Shifti - User contributions [en]

User:Kenani

2009-06-30T23:22:12Z

Kenani:

{{my stories}}
My stories, in order of addition:

== Stories ==
*[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]] [[Image:Modern_magic.png|20px]][[Image:Magnifying_glass.png|20px]] (Spells R Us)
:Alan just wants Tabitha to love him, and she seems to love dogs...

==Ideas and works in progress ==
Coming soon...

{{author page}}

User:Kenani

2009-06-30T22:46:49Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani

2009-06-30T19:10:58Z

Kenani:

{{my stories}}
My stories, in order of addition:

== Short stories ==
*[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]] [[Image:Modern_magic.png|20px]] (Spells R Us)
:Alan just wants Tabitha to love him, and she seems to love dogs...

== Longer works ==
Coming soon...

==Ideas and works in progress ==
Coming soon...

{{author page}}

User:Kenani

2009-06-30T19:09:23Z

Kenani:

{{my stories}}
My stories, in order of addition:

*[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]] [[Image:Modern_magic.png|20px]] (Spells R Us)
:Alan just wants Tabitha to love him, and she seems to love dogs...

{{Separator|stars|'''''Ideas and works in progress'''''}}
To be added...

{{author page}}

User:Kenani

2009-06-30T18:51:35Z

Kenani:

{{my stories}}
My stories, in order of addition:

*[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]] (Spells R Us)
:Alan just wants Tabitha to love him, and she seems to love dogs...

{{author page}}

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T18:48:26Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. And yet, he needed her. Her golden blond hair, the harp-like tinkle in her voice, and the glimmer in her emerald-green eyes, that were recently in constant tears from the "death of a loved one," all called out to him in a way he couldn't describe with any simile. Even when he immersed himself in the books or video-games that provided a brief respite from his pathetic life of drudgery, he found his thoughts switching back to Tabitha.

But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality (even though he had heard gossip that she was just as nice as anyone and that her popularity had never gone to her head) was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us'' that couldn't possibly be new, but had never been there before. Against his better judgment, he decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of old, yet well-polished, leather-bound parchment... spell books? ''This is probably a store for kitschy illusionists,'' Alan realized in dismay. ''Still, it's worth a try.'' In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself, grinning at the anachronism in spite of himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well, with glossy coats and feathers. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a singsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Uh, did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes, you're right."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. Tabitha finally loves me...'' were his final musings before all knowledge of past humanity vanished and left behind a confused and sleepy puppy.

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared in the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done, and watched as the dog motif shifted itself into what looked like a dolphin for his next customer.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

The moment Tabitha stepped into school the next Monday, everyone noticed how different she looked from the sullen, moping girl she had been on Friday. She was cheerful and smiling, even though her designer clothes had yellow fur in them. Soon (she was a maestro of gossip), all of her friends knew that she'd had the unbelievably good luck of finding an adorable new puppy right in front of her house to replace the dog that had died last week. She was so devoted to her new pet that her chattering about how wonderful it was eclipsed gossip about the hot quarterback or the new dolphin at the zoo until fourth period.

Meanwhile, the puppy that was now named Lucky (though he didn't know it) energetically anticipated his Master's return from the Place-Beyond-Senses. He occupied himself with wrestling the pillow, eager to be with the human that even in his canine mind was the girl of his dreams.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of His Dreams, The}}
[[Category:Spells R Us]][[Category:Kenani]][[Category:Canine]][[Category:Story]]

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:14:35Z

Kenani:

My first story on Shifti. Enjoy.--[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 19:12, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

:A little formulaic, but well-written. Nicely done. —[[User:Robotech Master|Robotech Master]] 19:15, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

:Not bad. As [[User:Robotech Master|RM]] said, a bit formulaic, but well executed. Pardon me while I go add you to [[ShadowWolfs Pack|the Pack]]. -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 19:22, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

:Thanks, then. It may be formulaic, but keep in mind that it's my first story. Gotta start somewhere. --[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 19:28, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

::That is why you earned a spot in [[ShadowWolfs Pack|the Pack]] down in the [[ShadowWolfs Pack#.C2.A0Promising New Authors.C2.A0|Promising New Authors]] section - as you noticed (and corrected the link - thanks) -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 19:45, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

::Yep. You might want to go check out the [[Writer's School]], and in particular [[The Tail Tale]]. There's some good advice for new writers in the School. —[[User:Robotech Master|Robotech Master]] 20:32, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

::<span style="color: #006400;">Hey, I go to that school! Really, it is very useful. Welcome to the pack, though I'm not officially in it yet, and have a good stay on shifti. I look forward to whatever else escapes from your brain onto the page.</span> --[[User:Concerned Reader|Concerned Reader]] 00:27, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

::Hmm...not a bad story, pretty good, in fact. But of course you've already heard that. But there ''are'' some things not too good about it (no offense). For example, this appears to be just a setup for the TF to happen: the introduction and ending are both a little hasty. It would be nicer if you could elaborate more on the story itself and less on the TF. Everyone's seen a dog TF before, but it's your ''storyline'' that's sets your story apart from the rest. It is the way you write the story that makes it special. So, what I'd suggest for your next story is concentrating less on the actual change and more on the story, the plot, the characters.

