post_text stringlengths 0 10k | post_title stringlengths 8 313 | chosen stringlengths 1 39.5k | rejected stringlengths 1 13.8k |
|---|---|---|---|
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | For 300 years bipedal "Earthlings" refused any confrontations with the Galactic Alliance. In the first half a century when Earth joined Union, the members of the Alliance tested their unwavering pacifism. They gave up their entire Solar System except a Red planet & their Home world. The Union High Committee stepped in to stop the members taking advantage of its new member.
250 years later Earthlings vision had spread throughout the known Universe. Their dealings were honest and true, they were trusted implicitly and was the most stable economy due to the stability unlike seen before. Earthling Banks were highly sought after and there was a waiting line for new banks throughout the universe. Most races fought over who got a bank first but then Earthlings decided to draw lots for the que. Even the smugglers & pirates refused to pillage the defenceless Earthlings because nobody would trade with them for Earth goods that were gotten illegally. Most races were willing to forego wars for stability following Earths Example. Empires were defined by its economic might and its ability to purchase land/planets/solar systems. Earth was the richest and biggest economy the universe has seen before.
This led to jealousy amongst the rest of the Union members. The high committee broke the oaths of impartiality and joined forces to bring Earth to its rightful place.
Wars and battles were allowed with in the Alliance as long as it was properly declared at a committee meeting.
A race of warriors from the planet Shai-lu were the first to declare war on Earth. Convinced by the High Committee and the rest of the members, the Shai-lu Demanded that the Earthlings secede from 70% of their colonies. To the utmost surprise of the the members Earth Ambassador said "Yes" even before the demand was finished. The Ambassador asked for 6 months parley for the colonies to move. Which the Shai-lu agreed.
2 months before the deadline, Earthlings warned that they will be closing their Banks and other services due to lack of Financial support from its colonies. In 3 hours after the announcement, they were gone. Not a single Earthling was left behind. The ported all the credits to the relevant parties at the last moment and defaulted all their loans citing bankruptcy.
The chaos was unlike ever seen before, economies collapsed within moments. Without Earths emissaries no business deals could be done or made because nobody knew how to. Wars begun throughout the Universe and some even without declaration.
By the time of the deadline, The Shai-lu were decimated by warring factions and every quadrant of the universe was embroiled in war.
The high committee in an desperate attempt to sate the inevitable collapse of the union called its members to wage war against Earth who was solely responsible for the disaster.
For the first time in its history, A Race Leader walked in to a Alliance Union meeting. A bipedal humanoid forum against the rest of the known universe. Sitting on opposite ends, the high committee members declared war against Earth.
The human stood and collapsed on the floor with her hands covering her face. The female humanoid cried (according to our translators, humans do it show sorrow or happiness) and got to her knees and begged the high committee rescind the order.
The glee of the rest of the universe was deafning. They laughed at the human in their own way.
Finally she stood and exclaimed in a clear voice said " I am sorry for what I must do to you & your race. We will give you 24 human hours to surrender."
To this the entire committee laughed and jeered.
Now it's been 36 hours since she warned us. We were fools. I am writing this from the Alliance HQ, it's the only place that remains. The human drop ships are approaching... I dont have time The Banks, they were not banks: they were garrisons filled with human soldiers. First they released nano toxins that were carried by swarms of nano bots who targeted the ruling powers of each planet. Docking stations were hacked and remotely overloaded the gates and docks. Satellites on every planet emitted a net of Neutro Magnetic Array system that disabled all systems & ships. We didn't even know that they had complete control over the FTL portals. The Armadas couldn't jump to anywhere. The only time they turned on was when they sent "candy floss" bombs. They exploded in a mist of pink and anything that it touched got dragged in to the nearest portal. It was reported that in the Andromeda Cluster one Bomb took 3 million ships..
All throughout the HQ I heard members calling for help that would never come and at the 26th hour everything cut out and a weird song kept on repeating. According to my translator it's an Aria by Humans called "Nessum Dorma".
The humans were everywhere and we couldn't even fight them. We didn't even fire a single weapon, they killed us all and they are coming for me..
What fools we were. | A man came in, he was skinny, pitiful and shaking. Xyphoriz watched in bemusement as the human nervously came over to the negotiation tables, before getting to the table when the guy stopped. He pulled a pack of something Xyphoriz recognized as the earthling primitive device called a ‘cigarette’
“Hey man,” the human started as he lit his cigarette, before the alien ambassador could speak, the human inhaled the entire fag to the butt and dropped it to the ground, pulling another from his pack and lighting it. “Sorry nervous, this is the first time we’ve been at war with... “ he motioned towards Xyphoriz. “Another species, wait no there was that time with the Emu’s... the first time an aliens been stupid enough to commit to a full on attack on our people.”
“Well we are here to listen to your terms for complete surrender” Xyphoriz replied, almost amused by the weak humans bravery, calling his people idiots would not be an insult taken lightly, he would be enslaved soon. The human laughed no longer shaking.
“Yeah, not happening” he snorted sitting down uncomfortably close. “Here is your ultimatum, cease all hostilities or my people will be forced to show you why we have to be skilled negotiators instead of warriors, and believe me when I say you don’t want the latter.”
“What can a dirty bipedal monkey like yourself really do to us? Negotiate a trade embargo against us? We’ll just take everything from you.”
“The names Brent, ok and I am not just dirty, I’m a historian. Probably the only person who can educate you on why the genocide on Kessia V was the worst decision you’ve ever made.”
This Brent was starting to intrigue the alien ambassador. Why send a historian in the place of a diplomat or even a military leader? It was strange.
“Do you know human history, Xiphoriz? Cause I know your species history, I’ve already figured out eleven ways I could have killed you since I walked in, just using your natural allergies, two of which could be exploited to genocide your people like, say” Brent paused smiling at the alien “The powered cascade massacre?”
Xyphoriz heart sank, how could the human know about that, that was a deep cut to his species history, something taboo to talk about even amongst close colleagues
“How dare you” it yelled, standing and slamming its fist, although the human still twitched, it’s demeanor didn’t change whatsoever, Brent just smiled.
“You know we humans have fought before” Brent frowned looking out into the desert outside. “Five world wars, and three interstellar ones, all against ourselves. Brought ourselves to near extinction in four of those, world war three we lost an island called Britain, it was nuked to oblivion, its neighboring island? Made into a nuclear wonderland where the fog never ended and the genetic monstrosities were genocided every couple of years. Used to Call that one Ireland...” the sorrow in Brents eyes told a tapestry of stories to Xyphoriz.
“Then there was five, we had three continents go dark, every country collapsed, we made our oceans raise a bunch and when the survivors finally came out of the woodwork, we decided to leave our blue jewel we had sullied so many times behind, to recover from our terrible temper.”
“So what you almost destroyed yourselves, now you’ve decided to destroy yourselves by refusing to give us your species for enslavement.”
“See our first interstellar war was about that, we blew up a few planets and moons in our short sighted temper, we wanted to enslave the Europans surrounding Jupiter, we shot mass drivers, killing all of them because they wouldnt submit, we then moved the shards of the shattered moon to drop on Mars because we couldn’t stand their whining, we broke the planet, we had to start a restoration project that’s still going on these thousand years later.”
“You broke two worlds where your people lived because you were mad? That was your own species.” Xyphoriz was starting to feel uneasy, these humans were brutal before their peacekeeping days.
“Oh we’ve killed ourselves for less, we had a cult once that super nova’d a star because they thought it would awaken their god, killing seven worlds and starting the second interstellar war that nearly killed every human in the galaxy.”
“How many died?”
“We stopped counting after we started our last Great War, where we destroyed our old home-world and solar system, bringing us to this desert, a planet we named in memorandum, earth, to honor the centillions of humans we slaughtered for our petty ego, a wake up call we took very seriously.” Brent set his hand on the glass.
“I hope you have reconsidered by now fighting humans, because I haven’t even told you what’ll happen to your species if you don’t cease all hostilities.” Xyphoriz looked at Brent, curious.
“What would happen?” It said.
“Well it depends, if we were able to beat you quickly and get a timely surrender, you’d just have to deal with human terrorists mass drivering you every now and then and super novaing you, now if the conflict to a bit longer because you miraculously got better at fighting then the pitiful excuse you call fighting us now. Well...”
“Well what.”
“Your species would be subjugated to human history repeating onto them.” | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | Peace. It was something that humanity was well known for. Since making contact with the galactic council and becoming it’s 7th member we had garnered a reputation as the best diplomats in the galaxy. It was often said that human could negotiate its way out of anything.
