#AND SHIT IS REACHING A TIPPING POINT AND I ALSO JUST HAVE A GLITCHED IMAGE GENERATING SYSTEM AND THE HORRORS ARE ONLY BEING INTERPRETED

[yearofthediamond-dogs]

I'm christian now

[heli0s-writes]

Fuckin’ Legit

Pairings: Reader x Bucky Barnes Summary: Follow up to Fuckin’ Teamwork, based off this ask. A/N: More silly shenanigans. Dumbass reader :) 2.1k words

Bag of Tricks Masterlist

Bucky watches from a distance as you hurl through the air and land right heel-first on the training dummy, knocking its head off and making it bounce off the floor with enough force to lodge itself into the ceiling. The room of SHIELD recruits clap and cheer, and when the dummy’s head flops back down you kick it like a hacky-sack at Maria Hill.

“Great demonstration,” Hill catches the head and tucks it under her arm. “Are you interested in teaching a course in hand-to-hand combat with a focus on aerial recovery? Legitimately?”

“Only if you promise not to fall in love with me.” You send a wink at her and then, as soon as you see Bucky’s bewildered face through the other side of the glass, you leap after him. He’s convinced you’re dumber than a bag of rocks, but you’re not deterred by it—especially not after Maria Hill’s validation. Puffing your chest, you skip forward, “Hey, Buck! I’m legit!”

Immediately, you trip and face plant into the nearest surface. The room collectively hisses in discomfort.

“I take that back.” Maria hurriedly ushers the recruits out before they can witness anything else.

Bucky slips through the door and roughly yanks you up by your elbow, wincing when your nose reveals a line of blood dripping into your mouth. “Legit, my ass. Come on. Stark called for us.”

-

The air in the conference room is stagnant and overwrought with a million unsaid—unscreamed—expressions. Tony pivots on his lifted heels, finger jabbing toward the big screen where a dark and grainy image is projected.

“Care to explain this? Friday pulled it from a broadcast coming from the cell.” He narrows his eyes at you as you slump down into the swivel chair until only the top of your head shows. “How about you?” Tony gestures to Bucky.

Tony has a laser pointer in his other hand, and he shines the red spotlight on the picture where Bucky’s knees are bent and planted to the ground. The dot trails over his thigh and then over the smaller frame beneath him.

You’re there, arched upward into his torso, legs hooked around his tapered waist, heels digging into his spine. Four of his thick flesh fingers are shoved inside your mouth, pulling your cheek open, and the dim light catches a sliver of your wet tongue. His other forearm is pushed onto your sternum, holding you down.

It looks bad.

It looks like Bucky is dry humping the daylights out of you in an abandoned Hydra facility.

Sam erupts into a screeching laugh when he finally pieces it together, pitching forward until he’s flattened against the wood table. “Ho-Homygod--- This is the best day of my life. Is this the cyanide incident?”

Bucky is red from head to toe.

Natasha rolls her eyes and slides away from the table. “Tony, she ate two cyanide capsules. Barnes was wrestling them out of her mouth.”

Tony stiffens for a moment as he ponders the truth behind her statement. Then, he quirks his head like an owl, flares his nostrils, and stoops beneath the table to find you resembling a boneless pile of flesh.

“Everyone is dismissed.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “I wish I could fire you.”

A quiet whimper escapes your lips, the most pathetic noise to ever come from a human being. “But…” You whine pathetically, “I’m legit.”

-

A few nights later, you find yourself sneaking through yet another dusty old hideout. Surprise, surprise, Hydra is bad with maintenance and loves asbestos.

Steve made you an outline of all your tasks on his mission, written in all caps, folded neatly, and shoved it into your back pocket before departure. You skimmed over it on the plane before crumbling it up. The first bullet point had glared: NO CANDY.

Tightass.

You easily clear the wing and dispatch your status to Sam who is waiting patiently in the jet, fingers on the console. Bucky is patrolling the perimeter and you are taking the east side while Redwing zooms through the west.

There have been trip wires (newbie shit) and also surprisingly advanced attempts at entrapment so far (motion sensors, temperature regulated alarms). They’ve all been expertly pulled apart and rewired and you are taking a short break fucking around in the hallway, peering at dusty paintings of – some old dead bald guys. You take a picture of one and send it to Tony, labelled it’s like looking into the future.

Chortling, you continue down the corridor aimlessly until you hear a creak.

The knife in your hand is blade-first and coming down hard on the body sneaking up until— “Oh Barnes!” You cry happily, tucking it back into the strap on your wrist. “Good. You’re here! There’s only one more room—I’ve been crushing it.”

Literally two seconds after you say that, you turn the corner and run face-first into the door. Bucky pauses as if he doesn’t quite register what just happened before slowly reaching forward and gently applying pressure to the handle.

It’s written all over his face: you’re an idiot. You are seriously lacking some brain cells.

He leads the way carefully, swatting cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and taking stock of each corner, rifle pointed forward and alert. Behind him, your boots thump noisily against the floor and a chair is tipped over when your arm crashes into it.

Bucky spins on his heels and catches the chair before it can fall on top of what looks like a very obviously placed … box.

It’s a box.

A giant red box is on the floor, outlined with a square of white tape. Two abnormally unsoiled items in a room made almost entirely out of forty-year old dandruff. Your hands are already on both sides of it before Bucky can knock you out of the way.

“Don’t!” He screams because fucking anything could be under there!

A wild animal! A toxic chemical! A bomb! Snakes, for fuck’s sake! His eyes widen at the fading shadow cast on the floor as you lift the top away. Then, his heart stops beating.

It’s a slice of cake. And a cup of tea. A single slice of vanilla sheet cake neatly decorated with a blush-pink rose and two perfectly piped green leaves. The faint smell of jasmine wafts into the air.

Bucky barrels into you before you get the chance to lick your lips.

“Wilson!” He calls into the comm as you push his face away with an offended yelp, “They’re in the east side—set a trap for us! Get over here and bring your stupid bird too! I swear to God—NO! DO NOT!”

 -

In the hovering Quinjet, Sam Wilson leaps to his feet and swoops out of the cabin, wings folded as he dives. “Come again?!” He taps on the comm wedged inside his left ear, “Barnes!?”

“-- fuck-- gonna—fucking--- stop BITING ME!”

A furious row of explosions blare in Sam’s ear as he banks a sharp left and lands on two feet, tearing his way inside the facility, checking on his wrist all the while. Redwing’s camera is glitching, but he can make out flashes of gunfire and what looks like at least five bodies, not including his two teammates. Bursts of white erupt on the screen and Sam’s heart picks up a tremendous pace before he kicks the door down, pistols out and aimed.

A silence smothers the room before grunting and screaming erupts again over Sam’s shout of, “What is going on in here?!”

-

“And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the exact moment I came upon my fellow Avengers,” Sam pauses, waving his hand with a bow at the image projected on the conference room screen.

Friday pulled another image from the broadcast before Sam shot out all the cameras in the facility.

It seems that the previous video of you eating cyanide had been intercepted through a bounced signal from the original recording’s output and those on the other end decided you were enough of a proper imbecile to be tricked by something as simple as a slice of cake.