::Oh, and congrats on getting the place in the Pack! ShadowWolf's a really great guy, and an excellent critic: I think you should pester him for a critique just like I did (don't tell him that I'm telling you: he'll kill me). This story deserved to get in. Write more soon! And yes, Writers' School is really useful. I go there a lot. :) --[[User:WolfyDrake95|Drake]], 08:27, 30 June 2009 (+0800 GMT)

:::A) Thanks for the praise and advice. When you say I should focus more on the story, might you by any chance be able to be more specific?
:::B) I went ahead and read [[The Tail Tale]]. It seems like the main idea is "focus more on what happens after TF and how it affects the main character's life." Would I be correct in thinking this? (Although, a lot of it seems to pertain to anthro TF, and that's just not something I'm interested in.) --[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 01:34, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

::::Well, when I say that, I more or less mean something along the lines of an introduction that elaborates on the relationships, life, and personality of the main character. For example in this case, you could start off with, say, Alan being rejected by Tabitha, or maybe him seeing Tabitha mourn her dog (you mentioned that it died). You could also elaborate further on the descriptions of people, places, objects. Instead of writing so many words on the TF itself, you might want to consider writing a little more on what happpened next.
::::In this story, it feels as if the intro was rushed, just to introduce the TF itself quickly. I don't see much descriptions of the environment, like the soft tinkling of the bell or a layer of dust on the objects, etc, etc. And right after the incident at the shop, Alan just ''uses'' the talisman, without even considering the consequences. Maybe you'd like him to, say, examine it closer, consider what might happen, wonder how it might work? But if this was meant to be a short story all along, then the above could actually be disregarded, because short stories often end very abruptly (cliffhangers, which I like). Still, the main thing should be about the character and his life before and after (like in the Tail Tale), and not just a TF.
::::Anyway, you really should ask ShadowWolf to critique this properly. I'm a weak excuse for a critic, seeing as I've only got a couple of stories and less than a year of experience. :)--[[User:WolfyDrake95|Drake]], 10:16, 30 June 2009 (+0800 GMT)

::::<span style="color: #006400;">I think you've pretty much covered the basics, Drake. Expanding the story through character development isn't a bad thing, and would surely help the story have more emotional bounds. As it is now, it's a pretty good story; but, with some expansion, It could be a great story. As he looses his mind after the change, I would focus on his character before, and her character after. It doesn't really matter if the change is to an anthropomorphic form, or completely to an animal, the same basic rules apply. I would definitely wait for ShadowWolf to drop back in and leave his comments. He is the number one editor around here, and has helped many an author on their way, most of us included. </span> --[[User:Concerned Reader|Concerned Reader]] 04:15, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

::::I added a few sentences to the beginning and two paragraphs to the end. Am I going in the right direction with these? --[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 05:14, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:14:19Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:13:12Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. And yet, he needed her. Her golden blond hair, the harp-like tinkle in her voice, and the glimmer in her emerald-green eyes, that were recently in constant tears from the "death of a loved one," all called out to him in a way he couldn't describe with any simile. Even when he immersed himself in the books or video-games that provided a brief respite from his pathetic life of drudgery, he found his thoughts switching back to Tabitha.

But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality (even though he had heard gossip that she was just as nice as anyone and that her popularity had never gone to her head) was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us'' that couldn't possibly be new, but had never been there before. Against his better judgment, he decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of old, yet well-polished, leather-bound parchment... spell books? ''This is probably a store for kitschy illusionists,'' Alan realized in dismay. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself, grinning at the anachronism in spite of himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well, with glossy coats and feathers. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a singsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Uh, did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes, you're right."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. Tabitha finally loves me...'' were his final musings before all knowledge of past humanity vanished and left behind a confused and sleepy puppy.

