#at least that person was less annoying then the doom should of stayed dead

[delicatebluebirdruins]

I love the converstion Doom and the goddess have at the start of the series like how many conversations have you had with people where its the same thing but different words? you know just talking yourself in circles?

[ezekielbhandarivalleros]

Scaredy Cat and the not-so Haunted House

Characters: Ajay Bhandri, Dylan Hayes (MC), Layla “Leah” Hayes (Sister), Skye Crandall and Rory Silva 

Summary: The Gang go to a haunted house at a local fair 

Taglist:  @secretaryunpaid @aussieez @daddytyrilstarfury @cts-tj1 @choicesficwriterscreations @hss-fanfics

Rating - General (Everyone can Read)

"If you think that you can scare me, you've got another thing coming," Ajay muttered under his breath as he began wonder yet again why he had agreed to go to a haunted house with Dylan.

Ajay knew that he would live to regret his choice, but after the scare with the Cyber Killer this week he could not seem to able to refuse his own boyfriend. He knew he wasn't the only one roped into going as Leah had both agreed to go. Rory had wiggled his way out of it probably with a promise of unlimited hugs  for the rest of Dylan’s future career.

"Leah, Dylan  just remember as long as you don't touch the people in the haunted house they can't touch you. Last year, I went this haunted house where if you made it through the haunted house they gave like a hundred dollar prize. They could touch you in that one and you had to sign a waiver saying you were not going to sue the haunted house if got hurt. Goblin's Revenge is pretty tame, but if you touch the actors they can touch you." Ajay said all of this quickly in a very giddy way.

"Oh great," Dylan thought, "I better make sure lee-lah doesn't have any weapons on her because I have a feeling when Leah gets scared people are gonna get hurt. Hopefully if she doesn't have any weapons on her the results will be less fatal. OR NOT! I can't believe I let Ajay talk me into doing this even though it was my idea at first!"

"Uh, Leah, do you have any weapons with you?" Ajay asked with the knowledge that if Leah was without weapons than he was winning the award for Least Annoying with Movie References.

"Of course I do, Ajay. What kind of Mossad officer and NCIS agent would I be without them," Leah smiled as she said this with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Um… How can I put this delicately, Leah? YOU CANNOT BE ARMED IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE! We wouldn't want you to shoot or stab anyone if you get spooked. No paperclips either." Ajay said and winced as if expecting some sort of retaliation from Leah for even suggesting she be unarmed.

"Ok," Leah replied stunning the entire group into silence not even a breath was heard for a full minute.

"Why don't you put all your weapons in the trunk of my Blazer, Ajay?" Ajay was the first to recover from Leah's astonishing reply.

All of them had come over in Dylan's parents Blazer as Ajay's car was in the shop and the Blazer was roomy enough to accommodate the Three of them easily. Leah began pulling out knives from everyplace imaginable and she had two guns hidden on her person as well. Ajay placed the weapons in a compartment under the carpet of the trunk and locked the Blazer.

He felt an urge to suggest patting Leah down to make sure that all of her weapons were accounted for, but for once his survival instinct took over before he could voice that opinion. Deciding that he should just stay between Leah and the haunted house actors to insure of all of their safety seemed to quiet all of his worries.

The entire time Ajay had been thinking, the group had made their way through to the admissions windows and paid for their bracelets so they could enter and leave the house as many times as they wanted until midnight. The bracelets were bright orange and took on a neon glow when entering the haunted house allowing the workers guarding the doors to be able to easily tell who was supposed to be there and whose was not without disturbing the patrons.

"Sweet, they're playing the Sixth Sense on the TVs while you go through the house," Dylan exclaimed then added in scared almost girly whisper, "I see dead people."

The rest of the group rolled their eyes as they started walking through the maze. Dylan was on the lookout for hidden compartment and decided that it seemed that it would most likely for the actors to pop out from the inner wall of the maze. He took up his position at Leah's right unfortunately the maze was not made for two people to stand side by side.

He tried to walk sideways, but only succeeded in making himself look like an idiot as he tripped over one of the prop skeletons legs that were placed at random intervals throughout the maze's walkways. He then decided to walk in front of Leah hoping to warn the actors of their impending doom if they made Leah mad or scared.

A bloodcurdling scream filled the maze as Ajay was frightened by Skye popping out of the floor in front of him followed by a squeak of pain as Ajay had stepped on Dylan's foot and then stumbled back causing him to lose his balance and follow on his butt with Ajay landing on top of him.

Skye began laughing her head off at the sight as she began to tease Ajay  mercilessly, "McKlutz maybe Dylan should walk in front of you so we can be sure that he doesn't get squashed to death by YOU!"

Skye already slipped back through the trapdoor to prepare to scare the next group that came through the corridor while Leah helped her brother up whom seemed to find the entire situation hilarious, "Dylan, I think that you are probably one of the only people who made Skye laugh!"

"Leah, Dylan are you okay since everyone seems to be only occupied with my lack of coordination?" Ajay questioned  as he helped her to her black booted feet.

"I'm okay. Really, Ajay," Dylan and Leah Both said reassuringly.

Ajay seemed to notice that Rory had not made a single comment on the entire situation when he turned around to comment on this to utter surprise he found that Rory was nowhere to be found.

"Guys, Rory's gone, he was here with us at the start but since then I haven’t seen him!" Dylan said as he looking back and forth down the hallway hoping he would suddenly appear like a crazy ninja.

"He probably leaned against the wall and went through one of the revolving walls. There is one right behind you." Leah stated calmly as Dylan started to look even more nervous.

"Dylan, I think he can handle a haunted house on her own. "Ajay said tickled by the frightened and very worried face of his boyfriend.

"Dylan, I'm not worried about Rory. I'm worried about what he might do after the people who scare he. Even without the knife your sister gave him at the start he's deadly and he reacts often with instinct which makes it more likely for himself faint or pass-out to only get hurt!" Dylan replied as he pushed against the wall to make it turn noticing Dylan and Leah sudden realization that Ajay might actually have a valid point.

As the wall revolved Dylan came face to face with a grinning Rory who was leaning on the wall a little left of the revolving wall so he would not get squashed by it.

"Dy, I have more self control then you think you realize. I haven't fainted yet and you drive me up the hall all the time." Rory said with a laugh, "I dropped the weapon your sis gave me so I would not be tempted to use them when scared."

Rory looked a little abashed by being found out.

The Twins were greeted with the sight of Ajay saying, "Rory, the saying is up the wall not the hall," and Ajay with look of annoyance at Rory's need to constantly correct his English when it was obvious what he was saying if it was exactly perfect English.

Not wanting to stay in the Haunted House, Rory and Dylan run out grabbing the photo of the gang from the booth racing of to a much safer and less scarier park ride

[i-did]

what would make renee angry in your opinion?

I had a really hard time answering this one actually. I thought about it for a while and asked a lot of my friends to see if they had any ideas, and here's what I came up with:

1) A professor or TA who is super shitty to her

Just a really shitty teacher.

as she goes through college, she’s bound to run into some assholes, and I don’t think Renee has perfect grades in the past or present. her not knowing academic terminology and feeling out of place in the college setting would make a lot of sense for a lot of the foxes, and Renee is good on putting on a smile, but she still eventually gets that one professor or TA that scoffs at her questions and “doesn’t have time for the likes of her” and the constant complete dismissal digs painfully under her skin and brings out her anger.

2) People who are intensely rude to her despite her best efforts to be as kind as she can be

Renee is patient, but we all have our limit. similar to the one above, but Renee dealing with someone who is just rude all the time and she struggles to keep reminding herself “we all have bad days, I don’t know what they’re going though.” Renee working in a coffee shop and a woman bumping into Renee and spilling her coffee on herself, only to yell at Renee for an hour, ignoring all of Renee’s pleasant customer service smiles. said customer later on becoming a regular and repeating this behavior, cutting off people in parking lots and flipping them off, Renee being kind and trying to give her a free scone only for the woman to tell her she hates scones, Renee offering something else only for the woman to tell her to shut up. that shit wears you down, and Renee still dumping her kindness onto someone every time only for it to backfire or be dismissed would make her have to take a few deep breaths in the back room before deciding, fuck it, she's cut off from active kindness, now only passible neutrality and not being aggressive is enough. 

3) someone who refuses her help

her knowing she could really make a difference, but some people just don’t want help, and she feels helpless and angry. she's not angry at the person, but the situation of them not being ready to accept help or even able to accept help makes her so frustrated she would start to grind her teeth in her sleep. She understands how it is, how hard it can be to take the first step to change or giving up pride or whatever the hurtle may be, but that doesn’t make it any easier than her thinking in her head “just let me fucking help you!!! or anyone!!! just let anyone in to help you!!!! fuck!!!” inside her head. she knows not everyone needs help or saving, but some people do, and when they shove her back, unwilling and not ready for it over and over while she’s trying to save them, she gets frustrated that she can’t.... do anything. and just has to wait. but Renee can be patient, and she’s willing to wait. 

4) Someone actively trying to wear her down and get under her skin

okay so this isn’t something that happens often, the closest Renee has really come to it is with Andrew when he first was scoping her out. but– if someone was actively trying to aggravate her, laughing at everything she said and making fun of her, pulling at her looser strings and picking at her ticks, watching to see what brought out her reaction, they could eventually do it and get under her skin. i think she wouldn’t let herself blow up at them since thats what they want, but she would silently excuse herself from the situation to take a breather. no one really does this with her, and Andrew only does this to size her up and even still his interrogation isn’t the type of harassment i’m imagining. i mean like old school bullying, not locker shoving, but the middle school girl shit that leaves emotional scars. and them being older, they’re less afraid to show it and be more straight forward mean. people don’t really do this to her tho, its too much effort to get a reaction, and when they do, its never what they would have wanted, like crying, but instead is her smile falling and then finding a way to make them feel like shit. Renee is kind, but she also knows how to play on a similar level as them, not just with fists. i HC Renee as plus size, and fuck it is hard to be different in anyway as a kid. but childhood bullying was the least of her worries and these people dont see how deep her personal self assurance has grown and how she has learned to stand with her head held high and her face serine. her and dan are quite similar in this, but dan is much more active and direct while Renee is passive in her letting it glide over her, dan has even gotten annoyed on Renee’s behalf and then annoyed that Renee was not affected and why she didn’t fight more directly back. 

5) People who are overtly cruel and she struggles to sympathize with

okay so, you ever see someone so mean and rude for zero reason to someone else and you’re just like... what the fuck??? Renee doesn’t let others get to her really, but damn.... someone going after someone else in ways that are just so uncalled for and so harshly.... it gets to her. She once watched an episode of catfish where the catfisher laughed at the girl, uncaring that he crossed so many emotional lines and manipulated people without really any care. and she wanted to throw the remote and punch the tv right where the guys face was on the paused screen. nothing like someone just, kicking someone else while their down with no mercy, or making fun of someone behind their back and them not knowing, making fun of the deaf kids voice behind his back and he doesn’t see them doing it, and she’s like, man, Fuck. You. in her head. I don’t think she was like, always a nice person, in fact, i think Renee used to very much so not be the type to sit with the alone kid at lunch but instead ignore him and think “yea he’s weird, kinda ugly” without thinking much of it. But then she decided to change, and she took everything she thought it meant to be a good person, and became that. she started sitting with the alone kid, she started doing charities, she started to smile instead of punch, and she started going to church. and so when she sees cruelness she was once passive in the face of, maybe even active in, she uses kindness. Renee is she good at using taking the high road in such a graceful way it makes others feel bad. like when she tells Nicky calmly “thats not very nice” after he jokes about Seth dying in a car crash on his way from the airport book 1, and Nicky feels like shit. it feels like shit to get called out sometimes, and while its not her goal, she does know it is an effect of it. (i don’t think she’s mad at Nicky in that scene, but she did say something since she is there to protect hers and she redraws that line in that moment, especially without Allison or Seth there yet to say fuck you themselves.)

6) Injustice and systems of oppression

for these i feel she gets more frustrated, overwhelmed, and sometimes resigned. she knows how dark and shitty the world is, but she stays up at night with her hand on her heart as she breathes deep, thinking about how... utterly fucked everything is. its pretty easy for me to HC that Renee is politically far left and has seen the dark side to lack of resources and systemic issues that are just... so overwhelming she doesn’t even know what she does as just one person. world pollution, corruption, class divide, flint water crisis, the homeless crisis, the prison system, functioning segregation in school systems, just... it all. she’s had nights after volunteering where she thinks “i did something, i did.” and she has days where she realizes “...i’m doing nothing, in the end... its all for nothing, there’s just too much.” just a bad day where she sits there, thinking about how much is wrong and wont be fixed and how ‘doomed’ things are, how broken, and she doesn’t feel at a loss, but rather this deep anger that comes from who she was before. 

7) herself. 

Her being unable to live up to her own standards. she still thinks mean things, she has mean and cruel urges, and when she has them, she remembers that she’s still a bad person trying very hard to be a good one, and she thinks she’s still a bad person at her core. she’s not self loathing with it, but she does think to herself “i’m a hypocrite.” and sits with that thought for a minute. sparring with Andrew has helped her, to balance the two sides of her in a way that feels both self indulgent and honest to her path forward. but sometimes while sitting in that church pew, she thinks of her dead mother, her dead step father, those she turned in without batting an eye, stabbing in the back to save herself, and she thinks “i should feel something.” but she doesn’t, she wasn’t sorry then and she’s not sorry now. and she thinks, “the others call Andrew a monster, and they don’t realize that i’m one too.” and she tries to muster up something deep inside her, but she cant. and it can frustrate her, how after all these actions, all those hours of beach clean up and homeless shelters and building houses in some other country and going around clapping her hands to the songs, but she’s still the person she is deep down. and it gets to her. i think her having a conversation with Neil one day, on what it means to be a real person, is she pretending who she is? is she her thoughts or her actions? which is the real her? and Neil saying, it’s all of it. every facet of the self is still the self, he is Nathaniel and Neil and Abram and every other person he has been and will be. we change but we are also always ourselves, and her actions are just as true as her thoughts. 

[fumiko-matsubara]

Writing Exercise 2 // AssClass x Tower of God AU - Reunion

Writing Exercise // AC x Tog AU - Catching up

Summary: In their 10 years of climbing the Tower together nonstop, Team END should have known by now that anything could happen so suddenly.

However, a reunion with an old teammate was certainly not what most of them have in mind.

Word count: 2.3k words

• ▪ • ▪ •

Nakamura was exhausted.

Well actually, all of them are. But yeah, she's exhausted.

Team END had recently just cleared the final floor test that allowed them to arrive at the 30th Floor, which was basically a more brutal take of the Capture the Flag game, that lasted them over 8 hours to finish.

Injuries barely treated, bodies aching, sleep lacking, and stomachs starting to rumble, the last thing they'd want to happen was to encounter another trouble the moment they had been transported to the next floor.

"Oi Nakamura, are you sure we should be heading this way..?" Okajima barely squeaked out, frozen at his own spot as he fearfully stared at the sight before them.

"That's what it says on my lighthouse!" She hissed quietly, glaring at the glowing blue cube floating beside her.

Chiba should have been more specific about where his goddamn house is located in this floor.

He had told her before that he has his own residence here at the 30th Floor, somewhere beyond this swamp-like forest thingy, which he had given Team END the permission to reside in for the next 20 Floors until they become C-Rank Regulars.

Yet he never said anything about dealing with dangerous creatures along the way.

Nakamura had discreetly messaged him through her Pocket minutes ago, which he had replied to not long after.

"Wait, I just got off from work. I'll be right there." - Ryuunosuke

It had been 15 minutes since then.

Nakamura is surely going to give him a good slap the moment she sees the Spear Bearer. Well, if she can still recognize him, that is, since the dude had that annoying black cloak nearly hiding his entire body when she first bumped into him at a marketplace at the 21st Floor three years ago.

So here they all are, standing frozen before a sort of gigantic forest creature (who looks hungry, by the way), too exhausted and injured to put up a fight, let alone save themselves.

A Green Mulso, Kurahashi had informed them, is a shinheuh that resembles a gigantic Water Buffalo meant to guard certain areas in a swamp forest from outsiders. There are two types of Mulso, a green one and a brown one. The brown ones are much smaller and friendlier apparently.

Kurahashi then oh-so helpfully told the team that Green Mulsos are wild, incredibly sturdy, and cannot be tamed at all, even by the most talented Anima.

So in short, unless they still got enough stamina to spare, they're doomed.

I swear to god, Ryuunosuke. If I die here right now in the most pathetic way I will fucking haunt you for eternity-

A flash of bright blue from a distance had cut off Nakamura's thoughts, her eyes widening as she watched the water-like shinsu pierce through the wild beast before them at a frightening speed, killing it instantly.

A chorus of surprised yelps were let out at the sight, some where even full-out screams.

Everyone then instinctively moved away when the now dead green mulso had fallen to the ground, it's large size causing it to shake for a moment.

"Oh my god what was that..." Maehara breathed out, his hand clutching over his chest.

Some of them tentatively stared at the dead giant creature before them, some where eve cautiously approaching it to see the wound, while others chose to avoid looking at it.

Nakamura just stayed at her spot, the gears in her brain already working to find answers. A blast of water-like shinsu was what killed the creature, which could have been done by a Wave Controller from just the shinsu's form itself alone. Yet the blast itself looked too thin compared to what Nakamura usually saw what Wave Controllers do.

Not to mention it looked like it had come from a very long distance, which is a range that not even Rankers could reach, as once clarified by Koro-sensei when they were still at the 2nd Floor. A range like that is something only Spear Bearers could do.

Nakamura then frowned at the thought.

But are there even any Spear Bearers who use water-like shinsu to shoot? She knows about Lightning and Ice users who make their own spears, there have been plenty of Regulars and Rankers who were known for that after all, but a Water user Spear Bearer is unheard of.

This would be the first time she sees one if she was correct.

"Woah I got here just in time, thank goodness..." A familiar voice spoke out at a fair distance.

Nakamura's eyes then roamed around the tall trees surrounding them, assuming the guy was somewhere perched up at one of them, based from where she could hear his voice coming from. "Well, you sure took your sweet time to get here," she huffed.

A wave of murmurs and whispers gradually built up and Nakamura could make out some of them wondering how she seemed to know the voice that was talking just now.

"The town was especially busy today and I can't just jump between rooftops, you know that..." He sighed out. "On another note, I didn't think you guys would actually go to this part of the forest. This place is inhabited by Green Mulsos after all, you know how wild those things are."

"And yet it only took you a single shot to kill one," Nakamura raised an eyebrow, her eyes darting everywhere, still trying to look for him.

"I live around here. You just get used to them."

A flash of light and suddenly an overwhelming pair of bright maroon eyes were right in front of her, along with a wide smile gracing the face those eyes belonged to.

Nakamura hesitantly took a step back, giving the tall figure that had appeared before her a once over. Sharp maroon eyes, tall nose, plump lips, strong eyebrows, and long dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail with fringes widely parted at the middle ー a pretty one yet there's a tinge of manliness to it with that long brown coat over a white polo and black pants combo.

How handsome.

Nakamura then narrowed her gaze. Something about this person is ridiculously familiar to her but she couldn't recall anyone with this appearance or at least close to having it.

Hey wait a minute. Nakamura frowned even further. If that was Chiba who I was talking to just now and this person showed up then-

The person's smile dropped then raised an eyebrow at her instead. "What's with that look?"

A scream ripped itself from Nakamura's throat.

• ▪ • ▪ •

"Wow you changed a lot!"

"You think I'd still look the same after 10 years?" Chiba incredulously asked.

30 seconds of dodging mild embarrassment and composure regaining, Nakamura then revealed to the rest of the team that the person who had appeared before them was Chiba, their former teammate who had been seperated from them 22 Floors below.

After that sudden reunion, but not without a strong slap on the shoulder by Nakamura, Chiba soon led the whole team towards the place he is residing in, which was beyond the forest. The route they are currently taking was much farther away from where they were at previously and less closed off.

There were less trees around them and the pathway is much clearer and if they look even further ahead, they can see a wide clearing at a distance.

The walk was fairly quiet, as the whole team was too exhausted from the previous Floor Test to even make enough noise. Some even start to doze off and are just being carried by lighthouses instead of walking, and some of the Light Bearers in the team had just went inside their respective lighthouses.

Kurahashi in particular was fast asleep on Cattus' back, a cat-like cactus creature she had befriended back then, currently in its giant form as it cutely marched beside Chiba and Nakamura, who were walking ahead of everyone.

"Water spears are definitely the last thing I thought you'd use," Nakamura remarked. Unlike the majority of them, she still has enough energy to engage in a conversation. "I was kinda expecting you to wield a sniper rifle or something."

Chiba let out mellowed chuckles. "I actually do own one. But I only use it for specific types of Floor tests," he professed.

"Oh really?" Nakamura blinked at him im wonder. "Where'd you get it?"

"Ah I won it at the Workshop Battle I participated in 4 years ago."

Nakamura nearly faltered at the name almost bitterly but then quickly recovered. "I see," she forced a cheeky grin. "Probably gave them hell, huh?"

"That was Miki," Chiba rolled his eyes though his smile never left his place. "Anyways, water spears. I've always known how to make them but I've only started to utilize them even more around the time I came to the 12th Floor."

Nakamura hummed in response. "So like... 8 or 9 years ago..?"

"Nine years ago," he confirmed. "Enough time for me to solidify its reliability in battle and learn more ways to utilize it."

"I believe this is the first time I've heard of a Spear Bearer who uses Water shinsu to make their own spears," a golden-litted lighthouse suddenly flew in front of the two. "I apologize for abruptly joining in but I am personally intrigued by this discussion, if you don't mind, Chiba-kun."

"Oh Asano-kun," Chiba's smile widened. "You'd be surprised to know that I'm actually not the only one who does this."

"Is that so?"

"But you're still right," Chiba slightly moved away from Nakamura and faced the two of them, bringing his right arm out.

A small bang of water-like shinsu started forming on his palm then suddenly sprouted into a very long shaft that is twice the height of Chiba himself less than a second after. Its blade forming into a drill-shaped head with small flows of water spiralling around the shaft almost prettily.

With a proud smile, Chiba momentarily spun the newly formed spear around. "I'm the only Spear Bearer in the family who had managed to make it sturdy enough to be a main weapon of choice."

He doesn't need to elaborate for both Nakamura and Asano to know what he meant by 'family'.

Ryuunosuke is from the Great Family of Chiba, whose Head was one of the Great Warriors who had first climbed towards the top of the Tower along with the King himself. Anyone tied with the Chiba bloodline is automatically a Water User by default, unless they chose not to use the water-manifested shinsu, as the heritage is that strong.