They weren’t wrong.

Tony’s laser is in Sam’s hand and he points the dot in flashes five times, “Dead dudes. Check.” The dot moves on, landing on two splayed out legs before it runs up the side of Bucky’s body pressed to the concrete. “Barnes. Check.” Bucky shuts his eyes and slams his head into the table. “And… here we have this.”

Sam points to you, bottom lip clenched tightly between your teeth as you lurch forward, one hand outstretched and smeared with frosting while the other holds your torso barely an inch from the ground, paying no mind to the two elbows digging into your stomach. Sam points again to where your crotch is pushed right into Bucky’s face.

“Jesus Christ.” Steve mutters, flushing red, “I wrote you directions for a reason…”  

“Excuse me,” You huff, “Cake is not candy.”

“Really?!” Bucky snaps, “That’s the hill you’re going to die on!? You ran into the door! You knocked over a chair! You looked at the one thing that did not belong in the room and you picked it up even after I told you not to!”

Steve jumps back into the grilling, “And if you would have read the rest of the list—NO FOOD AT ALL was number two!”

“Oh yeah!?” You’re near hysterical now, shrieking at the top of your lungs. Stupid men ganging up on you. “What was number three? No fun!? I’m Captain America and I’m such a tightass--”

Bucky cuts you off, throwing his hands up into the air, “Number three was get the blueprints!”

“Oh.”

The room falls silent as you tuck your hand into the pocket of your pants. “Why didn’t you just say so? I nabbed ‘em as soon as I got in there. Marked off the locations of all the cameras and security alarms—not like that matters since Wilson shot them and I disarmed the rest in the east wing. Also, there were corridors and secret entryways not in the file. It’s on here now.”

Carelessly, you chuck the flash drive from your pocket at Steve and it smacks him in the chest. Sam crosses his arms and cocks his head at you, “Shit. Didn’t know you were all that.”

You frolic to the door, “See ya later!”

Three men watch on in shocked silence as you prance down the hallway, banking a sharp right towards your room. Steve stares from Sam to Bucky and then to the flash drive in his hand.

Sam clucks, “You know what… All things considered… the girl is legit.”

-

He calls your name, bangs on the door with a hard fist and when it cracks open, you peek your head out with tired eyes. “Sup, buttercup?”

“Why are you like this? The cyanide? The cake? You had the flash drive the whole time!”

You shrug off what sounds like an accusation, “I dunno. I’m good at my job.” Bucky crosses his arms. “Barnes!” You scold with a growing grin, “I’m legit! I just… you know. Why put all the pressure on myself when you’re around?”

You snort a little, scratch your tummy underneath an oversized shirt absently, and shrug your shoulders repeatedly like you’re dancing. Bucky narrows his eyes. “Are you telling me you’re an idiot because of me?”

“Yeah, Buck. I know you’ll take care of me.”

He freezes. Feels a sudden swell of heat rush from his chest to the top of his head. Bucky opens his mouth to retort, but nothing comes out. He closes it. You give him a sleepy grin, leaning on the door and swinging it wide, faltering against the knob with a yelp.

Swiftly, and true to his character, Bucky catches you with one arm.

Hanging from his hold, body twisted around, you look up into his blue eyes. They’re strangely tender, dancing over your face with an inquisitive glimmer.

The moment shatters when Bucky’s gaze stops at your neckline. “Is that—" he frowns, “Is your shirt on backwards?”

You nod. “Uh huh. Inside out too.”

His eyes slip shut. With a sigh, he drops you flat on your back and turns around. “You’re an idiot. I hate you.”

Down the hallway as he stomps off, cursing the moment the thought you were cute or something… he hears your voice calling.

“I’m an idiot— but I’m legit, right? And I’m your idiot, right? Bucky? Bucky!”

Bucky holds back a grin. Flicks you off behind his back. Legit or not, he would never give you the satisfaction of knowing.

-

perm taglist @whothehellisbucky​ @serpentbaby​ @badassbaker​ @alagalaska​ @cake-writes​ @crist1216​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @infinity-saga​ @jamesbarnesthighs​ @pinknerdpanda​ @xoxabs88xox​ @imsoft-barnes​ @momc95​ @typicalangel​ @wretchedgoddess​ @readeity​ @iwannasail​

[cozy-the-overlord]

Okay, so yesterday when I woke up the first thing I saw was this post from @lokistan, which as you can see from my reblog made me immediately think of “gold rush” by Taylor Swift. It made me realize that out of all the folklore/evermore songs I’ve annotated and analyzed, I had yet to do “gold rush.” So I decided to remedy that immediately (I actually started writing this yesterday, but then my computer glitched and I lost all my work and I was too mad to start over again right away). And yes, I am aware that I just spent the last two hours of my life on something that probably no one will read, but I don’t care-- I love doing stuff like this so much. Here’s my interpretation of “gold rush”!

“gold rush” is the third track off of Taylor Swift’s ninth studio album evermore. It immediately stands out from the rest of the album sonically due to its ethereal production and Taylor’s lilting, dreamlike vocals. This is fitting as Taylor described this song as taking place “inside a single daydream where you get lost in thought for a minute and then snap out of it" (x). The daydream in question revolves around a person the narrator comes across and is so enchanted by that she begins to picture a life with them, while still being very aware that such a life can never really exist.

Gleaming, twinkling

Eyes like sinking

Ships on waters

So inviting, I almost jump in

The opening to the song also serves as the opening to the daydream with an immediate departure from reality—the narrator sees this person as a magical thing, thinking of sparkling, shining imagery in regard to them. The “gleaming, twinkling” serves a double purpose: gleaming inspires thoughts of shining metal such as gold, which makes sense as this is the person around whom a gold rush is about to begin, while twinkling evokes images of stars and stardom (twinkle twinkle little star anyone?), which serves to show that this person is both incredibly popular and totally out of reach.

In the second two lines, Taylor plays with enjambment, a poetic device in which the sentence continues even after the line break, which can be utilized to give the sentence a double meaning. “Eyes like sinking” sounds like a version of the common love song trope of being so fascinated with the beauty of your lover’s eyes that you could drown in them (Taylor herself has used this trope many times before, including in reputation’s “Gorgeous”: “ocean blue eyes, looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die”). This continues to show that this person is incredibly captivating and that the narrator especially is entranced by them.

However, the song continues so that the full sentence reads “eyes like sinking ships on waters,” which completely changes the image. A sinking ship is something that’s irrevocably doomed, something that you need to escape from in order to save your life. By using enjambment in this way, Taylor gives us an image of this person while simultaneously giving insight into the narrator’s internal struggle: this person is captivating, fascinating, enchanting and the narrator is undeniably drawn to them, but she also realizes that trying be with this person would not only never work, but would probably hurt her more in the long run. In other words, she’d go down with their ship. Even so, she still finds this churning water inviting, so much so that she almost jumps in—almost, because she does know better.