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared in the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done, and watched as the dog motif shifted itself into what looked like a dolphin for his next customer.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

The moment Tabitha stepped into school the next Monday, everyone noticed how different she looked from the sullen, moping girl she had been on Friday. She was cheerful and smiling, even though her designer clothes had yellow fur in them. Soon (she was a maestro of gossip), all of her friends knew that she'd had the unbelievably good luck of finding an adorable new puppy right in front of her house to replace the dog that had died last week. She was so devoted to her new pet that her chattering about how wonderful it was eclipsed gossip about the hot quarterback or the new dolphin at the zoo until fourth period.

Meanwhile, the puppy that was now named Lucky (though he didn't know it) energetically anticipated his Master's return from the Place-Beyond-Senses. He occupied himself with wrestling the pillow, eager to be with the human that even in his canine mind was the girl of his dreams.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of His Dreams, The}}
[[Category:Spells R Us]][[Category:Kenani]][[Category:Canine]][[Category:Story]]

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:11:40Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. And yet, he needed her. Her golden blond hair, the harp-like tinkle in her voice, and the glimmer in her emerald-green eyes all called out to him in a way he couldn't describe with any simile. Even when he immersed himself in the books or video-games that provided a brief respite from his pathetic life of drudgery, he found his thoughts switching back to Tabitha.

But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality (even though he had heard gossip that she was just as nice as anyone and that her popularity had never gone to her head) was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us'' that couldn't possibly be new, but had never been there before. Against his better judgment, he decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of old, yet well-polished, leather-bound parchment... spell books? ''This is probably a store for kitschy illusionists,'' Alan realized in dismay. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself, grinning at the anachronism in spite of himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well, with glossy coats and feathers. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a singsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Uh, did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes, you're right."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. Tabitha finally loves me...'' were his final musings before all knowledge of past humanity vanished and left behind a confused and sleepy puppy.

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared in the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done, and watched as the dog motif shifted itself into what looked like a dolphin for his next customer.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

The moment Tabitha stepped into school the next Monday, everyone noticed how different she looked from the sullen, moping girl she had been on Friday. She was cheerful and smiling, even though her designer clothes had yellow fur in them. Soon (she was a maestro of gossip), all of her friends knew that she'd had the unbelievably good luck of finding an adorable new puppy right in front of her house to replace the dog that had died last week. She was so devoted to her new pet that her chattering about how wonderful it was eclipsed gossip about the hot quarterback or the new dolphin at the zoo until fourth period.

Meanwhile, the puppy that was now named Lucky (though he didn't know it) energetically anticipated his Master's return from the Place-Beyond-Senses. He occupied himself with wrestling the pillow, eager to be with the human that even in his canine mind was the girl of his dreams.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of His Dreams, The}}
[[Category:Spells R Us]][[Category:Kenani]][[Category:Canine]][[Category:Story]]

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:10:56Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. And yet, he needed her. Her golden blond hair, the harp-like tinkle in her voice, and the glimmer in her emerald-green eyes all called out to him in a way he couldn't describe with any simile. Even when he immersed himself in the books or video-games that provided a brief respite from his pathetic life of drudgery, he found his thoughts switching back to Tabitha.

But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality (even though he had heard gossip that she was just as nice as anyone and that her popularity had never gone to her head) was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us'' that couldn't possibly be new, but had never been there before. Against his better judgment, he decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of old, yet well-polished, leather-bound parchment... spell books? ''This is probably a store for kitschy illusionists,'' Alan realized in dismay. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself, grinning at the anachronism in spite of himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well, with glossy coats and feathers. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a singsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Uh, did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes, you're right."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. Tabitha finally loves me...'' were his final musings before all knowledge of past humanity vanished and left a confused and sleepy puppy.

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared in the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done, and watched as the dog motif shifted itself into what looked like a dolphin for his next customer.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

The moment Tabitha stepped into school the next Monday, everyone noticed how different she looked from the sullen, moping girl she had been on Friday. She was cheerful and smiling, even though her designer clothes had yellow fur in them. Soon (she was a maestro of gossip), all of her friends knew that she'd had the unbelievably good luck of finding an adorable new puppy right in front of her house to replace the dog that had died last week. She was so devoted to her new pet that her chattering about how wonderful it was eclipsed gossip about the hot quarterback or the new dolphin at the zoo until fourth period.

Meanwhile, the puppy that was now named Lucky (though he didn't know it) energetically anticipated his Master's return from the Place-Beyond-Senses. He occupied himself with wrestling the pillow, eager to be with the human that even in his canine mind was the girl of his dreams.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of His Dreams, The}}
[[Category:Spells R Us]][[Category:Kenani]][[Category:Canine]][[Category:Story]]

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T05:10:23Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. And yet, he needed her. Her golden blond hair, the harp-like tinkle in her voice, and the glimmer in her emerald-green eyes all called out to him in a way he couldn't describe with any simile. Even when he immersed himself in the books or video-games that provided a brief respite from his pathetic life of drudgery, he found his thoughts switching back to Tabitha.