Chiba himself is not a direct descendant of the Head, making him one of the less important members as the Family Tree is ridiculously huge that a random Regular could actually meet at least 2 Chiba members in each Floor.

But from what he implied just now, his unique standing as a Spear Bearer might just make him stand out in the vast sea mostly full of Wave Controllers.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't intentionally trying to get my name out there in order to be respected in the family as my own person and not be seen as 'just another Chiba'," he admitted with a determined look. "After all, I was born thousands of years after my greatest grandmother had become one of the Great Family Leaders in the Tower."

He then grinned almost challengingly. "But hearing what both of you said just now is just making me want to work even harder."

Nakamura smirked anticipatingly, trying to bury down the nervousness that had shot throughout her body. That frightening display just earlier and yet he's saying such things like this right now... damn he's grown out of our league...

A seemingly amused chuckle had suddenly come out out the golden lighthouse floating beside them. "It's almost admirable to see how very self-assured you are despite the strong clutches of your influencial family name. I can respect that."

Equally amused, Chiba had vanished the water sphere and turned to the giant glowing golden cube. "Well I suppose my conviction is new for someone who is the only descendant of the Great Lord Asano," he remarked.

"But enough about me, I want to hear your story." He gestured a hand towards him (or the cube) and grinned further. "How did the only child of the strongest Light Bearer in the Tower end up travelling with an old team of mine after that initial claim he had of taking no absolute interest in them?"

Nakamura, who had just been attentively listening to them the whole time, suddenly let out an evil cackle. "Oh man do I have the perfect story to share..."

"No! Her so-called 'perfect story' is nothing but exaggerated lies! Do not listen to her!"

"What exaggerated lies?" Nakamura laughed out loud, her grin even wider. "I literally got a lot of proof saved inside my lighthouse!"

She then gasped dramatically. "Maybe I should just send them to him!"

"Don't you dare!" Asano warned.

Chiba just owlishly blinked at the incredulous sight of Nakamura and a floating golden cube bickering. He was sure it wasn't that long ago when Nakamura had told him about Asano and Sakakibara temporarily joining Team END for a while. Yet the display before him made it seem like their newly formed alliance wasn't that recent at all.

Yeah, there's a lot of catching up for me to do alright...

[weispy]

a buncha unpublished wips

(would they be technically considered a single wip rehashed several times? since they were all intended to be the same story...)

anyways. since i never they’re not gonna see the light of the day ever again and i got reminded of them, why not. have some unfinished first chapters of the naruto si i had been talking about.

warning for dubious quality of writing and extremely long post under cut :v

written in 2016/03

The first thing I felt were droplets of water hitting my face and realization hit me that my clothes were soaking wet. I opened my eyes, and as most of you certainly guessed, it was raining. More like pouring, I would say. But my point was said: it was raining pretty hard. I was also probably going to get hypothermia if I stayed outside any longer. The fact that I was laying on the ground with only a short-sleeved shirt and some shorts did not help.

Talking about the outside…

This place had weird looking skyscrapers (Were they even skyscrapers?) just about everywhere. Really tall, kind of ugly, has external waterworks sort of skyscraper. I would have said this place was deserted, if not for the occasional screams.

‘This doesn’t really look like the afterlife,’ I idly commented to myself.

I then completely stopped that train of thought. Why would I say (think) that? Am I dead? Am I supposed to be dead? If so, why can’t I recall any past moment that ultimately resulted in my said death?

I hadn’t noticed that my breathing was becoming erratic, and I couldn’t care less. I had other thoughts to attend to, like…

Where the hell am I?

I don’t remember travelling anywhere. I don’t remember leaving my home. Come to think about it, I couldn’t actually think of anything involving the time before I awoke here.

…

Not a single memory was clear. I couldn’t recall anything in particular, yet I was aware that I knew the answer. Just like the feeling of having a word on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t get it out.    

Anyways, I should probably find out where this is. No need to dwell on events which you cannot help or change.

(This place looks awfully familiar. Not the ‘I’ve been here before’ familiar, but more of the ‘I have already seen this place in a book’ familiar.)

Standing up from my laying position, I noticed yet another thing off. I had pudgy limbs, akin to a child’s and I’m pretty sure I was taller than this. And I have a distinct feeling that I have already lived past my young childhood. Judging from my arms, my body seems to be around 10 years old.

Talk about inconvenient. And strange.

In fact, I don’t think any of this should be happening on a normal basis, but hey, life happens.

Is that a person I see? Is that… a kid and a dog…? Though I guess help from a random kid is better than no help at all.

I padded on the damp soil towards the two of them, hoping if they could offer any form of guidance. If he can’t, I could always follow them. The boy (at least, I think it’s a boy) has a dog accompanying him. Dogs are loyal and adorable, though I do prefer cats. Cats are a lot more laid-back than dogs.

And again, this déjà vu feeling is back. I really hope my memory will clear up soon, because that feeling is extremely irritating.

The kid –oh my, he has really, and I mean REALLY bright red hair (not ginger, red) – did not seem to acknowledge my presence as I reached him, but the brown canine certainly did. Looking closer (it’s not creepy, right?), the red-haired boy looked like he recently cried. Not that it was that noticeable in the rain.

I wonder, is it normal for people here to ignore strangers? Or is it because he just had a break down and he doesn’t want people to see his tear-stricken face? Oh, and the dog is now growling at me.

He still gave no sign that he noticed me, so I decided to make the first move.

“Er, hello? Can I ask you something?”

---

written in 2016/04

Someone sobbing, pleading for something. A parting sigh, a fading light, and then darkness. Spiralling down a pitch-black abyss, and nothing to grasp on.  

The last and only memories about myself I possess.

I awoke in a dark location, somewhere unpleasantly humid. My eyesight slightly cleared out and I realized that I was surrounded by colossal trees. A wandering thought is telling me that they are way taller than any plant I have seen.

Which doesn’t mean much, since I have apparently lost a good percentage of my memories.

Also, did I say that I didn’t have any legs? Or arms? Actually, it doesn’t seem that I have a body at all. Though I’m positive I’m supposed to have one. ‘Why?’ one might ask. Just a hunch. That annoying feeling that you have when you know something, but just can’t get a clear grip on the thought.

So I’m currently just a floating… thing. Or object. Or soul. Actually, I have no idea what I was.

Just a few minutes in, and I spotted something that sent chills up my spine. Something that even if I had my memories, even if I had a body, even if I was as tall as those trees, would still scare the living daylights out of me.

A giant ass spider.

I was pretty sure spiders weren’t meant to be that big. I was also pretty sure that they were not supposed to have 12 legs. And they absolutely were not supposed to be eating a tiger.

It didn’t seem to notice me at first, completely oblivious to my presence as it continued feasting on the giant feline’s carcass. So listen here: curiosity is a good thing, but it can also lead to certain doom.

And guess what I decided to do.

Yeah, I certainly wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

So I decided to approach the arachnid, and to my greatest relief, it still hasn’t taken notice to me. That’s when I started feeling an attraction–not the romantic sort, but gravitational sort–to the twelve-legged beast. I started panicking, because just like any rational person, my line of though was going something like ‘OH DEAR LORD I’M GOING TO GET SUCKED IN BY A GIANT SPIDER AND–‘

Then I realized I could resist the pull. Silly me, huh? All that terror for nothing.

And again, I’ll say that I’m not the brightest lightbulb out there.

Because curiosity is a wonderful thing, I continued my path towards the unnaturally giant twelve-legged possibly highly venomous and definitely carnivorous spider. Nothing could go wrong there, right? Yeah, fat chance with that.

There, I found what caused the pull: an inky black fissure at the base of its head. And still, that didn’t stop me from going nearer and nearer the creature.

As most of you guessed, that fissure got ahold of my whatever-I-was and sucked me in. We could compare it to a black hole, I guess.

‘I guess this the end of the line for me. Such a laughable way to go. Wait, no. It’s actually pretty original. No one ever died because they got sucked in by a mini black hole from a spider’s head. You bet I’m going to brag about it in the afterlife.’

And then I blinked my eyes. All eight of them. I should probably finish my meal now.

‘Wait, WHAT?’

I looked down to see my many appendages, some still plunged deep in the would-be meal, while some others were in the midst of tearing flesh apart. I was positively grossed out by this, and even maybe on the verge of puking what this spider belly’s content, while another part of me didn’t mind at all and just wanted to resume eating.

Wait, scratch that. That part was definitely not me. Maybe a remnant of the arachnid’s feeling? Better not dwell on that thought. Possessing a giant spider’s body is nasty enough for me.

‘Eat first. Think later.’

Even though I really don’t want to touch the carcass, I probably should listen to its thought. This body was feeling hungry, and since it has already hunted down a prey to eat, why not just eat it now?

‘Or maybe we could eat AND think at the same time.’

And before I could do whatsoever, the body moved on its own and went on eating. Looks like I don’t have full control over the body. So while the spider is eating, I’ll have to do the thinking. Because apparently, spiders can’t multitask. Learning new things every day!

Anyways, back to my current issue.

Correction: back to my current issues.

For one, I have no idea where I was. I don’t think knowing that you’re in a giant messed up forest in the middle of nowhere counts as knowing where you are. Two, I have no idea who I am. The memories I currently am in possession of doesn’t help at all. Three, I have no idea WHAT I am. Maybe I’m a ghost hungry for revenge. Maybe I’m a bodiless soul doomed to wander the earth for eternity. Maybe I’m a figment of this spider’s imagination.

‘Urg. How uncool would it be to discover that you were actually not real and just the result of some random someone’s half-assed idea?’

And finally, I have no idea what to do. Maybe I could walk around, question of getting used to this body. Should I call it my vessel? It sounds rather evil. But yeah, I should probably accustom myself with the motor controls if I’m stuck as a spider for the rest of its life. But what happens after? Do I need to find a new vessel after this one withers away? At least I now know how to take partial control of one.

Wow, I sound like an evil overlord. I might just be able to apply for a part-time job for a super villain.

…

What’s an evil overlord? What’s a super villain? They both sound rather evil and villainous.

And better yet, what’s a part time job?

…

‘Humans nearby. Still hungry.’

Looks like it finished eating the tiger, seeing as a pile of bones with still some bits of flesh attached to them on the ground. And now, I have a new goal set for myself.

‘Step one on maintaining a giant spider healthy: make sure it gets enough food.’

I guess it’s hunting time now! What better way to exercise myself to control this body is there apart from hunting? Onwards we go!

Though it certainly went less smoother than I would have wanted. I kept tripping over my own limbs, and don’t even get me started on climbing trees! Controlling twelve legs at once sure is no easy task. You lift one up, and you have to place it so that it wouldn’t interfere with the other’s movements, and dear Lord it’s frustrating.  

I got the hang of skittering across the land in a few minutes, and I had this suspicious feeling that the spider was getting more impatient by the second. Better find those humans then. I managed to clamber up a tree without falling down, and from a high up branch, I spotted the group the arachnid mentioned afore.

I must say, they were a bunch of fashionable humans.

One dressed in a trench coat, stick in mouth. Another one wearing overalls and black glasses. Third and final one, wearing a skin tight green jumpsuit and sporting a– whoa, look at that haircut.

‘Though I guess the first one isn’t dressed so bad. On another note, a good self-pat on the back for being able to vomit out some incomprehensible words that seem to match their clothing.’

They looked slightly familiar.

And again, that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, as if I should be able to remember them. Have I met them before? Would they know who I am?

‘EAT.’

Oh great, look at what I then decided to do.

I jumped down from my perch intending to land on one of the humans, and being the big klutz I am, I instead tripped on my own legs (again) and gracefully face planted no further than a few meters away from my intended targets.

‘Don’t I just make the greatest entrances?’

---

written in 2016/06

Death.

Have you ever thought about it at random moments?

Some would characterize it as beautiful, others, not so much. But what comes after death? Are there a heaven and hell? Is there a wheel of suffering waiting at the end? Will there be the nirvana? Questions, questions. No one had a definite answer to that since… well, people aren’t supposed to come back from the dead, whoever they would be.

And I’m apparently unlucky enough to experience it at a young age. Not having even entered university yet and I got a metal construction beam plummet smack dab on my head, more or less reducing it into paste. Fun, huh? At least it wasn’t all that painful. None of my senses were able to register anything about it from the sudden abruptness of the situation. Though I certainly remember hearing a scream, or were they many? Was it my voice, or someone else’s?

And I still had so many objectives to accomplish, so many unfinished tasks left with open ends.

But none of that matters anymore, seeing that I’m dead myself. Shame, I haven’t even gotten the time to wish my sister a happy birthday. And to say that she was going to come back from overseas on the weekend of my own demise.

It was way too early for my end to come, but what had to come came. Somewhat earlier than I had expected, if I would comment. Half a life was behind me, and as sorrowful I had been moments following my death, I progressively learnt to cope with it. I never actually got over it, only accepting that I was now dead and I wouldn’t be able to change anything in the world of living. And maybe bury it deep in your mind to avoid thinking about it excessively.

How unfortunate.

Now would come the question I would ask myself; what comes after death?

The answer, I would respond, is quite simple. Nothing comes after death. It is solely the cessation of being, the end of an individual’s existence. And to confirm that, it is pretty much what I am currently undergoing through.

Nothing, that is. Well, it wasn’t actually the cessation of one’s existence, since I’m still well aware of myself and still able to form coherent thoughts. Just…

A pitch black abyss that I do not even know if it had any color, no odor, no touch, no taste, no sounds. No nothing. I’m not even sure if I have any shape or form, let alone a physical body.

I had no eyes to open, no limbs to struggle with, no mouth to scream with, no nose to smell with and no ears to eavesdrop with.

And wasn’t that boring. There wasn’t even anyone to pass time with here. Here being the Void, the nothingness. Or maybe there was, but I had no way of perceiving them.

But hey, we shouldn’t think of such depressing thing now, shouldn’t we? Such dark thoughts wouldn’t do any good to relieve my boredom. And on the bright side, I get to conserve my ability to think! And isn’t that an awesome skill. Would it be considered as a genetic trait? To be able to think and have self-awareness?

Bah. Life. Moving onto another livelier and less dull topic. Let’s say… the fact that I’m currently being pulled by something and that was the first sensation I have felt for who knows how long.

At first, I was ecstatic about being able to feel again, but as the impression of the touch continued and gradually augmented its pressure every second, I started worrying. Was it dragging me somewhere? If so where? Is the thing having hold of me dangerous?

The Void might have been an awfully mundane and dreary place, but it was safe; nothing could come in, nothing could come out. Just me and my thoughts, aimlessly wandering about. It was almost… comforting. Almost. The loneliness was still painful, and the urge of just screaming your lungs raw and ripping something to shreds was still there. It took a lot of me to remain sane in this darn forsaken barren Void with no ways of movements. Like being constantly in stasis with freedom of thought.

In a single moment, everything snaps back into place and a pair of eyes can be seen hovering in the nothingness. They aren’t exactly glowing, but they gave off a slight shine, reminding me of a silver ring reflecting off the moonlight. How eerie.

After what seemed like an eternity, the eyes finally focus on me, sending a chill through whatever the equivalent of a spine I had.

Whoa.

That was… I have my sight back! This calls for a celebration! Though that would have to wait, seeing that the being positioned in front of me looks to be one to not mess with. First impressions are important, remember that.

“I have a task for you,” it says, its voice being an amalgamate of thousand other voices, grave and shrill as well as rumbling and hissing all at once. I let out an unintentional squeak, the distorted voice seemingly belonging to a beast having ingested the souls of the damned topped with an oppressive, bordering suffocating, presence a tad too much for me to take in in the span of only a few seconds.

“Silence, child.” As I’m about to retort that I wasn’t all that young despite my premature death, a heated glare sent my way shuts me up, and from the look of it, nothing good could come if I tried to interrupt him again.

“I have lost my influence on the human population since my long slumber. Only a few followers are left, and my name has been lost in the past centuries. The sound of it no longer strikes fear deep into the heart of the humans. Eons ago, that same name made the blood of warriors and peasants alike run cold, made them quiver on the spot. I laughed in the face of death time upon time, I drove whole continents into war. I inspired fear and chaos. Now I am but an old myth, left in the dust. My current circumstance is laughable compared to my former glory.

“Here will be where you come in. Your mission is to restore my reputation to as it was, make them run like headless chickens at my name once again. Understood?” The slight narrowing of its eyes dares me to add anything else, as if the simple thought of it would land me with a death wish.

Unfortunately of fortunately, depending on your view of your situation, I am already dead. Figuratively and literally. I muster up as much courage as I could and raise my voice just loud enough to be heard. “But sir…” I start off, voice quivering. I had assumed it as a male, and as he shows no sign of objection, I continue on. “How am I supposed to do that? And why did you choose me for it?”

The creature stares, just as though it is peering deep into my supposed soul. I had to avert my eyes in fear that whatever composes my head would explode from the sheer intensity of the look.

“Ha. Ha-ha.” It sucks in a breath and howls in laughter not even a second later, the eyes curving up to form an upward crescent shape. “You think I chose you?” the being hissed. I can just imagine a face sneering, the nose crinkling in disgust. “Do not think so high of yourself. I had merely happened to come across your pitiful, withering essence while seeking for an envoy. I, regrettably, had already had my energy drained from being imprisoned here, and couldn’t risk depleting it further. You are not obligated to follow my request, but unless you wish to spend the eternity rotting in my insides, you might be inclined to. As for the other matter, you shall find out soon enough.”

It then closes its eyes and draws out a deep, long sigh, as if simply talking has drained him to the point of exhaustion. “Enough time wasted. Go. Failure is not an option.”

Faster than one could blink, the world starts crumbling away at full tilt, replacing the once inky space with stark white, all the while the eyes of the creature not leaving my form.

Just as the last shred of darkness falls, it utters out a few last words, its voice as uncanny as it always was.

“Name’s Jashin. And don’t wear it out.”

And everything drowns in a pure, colorless landscape.

The milky surroundings crack in their turn with vivid colors bursting from the seams, as one could compare them to the fireworks on a first of July. The ceiling took on a light blue hue and various pigments splattered across the scenery, fluorescent lighting dancing around. I shut my eyes close to avoid being blinded by the inordinately bright colors. Spending an excessive amount of time in a colorless environment will do that to you.

Or more like I would have if I had any eyes to begin with. Which I apparently don’t.

On the bright side, I have no need to blink and yet, I can still see. Maybe I just have eye holes and can somehow peer out of them without the organ in place. Or I don’t have any body at all and am defying every law of life about how the dead cannot come to the realm of living.

I guess I could also be in a coma and I’m dreaming this awesome plot line that might get super intense later on. Hell, that would be so rad! Not the coma part, of course, but the other part! Getting myself into a story revolving around the main character—namely me—and kicking butts all around!

But if I die here… Would it also mean I die on the other side too?

And I’m also pretty much certain I have kicked the bucket some time ago. So coma is out of the possibilities.

Another one of the possibility would be that my soul, who was supposed to do whatever a dead soul was supposed to do, got ripped out of that cycle by a scary as hell demon lord that got sealed away by an old wizard to never roam the land again and has been tasked to spread terror in its name so it gets enough spiritual energy to make a giant comeback to the mortal plane to take the throne and proclaim itself as the overlord of the world.

Yeah, that seems about it.

Since I have already bit the dust quite a while ago, why not enjoy myself in the meantime? It’s not like it would hurt to do so, and whatever its name was—Jashin, was it?—gave me a time limit to accomplish my so called ‘mission’.

As I finally adjust myself to the brightness of all this mess, I finally realize how alive everything here feels. From the peacefully growing trees, standing tall and proud, to the occasional small animals that would scurry about, everything nearby was thrumming with vitality. Everything was so lively, so colorful, so… existing. If that could even be said. Not sure if it can, but it gets the point across.

Looking down, I can make out a faint contrast—just a minute distortion in the space—around what I suppose would be my hands, as well as my arms… and well, my body too. Looks like someone even went all the way to procuring me a human-shaped sort of anti-void body. How very thoughtful of… it? him? whatever gender Jashin would qualify as?

And just to test out a certain thing…

I swing my arms around and stretch myself, basic warm up and whatnot. I know there are alternate ways to find it out, but one thing I’ll say is that curiosity can sometimes get the best of us. I placed myself in a standard three-point stance and took a deep breath.

This might hurt a bit. Or a lot. Actually, I have no idea. That’s why I’ll be testing, remember?

Just before sprinting, I raise my eyes up one last time to make sure I was facing the right direction.

And I push myself forward, dashing forward and making a beeline for my intended target: a hollow trunk that might have once been part of a quite sturdy tree. Still not rash enough to take on a still living tree, seeing that most of them looked quite robust. I could have gone for a sapling, but you know… just to not needlessly kill a tree. Life is important, so treasure it and don’t just throw it away carelessly. You only get one of those, you know?

Just milliseconds from hitting the bark, thoughts of regret and why in all the holiness of the underdepths of hell did I think this was a good idea wash over me. Seriously, who in their right mind would run around in a forest smashing trees?

To my pleasant surprise, I simply phase through the dead tree, before tripping over myself and tumbling on the ground. I turn around and sit up to look at the tree somewhat suspiciously. So either I’m not material, or that tree is a made up hallucination of my mind.

I think I’ll just stick with the former one and not ask myself too many questions about my mental health. But would it matter now that I’m presumably a ghost? I guess not.

But what had attracted my attention was that although the trunk had offered no physical resistance while I crossed with it, there was a strange pull at the core of it.

A most curious little thing, no?

And me, being the curious cat I was, I decide to investigate it. We might say curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. And it’s not like the undead could be killed. Revived then killed, yes, but not killed while dead.

Makes sense?

And that also confirms I regained two and a half of my senses back! How I manage that without a central nervous system, I have no idea. Go figure.

Anyhow. Back to situation at hand, I hoist myself up and pat off the non-existent dust off and gingerly reached my hand to the middle of the hollow trunk. As my arm phases through the trunk, I can’t help but suppress a shudder, seeing the action up close just strikes me as disconcerting. Like seeing part of your arm getting chopped off, yet you can still freely move your hand and fingers.

And then there’s this gaping hole, a vacuum I feel at my fingertips, the small area of it definitely a few degrees colder than the ambient temperature. I curl my fingers around it, and it YANKS—

And suddenly, things change.

---

written on 2016/06

Screams of terror, the laughter of a madman, a searing pain across the torso, and—

Nothing.

oOo

If someone were to ask me “If given the chance, would you relive your life?” I wouldn’t miss a beat and respond without delay.

“No. No, I wouldn’t,” would be my obvious reply.

Now don’t jump right up to the conclusion that I’m a conceited edgelord or I have deep issues with myself or others, and ask that question to yourself. Ask yourself if you could stand replaying every single moment of your existence without a single alteration of the course.

Would that thought change one’s perception on the question?

