ANTI-HEX

Otus from Owlboy, affiliated with Isola Radiale. Indie friendly! Owlboy spoilers inbound.

[the-owl-boy]

berserkgened‌:

@the-owl-boy​ // sc.

        they waved a hand in what seemed to be a dismissive, calming gesture. mewtwo’s typical stand-offish aura seemed to be diminished for the sake of the younger’s presence; they did not have any qualms with this boy, no matter what unusual being he happened to be. they could sense unease and nervousness in his demeanor, regardless - and meant to set him at ease. “ rest easy, young one. you have not offended me. ” 

The wave of their hand prompted him to gently land on the ground, fingers tapping together, eyes carefully trained upon Mewtwo’s face. He didn’t mean to stare at them the way he did - they just reminded him so much of the weird creatures wandering around the city ...

Otus’ tufts twitch upright when they speak and a small shiver travels from his feet to his head, causing his feathers to puff up and turn him into a small warmly-coloured dandelion.

Rest easy. Rest easy. Otus repeats their words in his head and replies to Mewtwo with a polite nod, quickly moving his hands to smoothen his hair and ... relax.

... Thanks! Thank you.

He smiles gently, feeling ever-so-slightly lighter despite being concerned over the pokemon’s furrowed brows.

Um ... I’m sorry for staring- I thought you were ..

A rat.

Now, Otus furrowed his tufts. What was the right name for the meowing steambombs???

[the-owl-boy]

cephalone‌:

@the-owl-boy [ signal ]

Ordis has lived long enough to have seen the Old War’s end. He’s lived through a thousand years scrapped on Earth, nearly having his somatics destroyed by some ancient transmission of prophecy, a Sentient trying to destroy him with inter-weave corruption, a crazed Infested cephalon’s attempt to trick and eat him, and…whatever the hell the Vitruvian had done.

But this. This?

This has to be it. He’s going to die.

There had come a moment where he’d had no choice but to walk beneath a canopy of twisted, ropy tendons of Infestation hanging between two buildings. And then…well, everything’s a bit of a blur, but somehow or other, said tendons had ended up falling on top of him and pinning him to the sidewalk, paralyzed in fear.

He’s not sure how long he’s been here, at this point. Not being used to outwardly showing signs of emotion, all of his panic has been confined to the inside of his head, which is rapidly overheating as he stares off blankly down the street. Yes, he can’t properly untangle himself from the Infestation, but he’s also simply accepted his own demise.

It’s going to get into his head. It’s going to corrupt him. Nothing will be left but an eternal wish for death–

Ordis catches sight of motion. Someone’s looking at him. He stirs a bit to get a better look–oh no. Oh no it’s the avian child. 

“D͡ddd̛-d̴o-ơo͟oo-͢n’̕t–!” His tone swerves wildly between pitches like a worn out cassette, and he has to pause, focus on sounding a little more like himself. “–Don’t cmoe any closer! Ordis–ah–Ordis has this under control–n̶͠o̸͘t͠͝ a͟t ͏a͏l̕̕ļ̸--er, you’re not going to be able to help, I’m afraid, it’ll only cause more trouble.”

Moments of respite came to the owlboy when he was not being chased by creatures of static. Though the city looked ruined and taken back by nature in his eyes, it reminded him of home and made his chest feel light with nostalgia.

This sight is no different; the street looked like one of the many gateways he’d imagined while reading books, with long strands of ivy and moss running from one building to the other and hanging from whatever it was that connected them. Some welcome board, perhaps? Otus fluttered back a beat and thought about what the message would say for one or two seconds before he got bored and continued on his way beneath it.

As the owlboy flew down close to the sidewalk, he squinted at the sight of blue standing out against the pale greenery and came closer, using an arm to swat away any plants that hung in his way.

... He recognised that shape! Perhaps not the face, but that kind of blue sideways square made him perk up and pause at the same time as Ordis spotted him.

The smile that appeared on Otus’ face was shortlived as the cephalon’s voice crackled and fizzed like a broken machine, turning the nostalgia from before rather bitter. Hesitation- he looked trapped, and sounded hurt ...

Otus’ impulses take over for a moment and he puffs up his feathers, letting out a rather low hoot at Ordis that’s accompanied by a scowl. He flew towards the cephalon, immediately digging his fingers beneath the tendon the broken pillar no matter what protests would be yelled at him; a sharp inhale and the pillar was tossed aside into the nearest building with a loud crash.

