#project 6

Bambi by Hippo Campus

I’d throw a line here but it’s just the whole song. This song inspired Ryker’s character development more than I’d like to admit lol. But at the heart of it, of all of the characters in pro. 6, Ryker has the most power. He’s the best at his magic, the best in weaponless combat, the best at surviving, traveling, getting along with people. The last thing he wants to do, really, is fight, but that’s all he seems to end up doing.

2. Tiny umbrella by Coast Modern

If I’m holding on too tightly / I might never come back

I know it’s not your fault /  but it’s never not something with you

This one’s for Ryker again. He goes through something of a villain arc during the story, and gets more power than he really knows what to do with. This song is his bonafide Villain Era™

(and the second line, about blaming someone else, is about him blaming the antagonist as much as the other MC, Maple)

3. Going Down- Coast Modern

No, not today I won’t be brought down / I didn’t come this far just to lose you now

Maple spends a lot of the story fighting for her place in it. She doesn’t have magic like her friends, she’s not a trained fighter, and damningly she's not very knowledgable about magic. But she cares about her goal and the people who’ve supported her until now- especially Ryker, who’s now fully in the clutches of the enemy.

4. Sky is A Bed- the Humble Cheaters

The sky is a bed for my sleep / And I don’t care

Maple and Ryker go through so much! There’s so much danger, and responsibility, and failure, and at the end of the day they could have it all– but power isn’t what they’re about.

And I like this song in particular a lot, because a lot of lines in it could apply to a bunch of different parts/ characters in the story, the first line is just what hits me the hardest. Some others:

And don’t you know / that I’m only trying to make it home

Ryker spends a lot of the story homesick. His whole motivation for ever starting his journey was to find a way to undo his exile and get home again.

Call it what you want / I will not judge / anything you say / I’m too far gone / to pretend to care

This verse is for Kalis, the antagonist. He’s a focused man and makes it clear that he’ll succeed no matter the cost; but this line also fits Ryker, for Villain Arc reasons.

5. Lake by JANEE

This one’s not pro. 6, but the main song that inspired my oldest forever WIP, project 2. The anniversary for this one is coming up soon (december 26th) so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately :) 

I’m not sure why this song specifically, but something about the fantasy vibes it gives off was enough fuel for me to listen to it on repeat for like 4 hours as I typed like 10+ solid pages of it. Still a proud moment.

Crystal

I follow the wind's current with my eyes, and it takes me to the sky.

I gasp against my own will; the sky was a plain blue earlier, cloudless and unrelentingly bright. Now the light shifts as though the very air were crystal, and pastel colors blend and mix to form what I thought was just blue. I follow the wind further, to the rows of buildings, where the faded facades I saw earlier are alight with color and life. The peeled gildings, the forgotten roots, the very warped wooden boards they’re built with shook off their tired looks and shine as though they’ve been freed.

This one is kind of cheaty because it's not from any of my listed WIPs, but a new idea I had yesterday and promptly wrote 4k words for in a few hours. It doesn't have a name yet (though I'm calling it Stained Glass Punk for now) and I'm not sure I'm going to do anything with it yet.

Rage - Pro. 6

“It was a mistake!” Melisande hisses, her face shadowed and half-crazed, not far from the woman Maple saw in the forest. Deron’s emotions are strong enough to choke Maple, forcing her attention away from anything else. Terror that Maple has never felt before takes her over, pulsing with every heavy heartbeat.

“He’s crazy!” Melisande continues, “It was stupid to think we could go behind the gods. He’s dangerous, love, and wants to drag us into it.” Her voice sounds teary by the end, a complete turn from her rage just a few moments ago. Deron reaches out to comfort her; she latches on to his arm like it’s a rope.

This one's a little confusing, but for context Maple is being forced to relive Deron's memories from his perspective. Melisande is Deron's love, and they're the villains in the first act of the story.

Weak - Pro. 6

“Well…” Amil said, finally getting his journal out. “You were right about these being new creatures…” he said woefully, and crossed out a majority of his notes. Using the light of the fire he wrote in what they know now. All three of them bounced details off of each other, but eventually Ryker grew quiet, out of information to add. As he broods Amil and Maple continue, both frustrated by how little they really know. The night around them grows old and the fire starts to die.

Amil pores over his notebook, weak orange flames waving, barely lighting his silhouette. He holds his notes out open and low, trying to catch the brightest of the dying light.

“Nothing about Varena’s condition…” he says, looking over and over at the same details.

“It’s corruption.” Ryker says, with a conviction that makes Maple’s stomach turn. Amil looks up at him, brows furrowed.

“It has to be,” Ryker continues, throwing more wood on the fire. Embers swirl, a bright red blaze following their heels. 

“You really think so?” Amil whispers, afraid.

“Someone created those things. We need to get rid of them.” The flames reach high, higher than they should. Ryker’s unnaturally ice-blue eyes pierce right through the fire, looking to the base of the pit.

I actually posted this full scene like... a year ago, I think? I'm still pretty happy with it.

Stars - Pro. 3

“The stars are so bright tonight! Or maybe I just missed them,” Defra says, in her own little world. I force myself out of my thoughts and look up with her.

The sky looks like glass, inky but close, pressed against the tree tops, close enough to reach. The stars wink and shine, and in my head they’re liquid light, falling and splattering against the tinted glass sky. Shooting stars streak across the plane, leaving a melted silver trail behind. The movement is mesmerizing, until I catch a strange shadow.

Every time I describe the sky I do it a little differently. I'll never get sick of it.

Ghost - Pro. 6

By the time Maple is telling Varena about the hike back to camp, Amil wakes up. He looks terrible; there are bags under his eyes, and the way he’s clinging to his notebook strikes Maple as ghastly. When he sees Varena, sitting up and well, he stops and rubs his eyes as if he’s seeing a ghost.

“Morning,” Varena said.

“You’re actually- I mean- the creatures- huh?”

For context on this one, Varena was attacked by ✨ mysterious magical abominations ✨ the night before and should really not be up and moving now. But magic is strange here...