But I don’t like a gold rush, gold rush

I don’t like anticipating my face in a red flush

I don’t like that anyone would die to feel your touch

Everybody wants you

Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

In the chorus, we have the lilting vocals and ethereal strings of the opening replaced with a conversational tone and a firm backbeat. While the opening was the daydream, the chorus is something closer to reality as the narrator giving her reasons for not wanting to get involved with this person.

The main reason is that she doesn’t like a gold rush, which she repeats several times throughout. A gold rush occurs when gold is discovered somewhere, resulting in a horde of people rushing to the site hoping to stake a claim and get rich. However, there’s never enough gold to go around, and with the perilous journey to the gold mines and the amount that the miners have to give up to get there (in the California Gold Rush of 1849, people on the east coast of the United States were leaving behind their entire lives to either travel across the country by wagon or to sail around the tip of South America in order to get to California for a chance at some gold), people actually tend to end up losing far more than they gain.

To the narrator, this person is the recently discovered gold. They’re gleaming and rare, and now everyone is in a mad scramble to get a piece of them. She realizes that she is not the only one who is desperate to be with this person, and that chances are she’d be one of the miners who loses everything should she try to go after them. She wouldn’t be in control—she’d only be “anticipating my face in a red flush,” anticipating embarrassment, getting flustered over a person she could never have.

Walk past, quick brush

I don’t like slow motion double vision in a rose blush

I don’t like that falling feels like flying ‘til the bone crush

Everybody wants you

But I don’t like a gold rush

The second part of the chorus imagines the overwhelming nature of any relationship she would have with this person. She emphasizes how just a quick brush with this person is enough to mess with her abilities to comprehend reality: being with this person would cause “slow motion double vision” and make her think that “falling feels like flying” until she hits the ground and the bones crush (a visceral image). She ends the chorus with an adamant “I don’t like a gold rush.” However, her daydream is far from over.

What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?

With your hair falling into place like dominoes

I see me padding cross your wooden floors

With my Eagles t-shirt hanging from the door

The lilting vocals are back as the narrator once again allows herself to ignore the elephant in the room and just focus on how entrancing this individual is. She goes as far to imagine a life with this person, where there’s a sense of intimacy and familiarity (also, apparently there’s some debate about whether the “Eagles t-shirt” references the band The Eagles or the Philadelphia football team? It doesn’t really matter, as the point of the line is to show that she’s imagining a place with this person where she feels at home and safe with them, but for the record I assumed it was the football team because Taylor’s from Pennsylvania).

At dinner parties

I’ll call you out on your contrarian shit

And the coastal town

We wandered round had never seen

A love as pure as it

And then it fades into the gray of my day-old tea

Cause it could never be

She continues to imagine a life with this person, focusing (as Taylor does best) on the simple moments. “Contrarian” describes a person who goes against popular opinion often just for the sake of going against popular opinion, and the narrator imagines a level of closeness with this person where she could call them out on it. She also conjures up grander memories—visiting a coastal town where their love is the purest thing within it. However, she seems to wake up from this daydream before returning to the reality-steeped chorus when she allows it to “fade into the gray of my day-old tea”—a image that certainly contrasts with the gleaming, twinkling gold of the person she’s dreaming about. I especially love that she specifies that the tea is not just gray, but day-old—it shows how her life is mundane and emotionless. The tea’s gone cold and she hasn’t drank it yet, because she’s wistfully dreaming about something else.

Because the chorus is exactly the same as the first, we’re going to skip to the next verse.

What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?

With your hair falling into place like dominoes

My mind turns your life into folklore

I can’t dare to dream about you anymore

Again, she’s allowing herself to fall into this daydream, but there’s a heightened sort of awareness this time. Instead of imagining an intimate, peaceful relationship, the narrator admits that it’s all in her head—she’s turning his life into folklore. Folklore, besides being the name of evermore’s sister album, also refers to “the traditional beliefs, legends, and customs, current among the common people” (“folklore, n. 1.” OED online), stories that are often passed down orally through generations and change slightly with each retelling. She’s realizing that her dreams about this person are nothing more than stories that she’s changing in order to live vicariously through them. Here, she admits that it’s useless to continue doing so: “I can’t dare to dream about you anymore.”

At dinner parties

I won’t call you out on your contrarian shit

And the coastal town

We never found, will never see

A love as pure as it

And it fades into the gray of my day-old tea

Cause it will never be

Here we have the same daydream as before, only modified to fit reality. She’s not going to call this person out on anything, because they don’t have that level of familiarity. They’ll never find this magical coastal town, and both they and it will never see this pure love because it doesn’t exist. This time, when the daydream fades into the gray of her day-old tea, it’s not with the wistful “it could never be,” but with a firm “it will never be.”

Gleaming, twinkling

Eyes like sinking

Ships on waters

So inviting, I almost jump in

We end where we begin, with the reminder that she could jump into this beautiful disaster, that she almost does, but she stops herself because she realizes it will never work out the way she wants to—she’ll only end up hurting herself. She spares herself from the gold rush.

[theglitchedworld]

Glitched - Chapter Ten

    I dodged back as fast as I could to get away from those horns. Capped or not, I didn't want them anywhere near me and that lowered head put them way too close for comfort. Unfortunately, even with the few extra points for agility I'd managed to scrounge from leveling up in my last two fights, it was still appallingly low. And, apparently, trying to run backwards when a scary monster popped up told the system to do a skill check.

    In other words, I promptly tripped over my own feet and fell on my ass.

    "Shit!" The minotaur might have been scaring the crap out of me, but falling on a cobblestone floor while wearing a distinct lack of pants was far from even the middle of by list of fun things to do. Besides that it was cold and the loincloth that passed for medieval underwear does not a great insulator make. I scrambled to get my legs under me - they were far more bare than my ass but also far less uncomfortable to have directly on the cold as hell floor - and proceeded to drop my dagger in the process. It clattered off the floor with a noisy metallic clatter.

    "What's this?" The minotaur's voice was unnervingly deep. "Who let you have a weapon?"

Fear gripped my chest like a cold band constricting my ribs as I stared up at the looming monster. I risked a glance back over my shoulder at the other three. Tomy clinging tightly to Crysal's shoulders with one arm even as he tried to reach out with the other. Shel cowering behind Crysal's leg with a bunch of the fabric of Tomy's pants clenched in one tiny hand, her eyes wide with fear. Crysal's expression unreadable, her jaw clenched, whole body looking like it was on the verge of exploding with the need to run.

I looked at my dagger, the torchlight flickering over the dull shine of its ragged blade where it lay on the cobblestones barely an arm's length from me. It was the only weapon we had. I didn't even know how we had it when everything else had been taken, but it was there. One tiny chance against a minotaur that made it look like barely more than a splinter.

When I looked back up at the minotaur again, the fear band clinched tighter, forcing out an almost inaudible whimper. I couldn't fight. Not against that. But what else could I do? Give up? Let him take away my dagger and push us back into the cells? Just cower in the dark and wait to die? A tiny echo in the back of my mind chose that moment to pipe up.

We're probably all lucky to be down here and not in the slave pits.