The owlboy beamed triumphantly at Ordis and- ... sneezed at him.

Uh, sorry- dust! Hehe ...

Are you okay, bud? You sound, um ...

[the-owl-boy]

baaternal‌:

Oh, my hava is really acting up today… I hope it is not a symptom of something serious.

Have-a?

[the-owl-boy]

paaperboats‌:

@the-owl-boy​

Red had almost forgotten how frustrating it was to be away from her home; though only having been back in Spirale for less than a day, the woman was already beginning to find herself restless. She and the Transistor had only made a small amount of progress in their mission back home; still looking for answers for her attack, why they were betrayed, and if.. they could ever regain what both of them had lost. Here, nothing could be done; she couldn’t find the Camerata, nor stop the Process from hurting the citizens of her home. It was a feeling she hadn’t missed in the slightest, despite that some small part of her could feel relief at not always having to be wary of what was behind her.

For the day, Red had decided to wander out of her sector; finding herself in a large library, located in the university district of the Golden ward. Though she knew being here couldn’t quell the feelings of uselessness inside of her, maybe for a while, she could find a way to distract herself. Perhaps being in this place would even give her the opportunity to find some sort of useful information, but.. she wasn’t really sure what this world could offer her.

[ Well, you picked a perfect place to hang out, at least. ] quieter than usual, the voice from her sword soon spoke up as Red thumbed through a book; leaning against one of the many shelves around them. [ You’re not gonna get into trouble for making too much noise, heh. Me, on the other hand.. I mean, all I can do is talk. Let’s see how long it takes for us to get kicked out. ] The woman simply rolled her eyes, unable to contain the smile that appeared on her lips as she attempted to keep reading.

[ .. hey, Red– don’t mean to keep disturbing you, but.. I think someone wants your book. ] Blinking, Red then lifted her gaze after her sword spoke; looking down to find a.. very interesting looking boy. Was that a costume he was wearing? Nevertheless, the former singer moved from leaning against the shelf, to offering the book to the boy with a smile. The Transistor, who was still placed next to her, spoke up once more. 

[ Looks like she’s willing to share with you, kiddo. No need to be shy. ] the woman then tilted her head, as if agreeing with what the voice was saying. [ Oh, uh– before I forget, this is Red. She can’t speak, so I do that for her. Nice to meet you. ]

He had his eyes on that exact book for quite a while now, but with his luck he found it being borrowed every time he searched for it for the past two weeks. So now, seeing it in the hands of someone who looked and thus felt somewhat familiar(she was alone, who was she talking to???), gave him a little boost of confidence to come forward and ask for it.

Otus’ feathers puffed up as the woman’s attention stirred towards him and a gingerly grin spread across his face as their eyes met; only for a second, though, because he immediately glanced to the rather advanced sword at her side. The red, round “eye” design sent a shiver down his spine - mostly because of the fact that it glowed in rhythm with the voice in his head.

... Th- thanks! Thank you, miss.

The owlboy didn’t know why his eyes stung so much, suddenly. He furrowed his tufts and sniffed, taking the book into his gauntleted hands and clutching it tightly.

... And then he immediately handed it back, waving it as if begging her to take it after a heavy tear fell a little too close to the open pages.

Um, sorry, my friend- my bud- said the same thing a lot when we met new people!

He took in a sharp breath as he finally processed the fact that--

Did the sword say all of that stuff???

[the-owl-boy]

forsakenpumpkin‌:

“Hey there, Otus the owl, from Owl Vellie,” Besty repeats as well as he can, squinting. That’s what he said, right? It sounds sensible enough. And aren’t owls some kind of bird? Otus has wings, so… so maybe he’s a bird? Sure, if he says so.

Just thinking through that is enough to distract Besty from whatever he was just annoyed about. Otus seems pretty friendly, even if he did call Besty a guitar.

“I’m Thebestmaster! Besty for short.” He signs his name as separate words, but spells out his nickname. Then he holds a hand out to shake. “From… Uh, near Dreamside. I work in a theater, but I wasn’t made in one!”

And then, after long enough for the handshake offer to be accepted or not, he takes his hand back to continue talking. “They’re not guitar strings, silly-goose! Silly-owl…? Eh. If you want an actual sound, I think you’d have better luck with percussion!”