Not all the council members shared our peaceful ways however, especially the Insidi. They were a warrior race. Nothing meant more to them than honourable combat, and it was how they settled all their disputes. They looked at us and saw a weak, spineless race that talked so much because we couldn’t do anything else. They figured they could make any demand they wanted and we would accept.
We didn’t want to admit it, but deep down we all knew that war was inevitable. We all knew that our efforts were futile, and yet we did our best. We tried so hard to talk them down, but they were stubborn. They demanded our complete submission, and we knew that they wouldn’t back down.
The final council meeting was just a formality; we all knew that we were going to war. We didn’t send a diplomat, there was no point. The person present at this meeting wouldn’t be making any deals, they would be starting a war.
The person given this unenviable task was Grand Commander and Chief Rebecca Gregory Julianous, the woman in charge of the United Human Confederation’s military. She had been a soldier since the last of humanities wars, and she had lost most of her body in the process. As such her mechanical legs carried her through the galactic council’s headquarters. Many aliens had never seen a human soldier before, and Julianous received many curious looks as she entered the council chambers.
The Insidi delegate was surprised, he hadn’t expected a military officer. Had he been wiser, he might have realised something was amiss, but he was arrogant and proud. This was the moment of his victory after all. Once Julianous was seated, he spoke.
“So, human, I take it you have come to give in to our demands.” He said, a smug smile on what the Insidi had instead of lips.
“I’m afraid not.” Julianous replied.
A stunned silence filled the room.
“What?” The Insidi delegate said, his smile replied with a look of surprise.
“The Untied Human Confederation will not meet your demands. We will instead be making a counter offer.” Julianous said. Her face was cold and stoic, however, those more familiar with human emotion noticed an undercurrent of sadness.
“A counter offer? Is this some human joke?” The Insidi delegate scoffed.
“No. You will rescind all your demands, or you will leave us no choice but to go to war.” Julianous said, her tone grave.
The Insidi delegate laughed, he simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The spineless little humans where challenging them, the glorious Insidi.
“Well then human, we are at war. We shall engage you in glorious combat.” He said.
“Are you sure? Believe me, this is not something you want to do. We humans hate war for a reason. Please, don’t make us do this.” Julianous said. She knew better than anyone what happened when humans went to war, she’d been there for the last one.
“I am very sure. You pitiful little human. We, the Insidi Empire, herby formally declare war against you, the United Human Confederation.” The Insidi delegate said, savouring every word.
Julianous shook her head sadly, and stood up slowly.
“So be it.” She said, as she turned to leave.
Before she reached the door of the council chambers, she turned back for a moment, the sadness on her face much more pronounced now.
“I’m sorry.” She said, before exiting the chamber.
The Insidi believed in honourable combat. They fought their wars in a traditional manner, as did the rest of the galactic council. They fought soldier to soldier, warship to warship. They fought with honour, for glory and prestige.
The assumed their war with us would be the same, they assumed wrong. They sent their main battle fleet straight to our capital world. Six thousand ships approached our core worlds. We had less than a hundred facing them. They laughed as they saw our numbers.
They didn’t laugh for long. Our ships engaged immediately, each one firing a single torpedo. The Insidi detected these torpedoes, and simply activated their shields, scoffing at our seemingly puny attempts to fight back. Then the torpedoes activated warp speed.
When an object travelling at warp speed collides with another, it produces an unimaginable amount of energy. The Insidi’s shields were hopelessly, pathetically under-powered. When the torpedoes hit them their entire fleet was reduced to dust in less than nanosecond. Six thousand ships, hundreds of thousands of Insidi personal, all gone in less than the blink of an eye.
Shortly afterwards, human warships had appeared above every Insidi world simultaneously. Each one was carrying a full arsenal of what would come to be known as Silencer Torpedoes, the same weapons that had obliterated the Insidi fleet. These warships fired their torpedoes, and within moments, every Insidi arms factory, every shipyard, every barracks, every military academy, and anything else that contributed to the Insidi war machine was gone.
Billions of Insidi died, and their once great and proud empire was reduced to ruins. The Insidi had spent centuries building their empire, and it had taken the humans less than a day to tear it all down.
The next day, Julianous entered the council chambers again. The atmosphere was not one of curiosity. This time, there was an atmosphere of fear.
“You fight without honour! Without courage! You snivelling, spineless coward!” The Insidi delegate screamed as soon as she entered.
Julianous calmly looked over at the Insidi delegate. He would have been crying if he had tear glands. Then she raised her hand, and everything feel silent.
“You’re right. We don’t fight with honour. We have fought countless wars. Millennia of tiny, squabbling states, three world wars, and two colonial reunification wars.” Julianous began, her voice was calm, but the undercurrent of sadness was there as it had been before.
“That last war was so destructive that we can’t live on our home world anymore. Our capital is not our home, because our home is uninhabitable, cratered wasteland.” She continued, the tone of her voice more overtly sad now.
“All these wars taught us a lesson. One very important lesson. One lesson that we have never forgotten, and will never forget. Would you like to know what it was honourable members of the council? She asked the council, a large frown on her lips.
“What… what was it?” A member of the council timidly replied.
“That honour doesn’t win wars.” Julianous said. | A man came in, he was skinny, pitiful and shaking. Xyphoriz watched in bemusement as the human nervously came over to the negotiation tables, before getting to the table when the guy stopped. He pulled a pack of something Xyphoriz recognized as the earthling primitive device called a ‘cigarette’
“Hey man,” the human started as he lit his cigarette, before the alien ambassador could speak, the human inhaled the entire fag to the butt and dropped it to the ground, pulling another from his pack and lighting it. “Sorry nervous, this is the first time we’ve been at war with... “ he motioned towards Xyphoriz. “Another species, wait no there was that time with the Emu’s... the first time an aliens been stupid enough to commit to a full on attack on our people.”
“Well we are here to listen to your terms for complete surrender” Xyphoriz replied, almost amused by the weak humans bravery, calling his people idiots would not be an insult taken lightly, he would be enslaved soon. The human laughed no longer shaking.
“Yeah, not happening” he snorted sitting down uncomfortably close. “Here is your ultimatum, cease all hostilities or my people will be forced to show you why we have to be skilled negotiators instead of warriors, and believe me when I say you don’t want the latter.”
“What can a dirty bipedal monkey like yourself really do to us? Negotiate a trade embargo against us? We’ll just take everything from you.”
“The names Brent, ok and I am not just dirty, I’m a historian. Probably the only person who can educate you on why the genocide on Kessia V was the worst decision you’ve ever made.”
This Brent was starting to intrigue the alien ambassador. Why send a historian in the place of a diplomat or even a military leader? It was strange.
“Do you know human history, Xiphoriz? Cause I know your species history, I’ve already figured out eleven ways I could have killed you since I walked in, just using your natural allergies, two of which could be exploited to genocide your people like, say” Brent paused smiling at the alien “The powered cascade massacre?”
Xyphoriz heart sank, how could the human know about that, that was a deep cut to his species history, something taboo to talk about even amongst close colleagues
“How dare you” it yelled, standing and slamming its fist, although the human still twitched, it’s demeanor didn’t change whatsoever, Brent just smiled.
“You know we humans have fought before” Brent frowned looking out into the desert outside. “Five world wars, and three interstellar ones, all against ourselves. Brought ourselves to near extinction in four of those, world war three we lost an island called Britain, it was nuked to oblivion, its neighboring island? Made into a nuclear wonderland where the fog never ended and the genetic monstrosities were genocided every couple of years. Used to Call that one Ireland...” the sorrow in Brents eyes told a tapestry of stories to Xyphoriz.
“Then there was five, we had three continents go dark, every country collapsed, we made our oceans raise a bunch and when the survivors finally came out of the woodwork, we decided to leave our blue jewel we had sullied so many times behind, to recover from our terrible temper.”
“So what you almost destroyed yourselves, now you’ve decided to destroy yourselves by refusing to give us your species for enslavement.”
“See our first interstellar war was about that, we blew up a few planets and moons in our short sighted temper, we wanted to enslave the Europans surrounding Jupiter, we shot mass drivers, killing all of them because they wouldnt submit, we then moved the shards of the shattered moon to drop on Mars because we couldn’t stand their whining, we broke the planet, we had to start a restoration project that’s still going on these thousand years later.”
“You broke two worlds where your people lived because you were mad? That was your own species.” Xyphoriz was starting to feel uneasy, these humans were brutal before their peacekeeping days.
“Oh we’ve killed ourselves for less, we had a cult once that super nova’d a star because they thought it would awaken their god, killing seven worlds and starting the second interstellar war that nearly killed every human in the galaxy.”
“How many died?”
“We stopped counting after we started our last Great War, where we destroyed our old home-world and solar system, bringing us to this desert, a planet we named in memorandum, earth, to honor the centillions of humans we slaughtered for our petty ego, a wake up call we took very seriously.” Brent set his hand on the glass.