But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality (even though he had heard gossip that she was just as nice as anyone and that her popularity had never gone to her head) was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us'' that couldn't possibly be new, but had never been there before. Against his better judgment, he decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of old, yet well-polished, leather-bound parchment... spell books? ''This is probably a store for kitschy illusionists,'' Alan realized in dismay. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself, grinning at the anachronism in spite of himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well, with glossy coats and feathers. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a singsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Uh, did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes, you're right."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. Tabitha finally loves me...'' were his final musings before all knowledge of past humanity vanished and left a confused and sleepy puppy.

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared in the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done, and watched as the dog motif shifted itself into what looked like a dolphin for his next customer.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

The moment Tabitha stepped into school the next Monday, everyone noticed how different she looked from the sullen, moping girl she had been on Friday. She was cheerful and smiling, even though her designer clothes had yellow fur in them. Soon (she was a maestro of gossip), all of her friends knew that she'd had the unbelievably good luck of finding an adorable new puppy right in front of her house to replace the dog that had died last week. She was so devoted to her new pet that her chattering about how wonderful it was eclipsed gossip about the hot quarterback or the new dolphin at the zoo until fourth period.

Meanwhile, the puppy that was now named Lucky (though he didn't know it) energetically anticipated his Master's return from the Place-Beyond-Senses. He occupied himself with wrestling the pillow, eager to be with the human that even in his canine mind was the girl of his dreams.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl of His Dreams, The}}
[[Category:Spells R Us]][[Category:Kenani]][[Category:Canine]][[Category:Story]]

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T01:37:22Z

Kenani:

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T01:37:01Z

Kenani:

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-30T01:34:26Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T20:32:31Z

Kenani:

{{title}}
{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us''. He decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of parchment... spell books? This was probably a store for kitschy illusionists. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a signsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. I finally have the love of the girl of my dreams.''

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared ion the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done.

[[Category:Spells R Us|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Kenani|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Canine|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Story|Girl of His Dreams, The]]

Talk:The Muse Files

2009-06-29T19:30:34Z

Kenani:

"Genetically enginnered, non-human. Treated as slaves in high tech religiusocracy US"

Why is it a religiusocracy? How would that even add to the story? And reading that on a random page on shifti, felt like me taking a stroll through the park, and having a stranger jump out in front of me, and slash me in the eye with a knife and causally walk away. I seriously doubt this is what you intended, but that is the emotional impression and mental image I got from reading it.

-- Alex Warlorn 2008 Nov 06

:Note that he was talking about a US where the religious groups - and industrial groups - had gained their own, independent representation in the government. That is what Heinlein's "Interregnum" was and what that idea is about. -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 07:54, 6 November 2008 (EST)

It just feels like another 'religion is bad' 'religion is the enemy of reason' 'religion is an oversized game' 'religion is a mass delusion' message piggy backed on a story to me. I doubt that was the intention but it is the feeling I got. A mass corporation, in control of the media, has shown the ability to warp and control public opinion all on their own. And devotion to the all might dollar is the most dreaded of religions. -- Alex Warlorn 2008 Nov 06

::That's what I get for jotting ideas down whilst reading other stories. Terms carry over. You can use any dictatorship in any high tech large powerful country. If you want the depressing ending, you have to have one of the superpowers; if gengineering is cheap and easy, you can do it with any state. Of course, if you can only gengineer in the womb -- once you're born you're stuck -- then you can go either way.

::P.S. The Heinlein story in question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_in_2100

::[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]] 13:22, 6 November 2008 (EST)

"man into merman transformation via brain transplant - NO - biological"merman" suit taken on expedition to Europa in addition to biological space suits and others"

:This was actually done, though it wasn't Europa, it was Neptune. Gordon Eklund's "A Thunder on Neptune" explored some of those ideas. --[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]] 09:51, 6 November 2008 (EST)

::I did it with suits you put on too. Ideas are cheap, the implementation is the challenge. It's why I don't mind posting all my notes -- if we both use the same one as a starting point, we'll still have completely different stories -- [[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]] 13:24, 6 November 2008 (EST)

"Modified human with some vacuum adaptions, and with arms and hands replacing feet"

:I take it someone recently read Falling Free.

