#cursed ambrosia behind the curtain

[thecorvidcurio]

So, I may occasionally throw out little rambles about the process and progress of writing this story. I'll tag these as "[game title] behind the curtain" for any given game it's for, and the bulk will be under a readmore in case anyone isn't into that or wants to avoid such things until after they've gotten to read the content it's about first. This first one is going to be rambles about chapter 2 edits in regards to Abby, tho I have some similar posts to share in time about writing the other characters as well.

Writing Abby is really hard and so much different from any other character I've ever written but not in the way of actually finding the words. The writing itself is easy, but afterward? Ho boy. Part of why the chapter 2 edits have taken this long is that I can't stop overthinking his and Marina's part. I'm just reading it over and over again, caught between the people-pleasing urge to make him more palettable and the knowledge that the very core of his character and the intention when I made him was that he'd be distinctly UNpalettable.

He isn’t supposed to be palettable. If he's perfectly palettable to most readers, then I haven't succeeded in writing him as intended. His very nature is supposed to be so diametrically opposed to humanity that it's clear most humans would have a negative reaction to him. He's supposed to come off like a walking headache. He's supposed to be ill-fitting, he's supposed to Not Belong Among People, he's supposed to be Incompatible With Humanity.

It's hard to break the mindset of writing a character people will like, though. It's hard to shake the feeling that it's a failure that many will dislike him, despite the fact that being dislikable was one of the first traits I started with when designing him. It was baked in from the start. My concept for his character at his inception was "creature who dresses like a rainbow drank straight neon until it got sick and is a personified concentration of chaos and dissonance, way more than even most other supernatural creatures are willing to put up with."

If I make him more appealing, he won't be Abby anymore. But still, the whole time I'm editing his bits there's an urge to scrap the original intent entirely for the sake of making him more broadly appealing.

[thecorvidcurio-if]

A peek behind the curtain regarding Marina:

(Note: This includes some insight into the character, so don't read this if you'd like to get to know her naturally via a blind playthrough.)

Writing Marina is tricky similarly to how Abby is, in a "how much is too much" sort of way, just a different flavour of it. With Abby, it's his energy and obnoxious nature. With Marina, the challenge is finding a balance where she comes off as intimidating and abrasive without seeming Outright Hostile. She isn't trying to drive people off or hurt them, but the things she values and the way she interacts can make her seem that way at times. She's the sort of person to use insults as endearments and say them with fondness.

She values what are generally considered to be faults and flaws. She thinks they're the most interesting parts of people and should be expressed more openly with less shame. She has no interest in the carefully curated "best foot forward" versions of people that they prefer to present to the world. She finds the masking of someone's worst qualities more objectionable than any inconvenience that quality would bring. So, insults are more like compliments to her and compliments are more like insults.

It's easy to like the good parts of someone, and it's easy for someone to show their good side. Marina doesn't want easy. She doesn't like easy. Marina wants to know the most fucked up parts of someone more than anything else, and this comes from a deep-seated desire to have the fucked up parts of herself be accepted... as well as from her general distaste for lies.

[senatushq]

Nettelia

NAME/ALIASES. UTP AGE & BIRTH DATE. Prehistoric & Unknown SPECIES. Aspect GENDER & PRONOUNS. Female & She/Her or She/They AFFILIATIONS. UTP OCCUPATION. UTP

History

First daughter of Eden, like the others, Nettelia was crafted by the artisan Prometheus and given life by Titania and Ulthar. Chosen by The First to safeguard the people of Eden and the Two Trees: Laurelin and Telperion, Nettelia and her siblings grew up eating the ambrosia fruits harvested from the trees and lived to protect the perfect realm that they had been born into. Beautiful and unchanging, Nettelia studied the creatures that Epimetheus crafted and memorized their shapes, marveled as Oztalun gave them life and lavished under the gold and silver light that cascaded from the Two Trees. In this age sickness and disease never touched Eden, the people were blessed with a true immortality that had been shepherded from the realm of the Gods. Seeded by the Gods themselves before their departure from the realm, it was Nettelia’s sacred duty to see to it that this paradise went unprovoked. Humanity and the offspring that would later be called demigods were born with a cursed fate, but Prometheus held a secret that he gifted to Nettelia first: the man behind the curtain who bore a terrible secret. The truth of the Gods was nestled in the truth of their immortality, to Uthenera they slumbered when their bodies were destroyed and their magic retreated, but only immortal hosts could contain their souls upon their return. Eden was a garden, but not for humanity. Prometheus brought free will to Eden, with Nettelia as his accomplice as he stole from Ulthar himself. Punished before the days of Lucifer’s rebellion, Nettelia would have followed had the most beautiful of the seraphim not refused to kneel. 