My life was… well, not worth of any special mention. An ordinary one, paired up with a decent education, a decent family and more than just decent friends. Good friends, great friends, best friends, fake friends, you get gist of it.

Then came death. I’ll be frank, my death, or rather the moments preceding right before my death, was the most exhilarating experience I had faced. From the pure adrenaline rush to the unadulterated fear at the absurd situation I had found myself in, none of the past event I have ever lived through, and insist on none of them, not even all stacked one on top of each other, could compare to the sheer excitement I had felt.

Truly, death by ferris wheel wasn’t a common run-of-the-mill occurrence.

oOo

Death is… it’s not exactly silent, it’s not just stillness either, it’s… void, for the lack of better words.

Void from any restraints. Peaceful, free from everything, eternally sleeping in a cradle of nothingness. Nothing to weigh you down, no guilt or regrets, just a companionable mess of nothing to keep me entertained.

Feelings start to dwindle, memories start to crack, everything starts to fade away to non-existence.

With a final resigned sigh, I decide that maybe vegetating in a colorless realm of emptiness wouldn’t bring me much amusement. Not much here would, to be honest. Being dead is boring. Being dead and alone with no one to be around with is even more boring.

Ah, to say that I simply wanted to have some fun in my life.

I let go.

oOo

I drift aimlessly with no particular intention. Pieces break off, and I do nothing to stop myself from degrading into nullity.

oOo

It’s only after a bout of time (but time cannot exist without space, space cannot exist without time, and nothing exists here) that I realize.

‘I don’t want to disappear.’

In a desperate attempt to keep myself as me, I reach out everywhere possible and greedily hoard any fragment of memory, mind and notion salvageable, and fervently organize them. I can’t lose any more, and do not plan to. Make sure to not forget. Repeat everything until you can recite it from the tip of your fingers. Realize that I have lost my corporeal body, but still have a faint feeling when attempting to move limbs.

oOo

The  void echoed with half remembered poems and stories, and bits of names, locations and forgotten sentiments.

I continue rehearsing and recounting various broken memories found here and there.

‘Do not forget.’

oOo

‘...first to score 50 goals in one season, played 18 of ‘em, nicely combed hair, great guy-’

I repeat again and again, counting off with a twitch of a finger for every fragment  for the umpteen time, and—

Krrrrrk.

Something is pulling. Something is pulling on me.

Something or someone exist in this nonexistent plane aside from me. Excitement rushes in me, thought of ‘Ah! I can physically feel again! I still exist, and now someone else does too!’ runs amok.

Anticipation tingles through my entire being and I curiously await for an entity to pop out from nowhere.

A beat, then two, and nothing. I wait in bated breath, still full of hope. Maybe they’re hiding? Perhaps they’re shy, or are too afraid to show up? Should I call out for them? But if I do, it might scare them away.

‘Anyone hear me?!’ I shout. Or think. Frankly, I have lost the ability differentiate between the two long ago. It is a bit difficult, not being sure if you’re either hearing your own thoughts or voice in here.

Another beat passes.

No one replies.

I let out a sigh in disappointment.

For all that I know, it might have just been wishful thinking, my desire for company acting up.

Back to my typical routine, then.

‘...Praying mantis’ actually have 5 eyes. The central nervous system is composed of…’

oOo

The sensation of the pull didn’t quite leave even as time ticked by and stories had been recounted endlessly.

It was nice at first, as a reassurance that another might have come wandering here, but now it’s just irritating. It is somewhat difficult to concentrate on tasks at hand when some part of you is being perpetually pulled at short intervals.

Then suddenly, the pull increases tenfold in its intensity, and it feels like I’m being violently ripped apart and ohithurtssomeonemakeitstop—

Everything snaps back in place at once and the pain disappears just as swiftly as it came.

I take a quick peek around and find out that instead of the colorless background I became accustomed to over time, the surroundings are now of a dull gray, stretching out until the eye can’t see.

Maybe the afterlife thingy is different depending on the person? Though whoever inhabits this place, they must have some lousy aesthetic taste, I must say. Even mine, a vast emptiness of nothing (plus moi), looks way better than this plane of commonplaceness.

“I can hear you, you filthy disgraceful half-soul. Show some respect to the one who pulled you out of those… repulsive grounds. It would be in your best interest to not insult me,” a low voice drawls from behind me.

And by voice, I mean an amalgamate of thousand whispers of the damned who came crawling out from the depths of the fiery hells, grave and shrill as well as rumbling and whistling all at once.

Talk about disconcerting.

I turn around to the source of the voice, mostly eager and maybe also slightly anxious to meet the mind-reading condescending might-be remnant of a dead esper. That’s what people call psychics, right?

Now face to face with the mysterious creature of esoteric origins and, lo and behold, who I meet isn’t an actual person, and possesses much less a humanoid figure.

I am presented to a pair of tiny eyes, narrowed in probable annoyance.

---

written on 2017/05

The first time Nagato meets him, he’s grossly sobbing and vainly trying to wipe away the unending stream of tears cascading down his face like a waterfall and mourning the death of his parents.

Amidst the sound of heavy pelting of the constant rainfall, a high-pitched voice cut through the pitter-patter of the raindrops.

“Hello! What are you doing?”

Nagato falls down on his rear in shock at the sudden appearance.

In front of him is a stranger no older than himself, his skin pasty white — even paler than his own — almost like the wax of a candle and radiating an unhealthy glow. The child smiles widely, showing a dentition missing over half of its teeth.

Long washed-out blue hair lazily droops over one side of his head to cover part of his face, and Nagato was shortly reminded of the images of the horses he once saw in picture books.

Looking at the half-naked body, Nagato briefly wonders if he ever got cold from only wearing a ragged piece of clothing around the waist and nothing else.

“What’s your name? Where are we? Do you know when it’ll stop raining?” the boy continues, and Nagato scrambles backwards when the child leans in to loom over him.

Nagato tries to crawl even further away from him, but his hands slip from underneath him and he falls flat into the mud. By then, the mystery boy has his face over his, and for an unending second, they stare silently into each other’s eyes, despite Nagato wanting desperately to avert his gaze.

Faced with Nagato’s lack of response — barring the near silent sobs escaping his mouth — the child leans back, finally giving him some breathing space.

“Do you not know then?”

Nagato hears a soft, disappointed sigh. He sits up, rubbing away his tears in the process, and bleary eyes see the boy’s small frown forming, and eyebrows knitting together.

“Looks like it can’t be helped then.” The boy swivels on his heel and turns around, and starts walking away from Nagato. “Be seeing you somewhere, then,” he offers with a wave, not bothering to face him.

But before he can help himself, Nagato clumsily pushes himself up and rushed to catch up with the blue-haired child.

“W-wait up!” he shouts, then reflexively covers his mouth in embarrassment.

He shouldn’t have shouted. Mother had said it was rude, and maybe the boy finds it rude and won’t want to have him around. Maybe he just lost his chance to find a companion in this mess.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

The next thing Nagato knows, the stranger is in his face and gazing directly into his ringed eyes, despite having hidden them behind his red bangs.

He stutters out a quiet “hieeee” and stumbles back a few steps.

The boy crosses his arms over his chest, patiently waiting for Nagato to regain his bearings.

Taking a few shaky breaths, Nagato forces himself to calm down. He shouldn’t lower his image any more than this. He can’t.

Just as Nagato is about to ask, he finally notices the eyes boring into his own. Dull and grey, devoid of life, yet somehow still terrifyingly piercing.

Regardless of his own insecurities, Nagato forces himself to speak up.

“What’s your name?”

That seems to take the boy by surprise, eyes blinking confusedly and mouth opening and closing without any sound coming out.

A scowl starts pulling down at the boy’s lips, and Nagato worriedly wonders if he has somehow offended him. He really hopes not.

“I don’t… I don’t think I remember,” the blue-haired boy eventually confesses, words gritted out from clenched teeth. He then huffs, hands going to rest on his waist. “Though I thought I was the one asking the questions?”

Nagato pointedly ignored the last statement. “We could find you a new one, if you like,” he offers quietly instead. “A new name.”

The stranger shoots him with an odd look.

Nagato feels his face flush despite the weather and only manages to stammer a few words of excuse before the boy cuts him off.

“I don’t mind.”

“Bwuh?” is his intelligent reply.

“I don’t mind getting a new name,” the boy repeats airily. “In fact, it would be really appreciated. Makes it easier to introduce myself to others, right?”

The boy then lets out a light laugh, almost too soft to be heard amongst the falling rain around them, a stark contrast to the gloomy weather.

Nagato likes the sound of it.

Just then, an idea sparks through his mind.

“What’s your favourite animal?”

The stranger looks to him, then up to the sky, brows furrowed.

“Favourite animal…” He pauses, a look of confusion crossing his face.

For a moment, Nagato wonders if he too has only seen rats and the occasional dogs in his life. Maybe even frogs and salamanders? He has heard there were a few living around the corners.

Or maybe… maybe the boy comes from outside Ame and has seen a lot more. That might be why he didn’t know where he was.

His thoughts stall.

A boy from outside…! If he has been able to come in, he should also be able to leave too, and maybe also bring Nagato with him!

Then maybe, maybe he could finally—

“Capybara,” the boy suddenly announces proudly. “That’s my favourite animal. Capybara.” Another pause. “At least, I think it is.”

“Kapi… bara?” Nagato parrots back the foreign word slowly.

The incredulous expression crossing the unnamed boy’s face, however brief it was, is enough to make him flush slightly.

Despite the embarrassment, he voices out his suggestion.

“Would K-Kapi work as a n-name?” he stutters towards the end, seeing the features of the boy screw up at it.

Expectant eyes shyly meet the unnaturally grey ones, and a small sliver hope wells up in his chest—

“That’s kinda lame.”

—before quickly deflating.

“I-is that so…” Nagato mutters, dejected and head bowed down in embarrassment. He shouldn’t have proposed something as stupid as that. Of course he wouldn’t—

“But I like anyways!”

Nagato’s head whips around so fast he’s still amazed it was still attached to his body.

“R-really? You really think so?” He’s openly gaping at him now, all trace of previous shame disappeared.

“It’s pretty catchy,” the boy — Kapi — admits with a shrug. “I guess it has a nice ring to it too.”

Kapi stands up and Nagato follows the action — when have they even sat down? — hesitantly.

Now what?

Suddenly remembering why he came up to him, Nagato makes a small gesture of his hand at the overcast skies.

“We’re in Amegakure,” he says, answering Kapi’s previous question, “and I don’t know if the rain ever stops.”

“Huh.”

The boy tilts his head sideways, straightens it up again, and tilts the other way.

“Amegakure…?” he mutters, crossing and uncrossing his arms over and over again. “Now where have I heard that…”

A small thought pops up in the back of his mind, and he tries to dismiss it.

But he can’t.

So he tries to think about something else, anything but it, because it was starting to hurt his head from how much he kept thinking about it.

It’s a scary thought, Nagato thinks, so he’d rather not think about it too much.

By the time he actually comes back to, a pale face inches closer to his.

Nagato squeaks weakly and stumbles back a few steps once again, surprised by Kapi’s sudden closeness.

“Hey, you were spacing out, are you—?”

“Did you forget everything about yourself?” Nagato blurts out, rudely interrupting Kapi.

Because he knew there were dangerous people who could enter minds and erase memories, and Kapi doesn’t remember anything and looked really confused about a lot of things, so Nagato just assumes.

He knows he shouldn’t assume things because it’s rude, but he’s also worried. Because maybe Kapi also lost his parents too, and he doesn’t want him to be sad.

The boy hums lightly and shrugs.

“Perhaps,” he replied, taking a few steps back and letting Nagato have some breathing space again. “Maybe. I don’t really know.”

As Nagato opens his mouth to ask how he couldn’t know,

---

written on 2018/04

I shuffle my transparent feet around the seemingly invisible floor.

 Yep, there’s a solid ground underneath. Nice to know.

 I peer at the black surrounding. An endless inky sea with a few specks of light littered here and there, some bigger than others, but none close enough to touch. My bed sits a few steps away, pillow, blankets and some miscellaneous trinkets arranged on top of it.

 Walking over to the single bed, I gingerly clear out a small spot to sit on, careful to not damage any of the fragile items.

 I sat there for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen. Usually my dreams are a lot more eventful, not to mention I usually have an opaque body of some sort.

 At least the view’s nice. Someone could probably meditate here, or have a philosophical debate with oneself. Or take a smoke and ascend to the sixth dimension, whatever rocks your boat.

 Just as I start contemplating on the possibility to sleep within a dream, something pings inside my mind. A mind within a dreaming mind. Whoa.

 {Harder than expected…} eventually grumbles a silky voice. {In any case, yadda yadda yadda, you are dead and I am here to employ you for the entirety of the afterlife and exchange you get some boons. You know, the usual. Now sign the paper.}

 Wait, what?

 A stapled document pops into existence before me, as well as a red pen.

 I take both into my hands, leafing through the papers and distractedly spinning the pen. Sure is a strange dream, this one. Was it due to the last finance exam? Who knows.

 {This isn’t a dream, child.}

 “I’m not that young,” I mutter on reflex, reading the contract closely. What else could it be? Terms, length of agreement, compensations, benefits, risks, responsibilities… This is too early for all of this. Couldn’t I just get some good old fantasy nonsense at least?

 {You still think of this as a dream.} At my hum of confirmation, the voice released a long-suffering sigh. {Always the same with you humans, it seems. As long as you take the job seriously and are not actively seeking an early demise, I could overlook it.}

 “No worries, I take my dreams very seriously,” I attempt to reassure the voice. Dream or no dream, near death experience is something I never wish to reproduce. That shit’s scarring on the mental.

 Reading over the ‘Risks and compensations’ part, I frown minutely.

 “Hey, Void Voice,” I call out, squinting at the printed text to make sure I read right, “what’s that about the ‘selling my soul’ thing and ‘physical body not provided’? And what about all those dubious work conditions?” I slowly lower the document and gaze at the absolute nothingness in front of me. “I don’t think you’d make a good employer, Void Voice.”

 {Void Voice…? I do suppose I have been called worse.}

 I raise an eyebrow at the non-answer to my unspoken question, prompting the voice to continue.

 {Well, what are you waiting for? All relevant information has been included in the contract.}

 I try to convey my dissatisfaction through my passively disappointed face. When that doesn’t work, I release a sigh and stop spinning the pen.

 “At least give me a black or blue pen to sign.” I wave the red one by its cap. “I have no intention of cursing my name on my first day of my dreamverse job.”

 A vague feeling of exasperation ripples through the air, accompanied by some mutterings about strange human customs.

---

currently, the 2017/05 one is the closest to the current draft i have :’v

[devintrinidad]

So here’s another CAW au. I think I talked about this one on another blog but I can’t remember. *shrugs* =I So I’ll do it here too since I’ve gotten more thoughts. 

Fantasy winter dragon au! (Been inspired by at least two CAW fics where one had mermaid 3803 and another had shapeshifter wolf 1146). 

It’s a Norse like setting where it’s typically snowy everywhere. Much of the land is basically a huge forest filled with white trees that can reach heights from normal size to 100 or more feet into the air.

The WBCs are really huge white dragons. Maybe they are the furry kind of dragons. Despite their massive size they can camouflage easily into their environment. Someone could walk past one if them and might not even realize it. They are flightless too. Much like their canon counterparts, they get around through hidden pathways. They’re excellent diggers and climbers so they’ll easily travel or borrow through new tunnels in the earth or in mountains. 

They are semi divine in that the gods and demi gods have tasked them with the purpose of killing evil,monsters that threaten the balance of life. Creatures that can corrupt, devour or pollute all life. Basically your viruses. Dragons kill and eat them.

The common man is typically afraid of them thanks to tales of how savage they are and are capable of mowing down regular folk if it means the greater good.

3803 is a normal girl who was sold by her family to pay off their debts and is forced to be a slave under a brutal master. Thankfully she has some hope. If she can pay off her debts. She can be free. However being free means squat of she has no one and no job to support herself. She ends up applying for a job as a Red delivery woman. The delivery service is highly respected yet very dangerous. You have to transport (often alone and without protection) various packages containing medicine or spices or seeds and documents to far away villages through monster infested areas. Only the best survive and 3803 proves she’s among the worst. However the boss (lets say he’s 5963) has mercy on her. He also came from a similar background as her and gives her the chance to escape her hopeless situation and a reason to stay away from her abusive master as much as possible. If she can deliver a practice package to another village, he’ll train her and let her prove herself to take on more jobs to pay off her debt. When she’s free of them, she’ll have proven herself to have a high position at the service. 

3803 meets 1146 when she’s sort of lost thanks to a blizzard and a nasty monster chases her off the path. It’s kind of a horrifying first meet. The monster swallows her alive. 1146 pops to kill the monster. Then he proceeds to feast on the carcass until he finds her and spits her out. 

Yes I decided to one up the canon encounter (I can be so mean to my favorite characters). 

He paused only long enough to assess she’s alive, if not slightly traumatized before going back to eating. She’s very shocked to say the least. It takes close to 30 minutes to gather her wits enough to process what happened. She’s always been a fan of the White Dragons ever since she was little so she’s more amazed then terrified of the dragon before her since it sinks in this creature saved her despite not having to. Afterall he (she thinks he’s a he) could have just swallowed or chewed her up along with the monster but he didn’t.  After the creature nears the end of his meal, she thanks him both for saving her life and not eating her. The dragon just snorts like it’s surprised she thinks she’d make even a tasty snack fit him. She suddenly snaps out of her awe of the dragon by screaming so loud even the dragon gives a jolt. She proclaims she lost her package. Without it her life is doomed and Mr dragon might as well have eaten her. She scours the area for it and remembers she had it wgen the monster gulped her down. She’s so frazzled she pleads with the dragon to open his mouth so she can at least see if it’s stuck to any monster bits still in his mouth. 1146 looks like he just wants to run away really fast and far away from her right now since he’s not used to humans making demands, much less talking to him. But she’s crying now so he automatically obliges because he’s finding out he’s kind of weak to small things being sad. Luckily 3803 sees the packages sticking out under his tounge and reaches in to his jaws to grab it. She’s so happy she doesn’t even mind it’s covered in blood and guts (she is too but it hasn’t registered yet). She thanks 1146 even more now and he just awkwardly inches away until he can flee in even more awkwardness. 

From then on she thinks that’s the coolest dragon ever! 

He thinks she’s the weirdest human ever. Granted she’s the only one he’s ever interacted with. But she wasn’t bad either. 

She some how makes her way back. Actually following the footprints and tracking 1146’s progress in the dark woods (she is a surprisingly decent enough tracker. She’s just still inexperienced). It ends up leading her a road where she comes across other delivery people and makes it to her destination. She goes back and forth wondering if the dragon did it on purpose to lead her out or he just didn’t care to leave quietly.

A few weeks later she wanders around lost again. But feeling a little better since other workers haven’t seen any monsters nearby lately where she’s going. She spots 1146 and runs over to say hi. But notices he looks a little distessed. He’s clawing at his jaws and even whimpering/growling a little in pain. She nearly surprises him into knocking into some trees when she asks what’s wrong. He’s still a bit awkward about interacting with her since he’s not used to handling fragile friendly humans who don’t seem to understand personal space. But she once again gets him with her earnest please to let her care about him (it’s been months since he’s seen his own friends. They’re still recovering in deep sleep from a nasty foe in the underworld and 1146 just had to be extra and not only recover faster but head out to patrol and fight again. He’s a little lonely). She easily deduces there’s something in his jaws he can’t pull out and asks to see. The pain is getting pretty annoying so he relents. She sees that a lot spikes and other monster parts are stuck in his gums. She decides with all the gusto she can muster to pull them out. Despite his worry she’ll hurt herself he lets her do it after she promises she won’t hurt herself. Worst thing that happens she can’t do anything and he’ll be on his way to suffer until it falls out on his own. She starts grabbing pieces and pulling them out with more strength then he expected. After a few hours (she had to take a few breaks. There were a lot and some were pretty tough to pull out) she has all of them out. She’s covered in saliva but otherwise full of joy she was helpful to him. 

And that once again he didn’t eat her (he doesn’t know whether to be amused or flabbergasted she keeps thanking him for that).

She leaves and sets up camp because it’s late and her journey is a at least two weeks long. To her surprise the dragon doesn’t go away. He settles down to watch her clumsily make her tent and fix her fire. He even seems very interested when she starts explaining how to make a fire and how she keeps warm at night. When she wishes she had time to at least catch a meal instead of eating expired rations (she did not check her supplies as well as she should have). He leaves so silently she doesn’t even notice he left until he drops a dead deer in front of her. By morning she wakes up and she doesn’t realize where she is. It’s soft, warm, white and ground is breathing. She pops her head out to see she somehow ended up inside 1146’s fur coat. 

He seems to offer to carry her the rest of the way when he gets up and starts walking to the direction she told him she was going last night before she can even untangle herself from his thick fur and climb out. As much as she appreciates it, her pride as a delivery woman will not allow any shortcuts like this. Plus no one would believe her she cut her journey time so short by riding on a dragon. He lets her down and follows her for a couple of days until he senses another monster nearby and leaves. From then on the two regularly see each other when she ventured outside her village alone.

Other stuff ~

Killer T’s and NK cells are also semi divine creatures made to combat evil monsters that threaten the balance. They each have different territories and specialized functions. 

WBC dragons gave the same lifespan as a human, contrary to the legends of living thousands of years. 1146 is about 5 years older then 3803.

1146 can talk. When he does he initially confuses 3803 because she thinks some one new showed up and somehie they know her name. When she asks why he never talked before he replied he likes listening to her.

 WBC dragons can shapeshift into human form. Some monsters are smaller and pretend to be humans. That’s when the form is useful for infiltrating society and killing the hunan pretender. 1146 has yet to even encounter such a monster so he’s never bothered to shapeshift into his human form. It also doesn’t help that dragons can’t turn him and on a full stomach since they can’t shift the size if their meal (they’d basically kill themselves if they had anything that a human couldn’t carry). In emergencies they can vomit their meals. But they are suppose to eat the carcass and 1146 has again never needed to be human.

3803’s master is secretly a pretender human. She has some shady business selling humans to monsters to eat. She’s based off the yellow bacteria (I forgot the name. The yellow one named after grapes). 3803 is her punching bag. She slaps and tells at 3893 and uses her as a punching bag whenever she feels like it. When 1146 starts noticing 3803 is covered in bruises and scars, he gets worried about her but 3803 doesn’t tell him anything.

1146 shows 3803 his human form one day when 3803 collapses on a very snowy day thanks to feeling sore from her master’s beatings. He turns human to hold her hand and lead her to a cavern where he tends to her injuries by following her directions in applying herbs from her delivery (she only allows him to use them when he promises he can find more). 

