#i have another floppy disk ask and i'll use that one to see if i can get more out of him

[synthy-sizer]

??? YEARS AGO

………

The harsh light fades away and you're left with a small, cramped office. It's old and well-used, showing its age and character. Wooden shelves in varying sizes and grains line every wall. They're crammed with floppy disks. Against the back wall is an old, wooden desk. It's covered in messy stacks of paper, computer parts and more floppies. And there's a yellowing CRT with a keyboard and mouse. The office chair similarly looks like it's been in use for at least a decade.

“Hey, Jordan.” You turn around to see an assuming, shrew man standing in the doorframe, a white void cascading out. “If you don't mind, I need to get to my computer.” You stand aside and watch him walk over. You ask no questions, something that confuses you, but somehow you don't feel you need to ask. He sits down and swivels the chair to face you, then extends his hand. “Allow me to formally introduce myself. I'm God. Lovely to meet you.” You awkwardly shake his hand. “Now. You've done very well getting here. I know it's been difficult, and for that I apologize. And unfortunately, I also have to preemptively apologize, because your mission isn't done yet.” You finally feel the energy in you to speak. “I'm so tired…” He nods sympathetically. “I know you are. You've been a faithful agent. But you just need to get a little further now. If it's any consolation, I'll finally provide you with the answers you seek.” He gestures. “Sit down. It's ok.” You find a spot that's relatively clear of assorted papers and disks and sit on the wooden floor.

“When you return, 500 years will have passed. There will be people who are struggling to reclaim the world after the apocalypse. You need to guide them, so they can come to me. Their names are Violence and Lust. And you will be christened, ‘Heresy’. Do you understand?” You glance over at the bookshelves. There's a few books on them, on a small nook dedicated to literature rather than floppy disks. Your eyes land on one in particular; the first of the 3 books in Dante's Divine Comedy; Inferno. You look back at God and nod. “These people are important. You need to convince them of their path. There's also a girl named Sofia. Find her and bring her to you.” Your vision starts to go fuzzy. The words enter your mind but you barely register. Testaments, burned into your mind, unconscious directives for you to follow. “Now you can return to the world of the living. Go on.” You slowly rise and walk towards the void of white. “Oh, and Jordan…” You turn back to look at him one last time. “I know you grow your hair out and wear oversized hoodies. When you get back, do yourself a favor and bring those behaviors to their logical conclusions.”

…….

Well, here we are. Yet another novella complete. When I started Eden, it was something that I made up as I went along. I had recently watched Lost, Lain, and read Homestuck, and tried to mash elements from things I was passionate about into a project I would be forced to finish because it was being put out online. As the story progressed, it took shape, and I realized that if I wanted to keep actually making things out of my ideas I would have to keep writing. And so the overarching story began.

When I started Otherside, it looked different than it came out. I had an idea based loosely on a horror game, where someone was on a moon base, convinced the world was dead, and then a signal would convince them to escape and go to Earth. There they would find the escape to the moon was very justified. But I think Otherside marked the end of how different the premises of these stories start in my head and the actual end results are. I've had the ending to act 2 in my head since last year, when I was writing act 1. I hope the ending I have in mind for this series is as cool and exciting as I think it is.

As usual, I would like to thank @ice-fairy-chiruno for being the artist for the series. She brings to life things impossible to find online, and I both cannot thank her enough or apologize enough for my executive dysfunction leading to some rushed deadlines.

@technicolorxsn has been and remains my biggest fan, and honestly half the reason I write this stuff is for their reactions. It's so cool seeing your reactions to everything I write, and I honestly can't thank you enough for sticking with me and being excited for the stuff I make.

I also have to thank my friend @telltaletypist for offering writing advice and re-aligning me when I got too lost in the trap of chasing perfection. I feel much more refreshed and reinvigorated thanks to her.

See you next year!

-Synthy

PREVIOUS

[istherewifiinhell]

Y'all wanna see the most 1986 comic panels ever put to page?

[Technofear published in Gobbleygook by Mirage Studios]

GAMERS!!! RATE HIS RIG.....

[ID from alt: Title panel of TECHNOFEAR. "featuring DONATELLO and MICHAELANGELO, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Story and Art but Peter Laird. Letter's by [Steve] Lavigne."

Depicted is a desk filled with computer parts, including open air circuit boards. Don gestures to it and says "...I'll have three megabytes of RAM, with two floppy disk drives one hard disk, my own specially designed ROM board, a mouse... and this great new monitor!"

Mikey eating an apple says "It's wild lookin'-- Where'd you get it?"

Don "In a *dumpster* out back in of "Bytes 'R Us", that electronic hardware place.

ID from alt: Panel of Don leaning close to the monitor trailing off saying "--Go...?". On the montior is Mikey, depicted with early computer graphic pixel art, his speech now in a pixely font. "D-Don...? I-- I think I'm inside your computer! END

Yeah we put your brother in the computer. sorry.