Eden burned and the Two Trees were destroyed, in the cruel sweep of fire mortality was brought to the race of humanity. Grief defined the archdruid, but she was possessed also by a far greater purpose, she bore the truth of the Gods and their intentions for the race of mortality. Watched as the Inferno was crafted by Oztalun and understood that the demons that crawled forth were also unfit, but their divine children when strengthened with the lines of fey would prove enough. It was in the aftermath of Eden’s pillage that Nettelia unearthed some truth to her abilities, that her power of transference could do more than mend a wing or help a plant recover, but she could heal and rend curses. The whispers came and those she confided in wouldn’t hear her, Nettelia, the grief-ridden sister who ranted at the injustice of the Gods, who turned those that she thought were possessed of the sort of righteousness that wouldn’t allow them to falter. More and more her dreams haunted her, in them she saw visions of a binding, of a transference, of sacrifices too great to number. She’s seen so many die before, fallen wings and monstrous cries of anguish and pain. This was her solution, her salvation and means to an end: her answer came in the binding of the necronomicon, to its blood hewn pages that were born from the lives of countless supernaturals. Nettelia had enough time to break Prometheus’ chains, then her siblings came for her, learned the truth of what she���d done, and slayed the chimera that she had become. 

Connections

Aren: Of her three siblings, Aren slumbered while she was killed after her descent. He remains the only one who did not see her at her worst, and for that she is grateful. 

Apollo: Companion of Eden, Nettelia got her first lessons in the healing arts from the God. While Gods are fickle, Apollo at least has always been upfront about his nature. 

Pythia: Her grief manipulated, Pythia used Nettelia’s anguish and hatred for the Gods against her - twisted her thoughts towards blood magic and aided Tiamat in instructing Nettelia on how to craft the necronomicon. 

Abilities

Author: as the creator of the necronomicon, Nettelia is immune to necromantic spells and manipulations. 

Immortal: as a druid, Nettelia will always reincarnate after she dies. Her lifespan lasts for up to five-centuries before she will inevitably begin to fade. However, her connection to the necronomicon will see to it that she is resurrected shortly after her destruction so long as the book remains. 

Archdruid: as an archdruid, Nettelia’s ability to turn into the chimera was destroyed, but she has retained her ability to shift into animals. An archdruid only has to look at a creature for a short while before understanding their habits. 

Transference: an elevated power of transference allows Nettelia to move magic and souls from one location to another. To this end she is able to heal any injury, illness, or curse.

Weaknesses

Mortality: While durable, Nettelia’s body is still mortal and she can be killed by mortal means. 

Binding: Several witches, druids or fey can bind her to the necronomicon if killed.

Animal Binding: Several witches, druids, or fey can bind her to an animal form if banded together. 

Lycanthropy: As an archdruid, Nettelia cannot be turned into a lycan, their bite however is poisonous to her and would prevent her from using her magic until recovered.

THIS SKELETON IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.

[talesofesther]

Anchor - Part 13

Five Hargreeves x Reader

Masterlist with the other parts

See part one for important notes

A/N: Oh I know you guys have been waiting quite some time for this part, and I'm sorry it took me this long. But I really didn't have much time lately and I haven't been able to focus. But anyway, it's finally here, I truly hope you like it. And I have to say that the next part might take some extra time to be posted too, but don't worry, I won't stop writing ♥. If you wanna be added to the tag list, let me know. ♥

The first rays of sun painted the sky and birds could already be heard from outside. The curtains from the open window flew with the slight breeze that was coming in. The cold air made Five snuggle just a tad closer to the comfortable warmth beside him.