1146 is very uneducated about humans so he’s often stiff, intimidating and easy to misunderstand when interacting with other humans. He also doesn’t know very well what a spoon is or other normal human things or behaviour (he’s like Ariel from the Little mermaid. Fascinated but not very informed). 

Platelet s are fairies/elves that repair damaged environments.

Macrophages are the demi gods.

Dendretic is the divine messenger.

Sometimes the divine will asks humans to make delivers for them if there’s divine politics or privacy issues that prevent a divine being doing it themselves. Because 3803 is known thanks to her interactions with 1146. She starts getting regularly chosen to make deliveries in the divine realm for them. 1146 doesn’t like it since its even more dangerous for her and she can be forced into it. So he makes it a requirement he has to accompany her on every one of them. 

When there’s a nasty blizzard trapping them in a cave. 3803 complains about being late. 1146 offers (as a dragon) to carry her inside his mouth because that’s how older dragons used to carry him and his friends around when they were babies (like a mom croc with her babies). 3803 thinks that’s very cute and thanks him. But no. Not happening. (But knowing her luck and 1146’s lack of understanding a humans discomfort over such things, it’ll probably happen at some point and she’ll just except it because she trusts 1146 so much). >_>

Ehh that’s it for now. 

~~~

CAW Anon... have you been cheating on me. XD

hehehe, I kid, I kid. 

OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO CUTE AND ADORABLE AND FASCINATING AND OH MY GOSH YOU REALY SHOULD BE A FIC WRITER BECAUSE ALL OF THIS IS GOLDEN

I LOVE YOUR IDEAS AND YOUR HEADCANONS!!1

Seriously, this could make for a great multi chap story and it would be great to look at CAW in the eyes of the supernatural and magical.

[curuniel]

Library(ies)

For the first prompt of the Tyria’s Library anniversary event. This was meant to be a short story, but it turns out a story in three parts isn’t going to be short.

“This one, this one!”

The young Jura Ogawe bounded back towards his parents, heedless of the heavy sigh that came from a librarian giving up on quiet in the children’s section. His father came to meet him, shushing him with a wink as he reached for the book Jura had picked out.

“Alright son, what do you have there?”

Jura’s mother laid a hand on her husband’s shoulder as she came up behind him and peered at the cover.

“King Joko the Implaccable versus the Wurm of Ronjok?” she read, raising both eyebrows as she did.

Her son grinned, practically bouncing where he stood. “It has pictures! Of the battle!”

“Illustrated by Vinanda Bayet,” Jura’s father noted with increasing amusement, “whose artistic career has apparently taken a few turns since that palace ceiling fresco up north.”

He handed the book back to Jura, who immediately opened it and began looking eagerly at the pictures. Beyond his notice, Jura’s mother drew her husband aside for a quiet word.

“Do we really want him reading things like that?” she asked. “Today it’s how King Joko saved Kourna from a rampaging sand wurm, but tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow he’ll being going to school anyway,” Jura’s father pointed out softly. “Better that he be reading the same books and playing the same games as every other child. We agreed –”

“- that is was safer for him. I know.” She sighed, even more wearily than the librarian had. “It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

He gathered his wife up in his arms. “We’ll talk to him when he’s older,” he murmured for her ears only. “When he can understand the risks. It may be harder when the time comes, but at least Jura will live to see it.”

She nodded against his chest. “And may Grenth give me the strength to endure ten more years of those gods-forsaken books.”

Jura’s father chuckled, and Jura’s mother shook with her own muffled laughter as he hugged her tighter, and Jura obliviously dropped to sit and read his book with wide, uncritical eyes.

*           *           *

Much older, and alone, Jura flicked through pages irritably now and the swishing sound of paper drawing a few eyes to him. That was the problem with libraries – quiet enough that the slightest irritation was noticed – but he was beyond caring about etiquette today.

It was more of the same. Tehelo was one of King Joko’s favourite biographers (of many) and it was starting to become obvious why. Every paragraph contained another overblown description with too many adjectives, not to mention comparisons to events in the author’s other works so that every battle and feat of magic was cross-referenced. The sycophantic quality of the writing, however, was not what was frustrating Jura.

This happened in my lifetime, he thought. The dragon Zhaitan, an ancient power that could raise the dead… as nothing but shells for its will, less than the simplest Awakened. Or so he had always believed. In Vabbi they had been taught that the dragon roamed the seas to the west from its lair on the risen island of Orr, making it impossible to cross to other continents. Elona was a last bastion of safety, the sulphurous Desolation a barrier against draconic doom. But then…

He flicked back to the beginning of the chapter. 1326 AE: the slaying of Zhaitan. The way Tehelo told it, someone suggested in King Joko’s hearing that the elder dragon must be the greatest necromancer the world had ever known. Annoyed at the comment the Eternal King had harnessed a mighty mount and travelled all the way to Orr to strike down Zhaitan and prove once and for all that Joko was the greatest master of necromancy in the history of Tyria and only true commander of the dead. The book, Jura noted, did not mention anything about the fate of the person who had insulted the king.

But none of this made sense as it should. 1326 was only a few years ago; if King Joko was setting out to slay an elder dragon, it was inconceivable that he would do it without full splendour, tribute and boasting. Jura remembered nothing of the sort. He remembered hearing stories about Kralkatorrik (how King Joko had allowed the dragon to send its crystal minions into a Vabbian palace that had blasphemed against him, then stood and commanded it to leave the rest of his kingdom untouched) – but Zhaitan had hardly been mentioned. Until King Joko had proclaimed he had destroyed it.

“This isn’t –” he began out loud, but it wasn’t the glare of a nearby librarian that made him finish the thought in silence. None of this is right.

*           *           *

The sun of the afternoon beat down hot, but Jura was new enough to Amnoon that it still felt like paradise. There was shade both natural and artificial, water when he needed it, gardens unlike anything he’d seen since leaving the halls of Vabbi behind. And he wasn’t wearing armour, which made the heat significantly more bearable. It had been days before he had really felt comfortable going out without armour, but today he felt almost normal in a shirt with a sash, loose pants and sandals.

And a sword. He’s left his ragged shield behind, but he wasn’t going to abandon all sense just because he was in a city again.

Today he was strolling into the surrounding farmland, marvelling at the freedom with which he passed in and out and the decidedly alive cavaliers who nodded to him on his way past. There were people at work here, tending the land and maintaining a marvel of an irrigation system whose workings Jura didn’t yet understand. There were refugees, too, as there seemed to be on every inch of the roads here, and the priests that aided and escorted them. As Jura walked past two priests of Kormir who were poring over a book together, he had to stop and look again at the huge figure his eyes had skimmed over next to them.

The man was easily two feet taller than Jura, and certainly twice as wide at the shoulder. He wore a beard in two braids and a dusty blue robe within which he seemed to be cooking, though he had the sense to have the hood up against the sun. His skin, from what Jura could see, would not have taken kindly to it otherwise.

Jura’s surprise much have shown more than he realised, because the giant man chuckled and gave him a wave. Curious, Jura wandered over.

“Ahai, friend,” the stranger said in a deep voice. “Let me guess; first time meeting a norn?”

“Ah… I suppose it must be. I’m afraid I’m not familiar with… your people,” Jura replied carefully. “I hope that doesn’t cause you offence.”

The norn gave a dismissive wave, then wiped his brow with his sleeve for good measure. “Not at all. We’re not native to these parts, in case that wasn’t obvious.” He chuckled at his own expense. “I prefer the cold, if I’m being honest. Though your city and its harbour are truly lovely!”

“Not my city,” Jura said automatically, then “although… I’m not sure where is, now.” He didn’t want to get into that, so he quickly moved on. “Where are you from then, sir norn?”

He broke into a true smile. “The Shiverpeaks! Great, snowy mountains full of fearsome beasts and majestic sights. Far away, I’m afraid, across the sea. But I’m here as a representative of the Durmand Priory, and the sharing of knowledge is an adventure I will tolerate your devastating sun for.”

The norn gestured at the cart behind him, and Jura’s eye widened momentarily. It was a wagon of sorts with hinged and shuttered sides, currently latched open to show rows of neatly shelved books. Seeing his expression, the norn chuckled again and invited him to take a look.

“The Ossa Legacy… Three Lands, One Sun… An Unauthorised History of the Order of Whispers,” he read aloud.

“We put that one in there just to annoy them,” the norn admitted with a wink.

“I’ve never heard of any of these,” Jura said wonderingly. Then, quashing the wonder from his voice, “and you say these are true histories?”

To Jura’s surprise, the response was a shrug rather than a sales pitch. “No history is ever really a true history. They’re all biased in one way or another.”

“Some more than others,” Jura noted with a touch of bitterness.

“True,” the norn acknowledged. “But these are from our scholars’ collections. Think of them as versions of history told by people who left these lands hundreds of years ago.”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Jura ventured, “may I… read a little?”

“Of course!” The man looked pleased, and it was hard to stay suspicious of him when his emotions seemed so free and genuine. “As long as you don’t take anything away or, say, throw it in a ditch, you’re welcome to read as long as you like.”

Jura, discovering he did not have the words to express everything he was feeling in that moment, made a bow instead and picked a book off the shelf at random. Within seconds he was sitting under a nearby awning, devouring every new piece of knowledge he could find.

[wetalkinboutbooks]

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Summary: When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️🌗 

 → Kae: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️🌗 

Overall: 

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a thriller that delivers 😤 Oyinkan Braithwaite does an amazing job delving into the psyche of our main character even though there’s only a few hundred pages to this book. In addition, we also get a sense of every other character’s personalities (with some bias since it is first person). There’s wild plot twists and an ending that leaves your brain reeling! We highly recommend this book, it’s a quick read and pretty entertaining. 

~ Spoiler-full discussion below ~

The Good: 

→ The story

Kae: So, we start off with Korede receiving a call from her sister, Ayoola. She has killed another man and has class her big sister to help clean up her mess. Korede, as tired of her sisters shit as she is, drives to her sisters now DEAD boyfriends house to help dispose of the body. Her sister is always claiming self-defense, but Korede isn’t so sure. She’s a bit of an obsessive cleaner, so she scrubs his house clean, they throw his body in the river and continue on about their lives. Korede, not as easily as her sister. Korede is a nurse who has a crush on one of the doctors, Tade, who is just GOD’S FINEST MAN, according to Korede. Not in those words, but you get what I’m sayin’.  

Geena: SHE DESCRIBED HIM LIKE THE MAN OF EVERY GIRL’S DREAM

Kae: Boom! This is true. She’s madly in love with him. He can sing, is tall dark and handsome, and has a smile that outshines the sun. BUT, Korede is not conveniently attractive and is often overlooked by her beautiful sister, Ayoola. Though Korede doesn’t mind, it still irked me that everyone assumed she was jealous of Ayoola. They also treated Korede like the ugly duckling and I DID NOT like that shit AT ALL. 

Geena: Kae really hit all the main points, and I agree… I HATED how Korede was treated and looked at. Everyone around her seemed to look down on her (even her own mother???). Regardless of how she’s been treated due to her comparison to Ayoola, Korede loves her sister (like why else would she help hide 3 of her murders lmao) and would do ANYTHING (obviously) for her. Though that takes a hit when Ayoola waltzes into her hospital and the doctor she had a crush on falls head over heels for her. It’s just a wild ride from there as the doctor Korede thought was so perfect… just…. Rots??? LIKE HOW DO WE DESCRIBE THAT… His perfect man façade just fades as the story progresses. I really liked how the story progressed and we got to see how Korede’s opinions and thoughts change over the course of the novel like yaaas girl men ain’t shit!

Kae: Basically, yes men ain't shit and I love how his character just deteriorates in front of our eyes. That’s good writing because at first, I too was like “yaaaas, a perfect man!” then I was like “Ew, it stinks in here. Smell like funky ass Tade.” with that funky ass personality. 

→ Muhtar and Femi

Geena: DESPITE MY EARLIER POINT ABOUT MEN AIN’T SHIT, two men in this story were okay. Given that one was in a coma for half the book, and the other dead. Femi is the man that Ayoola murders at the start of the book, we learn about him as Korede keeps track of his family and how they react to his “disappearance.” Femi was a Soft Boy™ that wrote poetry and was lowkey jacked (according to Korede as she helped wrap his corpse). Femi essentially haunts Korede’s conscious, like the first man that Ayoola has murdered that wasn’t an absolute bag of shit (once again… according to Korede). I also liked how Femi’s voice in Korede’s head was the loudest when she was the most anxious about Ayoola murdering Tade… but as the novel progresses we hear less from ‘Femi’. AND LIKE…. OYINKAN IS SUCH A GOOD AUTHOR… all these subtleties that I didn’t even notice till now.. 

Kae: GEENA, YOUR MIND. I didn’t even peep that until you said it. But yes, to all of it! And now, we have Muhtar. Muhtar is a patient that’s been a coma for a few months that Korede has been caring for. She also talks to him about the murders her sister commits and how she helps clean the mess. You’d think this is alright because Muhtar has been in a coma for months, so he won’t tell anyone. WELL DING DONG, YOU ARE WRONG…. Kind of. Because my boy wakes up and he remembers damn there everything. Korede is shook (but I saw it coming hehehehe) so she then begins to avoid him. But, he requests her. He thinks her voice is what saved him and kept him alive while he was in a deep, comatose sleep. She begins to learn that he is a professor and that his wife was MAYBE TOTALLY POSSIBLY (absolutely) having an affair with his brother while he was knocked tf out. Korede is nervous because Muhtar remembers everything, but he assures her that he will not tell her secret. But he DOES tell her that continuing to aid her sister is going to destroy her little by little. He’s kind of right. But he, along with Femi, is a voice of reason for her. Muhtar is also one of the few people that treats Korede like a decent human being. He never mentions her appearance or if he thinks of her as a bad person. In his eyes, she is his angel that saved him from completely drowning in the sea of darkness that was his coma. We stan Muhtar! He even wanted to stay in touch with Korede after he recovered, but Korede reluctantly, burned his number. She wanted to leave him in the past, like all the murders she helped clean up. 

Geena: Ugh yes, I was thinking that maybe Korede saw Muhtar as an uncle/father figure, because their own father was absolutely garbage like…. TW for reading this book because their father is honest to god the WORST. I feel like if she had kept his number and talked to him she would’ve been able to break out of the toxic cycle of helping her sister get away with murder but I guess it wasn’t in her fate :(

The Bad :  

→ Korede 

Geena: Our heroine is UNFORTUNATELY the bad of the book. We sympathized with her a lot, she was the eldest sibling that always got the short end of the stick both at home and work, but she was expected to be perfect nonetheless. Yet, as the story progresses and the solutions to her problems become glaringly obvious (pls turn in ur sister… even though at this point your complicit) Korede turns a blind eye and continues to fall under the influence of Ayoola. We had hoped that by the end of the series Korede would have realized that blood isn’t thicker than water…. But :// I MEAN I understand why narrative wise but IT STILL WAS FRUSTRATING like…. 

Fate: *presents the perfect chance for Korede to be free of Ayoola*

Korede: *slips on sunglasses* suddenly… I can’t read 

Kae: Yeah, I sympathized with Korede a lot. Like, she was always overlooked, talked down to, and treated like she was less than. But she’s honestly the true definition of “ride or die” *ba doom tiinnngg*. I do wish that even if she didn’t turn in her sister, she would’ve at least moved out of her toxic home away from her murderous and toxic ass sister. Like Geena said, she had the perfect opportunity to solve her probbies, but she just kept up with the shits. THOUGHHHHH. Her sister DID attempted to kill Tade and failed and that kind of backfired. Ayoola claims Tade was beginning to think Korede killed Femi and Ayoola was like “oh shit…” then stabby stabby, missed him, BOOM. He stabs her instead. It’s a whole thing but they get out of it. Blame it on Tade. Self defense and all that jazz. But YES, I’ve gone off topic. Korede got stuck like chuck. 

Geena: LMAO YES KAE WORDED IT PERFECTLY! And now that you mention it… I’m like…. What did Ayoola say that led Tade to believe that Korede killed Femi 👀 Ayoola was fr gaslighting our poor girl the whole time like… OKAY I KINDA WANNA TALK ABOUT AYOOLA BC HOLY SHIT THAT GIRL…. HOW U GONNA CASUALLY LICK ICE CREAM WHILE LOOKING THE SISTER OF THE MAN U KILLED IN HER FACE AND BE LIKE “OMG IS THERE ANY NEWS?” LIKE……. WHERE IS HER OSCAR? AND HER JAIL SENTENCE… My mind was REELING… Also, I GUESS Korede’s choice makes sense, she chose to protect Ayoola since they were kids (from their shitty ass dad) and I guess that trauma just forced her to follow the same path. 

The Ugly: 

→ Tade 

Kae: Geena was so right about everything she said about Ayoola. HONESTLY. TRULY. Now, Tade… Tade, Tade, Tade. Not gonna lie, I was swooning right along with all the other ladies at the beginning of the book. He was described as the perfect gentleman. He is basically what every girl (or boy or anything in between or not) would want. Then, as the story progresses, we see Tade as well… a fuck boy. Like, backtracking a bit, Ayoola mentioned that Tade was just like the rest. He saw a pretty face and nothing else. And well, Ayoola was right. He didn’t know shit about Ayoola, her little quirks, or even what she liked. He just thought she was pretty and was ready to put a ring on it. He began to ignore Korede, only talk to her if it was about Ayoola, and eventually came to speculate that Korede was the one to kill Femi. He thought like this because he grouped pretty faces with lovely things, and well… ugly faces with ugly things… Like murder and jealousy. We slowly began to see that Tade was just like the rest of them and that was ANNOYING AS SHIT. ESPECIALLY when he starts getting up Korede’s ass, saying she’s a bad sister and jealous and bitter. Korede was nothing but nice to his STANK ASSSSSS and in the end, he couldn’t even be nice in return. MIND YOU. He’d only known Ayoola for like a month or two, but had known Korede for like a year or so. Annoying. 

Geena:  HARD AGREE ON EVERYTHING KAE SAID, because holy shit Tade deteriorated faster than Femi’s corpse. He really saw Ayoola once and forgot about Korede. Our girl out here used to COOK for his dumbass… She used to listen to him talk about everything, and Korede was ready to give him the world. The funniest part in the whole book was when Tade is going batshit crazy because he finds out that Ayoola cheated on him and Korede sees his condition and was like pathetic.jpeg… But they share a moment there??? And Korede tries to tell him that Ayoola is a serial killer and Tade is like “I KNEW YOU WERE A BACKSTABBING BITCH!!”  while Korede was like… the only stabbing bitch here is Ayoola but alright. Not to mention when he brings out the ring for Ayoola and he’s talking like a crackhead about how much he loves Ayoola and Korede asks “Oh, so what do you like about her.” *CUE SILENCE* Tade is like “OH you know she’s super pretty and I wanna be with her.”......... like……… if that ain’t the most fuckboi shit……… I guess that was the point Korede was like “men ain’t shit!!!!” making it easier for her to just turn him over to the cops when he stabs Ayoola. GOD he was fucking annoying, kinda disappointed that Ayoola didn’t kill him :/// hoo boy thinkin bout that man gives me a headache… the absolute stupidity……………. Korede was wearing them heavy rose-coloured glasses at the start of the book and we got to read them shatter so that was a good touch!

→ Ayoola

Kae: AYOOLA. The perfect, pretty little sociopath. This girl is honestly something else. Sometimes I would have to scoff at the gall of this girls ability to not give a single fuck. Ayoola really murdered Femi, called Korede, then was just chillin on her phone or whatever while Korede cleaned up the mess. She has to have this like, impulse feeling where she hears Kill Bill sirens and sees red, then just straight up STABS OL’ DUDE and then she’s back to normal like “oops, I did it again.” and this bitch just be like WELP GOTTA CALL BIG SISSY TO HELP ME la dee daaa. She even participated in Femi’s hashtag on Insta. Home girl was DANCING IN HER ROOM after killing him. This would honestly make a great movie, ngl. 

Geena: YOU’RE SO RIGHT IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE, I’d pay to see this made. God.. Ayoola was actually psycho just after a week she murders her bf she decides to go on to the next one? Like girl wasted NO time moving on, even though the whole time she was with Tade she was, like Kae said, participating in Femi’s Insta hashtag like “omg where is my man :(((“. ALSO the way she expects Korede to not question her after she kills a man? Korede will simply insinuate that Ayoola murdered someone and this girl would be like “YOU SEE ME AS A MONSTER????? IS THAT HOW IT IS?” Making Korede feel bad and backtrack. ALSO, like Kae mentioned…. AYOOLA WAS NEVER STRESSED??? Even when the cops rolled through to question her and Korede, Ayoola was like ~sips drink~ “I’m sure Korede has this figured out.” Going to project for a second and be like.. That’s such a younger sibling thing to do? Like never stressing about anything because they’re sure their older sibling will make up for them.

Kae: And we do. We totally make up for them. Because if they’re not going to do it, it falls on you ANYWAY and I honestly don’t like seeing my little sister get in trouble so, I get it. She only deserves to get in trouble if I think she deserves it. Mostly because we totally raise our younger sibs. We lowkey “momma bear” them. 

Conclusion 

Geena: This book was pretty short, only a few hundred pages, but it was fucking JAM PACKED!! It was a thriller, every chapter you were like “Ok this is where Ayoola snaps!!” or “This is where the cops catch them!”  but NAH! I really enjoyed the writing even though the ending made me wanna SCREAM, Oyinkan Braithwaite does a really good job at foreshadowing and so on. For example, foreshadowing Muhtar waking up (which I should’ve seen but I was drinking that dumb bitch juice). Rated it 3.5/5 because I think there was room for Korede to grow past what she has known but sometimes we just fall back into what we’ve always done :/ 

Kae: I agree. It was a short book but it was jam packed with entertainment and I never knew what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed reading it and I loved how modern it was with it’s mentions of Insta and Snapchat. I liked that Korede dealt with all of her trauma by excessive cleaning. I liked that it showed a real coping mechanism, even if it was under horrible circumstances. I liked all of the characters and the way Oyinkan wrote them. I loved going deeper into these characters personalities. The ending did piss me off, but IT’S A THRILLER BOOK. So I should’ve seen incoming *small violin*. I too, give it a 3.5/5. 

Geena: BUT YA I’D SAY THIS IS A GOOD BOOK REGARDLESS OF THE ENDING RIGHT? I really liked everything UP to the end skfjns… PLEASE READ IT!!

Kae: YES. READ IT. IT’S SOOO WORTH IT. IT’S A WILD RIDE BAYBEEEE. 

[pleasurextreasure]

Ascension (pt. 1/?)

genre: mama!exo, reader x baekhyun

warnings: none yet

word count: 1.6k

prompt(s): Holders have always been shunned by the world, until an organization came about and started to kidnap their race to experiment on - your brother being included. You planned to only take him back until your plans take a complete twist when you cross paths with Baekhyun.

a/n: gotta make admin kay suffer sometimes too you know - ➵admin kiki

Ξ r e q u e s t Ξ

I shouldn’t be here. None of us should be here.

I’m not sure how all of this started; How we all got confined to this white-walled place and spending our days worrying over who would be the next to be experimented on. We’ve lived these past few days in constant fear and deprived hope, wondering if we’ll ever make it out of here alive. If we’ll ever make it out of here at all.

They treat us like rats, their methods filled with punishment and reward. If we don’t cooperate, we’re tased or beat, on rare occasions, and drugged before they roll us away on a gurney to our indefinite doom. If we’re smart and cooperate, they barely use any force in bringing us to our experimental room. I’ve learnt bending to their will and going along with their rules is less painful.