ID from alt: More of Mikey in the computer, he says "A-and... crazy as it sounds-- I'm not alone!!!" A large head like shape made of chunky polygons looms behind him. It speaks in a different computer font. "Heh, heh, heh! No, former fleshoid, you are are prey for DEUXIMAX-- The God in The Machine!" END

oh shit they have the divinity of the machine in here?

bonus included just cause its the cutest shit ive ever seen.

ID from alt: A room in April's house, with book selves and plush chair along the wall. Mike lean past the door way playfully asking "Hey, Don-- Whatcha doin'?". Don, who is without his mask and drawn with a very simple but satisified expression says "C'mon in, Mike -- Wait 'til you see my new setup! I've been scrounging parts all weekend... When I switch on the power..." END

you know P&F wont be invented for another 21 years.... akfjbngdfg

[atomickarenina]

Floppy disk, answering machine, gameboy!

floppy disk: what accomplishment are you proudest of?

“Hmph, waking up this morning.” 

answering machine: what’s something you’re putting off dealing with?

“The dishes… cleaning out the ash pit in my chimney… the barrage of paperwork that’s currently on my desk… trying to figure out this new muggle tech the ministry keeps shoving down my throat…. We could be here all day really.” 

gameboy: what do you like to do to blow off steam?

“I don’t really have the time or patience to pick up a hobby, so I’m not sure what you’re wanting to hear exactly. I mean fuck, I’m fifty years old, my standard Friday night consists of a bottle of Ogden’s, a stogie, and whatever trash is playing on the Wizarding Wireless Network that night.”

[senfena]

Cold War: Remedy, Chapter 6

A/N: Woo, we're here! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while c:

January 19, 1984

"Hey Russell,

It's been a couple years since I wrote a letter to you. I've been writing in another journal regularly, but for some reason I want to address this one to you specifically. 

Where to start...my life is completely different. I live with Park in her flat in Fulham, and I work at a record store nearby, which I'm writing to you from right now actually. It's pretty cold and rainy right now, and business is pretty slow, so I figured I'd write to you. My coworkers are mostly pretty cool, aside from my manager, the Tory bastard. But they all call me Bell at least, there's something to be thankful for. 

I'll be honest...I have thought of using Sariya from time to time. But every time I think of doing that, it just feels wrong. It never belonged to me, the real me, in the first place. And why would I even want to use the name of some terrorist asshole who wanted to blow up half of Europe? Whoever Sariya is, she's not still inside me...is she? For both our sakes, I hope you completely eradicated her.

I get the sense that you did, which is actually a part of the brainwashing I don't mind. I...this sounds so weird to write down, but, I miss you, somehow. I miss you slapping my hand away whenever I went to touch the dial on your radio, or whenever you'd bring me fresh coffee late at night when I was burning myself out, working on cracking that floppy disk and the coded messages. Or you offering me one of your cigarettes whenever you went to smoke one, and you'd light it with your fancy ass lighter, and we'd just stand there smoking together. I still have that lighter, by the way. I try not to smoke anymore, so now it's just more of a charm, really. 

I'm still pissed at you though. Seriously, shooting me after I gave you the key to saving Europe, after all we went through together? Dick move. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that. But mostly...I just try to forget that that happened, focus on everything that was good about us...or, back then. I guess hate isn't the most accurate word. But I really, really, really don't like you. 

I hope I never see you again,

Bell."

You folded up the letter neatly and put it in your back right pocket. Straightening out your body from it's hunched posture and stretching your arms, you looked all around the store. Still no customers. Not that you minded, it was nice having some peace and quiet. You just wished that you weren't the only employee on the clock, aside from Aiden, your manager, so you weren't dying of boredom on your own. 

"Hey, Bell!" Aiden called to you from the back office. "Can you come back here, please?" You wordlessly started making your way over. Normally he'd want some kind of audible response, but you were more of the silent compliant type, whatever was asked of you, you did, but mostly without saying a word. It took some time, but he'd gotten accustomed to it. You poked your head into the office. "Yeah, Aiden?" He looked up from his accounts and spreadsheets scattered all across his desk. "Hey, we're too slow and I gotta cut down on labor, you can go ahead on home." He instructed you, half focused on you and half focused on his work. "I'm almost done with accounts and I can close the store on my own afterwards, won't take long" "Alright, thanks Aiden!" You cheerfully waved bye as you went to clock out. "Yep, stay safe!" "Will do!" You hollered back to each other as you punched out, grabbed your coat, and scurried out the door in the freezing rain. 

___________

You unlocked the front door of the flat, practically sprinting in. Your body shivered as you took off your coat and put it on the rack. "Welcome home, Bell!" Park greeted you from the kitchen, hidden from your sight. "Thanks!" You called back as you pulled off your shoes and placed them near the front door. "Could you come in here, please?" She questioned you. Huh, you wondered what she wanted to talk to you about. "Yeah, sure thing." Curious, you strolled into the kitchen and saw Park sitting at the table, mug in hand. Someone else was at the table too, facing away from you. "Hey, what's going…" You took a closer look at the second person. Bald. White dress shirt with black suit pants. Sunglasses. Wait, was that…?