My eyes widened as my imagination went to work flooding my mind with images of Tomy, Shel, and Crysal in shackles, iron collars digging into their necks. My breath caught in my throat as cruel imagery I remembered from history classes in school blended with the faces and forms of my friends. The fear band loosened slightly as one word crossed my mind.

Friends.

That was right. Maybe I hadn't known them long. Maybe Crys was an astonishingly stubborn jerk much of the time. Maybe Tomy was just a kid with a way overblown sense of my skills and his little sister was being dragged along for the ride. But they'd chose to stick by me. That's what friends did. They looked out for each other.

I lunged for my dagger.

"Theron, you idiot! Stop! Don't!"

I could hear them yelling behind me. Crysal and Tomy. Even little Shel.

The minotaur let out a roar and reached for me but I rolled out of the way, my dagger hugged close to my chest. The wall stopped my roll more than any conscious effort, knocking the air out of me for a critical second, but I somehow managed to stagger to my feet. The point of my dagger wavered in time with my pulse as I held it between the minotaur and me. My hands were wet with cold sweat, but I didn't let it drop or turn my eyes from his.

"So the hobbit has a sting, does she?" The minotaur's voice rumbled through the air, crashing over me. Wait. Hobbit? Sting? My eyes narrowed.

"Want to see if it works on minotaurs as well as trolls and spiders?" I shot back, somehow finding courage in the creature's words.

He laughed, the sound like a cross between a cow's lowing and the overly emphasized belly laugh of a mall Santa. "You're welcome to try, hobbit. Though a minotaur, I am not."

"Still look dumb as a bull!" I shouted as I lunged in, ignoring the screams of my friends. My dagger's tip arrowed for the creature's belly. I had to end it fast before my lack of real skills became too obvious and a cut belly was all I could think of.

His hand slashed down before I could even think to move out of the way, fingers wrapping around my forearm. His palm almost covered my arm from wrist to elbow. His grip closed, stopping my charge as if I'd just tried to stab through a vat of molasses.

A scream escaped me as he tightened his grip, sending crushing pain through my arm as he lifted me off my feet. My hand began to open involuntarily, my dagger loosening in my grasp no matter how I fought to keep my grip. My shoulder screamed in pain as the full weight of my body hung off my arm as my feet left the floor. I could dimly hear Crysal and the kids yelling behind me, all of my focus on the pain radiating from my arm.

"What now?" The minotaur asked, giving me a little shake that sent another wave of pain shooting through me. "Still want to fight, little hobbit?"

"Dammit, Theron! Just give up!" Crysal's voice sounded weird through the haze of pain from my arm being manhandled.

"I won't-" I gasped in pain as he shook me again. "I won't let you make my friends into slaves!"

"Slaves?!" His nostrils flared as a burst of steam shot out, his voice a dull roar. "You think I'm some kind of slaver?! I should kill you for that insult!"

I screamed as he shook me again, my eyes closing involuntarily. The dagger finally slipped through my fingers as they went numb. I reached out without thinking with my still free hand. The dagger's soft but rough leather slapped into my outstretched hand as if it was planned, settling against my palm as I kicked my legs to swing forward despite my shoulder feeling like it was ripping apart.

"Not if you die first, Radani!" I screamed as I swung the blade at his massive thigh, my arm still hanging from his grip feeling like it was tearing free of my body as I forced my body to pivot around it. A hideous pop from my shoulder sounded near my right ear dragging another agonized scream from my lips as I felt the dagger tip sinking into his flesh. "Crys, run!"

"Stop at once!"

The command slashed through the chaotic sound of battle like a hot knife through butter accompanied by some sort of echo that I couldn't quite understand threaded through the words.

A strange force flowed through the room at the new voice's command. Instantly, everything froze in place as if someone had hit pause on a movie. From my suicidal last attack to Tomy sliding from Crysal's back as she flung herself towards Radani to Radani's own rage fueled blow crashing towards my head. In the space between one heartbeat and the next, everything in the room ceased moving. It was all I could do just to move my eyes in that frozen tableau.

A slim hand appeared on Radani's muscular shoulder, gently pulling his arm down from the blow that would have killed me. "Your temper gets the best of you too often, love." The voice's owner stepped around Radani's bulk, entering the room.

The woman was taller than Crysal or myself - not that the latter would take much, even in a fantasy world, I wasn't anything you could call tall - but the top of her head still only came to Radani's chin. Soft brown hair flowed past her shoulders and down her back, almost hiding the brown cow-like ears that hung along the sides of her face. Only the odd white splotches on their hide kept me from completely missing them at first. Her eyes were large and brown, even for a human, though the rest of her features were even enough to be considered beautiful in most parts of the real world. A simple golden circlet rested on her forehead between a pair of considerably daintier horns than Radani sprouted.

"W-who are you?" I gasped out, forcing the words past the force that held us all still.

"My name is Moreina. Radani is my husband. So, if you don't mind, I would like him to remain-" The woman smiled at me even as she reached out to removed my dagger from Radani's thigh and pulled his arm down so that I stood on the floor once more. Her long gown scraped the floor with an almost metallic sound as she moved. "-intact."

A deep flush colored my cheeks. "I... that wasn't what... I mean..."

She laughed, a softly melodious sound compared to her husband's lowing. "I realize. It is just a little joke." She laid a hand against Radani's broad chest as he grumbled, patting him gently. "He's a good man, if a little quicker to raise his fists than explain himself."

"I don't need your defense, woman," he rumbled, tossing his head as the strange force slowly receded. "I can more than handle a handful of children."

Behind me, Crysal stumbled to a stop, barely managing to keep her feet by grabbing my uninjured shoulder. "What the-?" she whispered in my ear.

"Shh-" I held a finger to my lips before attempting to lift my injured arm with a grimace. "Let her handle it."

"Yes, I am aware but it is hardly necessary," she said. "I asked you to retrieve them as our guests, not engage them in a common brawl. Now the small warrior is injured and we'll have to see to that before speaking."

Radani's head hung low, his chin scraping his chest as he sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry, my queen. Sometimes my human heart makes this bull's head of mine too quick to rise to any challenge I see."

Moreina turned towards him, reaching up to wrap her slim arms around his neck and laughed again before leaning up to brush her lips against the side of his muzzle. "But I love that human heart of yours as well as your bullishness. All is forgiven, my king. Now raise your horns and let us once more attempt your original task."

"Very well." He grumbled, but his head raised and his shoulders straightened once more until the tips of his horns were brushing the ceiling. One massive arm slid around Moreina's shoulders as she turned to face the four of us with a slight bow.

"Please forgive the poor start and allow us to start anew," she said, inclining her head slightly towards each of us. "I am Moreina and this is my husband Radani. We are the rulers of this land."

"And doing a damn poor job of it too," Crysal said, glaring at them with a hand on my uninjured shoulder as if to hold me in place.

"We're very aware," Radani grumbled, his small eyes narrowing at her, "of our land's problems."

"Like taking folk's parents off in the night?" Tomy asked, limping up on my right side. Shel reached up and took my left hand as she worked her way between Crysal and me. "Or stealing kids' money so they ain't got enough to eat?"