::Actually no. There was a short story in Analog in the late '70s about space adapted humans finding a frozen corpse with LEGS and modifying themselves with these odd items... --[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]] 08:47, 13 May 2009 (EST)

I'm new here (as in, less than half-an-hour ago), so... are these ideas up for grabs? --[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 05:01, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

:I believe so. That's why they're up here, because they're supposed to be used as inspiration for other authors. --[[User:WolfyDrake95|Drake]] 05:03, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

<span style="color: #006400;">I would have to agree. The note on the page makes it sound like they are up for the taking.</span> --[[User:Concerned Reader|Concerned Reader]] 05:13, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes, Kenani, [[The Muse Files]] are ideas that people have put here so that others might find inspiration in them. -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 06:15, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice, with it I've written [[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|a story]] using the last idea on the list ("Boy gets turned into a puppy and ends up being the pet of the girl at school that he likes"). --[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 19:30, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T19:28:14Z

Kenani:

ShadowWolfs Pack

2009-06-29T19:26:56Z

Kenani:

<div style="float:left; margin-right:10px;">__TOC__</div>{{favorites list}}
<div style="margin-left: 10px;">
Welcome to a list of stories that I've found rather enjoyable. I'm not as technical about my picks as my esteemed colleague [[User:Bryan|Bryan]] of [[Bryan's picks|Bryan's Picks]]—my standards are more based around how skillfully the story was told and how much I enjoyed reading it. This does, however, mean that a story must be told well—using a repetitive sentence structure, creating your own variant of English to tell the story or not understanding the finer points of how to tell a story will keep them from showing up here—<u>'''''ever'''''</u>.

If you're looking for splooge or similar, you can look elsewhere—pr0n will '''''never''''' make my list. On the gripping hand, if you're looking for a good story, just take your pick from the stories below.
</div>
=== {{separator|x|Rated Stories}} ===
{{sw utils/ratings table open}}
{{sw utils/ratings table heading|The more stars, the better.}}
{{sw utils/rated table head}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Dealing with the Faerie|Dealing with the Faerie]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/The Survivor|The Survivor]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|2.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Inspire Me|Inspire Me]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/Flying Free|Flying Free]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Five Hours, Thirty-two Minutes|Five Hours, Thirty-two Minutes]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/A Faerie Tale|A Faerie Tale]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Melash...|Melash...]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/Something Fishy|Something Fishy]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Survival and Sacrifice|Survival and Sacrifice]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/Diary of a Centaur in a Human's World|Diary of a Centaur in a Human's World]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Posti/Jacked into the System|Jacked into the System]]|[[User:Posti|Bob Stein]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Posti/Totally Pucked|Totally Pucked]]|[[User:Posti|Bob Stein]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Fashionably Late]]|[[User:Devin|Devin Hallsworth]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Pray for Mercy]]|[[User:Devin|Devin Hallsworth]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Doe's Hoof]]|[[User:JonBuck|Jon Buck]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Refamiliarization]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Far Indeed From Sherwood Forest]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Loving Halloween]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Where's the Beef?]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Replay]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|3.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[The Fugitive]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]|{{sw utils/stars|2}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Taylor Series Tom and Cat|Tom and Cat (Taylor Series)]]|[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Taylor Series 2 Erin and Aaron|Erin and Aaron (Taylor Series - #2)]]|[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Taylor Series 3 Minos|Minos (Taylor Series - #3)]]|[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Reversal of Fortune]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]|{{sw utils/stars|2.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[...And This Little Piggy Stayed Home]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:MatthiasRat/You Can Only See|You Can Only See]]|[[User:MatthiasRat|Matt Ratt]]|{{sw utils/stars|3.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:MatthiasRat/Pruning|Pruning]]|[[User:MatthiasRat|Matt Ratt]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Eirik/Questions and Answers|Questions and Answers]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Eirik/The Trouble with Troubleshooting|The Trouble with Troubleshooting]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:Eirik/In Training|In Training]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Eirik/Mary-Lynn|Mary-Lynn]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]|{{sw utils/stars|2.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[501st]]|[[User:Joysweeper|Joysweeper]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[Revan Saga]]|[[User:Joysweeper|Joysweeper]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Mermaid]]|[[User:Sdw|SDW]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[The Mandalorian]]|[[User:Oberon|Oberon]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Unpresentable Heroes]]|[[User:Trismegistus Shandy‎|Trismegistus Shandy‎]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[From Nowhere]]|[[User:Trismegistus Shandy‎|Trismegistus Shandy]]|{{sw utils/stars|2.5}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[Noticing]]|[[User:Trismegistus Shandy‎|Trismegistus Shandy]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[User:Leasara/What You Eat|What You Eat]]|[[User:Leasara|Shannon Robertson]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[User:WolfyDrake95/Finding Himself|Finding Himself]]|[[User:WolfyDrake95|WolfyDrake]]|{{sw utils/stars|3.5}}}}
{{sw utils/ratings table close}}