“I hope you have reconsidered by now fighting humans, because I haven’t even told you what’ll happen to your species if you don’t cease all hostilities.” Xyphoriz looked at Brent, curious.
“What would happen?” It said.
“Well it depends, if we were able to beat you quickly and get a timely surrender, you’d just have to deal with human terrorists mass drivering you every now and then and super novaing you, now if the conflict to a bit longer because you miraculously got better at fighting then the pitiful excuse you call fighting us now. Well...”
“Well what.”
“Your species would be subjugated to human history repeating onto them.” | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | Peace. It was something that humanity was well known for. Since making contact with the galactic council and becoming it’s 7th member we had garnered a reputation as the best diplomats in the galaxy. It was often said that human could negotiate its way out of anything.
Not all the council members shared our peaceful ways however, especially the Insidi. They were a warrior race. Nothing meant more to them than honourable combat, and it was how they settled all their disputes. They looked at us and saw a weak, spineless race that talked so much because we couldn’t do anything else. They figured they could make any demand they wanted and we would accept.
We didn’t want to admit it, but deep down we all knew that war was inevitable. We all knew that our efforts were futile, and yet we did our best. We tried so hard to talk them down, but they were stubborn. They demanded our complete submission, and we knew that they wouldn’t back down.
The final council meeting was just a formality; we all knew that we were going to war. We didn’t send a diplomat, there was no point. The person present at this meeting wouldn’t be making any deals, they would be starting a war.
The person given this unenviable task was Grand Commander and Chief Rebecca Gregory Julianous, the woman in charge of the United Human Confederation’s military. She had been a soldier since the last of humanities wars, and she had lost most of her body in the process. As such her mechanical legs carried her through the galactic council’s headquarters. Many aliens had never seen a human soldier before, and Julianous received many curious looks as she entered the council chambers.
The Insidi delegate was surprised, he hadn’t expected a military officer. Had he been wiser, he might have realised something was amiss, but he was arrogant and proud. This was the moment of his victory after all. Once Julianous was seated, he spoke.
“So, human, I take it you have come to give in to our demands.” He said, a smug smile on what the Insidi had instead of lips.
“I’m afraid not.” Julianous replied.
A stunned silence filled the room.
“What?” The Insidi delegate said, his smile replied with a look of surprise.
“The Untied Human Confederation will not meet your demands. We will instead be making a counter offer.” Julianous said. Her face was cold and stoic, however, those more familiar with human emotion noticed an undercurrent of sadness.
“A counter offer? Is this some human joke?” The Insidi delegate scoffed.
“No. You will rescind all your demands, or you will leave us no choice but to go to war.” Julianous said, her tone grave.
The Insidi delegate laughed, he simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The spineless little humans where challenging them, the glorious Insidi.
“Well then human, we are at war. We shall engage you in glorious combat.” He said.
“Are you sure? Believe me, this is not something you want to do. We humans hate war for a reason. Please, don’t make us do this.” Julianous said. She knew better than anyone what happened when humans went to war, she’d been there for the last one.
“I am very sure. You pitiful little human. We, the Insidi Empire, herby formally declare war against you, the United Human Confederation.” The Insidi delegate said, savouring every word.
Julianous shook her head sadly, and stood up slowly.
“So be it.” She said, as she turned to leave.
Before she reached the door of the council chambers, she turned back for a moment, the sadness on her face much more pronounced now.
“I’m sorry.” She said, before exiting the chamber.
The Insidi believed in honourable combat. They fought their wars in a traditional manner, as did the rest of the galactic council. They fought soldier to soldier, warship to warship. They fought with honour, for glory and prestige.
The assumed their war with us would be the same, they assumed wrong. They sent their main battle fleet straight to our capital world. Six thousand ships approached our core worlds. We had less than a hundred facing them. They laughed as they saw our numbers.
They didn’t laugh for long. Our ships engaged immediately, each one firing a single torpedo. The Insidi detected these torpedoes, and simply activated their shields, scoffing at our seemingly puny attempts to fight back. Then the torpedoes activated warp speed.
When an object travelling at warp speed collides with another, it produces an unimaginable amount of energy. The Insidi’s shields were hopelessly, pathetically under-powered. When the torpedoes hit them their entire fleet was reduced to dust in less than nanosecond. Six thousand ships, hundreds of thousands of Insidi personal, all gone in less than the blink of an eye.
Shortly afterwards, human warships had appeared above every Insidi world simultaneously. Each one was carrying a full arsenal of what would come to be known as Silencer Torpedoes, the same weapons that had obliterated the Insidi fleet. These warships fired their torpedoes, and within moments, every Insidi arms factory, every shipyard, every barracks, every military academy, and anything else that contributed to the Insidi war machine was gone.
Billions of Insidi died, and their once great and proud empire was reduced to ruins. The Insidi had spent centuries building their empire, and it had taken the humans less than a day to tear it all down.
The next day, Julianous entered the council chambers again. The atmosphere was not one of curiosity. This time, there was an atmosphere of fear.
“You fight without honour! Without courage! You snivelling, spineless coward!” The Insidi delegate screamed as soon as she entered.
Julianous calmly looked over at the Insidi delegate. He would have been crying if he had tear glands. Then she raised her hand, and everything feel silent.
“You’re right. We don’t fight with honour. We have fought countless wars. Millennia of tiny, squabbling states, three world wars, and two colonial reunification wars.” Julianous began, her voice was calm, but the undercurrent of sadness was there as it had been before.
“That last war was so destructive that we can’t live on our home world anymore. Our capital is not our home, because our home is uninhabitable, cratered wasteland.” She continued, the tone of her voice more overtly sad now.
“All these wars taught us a lesson. One very important lesson. One lesson that we have never forgotten, and will never forget. Would you like to know what it was honourable members of the council? She asked the council, a large frown on her lips.
“What… what was it?” A member of the council timidly replied.
“That honour doesn’t win wars.” Julianous said. | For 300 years bipedal "Earthlings" refused any confrontations with the Galactic Alliance. In the first half a century when Earth joined Union, the members of the Alliance tested their unwavering pacifism. They gave up their entire Solar System except a Red planet & their Home world. The Union High Committee stepped in to stop the members taking advantage of its new member.
250 years later Earthlings vision had spread throughout the known Universe. Their dealings were honest and true, they were trusted implicitly and was the most stable economy due to the stability unlike seen before. Earthling Banks were highly sought after and there was a waiting line for new banks throughout the universe. Most races fought over who got a bank first but then Earthlings decided to draw lots for the que. Even the smugglers & pirates refused to pillage the defenceless Earthlings because nobody would trade with them for Earth goods that were gotten illegally. Most races were willing to forego wars for stability following Earths Example. Empires were defined by its economic might and its ability to purchase land/planets/solar systems. Earth was the richest and biggest economy the universe has seen before.
This led to jealousy amongst the rest of the Union members. The high committee broke the oaths of impartiality and joined forces to bring Earth to its rightful place.
Wars and battles were allowed with in the Alliance as long as it was properly declared at a committee meeting.
A race of warriors from the planet Shai-lu were the first to declare war on Earth. Convinced by the High Committee and the rest of the members, the Shai-lu Demanded that the Earthlings secede from 70% of their colonies. To the utmost surprise of the the members Earth Ambassador said "Yes" even before the demand was finished. The Ambassador asked for 6 months parley for the colonies to move. Which the Shai-lu agreed.
2 months before the deadline, Earthlings warned that they will be closing their Banks and other services due to lack of Financial support from its colonies. In 3 hours after the announcement, they were gone. Not a single Earthling was left behind. The ported all the credits to the relevant parties at the last moment and defaulted all their loans citing bankruptcy.
The chaos was unlike ever seen before, economies collapsed within moments. Without Earths emissaries no business deals could be done or made because nobody knew how to. Wars begun throughout the Universe and some even without declaration.
By the time of the deadline, The Shai-lu were decimated by warring factions and every quadrant of the universe was embroiled in war.
The high committee in an desperate attempt to sate the inevitable collapse of the union called its members to wage war against Earth who was solely responsible for the disaster.
For the first time in its history, A Race Leader walked in to a Alliance Union meeting. A bipedal humanoid forum against the rest of the known universe. Sitting on opposite ends, the high committee members declared war against Earth.
The human stood and collapsed on the floor with her hands covering her face. The female humanoid cried (according to our translators, humans do it show sorrow or happiness) and got to her knees and begged the high committee rescind the order.
The glee of the rest of the universe was deafning. They laughed at the human in their own way.
