable to emotional pain. We might call this the Stoic method – Is there any pain right now? I don't notice any. I can't feel pain because I have thick skin. Now I'll admit there's a bit of Stoicism mixed into my thick skin care routine, some “fake it until you make it” confidence that you can gain by believing in the process. But denying pain is not going to help you in the long run. Instead let's think of thick skin as a sort of armor against the pains of the world, something we can put on or take off as needed, with gaps and flexible joints for maneuverability. And just like a quality set of armor, thick skin must be put on in steps. 1) Smile & Laugh Proper thick skin care starts with

The Perfect Vacation by CobraToon, literature

Literature

The Perfect Vacation

Bright sand, blue ocean, and doing absolutely nothing under the hot sun – This is what a vacation is supposed to be! If vacations went on vacations, this beach is where they would go. And somehow there's no one here except me. So why ... Why does laying here under an umbrella with water near at hand and some sand in my shorts feel like a gigantic waste of time? When will I begin to feel relaxed and unwound, released from the stress of life, having fun in an endless moment of vacation bliss? It's honestly starting to feel like all those commercials of happy people on vacation lied. The longer I sit here, the more time will be gone from my three day unpaid “sick leave” getaway. I should be doing something, exploring somewhere, sightseeing someplace. Yet all of those options from the vacation planning app would have cost more ... If I had chosen them, would I be enjoying myself right now? Getting led from one destination to the next, crowded into a rented van with a bunch of other

Other Names for Heroes by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Other Names for Heroes

The title of Hero has too much baggage. Say it to yourself, speak it aloud: Hero … this term brings to mind the tired cultural paragon, the perfect demigod. What are classic heroes? Blonde, blue-eyed, tall, handsome, muscular, athletic, straight, white, princely men. Of course we can expand that term by creating heroic people who don’t match one of those signifiers, but the classic image will remain the default that comes to mind when we use the word hero. Or we can use other words. The theory goes that naming multiple kinds of heroes, including giving a different name to the classic image, allows us to extract the global term from all visual images. Indeed the word hero should be all-encompassing, exactly like the word people, because anyone can be a Hero and all people should be able to aspire to heroism. So here are a few more names for heroes: # Paragon: the above default image of a classic Hero is the baseline Paragon. Note that we might change one or two of the

Simple Attack - Advanced Rules by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Simple Attack - Advanced Rules

These classes and options require GM permission to take: Alt Classes Some warriors only ever train to wield one weapon. Some Mages only cast within restrictive themes. These Specialists (or Specs) give up full design freedom to gain more power or creativity within their focus, which is why Specs may need oversight from the GM. Specs can be: Weapon Specs: resist physical AoE, [odd+1] damage favored weapon and they won't use or train with other weapons unless necessary, [tier] per day [tier] extra attacks, and gain one Grapple Art or Magic Trick per tier which must use their favored weapon. Spell Specs: at 1st level choose one defining theme, such as Fire or Telekinesis, and whether this gives the Spell Spec Mage physical or mental AoE resist. Then define a weakness (such as water for a Fire Spec) which bypasses their AoE resist and stuns on a single target attack. Any spell they cast must use their theme in some way and they only cast Spells, but they level as a True Mage and are

Simple Attack - Core Rules by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Simple Attack - Core Rules

Roll a d6 when the result of an action is up to chance: for skills, players describe their attempt and roll a d6. 3 or less fails, 4 and up succeeds as described by the GM. The skill becomes a named “Talent” on 6, so from now on 6s will crit for that character and they reroll 1s, but on two 1s the skill stops being a Talent. The skill becomes a “Flaw” on 1, so from now on 1s can hurt the user, they reroll 6s, and on two 6s the skill stops being a Flaw. A Talent or Flaw that stops being so won't change back. Skill results might last from one round to several hours. for combat initiative; highest goes first, PCs decide ties, and delaying changes the order. Preparation / an ambush adds 1d6, and gaps of 5 create surprise rounds where everyone who rolled high enough gets a free turn. for attacks, miss on 1. On 2 or up, hit for 1 damage. On every crit (rolling a 6) add 1d6 damage, which can explode (each crit adds a dice). Advantageous attacks (foe is stumbling, better position) crit on 5s