Moreina's smooth brow creased as she listened to us, fine lines appearing along the sides of her full lips. "I... didn't know about that," she admitted softly.

"How about the slave pits?" Crysal asked, raising a brow at them. "Or," she gestured to the cells behind them, "places like this? Gonna say you didn't know about that either?"

Moreina's brown eyes darkened, her lips tightening as if something had just hit her hard and she was bracing against the pain. "No... I am sorry to admit that I do know of that... distasteful trade."

"If you're the ruler of this place," I asked, trying to ignore the pain from my dislocated shoulder, "then why not do something about it?"

"It's not that easy-" she began only for Radani to cut her off.

"Let us first go some place," he glanced around the empty dungeon with a grimace, "more comfortable and see to our injuries first. There is a small room not to far from here that we can use. There is nothing that can be achieved with rushing blindly now."

"Can we eat?" Shel asked softly, looking up at me as she clung to my hand. "I'm hungry, The'on."

I smiled awkwardly down at her, not sure what to do with having a child depending on me the way she seemed to want to. "I'm sure we can find something to eat soon," I said with a little nod.

"I'll have a meal brought up while the physicians attend you," Moreina promised as Radani turned and ducked out of the room before following after him.

"Well..." I winced as a fresh jolt of pain surged through my injured arm. "This isn't exactly how I expected to get out of here."

"You're not the only one," Crysal said as she moved to help Tomy climb on her back again and headed out of the dungeon, leaving me to bring up the rear with Shel still clinging to my good hand with both of her tiny hands as I tried desperately to ignore the pain that shot through my right arm with each fall of my feet against the stone floor.

[blamsart]

So very last second I know, I barely managed this one in time

Warning: There are lot of image credits I could give out, but due to the sheer amount, if you’re wondering about something in particular you’ll have to ask me.

Warningx2: BIG CHAPTER

Get you some high quality content on this site here folks!

I had a lot of fun with this one, and I worked real hard on it (pulled out them artistic talents). Hope you enjoy!

  Nikolas’ POV

I pressed the confirm button and moments later the white landscape began to change and morph into something with a lot more color.

A waft of salty air brushed past my face and I heard the sounds of critters and birds. It felt a little too real. For a game that can be a little scary. Game overs must hurt like hell if I can feel something like a breeze.

I felt different. Taller…stronger….shirtless?

I looked at my hands, which had black markings traveling alongside my arm, and – well my skin is purple.

Something else feels different…I can’t put my finger on it. But it feels like I might be able to use my astral power here. The game might’ve copied it for my avatar.

I looked up and noticed an information box. It held the basic rules and goals of the game. Turns out the program decided to put me on defense with one other team member, whose code name is Ice Queen.

I think I have a small idea of who that might be, heh.

From what I understand, I have to get to the fortress where my teammate was spawned at before the attack team does. We have to defend it till the day ends. Hopefully time passes faster than in real life, or else this could be a long day.

The info box also elaborated on my special ability. Or more specifically the weapon I could summon. The instructions told me to-

A shrieky laugh suddenly resounded over the sound of a nearby waterfall, followed by a roar and a slight shake of the earth. Like something big had just stomped its foot.

I swerved around, searching for the source as the info box flickered off.

In between the trees I spotted something big, red, and with large pointy teeth.

I gulped.

Nobody told me we had to fight monsters.

What am I saying this is a video game. I’ve played my fair share of rpgs.

I pinched myself and felt the pain in my forearm.

Wonder how much it would hurt to get eaten? Wonder if I’d respawn?

Eh I’m not that keen to jump into a battle.

Just as I was thinking that, the dragon wavered and faded away, like a mirage in a desert.

Sure it might’ve been up there for only a few moments, but it was big enough to be spotted all over the island, I’m sure.

Shoot, did someone go and kill it? Is that why it disappeared? Some people have already adapted pretty quickly. I better do the same.

I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. A map would be wonderfully convenient.

The thought crossed my mind and an info box appeared, with a map on it. Convenient.

“Huh. I’m literally at the other end of where I’m supposed to be.” I grimaced. Hey, maybe I could just short cut through the small body of water.

Huh, guess they can’t show me where the other three volunteers are. Just me and my teammate – well Sal.

I glanced around until I finally caught sight of the tip of the ‘fortress’ I was supposed to reach.

A quick swim! This should be easy peasy.

Oh shit, that’s steep. I’m going to break something trying to get down.

Ah but wait! I’m in a video game aren’t I? I’ve had games where I’d needed to jump from way higher.

Even with my self-applied assurance, I was still hesitant, tapping my feet on the edge and inching closer. I leaned over the edge, wondering if I could just slide down on my ass or something, when the ledge I was leaning over became a mini dirt avalanche and dragged me down with it.

I tumbled down the hill, feeling the scrapes on my skin, and tasting the dirt in my mouth.

My tumble became a free fall, at which point I was way past panicking as I had a clear view of the ground coming to me fast. Head first was probably not going to end well for me.

On instinct I tried to activate my astral power. If only I could just stop time! Gather time to think! Find some away to get the fuck out of this situation.

I felt my power strain, and my surroundings flickered slightly towards the familiar bleak landscape. For a moment I seemed to manage to enter my astral world, my body suddenly falling faster than I was, before I zapped back to it, and hit the ground with a painful crunch.

FUCK

That hurt!

I respawned back to my starting point, my neck and back still remembering with painful reality how they’d just been broken.

Well there’s one thing I can tell the people who made this game. Lower the damn pain level.

I gave my shoulders a roll and glanced at the map again. I think I’m going to go with the long way round.

God that really hurt, jeesus.

I walked down the laid out jungle path. It seemed pretty straight forward…which is why I got a bad feeling. It was too easy. This is a video game…there’s got to be some kind of obstacle. Apart from the painful death I’d just experienced.

“Hey!” Somebody called out. I glanced around as I kept walking, before I spotted someone orange on a rock. Their username offered over their head momentarily. “I’d watch out if I were you, the place is filled with-”

My foot suddenly slipped out from underneath me, a rope tying around my ankle and flipping me upside down in a sharp movement.

“-traps.”

The rope – which was actually a vine from one of the nearby trees – seemed to grow exponentially around my legs and wrists.

In a matter of seconds I was so effectively tied upside down that I couldn’t move any of my limbs. My head was the only one allowed any kind of movement.

Jeesus I’m bad at this game so far.

I nevertheless attempted to struggle against my restraints. I couldn’t summon my weapon or anything to cut these down too. That kind of required my hand to be free.

The other player, most likely from team offense (her name wasn’t Ice queen, and she certainly doesn’t look like one), hopped off from her spot on the rock. Probably to come gloat at the situation.

I tried to lift myself up, but with no luck. How was I going to play the game if I was stuck like this for the entirety of it?

She stopped a few feet away.

“I did warn you. And it was on the map.” She said trying to keep a deadpan face. Her bright eyes were amused though. Well I think. Kind of hard to tell upside down.

“The map wasn’t clear on that.” I gave a slightly embarassed smile. “I know we’re on opposite teams and all, but do you mind helping me out?”