Finally she stood and exclaimed in a clear voice said " I am sorry for what I must do to you & your race. We will give you 24 human hours to surrender."
To this the entire committee laughed and jeered.
Now it's been 36 hours since she warned us. We were fools. I am writing this from the Alliance HQ, it's the only place that remains. The human drop ships are approaching... I dont have time The Banks, they were not banks: they were garrisons filled with human soldiers. First they released nano toxins that were carried by swarms of nano bots who targeted the ruling powers of each planet. Docking stations were hacked and remotely overloaded the gates and docks. Satellites on every planet emitted a net of Neutro Magnetic Array system that disabled all systems & ships. We didn't even know that they had complete control over the FTL portals. The Armadas couldn't jump to anywhere. The only time they turned on was when they sent "candy floss" bombs. They exploded in a mist of pink and anything that it touched got dragged in to the nearest portal. It was reported that in the Andromeda Cluster one Bomb took 3 million ships..
All throughout the HQ I heard members calling for help that would never come and at the 26th hour everything cut out and a weird song kept on repeating. According to my translator it's an Aria by Humans called "Nessum Dorma".
The humans were everywhere and we couldn't even fight them. We didn't even fire a single weapon, they killed us all and they are coming for me..
What fools we were. | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | **"Those forgetting history is bound to repeat it"**
These words are written above the entrance to the chamber of the great council. We thought we knew everything, but there were so much we forgot.
None of the councils members remembered why the image of a grinning human was chiselled into the chamber walls. The painting was neither good, nor well made. Beneath it was chiselled the words human females tell their children. "Use your words".
No one would deny that the humans where great talkers and mediators. But they were also a soft squishy species. The way they imprinted on their young to use their words where taken as a sign that they were weak and timid. They even punished their children when they were caught fighting.
All this we learned from the small colonies they had among the rest of us. We would learn more too soon.
The way of the council and the accord of the species was that one species could acquire another species place, rank, honour on the council by fighting the other species. This way the council was guaranteed to stay strong and fresh. That species gained planets and colonies, or lost them in these struggles was the norm. Occasionally a species was removed entirely from the council when their entire territory was annihilated.
No species entirely disappeared. After their defeat they were always offered a space in the Alliance. A small ragtag collection of planets and species surrounding the last suspected location of the human home world. Everyone thought of them as zookeepers. Guards of humanity. That they were there to protect the humans. No one gave them any tought as they were out of the way. "Out of sight. Out of Mind". Another humans wording. They have so many.
They were no longer out of mind after discovering huge deposits of rare elements where located in their territory. A short victorious war was planned to prepare for mining. With the added benefit of providing us with free workers.
The Alliance pleaded and begged us to reconsider. Sent us historical files, and copies of signed accords. We ignored them all. The humans tried their talks, but we ignored their calls. We probably should have listened when the Alliance said "We wash our hands of this. We tried warning you.". How we laughed.
We took the first planets easily. Setting up mining operations. Forcing the humans to be our slaves. We thought they were weaklings having trouble operating our equipment, since everything went much slower than we anticipated. Then the breakdown started. Machines breaking. Bridges falling down. Transports failing to launch. Small things. But they happened just too often.
We thought we had rounded up all the humans. When the explosions started we knew we hadn't. We never found where they hid. But they were severely hindering our operations. This happened on every planet we occupied. Even ones previously occupied. Wherever we set up operations, humans found a way to hide and make trouble.
We soon learned another human expression. "Guerrilla warfare".
They even brought this to interstellar space. Small groups, hiding out in spaces no ship should be able to hide, they hit us repeatedly where it hurt. Our shipping lanes, our outposts. Never the same twice in a row. Always gone before our military ships could show up.
Little did we know that this was done to make sure we overspent ourselves trying to protect against small irritants, while they prepared.
When they hit us. As a war faring race we can only admire the beauty in their attack. They were everywhere. Our capitals fell in the first bombardment. The council lay in tatters as we were decimated. And we could do no other action than concede when they entered the council chamber claiming their rightful place at the top. There where no one left that could stop them. The words they uttered when they opened the proceedings shocked us to our cores. Even though we could see the warning every time we entered.
​
"We founded this council. We can always reclaim our place. Remember history". | When the humans entered the galactic scene there were four other races who were ahead of them to the stars. The Elves - tall, long lived creatures of incredable culture and artistry. The Dwarves - short, stocky engineers who liked nothing more than the forge and the flame. The Kitsune - a fir covered bestial race with five tails and a propensity to speak in metaphor and generalities. The Anubis - humanoids with heads resembling canines who were known as the pre-eminent warriors of the galaxy.
For decades the humans had lived among the races in relative peace, finding an niche as diplomats and doctors due to their fresh perspective and propensity for adding creative solutions to age-old problems. We were respected, in a way, and soon migrated to every major planet in the settled regions of space. There were cultural differences, always, between the humans and other species, and those humans allowed to leave the boarders of the Terran Domain were the ones who could be trusted to hold Earth's secrets close.
For Tradition was ancient and unquestioned among the elder races, millions or even billions of years of history had locked their civilizations in a kind of ancient stalemate. And it was understood wordlessly among the human leaders that their secrets had to be held close - that no other species should learn about the AI-assistance that we had implanted in our grey matter, the genetic manipulations of our own people, and, above all else, the outright savagery and joy with which even the weakest of us could kill. For such would not just be shocking to our neighbors, but completely unthinkable.
And so it was that we pretended to nod solemnly as the races spoke of the 'horrors' of Anubian war. How they had murdered 'entire cities' during the course of the war, to spread horror and dissent. How they would sometimes kill soldiers who had surrendered in honorable combat, and had once even resorted to asking for classified information from a surrendered enemy - threatening to fire upon him rather than allow surrender unless he spoke freely.
Humans, thought to be weak because of our size, thought to be vulnerable due to the presence of our diplomats on planets belonging to every race, alone and surrounded by aliens, nevertheless managed to forge and keep peace for nearly a century among the arrogant and ancient civilizations. And for all appearances, we were giving it our all for that time, throwing away our military leverage in exchange for diplomatic authority, our strategic leverage in exchange for goodwill and peace.
Yet all races knew that it couldn't last, that sooner or later the eternity of war would break out anew, and they simply shook their honor bound heads in pity, understanding that this young race of peacekeepers would inevitably be the first casualty of such aggression. Some even gossiped, mostly among the proud elfin races, that it was their pity for our species, more even than our own diplomatic efforts, that kept the endless war in check and stayed the hands of ancient enemies.
It was in the year 4416, ninety eight years after the human's entrance to the galactic stage, that the Anubians finally struck. And they did not hold back from the brutalities of their ancient heritage. Embassies were crushed, ambassadors executed with fanfare, and the major cities of our boarder kingdoms fell in a matter of weeks. While our militaries were being gathered, while our diplomats were pursuing every diplomatic resolution imaginable, millions of humans were being executed or enslaved by the doglike invaders.
It was then, five weeks after the initial assault upon the Terrans, that a lone human ship flew out to meet the approaching Anubian armada. Black and sleek, the long sweeping hulls of the Belle Mortas cut through space to the pre-arranged battlefield that would determine the fate of the human species.
Millions of Anubian fleets stood proud in a long line amidst the void of space, awaiting the arrival of the Terran defense. They stood still, in ancient custom, waiting for their enemies to line up alongside them and begin the long trading of warheads that would determine the engagement. After a century of peace, their fleets had been rebuilt, their weapons upgraded and stocked, to such a level of might such had not been seen by the universe in perhaps millions of years previous.
As such, when a single human ship, large and well made but ultimately alone, exited warp in front of the armada, the aliens could not cover their shock. Could not resist hailing the vessel to see if it was a game - if it was real that the young race had met their ancient military might with such an impossibly minuscule force.
Anubian commander Rimtou, lord of the combined fleet, turned to his ensign, "Hail the humans. Put them on screen."
Above commander Rimtou the view changed from the endless darkness of space to the strange deck of Belle Mortas. Where Rimtou's ship had a collection of Anubians and their battle-slaves working at stations and in front of their monitors, across from him the screen showed a large chamber filled, not with stations and monitors, but with wires and cables snaking along the steel floors, connecting with and holding a single entity aloft in the center of the screen.
The creature on the monitor appeared to be one of the humans, the same pasty skin and short stature that made up the young species, however Rimtou found himself unsure, as other than their face and shoulders, the rest of their body branched out into a multiplicity of cabling and wires, electronics clearly ripping out of their skin along their chest, until down at their waste and legs naught could be seen but a terrible tentacled web of electronics seemingly made a part of the creature's body.
The creature didn't meet Rimtou's gaze, nor move their human mouth, as a single inhuman voice sounded across their speakers *"I am the Belle Mortas. Cyborg Class corvette ship of the Terran union. State your intention."