=== {{separator|x|Unrated Stories}} ===
{{sw utils/ratings table open}}
{{sw utils/ratings table heading|Good beyond Rating}}
{{sw utils/unrated table head}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Dreams can become Nightmares; Nightmares can become Dreams|Dreams can become Nightmares; Nightmares can become Dreams]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/Returning Home|Returning Home]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Michael Bard/Now I will believe that there are Unicorns|Now I will believe that there are Unicorns]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[User:Michael Bard/Repayment|Repayment]]|[[User:Michael Bard|Michael Bard]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[The Limelight]]|[[User:JonBuck|Jon Buck]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Sentinel]]|[[User:JonBuck|Jon Buck]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[Forest Life]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Taint of Chaos]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Erastus/Implementing the Cure|Implementing the Cure]]|[[User:Erastus|Erastus Centaur]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Xanadu (story)|Xanadu]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[Witchhunt]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Unexpected Shore]]|[[User:Bryan|Bryan]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:MatthiasRat/An Unexpected Stop|An Unexpected Stop]]|[[User:MatthiasRat|Matt Ratt]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[User:Eirik/The Monster in the Closet|The Monster in the Closet]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Eirik/A Hot Time in the Old Town|A Hot Time in the Old Town]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[User:Eirik/Trust|Trust]]|[[User:Eirik|Eirik]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[Text Of A Two-Page Note Found Next To The Body Of A Gray Vixen Morph]]|[[User:Viqsi|Viqsi]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Stable Home Life]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[Free]]|[[User:Xodiac|Xodiac]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Wacky Baccy]]|[[User:Jedcurtis|Jed Curtis]]}}
{{sw utils/ratings table close}}

=== {{separator|x|Promising New Authors}} ===
{{sw utils/ratings table open}}
{{sw utils/ratings table heading|Some Promising Authors and Stories}}
{{sw utils/unrated table head}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[Raptor's Hunt]]|[[User:Oberon|Oberon]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Fashionably Late]]|[[User:Devin|Devin]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[All You Need to Know]]|[[User:Pocsock|Pocsock]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[Spells of Brigervan]]|[[User:Virmir|Virmir]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Mona Lisa/Being Tanda|Being Tanda]]|[[User:Mona Lisa|Mona Lisa]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[User:LurkingWolf/Fall of Knight TF|Fall of Knight]]|[[User:LurkingWolf|Lurking Wolf]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:WolfyDrake95/New World|New World]]|[[User:WolfyDrake95|WolfyDrake95]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry even|[[The Last Interview]]|[[User:Guvnor Of Space|Guvnor Of Space]]}}
{{sw utils/unrated table entry odd|[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]]|[[User:Kenani|Kenani]]}}
{{sw utils/ratings table close}}

=== {{separator|x|Series}} ===
{{sw utils/ratings table open}}
{{sw utils/ratings table heading|Complete Series (The more stars, the better)}}
{{sw utils/rated table head}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry odd|[[:Category:Taylor Series|Taylor Series]]|[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]]|{{sw utils/stars|3}}}}
{{sw utils/rated table entry even|[[:Category:The Veil|The Veil]]|[[User:Jetfire|Jetfire]]|{{sw utils/stars|4}}}}
{{sw utils/ratings table close}}

[[Category:Story lists]]

User talk:Kenani

2009-06-29T19:25:46Z

Kenani:

<span style="color: #006400;">Well, hello there!</span> --[[User:Concerned Reader|Concerned Reader]] 04:45, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

:Sup. Welcome to Shifti! I expect [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] or [[User:Bryan|Bryan]], our friendly administrators, will drop by to give you an introduction. Hope you enjoy Shifti! It's awesome. --[[User:WolfyDrake95|Drake]]

== Intro ==
Welcome to Shifti! Always glad to see new contributors. This is a bit of a standard boilerplate introduction that will hopefully help get you started on some of the basics you might not have noticed. Firstly, there's a main index of help pages at [[Help:Contents]] - a link is provided in the default sidebar titled "Help." It's a good idea to browse through the table of contents there so you'll know what information is available should you need it.

If you're here to post stories, there's a guide specifically for the basics of that over at [[Help:Posting stories]]. General editing assistance is at [[Help:Editing]], and information about how to use talk pages (like this one) is at [[Help:Talk pages]]. If any of the formatting seems esoteric at first, don't worry - wikis are collaborative and other editors and administrators will come around to help tidy up anything that's left in a messy state, if you want. The more complex details can be learned later as you go.