About a minute passed before his sleepy brain realized what just happened. Five tensed even before opening his eyes. The boy took in the feeling of an arm holding him close, a hand clasped loosely around his own, and soft and steady breathing just beside him.

Five's eyes opened and his heart almost stopped. It took everything in him to not full-on panic right then and there. She was so close. Y/N was laying beside him, their noses just barely touching and she was holding him. Five felt the skin in his hand prickle. What happened last night? He couldn't remember, he knew he definitely didn't fall asleep like this.

The boy felt his breathing become ragged and anxious. He felt lost, scared even. He shouldn't be here. He wanted to, but shouldn't. Five closed his eyes and gulped trying to calm down, he never woke up having someone beside him. He analyzed Y/N's features for a moment, she looked so peaceful, so relaxed... So beautiful.

Five's expression softened, and he gently touched her nose with his. He would gladly wake up to this every morning if he could. He felt guilty for wishing that, but it was inevitable.

With the softest movements he could muster, Five freed himself from her grasp. His chest tightened in protest, telling him to go back to her.

Sitting up on the bed, Five looked at her. Bringing one of his hands up to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes, he lightly caressed her cheek and brought her blanket up to her shoulders to protect her from the cold. Five let out a long sigh as he buried his face in his shaky hands. Feeling a drop of wetness escape his eye.

He wanted to punch himself. For getting so attached to her, for letting his lonely heart fall for her. He tried to deny but it was impossible now. Five curled on himself, bringing his knees to his chest, he was desperate. He told himself he had no right to feel like this towards her, that it was wrong and he didn't even deserve it. And yet the feeling never left. Five's heart was already hers.

If someone told him before that he would fall in love with a girl like this, he would laugh, say it was impossible. But he didn't take into account how damaged he was, how much he needed affection. And when she gave it to him...

Five shook his head and chuckled. He didn't know what was worse. Realizing that he loved her, or the fact that she would never love him back.

Shame and guilt washed over him as Five wiped his eyes and got up from the bed. His chest hurt with every beat of his heart as he looked at Y/N's sleeping form.

______

Y/N's eyes opened not too long after Five left. The girl instantly felt the empty space beside her, stretching her hand on the mattress where Five should be. She cursed herself for being so tired and not hearing him leave.

Sitting up on the bed, she stretched herself and ran a hand through her messy hair. Looking out the window to the rising sun, Y/N assumed it was still kinda early in the morning.

After she went to the bathroom and fixed herself, she made her way to Elliott's kitchen, and could already hear people talking there.

"... We only have one option. It's time to get The Umbrella Academy back together" Five's voice echoed through the kitchen as Y/N reached the room and braced herself on the threshold.

Diego and Luther were sitting at the table, Luther was eating a very large plate of scrambled eggs. Elliot was just beside Y/N and Five was braced in the counter with a coffee mug in his hand. "Morning guys" Y/N's sleepy voice greeted them.

"Hey Y/N" Diego smiled at her.

"You're.." Luther started, pointing an unsure finger at the girl's direction.

"Y/N. Klaus's friend, remember?" The girl smiled at him.

"Right" the big man smiled back and put another spoonful of eggs into his mouth. "Hey, can one of you get Allison please?"

Diego's eyes widened at his brother as he leaned a bit closer. "You two still a thing?"

As the two talked, Y/N walked to the counter to grab herself a cup of coffee as well, which was just behind Five. The girl's eyes regarded him with certain insecurity behind them. Five was tense. For all she knew, he could be mad about what happened last night.

"Morning Five" Y/N gave him a half-smile when she stopped just in front of him.

He didn't meet her eyes, his fingers holding the mug started to go white. Five stepped aside so she could reach the coffee pot. "Y/N" was all he said.

Pouring coffee into her mug, Y/N bit her lip in nervousness. Holding the mug between both her hands, she turned to face Five noticing he was wearing his uniform again. For some reason that brought a tiny smile to her lips, and she reached out a hand to touch his arm, but he took a small step away from her.