Rimtou panted his tongue through his long, canine teeth in confusion. His mind twisting and wrestling with the image in front of him, attempting to make sense of what the monitor did show. "I am commander Rimtou, of the combined Anubian fleet." He paused, mind spinning as he struggled to put together the pieces, "I assume you were sent by your people to discuss the terms of your surrender?"
Nothing else made any sense to his alien mind. The Millions of ships that stretched out beyond where his monitor could see, met by this single human vehicle, one which titled itself 'corvette', the weakest and smallest of fighters. And yet the robotic voice sounded through his speakers once again, "That is not why I was deployed to this sector."
Rimtou shook his head at the arrogance before him, "Your cities lie in ruins, your embassies crushed, your highest level officials on our planets hidden and held at ransom to your race's good behavior. If you surrender now your race may still be our servants. You can be our administrators and advisers. You yourself, I offer a place as my own personal bound secretary. A title of some distinction and," he glanced at his star-map once again in disbelief, "probably far more generous than your pathetic people deserves."
Fight or flight, these were the laws of the eternal war. Militaries either engaged or retreated, stood or fled. And so when the emotionless tones of the mutilated body in front of him sounded again, not in anger but with peace - when the face of the creature on the screen, with their foggy eyes that never moved, twisted not into a grimace but a smile, Rimtou became even more confused. Made more sure of his own victory, until the replying words and their meaning finally soaked into his brain.
"The time for negotiation has passed. I have accepted your hail not to barter with you for peace, nor even accept your surrender. I speak with you now only to document your final words before your people are extinguished forever."
Rimtou could only sneer back, letting out a warlike growl as he held up his fist, "you think to mock me, here, in the face of your own destruction? So be it. There will be no surrender this day!"
The creature's shouts echoing between ships, the Belle Mortas sole occupant simply nodded to empty air, the wires buried in their head bouncing as they moved, "You are correct. There will not."
As communications cut out, the commander of the Anubian fleet had time to briefly see a strange reading echoing across his commander's station. There was an energy building exponentially within the human corvette even as their conversation ended, a warp signature emitting from the *stationary* ship with greater and greater strength.
So it was as space twisted inward on the corvette, it was still without understanding or apprehension at his own fate that the commander was sucked into the emptiness formed where once stood the Belle Mortas. As he and his entire fleet were consumed into the newly born, artificial black hole, his last thought could only be, '...what?'
_________________________
Across Anubian occupied space, human dreadnought class ships who had not been committed to the engagement, who had not been deployed to defend Terran space nor protect the fallen colonies, finally, as one, exited warp.
Floating above the settled worlds of the Anubian empire, each commander and the handful of cyborgs bonded with their ships powered up missiles. No Anubian ships were there to greet them, no military force stood between them and their targets as they exited the cold emptiness of space where they had been hidden.
And in the hand of every captain of every dreadnought hovering over every undefended world there was but a simple scrap of paper - a single scrap with a single word, written by one of the linked minds of their cyborg astropaths:
"Exterminatus" | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. |
**Caged, Now Loose.**
A deafening silence fills the chamber where the Galactic Assembly meets. The shock that permeates the varying species present here today is almost palpable. I suppose we should have expected this, seen it coming from the very first attack - what feels like aeons - but was only 3 Terran months ago. The Aberrians sit opposite us, cruel smiles plastered across their narrow faces. I can almost see it, the thrill, that bloodthirst that probably occupies every avenue of thought. That burning desire for war, the appetite for destruction; it seems only poetic that the colour of their eyes reflects this. The red of blood, of death and of war that colours their eyes is distinctive of their kind.
All eyes - or whatever means they use to see - are directed at us now. Some filled with pity and a sense of despair, of futility as if they too had seen this moment coming. As for the others, they were filled with curiosity, a detached interest in a situation unheard of in the three Terran centuries of the Galactic Assembly’s existence. Yet they were all probably wondering, can we salvage this. Can our quick and sweet tongues alongside the diplomacy that seems inherent in our genetic makeup prevent yet another disaster. Can we talk them out of such a decision and prevent war yet again. Can we negotiate, can our diplomatic prowess - the reputation that we have built of ourselves - save us now. Every known civilization can undoubtedly tell you something about the Terran civilization or as we call ourselves - humans. They will tell you tales of what they deem our most distinctive trait: Our natural and uncanny diplomatic ability. Our ability to negotiate and deescalate what seem unresolvable; our distinctive way with words. They will tell you of our feats. How we prevented full out war on Caelch IV and saved a billion lives, or how we were able to talk the Threnarians and Gostlems out of battle just a few Terran hours before they were to begin. These among others are what resulted in us being given the laudable position of the goto Galactic peacekeepers. A position that led to Terrans being placed on every planet and where the conflict that led us here began.
It started three months ago. We received the communication from the Aberrians themselves. 300 human lives gone. In what they called unfortunate circumstances, 300 of our people were killed. They intended to convey the news with sorrow, but the sick gleam in their eyes, the smile that was teetering on their lips told us otherwise. Our people were murdered, and now there remained no peacekeepers on their planet. We were, of course, enraged at the loss of our people, but we had to maintain the peace, so we took ‘the unfortunate circumstances’ of their deaths and said we would send them more peacekeepers shortly. This continuing the image we built for ourselves over the many centuries. The image of the weak, pacifistic, confrontation-avoiding species that always betrayed their interests to avoid conflict. The species that would take the worse half of the deal if there was even the slightest use of force. And we fully intended to send more of our people to die, as much as we despised it. However, they started their attack before we could, for that at least we were grateful.
They began attacking ships that were simply on their designated trade routes. We tried to negotiate, saying we would use other trade routes if they wanted ours, playing of the attack as an accident. They agreed and we felt relief. Then they attacked us on the new trade routes and we knew they were just toying with us. It wasn’t about the trade routes, it was about killing, killing us. Yet there was nothing we could do. Then they decided to assault some of our outposts on Helbrip III and when we begged them to stop their attack. They proposed an ultimatum: ‘Surrender 75% of your Galactic colonies, resources and planets or face the wrath of the Aberrian Empire’. As these words left the very mouth of their Chancellor, the head of the Aberrian Empire, it was clear that this was no joke. That brings us to the stunning silence that occupies the room.
The rest of the occupants probably think this a historic day. The day humanity couldn’t succeed with diplomacy and hence the day that marks the end of their civilization. Today they think is the event that leads to the annihilation of one species, yet they would be surprised by which one. So I rise from my seat, “The Terran civilization acknowledges the Ultimatum put forth by the Aberrian Empire and upon further deliberation will provide a response no later than prima lux tomorrow. We will now take our leave”. The silence never retreats, not even as the Terran delegation walks out of the chamber.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Part 1 because it was too long too fit in one comment | X'ralaxs picked himself up from the rubble, and surveyed the devastation all around. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to be soft, pushovers. The dead and dying all around told a different tale. The power the humans could place inside their bombs was unheard of. Over a thousand kilometers from the detonation and the damage was nigh on unimaginable. His eyes widened as another flash of light lit up the sky, this one much closer, they weren't dropping just one.
The heads of the Hef'rexian confederacy slowly approached the human delegation, signed terms of surrender were placed on the table. The planet Gennis was gone, not only did the humans kill everyone, they rendered it uninhabitable. They were not the weaklings the other races thought them to be, this was an expensive lesson for the confederacy.
Chr'ellis placed the official surrender documents down, looked at the humans officials, "How did... What was... What were those things?"
General Graves sighed. "Nukes, we call them nukes." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | **"Those forgetting history is bound to repeat it"**
These words are written above the entrance to the chamber of the great council. We thought we knew everything, but there were so much we forgot.
None of the councils members remembered why the image of a grinning human was chiselled into the chamber walls. The painting was neither good, nor well made. Beneath it was chiselled the words human females tell their children. "Use your words".
No one would deny that the humans where great talkers and mediators. But they were also a soft squishy species. The way they imprinted on their young to use their words where taken as a sign that they were weak and timid. They even punished their children when they were caught fighting.
All this we learned from the small colonies they had among the rest of us. We would learn more too soon.
The way of the council and the accord of the species was that one species could acquire another species place, rank, honour on the council by fighting the other species. This way the council was guaranteed to stay strong and fresh. That species gained planets and colonies, or lost them in these struggles was the norm. Occasionally a species was removed entirely from the council when their entire territory was annihilated.
No species entirely disappeared. After their defeat they were always offered a space in the Alliance. A small ragtag collection of planets and species surrounding the last suspected location of the human home world. Everyone thought of them as zookeepers. Guards of humanity. That they were there to protect the humans. No one gave them any tought as they were out of the way. "Out of sight. Out of Mind". Another humans wording. They have so many.