You can set up a personal homepage for yourself at your root user page, which you can find by clicking on your user name at the top of the page. Use your user page however you see fit; most authors generally list their stories there, along with a bit of biographical information about themselves and perhaps some links to other websites. See [[Help:User pages]].

If you have any questions, you can either click the edit link for this page and write it here or you can follow the link in my signature to my own home page and leave it in the talk page over there. You can find a list of Shifti's administrators at [[Shifti:Administrators]]. Once you've got your bearings, feel free to delete this welcome message from your user talk page. [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 06:06, 29 June 2009 (UTC)
:And [[User:WolfyDrake95|WolfyDrake]] would be correct. I'd have greeted you with the chunk of boilerplate earlier if, well... If I wasn't feeling kinda sick right now. Anyway, Welcome to Shifti and I hope you enjoy our little slice of the 'net. -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 06:06, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Finally... Thanks for the contributions, Kenani. I've done some cleanup and standardization for you and also given you the "author" flag. Enjoy! -- [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]] 19:13, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks.--[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 19:25, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T19:12:24Z

Kenani:

My first story on Shifti. Enjoy.--[[User:Kenani|Kenani]] 19:12, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

User talk:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T19:12:13Z

Kenani: Created page with 'My first story on Shifti. Enjoy.'

My first story on Shifti. Enjoy.

User:Kenani

2009-06-29T19:11:34Z

Kenani:

My stories:

*[[User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams|The Girl of His Dreams]]

[[Category:Kenani]]
{{author page}}

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T19:10:04Z

Kenani:

{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us''. He decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of parchment... spell books? This was probably a store for kitschy illusionists. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a signsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. He could no longer hold the amulet, and it dropped to the flor. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises. Alan's own memories began to slip out of his head and were instantly replaced by a recollection of the warm, sweet milk of his mother's teats, with his siblings squirming around him. Instincts took over human knowledge. A cloudiness spread through Alan's mind, and soon Alan would be gone, replaced with the puppy.

"You're a smart puppy, aren't you? Trying to talk. Come on, you'll sleep with me tonight. I'll show you to my parents tomorrow." Pa-rents? To-mor-row? The noises meant nothing to the puppy, but the voice had care and tenderness in it. The human's smell brought the puppy comfort. This human was his master. He wanted to be with her. He instinctively loved her, and knew that she loved him back. A final human thought broke out of the cloudiness before fading away. ''I guess that amulet worked. I finally have the love of the girl of my dreams.''

Alan's clothes faded away, and the amulet shimmered and reappeared ion the store. The old man smiled and knew that the job had been done.

[[Category:Spells R Us|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Kenani|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Canine|Girl of His Dreams, The]]

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T18:58:43Z

Kenani:

{{universe|Spells R Us}}
{{my stories
|name=Kenani
|category=Kenani
}}

Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day looking for something, anything that would impress Tabitha, the girl of his dreams. But he found nothing that could possibly bridge the gap between the pretty, popular girl and the cliqueless loser that he was. She would probably go out with one of those musclebound jocks that already had facial hair, and he didn't even want to think about who he would get stuck with. But even after he tried his scouring, he didn't even know what kind of thing he should get. Hell, the only thing he was sure of about her personality was that she liked dogs! He was just ready to pack up and go when he saw a store that had never been there before, a very curious curio shop called ''Spells R Us''. He decided to give it a try.

The moment Alan stepped inside, he furrowed his brow at the smell. In was decidedly old and musty, like an old library of parchment. He glanced to his left, and discovered that that's exactly what the smell was: a collection of parchment... spell books? This was probably a store for kitschy illusionists. Still, it was worth a try. In another corner of the store, there were dozens of incredibly realistic costumes, mainly of animals and mythical creatures, with possibly hundreds more masks (all just as frighteningly realistic). There was also a good section devoted to all manner of talismans, amulets, gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, charms, trinkets, and other curios. They glinted in the light of the fluorescent bulb. ''Well, at least that's not trying to be magic,'' thought Alan to himself. He even saw an area with cages inhabited by owls, frogs, and maybe even a cat or two. They looked like they had been taken care of remarkably well. ''Maybe they have a dog!'' At this thought, Alan rushed over to the desk, brushed over an emerald eye-shaped talisman he swore was blinking, and rang the bell. Like magic, a gnarled old man with white hair and an oddly ordinary suit instantly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Alan! Welcome to my store!" he exclaimed in a signsong voice.

"Uh... how, uh, did you-" Alan stammered before being interrupted.

"I know your name because I'm a wizard."

"Whoah. Did you, um, read my mind to know, er, what I was saying?"