Five clenched his jaw and tried not to show any emotions on his face, even if he was feeling a million of them. "I'll get Allison" The boy put his mug down and walked past Y/N like she wasn't even there.

"Can you uh- get Vanya without squeezing her to death?" He stopped and looked at Luther.

The big man gave him a humorless laugh. "I'll try"

Five just nodded and started to walk away.

"Five, I'll go with-" Y/N started, but before she could finish, Five was gone. The girl scoffed and closed her eyes with an annoyed smile on her face.

Diego smirked at Luther upon seeing what happened, but Luther only shot him a confused glare.

______

"I'm not eating that" Y/N whispered to Vanya. Them both, and Luther, were sitting beside each other on Elliott's couch. While Diego sat in an armchair as Elliott excitedly shared the story behind an ambrosia he had just made. But it looked more like some kind of gone wrong slime.

"If we have some will you shut up?" Diego said with a bored voice.

"Maybe" Elliott proceed to put some of his ambrosia in a bowl.

"How are you feeling?" Luther turned to Vanya.

"Pretty shitty to be honest"

"Where would you say you are on a scale from one to... Ending all life on this planet?" Diego stepped in, turning a knife in his hand.

"Diego, stop with the knife, she's fine" Y/N complained.

"Last time I saw her she had me suspended mid-air, sucking the life out of me with energy tentacles" he continued to play with his knife. "I think I'm allowed a little time to process"

"I would like to see an energy tentacle" Elliott said, amazed.

"You wouldn't" Y/N whispered to him.

"I don't remember what I did, but I'm sorry... If that means anything" Vanya sat up straight and said with an honest voice.

"It does" Diego's expression softened all of a sudden. "I'm just going through a lot right now"

Before anyone could say anything else. The front door from downstairs was opened and they all could hear people talking coming in.

A sweet "hello?" Could be heard as Vanya, Diego, and Elliott got up and looked down at the new arrivals.

"Oh, I know this is impossible but... Did we all get sexier?" A shiver ran through Y/N's body as she heard her friend's voice, she got up so fast she almost got dizzy and ran to the railings to look down.

Five, Allison and... Klaus stood downstairs, looking up at them. Y/N could already feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Klaus?" She said almost out of breath.

Klaus's eyes met hers and his expression softened. "Y/N" his hand came up to his mouth and he slowly walked to the stairs.

"Oh my god" the girl said as she ran down the stairs as fast as she could to meet her friend, almost falling down in the process when she slipped in one of the steps.

Y/N threw herself at Klaus and clutched to him like her life depended on it. The tears now falling free from her eyes while she held the fabric of his shirt between her shaky fingers. "I missed you so much" the girl chuckled amongst her tears.

Klaus held her body against his just as tight. One hand on her back and the other holding her head in a comforting manner, he closed his eyes and buried his head on her shoulder. "I missed you too, so goddamn much" he smiled as his own eyes filled with salty wetness.

Five watched his brother and Y/N with curious eyes. Feeling a weird sensation in his chest upon seeing them both so... Close.

All the siblings greeted each other as well and also shared some curious looks, none of them has ever seen Klaus be so sentimental with someone.

Y/N pulled away from her friend but her hands remained on his chest as a means to make sure he wouldn't disappear. "I- I love your hair" the girl said with a big smile, admiring Klaus's new look.

"I love yours too" the man said as he used his thumbs to clean what was left of Y/N's tears and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Five's breath hitched when he saw that, he felt uncomfortable and had to look away. "Let's get down to business" he said and made his way upstairs.

***

Thank you for reading ♥ the next part should be out soon. And if you have any idea about how this story should progress or anything you would like to see in it, please send me an ask or message and I’d be happy to include it. All opinions and feedback are appreciated ♥

Taglist

@alexander-hamilhoe​ @noneyeahbusiness @anapocalypseinmymind​ @yikes-matey​ @vicfull​ @flowertoty @shlokage @flaminghotcheetoos​ @moneyyhoneyyy​ @n1ghtsh4d3-67​ @nappinggecko​ @megasimpleplan4ever​​ @peterbeans​​ @greeknerd007​​ @my-things-things​​ @malfovs​​ @sweetjellytine​​ @soft-slytherin-sweetie​​ @marylimlp​​ @lunna-does-real-doodle​​ @sauberwisch96​​ @weepingplaidhoundpanda​​ @tired-of-this-shit​ @moatsnow​​ @yourbloodyqueen​

[flightfoot]

Last Days of a Meat Puppet Chapter 3

Darkness.