They were no longer out of mind after discovering huge deposits of rare elements where located in their territory. A short victorious war was planned to prepare for mining. With the added benefit of providing us with free workers.
The Alliance pleaded and begged us to reconsider. Sent us historical files, and copies of signed accords. We ignored them all. The humans tried their talks, but we ignored their calls. We probably should have listened when the Alliance said "We wash our hands of this. We tried warning you.". How we laughed.
We took the first planets easily. Setting up mining operations. Forcing the humans to be our slaves. We thought they were weaklings having trouble operating our equipment, since everything went much slower than we anticipated. Then the breakdown started. Machines breaking. Bridges falling down. Transports failing to launch. Small things. But they happened just too often.
We thought we had rounded up all the humans. When the explosions started we knew we hadn't. We never found where they hid. But they were severely hindering our operations. This happened on every planet we occupied. Even ones previously occupied. Wherever we set up operations, humans found a way to hide and make trouble.
We soon learned another human expression. "Guerrilla warfare".
They even brought this to interstellar space. Small groups, hiding out in spaces no ship should be able to hide, they hit us repeatedly where it hurt. Our shipping lanes, our outposts. Never the same twice in a row. Always gone before our military ships could show up.
Little did we know that this was done to make sure we overspent ourselves trying to protect against small irritants, while they prepared.
When they hit us. As a war faring race we can only admire the beauty in their attack. They were everywhere. Our capitals fell in the first bombardment. The council lay in tatters as we were decimated. And we could do no other action than concede when they entered the council chamber claiming their rightful place at the top. There where no one left that could stop them. The words they uttered when they opened the proceedings shocked us to our cores. Even though we could see the warning every time we entered.
​
"We founded this council. We can always reclaim our place. Remember history". | X'ralaxs picked himself up from the rubble, and surveyed the devastation all around. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to be soft, pushovers. The dead and dying all around told a different tale. The power the humans could place inside their bombs was unheard of. Over a thousand kilometers from the detonation and the damage was nigh on unimaginable. His eyes widened as another flash of light lit up the sky, this one much closer, they weren't dropping just one.
The heads of the Hef'rexian confederacy slowly approached the human delegation, signed terms of surrender were placed on the table. The planet Gennis was gone, not only did the humans kill everyone, they rendered it uninhabitable. They were not the weaklings the other races thought them to be, this was an expensive lesson for the confederacy.
Chr'ellis placed the official surrender documents down, looked at the humans officials, "How did... What was... What were those things?"
General Graves sighed. "Nukes, we call them nukes." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | The terran reply to the xenos species that had parasitized one of their colonies after diplomatic options failed was, in the eyes of the rest of the galaxy, about as appalling as it gets.
We simply Jumped in with a mining vessel, an
asteroid disassembler... and a single Jump Tug.
The mining vessel dropped off an asteroid of primarily ferrous metal. The automated Jump Tug latched on. It wasn't capable of Jumping to FTL this close to a gravity well... but it was perfectly capable of achieving a near infinitely repeating ninety nine percent fraction thereof.
The Tug itself detached, though its fate was sealed. It disintegrated into a cloud of stellar dust and radiation, streaking across the galaxy like a shooting star.
The asteroid, however, impacted their planet. As fast as it was going, even space dust had started the process of turning into plasma, due to friction. When it hit their Kessler Belt, it got worse, starting to sublimate the matter into raw forms of radiation. And then it hit atmo.
Their entire world, from the frozen tundra to the savannas, erupted into flame as the very atmosphere flashed into superheated radiation and plasma. Of course, the exotic radiations bathing the planet for femtoseconds prior had already killed everything.
Not even three minutes after war was declared officially, the species was extinct. Its solar system was sterilized, down to the very bedrock of its outermost moon.
The galaxy was stunned. Speechless. For the past two months, humanity had tried every diplomatic lever to work with the burgeoning xenos species. They had chosen, repeatedly, to abuse the 'weak, insipid prey' that was humans. It had finally taken the terran leaders losing their colony to make the plea to the galactic version of Terra's old United Nations for the smallest amount of war preparation and engagement they allowed: One terran day.
Terra's ambassador had been replaced with an old, grizzled human, rather than the soft spoken, younger one. This one was almost more machine than man. He had served in nearly a hundred years of war before humanity finally united. He'd lived almost two hundred since. Everyone on the galactic scale had thought terrans, with their constant drive for diplomacy, were somewhat spineless, but incredibly gifted politicians and diplomats.
The old man arrived in place for the day of the attack. He left five minutes later, the war won in brutal, unimaginably one-sided victory. He ended his own life twenty minutes after, unable to bear the shame of having to be the first human since the Unification to go to war, true war. | X'ralaxs picked himself up from the rubble, and surveyed the devastation all around. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to be soft, pushovers. The dead and dying all around told a different tale. The power the humans could place inside their bombs was unheard of. Over a thousand kilometers from the detonation and the damage was nigh on unimaginable. His eyes widened as another flash of light lit up the sky, this one much closer, they weren't dropping just one.
The heads of the Hef'rexian confederacy slowly approached the human delegation, signed terms of surrender were placed on the table. The planet Gennis was gone, not only did the humans kill everyone, they rendered it uninhabitable. They were not the weaklings the other races thought them to be, this was an expensive lesson for the confederacy.
Chr'ellis placed the official surrender documents down, looked at the humans officials, "How did... What was... What were those things?"
General Graves sighed. "Nukes, we call them nukes." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | **"Those forgetting history is bound to repeat it"**
These words are written above the entrance to the chamber of the great council. We thought we knew everything, but there were so much we forgot.
None of the councils members remembered why the image of a grinning human was chiselled into the chamber walls. The painting was neither good, nor well made. Beneath it was chiselled the words human females tell their children. "Use your words".
No one would deny that the humans where great talkers and mediators. But they were also a soft squishy species. The way they imprinted on their young to use their words where taken as a sign that they were weak and timid. They even punished their children when they were caught fighting.
All this we learned from the small colonies they had among the rest of us. We would learn more too soon.
The way of the council and the accord of the species was that one species could acquire another species place, rank, honour on the council by fighting the other species. This way the council was guaranteed to stay strong and fresh. That species gained planets and colonies, or lost them in these struggles was the norm. Occasionally a species was removed entirely from the council when their entire territory was annihilated.
No species entirely disappeared. After their defeat they were always offered a space in the Alliance. A small ragtag collection of planets and species surrounding the last suspected location of the human home world. Everyone thought of them as zookeepers. Guards of humanity. That they were there to protect the humans. No one gave them any tought as they were out of the way. "Out of sight. Out of Mind". Another humans wording. They have so many.
They were no longer out of mind after discovering huge deposits of rare elements where located in their territory. A short victorious war was planned to prepare for mining. With the added benefit of providing us with free workers.
The Alliance pleaded and begged us to reconsider. Sent us historical files, and copies of signed accords. We ignored them all. The humans tried their talks, but we ignored their calls. We probably should have listened when the Alliance said "We wash our hands of this. We tried warning you.". How we laughed.
We took the first planets easily. Setting up mining operations. Forcing the humans to be our slaves. We thought they were weaklings having trouble operating our equipment, since everything went much slower than we anticipated. Then the breakdown started. Machines breaking. Bridges falling down. Transports failing to launch. Small things. But they happened just too often.
We thought we had rounded up all the humans. When the explosions started we knew we hadn't. We never found where they hid. But they were severely hindering our operations. This happened on every planet we occupied. Even ones previously occupied. Wherever we set up operations, humans found a way to hide and make trouble.
We soon learned another human expression. "Guerrilla warfare".
They even brought this to interstellar space. Small groups, hiding out in spaces no ship should be able to hide, they hit us repeatedly where it hurt. Our shipping lanes, our outposts. Never the same twice in a row. Always gone before our military ships could show up.
Little did we know that this was done to make sure we overspent ourselves trying to protect against small irritants, while they prepared.
When they hit us. As a war faring race we can only admire the beauty in their attack. They were everywhere. Our capitals fell in the first bombardment. The council lay in tatters as we were decimated. And we could do no other action than concede when they entered the council chamber claiming their rightful place at the top. There where no one left that could stop them. The words they uttered when they opened the proceedings shocked us to our cores. Even though we could see the warning every time we entered.