As if on cue, Hudson turned his head to look at you, holding his cup of tea and raising it to you in greeting. "How've you been, Bell?" He asked you, seemingly looking past the slack jawed expression on your face. Looking him dead in the eye, your mind started to race. He wouldn't be here unless he needed something. Something that you didn't owe him anymore. "Screw that." You shook your head and turned to walk to the front door, but before you got the chance to take two steps; "Bell, please, it's incredibly important that you at least listen to what he has to say." Park stood and insisted you, stopping you in your tracks.

You stood there for a moment, simply staring at the floor and breathing in and out sharply. "Park let you live here for the last 3 years, you can make it through this for her". You declared to yourself in your head. Slowly turning around, you trudged to the table and took the seat opposite from Hudson, as Park sat back down next to you. "I'll keep this brief." Hudson began. "Two months ago, Perseus agents covertly infiltrated the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. They attempted to launch a nuclear warhead being used as part of a training simulation. We were able to abort it, but that was far too close for comfort." 

"Sounds like a big problem. So why are you here, instead of solving it, out there?" You shot at Hudson, hoping that he'd take the hint to leave. He leaned in closer to you. "Bell, you're the reason that we even managed to come close to capturing Perseus, and did manage to stop his plan to destroy Europe." He appealed to you. You looked down at the table, trying to not show him any vulnerability. "I know what our agreement was, and whatever you say here, I'll honor that. But Perseus is back on the grid, and unless we take every measurement to stop him, who knows how many innocent people could die." That got you to raise your head, looking him in the eyes again. He took off his sunglasses, folding and placing them on the table. "We need you back, Bell."

You knew that he was right. Whether or not Adler had implanted that part of your personality in you, you were never gonna stand by and let civilians die while you did nothing. Still, you had to know something. "Just tell me; is he gonna be there?" You asked Hudson, already knowing the answer before he told you. He paused before answering. "Of course." You grimaced. Park put a hand on your shoulder, trying to comfort you.

Sitting there in silence for a minute or two, you stared down at the table, pretending to think. Finally, you took a deep inhale as you turned your head up to stare at the ceiling, exhaling as your head came back down, eyes focusing on Hudson. "You promise that after this, it's over?" You begrudged to ask him. He gave a swift nod. You sat there in thought for a minute longer. "Okay." You conceded. He nodded his head. "Alright, I'll be back tomorrow a little past sunrise, give you a chance to pack up, and get ready otherwise." Hudson stood up and pushed his chair in. Looking back and forth between Park and you, he gave a little half smile. "It's good to have you both back." He turned and strided out, leaving you and Park alone.

"Are you alright, Bell?" She inquired, full attention on you. You were staring off into space. "I've never seen Hudson smile like that." You turned to her. "Have you ever seen him smile?" She gripped both of your shoulders. "Bell, I know it's going to be difficult, but he can't hurt you anymore. I know that you can do this." She gave you a tender smile. You couldn't find the strength to give her one back, you were using it all trying to keep your mind occupied with anything else, as long as you weren't thinking about him. 

You gave a small nod as your only answer before slowly standing up. "We should go pack." You muttered emptily, already heading to the staircase to go to your room. 

___________

You turned over to look over at the clock on your bedside dresser. 2:17 AM. Shit, were you ever going to get any sleep tonight? Probably not, because hard as you may try, you couldn't get your thoughts to shut up. You thought back to your letter you wrote earlier. 

"I never want to see you again…"

"What part of that don't you understand, you asshole?" You sarcastically murmured to yourself. Turning over again, you shut your eyes extra hard to try to get to sleep. 

3 hours of hardly sleeping later, the sun had risen. Why the hell did Hudson have to say sunrise and not sunset instead? You groggily dragged yourself out of bed, got changed into your regular clothes, and limped downstairs, duffel bag in hand. Park was already sitting at the kitchen table, dressed, tea cup in hand. "Good morning, Bell." You gave a half hearted wave in return. As you stumbled into the kitchen and sat down, she took a closer look at you, her face changing to concern.

"Bell, did you get any sleep?" She questioned you. Resting your forehead in your palm, you mumbled back "No, but, can you blame me?" You both sat there for a few more hours, waking up over tea. You began to wonder where Hudson was. He hadn't given you a specific time that he'd pick you up, just "after sunrise." It was almost 8 AM when you heard four sharp knocks at the door. "Finally." You uttered as both of you stood up and grabbed your bags, moving to the front door.

Park opened it, and not a second later Hudson was already bombarding you with information. "We need to move fast. Perseus agents just attacked the safehouse in West Berlin. They're baiting us to a mall in New Jersey. Adler and his team are already en route." Shit, you didn't think you'd be getting back in the action this soon. Park swung the door closed, locked it and put the keys in her pocket. As you all got in the car and started towards the airport, you began to feel a little dread. Was there any part of this you were actually going to enjoy? Maybe finally putting a bullet in Perseus' skull would make it worthwhile.

Yeah, it definitely would.