He lowers his hands until they’re below the ends of his clothing, bringing the puppet crosses down near eye level. The floating wooden crosses clack against each other. One starts spinning, hitting a prong of the other rapidly and making a sound akin to a woodpecker. It feels weird, but not numbing like plucking the strings was.

Then they go still, and Besty tilts his head, waiting for Otus’s reaction. They’re even hovering close enough that Otus could mess with them, and might actually be welcome to, this time.

Yup! That’s- wait, no? Otus raised his finger and just as quickly lowered it with a blank frown. He did kind of sign that, so ... no turning back now, especially since Besty’s hand was out - which he accepted with a firm shake.

Uh ... the best master of what? Theatre?

One tuft lowered when he signed his question. The owlboy leaned in as Besty brought the crosses down and tinkered with them, realising only now how weird it is that nothing is holding them up--

The rapid clack-clack-clacking snaps his attention in half and takes both pieces, his eyes growing wider and feathers becoming more ruffled the longer he listened and even as much as looked at the crosses. His hands formed into fists right in front of him involuntarily and actually, his muscles felt tight; as if they struggled to contain some sort of energy inspired in him by the woodpecker-like noise.

Otus breathed in with a big, slow blink, and released it with a multitude of quick jumps, the last of which had him flying just a few inches above the ground.

Do-- !?! W-Wow! Is that what percussion is?! How do you make your percussion-guitar hands do that? They sound just like a buzzerbird!!

Otus’ own hands were turning into percussion hands as he struggled not to clap or vibrate too much- and struggled not to touch the crosses, because they were so enticingly close ...

Without a moment of shyness, he reached out to spin both of the crosses in opposite directions against each other.

[dpadstudio]

Happy hOWLoween from your very favorite spoopy spiders! Otus and Twig are ready for trick or treat tonight and then off to celebrate Owlboy’s 3 year anniversary tomorrow! Be safe out there little Owls! 

[the-owl-boy]

courageousguise‌:

@the-owl-boy​ liked for an event starter

‘Otus!’ Link quickly grabbed his friend without thinking much, dragging him aside as a building he’d been about to walk to had started burning up. He found himself grateful in the moment for the lack of monsters around, it was just them- but still, just them in this city didn’t seem to mean it was safe. Quite the contrary, honestly….

‘That was too close. You would’ve been a roast owl, and that wouldn’t be good.’ He did not want that happening to his friend, after all!

The owlboy nearly lost his footing as he scrambled to keep up with Link, letting out a quiet hoot filled with surprise but no protest. He automatically reached out his hand to hold onto Link’s arm, looking to him once he regained his footing and stood at least somewhat steadily.

Roast? Otus blinked and looked to the building, taking it in in all its crumbled, overgrown glory, wondering what Link saw that made him so anxious about going in there. Nevertheless, he trusted him - and lowered his head as he looked to Link.

Did you see gnomes in there?

A weird question, but their ... “appetite” was the first thing that came to mind at the mention of him being roasted. Otus' cloak tightened ever-so-slightly against his body and he nodded, motioning down the street with a frightened but determined shake of his hand. Gnomes are not going to stop these two partners in crime- er- peacekeeping!

[dpadstudio]

wait, is otus wearing gauntlets? is he gonna knock a bitch out cause I would love and support him through it

I don’t have a solid answer for this but I love it so much I just need it out there. 

[the-owl-boy]

courageousguise‌:

‘Is that a book about owls?’

…..Wait a minute,

He just looks at Link with a plain, yet vaguely disturbed, expression.

Is ... Is it?

Are they ... real?

[the-owl-boy]

...

He’s been staring at an encyclopedia of owls for - let me check - an hour now.

[the-owl-boy]

forsakenpumpkin‌:

Besty is still so startled that he doesn’t actually do anything to stop Otus from plucking at a string. It isn’t designed to make sound, so it’s very faint, but there is a brief, low thrum that accompanies the vibration.

Not that Besty is listening to that. He’s more concerned with the way it makes the corresponding finger go all numb and tingly, like pins and needles. He pulls his hand back, and then opens and closes it a few times to regain feeling.

“Hey!! I use those to move my hands!” He says, and accompanies his words with sign. One part for emphasis on his hands, and one part because he isn’t actually sure if this boy can hear. Then he wiggles his fingers, and gestures up to the floating, wooden cross that dances above, manipulating them.