The so-called wizard sighed. "Nope. Just used to people saying that. Now let's see. You want Tabitha to love you, but you think that could never possibly be."

"I'm not even going to ask. Yes."

"And the only thing you know about her is that..."

"She loves dogs. Adores them."

"Very well, I think I have something for you, young man. At midnight tonight, go to Tabitha's house and chant your name three times and her name three times, with this amulet in the hand you write with. After that, I'll give you your money back if she doesn't love you, and you her."

Alan had been scurrying to write down all of these directions, so he was rather dismayed when the shopkeeper plopped down the amulet on his piece of paper. It wasn't gold, but looked awfully like it. Bronze, maybe, or pyrite. There were lots of swirling and curving patterns, and he thought he just might be able to make out the shape of a dog.

"Thanks a lot, sir," Alan said. "How much?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly charge true love."

"Didn't you say I'd get my money back if-"

"Forget that. I'll give you a gift certificate."

"Fine, bye," Alan said as he trotted out the door. When he looked back, the storefront was empty. Odd.

{{Separator|j||300px}}

Getting to Tabitha's house was easy enough, because it was only a couple of blocks away from his. It was also easy to sneak out, because his parents went to sleep early. That just left the ritual. He approached the house, which was bigger and in better condition than his. Probably because it belonged to a richer family. As he got closer, he heard sobbing from an upstairs window and with a a gasp remembered that Tabitha's own dog had died recently. ''That just means she'll need someone else to love,'' thought Alan optimistically.

His watch beeped out midnight. Alan took a deep breath, grabbed the amulet from his pocket, and chanted out, "Alan, Alan, Alan, Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha." The changes began almost immediately.

He began to feel itchy all over, and when he tried to scratch his arms moved in odd ways. Frustrated, he looked at an itchy spot on his arm and let out a frighteningly canine yelp. His own hair was lengthening into yellow fur, and his... paws? His fingers grew shorter and his thumbs longer as his nails grew into brown claws. The arm itself began to rearrange itself; it grew longer as its joints switched their positions. A similar change happened in his legs, although they grew shorter. Alan grew even more frightened as his chest compressed and a tail grew from the base of his spine, a very odd feeling. He let out another yelp. As soon as he did, his face pushed out into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened, his nose grew wet, and his ears moved up and grew longer. All the while, the itchiness of his fur grew while his clothes felt strangely loose. He looked up to the house and was startled to find that it was much larger than before.

Alan suddenly flopped down to all fours, in this case meaning his four new legs, as the house grew even taller and his clothes looser. He decided that, having fur, he no longer needed them, and he squirmed out of the shirt that now hung around him like a circus tent. His eyes changed color, and so did the world. But his great hearing incredible new sense of smell more than made up for it. Not only could he smell everything imaginable, he also somehow knew in the back of his mind what those smells meant. For example, he could now smell the warm scent that screamed out "Female human," mixed with the wet, salty tang of tears. Tabitha! He couldn't help but let out a yip, and realized that he was a puppy. His long ears heard the sound of clumsy human feet running down the stairs, and he knew she heard him. He yipped again, the sound coming naturally, and she rushed outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the new puppy.

"Oh my gawd! Do you want to be my new puppy, boy?" Alan did his best to nod his head.

"That's so adorable! It's like you think you're a person!" She picked him up in her gigantic hands and Alan tried to say, "I am a real person, I'm Alan from school!" However, his throat could not form the words and, by the end of the sentence, neither could his brain. He just simply forgot what they meant. Alan? Just human noises.

[[Category:Spells R Us|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Kenani|Girl of His Dreams, The]][[Category:Canine|Girl of His Dreams, The]]

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T18:27:45Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T18:15:56Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T18:04:46Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T17:23:05Z

Kenani:

User:Kenani/The Girl of His Dreams

2009-06-29T17:01:56Z

Kenani: Created page with '{{universe|Spells R Us}} {{my stories |name=Kenani |category=Kenani }} Alan let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on the shiny metal mall bench. He'd spent the entire day loo...'

Category:Kenani

2009-06-29T16:36:08Z

Kenani:

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2009-06-29T16:27:07Z

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2009-06-29T16:25:33Z

Kenani:

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Category:Kenani

2009-06-29T16:25:07Z

Kenani: Created page with 'Stories by and other articles pertaining to the author Kenani.'

Stories by and other articles pertaining to the author Kenani.

User:Kenani

2009-06-29T16:24:36Z

Kenani:

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2009-06-29T16:24:05Z

Kenani: Created page with 'My stories: Category:Kenani'

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Talk:The Muse Files

2009-06-29T05:01:52Z

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