Movement.

Heaviness.

Color blurs past

 getting closer

 before passing by.

Images resolving.

Walls. Floors. Doors.

All gleaming.

A stop.

Movement forward

but more slowly.

Lines of gold.

On the other side

a blob of color.

A figure. 

A person.

A boy.

Young.

Not moving.

Laying on the ground.

Wrong. This is wrong.

Sound reverberates.

The sound - not just any sound - resolves.

Gains meaning.

IT’S TIME

YOU WILL BE SENT DOWN IN THIS MORTAL BODY

YOU MUST DEFEAT PYTHON

RECLAIM THE ORACLES YOU NEGLECTED

WITH NO HELP FROM THE GODS.

ONLY IF YOU SUCCEED

ONLY THEN WILL I CONSIDER RESTORING YOUR DIVINITY

YOU THINK THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE WORSHIPPED ABOVE ME?

REMEMBER THIS.

I AM YOUR FATHER.

I AM YOUR KING.

YOU EXIST BECAUSE OF ME.

YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE IS DUE TO MY MERCY.

CROSS ME AGAIN

AND THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER CHANCE.

Some slight twitching. 

Barely a response.

Barely a reaction.

But the boy’s alive.

ANSWER ME.

A slight groan.

More twitching.

But no words.

A low GROWL.

The boy turns into sparks of light.

So, so few sparks.

Dim.

Fading. 

Nearly extinguished.

They surge forwards.

Then-

contact.

Soul shard touches whole soul, a godly soul.

Pushed, forced into this mortal form.

The essence is SHOVED into the space where a whole soul used to reside.

Filling the spaces left by Zeus’s malice

by his violence against the innermost parts of this being.

Yearning for completeness, for the missing pieces of himself

the shard makes do.

This other soul is similar enough.

It connects with the newcomer, using the soul to fill in the aching gaps-

And Lester is aware.

But not just him.

Apollo’s there too.

He’s barely conscious. Apollo’s had his my? essence slowly, painfully, painfully slowly - drawn out of him, his consciousness shrinking, contracting, until he and his memories could fit in the remaining essence, then repeated for months. No ambrosia. No nectar. Only one visitor.

Zeus. His my father. Only a few times. Only to draw out more essence, and to taunt. 

No one else came. No one else could. 

All that existed was Apollo, the net, and his slowly fading memories.

Maybe Zeus was right.

Maybe he did deserve this.

Faces flickered past.

Daphne. Hyacinthus.

Both dead because of him.

Scenes he could not fully remember. 

People he should know, but who he could not recall.

A man with his knife at another man’s throat, pleading for help.

Hands around a drowning man’s throat, keeping him underwater as he struggled.

Only a handful of the guilt he felt, only the ones who bubbled up to consciousness.

So, so much more below the surface, hidden beneath layer upon layer of distraction

of willful ignorance.

A facade so thorough, it fooled even the owner.

But not anymore.

No one remained to hold back the tide.

He wasn’t needed.

No one had come for him.

Would anyone even care if he were gone?

Images flickered briefly.

A woman with a kindly expression, cradling her to his chest.

His beloved mother.

She would care.

A young girl with cold silver eyes, looking annoyed and exhausted, but also relieved.

She is the very first person he ever sees.

His (sometimes annoying, but precious) twin Artemis.

They would care.

The images sputtered, then died.

Desperately he tried to cling to them, to the two people in his life who somehow, for some reason, STILL wanted to be with him.

They slipped away.

He’d justified his need for his continued existence to himself by telling himself over and over that he was gorgeous, that he could not deprive the world of his beauty.

That everyone loved him, that they’d be worse off if he was gone.

That he was a GOOD PERSON, who deserved to be alive even when so many others had ceased to exist.

Zeus’s punishment had laid it all bare to him.