He continues to sign and speak. “I said, what the heck are you?? Now that you’re so familiar with how I work.”

Oh, it sounds like Mandolyn’s guitar when she’s tinkering with it! Otus gently clapped his hands, gauntlets barely touching together to make the subtlest of clinks. His ignorant bliss is cut short however as Besty voices his frustration, causing the owlboy to perk up in surprise.

Otus immediately hid his own hands under his cloak as he landed, staring at Besty with big, alarmed eyes - feeling somewhat puzzled. The fact that the other was speaking and signing to him at the same time tempted Otus to smile, but why would he do that if he was also angry at him ... ?

The owlboy blinked, realising that Besty was expecting an answer-

O-Otus! From Owl. Vellie! I’m an owl. That’s me!

His smile turns lopsided and he taps his fingers together.

I thought your guitar hands sounded nice! Are you from a theatre?

[whohassummonedme]

aquamarine colored sky (open)

[the-owl-boy]

whohassummonedme‌:

The noise is what caught his attention, as he turned around to glance at the little fellow who was lying in the middle of the flowers. Familiar, he thought. Ah! Yes, little Link’s friend. Holland or something, he couldn’t remember. He turned back to gaze upon the half finished city, and decided to take another pause before he continued working.

“Found my project, little one? Sorry that you can’t reach it yet. I wouldn’t recommend it, either, as it is half finished, and I don’t want you to have more injuries than you already have.” He rubbed the back of his head, glancing back at the little owl fellow.

“What brings you here, little one? Few dare approach the Nightmare Knight, and fewer still approach in the midst of my dark magics. Are you merely unlucky?”

Otus shudders as he hears the Nightmare Knight speak the word “project”, ever so slowly propping his head up on his chin and finding that his vision was obscured by his cloak. He lifted it with his gauntleted hand, and squinted when the darkness just kind of kept going, and- oh, there’s a pair of eyes.

... The way he spoke reminded him of a certain gallant pirate.

His feathers smoothen as he sits up, allowing himself to wheeze just a tiny bit while he caught his breath, looking from the Nightmare Knight to the crystalline island in the sky. Otus vaguely pointed his finger back and forth between the two, giving the tall person a somewhat frantic, somewhat awed expression.  Project. His? That’s the project? It’s made by him? The island?

The owlboy doesn’t mean to look as disappointed as he feels when he signs:

I thought that was home ..

Um.

Your name is Knight Mare Night?

[kouprii]

This was my first and only achievement…..I’m a horrible friend ;;

I’m super surprised that only 4.5% ppl on steam have this achievement, i got it so fast xD

It was probably 40% because of me not being able to aim for shit and 60% because as soon as the teleporter was introduced, I began to throw geddy off of cliffs whenever I wanted to just fly around… 

[the-owl-boy]

forsakenpumpkin‌:

@the-owl-boy, cont. from here

A horrible, crash-like sound reverberates through Thebestmaster’s hollow head, awakening him with a start. Was he asleep?

There’s another bash, shaking his head from behind. He feels light debris fall onto him.

…Did he fall asleep under a construction site?

Besty opens his eyes just enough to take in the state of his coat, which is… considerably more brightly colored than usual. Oh–he’s covered in flowers, not sawdust. He moves to brush some off his coat, and finds even more falling down from his hat and even his crosses.

As he’s doing so, Besty’s eyes catch sharp movement just ahead of him, and he startles hard. He jumps up, shedding a bunch of flowers in a burst. “Wah–Ah!”

That’s… Oh. The movement was flapping. And the offender is… a kid, it looks like. A kid with wings? That’s a new one.

“You… wuh…” Besty squints as he gets his bearings. “What’re you supposed to be?”

The surprise on Otus’ face just grows the more Besty talks and moves around. The owlboy straight up gawks at them ... and now that he thinks about it, actually, Besty’s face kind of reminds him of a carved pumpkin.

He has no idea what to do. What do you do when you surprise someone else and you’re also surprised by them being surprised?? He should apologise- wait, what are those!! Otus’ attention completely skims over Besty’s questions and he moves a little closer, a squint washing over his face to match Besty’s; he gently flicks at one of his handstrings with a finger, as though its some cool guitar string that your older cousin let you strum.

Wow!!

Otus kind of ... mindlessly signs that with a big amazed grin. And then--

I-I’m very sorry, sir! I thought ... did, uh, did you say something?