She considered me for a few seconds before nodding. “I can see what I can do.” She took out some thick looking piece of wood (this isn’t easy to decipher upside down! I can’t feel my toes.). She squeezed it and light suddenly erupted from both sides, curling and extending out to form a bow.

She took an arrow from her quiver then, notching it as it lit up as well, and aiming it right at me.

“Woah! That’s a bit extreme! We don’t need to go there! I just died, I don’t want to relive the experience! And it was really painful, my neck still aches. Serious, I fell off that cliff over there. Unstable rocks I wouldn’t go there if I were you. It’s prone to random avalanches, must be in the code…” I rambled off. Doesn’t she have a pocket knife? Or something?

“I know. I saw you slip.” She said with a slight smirk.

“Well that’s humiliating.” I cleared my throat, nearly choking on my saliva as it followed the rules of gravity. “I’m sure there’s a better quicker way-”

“Nope.” She said, and she let go of the arrow.

In the neck!?

At this point my head is just going to roll right off!

After a quick shake off, I headed back towards the path. This time I headed for the trees on the side, from where Firefly had come from.

I weaved through the shrubbery and the hanging vines, extremely glad when the traps all turned out to be on the path. At some point a vine passed through my arm, but I didn’t think much of it. This is a game after all.

It’s when I got stuck in a tree that I started to get annoyed.

Yep. My avatar glitched in a tree.

And that’s another feedback I’ll have to comment on when this ends. I struggled, half of my body outside of the tree, and my legs so glitched I couldn’t feel them. I’ve truly become a tree man. I let my upper half hang loose in exasperation.

“Ok, would not mind another arrow in the neck right now. Doesn’t feel like this glitch is going to fix itself any time soon.” I glanced around a little hopefully, but I was alone.

Shit. I might have to take drastic measures. I willed my info box to appear again and looked for a respawn button. When I was unsuccessful, I went into the tutorial to find out how to summon my weapon.

The black markings on my arms were apparently the key to doing that.

A mini scythe. Guess it goes with the pseudo Reaper the game chose for me. Still…I wish it would’ve been a katana or a sword. That’d be cooler. And easier to handle.

I groaned. There are so many things wrong with my thought process right now.

I can’t believe I have to kill myself to get out of this glitch.

This game is turning dark quickly.

But hey, at least there’s an instant death by poison option on this weapon.

Boring, but the quicker the better I guess.

I respawned again – seriously done with dying – and I was mentally reliving my death again as a mini info box popped up.

Ice Queen built an Ice wall

Sounds like my team mate has been a lot more productive.

I jogged towards the cliff. My first death, such good times.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t go too close to the edge. I just wanted to get a good look at the icy barrier, not tumble down to my death again.

It was definitely impressive and looked like it would do the job. I might not have to even do anything!

Then again it’s pretty warm out. Wonder how long this ice wall is going to last.

The thought crossed my mind and an info box popped up. Well seems I have two hours before the wall melts.

I eyed the jungle and the path skeptically. Get caught in a trap again…or risk getting glitched again?

My eyes caught on something bright and orange. Wasn’t hard to guess who it was.

She was fun.

From what I could see, she was jogging along a bridge. A bridge that didn’t seem to be glitching. Or filled with traps for that matter. I pulled up my map just to confirm there wasn’t anything wrong with the bridge.

Let’s go see her again.

I started to head through the shrubbery again to reach the bridge, but when my foot went through a rock, I decided this really wouldn’t work. There had to be some other way. Wait! Didn’t I see something…

I pulled up the tutorial for my summoning my weapon again, scrolling past the basics until I found it. Teleporting! I had the ability to throw my scythe somewhere and teleport to it.

On second thought, maybe this would’ve worked better to get me out of that glitch. I’m surprised I skipped past it and went straight to killing…

Bah, there are so little games where you can kill yourself with your own weapon. Can’t pass that up!

I frowned.

Was that-?

I didn’t-?

I did think that, but I didn’t-?

On top of weird masochist thoughts I’m getting a headache now.

I summoned my weapon, aimed and threw it down towards the bridge.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I managed to teleport all the way to Sal – er cough – I mean Firefly.

But I mean come on, it’s pretty obvious. I just assumed she’d be Ice Queen, but thinking on it she never liked the nickname so it was probably the other girl. Or one of the guys, who knows?

Maybe that’s why her avatar has a fire theme. The fact that she doesn’t like the term Ice Queen I mean. Blue suits her better than red though.

She was waving at two specs in the distance – the rest of team offense I assume – before she noticed me.

“How did you get here so fast!?”

“I even glitched in a tree before I got here.” I hmphed proudly. “Turns out I can teleport, pretty neat huh?”

“That’s chea-”

Info boxes appeared for both of us with a big flashing warning sign: METEOR

We both looked up to see a big flaming rock going straight for the rest of team offense.

One of the two spread out his hands and a huge stop sign appeared. Somehow assuming the meteor could read.

Unsurprisingly the meteor didn’t care for it. Suprisingly, when the meteor touched it, it just vanished like a mirage. Just like the dragon. It was just an illusion?

Once the first kid’s plan had failed, the other one stepped out, and when he spread out his hands, strings shot out of them.

That was a lot more effective. The strings wove together to form a net that somehow withstood the flaming meteor.

Right, can’t forget this is a video game after all.

The Puppeteer then pulled the strings close to his chest, making the huge net straighten and propell the meteor back up, before they disappeared themselves. The meteor landed in the ocean several miles away.

The two boys cheered, high fived and ran in circles.

I didn’t have much doubt about who they were.

I turned back to Firefly, passing my hand through my hair.

I let out a short laugh. “Now that’s cheating.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to win with that on my side.” She said with a slight smirk.

“Hey now! Have you seen the wall my teammate made?”

She grew serious. “The sooner this gam-”

The ground completely disappeared underneath us, without any warning info box whatsoever, and swallowed us whole into pure darkness.

The fall lasted about 2 seconds before I felt myself get respawned again.

You know, psychologically, dying over and over again – because my brain sure seems convinced of this – is really horrible. This aspect of the game really needs to be looked over.

I opened up my fancy menu info box again, hoping to find a way to turn off the pain setting. It’s disturbingly obvious how much of a beta version this game is.

I jogged towards the cliff, summoning my weapon as I did.

As I reached it, I noticed a rope had appeared going from the waterfall to the shore, right beside the ice wall. The kid who’d stopped the meteor had created a mini bridge for Sal – I mean Firefly to cross over.

I watched as she hoped off the bridge and onto the strings, sliding down the shortcut her teammate had made for her.

Well I can’t let her reach the shore before I do! I took a step back. Let’s see how far I can throw my scythe… I brought my arm back, and with a huff I threw as hard as I could towards the shore.

Considering the amount of glitching I’d been doing so far, I suppose I’d kind of hoped for my scythe to at least glitch right through the strings.

But nope! It hit the rope straight on and cut it in half, before continuing its journey to shore.

Sal stumbled into free fall.

I panicked. After I got past the oh shit I went straight to fuck, Sal!.