My fingers rub against the metal bracelet they gave me upon my arrival here. Subject 4, it reads. I never really thought much of the number. Am I their fourth experiment? The fourth prisoner here? I throw these thoughts away because they don’t make much sense. Jongin, the tanned boy across the hall, bears Subject 88.

The two of us had arrived the same day, or at least that’s what he’s told me. I had woken up in this white-walled room and panicked, darting towards the metal black door - the only thing in this room that actually had any color to it - and yelling through the small barred window. That’s when Jongin told me to shut my yap or else they’ll come back. Back then, I had no clue who ‘they’ were.

But now, I’m afraid of ‘they’.

␛␛␛␛

The screams are loud. So loud that I can hear them even when I press my hard pillow against my ears and crawl up into a ball. They’re so loud. I wish they would stop but if they did, that would mean one of two things. Either their session ended or they died on the hospital table. I would much rather opt for the first.

I feel bad for the poor guy, Subject 94. He’s so skinny for his height that I wouldn’t be surprised if he tipped over from the blow of a wind. He came in just this morning. I don’t know his name, though. Which is sad because if he was to die on that table, I wouldn’t be able to mourn for him properly because of the unknowing of his name.

I clench my eyes shut when another ear-splitting scream makes its way into my cell. I want to leave this place. I want to go anywhere but here. Some place where I won’t have to worry about hiding my ability and live in worry, wondering when the next person will find out my secret.

But I’m here because of that specific reason. They found out. They watched me and watched me, waiting for the perfect chance to accuse me of magic. I don’t dabble in magic, though. I was just born with this. It’s not like I wanted this power that allowed me to summon light. I didn’t ask for any of this so why am I being punished for it? Because I’m different?

Come to think of it, I recall asking Jongin what got him in here a few days ago. All I can remember is him saying something about not being able to disappear fast enough. I wonder what kind of secret ability Subject 94 has. Maybe I’ll get a chance to ask him when they release out into the courtyard for lunch later. That’s if he even survives until then, that is.

The first few days here are torture. I can say that with firsthand experience. All I can remember through the haziness of pain is a woman clad in a white dress and coat sticking a needle into my arm that was hooked up to a bag that held a bright red liquid. The burning sensation that followed the liquid was excruciating and I recall screaming out, asking why they were something like this. I’ve never done anything wrong so why was I being treated this way?

The days following that terrible event were just as bad. I would be unconscious for a good part of the day and during the times I was awake, I was whisked away to the experiment labs. I tried pretending to sleep one of those days, hoping they would be fooled and leaved.

I was wrong. So, so wrong.

They tased me twice for my offense and told me they know everything. And I believe them. They truly do know everything. When I sleep, when I’m awake, even when I need to use the restroom. They know all these things. Yet I know nothing of them.

I only know of the name of this building, W.O.M.A., which I had the misfortune of hearing when two workers walked by. I wonder if anyone actually knows I’m here. That I’m trapped in this cruel place along with other unfortunate souls who are fearing for their lives just as much as I am.

I shouldn’t be here. None of us should be here.

␛␛␛␛

The buzzing that comes from the doors when they open makes me wince. They’re loud and ear-piercing and overall annoying. It’s not like I can actually complain about them vocally, though. A punishment would come my way if I speak out of line.

The thin electric handcuffs around my wrists keep my nerves on edge, a reminder of how little freedom I now have. The person in front me shifts forward, meaning we’re moving again. I stare at the back of his head as I trudge along. Jongin manages to step on the back of my heel and I nearly fall into the boy in front of me.

“Sorry,” Jongin whispers, voice low and cautious.

I give the smallest of nods and continue to look forward. Looking back also results in punishment. The rules given to us on the day we arrive are too many to keep track of yet we are expected to know and follow them.

Rule 27: Look ahead at all times. Failure to do so will result in discipline.

I’ve only remembered the ones that would lead me to severe conditions. Although my time here hasn’t been that long, I’ve grown accustomed to how they work around here. You would too if it meant having your life dangling on a line.

The guard leading our group swipes his identification card in the courtyard’s security system and it glides open with an obnoxious beep. Outside, the sun is high and blinding, making me want to shade my eyes with my hands. But I can’t.

“Alright, you all know the rules,” the guard says. “No roughhousing or trying to use your… abilities. You know what’ll happen if you do.”

With those words, he allows us to roam free in the caged yard and takes his position by the door that was beginning to close. I cast a glance at Jongin and he motions towards the new boy, Subject 94, a few feet away from us who looks lost and unstable. I get the hint and lead us to him.

“Hi there.”

“Hello.” His greeting is firm and short. Unsurprising.

“I’m Baekhyun, this is Jongin.” I nod at Jongin who still stands behind me. “What’s your name?”

“Other than ‘Experiment 94’?” He snorts, eyes clouding with anger. “Sehun.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Can’t say the same.” I don’t blame him. The only ones who we can truly blame are the people who brought us here in the first place. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be in this stupid cage.

“Would it offend you if I asked you why you’re, uh,” Jongin gives a helpless smile, “you know.”

“Why I was kidnapped?” Sehun tries. Jongin purses his lips. “I don’t know. I guess they didn’t like the fact that a kid younger than them could control the air they breathe.”

“So you…”

“I can control the wind.” He clarifies. “I can whip up a windstorm in the matter of seconds. I can even take away your last breath with the snap of my fingers. I can do anything you can imagine that involves the wind.”

“Sounds terrifying.” Jongin shudders at the very thought.

“Which is probably why I’m here.” Sehun muses. “What about you guys? What did they lock you up for?”

“To put it in short, I couldn’t teleport fast enough. Bastards caught me when I was off guard. I was literally on the toilet when they barged in.”

“Sounds like a good time to get the shit scared out of you.” Sehun’s comment earns a laugh from all of us. But our laughter soon dies down when the guard shoots us a warning look. The towering boy then looks my way. “And you?”

“I’m not sure how I would describe this but I summon beams of light?” He raises an eyebrow in question. This makes me nervous and I add in, “Well, and I can take it away.”

“That’s something.” Sehun’s eyes show the smallest hint of amusement and it makes me loosen up a little. “I do have a question. Why can’t I use my ability now?”

“It’s the stuff they put in us.” I say. “It neutralizes a part of our brain that controls our abilities. They have to give us daily doses because it can only stay in effect for so long.”

“So I’ll be getting another painful shot of that red liquid tomorrow, then?” Sehun grimaces at the thought and I sympathize with him. Mainly because of the fact he still has no idea of what he will be facing in his oncoming days. “Well I guess it could be worse. I could be dead.”

It’s a possibility.

[storiesofwildfire]

v; death is not an escape ( Dead by Daylight verse )

tracktag ( CURRENT )

status; OPEN ships; MULTI

CHAPTER ONE – Ragnarök

Survivor: Loki Laufeyson Killer: Jörmungandr Lokison (aka The Serpent)

For many years, Loki Laufeyson eluded all those who came looking for him. A lonely God doomed to wander the Nine Realms alone, exiled by himself to keep a far distance from the rest of the Gods who deemed him and his children monsters. Odin sent search parties to find him, spies to keep tabs on him, and even the occasional bounty hunter to take his head from his shoulders for a high price.

No one succeeded. Most never found him and those who did never returned to Asgard. No one could catch him.

Until the Entity spawned.

By the time the Entity made itself a known problem, Loki had taken to traveling on Midgard with his Earthbound son, Jörmungandr. Being the only one of Loki’s children with any real freedom, Loki had an easy time meeting up with him and touring the world. Some much needed and long overdue mother-son bonding was just the thing to take Loki’s mind off of the horrors he left behind on Asgard.

The duo didn’t get very far into their travels, however. While Aesir agents had an impossible time tracking the rogue deity, the Entity certainly did not. By that time, numerous people had gone missing, snatched up, never to be heard from again. Loki and his son never bothered to pay attention to a few missing Midgardians. The world was full of terrors and people did horrible things to one another for no reason at all. Getting worked up over every single person that went missing would make for a pretty awful existence.

But Loki should have listened, should have paid more attention to the warning signs, and, above all else, should have kept to more populated areas. The Entity only seemed to pray on those isolated from society, those who did not mingle with the other people in their surroundings. People who would not be missed, people who would not be noticed if they simply... weren’t around anymore. People who weren’t even supposed to exist in the first place, perhaps?

A deity from a religion long past and his monstrous child, even?

They took a brief break from their travels when the opportunity to liberate Fenrir from Odin’s prison came to them. Naturally, they took the opportunity and brought Fenrir to Midgard, but he was wounded. Resources needed to be gathered to care for him properly, so Loki asked a dear friend of his to keep watch over his son while he and Jörmungandr went searching for the artifact they thought they needed.

Exploring the forests of Scandinavia, no one knew where to look for them. No one knew that they should, in fact, be worried about them at all. The pair decided to explore the lands of those who worshipped them so many moons ago, the birthplace of their Midgardian mythos. It seemed like the best spot for the artifact to be. They spent three days and three nights in the forests without incident. The fourth day proved difficult, though.

The density of the forest grew overwhelming, blanketing them in darkness even during the brightest hours of the day. They couldn’t seem to tell North from South and continuously walked around in circles. Eventually, they wound up at the exact same campsite they’d been the night before and were forced to make camp, lest they risk getting lost even further. Even teleporting wasn’t an option. The forest seemed to dampen both of their magic, making it difficult to use.

“Mum?” Jörmungandr murmured as he settled down beside their fire.

“Yes, darling?”

“What’s going on in these woods?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. We’ll be out soon enough.”

Silence fell over the pair. They both knew it was unlikely that something could truly hurt them, but the unease lingered. Jor, despite being several inches taller than his mother and fully grown, moved to sit right beside Loki, even going as far as to lean again the God for comfort.

“We’re going to be fine, love,” Loki reaffirmed.

“What if the Aesir find Fenrir while we’re gone? Or what if they find us while we’re stuck out here without our magic? They’ll take you back to Asgard and they’ll murder me for being the monster that they believe me to be.”

“You’re not a monster, Jor, and no one is going to do anything to us. I won’t allow that.”

If only Loki understood what was keeping them trapped in the thickening fog of the nighttime forest. The Entity spawned above them, casting its shadow onto the area. It never took such powerful beings hostage before, but their misery and their isolation drew it in. They were perfect for its methods of sustaining and entertaining itself, but it took the creature a few days to truly rob them of all of their escape routes.

Loki and Jörmungandr were never heard from again, but the Entity could not strip them of everything they were.

It could, however, pit them against one another.

SURVIVOR PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare Loki Laufeyson Perk – Mirage Grants the ability to project brief mirrors of one’s self wherever the survivor is standing. The mirror becomes instantly visible to the killer and will even move about the immediate area to points of interest (generators, pallets, chests, etc.), while the survivor goes completely undetected for 15 seconds. In those ten seconds, the survivor cannot be seen or heard by the killer. The mirror will fade if the killer interacts with them.

Rare Loki Laufeyson Perk – Charmed Electrician Skill checks are wildly increased, granting a better chance at a great skill check and less chance of missing a skill check. Survivors with Charmed Electrician are immune to certain generator tampering such as Hex: Ruin and Overcharged. When two or more survivors are working on a single generator, grants a buff of 20% faster repair rate per survivor.

Rare Loki Laufeyson Perk – Storyteller Unlocks potential in survivor’s aura reading abilities. Killer becomes visible for five seconds upon finding a survivor, standing within 18 meters of a survivor, or picking up a survivor’s trail by blood or scratch marks. Other survivors still present in the trial will also be alerted to the killer’s location.

KILLER PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare The Serpent Perk – Friend or Foe Grants the killer a fifteen second period of placing an illusion over their form, giving them the appearance of one of the survivors in the trail so they can quickly gain the trust of those around them and make a quick strike after backing their prey into a corner.

Rare The Serpent Perk – Eye of the Serpent Unlocks potential in killer’s aura reading by allowing the killer to track the heat signatures of nearby survivors. If a survivor is within 20 meters, they will become visible for 3 seconds. Killer’s sight is also heightened and widened. Precision is key in everything, including how well you see.

Rare The Serpent Perk – Poison of the Fang Every strike you deliver has the chance of implementing the poison effect on the injured survivor. Poisoned survivors have 90 seconds to cure themselves at various ritual sites around the map. If they fail to do so, they automatically enter the dying state. If the survivor is not healed by another survivor in 60 seconds, the survivor will succumb to the poison and perish.

CHAPTER TWO – The Binding

Survivor: Sebastian Castellanos Killer: Fenrir Lokison (aka The Dweller)

Perhaps a less likely duo than our first chapter, Sebastian Castellanos found himself taking in a shape-shifting wolf by the name of Fenrir. Naturally, Sebastian never would have believed such a creature existed, but after his time in STEM and meeting a literal God, it became easier to digest. Loki came to him with a request.

“Please watch after my son. He is still recovering and needs someone to look after him when I cannot. You’re one of the few on this realm that I trust. Can I count on you?”

“Of course.”

The God promised he would only be gone for a few days, gathering supplies with Fenrir’s elder brother during one of their trips. Sebastian thought little of it. While many stories and people painted Loki’s children to be monsters, Seb knew what a real monster looked like and Fenrir definitely did not fit the bill.

But Loki and Jörmungandr never came home. Several days passed without word. Sebastian didn’t worry. What could harm a God and his offspring? A foolish question, he supposed, since he met Loki inside of STEM and the whole reason Fenrir needed so much time to recover was because he’d been so badly injured during his time in Odin’s captivity. Still, the detective tried to stay positive while he looked after the disguised wolf. Fenrir hardly woke for anything more than food anyway.

A week passed, though, followed by another, and while Fenrir grew stronger, no word came from the wolf’s mother. Sebastian tried to reach Loki, tried to reach Jörmungandr, but failed every time.

“We ought to go searching for them,” Fenrir suggested halfway through the third week. “This is unlike my mother.”

“Loki didn’t even tell us where they were going. Where do we begin?” Sebastian asked as he dished out some homemade stew. The detective wasn’t the best cook in the world, but Fenrir didn’t seem to mind. As long as it was high in protein, he’d eat just about anything.

“I could track them,” the wolf suggested.

“By scent?”

“No.” Fenrir fixed Sebastian with a rather annoyed expression. “With magic, idiot.”

“Oh... right. I just thought, because, ya know, the wolf thing, you might...” He sighed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, I’m just... still getting used to the idea that magic and gods are real.”

Fenrir nodded, excusing Sebastian’s stumbling as a human lost in a world that made no logical sense to them. They had more important things to worry about, anyway, like tracking Fenrir’s missing family members. The wolf, despite still trying to recuperate, set to work on tracking his mother and brother, only to find that they... weren’t turning up. He contacted Hel, hoping that she may have some answers or, at the very least, could confirm if they were dead, but his sister only reported back much of the same.

Hel, however, had always been wildly gifted in the ways of magic, even in ways that her brothers were not, and she was at least able to track Loki’s last known location.

“Wait for me. I will come with you to locate them,” she instructed.

“We don’t have time,” Fenrir insisted. “Sebastian and I will go now.”

And they did...

SURVIVOR PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare Sebastian Castellanos Perk – Light the Way Survivor starts the trial with an old lantern with enough oil to burn for 2 minutes. Burning the lantern makes generator repair easier, increasing the speed by 50%. Searching chests, sabotaging hooks, and healing are also increased by 50% when the lantern is lit. It also makes finding other relevant points of interest easier to spot, making the survivor’s line of sight further and clearer. Oil can be found around the map to replenish the lantern’s supply but be careful! The lantern may make tasks easier, but the survivor will be much easier to spot.

Rare Sebastian Castellanos Perk – Catching Fire Survivor starts the trial with an old lantern and a box of matches. When the lantern is lit, the survivor can smash the lantern against the killing, momentarily stunning them and setting them on fire. The survivor can also toss a match at a flammable object to start a fire that will spread and create a temporary barrier that the killer cannot cross. Lantern light makes the survivor easier to locate. Other survivors can be harmed by the flames as well, instantly putting them into the dying state if hit.

Rare Sebastian Castellanos Perk – Trick Shot Survivor starts the trial with a revolver with an empty clip. Upon killer attack, the survivor can hit the killer with the handle of the gun, momentarily stunning the killer. There is, however, a single bullet in one of the chests around the map. If the survivor finds it, they have one shot to hit the killer. A body shot will stun the killer for 90 seconds. A headshot will stun the killer for 3 full minutes and grant 50% generator repair speeds. As soon as the gun is fired, regardless of if the bullet lands or misses, the survivor becomes visible to the killer for 30 seconds upon killer’s first step.

KILLER PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare The Dweller Perk – God Eater Power from the Entity flows freely through your veins, granting you the ability to mori the first survivor you come across without having to put them into the dying state or hook them. One remaining survivor will be granted 100% chance of escaping their hook once and luck for all survivors increases moderately.

Rare The Dweller Perk – Howls of Rage You let off a serious of loud snarls, growls, and howls. Nearby survivors are so frightened by your presence, they scream in terror, revealing their location for five seconds. The more you frighten the survivors, the easier they are to track. Their anxiety causes louder breathing and panting, off-balanced skill checks with smaller zones to hit while healing or repairing generators, and more screams of terror when you are near.

Rare The Dweller Perk – Pack Hunting Your ability to track survivors by scent of blood and fear grants potential in your aura reading abilities. Any time a survivor within 24 meters of you enters a closet, it is revealed to you straight away. Any time a survivor sits in a closet anywhere on the map for more than ten seconds, they become visible to you.

CHAPTER THREE – The Gates of Helheim

Survivor: Hel Lokidottir Killer: Hel Lokidottir (aka The Damned)

In search of her missing mother and idiot brothers, Hel left the safety of her realm and went to Midgard to the last known location of Loki and Jörmungandr. When Fenrir insisted, he would go with a friend without waiting for her, and Hel never received word back, she knew that she needed to find them herself. It didn’t come as a shock or a surprise, really. Out of the lot of them, she seemed the most likely to actually preform correctly under pressure, but even Hel, the Goddess of Death and the Queen of Helheim could not escape the Entity’s hold once she stepped foot into its domain.

Splitting her into a survivor or a killer, however, proved to be tricky. Her true, half-dead appearance made her perfect for a monster that would tear apart survivors without so much as batting an eye. Her living side, however, lent itself to that of a survivor. Despite Hel’s cold and hardened exterior, she had a deeply caring and passionate heart, one that could very well put her at the forefront of a pack of survivors, one that made it nearly impossible to condemn her fully to a life of endless killing.

Nor could the Entity strip away what made her such, so what to do?

For the first time in the stretch of the Entity’s exsitence, it decided to manifest both sides of the coin in one person. A young, beautiful, and intelligent survivor that, when touched by darkness, flipped the script entirely.

At the beginning of each trial, Hel starts as either a survivor or a killer. As a survivor, Hel has incredible abilities, but must keep a close eye on her comrades. Signs of betrayal will pull her closer and closer to the darkness, as judgement must be passed on fellow survivors. If Hel is the victim of a betrayal or she witnesses first hand a betrayal, power surges through her, turning her into the half-dead judger of the damned. Her first kill is automatically a merciless blow on the current killer, wiping them out of the trial. Then the survivor who ignited her change becomes her obsession, always visible to her until they, too, are dead. Other survivors are penalized for helping the betrayer.

As the Damned, the killer ruthlessly passes judgment on the survivors, but the survivors have an added ability to perform cleansing rituals. These rituals force the Entity back, pulling the Damned away from it’s hold. There are four ritual sites. Each site must be cleansed by a different survivor. If the survivors manage to cleanse all of the sites, the Damned will revert back to Hel, a survivor. Without an active killer, the trial ends, and all those still alive will escape.

SURVIVOR PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare Hel Lokidottir Perk – Gifts for the Giving Any time a survivor performs a coop action, the time it takes to complete that action is cut by 50%. At the same time, the killer is distracted by a false audio cue on the far side of the map, putting as much distance between the killer and the survivors as possible.

Rare Hel Lokidottir Perk – Ghosts of the Damned The survivor is infused with the spirit of the half-dead queen, giving them a second face hidden from view. Other survivors are unaffected by revealing what lies beneath but revealing the true face of the queen will spook a killer. Directly seeing the reveal will stun the killer, forcing them to drop their victims in the process. Being nearby but not in direct contact will fill the killer with a sense of terror at the Entity’s displeasure. The killer’s sight will be impaired severely for 60 seconds, making locating and hitting survivors extremely difficult. Restricted use of 3 times per trial.

Rare Hel Lokidottir Perk – Bridge Between Realms As a survivor, the killer’s instincts run strong through your veins. This unlocks potential in the survivor’s aura reading abilities, allowing them to see the killer’s position every 20 seconds regardless of what the killer is doing.

KILLER PERKS AND ABILITIES

Rare The Damned Perk – Judgement Passed When a survivor leads you to another survivor, you gain a buff to hone in on the betrayer and teleport right behind them. You can grab them without downing them into dying state, but you are not allowed to harm the other found survivors until your catch has been dealt with by hooking them or killing them by your hand.

Rare The Damned Perk – Survivor’s Savior If you catch a survivor assisting another survivor, you have the choice of rewarding that survivor rather than harming them. You will pull the survivor to your side, recruiting them to help you throughout the duration of the trial. They will be forced to assist you in sabotaging generators, protecting totems and ritual sites, and locating survivors. You are not allowed to kill this survivor. They will automatically be guaranteed a survived status at the end of the trial.