​
"We founded this council. We can always reclaim our place. Remember history". |
**Caged, Now Loose.**
A deafening silence fills the chamber where the Galactic Assembly meets. The shock that permeates the varying species present here today is almost palpable. I suppose we should have expected this, seen it coming from the very first attack - what feels like aeons - but was only 3 Terran months ago. The Aberrians sit opposite us, cruel smiles plastered across their narrow faces. I can almost see it, the thrill, that bloodthirst that probably occupies every avenue of thought. That burning desire for war, the appetite for destruction; it seems only poetic that the colour of their eyes reflects this. The red of blood, of death and of war that colours their eyes is distinctive of their kind.
All eyes - or whatever means they use to see - are directed at us now. Some filled with pity and a sense of despair, of futility as if they too had seen this moment coming. As for the others, they were filled with curiosity, a detached interest in a situation unheard of in the three Terran centuries of the Galactic Assembly’s existence. Yet they were all probably wondering, can we salvage this. Can our quick and sweet tongues alongside the diplomacy that seems inherent in our genetic makeup prevent yet another disaster. Can we talk them out of such a decision and prevent war yet again. Can we negotiate, can our diplomatic prowess - the reputation that we have built of ourselves - save us now. Every known civilization can undoubtedly tell you something about the Terran civilization or as we call ourselves - humans. They will tell you tales of what they deem our most distinctive trait: Our natural and uncanny diplomatic ability. Our ability to negotiate and deescalate what seem unresolvable; our distinctive way with words. They will tell you of our feats. How we prevented full out war on Caelch IV and saved a billion lives, or how we were able to talk the Threnarians and Gostlems out of battle just a few Terran hours before they were to begin. These among others are what resulted in us being given the laudable position of the goto Galactic peacekeepers. A position that led to Terrans being placed on every planet and where the conflict that led us here began.
It started three months ago. We received the communication from the Aberrians themselves. 300 human lives gone. In what they called unfortunate circumstances, 300 of our people were killed. They intended to convey the news with sorrow, but the sick gleam in their eyes, the smile that was teetering on their lips told us otherwise. Our people were murdered, and now there remained no peacekeepers on their planet. We were, of course, enraged at the loss of our people, but we had to maintain the peace, so we took ‘the unfortunate circumstances’ of their deaths and said we would send them more peacekeepers shortly. This continuing the image we built for ourselves over the many centuries. The image of the weak, pacifistic, confrontation-avoiding species that always betrayed their interests to avoid conflict. The species that would take the worse half of the deal if there was even the slightest use of force. And we fully intended to send more of our people to die, as much as we despised it. However, they started their attack before we could, for that at least we were grateful.
They began attacking ships that were simply on their designated trade routes. We tried to negotiate, saying we would use other trade routes if they wanted ours, playing of the attack as an accident. They agreed and we felt relief. Then they attacked us on the new trade routes and we knew they were just toying with us. It wasn’t about the trade routes, it was about killing, killing us. Yet there was nothing we could do. Then they decided to assault some of our outposts on Helbrip III and when we begged them to stop their attack. They proposed an ultimatum: ‘Surrender 75% of your Galactic colonies, resources and planets or face the wrath of the Aberrian Empire’. As these words left the very mouth of their Chancellor, the head of the Aberrian Empire, it was clear that this was no joke. That brings us to the stunning silence that occupies the room.
The rest of the occupants probably think this a historic day. The day humanity couldn’t succeed with diplomacy and hence the day that marks the end of their civilization. Today they think is the event that leads to the annihilation of one species, yet they would be surprised by which one. So I rise from my seat, “The Terran civilization acknowledges the Ultimatum put forth by the Aberrian Empire and upon further deliberation will provide a response no later than prima lux tomorrow. We will now take our leave”. The silence never retreats, not even as the Terran delegation walks out of the chamber.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Part 1 because it was too long too fit in one comment | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | The humans had such quaint names for the few times they had fought any galactic power. Incident was one of their favorites. The few times they had come into conflict they tried to minimize damage and spent the entire time asking to talk and peace.
Talk. Buh. We had sat back and watched them in the council. They had never been the aggressor but always apologised for their failure to come to peaceful agreement. For defending themselves. Weak.
We finally decided it was time to teach them the way of the Tephon. We announced to the council we were claiming a full half of the human territory. We heard all the words spoken. We thought the council had been stronger then that. Though we were surprised by the quietness of both the humans and their longest ally on the council, the group who had introduced them to the galaxy at large, the Athargon. We thought the looks on the Athargon faces were sadness at what was about to happen to the humans.
The humans in council were quiet until the council had talked itself out. Everyone in the chamber was looking at the human by this point.
"We will concede one third of our territory if you allow us time to remove our people from the areas."
Weak. We attacked the first colony the next day. It took us three years to take a third of their territory. Most of it was empty when we arrived. They never fight back. We saw no need to hurry.
The Council meeting after that the human demeanour had changed.
"If you keep refusing to talk and resolve this incident, we will be forced to respond."
We laughed. The next system we attacked wasn't empty. A small human force. Six ships in total. One of their carriers, the gods they call them, and five smaller ships. They were waiting in ambush and destroyed the fleet we send. They had been watching were we dropped into a system. They weren't sending messages begging for peace and they aren't trying to minimize damage. Finally we though, they were learning.
We accelerated our attacks at this. Three months and many minor battles, but we had a a full half of their territory. That's when the ultimatum came during a council session.
"Return our all territory or face what is to come."
The gutless Athargon members of the council hadn't been at that session. We figured they didn't want to watch what was about to happen to the humans.
We finally learnt how the humans and Athargon had met. It had been in violence. Over a colony.
It took the humans merely a month to remove us from their colonies. It had taken us longer then that to capture one of theirs once they started to actually fight back.
We laughed during the next session and offered our peace terms.
"There is no peace. Only war."
We thought we had taught them the lesson too well. It was at this point we heard directly from the Athargon.
"Their people have asked for total war with you. Their leaders have agreed. We say goodbye to you."
They have taken a full half of our territory. The Council members are begging them talk to us. To negotiate with us.
"There is no negotiating in total war."
We are the weak ones. We were wrong. We received one last thing from the Athargon. The complete history of the humans. They had been on the brink so many times. This was the first time they had declared total war since time almost forgotten. Even what the phrase meant. The total dedication of the species to war. They had given up producing luxuries. They were damaging their own economy to fight us.
We had only a half dozen systems left. The humans had destroyed the rest. They weren't even trying to make use of the territory they won. Scorched Earth they called it. We begged the council to intercede on our behalf. To save us from our on mistake. But it was too late. The Council was rightful scared of the demons we had unleashed.
I write this as a warning. Engraved secretly into the council chamber's ceiling. The humans may appear to be angels. But they are anything but. Anger then at your own risk. | I meet with the former High Marshall Tarsonis in the museum of The War of the Stars. We stand in the what has been called "The Scar" by both humanity and the former Alliance species, the site of the final battle before the Alliance surrendered to humanity and agreed to the terms it dictated. The hall covers the site of the final bloody firefight, the centre stands the bunker that was the catalyst to the surrender. Tarsonis is covered in scars, the Emmane chitin starting to fade to a dull green with his age, his species distinctive wings misshapen from injury and retracted, it is clear to see how much apprehension he has about visiting this place
"You know I have never visited this place?"
"Why is that?"
"I couldn't tell you honestly, maybe I didn't want to see how real it was,"
"But you were there,"
"Yes and at the same time I wasn't,"
We walk past a broken shield projector, Tarsonis runs on of his hands over it, feeling the blacked metal with his fingers
"You know we first thought them nothing but talkers, completely incapable of matching our martial prowess,"
"Is that why the war started? Because it was believed they posed no threat?"
The former High Marshal laughed at my question as we continued to move through the eerie and pristine silent battlefield
"It may have seemed like that to the historians, the reality is far more telling of our arrogance. When humanity was discovered it was on the moon of Illi they had a small colony exploring and studying the resources available. The moon had already been marked to become a mining colony by the Alliance. We studied their technology and culture, the decision was made to make contact and ask the colony to respect our claim,"
"I thought the war started on planet of Illi not the moon?"
"It did, the humans agreed and forfeited their claim to the moon, however they had already established a colony on Illi, it was decided that the humans knew their place and would remove themselves from Illi as well,"
"But they didn't,"
"They delayed and stalled, they said a vote would need to be taken and their representatives would have to debate the issue, they stalled and pleaded for time, we mistook this for weakness and timidity,"
"It wasn't was it?"
"Yes and no,"
The former High Marshal notices my confusion and stops walking, he bends over and picks up a destroyed Alliance blaster, it has been violently snapped near in half Tarsonis inspects the weapon as he continues
"It was humanity terrified of both an alien force demanding it bend the knee and also terrified it might finally ascend to its true purpose, to be completely in a state of war, before this they had only each other to hone their blade, both brutal and tragic they couldn't fully commit to fighting themselves because it would be their undoing. But a non human enemy threatening their very existence, they could finally ascend to total war,"
"So what happened?"