It maybe should’ve occurred to me earlier that technically she’d be fine. She’d respawn like we’d just done and that would be that.

But in the moment I got really scared for her – especially considering she was falling to her death by my fault – and on reflex I tried to switch to my astral mode again.

That got wonky and didn’t work again, and Sal hit the water only to respawn a few moments later.

God, I feel horrible. I really didn’t mean to kill her!

My scythe reached the shore and I teleported to it, still grimacing from guilt.

Ugh, I don’t feel so good.

A strange unease had been creeping on me for the last few moments, leading up to painful headaches again and an uncomfortable squeeze of my chest.

It faded as quickly as it had appeared and I suddenly realized I’d at some point stood up and dismissed my weapon.

The rest of team offense, Chicken boy and Puppeteer, were standing in front of me, holding the strings and looking at me like I’d just killed their dog.

Pssh! Not like a dog dying is that sad.

“You killed them.” Puppeteer said.

“You should be ashamed.” Chicken boy added with a sad shake of his head.

“It’s just a piece of string. We can get you guys a new one at the pet store.” My mouth said condescendingly.

I didn’t say that. I swear I didn’t! I frowned, bringing my hand up to my mouth. The words had come out on their own. Involuntarily. I DIDN’T say them.

Before I could dwell (…panic) any further, a flaming arrow suddenly found itself between my feet, making me jump.

I looked up at the bridge, where a fuming Firefly had her bow still aimed at me.

“I didn’t mean to-” I started to shout at her. My attempt at an apology was cut short-

-by an explosion. The arrow she’d shot at me blew up between my feet, effectively kiling me enough to respawn me.

Okay, so I guess I kind of deserved that – for killing her.

“Oh well played!” I exclaimed – no not me. Who is controlling my mouth right now!? Not just my mouth, my arms, my legs, even my head are moving randomnly! “Let’s go find a creative way to kill her in kind.”

“What the fuck!?” I shouted as the panic built up in my chest. For a moment, I felt like I had complete control again. This game is not funny.

Then I lost control of my limbs again. “Come onnnn, it’s my turn now!”

I tried to shout again, do something that didn’t involve me being only able to look through my own eyes, but I was stuck. Frozen in place while I felt my body move against my will.

There was still something I had control over at least.

I tried flipping on my astral mode and it sort of worked. It was still incredibly wonky, and the headache I got this time made me squint.

My astral form popped (yes popped, it was fucking weird) out of my body and hung in the air like I was swimming in jell-o. I felt a connection to my body, like a rope tying me down. My avatar body continued to move on its own, this time looking deflated.

“Don’t be mad I just want to try things out. Sitting and doing nothing is so damn darn hard! I’ll be nice though.” It said looking down at it’s feet with a shrug.

Just give me back my body already. Whatever kind of game glitch you are. I reached for my avatar and got pulled out of astral mode.

I stood still for several moments. Waiting.

Whatever had happened was over. I still had complete control over my own body. There were no weird thoughts in my head.

Still…I had the odd feeling I wasn’t completely alone. Plus I now had a mild headache that wouldn’t leave.

I heard team offense on the shore and jogged to the cliff in time to see them grouped up and trying to figure out a way to get past the ice wall.

I can’t shake this dreadful feeling of being watched, like something is right behind me, whispering in my ear. Doesn’t matter how many times I look, there’s still nothing. We really need to finish this game.

***

No one’s POV

“What are you doing napping!? You were supposed to watch the monitors!” She sighed and took a sip of her coffee, gravitating towards the screens to watch how their test subjects were faring.

She nearly spit her coffee onto the computers. She picked up an eraser and she chucked it at her superior.

“W-what? What’s going on?” Mr.Hans grumbled as he woke up.

“You were supposed to watch the monitors.” She hissed under her breath.

“I was, I was, I just closed my eyes for a second.”

“You should’ve spotted this from the very beginning.” She snapped.

“Hey, someone’s in the orange.” He mumbled as he gravitated towards the monitors.

“Yes. He’s not faring well. He’s stressed.”

“Who-? Oh!” The man said, suddenly quite interested. “I knew accepting him was a good idea. We’re getting good results now aren’t we.”

“Good resul-something is wrong. The program sent us a message and you missed it. There was a glitch, it found two subjects in one.”

“Two? Multiple personnalities shouldn’t affect the game.” He said. “Oh wait…Could he be one of the ‘special’ Whitelights? Did we hit jackpot?”

“Your reputation isn’t important right now. The game is registering his avatar as glitched, but it can’t fix the problem. His body suffered a panic attack three times and you missed it because you were napping. We need to pull him out now before it gets worse.”

“No!” He exclaimed, grabbing her arm. “No, it’s fine now. See his vitals are stable.”

“Stable as in his stress levels haven’t changed. They’re still at a worrisome level.” She said reaching for the controls again.

“Don’t wake him.” He snapped, radiating that classic intimidating Hans aura. “My family is going to want to see these results.”

She bit her cheek, but did as she was told.

***

Nikolas’ POV

I reached the shore before they’d come up with an effective solution. As I approached I overheard them chatting about maybe slinging one of Puppeteer’s ropes over or using Firefly’s arrows to climb over it.

To be honest even I had no idea how I was going to get through. The thing was huge, thick, strong, and there was still a lot of time before it melted away.

Being on team defense, I should have some kind of special access.

As I got close enough to the wall to touch it, an info box appeared.

No, not an info box, a chat box from my teammate.

Ice Queen: Use your key. It’s meant for the door, but it should work with the wall.

My key? Since when do I have a—

Oh! Of course! The thing around my neck I kept dismissing as a random accessory.

I got closer to the wall, taking the key from my neck and holding it up.

Part of the wall lit up and melted to form a small door. I hurried through just as the others noticed me and the wall closed behind me.

I stuck my tongue out at them as they all crowded to the now once again smooth ice wall.

“Good luck you’re going to need it!”

I blinked and realized I was back on the other side of the wall. Or maybe I’d never gone through the first time? I frowned, another glitch?

Chicken boy started to walk towards me with an eye on the key around my neck, so I quickly used it to pass through the wall again – or I guess for the first time?

It’s once I passed through that I realized I’d been tricked. And by the smirk on the kid’s face I bet he was behind it. His ability was something along the lines of creating an illusion, like that random stop sign.

He’d just made me think I hadn’t gone through the wall, but what I thought was me going through a second time, was actually me leaving the safety of the ice wall.

“We’d like to borrow your key please and thank you.” Chicken boy said as his friend leaned up against his back. A second later strings shot out from his fingers heading straight for me.

Damn I got duped pretty easily. I glanced at Sal who was watching with slight amusement.

Well if we win or they win, the game’s going to finish one or way another. I know when I’m beat.

Just as I was expecting the inevitable loss of my key, my hand came up and summoned my weapon.

  “It’s not going to be THAT easy.” My mouth smirked as the strings wrapped around to restrain me.

My hand brought my scythe up to my neck and I realized what was about to happen.

“Fucking powdered donuts.” Puppeteer said, shaking his head as my own hand slit my throat.