The world did not need him.

The world did not love him.

He was not a good person.

He would have given up long before, if not for Artemis and Leto.

But even his desire to exist for them, so they would not have to mourn his passing, was dying out.

It kept him alive for all those months in that prison.

But that was all it could do.

And even that was fading with his memories of them.

NO

I pulled back from Apollo’s consciousness, just a little. I couldn’t separate too much, or I’d lose my sense of self again. But enough to escape the spiral Apollo was trapped in.

I couldn’t remember much. Couldn’t quite feel what I should. From connecting with Apollo, I had realized that *I* - what *I* was left - was just a fragment of a person. Just a remnant of once was.

But I knew that Apollo didn’t deserve to fade. 

He’d screwed up, no denying that. He’d done some terrible things, and ALLOWED even more horrible things to happen, things that even now he didn’t realize the horror of.

But beneath all of that, beneath his indifference, his arrogance, his selfishness, his guilt, his sadness... we weren’t so different.

I had easily connected with his soul. Even with my barely functioning memory, I could tell that while Apollo’s soul wasn’t my own, beneath it all, we were similar where it mattered most. 

If we had switched places, would I be like him, and him like me?

I didn’t know.

But it gave me hope.

I saw no way to save myself, but perhaps I could save Apollo.

Perhaps he could right the terrible wrongs I had seen in the background of his memories.

Children fighting to the death against monsters.

People cursed and killed because they had the misfortune to be in the crossfire of a spat between gods.

Apollo was not innocent in this.

But he was not a monster either.

I could feel it in the depths of my soul.

He could help the children.

He could help the innocents.

He could be a better person than he thought he was.

And, maybe... maybe that was good enough.

For now, though, I had to focus on keeping Apollo alive.

I’d seen the monsters he’d be facing, the dangers that awaited him in the mortal world.

Without his powers, with barely any will to live left, he’d be easy pickings.

Zeus had nearly broken his spirit. As he was now, Apollo would not survive. 

Lester...?

Ah. Apollo had realized I was still here.

I felt him instinctively reach out to my soul, to the dregs of memories I had left.

I opened up the connection, let him see what I saw, let him feel what I feel. Let him perceive his memories through my eyes.

And he found my memories too. Ones I didn’t even realize were still there.

Mum, bringing me soup when I was sick.

Dad, helping teach me how to drive.

Tyrone and Tyler hiding very poorly during a game of hide-and-seek (I didn’t let them know that I could see them behind the curtain. I just walked on by, letting them believe they had chosen the best hiding place in the world.

Getting down on my hands and knees and giving Katie Pegasus-back rides (they were 20% cooler than ponies she said.)

Helping Cameron with his homework, vowing to be the best older brother possible to him, and the best friend.

I felt him realize, in the depths of his soul, that I was a person too.

That I wasn’t just fodder.

That the mortals he had so callously ignored, had dismissed as being less important than him, than the gods - that we weren’t as different as he liked to believe.

The guilt that he had tried so hard to keep at bay, to keep hidden in the depths of his soul, crashed down on him.

He’d failed SO BADLY.

They’d all failed.

How could they not have realized...?

No. They realized. They just pretended otherwise.

It was easier that way.

His despair nearly engulfed me.

I’m a terrible person.

I deserve this.

I deserve much worse than this.

SO FIX IT, I screamed at him. You know better now. You can change things. But not if you die here. Survive. Learn. Grow. If you think you’re a terrible person, then BECOME a better one. But you can’t fix your mistakes if you’re gone.

I could feel him begin to rally, feel him begin to change course. But it wasn’t enough. With his own existing guilt and insecurity combined with Zeus’s abuse over the past several months, he still didn’t have enough left in him to fight back. With time and support, I believed that he would recover enough to stand up for himself and for others. So long as he had some means to combat his depression, his guilt. Someone to shout back the voices when they got too loud, to help him fight off the voices, until he was strong enough to fight them off himself. Someone like me.

I didn’t have that time.

Through my Apollo’s? eyes, I saw Zeus reach down his hand and pick me, Apollo,  us up. Everything was foggy, Apollo and I still adjusting to each other’s presence.