A Choice Between Deaths by CobraToon, literature

Literature

A Choice Between Deaths

Once there was an ordinary man. He enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine, time spent alone with his thoughts, watching television and hanging out with friends once a week to play cards. That was his life and he loved every moment. Hoping nothing would ever change, he only desired a life where he could someday look back at those good times. One warm and sunny day, he spent the afternoon at his parents' house. They were visiting relatives and wanted someone to check their home. He would relax in a lounge chair on their tall backyard deck. A light breeze perfectly balanced the heat. Some time later, the man heard strange noises from within the house. Voices, footsteps, heavy bags being set down. A burglar would be more quiet, he assumed. Yet his parents shouldn't be back. Had they called for cleaners? A mechanic? He stood from the lounge chair, not noticing at the time how the chair disappeared behind him. Walking through the door from the deck, he stopped and stared at the people

13th Floor by CobraToon, literature

Literature

13th Floor

When construction stopped on the half-finished office building near my apartment, they must have thought no one would care to go in. I found a gap in the plastic slat fence surrounding the lot plenty big enough to slip through and after that – no doors or windows or security at all. Just me and the empty shell of twenty all-concrete floors. All I wanted was the stairs. I'd recently heard about some incredible benefits of regular stair-climbing exercise. But I didn't want to climb a floor or two over and over, I wanted ten floors or more. Also somewhere open and empty at midnight, my favorite time for hard cardio. After starting to visit every other night, a small penlight in one hand and my water bottle in the other, I could only do maybe three or four floors before needing to stop and sit down. The rule I'd set for myself was that if I stopped climbing, I had to go all the way back down, do a set of pushups, and try again. Spending about half an hour a night on that routine, I was

Talk and Lies by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Talk and Lies

# INT Night # At a corner table in a moderately full bar, there is a group of women wearing a mix of professional and casual clothes, all of them politicians and lawyers and those aspiring to such. CLARA (female in her forties or fifties, friendly queen bee vibe, has big hair and chunky earrings, wears a somewhat rumpled but very nice suit and tie, carries a satchel bag) starts out talking to just the closest people but soon gathers momentum when more at the table begin listening. CLARA It's fine to trust men who talk big, and even to like 'em. Despite everything I’ve seen, for no good reason, I still do. In fact, all my husbands were like good luck charms. I graduated from my second go at college after divorcing my first, passed the bar exam while divorcing the second, and when I ran for election last year, I divorced number three just to do everything I could to help myself. She pauses for the ensuing CHUCKLES from around the table, waiting only until near silence. CLARA What

Phoenix Descending by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Phoenix Descending

# Scene 1 – INT Lounge # At the top floor of the second Mars colony's tallest building, there are enough wall and ceiling windows to make the room seem open air. The view outside is reddish desert landscape. Giant artificial habitat domes, gleaming under the morning sun, connect to the main building. Inside there are long couches, sandstone floors, a circular wet bar in the room's center and an elevator door at the only section of wall without windows. Wine bottles dot a few tables, along with mostly-eaten plates of food, cards and games. Five ornate glass chalices sit alone in a place of honor atop the bar, each with a solid stripe under the rim: black, yellow, red, green and blue. The green glass is still filled to the brim while the others are empty. Stretched out fully atop one of the longest couches sleeps PAUL, a giant of a man wearing only a loose undershirt and the gray pants of a uniform. His shoulders and forearms are like broad steel cables, yet his face is chubby and

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Complete Story First Chapters

My Mind of Murder - E1 by CobraToon, literature

Literature

My Mind of Murder - E1

Chapter 1 "Ready? Steady … Fight!" The stands must hold some billions of spectators, world populations seated in a space that questions sanity, tier upon tier of them screaming bloody murder at the two combatants. When one tier of stands has reached far back enough to make viewing the arena impossible due to the sheer distances involved, another tier sits above it, and another and another. Each successive tier is a little higher and a little more sloped, creating a hemispheric dome completed by a small circular glass platform at the very pinnacle for fans to watch down through. The fans in the upper sections must be buckled in, or usin

Page 1 - VV's story by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Page 1 - VV's story

The story changes depending on who you ask. Ask the proud Shoanti chieftain, he will say he snuck into the largest Chelaxian estate he could find and stole right from under the noses of an army of corpulent guards its most valued treasure, which turned out to be the eldest daughter of the baron living there. Ask the free-spirited Chelaxian heiress, she will tell you the most handsome man in the world came into her room one night and swept her away from a dreary world of stifling balls and haughty politics, not to mention the most disgusting marriage proposer she had ever laid eyes on. Ask most any gossipy local who heard about the incident th