I respawned with absolutely no control over my body again. I couldn’t take being stuck in my brain, so I risked my astral mode again, knowing full well I’d get a headache again after this.

My body let out a nervous sigh and threw its arms around.

“Ahh I know I said I’d play nice, but I did my best, I really did. It’s hard not to want to play.” It said. My astral continued to flicker worriedly.

“I don’t really care.” I said, standing in front of my avatar. “Just, whatever you are, whoever, please leave me alone and go bother someone else. I sure hope this isn’t actually part of the game.”

“I’m assuming you can hear me.” My body stated as if I hadn’t said anything.

Oh. The fact the he can’t hear me and hasn’t established any kind of eye contact…must mean he can’t see me. Just like with anyone else while I’m in astral mode.

“Cause I can hear you when you’re playing. So you can probably hear me. Look, don’t hate me, but I’m going to keep playing okay? Just for a little while.” He declared.

“No, no, I’m not okay with this. Give me back my body.” I insisted fruitlessly. “Or avatar or whatever!”

“Awesome! You’re a great guy I can tell!” He exclaimed and I groaned as I watched him rush for the cliff. “The map said there was a giant shrimp monster in the lake! We gotta go tame it!”

What is this? Is this what the game meant by two avatars? A bug in the game?

How do I reverse this?

“Oh, action seems to be brewing. Firefly’s got the right idea!” Said the being controlling my avatar.

I floated over, peering down at the scene.

Sal was shooting the wall up with explosive arrows…and it was working!

The wall was steadily melting as she shot arrow after arrow, her teammates cheering her on.

“We better go defend the wall!” My avatar exclaimed, summoning the scythe to teleport to shore.

The quicker team offense wins, the quicker this game ends and I get out of this unsettling situation. So, I put all the effort and concentration I had into controlling that arm. Just that arm, so he couldn’t throw the weapon. And it worked! His arm was – I mean my arm was frozen mid swing and my avatar was casting confused glances at it.

“Ok, ok, I get it. We can see how this works out! Our teammate is coming out to help defend anyway!” He exclaimed, and I let go of my control. Good thing he kept his word and because my head was starting to swim and I’d quickly gotten dizzy and disoriented. It had taken everything out of me just to stay in astral mode and control that arm. I didn’t want to turn off my astral mode. I didn’t want to risk being stuck permanently.

Ice Queen left the fortress, a waft of cold leaking out of it before the door shut behind her.

Sal stopped shooting explosive arrows long enough for the smoke to clear and the thinning ice to become apparent.

The two stood still, representing each other’s opposites, and for a moment it seemed like this scene was more than just a game for them. Even though I’m pretty sure they’ve never met. Maybe this was purely based on appearances and avatars.

Ice Queen brought her hand up and summoned her magic, the ice thickening around the wall, fortifying it.

Firefly notched another sparking arrow. She said something I couldn’t hear, which made her teammates whoop with a renewed vigor.

Then she began shooting arrow after arrow again, each explosion seeming bigger than the last, and as the ice melted Ice Queen refroze it.

Being on her team however, I could see her stats going down. She wouldn’t be able to keep fueling the ice wall forever. My guess was Sal probably didn’t have an unlimited amount of ammo too. It was just a matter of who ran out first. Meanwhile, I could set about trying to regain control of this glitch…

“Eek! Our teammate’s in trouble!” My body exclaimed. “We need to go help her!”

“We don’t need to. Sal’s also probably almost out of juice.” I said to thin air. “And I mean, if Ice Queen loses it’s not a bad thing…”

“I’m going to help her out.” My body declared and I went to try and control the arm again, but he must’ve assumed I’d go for it because he summoned the scythe in the other hand and threw it before I could react.

When he teleported to it – I was still on the cliff –  he had the scythe drawn back and ready to strike his opponent down – Firefly.

Nope, nope, nope, killing Sal is not only not reccomended, but extremely counter productive.

I charged at him, made my way over from the cliff in a fraction of a second and clapsed his shoulders and tried to pull him out of my body. I tried to do what I do to Zac when I’m not in a video game. Extract his astral form I guess you could say.

In the real world I kind of need my body to do that, since it casts a spell, but at this point I was ready to try anything to gain back some control.

He lost movement and hit the ground instead.

I had no idea what I was pulling at, or whether this trick really working at all, considering my astral mode was still glitchy and weird – had been from the start. It was clearly not meant to be used inside a video game.

Whatever I was really doing though, seemed to be working. My avatar was immobilized on the ground.

But the game started to glitch. The whole world began shifting or zapping. The other players started to freak out, and I attempted to stop using my astral mode, because clearly the game wasn’t meant to handle it. But I couldn’t, I was stuck mid process trying to remove the glitch from my avatar, with the world about to lag itself into oblivion.

“Oh I’m so excited!”

***

No one’s POV

“The magic levels in the room are rising…and they’re coming from him. This is why we have a rule against supernaturals Hans.” She hissed as her subject’s levels started to spike.

“They said he couldn’t use magic without a wand, and even then it’s weak.”

“I don’t care what they said, he’s trying to use magic right now, with or without a wand.” She snapped.

“His body can’t do it. It can’t channel magic without a wand. Yet, it’s still trying to. This is unbelievable! Look at it, we can see the magic trying to form in the air!”

“Yes and it’s messing with our equipement! We need to terminate this now before something blows up.”

“Nothing is going to blow up.” He scoffed.

She gestured impatiently at the monitors and with a roll of his eyes he set about terminating the program from there, while she went and completed the process on each of the volunteer’s machines, starting with the troublesome subject.

Entering the room felt toxic to her.

She hadn’t been able to see the magical fog forming, only the trained eye could do that, but she could smell magic. And the boy stank of it. Not your normal magic either. This was foul smelling magic, a smell that reminded her of choking on toxic gas.

She reached the machine and started initializing a shut down just as part of the fog concentrated enough to let out a sharp spark of magic. It bounced onto her hands, giving her a temporary electric tingling feeling, and on two of the machines, momentarily shocking the two systems. One of those had been the boy’s machine, the other was the closest, one of the girl’s.

The researcher managed to enter the final commands and shut the over taxed game off. Instantly the magic in the room stilled, and as the woman went to each station to completely electronically unplug everyone, the magic slowly dissipated into the air. The levels in the room were back to normal, now only composed of the artificial magic illegally used in the experiment.

The woman made it back to the Whitelight boy’s side as he slowly opened his eyes. He cast a glance around, before pushing himself up to a sitting position, moving his limbs as if testing if they still worked.

She glanced back at the window, where her superior merely shrugged at her.

“How are you feeling?” She asked him as he got up, his back facing her. “Any headaches? Dizziness? Nauseous? Do you feel tired? Maybe a little drained?” Her hands inched towards him as if expecting him to faint.

She eyed him, waiting an answer.

“I’m great! Thank you.”

      9.53 – Glitch So very last second I know, I barely managed this one in time Warning: There are lot of image credits I could give out, but due to the sheer amount, if you’re wondering about something in particular you’ll have to ask me.