[the-owl-boy]

courageousguise‌:

@the-owl-boy liked for a starter

‘Otus? I wanted to ask you a question.’ Link was hanging out of a tree by his legs, having taken a momentary break from their game to instead just… do that, as he often liked to do. He would always be pretty comfortable in trees, given how he’d grown up- it  should come as no surprise, really.

‘Can you, like…. feel your feathers? I don’t have any, so I don’t know. But they’re really soft’ And nice to hug, he thought to himself. Hugging friends was nice.

The movement of Link’s hands caught Otus out of his stupor, induced by staring through the dappled sunbeams filtering through the leaves of the trees.

He takes in a sharp breath and blinks, fully paying attention to Link now with a smile as warm as the sun, moving his head up and further burying his hair in the grass - he was lying on his back.

Otus thinks about Link’s question for a moment.

No ... --wait, when I do this!

His cheeks puff up and the feathers on his body briefly turn him into a dandelion seedhead.

But other than that, not really? They’re always on my body, so I’m very used to them!

Um ... why, bud?

[whohassummonedme]

aquamarine colored sky (open)

[the-owl-boy]

whohassummonedme‌:

Despite the amount of free time he had, the Nightmare Knight rarely traveled across the breadth of the island, let alone the city’s own bounds. There were new secrets across every corner, little spots he had yet to visit. It was exciting, and tiring, so it wasn’t something of a habit. Today though, gave him a new place.

The Savior’s Respite, he learned, was the name of this place he had happened upon. A place of questionable history, which he could relate to, and thankfully a very lonesome spot. He sat down at the edge of the cliff, little legs dangling above the dangerous hole, as he set his sights on the blue sky above.

His hands wave about, as purple lines form across the sky, intricate designs tracing out a grand skyline. It was unlike the city he escaped for the moment, unlike the old city in the middle of that endless wasteland, and certainly unlike anything Dreamside could provide.

He couldn’t, or didn’t, want to remember where he had seen this bizarre cityscape he was forming out of his magic and his crystal. It was tended to with love and care, though, as he took a moment to stop halfway through, and simply sit down to take in the sight of it.

It was still a giant thing of sparkling bright purple crystal, floating some distance above the city, almost the size of an entire quarter of Spirale. Someone was going to take notice eventually.

Otus was glad that he zones off sometimes - otherwise, he probably would’ve never spotted that island in the sky. His mind went through about a thousand different stages of emotion upon seeing the crystallised mass of purple, all consisting of different levels of confusion, fear, and excitement, before it finally settled on hope - sky islands were his home after all, what if someone he knew was up there?

... And, even with all the determination generated from that thought, his wings were starting to give way soon enough. Too high up. Too far away. The faux muscles in his cloak and the ones in his back, the ones in his arms and legs - too achey.

Just a little more and he could rest on that cliff with the flowers up there, he promised himself.

The owlboy grabbed onto the edge as soon as he could and hauled himself up, wings going limp and turning to cloth midway through the climb. Sweating and wheezing, Otus rolled into the flowers and sprawled himself out, allowing himself a short break.

And, not too long after, he realised that he’s invaded someone’s space. His feathers puff up and he sat, staring wide-eyed at this-- this- that - this? Them? The ... rather large, automaton(he assumed) sitting right nearby.

He wanted to bow and sign an apology to the Nightmare Knight, but he stood a little too fast and felt a little too wobbly, so down he goes falling back on his face with a hoot.

[the-owl-boy]

@dxrkestmirror continued from here

Otus watches Shadow speak with a certain intensity and focus that breaks only when he’s whapped with the banana, making him let out a quiet yet surprised chirp and puff up his feathers. Hey!! Now there were banana bits across his cheeks and nose ... 

He struggles to get his tongue to reach those while he thinks about their next step. His brows furrow and he looks across the stove - bananas, 4 bags of sugar, 3 bags of fancy salt, a pot of boiling water ... hmm.

I think we put it all into the pot and wait for an hour for it all to cook!

The owlboy smiles at the shadow and wipes his face moments after signing. He picks up one of the bags of salt and bats his wings to fly up and stand on the stove, ready to dump it into the pot whenever. But- he hesitates, because he considers whether he remembered that correctly or not ...

Um, er ...

Are you sure we don’t need a cookbook? ... Isn’t it important to follow a written recipe?