Rare The Damned Perk – Rites of Passage There are four ritual sites where survivors can perform the cleansing ritual that will drain you of your power. You must protect them at all costs while hunting your charges. To do this, you can set traps at the entrance of each ritual site. If a survivor steps through this trap, they will instantly be transported to a rune etched into the basement where they will be trapped for 20 seconds. You can choose to retrieve and hook them, but that will leave your ritual site vulnerable to the next survivor.

[mostfacinorous]

Whumptober 7th

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Kidnapped

Tony and Bruce had kicked Steve out about fifteen hours in to his vigil. They’d brought a chair in, but when Steve requested a cot, or at least a pillow, they’d drawn a line. “You’re not sleeping here.” Bruce stated, as if it wasn’t even a question, or an objection, just fact.

Loki was doing better, even if Steve wouldn’t call him healthy by any means. He wasn’t pouring sweat, it had been hours since he’d had to puke, and he’d finally fallen into an actually restful seeming sleep, as opposed to the fitful ones that had been interrupted with him cramping and whimpering. Steve, they said, ought to go home.

“We can lock up, have JARVIS keep everyone out. Hell, you can be the only one allowed in, if you want. But you need to go get some food, get some rest. Come back tomorrow. Clint’s not dumb enough to try it again.”

“I wouldn’ta thought he was dumb enough to try it the first time,” Steve grumbled, “but I stayed away, and here we are.”

“Six hours.” Bruce said, cajoling. “Tony can lock this area down for that long, no problem.”

Eventually, it was Loki who convinced him. “You’ll be of no help to me if you’re dead on your feet, Captain. Besides, You sleep little enough as it is. I would not be the cause of your losing what sleep you do manage.” And it was the wry smile, the shared not-quite secret between them, that made Steve sigh and nod. “Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.” He promised.

“I’ll be here,” Loki tossed back, glib despite his illness. And so Steve and Bruce and Tony had left. Tony had put the security on lock down, and Steve went to the kitchen and then to bed, barely noticing what he ate.

The next morning, Loki was gone.

---

It was dark when he woke, and he felt, dimly, as if he recalled waking a few times before this. But his mind seemed fully returned to him now, if not the rest of his senses. Everything seemed hazy, distant-- he couldn’t see, and there was nothing over his eyes. There was movement, a rocking sensation, but he couldn’t tell the means by which they traveled, his quarters too well secured to translate much of the sensation.

He raised his hand-- and encountered a wall, not two feet in front of his face. But the thump of his arm against the-- what? It wasn’t wood, didn’t seem to be metallic… that didn’t immediately matter, Loki supposed; he was yet too weak to pummel his way through it, even had it been but wooden-- regardless, the noise had alerted whoever was responsible for this. “He’s awake again.” “Damn, persistent little fucker.” “You wanna dose him up again now? We’re almost there. I’m sure he’s gonna want to talk to him.”

The voices were close, Loki was certain, but so muffled that he could barely make out the words, and found himself holding his breath and pressing his ear to the box to do so.

“--take any risks.” One of the voices said, and then Loki heard something moving above his head, and he could feel a shift in the quality of the air. It became damper, harder to breathe. And then he didn’t--

---

Loki gave off a reading, JARVIS said, especially with his body doing everything it could, magically, to heal itself. Which meant they should be able to track him that way, to trace his movements… instead, those readings went down to the employee parking levels under the tower, and straight up disappeared.

“JARVIS, check security feeds around the tower for anything that’s reinforced- an armored car or a-- I don’t know, a popemobile or something. Anything suspicious.”

Where steve was beside himself with guilt and worry and anger, Tony seemed mostly annoyed that someone had outsmarted him-- managed to hack JARVIS and get through security. And while Steve would maybe get that if there wasn’t at least one person’s life at stake--

Natasha and Clint were conspicuously absent, but when he’d asked JARVIS about it, they’d been asleep when the kidnapping had taken place. And Loki had definitely not been alone; there had been four men who had loaded him into what looked like a filing cabinet, took him down the service elevator, and disappeared into a blind spot in the garage. And then nothing.

“This is bullshit!” Steve said, standing violently enough that his chair tipped backwards. “Who has tech savvy enough to overpower JARVIS?” He demanded. “You must keep a list, smart guy like you, you’ve gotta know if there’s anyone out there good enough to challenge you, right?”

Tony looked more than a little disgruntled. “There’s at least fifty groups that I’m sure would love to try. But as for which one this is?” He shrugged. “Their programs were clean, they didn’t leave anything behind, and JARVIS was wiped for a half hour window. I have nothing to go on.”

“Cross reference your fifty groups with travel itineraries. Find out how they found out he was here. Maybe you have a mole in medical.”

“Listen Cap, if you want to go down and put the fear of god in some of my employees, go for it. I’m doing everything I can right now, but the more time we spend arguing, the more likely it is we’ll find Loki as a bunch of alien pieces on the dark web in a few days time. So let me do what I do best, okay?” Tony snapped, and that shut Steve up fairly effectively.

“Sorry. I just-- I told him he was safe, here.” He mumbled, and even Tony’s expression softened at that.

“Yeah,” he said. “Me too.” ---

The master of the men who had taken him called himself Doom. Repeatedly, and always in the third person. Loki would have been annoyed, if he were not so busy being exhausted and concerned and in pain, in turns.

He’d learned the Hawk’s sleeping pill trick, and that amused him for the entirety of an hour. Once that ceased to amuse, the stakes had to be raised, the suffering escalated. And when he discovered the wound that had not yet healed, well--

Loki was happy to be catching up on his rest. He hurt a little less when his eyes were closed, even with the ghosts of his family telling him he deserved every moment of what was to come. Telling him that there would be no escaping his death-- not this time. Doom would keep him weak and break him by inches, as long as it pleased him to, and then Loki would be killed and disposed of. No one would miss him, no one would come looking for him. And Midgard would finally be rid of him.

He just hoped Doom hurried it up.

[rainy--dayys]

Falling for you - Sweet Pea x Reader

Words: 2669 (I am so sorry!)

Warnings: Fluff, bad writing, terrible grammar (The usual!)

Summary: It’s your first time flying on an airplane and after a terrifying encounter with a certain serpent, it’s up to him to help calm you down. 

A/N: I was getting seriously stressed whilst writing this!! I hate flying hahahh! 

To say I was nervous would be an understatement.

I was freaking the frig out!

It was my first time ever flying on a plane and I was not handling it well.

I was currently sat near my gate waiting to board my plane to Chicago. I had always wanted to leave Riverdale and visit your family in Chicago but due to school, work and finance, I had never been able to afford it, until now.

So here I was, sat between gates 32 and 33 waiting to bored the silver shuttle of immanent doom and make my way to Chicago. Seeing as Riverdale isn’t a highly populated town, there was hardly anyone around to watch me pick at my nails or bounce my leg annoyingly, which I was grateful for.

So when I heard my gate number being called which suggested that my flight would begin boarding soon, I stood up, not expecting to stumble straight into the chest of a tall, brooding man wearing a black leather jacket.

The bruit force of the collision caused myself to collapse straight to the floor, spilling the boys drink all over himself and burning me in the process.

“Hey! Watch it!” The boy cursed under his breath as he tried to wipe the substance off of his leather jacket.

“I am so sorry, oh my god how could I be so clumsy!” I rushed to stand up and apologised profusely to the boy who looked furious. I assume. I haven’t actually looked at the guy, I am WAY to embarrassed. I began to take out spare napkins from my bag and wipe his jacket in hopes of undoing the already embarrassing damage.

“Just get off of me okay? I don’t need some prissy little Northsider wiping her grubby little hands all over my jacket. Okay, just don’t touch me, ever!” The boy yelled, inches away from her face, his voice ringing in my ears.

“I-I I just wan-nted to-“ I tried but failed miserably when he interrupted, “You ju-just what?” He mocked, “You just wanted to apologise for ruining my coffee and my leather jacket in one blow? Newsflash sweat heart, I don’t run with your crowd, we don’t apologise and we don’t stutter! No noise and no sign of weakness.” He stepped forward, prompting me to take a few steps back before finding myself pressed against a wall.

By this point I had had my eyes on the floor for this entire conversation but decided to look the boy square in the eyes and give him a piece of my mind, maybe.

Okay probably not but I was going to try anyway and hopefully not stutter. Fingers crossed.

Looking up at the freakishly tall boy, our eyes meet and I couldn’t help but stare.

He. Was. Breathtaking.  

His black hair sat perfectly on top of his head. His eyes shone like pools of rippling chocolate that gazed into my soul. The snake tattoo that adorned his muscular neck didn’t go unnoticed and I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips. So that’s why he acts so tough, he’s a serpent.

Pushing my body as far into the wall as possible, I realised I was staring. I quickly looked at my feet and tried to control my breathing. As much as I personally have nothing against the Southside Serpents, I couldn’t help but be absolutely petrified of their presence, I know what some of them can be like and by what I’ve experience so far, this guy may be one of the scary ones.

“Huh, figures. You were more than willing to help me out before you realised I was a Serpent,” the boy stepped closer towards my frame, leaning forward and whispering in my ear, “I despise girls like you!”

A sudden urge to stand up for myself took over me and I said “I was more than willing to help you until you and your coffee breath started scaring me you, you freakishly tall jerk!” I clasped my hands over my mouth, I shouldn’t have said that oh my god I am so dead.

Grabbing my bags and looking straight at my white converse, I brushed past the serpent and hurried off to my gate, noticing that the final calls had just begun.

I showed them my ticket and hurried off to find my seat, feeling eyes burning into the back of my head the whole way towards the plane.

Shuffling through the minute plane, I finally found my seat. The plane was small, there was two seats positioned on each side of the aisle and in total there were less than 40 seats all together.

Placing my bag in the overhead locker, I took my seat against the window and straight away plugged in my head phones to drown the sound out of the engine roaring to life. Shaking, I press play on my ‘sleep’ playlist in the hopes of sleeping throughout the entire duration of the flight.

I also hoped that my prayers would be answered and I would have a free seat next to me so that I wouldn’t annoy the poor human who had to sit next to my anxious ass all flight long.

I had had my eyes shut for a total of 6 and a half minutes (or two Dean Lewis songs) when I felt a presence sitting beside. I decided that it was best if I just kept my eyes closed and just let the poor guy have at least a moment of piece.

Suddenly, I felt the plane begin to roll backwards and I instantly gripped the arm rests, squeezing my eyes even further shut as my breathing began coming out in ragged bursts.

Once the plane was positioned and ready to go I felt a tear slip silently down my face. I was absolutely petrified with fear but at the same time completely embarrassed about how I was acting. I’m basically an adult for petes sake and I’m acting like a child.

“Ummmm, ahh. Are you alright?” A slightly familiar voice rang in my ears however I was too freaked out to notice. The voice sounded slightly uncomfortable and I felt so bad for making them feel that way.

I squeezed my eyes closed even further (If that was humanly possible) and responded, “Y-yeah, I-I’m f-fii-fine” I stuttered, “Just nervous I-I guess, I’ll be okay”.

The plane was now speeding down the tarmac, bumping and jostling around as it gained a momentous amount of speed. I felt my stomach drop as the planes wheels left the ground and began to fly through the air.

My breathing had gone from rapid to full blown panic mode as I tried, and failed to calm myself down.

I suddenly felt a hand grip my own which was currently situated on the shared arm rest. I felt eyes looking straight at me but I could bare myself to look.

“Hey, its gonna be alright ya know!” The man said, “Heaps of people go on planes every day and only like a couple of them crash or go missing!”

“That is seriously not helping,” I let out a dry laugh at his attempt to make me feel better.

“No, what I’m saying is is that there is no possible way that this plane ride could go wrong, its statistically impossible.” He tried to explain himself and although I wasn’t looking at him, I could tell he felt bad for making things worse.

“Thanks but I don’t really see a positive to this situation,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Ouch, I’m hurt. Sitting next to me can’t be that bad, can it?” He laughed and feigned hurt.

I laughed a little, feeling my anxiety slowly seeping away and I felt oddly calmer around this mystery boy. Deciding I was ready, I opened my eyes and looked directly in the eyes of the boy who helped me calm down, even if it was just a little bit.

Opening my eyes, I come face to face with beautiful chocolatey eyes, flowy jet black hair and…

A serpent tattoo.

Gasping, I rip my hand from out of his grasp and push myself further away from him.

“Oh my god, of course I was placed right next to the guy who moments before was screaming at me for spilling his drink, this can’t be happening,” I shook my head, feeling out of my depth and beginning to panic again.

In my moment of despair, I turned away from the boy and looked straight out the window.

Big. Mistake.

I was now panicking about being beaten up for insulting a serpent and being thousands of kilometres above the ground. It was all too much.

Seeing my panic the boy spoke, “Hey, hey it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I actually feel terrible for how I acted out there, I’m not usually like that.” He replied, a genuine look of guilt spread across his chiselled features.

I suddenly felt a sense of calmness come over me and I felt as though I could trust the boy. Serpents did a lot of bad things but hurting women was not one of them.

I relaxed slightly and turned to face the boy, “Look, I’m really sorry for running into you before and for spilling all of your coffee and for calling you a jerk” I apologised and he smirked, a small tentative smile found its way to my lips and I suddenly felt heat spread across my cheeks.

Was I blushing? What in the world is happening?

“It’s okay, really! I shouldn’t have snapped at you anyway, a pretty girl like you deserves to be cherished like the princess you are” He smirked at me, tucking a small strand of loose hair behind my ear.

Blushing at the comment I look down, “Uhhh, by the way my names (Y/N). I feel like if we are sitting together for the rest of the flight we should at least know each other’s names.”

“Sweet Pea” He said quietly. “What was that?” I pondered.

“Sweet Pea, my name is Sweet Pea!” He said slightly louder, determined not to meet my eyes.

I stayed silent for a moment and he looked at me with pure fear in his eyes.

“Sweet Pea?” I reiterated. “That is the most-“ I was cut off by a stressed out Sweet Pea.

“I know I know, its stupid. My hippie dippie parents obviously hated me and-“

“Sweet Pea” I tried but he just kept on rambling.

“It is so embarrassing and you’re so pretty and-and-“

“Sweet Pea!” I tried a little louder, getting his attention.

“I think that it’s the most adorable name I have ever heard!” I cooed, ruffling his hair and giggling.

Pouting and grumbling, Sweet Pea began fixing his hair and trying miserably to cover the blush that spread across his plump cheeks.

“Well it is lovely to officially meet you Sweet Pea!” I smiled, reaching my hand out to shake the tall boys. He reached out and wrapped his calloused fingers around my hand and pulled it up towards his lips and pressed a tender kiss to the back of my hand.

“The pleasure is all mine, princess!” He winked as he looked me up and down.

It had been a few hours since the plane had taken off and I was feeling so much better thanks to the help of Sweet Pea. Every time the turbulence got a little too rough or when I had to get up to go to the bathroom, he would help keep me calm and level headed.

We had been talking for hours about anything and everything, laughing hysterically the entire time. The trauma from this morning’s interaction and the panic of flying had caused me to grow tired.  

A sudden yawn crept its way onto my face and I decided that right now would be the perfect time for a small nana nap. Closing my eyes and leaning against the head rest, I feel myself slip in and out of consciousness until I finally let myself be consumed by the comfort that is sleep.

My eyelids fluttered open as I heard an announcement about exiting the plane. I moved my eyes around the plane, trailing along the rows of empty seats that were once inhabited.

“Excuse me sir,” an unfamiliar voice filled my ears so I shut my eyes, “You and your girlfriend are going to need to exit the plane as we begin to refuel for the next flight!” She informs him.

I feel Sweet Pea tense up at the mention of me being his girlfriend but he does not correct her, instead he just replies with,

“Sorry about that, we’ll be off in just a moment!” He sounded so proper and so… Hot!

I suddenly feel a soft pair of lips press against my forehead and my eyes flutter open at the warm sensation. I remove myself from his shoulder, instantly missing his warmth and I begin to stretch my neck.

“So ummm, it’s time to get off the plane but you ah fell asleep on my shoulder and I didn’t want to move you cause you looked so comfortable and you’r…” I couldn’t hear the end of his sentence as he began to mumble.

“I’m sorry what?” I asked for the second time this flight. He stood up and began to collect all his things, preparing to leave the flight. As he was picking up his items, he continued to try and tell me what he wanted to say.

“Pardon?” I tried again.

“You look really cute when you sleep okay?” He yelled, the air stewards and stewardesses turned to look at the scene in front of them. Some of them awed, whilst some looked annoyed.

“And I-I really like you! And I know I’m supposed to be this tough, fist fighting serpent who sat next to you on a plane ride but,” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “But you make me feel something I’ve never felt before, alright? You-You make me blush at the mention of my name. You make my knees weak when you bite your lip,”

I had tears well up in my eyes and a massive smile on my face. The flight attendants were all cooing at the public announcement, giggling and awing at his declaration. Never had someone confessed their feelings for me in such a caring way.

“You make my heart skip a beat every time you giggle, and I know we only just met but… I’d really like to get to know you better!” He finished and my eyes widened in shock.

He took one look at the shock on my face and began to walk down the aisle.

“Wait!” I yelled, leaving my chair and grabbing Sweet Pea’s shoulder. Pulling him to face me, I crashed my lips into his, wrapping my fingers into his hair as he gripped my waist, pulling my body flush against his chest.

Our kiss was tender and passionate, filled with lust. Our bodies moved in unison and our tongues the same. As much as I wished our kiss would last forever, I pulled away once the cheers from the flight attendants has stopped.

Pulling away, his breathing was ragged and his eyes filled with hunger. I laughed, brushing away the loose strands of hair that had fallen during our heated kiss.

“So, I guess you really did fall for me this morning?” He laughed, grabbing his suitcase in his left hand and taking my hand in his right.

“Oh no, that was way too cheesy for my liking!” I giggled as we walked down the walk way and off of the plane. We continued our conversation the whole way through the airport and my fears of flying long forgotten.

Let’s just say that I won’t be scared of airplanes anymore because as long as I have Sweet Pea, I feel like I’m flying.

[amicicidalgambler]

> Fondly regard Psii.

we put two manipulator friends that cant hide shit because theyre trapped in the wake of the s.s trickster anon in the same room, what happens next will warm your heart

amicicidalgambler

Shit I didn't tell you congrats EITHER how RUDE.

palteringcecutiency

!!!!!!

Gosh Vriska how could you be so rude~

I'm so wounded~~

amicicidalgambler

I'm a mean and terri8le person. 8ut really, congratul8ions.

palteringcecutiency

You are but it's the enjoyable kind!! It's like playing with explosives~ Probably not wise but super fun if you're careful about it~

amicicidalgambler

Oh no, my favorite kind of compliment, how dare you.

palteringcecutiency

Too late~ You're my friend and I like you~~ You're doomed~~~~

amicicidalgambler

Very doomed. How will I ever~ survive with this privilege put upon me.

palteringcecutiency

Probably with increasing dramatics~!!

Or with a tea party~ Were you serious about that?? 'Cause it sounds like fun~!

I can bring cats~ Or try to at least lmao~

amicicidalgambler

I was! It sounds so nice. I don't know where we could have it, though. It'd 8e nice to have somewhere quiet off on our own, 8ut neither the 8ase or Nadaya's are that.

palteringcecutiency

I know allllll sorts of quiet places over here~! I usually can't stand to be around people for long!!

But Fex would freak out so bad~ I can't do that to him :c ! It'd be like someone inviting another -Empress to here for me!! I think I'd break down even like this if that happened!!

amicicidalgambler

I mean, that and he'd kill me, painfully, and you're one of the people who pro8a8ly wouldn't want that!

Nadaya let me sneak out with someone to one of my old pir8 hideouts, 8ut that was ages ago, most of them have pro8a8ly 8een taken over. That or they would 8e dusty hellholes, and like, I know *you* won't 8e offended if I say I h8 old dusty rooms too much to clean those.

palteringcecutiency

He wouldn't kill you~ I wouldn't let him!! Because I am!! I'm pretty sure you're gonna piss someone off enough to get killed some night, but I don't want it to happen so soon!! I'd miss you!!!!

Ehehehe, you're right!! I'm not at all~ But it does make this harder, whoops~

If you don't have a place~ and I don't have a place~ and Zahhak definitely doesn't have a place~~ Maybe we should start asking friends if /they/ have a place!!

amicicidalgambler

...Would you? I mean, I know you can't really lie right now, duh, 8ut that's a lot.

And we should! I don't know who to ask first, though, most of my other friends aren't the recluse or hideout type.

palteringcecutiency

Uh huh! My Serket was super annoying on Beforus, but I met her on Alternia!!

I rammed her ship with Cronus's to escape, and when she found me hiding aboard, she let me live~! Mostly as a dig to Cronus, but then she helped me get better at lying and manipulating people and how to steal super duper well!! I really liked her, and almost stayed on her crew when she offered, but she was also a super cruel and awful person and I didn't want to die~

You're like a little her~ Well duh but like~ Not as experienced~ Way less dangerous, especially with your collar~ so we can just talk!! And play manipulation games~ And be awful people together where no one will get hurt so no one gets upset at either of us~~ I really value that~

If it wasn't such a bad idea, I'd teach you what I know!! So you can get better and better, I'm already weirdly proud of what you do now~! But!! I know exactly how badly that'd go!! So I haven't been~ Sorry~ !!

I should ask Makara!! Or Cro!! They leave the universe often enough, and they like squirreling shit away just in case!! Especially Cro~ Though I don't know if he'd tell me, I bet a lot of those exist because of me!! So Makara first~

amicicidalgambler

Oh man.

Oh man.

That's a lot.

Oh man.

Fuck.

I mean

That makes sense!

There was 8asically no way you wouldn't have ran into her eventually, I just had no idea you would've

Actually met her like that.

I tried to figure this out in my notes once 8ut I can't fucking REMEM8ER them like this.

8ut I remem8er wondering, 8ecause you sound like her!

Not like a lot 8ut there's patterns, I picked up that much.

This is a lot.

I kind of h8 it.

No I don't.

You're proud of me?

I kind of wished you'd teach me 8ut I didn't think

I didn't think you'd think a8out it

And I thought if I learned from the games you'd 8e proud.

Fuck uh,

Tricksters.

palteringcecutiency

!!!! This is so cute!!!! And I'm so delighted!!!! I can't stop grinning, even more than I usually can't!!!!

Hell yeah I'm proud!!!! Super proud!! I remember the last game we played~ I was so pleased with how persistent you were~ and I had to keep stopping myself from giving you advice~~ because you were so close~ If it wasn't me, I'm super sure you could've tricked someone into giving something away!!

I even thought about telling you you were right!! Since you did so well!! But I couldn't admit how much your fixing my quirk slip meant to me~ So I didn't~

I wish I could trust you to use what I teach you to be constructive instead of destructive~~ because that's what I did with mine!! Manipulation and stealing aren't black and white bad things!! I kept Kankri safe by seeing who in the crowd was giving off the wrong tells! And to get information about highblood plans without giving up any information about ours in return, without them noticing!! And I stole so we could eat~ or to get things away from people who would hurt others with them~~