Then Zeus engulfed us in a fiery light.

The pain was worse than you could ever imagine. I burned from the inside out, Zeus’s flame targeting the last remaining scrap of my soul. Apollo attempted to shield me, to hide me from the flame by concealing my soul with the light from his own.

It wasn’t going to work. I could feel the flame licking at Apollo’s soul, causing him to scream as well. Perhaps Zeus didn’t want Apollo destroyed. But he didn’t believe that Apollo would truly sacrifice himself, put himself on the line to help save a mortal he’d just met.

I’d felt Apollo’s soul.

I knew better.

Apollo would burn to protect those he cared about.

I wasn’t going to give him the chance.

I was going to be destroyed. No avoiding that.

But I would undo as much of Zeus’s damage as I could first.

If I was going to be destroyed, some good would come of it. 

I dove into Apollo’s memories, racing against time. I wanted to help reinforce his positive memories, suppress the ones of the abuse and suffering he had endured. I couldn’t. Anything I touched, anything I interfered with, was at risk of being erased by Zeus’s flame. 

Instead I searched for his most recent memories, the ones that had finally broken him. These last few months did not need to be remembered. Zeus’ taunting would be for nothing. A twinge of satisfaction ran through me at that thought.

I found them quickly. Then I PULLED-

Pain. Boredom. Despair. And most of all

Loneliness.

Such utter loneliness.

My soul shuddered, and curled inwards. It hurt nearly as much as the flames had. No wonder Apollo had nearly given up, if this was the emotional pain he had been in all that time. I held on. Zeus wanted to erase me from existence? Fine. He would erase some of the pain he caused as well.

Apollo sensed what I was doing. We were connected. He knew my plan.

I felt my - no, his, I wouldn’t exist much longer, they were his now - mouth open as tears streamed down his face. 

“Please,” he rasped, voice rasp from disuse. “Please just... just leave him alone. Kill me if you want. But leave Lester alone. This isn’t his fault. He doesn’t deserve this punishment. Please.”

Zeus simply glowered at him coldly, the flames intensifying. “REMEMBER. THIS IS YOUR FAULT. YOUR PUNISHMENT.”

He was blaming Apollo for my fate, for the cruelty HE was inflicting on ME.

You are not responsible for this, I thought at Apollo. Zeus is, and Zeus alone. Don’t let others foist off responsibility for their own cruelty.

Just tell my family what happened. Please.

I had a feeling that if he could, Apollo would be sobbing. I will. I promise.

I was done with my work. I couldn’t let Apollo face the flames any longer. Already I could feel them burning through me, burning through the memories I had left behind. Burning through the epiphanies Apollo had experienced while connected to my soul. Everything the flame thought was me, everywhere it thought I might hide, it would incinerate. 

Apollo would not remember this. I didn’t see how he could keep his promise. He wouldn’t even remember that I existed. But I had to believe in him. I had to believe that he would come to the same realizations again, realize mortals’ worth. That he could fight through the facade he put up, through his own guilt, pain, and arrogance. 

I had done all I could.

I moved out from Apollo’s protection, into the path of the flames. Apollo tried to wrap around me again in a futile, last-ditch attempt to save me. I would not allow him to do so. He’d been hurt enough trying to save me. It was my turn to save him.

Distantly I felt Zeus hurl Apollo off of Olympus, flames still streaming from his body as they burned up the last ashes of my consciousness.

I had helped save someone.

I had helped...

I...

...

[zeemczed]

A Second Brag

“The Brag of the SubGenius” is part of the classics section if you check out their library. Just shy of a thousand words. Look it up. It’s kind of amazing. 

What follows is something that I... don’t want to say I wrote. Part of it came out on /b/ of all places - apt, I know - and part of it followed immediately thereafter. No, I can’t say I wrote it. I just typed it out. It was already there.

Enjoy.