Pokemon: the Risen - E1 - HTML by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Pokemon: the Risen - E1 - HTML

Chapter 0 This time around, things are going to be different. The usual narrator is away and I'll be filling in. Don't worry, I follow his rules, mostly; just a brief introduction and then let the story tell itself. But I should warn you, I don't see this world the way he does. Things will be different, definitely so; I like to think a little realism will go a long way toward making things more interesting. Reality bites, but is all the more wondrous for it. We begin our adventure listening only to night's dry heat. It's too hot for the Kricketots to be still playing and even the Zubats and Hoothoots have gone to roost early. The only creat

Dreamscrape by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Dreamscrape

A sword appears in his hand, a coal-black blade that didn't exist moments before. The surface shines of obsidian depths, as if the sword is not a sword, as if it is far more than a sword. He turns the sword at various angles to inspect it, examines the thin jagged crack that runs the length, checks the leather-wrapped handle to make sure it isn't loose – all the while avoiding the eyes of the other person in the dim windowless box of a room. She in turn only has eyes for the stone slab in the room's center, an alter to some half-remembered ritual. The surface, worn smooth by time and slightly inset, has been stained at the very center w

High War - Chapter 0 by CobraToon, literature

Literature

High War - Chapter 0

The small creature, no bigger than a badger, pulls a hefty twig from the sack on its mossy backside. It has many more to chose from, including those to be found on the ground around it, but this twig alone is held up for appraisal in the scant sunlight that reaches down through the treetops. Heft is roughly measured, the straightness is deemed satisfactory and one stumpy protrusion near the end seems to particularly fascinate the creature. And if the creature had not been moving around so purposefully, it might itself be confused for a mess of sticks and leaves animated by some odd wind. Its skin has the look of bark, with a soft moss-like fu

Family Matters - E1 by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Family Matters - E1

INT. FAMILY HOME KITCHEN – MORNING AT SUNRISE Warm kitchen that serves as the central location of the Family house, comfortably cluttered counters but all have recently been tidied and wiped clean. FATHER sits in his favorite chair at the head of the small dinner table, he sips his coffee and places dry cereal food before BABY in the nearby high chair. Father is a somewhat-bald man in his early forties, Baby is at most a year old. The creak as the kitchen's door opens causes Father to snatch up a section from the newspaper, previously a coaster for his drink. DAUGHTER enters the kitchen slowly, a girl of around twelve. She wears her nor

Craw-Land Logs 1 and 2 by CobraToon, literature

Literature

Craw-Land Logs 1 and 2

Crawland Exploration Log, Day 1 Today we plan to finally begin mapping out our little corner of the Talenta Plains. But first of course came the usual round of court business. We received two new additions to our "ruling class" as it were, being an exotic and well-spoken elven wizard, from Aerenal, complete with baboon familiar! And an agent of our financier, a half-elf of unknown powers. Following that we received our first contingent of "citizens" who we gave a place to settle down until we could parcel out farmland or whatever one does with such people. With that we set out, choosing at random a plot of land to the east to explore. The d

About CobraToon

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Artist // Hobbyist // Literature

United States
Deviant for 12 years
He / Him

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My Bio

“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

I love Anime and writing. Someday I'd like to write the scripts for original animation but for now I'm a writer-in-training creating worlds and characters and telling stories with them for my amusement. I'm always searching for people to collaborate with, especially visual artists; if you read something here that inspires you, I'd like to see what you make of it, or we can work together on something new. And I'm here to learn and help others learn. I want advice on how I can improve, I take on prompts and requests to sharpen my writing skills, and if you'd like a critique or some proofreading you only have to ask.

My 2023 avatar is a Native Bird created by dsad2 as one of my prizes from an event. I have this feeling like I'm perched in a small place, ready to take flight but unsure if anywhere outside my sight would be better. The continuing state of the world makes me want to stay native where I know my surroundings. Can I do so while working towards my dreams for the future, or do all birds need to fly south? I don't believe I'll reach my goals without that big leap. You'll notice my uploads to DA have been sporadic in recent years - yet I feel like more of a writer than ever after quitting jobs that weren't right for me and getting back into the habit of writing things I care about every day. I've now got paid copywriting work on my resume from last year and I'm also writing things I love in my spare time! Wish me luck in this career, and here's hoping for a better new year.