I really really want to help you with all of that!! So people stop wanting to kill you so much!!!! And you don't have to isolate yourself forever just to stay alive!!!!

But I met your ancestor~ or at least her alternate~~ and I don't want to push you farther down that road any faster~ because then we can't be friends anymore~ :c :c :c :c I might even have to hurt you to keep people I love safe~ and I really don't want to~ :c :c

But!!!! That hasn't happened yet!!!! So we can have our tea party!!!! Cae got us a hotel room and ~everything~ so we can be in the opposite of a dusty old block for our tea party!!!! Which I'm really excited about!!!!

   amicicidalgambler

::::D

::::D!!!!!!!!

I mean, credit to you though, I knew I was making progress 8ut I didn't think I was doing *that* good.

And that's not 8ad! It's gr8! I've never 8een challenged like that 8efore, it was so good.

That's fair, 8ut like, damn if that isn't a hell of a pitch. Plus like, it's not like I've had much of a change of heart or anything haha no, 8ut I have ties I want to keep now, and protect with that kind of thing. Some people don't know what's happening to them until they're already dead, it's incredi8le.

So I can't promise much 8ut I don't want to do most of the shit that would keep us from 8eing friends ::::(

Especially not after this! This is the 8est, you're the 8est.

The tea party can't happen fast enough.

   palteringcecutiency

!!!!!!!! That's a really really good start!!!!

Like~ I'm never going to be a goody two shoes~ like ever~

Rules and laws register as suggestions at best~ and I put way more effort into damage control than say~ not breaking the law~ because that's /boring/~ (I've broken so many laws here Vriska~ So many~ Mostly for fun~ I'm not even sure how many because I've never bothered to learn them, whoops~!)

But!!!! That doesn't mean my keeping an eye out for Kankri and his followers wasn't a good thing!! That doesn't mean attracting anons away from hurting people and talking them in circles was less helpful because it only happened because I liked the hurt person!! And if you frame it right, people will never know otherwise~

Or~ well~ they kind of already know with you~ but~! You can frame it in believable and acceptable ways!! Without even /lying/, because protecting other people~ vulnerable people~! is a really good thing!! And I can definitely teach you how to do that without upsetting people~ And I will!!!! So you know what to do so we can stay friends!!!!

And guess what???? It can happen /right now/~ and it totally should because I really want to hug you!!!! This is amazing and I'm so /happy/!!!!

amicicidalgambler

Listen to me Psii.

Listen.

Listen listen listen.

I know you like Nadaya a lot so you'd already 8e doing this 8ut we need to protect him, it's important, he's important. He's not the only person for me 8ut we can 8oth help him since he let us in somehow.

It should! 8ecause I want to hug you too!

palteringcecutiency

/We really do/~

He's so oblivious~ and trusting~ It hurts me and scares me so much~~

But it's so much easier when you have other people too~! Ones that care just as much~ And it's just as obvious that you two are close~~ So we'll make a fantastic team!!!!!!

No one gets to be awful to him~

He's /ours/~

!!!! :D!!!!

> [coordinates!]

Zahhak's with me!! So I'll drag him to a pad right now!!!! And then you're getting the gumdrops squeezed out of you!!!!

amicicidalgambler

I'll 8e right there!!!!!!!!

[turnloosethelibrary]

ASCENSION, THE FIRST

By Cee

Fire was destruction. That was why Callidia respected it, even though she couldn’t spend more than two minutes around an open flame without getting the shakes. It had set her free one cold winter night like a bird from its cage. At first, her family had assumed she’d perished, then they assumed she’d set it. Neither were true but she had seized upon the destruction of 546 Illiger Way to leave town. It wasn’t like, in the glow of the night, she had anywhere else to go. She called up her best friend on the payphone and told him to tell anyone else who was tired of the confines of the town, even if it were for a reason completely different from hers, to come around, the bus leaves in an hour. A few of them did and they boarded a bus to nowhere.

None of them were certain when, two years on the road, they crossed into another world. There were no flashing lights, no rabbit holes to fall in or tornados to take them away, they didn’t get lost or swept overboard or get swallowed whole by an earthquake. Maybe the first sign was that the sky was just a bit more purple than usual, the air just a bit more sweeter, but that could’ve been chalked up to being on a whole new coast, so far away from their home. Nothing about the new world was particularly new, nor interesting.

Then, they met the talking black fox, guided by a butterfly made of fire and any explanation they had crumbled away.  “Welcome home, young ones.”

The first reaction to a talking fox is generally a rapid fire list of all the things one has consumed in the past forty eight hours, to rule out food poisoning or drugs. Being that Calli had only had a few apples and some bread, she felt pretty safe to say that it wasn’t a hallucination. She felt like she should freak out, after all she could hear Quincy’s rapid breathing behind her, along with whispered questions of disbelief but the fact that some foxes could talk settled deeply in her heart, like the fact that some boys (like Quincy) wore make-up or some girls (like Aislinn) believed in tarot. She bent down, out stretching her hand. She read once that in order to get a dog to like you, you had to let it smell you. She wasn’t sure if the same thing would be said for a talking fox but it did push its head into her hand so she figured it was close enough.

“Hello there,” She whispered softly. The fox looked up at her with orange eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as it spoke again. It sounded young, high-pitched, almost like a child.

“You five have travelled far, but you have so much further to go. Come! Follow me! The Elements are gathering and wish to see you.” The fox bounded off, then looked back at them, twiching its tail.

“This is crazy, we can’t do this.” Suzy broke the silence that had partially fell, her drawl trailing behind her thoughts.

Calli shrugged, “Well, do you want to waste time wondering how it’s possible or do you want to figure out where we are?”

“Both? I feel like both will be very ahuh, helpful.” Quincy spoke now, running his fingers through his hair.

“Look, okay none of us understand this, but either we freak out, or we try to understand what’s going on and quite frankly, I think I’ve had enough freaking out for a lifetime, thank you very much. I’m going to follow him. Y’all can stay here if you want.” Callidia crossed her arms, making no motion to leave. She became a de-facto leader in the winter time, when their food bags would get low and she hoped that the trust that position brought would let them follow her. She didn’t want to go through whatever the forest brought alone.

Quincy, Aislinn and Suzy shared a glance of equal concern. Jason stood a little straighter and grinned, “I’m going to follow you, sweetheart. I trust you.”

“Any other complaints?” Calli cocked her head, looking each of her friends in the eyes in turn. “Then let’s go.”

The people the fox took them to professed to be Gods. Calli had a hard time believing that, until she saw a man rise from the earth and a woman fall from the sky, landing perfectly. She backed away from them, closer to the fire. They were impossible beings, with hair that seemed to move of its own accord, hair not made of keratin but with their respective elements. The woman who fell from the sky chose Aislinn, sweet Aislinn with her habit of staring off into space and talking about things that could not be. The man who rose from the earth chose anxious Quincy. One with hair of water chose her beloved Jason. Calli didn’t see who chose Suzy.  It didn’t seem that there was to be anyone for her. She backed away, closer and closer to the fire.

Then she stopped. She had run into something solid and it felt like a scene out of an old horror movie as she turned her head. A man stood there where before there had been nothing but the hot flames.  He laughed cruelly, until he saw the fear in her eyes and the way her shoulders rose to her ears and his laughter died off. “Hey now, it’s alright. Just a prank, my dear, just a prank.”

She stepped away to appraise him thoroughly. His hair was made of fire, though she wasn’t certain if that was because he had seemingly just stepped from it or if it was a personal aspect. Her throat tightened at the thought that this would be her - she hadn’t even realized what they had been chosen for.

They were Gods and they were the Elements and they were going to raise them to ascend.

The man who took her in told her to call him Jayvin, though his subjects called him the Lord of Fire. She liked knowing his true name, it made her feel just a bit safer in this foreign element, strange in more than a few ways. He noticed her discomfort around the open flames, and so moved her bedroom further away from the central chambers and higher up, where there was more smoke and ash, but less live fire without her even having to ask. He didn’t seem to be a harsh or cruel man, but for the first few nights when she moved in she stayed awake, still and staring up at the ceiling so she would be ready to defend herself if need be.

Time passed oddly in that world, and she wasn’t sure if she had been there days or weeks or months or years. She didn’t know when she last saw the Chugs, and she missed them but she knew they were most likely off in their own adventures, finding their place in this strange new world.  She studied history of the world because she loved learning. That would’ve been a great surprise to any who knew her in her old life but there was none of that competitive hierarchy that made each lesson a game of memory, not of comprehension. Each day was paced exactly how she needed it. She learnt of the foxes and the dragons and the other creatures that fell under the Lord Fire’s commands.  Communications between her and Jayvin were few. He was far busier than she was, though he did try to spend at least dinner with her.

“Soon,” He said each night, “soon I think you’ll be ready to learn magic.” That seemed far more impressive to her than learning of how many wars the Elements had gotten into over their respective times. There had been ten cycles of Elements, and hers was to be the eleventh - a holy number by Jayvin’s old books. It made her feel luckier about the whole affair.

He took her to a razing one long day. An entire length of forest was found to be hazardous, quite possibly cursed. The only one hundred percent remedy to either of those was a complete burning. He left her on a hill, close enough to see what was happening, but not so close that she was in danger of being burned, though he warded the hill, just in case. Once the boundaries were set and the fire was started, Jayvin walked up the hill and sat next to her. They were quiet for a long while, just watching the blaze, the grass turning bright then a dead black.

“This is one of my least favorite parts of it.” Jayvin said softly. “The destruction.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Because otherwise this land would be inhabitable. With each razing, comes the chance for life to renew again, for potential to blossom. That’s why Rev doesn’t despise me each time I must destroy part of his kingdom.”

Callidia nodded, that seemed honorable enough. “Am I going to have to do that one day?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

The flames turned blue, reached their apex. It now had nowhere else to spread but back into itself. Soon it would be out, destroying itself as it had destroyed the trees that’d grown in that cursed ground. She shuddered, tried to act like her throat wasn’t closing up. She didn’t want to be the kind of person to do that, even if it were necessary. It seemed so sad.

“Here now,” Jayvin drew her attention away from the fire burning miles away to one in the palms of his hands. “I wouldn’t have survived so long as an Element if it were all razing and doom and gloom.” He seemed to form a butterfly out of the fire in his hands, carefully pushing it into open air. It floated there, streaming auburn flame. It reminded Calli of the Monarch butterfly she’d seen once on a hot summer day.

“Can you teach me how to do that?” She asked, eyes wide. She followed each amber spout.

“When you’re ready, of course.”

“Will I ever be?”

“I guess we’ll have to see.” Jayvin smiled lightly,  “I think you will be. Tomorrow, maybe, or the day after.”

She pulled her legs up to her, hiding a grin. He was annoying, surely he knew relaxing around the fire wasn’t an option for her but.. maybe, maybe she’d get used to it. Fire was destruction, but it was also creation and renewal. It was burnt houses and growing leafs and it seemed to her it was the first family she ever knew.

[askbloomtale]

Chapter 18 is up!!! After settling things and making that comic for you guys, next chapter is now up! I hope you like it! ^^

I specially like this one ;D

For those who can’t access AO3 or just don’t want to do it, the chapter is pasted under this sexy cut!!!

Bloomtale

Chapter 18 – The Seeing Eye flower

  It was cold.

 Was she dead? Is that how death felt like? Dark… lonely. And cold. Would make sense, would match some books she had read… at the time she had been alive. Because she was definitely dead, right?

 She only had memories of darkness… and of a certain conversation with a certain flower. The feeling of his vines around her neck. He said that it would all end if she gave up. And she did. Of course she did. What else could she do? When you’re completely blind, in a dangerous world… what else can you do?

 No one to help, nothing to do. It was the only option left, wasn’t it?

 …

 Flowey said… he would revive her. And then, he would do horrible things to her again. But that was okay, she was… used to it. Kind of.

…

Well, maybe she DIDN’T want him to do that. But at least she would have her eyes again, and it would be better, right?

 In fact… maybe he already revived her. Athela was still in a limbo-state, not really wanting to open her eyes… but she had to. She needed to find out if the plan had worked. She slowly started feeling the world around her. She took a grip on her shirt, feeling a shiver going down her spine. Open your eyes, Athela…

 And so she did.

  But it was still dark.

  “Wha…?” The poor, confused skeleton made a muddled noise, not really knowing what was going on. Where was she? Was she still…? Yes, she was still alive, of course she was. The usual growing headache made sure of making her remember how good it was to feel alive.

 Sarcasm intended at the moment.

She couldn’t see a thing… and it was still cold. That could only mean one thing.

 “Huh. You little liar,” it was not long until a familiar voice made her squeak in distress. Of course, he was there too. He always was. “You said you gave up, didn’t you?” “…” Athela stood silent, not really knowing what to say. She didn’t understand. She really did; she had no hope of survival, she knew there was nothing to do. So… of course she gave up. “Hey, did you lose your voice too? Because if you haven’t, you better answer.” Now the flower sounded annoyed. Athela couldn’t quite put her finger on where he was at the moment… her echolocation wasn’t the best. Maybe it would improve with time. “Y-yes, I… I gave up. I don’t… I don’t understand…” She managed to mutter. She didn’t want to be there anymore. Why was she still there, then? “Hmm…” Flowey groaned, and then there were a few seconds of pure silence. Athela soon started feeling the freezing sensation of the bitter Snowdin cold. But she was near the save point, which provided a cozy, warming light. Light she couldn’t even see. However, she still felt the warmth, so she was fine. “Maybe it didn’t work because you didn’t feel it enough…” he continued after the pause. “I… I don’t know…” She just didn’t know anything. And it was so tiring…

“I know! We could try again!”

 Oh no.

No, no, not again.

 “W-wait, I…” Athela blabbered, not wanting to feel another death but too unsure to really formulate a proper complain.

“Oh, don’t be such a crybaby. You just have to wish you were dead even harder! Then it’ll work!” The vines again. The vines going up her body again. No, no, what a horrible feeling, get them off, get them off!! She tried wriggling, but to no avail. Flowey had her firmly gripped. “Come on, concentrate on the thought.” “I…” “No one will help you. No one will save you. And you can’t continue on your own,” he kindly reminded her of her doom-ish situation. She felt another shiver… and she also felt like crying, but no tears were coming out. It sucked.

 Oops, bad word.

 …

 Oh, who cared anymore?

 “Ready?” She heard a soft giggle. Of course the little psycho enjoyed the situation. He was surely eager to get his powers back, wasn’t he?

Even though Athela didn’t really get it… how did that work? Flowey also had resetting powers? Or at least he had them before she came? But he seemed fine… as in, no flowers on his… oh wait, he WAS a flower. Maybe that was a bit insensitive. Like, could a flower grow flowers on his body?

 …

 Or maybe he turned into a flower when he had too many flowers??

 Oh, oh no, that sounded really creepy and terrifying. Athela didn’t want to become a psycho flower. Jeeze, what a nightmare.

…

 But no, that sounded totally wrong. That surely was not how it worked. Surely…

 “I asked if you’re ready. Jeeze, I’m trying to help here, at least answer me, you skeleton!” “Oh! S-sorry, I… I was…” Athela felt guilty for being silent for so long. She sometimes wandered off in her thoughts for too long. And she was sorry, even though she shouldn’t be because Flowey was a horrible person and he didn’t deserve her apologies. “It… it doesn’t matter.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Oh, he sounded impatient for once. Athela spent her last seconds thinking about that, before she felt again her bones snapping.

  At least it was a quick death, she thought as she felt her whole body turning into dust.

  “…”

 Dark.

 Ice-cold.

  No, it didn’t work. She was still there.

 “Why? It SHOULD work! It worked with the others!” Athela was surprised when she heard annoyed hissing. Was Flowey angry?

 Wait, what others?

 “F-Flowey…” She started muttering, but she stopped when she felt the headache again. Oh, it hurt… was it, by any chance, getting more painful? Or maybe it was just her being too tired?

“Again! Let’s try again!” He was almost yelling. Why was he so angry? He sounded impatient, too…

 Athela would’ve thought more about it, but the feeling of something piercing her skull stopped her train of thought. It had been too quick to even scream.

 It all went black… and it was painful…

 Until she felt alive again. Alive and blind. And cold.

 “No! Why??” An angry voice. “Are you sure you’re wishing it enough??” “Y-yes!!” She quickly replied back. Between deaths and timelines, she was too confused to locate herself at the moment… they were… still at Snowdin… right?

 Ow, the headache…

 While the pain was still up, Athela felt a vine around her arm. That was… unexpected, and definitely not welcome. She couldn’t deal with so many emotions at once… she just died twice in less than two minutes… please, a break…

…

Of course not.

 “Maybe you’re too useless to even lose grip of your determination.” Flowey hissed right next to her. She shivered, completely terrified. “Or perhaps I have to do it slowly. There are too many options here.” “P-please, stop… it’s not… it’s not working.” She said, feeling like crying once more. Luckily, the headache was going away, so she had some time to recover. “It HAS to work. I know this has worked before, so it should work with YOU too.” He did sound angry. Athela could only imagine that he was nervous because his plans weren’t working that well. “What are you talking about? What others?” Athela wanted to know. Did Flowey know for sure it would work? Did he kill more people? Or heard about this happening before? But if it had worked for others… why wasn’t it working for her? Maybe Flowey was wrong… “…” Flowey went silent.

 And then, with no warning whatsoever, another bullet pierced her head.

  “Nope. It doesn’t work,” now Flowey’s voice sounded casual. Uninterested. Tired, even. Athela hissed, annoyed because that last death hadn’t really been necessary. “Didn’t we know that already?” She groaned, sort of angry. “You didn’t have to do… owwwww…” Damn headache.

 Another bad word. Oh, well.

 “Hee hee… sorry, but I just couldn’t resist.” He said, gleefully. Athela didn’t hear anything else while she held her skull, in pain. But when it calmed down and she tried to stand still, the flower continued. “Well. Looks like you’re stuck here for some reason.” “You don’t say…” The skeleton groaned again. She didn’t like how things were going. “That sounds more like the Athela I know. Sassy and dumb,” another giggle. That flower really got on her nerves sometimes, but… calm down, Athela. No need to say something truly dumb and cause yet another death. Breathe… “…” Breathing complete. “So… what now?” She said, really lost. “Well, you only have two options left. Staying here to die, or keep going… to die.” “…” Athela fell silent again. The situation was awful to say the least. “I… I think I’ll stay here,” she said after some thinking time. Of course, the answer didn’t please Flowey. “That’s boring,” he groaned. “I’ll stay alive longer if I do that,” the skelly sat on the floor and shrugged. She didn’t really care anymore. “Unless I kill you right here right now,” Flowey hissed. The threat kinda worked… but not completely. “Well, then we’ll be stuck in an endless loop of resets. You’ll get bored of that too.” It was a bluff for the most part. Dying wasn’t peaceful, of course, but she didn’t have anything to lose by dying. She didn’t have anything to gain by continuing.

…

Silence.

Silence made Athela nervous. She didn’t know what was happening, she couldn’t see a thing. Did Flowey leave? Was he still there? Both options were bad, actually. She didn’t want to be alone… and she didn’t want Flowey to be there. What a conundrum.

After what felt like an eternity for Athela, Flowey spoke again, and she felt at ease. More or less.

 “Look. Games are boring if you don’t play them,” he started. “Exactly. I can’t play. I’m blind, remember?” She said, pointing at the flowers in her eyes. She didn’t even know if there were more… she touched the area, softly. Apparently there weren’t any more flowers outside. Or at least, not more than she could remember. “Stop being so sassy,” the flower hissed again. He did sound irritated. Surely it was because Athela could not play his ‘game’ anymore. “So you’re saying you need someone to guide you? A charming fellow who would sacrifice their valuable time just to help a stranger? Get real, that won’t happen.” He… was right. No one would ever come to help. No one ever did. The only person who had ever given her a helping hand was Toriel, and… well, Napstablook too. But no one else. Her phone buddy could help… if she was even able to see the buttons on her phone. She couldn’t call anyone like that. She wasn’t sure she could even take a call like that.

 What could she even do…?

 …

 …

 Athela just hugged her knees, too blocked to continue. Her mind was blank, too. She just focused on the silence, since there was nothing else she could do. Just… listening. To silence. Truly an amazing thing to do. Also freeze her butt. But that was less pleasing. … It was boring. But boredom was better than death.

   … Apparently not for Flowey.

  “Okay, okay!!” He yelled, startling the poor skeleton, who wasn’t expecting that. She shook her head and listened, trying to look in the flower’s direction. “I can’t believe I’m doing this… ugh, I hate you.” “What…?” Athela was lost. What was he talking about? “Get up, come on,” he ordered, his voice sounding REALLY annoyed. So upset, that Athela took a second to react. “W-wait, what are you saying? Why are you…?” She started talking, but immediately shut up when she felt vines around her waist. Not again…!

The vines lifted her up… and…

 Put her on the floor?

Athela’s legs bent and she almost fell on her butt, but the vines gripped her firmly, lifted her again and gave a little painful squeeze. She shrieked at the sudden sting, and heard a growl coming from below.

 “I told you to get up! Come on, stand still. Don’t make this more difficult for us than it already is!” He said, still as annoyed as before. Athela didn’t really get it, but she did as she was told. Still as a stick, her feet were placed on the floor… “Yes, good. Legs still, up you go. It wasn’t so difficult, was it?” “What are you doing?” Athela asked, legitimately confused. She didn’t want to walk to her death again… “What do you think I’m doing? Snowdin Town isn’t really THAT far away from here, so… I will… ugh… help you,” it sounded as if he were actually repulsed by that idea, so… that meant… he was serious? The skeleton took a few seconds to fully get what that meant. It was so… bizarre and unexpected, indeed. “Wait, really??” She couldn’t believe it. No, she didn’t trust him. He wouldn’t really help, would he? Or was he that desperate to keep his game going? “Shut up,” she heard him hissing. “Once you get to the town, you’ll get your own seeing eye dog. And then the game will continue! But for now, if I want you to move your useless ass, I guess I’ll have to do something. We’re at an impasse.” “So… you’re going to help me,” Athela sounded skeptical, naturally. “Look. I want this game to get going. And you want to see… oh, sorry. You want to meet your mom again, don’t you?” He didn’t sound truly apologetic, but snarky… however, Athela didn’t care.

 She had forgotten about her mom.

 How could she do that? It was the only reason –well, if she didn’t count Flowey– of why she wanted to get out of that mountain in the first place. Why she abandoned Toriel at the Ruins. She was what kept her going altogether. Her smile… would she ever see it again? She truly was a horrible child. She had been so worried about herself, she didn’t even think about how worried her mother should be. Athela had been away from home for days now. She had to… go back, find her. Tell her everything would be fine.