Writing this? WRITING THIS? I SCREAMED THIS INTO THE FACE OF THE GODS. I opened my lungs and bellowed my cry of existence into the cosmos and made the cosmos flinch! I AM, AND I AM AWESOME, LET ALL TAKE HEED. I am the ninth Beatle, the square root of negative one, the living and undying omnissiah! I am the Protagonist! I have licked the frozen pole without getting my tongue stuck, have plumbed every board there is, and come back with no headache and all their lulz! I remember when /tg/ got shit done! I remember when /co/ was love! I remember when /b/ was almost good! I eat angel twat for breakfast and wash it down with demon cunt and ten gallons of Red Pop! I set off geiger counters at 500 paces! Courage Wolf WISHES he had my Slack! Bend over and spread `em, because FUCK SHIT YEEEEEE-FUCKIN'-HAAAA! I'm the Hoover Dam, splitting apart and drowning the valley! I'm the Empire State, collapsing across six city blocks! I'm the moon smashing into Termina, and the last hope for everything to be Lost Forever because GOD FUCKING DAMN the other options are worse! I am the man without fear and a living mountain of will, the Last Green Lantern of Earth, the Sum of All Parts and Steve McQueen! I can push a Trabi up over 200mph before changing the oil, I can make a three-Michelin-star meal with nothing but potatoes and the condiment bar! I fixed your wagon last night and I'll do it again in the morning! I am Luckbringer, Fuckbringer, and Fuckfucker! I give all the fucks, but none of them are mine! I found D. B. Cooper and learned the sublime art of invisibility! I found Jimmy Hoffa, and learned the Sacred Rites of Kneebreaking! I found Elvis, and learned Soul! I found Moot and LICKED HIS FACE! I have traveled every road in the land, from the sacred sun-bleached roads of Santa Cruz to the infernal pitted highways around Hellgate to the hidden highways in the caves under Kentucky and the President's Secret Roads that get blotted off satellite maps! I hot swap alternators in less time than it takes a grayface to get gas, I Know that I Know and I Know that I do Not Know! I am brother to the Great Asphalt Dragon! I cornered the market on Plaid Hats, I discovered the secrets of the Masons and Shriners and Elks and the Rotary Club, I punched the ghost of L. Ron Hubbard in his shriveled ectoplasmic cokehead cock! I know the Eleven Herbs and Spices, I know the Secret Formula for Coke, and I have improved on each! I see the threads being pulled, and spray paint them orange so they can't be hidden anymore! I see the man behind the curtain, and I drag him into the street, screaming! I have reached the state of Weird Enough (tm) and surpassed it, and for it I have been curse-blessed by Saint Hunter himself! I have put the bastards of this world on notice, right after I KNEW THEIR DAUGHTERS. Anansi is my dealer, and epignosis is my current high of choice! I grok only the truth, and I shit in the general direction of your endless lies! I have set foot and ass and fist on other worlds, every liminal space is my stomping ground and my ring! I attract them! I draw them like the comments sections draw failure! The heavens beg me for the recipe for my special sauce TO DOUSE THEIR AMBROSIA WITH! I need no gun! I am my own gun, and the loads that I spit are Teflon! I have trained in the ways of the Camel Clutch, the Tombstone Piledriver, and the TRUE Atomic Leg Drop, the one that the False Grappler never learned of! Jacob wrestled with YHWH for three days and nights before God won; I did it for a week, and the judges are still trying to tally up the score! My mind contains multitutes, my blood contains things they're still looking for at CERN, my bloodline contains horse thieves, kings, gypsies and yeti! CROM tried to bring doom and storms upon my head - I threw the death back at him and kept the rain to wash down my mead! I am BEYOND! I am WITHIN! I am FREE and I will remain FREE for all time and beyond it! The universal laws are mere universal SUGGESTIONS in my presence! I was born of Black Wind, Fire, and Steel, I AM A WERE-ROBOT TRAPPED IN HUMAN SKIN, A MACHINE OF A MAN, A PISTON-DRIVEN V-12 RUNNING ON PURE ETHANOL, PEPPERS, AND INJECTED NITROMETHANE! I am a THING BEYOND THE GODS, for I am MAN, and I have SCREWED THE FATES and stole their RONCO WEAVE-O-MATIC! To stand against me is to stand against THE STORM! Who believes they can beat me in a chili cookoff? WHO DARES TO SEAL THEIR DESTRUCTION?