 Athela needed to keep going. “Ouch,” the skeleton quickly brought her hands to her temples as soon as she felt a pressing pain on the back of her skull. “Wow. Rude. Ignoring my words and saving all of a sudden,” Flowey hissed at her again. “N-no, no, I… I’m sorry, I just… didn’t expect you to…” “To help? Well, I don’t see any other options right now. So just stand still, follow my directions, and remember them well. Because I will only say them once. Understood?” Wow.

 Flowey sure was bossy when he wanted to be.

But of course, Athela was not going to complain. She was… still cynical, but Flowey liked their game too much to just leave her stranded in the middle of the woods apparently.

 However…

 “And what about later on?” She asked. “What?” “I mean… I’ll still be blind when we get to the town. I can’t really play like this…” She stated, worried. Of course, Flowey would not help her forever… it would defeat the point of the game. “Oh, don’t worry. I know of someone that can help you.” Flowey sounded… happy. Suddenly, Athela didn’t trust this anymore. “You just have to play the right cards.” “Cards?” “… It was an expression, you numbskull.” The flower groaned. “You really are an idiot.” Athela felt insulted. But she was already used to it, so she just let it go. She was more worried to what was coming up next. How would Flowey exactly help…?

 “Okay, that’s enough talking, let’s get to it!” Yes, that was the signal. But… but! “Wait!” She interrupted him. That annoyed him, of course. “What now?” He groaned for at least the tenth time on that timeline. “Can you tell me what ‘others’ you were talking about before? Did you kill more people like me before?” She asked. Flowey was being really talkative, so maybe he would answer… … “Heh. No. No one like you.”

  Wow, that sounded more sinister than Athela had expected it to sound like. “Oh.” She muttered. “But… then how…?” “Do you want me to help you, or do you want me to tell you this? Because I’ll only do one thing.” Flowey surely was impatient. Jeeze. “O-okay, help me here.” Athela would have to stick with the helping plan for now. But Flowey did like talking, so maybe he would tell her later. “Please.” He suddenly said, throwing her off bait. “What?” “Say ‘please’. It’s the least you can do when you ask someone for help, don’t you think?” Oh.

 Oh you dang flower. You’re surely getting your fun out if this too, aren’t you? Great, now Athela was bitter. She heard giggling. Her face should’ve shown her annoyance.

 …

 “Okay… can you please help me here?” Yes, she said it. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be, to ask her killer to please help her. But it was still hard. Never again. Hm. Random thought.

Flowey killed her several times. Did that make him a serial killer? Hmm… but that meant he killed lots of people. Which wasn’t out of the question, but… referring only to herself… maybe instead of a serial killer, he was a several killer. Did that word exist? If not, she would invent it right now. “Very well~” Flowey seemed pleased. He went back to his bossy self. “As I said, I will only say each direction once. So pay attention and… try to remember them~” Oh well. That was going to be difficult, right? Athela took a deep breath before nodding. She felt nervous… and she couldn’t even glow her eyes to feel better. Could things get any worse?

 Maybe.

 “Okay. I placed you in the right direction, so… walk straight until I tell you to stop.” Flowey started with his directions. Athela lifted one foot… and then retreated it. She was trembling. She did NOT trust that flower. “…” The skeleton took another deep breath. She could do it. Come on. She would just walk really slowly… “Come on, we don’t have the whole day!” “Y-yes, I’m moving!” Sluggishly, she lifted her foot again, and this time she took one step. And then she took another. Slowly but steadily, she kept walking. The snow cracked under her feet. Athela could be walking to her doom again, but… she had no choice but to trust whatever that flower was saying.

 She walked until her shoulder brushed against something… spiky. Startled, she jumped aside, causing Flowey to giggle.

 “That’s just a tree, you silly~” Flowey seemed amused. Athela touched the twigs, wanting to make sure of it. Indeed, it was just a tree. But she didn’t have much time to admire the feeling of touching it, for Flowey rushed her again. “Now turn right. Come on, quick!” It was as if he knew she wanted to be careful with her steps and just tried to rush her for fun. She knew more or less where she was, though, so she could afford to walk a bit faster.

 She walked forward, and her right foot brushed on what felt like a rock. Thank God she didn’t trip on it, she thought as she kept walking. And just how long would she have to keep…?

 “Oof!” Poor Athela yapped in pain when she stumbled upon something hard and spiky. Another tree, surely. Flowey cackled openly when that happened, and it only made her feel worse about her clumsiness. What happened about being careful? The tree was also covered in snow… that was really, really cold… and she hated it so much. Now she was also feeling cold. Ghh. “Priceless,” Flowey giggled. Athela frowned. “Okay, keep going, just avoid the tree. Keep going.” She did so. Her feet soon stumbled across something soft and… cold. Ah, the snow map. Yes, there it was. Okay… she more or less had a mental image of the area, and that was good. “Now… I turn left, right?” She asked, uncertain. That got her a mocking sentence from the evil flower. “Very good! Golden star for you! At least you remember the area where you were a few hours ago!” So sarcastic, Athela felt bad for herself. But she couldn’t say anything… at least he was helping. Or so she hoped. She turned left. Walking, she noticed after a while how the floor changed. It sounded like wood… yes, that was the bridge she had crossed before. Very well. Whispering encouraging words to herself, she kept going. And kept going. … Wasn’t Flowey supposed to give directions…? She kept on walking. He would tell her when to turn, like he did before, right? …

Well, he wasn’t saying anything.

The skeleton stopped. She didn’t trust this. “What are you doing? Don’t stop.” There he was. Okay, so he WAS doing something… Athela slowly started walking again. “… Ah!!” And then her feet didn’t find any ground to hold onto. Athela jerked her body backwards, trying to stay there and alive, but… she could not.

 She fell to her doom.

  “Wow. Your skull surely weighs a lot. You fell like a rock!” “…” “I thought you KNEW where you were. What an idiot. That’s what I get for trusting your sense of direction, I guess.” “… I hate you.” Athela hissed as she held her head again, bracing for the headache that was about to come. Ah, there it was. The sudden blast of pain was way stronger than before. It caught her off guard. Athela couldn’t stand still, she fell on her knees as she tried to suppress a yell. “Wow,” Flowey sounded amazed. “It looks like it hurts a lot.” “Why did I trust you…?” Athela was talking more to herself than she was talking to the flower. “Oh, come on, I thought you would turn right.” He snickered. “You could’ve warned me.” She hissed again. “I couldn’t help it~ oh, but… technically, I just told you to keep going. I never told you that you should continue FORWARD.” “… I hate you.” Athela repeated it. It was the second time she openly confessed her true feelings, and Flowey sounded flattered. “You’ll make me blush, stop it.” He laughed for a short time, and then continued talking, with his sassy voice back. “Okay, I’ll be good this time. You better remember what I told you, because I won’t repeat myself! I’ll wait for you at the bridge~” Athela heard some muffled sound, like digging, and then silence came back. Seems like she was on her own again. Oh well. It was a good thing that she remembered the way.

And of course, she would use the things she found on the way there to guide herself. The tree… the rock… the… ouch. The other tree. Yes, she managed to stumble upon it AGAIN. And she had snow all over herself again. Yay! So cold… Sigh. The soft snow… and now turning left… the bridge. She walked forward for a bit, and then Flowey’s voice greeted her. “Very good! You didn’t die on your way here! I am amazed~” He said. Athela felt, surprisingly, a little bit better when she heard that. True, it was mostly mockery, but maybe he felt truly amazed, and in that case it would be flattery. She was a bit desperate for encouragement, it seems.

“… Now what?” Athela didn’t trust him anymore, so she would go really slowly this time. For real. She wished she had a stick or something to test the ground with… “Now walk a bit further… just a bit,” he told her. “Yes… okay, stop. Now, turn right.” “Oka… a… atchew!” The skeleton felt her bones rattling as she made that strange noise again. She shivered. The image of her mother doing something similar once came to her mind… however, her mother did a much louder noise, so… maybe it was not the same. “Don’t get sick on me. Surely a simple cold could kill you. It would be fun to see, but then we would be stuck on the same death loop and I’m not up to it…” Flowey was getting impatient, apparently, since he had decided to start pushing Athela forward with one of his vines. “W-wait! The puzzle!” Athela yelled, trying to get him to stop. There were spikes, if he kept pushing her on that direction… “Shut it. I already solved it, since you were taking so long to get here. It was easy enough anyway.” “Y… you did?”

 Wow. She didn’t expect that. That was… actually nice. Indeed, the spikes weren’t there. “What? I was bored. And wasn’t I helping you? I’m your best friend, after all~” He sounded… uncomfortable. Not as naturally giggly as before. Athela wondered why. “Well, th-” “Don’t thank me,” the flower interrupted her. “I left the next puzzle just for you anyway. So go and enjoy it, okay~?”

Ugh. Athela wasn’t up to the challenge… she was feeling too cold, her flowers were complaining and sending shivers all across her body. It hurt… but what else could she do? She sighed and stumbled blindly once Flowey let her go. Her feet found some solid surface and Athela heard a ‘click’. The switch. And the hardened snow, right in front of her. She touched it, and immediately regretted it. “M-maybe I should head back and save…?” The impulse of saving all progress was strong. Of course, Flowey didn’t agree with her methods. “No. You do this puzzle and keep going.” “But I’m cold, and…” And that meant death. “See if I care,” he interrupted her rudely. “Come on, just solve it. I’ll even help you solve it; go to the snow that’s to your right and walk straight four steps. Come on.” Sighing, Athela did as Flowey said. From that moment on, it was all a series of confusing directions that the young lady had problems with. Up, right… then up… left? No, Athela, you screwed up. Go back and press the button. The puzzle restarts. Now go back to the same spot and walk again. Trial and error, trial and error. And also some intended misdirection on Flowey’s behalf. You know, just for the funsies. Athela was almost frozen up by the time she went to the button and pressed it for the final go. Finally, the puzzle was solved. “L-let me go back… I’m freezing, literally…” Athela begged. She felt her teeth clattering, and her head was hurting way too much. She spent a long time solving that puzzle, after all. The wind was getting wilder, too. If she didn’t get to the save point soon… “Don’t worry about minor details. There should be a save point not much further ahead… I think,” Flowey seemed unsure for once. “You think?” Athela wanted to cry again. “Well, it’s not like I can see them anymore!” Flowey tried to excuse himself. “Since a certain someone stole my powers, now I can’t see them.” Oh.

So it was exactly as she thought. No one could see the save points but her. Also, no one could use the save points but her. Seemed logical. It felt good to have some verification.

Flowey kept talking. “Anyway, just continue. It shouldn’t be far, now. Not like it would be useful for you, hehe.” Athela had to agree. She wasn’t really confident about going back on her own… It was really scary to walk blindly, and she didn’t trust her sense of direction to go backwards. Also, just like Flowey said, last time she tried it, she just died on the way back. She stepped into the next room.

“I’ve never been here before… how is it like?” She asked, hoping for an answer. “Plain. Boring. Empty. Keep walking straight. It’s a loong~ road.” After that brief explanation of the room, Flowey just… stopped talking. Athela assumed he just went on ahead. She felt kind of… lonely. So she tried to rush on forward. Of course, she wasn’t careless. She placed her feet carefully on the floor in front of her, always alert, just in case he decided to trick her again. But it was not the case. Sadly, her legs were barely responding by the time she got to the next room. Athela managed to hear some dog whining before her legs failed. She fell on the floor, head first, with a weak scream. “Wow, already?” Flowey’s voice greeted her, startling her. “Well, see you on the other side, I guess… I hope you’re faster this time.” Athela let out a weak laugh as she felt her bones going numb…

It was funny how it was always dark.

 Athela let out a sour laugh as she hugged her bony legs, sitting down on the cold floor. Refusing to move. “Come on, you were so close this time,” Flowey had been trying to make her get up for a while now. Since she refused to move again. It had been two more deaths since she first died at that new room. The room she didn’t even manage to see for obvious reasons. The following time she tried to go back at the save point after solving the puzzle, but… it happened the same as before. It was too far and she was too tired and cold to move any further. So she died. And next time, she tried to solve the puzzle faster, but that only made her mess it up. Flowey laughed at her and she died on the next room. Athela had started thinking that death by freezing was not as bad. It wasn’t as painful as falling from a cliff. And it certainly was less painful than dying from crushing.

But leaving death aside… she was doomed. Again. So she would not move.

  “Liar.” She replied. “I’m not lying. And even if I were, the weather will only get worse if you stay here, so it’ll be harder for you to continue! Just go, you idiot!” “I will die anyway, won’t I?” She was kinda hopeless. “No… come on, it’s been almost an hour now. Hey, guess what… if you move now, I’ll solve the first puzzle for you. Deal?” The evil flower was kind of tired of this pulling. “Do it for your dear mother, Athela~”

Ugh. She hated it when he used her as a motive to keep his game going. But… her mother WAS worth the pain. In her mind, she managed to get out of there and she found her mom. Then she got her eyesight back and they were happy ever after. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? … She stood up. “I hate you.” She said for the third time that day. “Good. If that keeps you going~” And he was happy again. Of course, he disappeared a few seconds after. He had said it before, he would never repeat his directions twice. Good thing Athela was being careful and that she had recognizable points she could count on to keep going. If not, she would’ve surely been doomed from the very start. … Well, she WAS doomed already. But at least she had to try, right…? Of course, the road was not different. Slow, and cold. Poor Athela was too mentally tired to keep going at a fast pace, even if being slow was lethal for her. As Flowey mentioned before, the wind was getting worse, and she had to cover her eyes more than once so no snowflakes would cause her pain. Like that, it was hard to keep her balance and solve the second puzzle correctly… she took more time than expected. But she solved it anyway. The ‘click’ that sounded when the button was pressed and the spikes were lowered brought her great satisfaction. Athela managed to crack a smile as she went forward again. The smile faded once she realized that she would die soon. “Come on, just keep going, I’m sure you’ll find a save point soon. It SHOULD be around here, if my memory isn’t as bad as yours. Oh, wait. It’s not.” Flowey chuckled as Athela kept walking. It felt like she had been walking forever. The wind was too strong.

 She cried in pain when some snow entered her eyes. The flowers were withering… Too late… She fell to the floor, whimpering. Giving up again. Flowey rushed to her side. But she didn’t see him. It was all obscure. “Come on, move. Not this again.” For once, he seemed… concerned? “No. I can’t.” She whispered. She was still holding up with her arms, but… she just let herself fall on the floor. It was useless delaying it any further. “But if you just… oops!”

 …

 …

 “Flowey…?” Athela called for him, confused. What happened? ‘Oops’, what? What was that about? Did he hurt himself?

 …

 It didn’t matter anyway… it would all be gone in a few minutes, so… better just let it go.

 Or that’s what she thought, but… suddenly, she could hear cries coming from far away. A voice… that was getting closer, and closer. Who…? He sounded worried. Was he asking if she was okay? Athela could barely hear him, for the world around her was starting to fade. But she felt how she was being lifted from the ground…that new person… he held her close, and… it felt as if he were running… but… who was he? And… where…?

 Where was he taking her?

Athela fainted before she had the time to think about it.

  Athela - LV 1 ?????? Nº Resets: 53

[samanthasroberts]

Which Fuckboy You Should Date Based On Your Horoscope

As modern women, we are all doomed to hit it with a fuckboy at least once in our lives, if we want to maintain the steady stream of sexual attention TV and movies say we should be receiving at all times. But which type of fuckboy is the best for you? Well what better way to find that out than to base it on the approximate locations of the planets when you were born? Honestly, seems like a much more accurate system than basing it on the two best photos of someone that may or may not be from 15 pounds ago and a bio that their best girl friend wrote that is almost 100% lies. 

  ARIES: THE EMOTIONAL FUCKBOY

Aries betches are all drama, so they’re going to want a fuckboy who can keep up. What’s the point of having a drunken screaming match in the middle of an Arby’s if the guy you’re yelling at isn’t even going to throw fries at the cashier? Aries enjoy bringing excitement into others’ lives, and what could be more exciting than showing up at someone’s window with gasoline and a lit match demanding to know if he’s sleeping with other people? Your friends will absolutely hate this guy and dedicate entire groupchats to how to get him out of your friend group, but they shouldn’t worry. You will eventually get bored of this fuckboy and impulsively block him on all socials so that you can start the process all over again with one of his closest friends.

TAURUS: THE WEIRDLY OLD FUCKBOY

Taurus betches are down to earth and don’t like inviting instability into their lives. For this reason, they’re going to need a fuckboy who is a little bit more of a fuckman if they want their relationship to work. Sure, his hair may be receding and there’s gray in his beard, but he also has a savings account with over $5 in it and a real apartment that he like, owns. Tauruses are also notoriously bad at breakups, which is why it might be better for you to find someone who is more likely to die before that happens. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this guy wants a real relationship, though. He may be old enough to be your dad, but that doesn’t mean he actually wants to  a dad. You know? 

  GEMINI: THE FOREIGN FUCKBOY

Gemini betches are unpredictable and need constant excitement to avoid being bored, which is why the best fuckboy for a Gemini is one that fully does not even go here. This fuckboy can slip in and out of your life without doing something annoying like becoming friends with your friends or “wanting to know what you’re up to.” Hooking up with this fuckboy is always exciting because you know your time is limited, and his accent is so thick you’re not 100% sure what he’s saying most of the time. If one of you does make the mistake of catching feelings, all you have to do is say Trump won’t let you leave the country and stop answering his texts. Ghost this bro with impunity knowing there’s almost 0 chance you’ll awkwardly run into each other at your local bar.

CANCER: THE MAN-BOY FUCKBOY

Cancer is the mommy of the zodiac, meaning a Cancer betch is going to want a fuckboy that she can take care of—aka “tell what to do.” The best fuckboy hookup for you will be one where you somehow end up staying all day and cleaning his apartment after. For whatever reason, you want a man who needs help setting up his own email account. Luckily, thanks to Judd Apatow & Co., the man-boy thing is very popular amongst men these days so you should have no problem finding one of your very own. Seriously. Just go to like, any bar with a $5 beer/shot special and you’ll be picking his ass up from soccer practice in no time.

LEO: THE AGGRESSIVELY HONEST FUCKBOY

As a Leo betch, you are proud AF and have no time for people who want to fuck with you. That’s why the fuckboy in your life needs to be the rare kind that are aggressively honest about everything. Like, the type of dude who will stop you mid-bone to tell you he’d prefer to have your pelvis at a 45 degree angle. Coded messages and random 3am sad face emojis are not going to work for you. You’d rather have a guy whose dating profile says “My girlfriend doesn’t know I’m on this site” than some d-bag who waits three dates to tell you he’s actually in an “open relationship” by which he means “My girlfriend doesn’t know I’m on this site.” Honesty you can work with. Bullshit mind games you cannot.

  VIRGO: THE FUCKBOY FROM CLASS

Virgo betches are highly intellectual, meaning that you’re going to want a fuckboy who can stimulate both your body and your mind. That’s why when a scruffy looking semi-hipster from your Politics of Developing Nations class slides into your DMs, you won’t hate it. The two of you can be boning one minute, then discussing your professor’s latest lecture series the next. He might even be down to Netflix binge all the fucked up documentaries you usually save for private time. Just don’t be surprised if he starts asking to copy your notes, and def don’t expect this guy to stick around into next semester, no matter how good your thesis is.

LIBRA: THE RICH FUCKBOY

Libra betches have expensive tastes, meaning that any fuckboy who even dreams of hitting it with a Libra better come correct with the budget to do so. If a guy wants the honor of sporadically answering your texts for a period of several months, then he needs to make sure that when he does finally decide to answer he’s inviting you to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town. Any man who thinks he can bring you back to the shitty rowhouse and mattress on the floor that he shares with his 15 unemployed roommates and still get in your pants is fucking delusional. You’ll be uber-blacking home before he can say “Sorry, we’re out of toilet paper.”

SCORPIO: THE HORNY AF FUCKBOY

Scorpio is the horniest of all signs, meaning that scorpio betches are going to need an equally horny fuckboy if the relationship is going to be even remotely rewarding. If he’s not down to exchange nude snaps at work, he is not the fuckboy for you. You don’t even really need to know this fuckboy’s name, TBH. All you need to know is if he’s up and has a semi-functional dick. The two of you will get exactly what you want out of this relationship, and part ways on good terms, until one of you has to inevitably call the other three years later to let them know they should probably get tested for HPV.

SAGITTARIUS: THE PARTYING FUCKBOY

Sagittarius betches are aggressively fun, so you’re going to need a fuckboy who can keep up the pace. You don’t need some lame-ass dude who is going to show up to the club and immediately start badgering you to go home and smoke weed. You need someone who is going to show up with a stolen bottle of Everclear and a friend who says he knows where you guys can “get a boat.” Just please try to remember to tell your friends where you’re going because you two might seriously end up dead in each other’s company.

CAPRICORN: THE INSTA-FAMOUS FUCKBOY

Capricorns, like Slytherins, are very ambitious betches. That’s why you’re going to need a your man to have a certain amount of social credibility before you agree to be his fuckwoman. Anyone with less than two thousand followers on Twitter and Insta, with an average of 3 LPM (likes per minute) is not going to cut it. If you’re going to be hanging out with some dude all night, you need to make sure that dude’s Snap stories are being seen by DJ Khaled levels of people. Otherwise, it’s just not worth it. This way you know that when you unfollow him, he’ll definitely notice and be pissed off for weeks.

AQUARIUS: THE FRIEND/FUCKBOY

Aquarius betches DGAF what anybody thinks of them, which is why you are more than down to break the cardinal rule of not fucking your friends in favor of totally fucking all of your friends. You like to have deep connections and personal history with the people in your life, which is why the friend/fuckboy is perfect for you. The two of you can hop into bed together knowing the full catalogue of shitty things you’ve said about previous lovers, and when you’re done you can just roll over and commence talking shit on The Dud or that kid you were friends with in high school who is like, super Christian now.

PISCES: THE REFORMED FUCKBOY

Dating a fuckboy is tricky for a Pisces betch because pisces, generally, are looking for a real commitment. That’s why you’re going to need to find yourself a fuckboy who has turned his back on his fuckboyish tendencies and is ready for a relationship that also exists outside the hours of midnight and 3am. Does he still wear a flat brim and pounds of body spray that somehow smells both good and bad? Sure. Is he going to freak out when, one week in, you casually bring up that your parents are in town? Nope. He’s all about it. In fact, he has personalized gifts for each member of your family and already knows all their names from memorizing your social media profiles. Just don’t expect him to be good at texting. No man is actually good at texting. 

  Source: http://allofbeer.com/which-fuckboy-you-should-date-based-on-your-horoscope/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/which-fuckboy-you-should-date-based-on-your-horoscope/