"We bombed them into the dust and crusaded to their home system, they weren't ready for us and we intended to defeat them before they had a chance to fight back,"
"This lead to the blockade of earth?"
"Yes, I was in command of the blockade we would contain the humans and force them to submit through starvation of resources, it was worming to, the human gathered everyday we seemed to be making progress to their subjugation and who knows, if things had gone differently it might have worked,"
"Why did the fleet launch strikes on Earth if the blockade was working?"
"Some in the fleet command cadre assumed that the human were again playing for time, trying to talk in the face of might, that it was an insult to the Alliance they had no submitted yet,"
"So it was to make the humans surrender, you launched these missions against humanity to make them surrender faster?"
"No, the three strike missions were launched without my consent, I was out-voted by the other fleet High Marshals. I had my reasons why the blockade must be maintained,"
"So you didn't want to attack the human home world?"
"No."
"Why?"
The High Marshal placed the broken blaster down, and moved closer to the bunker, he stops at the final line of defences the ground is darker here, a mixture of Alliance species and human blood has stained the dirt here, Tarsonis doesn't take his eyes off the stained earth as he continues
"We never fought humanity, we assaulted them, never given them a second to actually bring their forces to bear, and with hindsight we see that the Alliance mainly butchered civilian installations, humanity had nearly completely disarmed itself as a means of survival against itself. I had suspected this. The few pockets of resistance we faced on our sprint to Earth had cost us greatly, small cells of human resistance caused horrific amounts of damage, I didn't want to risk over extending our position, better to bide our time and wait them out,"
"But the three strikes did happen,"
"Yes, three cities bombed for mass casualties and to break their moral, Shanghai, New York and Rome, all centres of the human world at one point, the casualties I am told were in their millions,"
"What was the Alliance planning to follow those terror strikes with?"
"The message was simple, submit or suffer something worse."
"How did they respond?"
"With silence, for the first time there was no talking, no pleading, no begging for understanding or time. The decided to respond with action."
"What happened next?"
"Humanity unleashed itself on us......... and we never stood a chance." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. |
Humans; the galaxy at large viewed them as an odd bunch. Stuck on the edge of the spiral, it took them generations to sort out the gravitational communication system. Longer still to sort out their own FTL capabilities. By the time humans finally had a place on the council, their backwater held no interest for the other civilizations. This was all well and fine, as the grand game proceeded apace without their input.
Humans seemed to have no stomach for it, though. The constantly shifting alliances, the pageantry of posturing armies, the noble conflicts that forged great leaders; humans seemed to want no part. They claimed it reminded them of a dark time in their history, but no one much cared to investigate further, and humans never offered any deeper explanation.
Thus, humans rose to their position as arbitrators. Since they wanted no place in the grand game, they were leaned upon as independent observers. Businesses hired human lawyers to review military contracts so that they were fair and balanced towards both sides of any conflict.Diplomatic envoys would bring a human observer to record the proceedings so that there was a record of slights, intentional or not, that could lead to war. Militaries would invite human reporters to the battlefield systems where the fleets and armies would clash in glorious combat.
The humans seemed unimpressed. But no one cared. The grand game continued, with territory and resources flowing back and forth between the council member states for solar decades under the new status quo.
Until the A'mani'qi made their mistake.
It began simply enough. A human observer recorded the A'mani'qi king's rude gesture toward the peace envoy of the Kzzriak after the conclusion of accords. Knowing that they had just lost their war against the Kzzriak, and would not be capable of fighting another for months, the A'mani'qi disputed the human's official record. She stood by that record, and the A'mani'qi accused her of dishonoring their peace talks and their king. The human government became involved, and presented proof of her recording in front of the entire council.
This could not stand.
The A'mani'qi demanded satisfaction. They accused the entire human race of conspiracy and slander. They sent the formal war declaration to the miserable backwater which humans called home, declaring standards and challenging the humans to a location.
The humans transmitted a single word in response.
"No."
The A'mani'qi laughed. They upbraided the human representative in front of the council. They demanded an explanation on why the entire human race would abandon their honor and deny the challenge.
The human was not laughing. The human leaked fluid from its ocular sockets as it pleaded, "We have moved beyond this. Do not make us show you all that we have learned."
At this, the council laughed. What had humans learned of the great game? How much did they know of combat, and glory, and honor? Here they would not even face the recently defeated A'main'qi in a matter of slander. The council voted unanimously to allow the A'mani'qi to take a human system of their choice. The human abstained from the vote, silent throughout the remainder of the proceedings.
Flush with their victory on the council, the A'mani'qi chose with hubris. Of the handful of human systems, they chose Sol; the system of the human homeworld. The council laughed again. The great game had never seen such a maneuver, and the A'mani'qi's glory would last for generations at this cunning maneuver.
The human left the council chamber. None would ever again enter as an equal.
On the appointed date of transfer, the A'mani'qi jumped their fleet into the Solar system. It was time for the grand parade, the transfer of power, the culmination of their cunning.
They never stood a chance.
The human home fleet barred their path. Comms were opened, and the humans began first.
"Star Kingdom of the A'mani'qi. This is your first and final warning. Turn back your fleet, leave Earth and this star system be, and revoke your claim in the council. Do these things, and we will maintain peace in the galaxy. Move your ships beyond the orbit of the 7th planet, however, and you will be treated as a hostile invading force. We beg of you, do not make us destroy you."
"People of Earth, this is your new king. Stand down your fleet and prepare to transfer power over this star system to our governance. This is our first command."
And it was the last command of the A'mani'qi king. The humans had never followed the protocols of the great game, they had no need. They had signed no war-treaties, had refused to allow their fleets be reviewed by the council, and prepared for this eventuality. The humans 2nd and 4th fleets jumped into crossfire positions and the combined armada obliterated the military might of the A'mani'qi. Not even the Kzzriak, who led the game at this time, had so many ships; it was against the rules.
Simultaneously, the 3rd fleet jumped into the home system of the A'mani'qi. They faced no opposition, for the A'mani'qi fleet was deployed for the victory parade above earth. They moved into embargo positions and transmitted demands for a complete and total surrender by the crown prince.
He chose the path of glory. He challenged the sky marshal of the 3rd fleet to honorable combat and marched his army, with royal guard at the head, to the field of honor.
In response, the sky marshal glassed the prince, his guard, his army, the field, and the surrounding 10 square kilometers with a single concentrated orbital salvo. The sky marshal then reissued his demands for complete and total surrender across the entire planet's communication system.
The A'mani'qi conceded to the human's demands.
The council was in uproar. Never before had an orbital bombardment occurred in council space! Never before had a sovereign been assassinated so dispassionately! Never before had the game's rules been disregarded so!
They debated throughout the week, forging the greatest alliance the galaxy had ever seen. All the great fleets would unify. They would face this upstart challenge and eliminate this new threat. The humans had gotten lucky! They had taken them by surprise! The council would stop them! And then the game could resume.
It was as they were signing the treaty unifying their forces against humanity that the council chambers rumbled. The 5th fleet, held in reserve until this moment, had jumped almost directly into orbit. This was, of course, a violation as blatant as the size of the vessels making up the fleet. Dreadnoughts twice the size of any battleship; bristling with armaments and full of angry humans with itchy trigger fingers. The 5th fleet did not establish an embargo. It moved with purpose to place the council chamber itself within reach of every vessel's main armament.
"Councilors. Know this. Any race that stands against us will face the fate of the A'mani'qi and worse. Surrender, and you will be spared. Fight, and your civilization will be destroyed. You have 24 hours to lay down your arms."
The great game was ended. | I meet with the former High Marshall Tarsonis in the museum of The War of the Stars. We stand in the what has been called "The Scar" by both humanity and the former Alliance species, the site of the final battle before the Alliance surrendered to humanity and agreed to the terms it dictated. The hall covers the site of the final bloody firefight, the centre stands the bunker that was the catalyst to the surrender. Tarsonis is covered in scars, the Emmane chitin starting to fade to a dull green with his age, his species distinctive wings misshapen from injury and retracted, it is clear to see how much apprehension he has about visiting this place
"You know I have never visited this place?"
"Why is that?"
"I couldn't tell you honestly, maybe I didn't want to see how real it was,"
"But you were there,"
"Yes and at the same time I wasn't,"
We walk past a broken shield projector, Tarsonis runs on of his hands over it, feeling the blacked metal with his fingers
"You know we first thought them nothing but talkers, completely incapable of matching our martial prowess,"
"Is that why the war started? Because it was believed they posed no threat?"
The former High Marshal laughed at my question as we continued to move through the eerie and pristine silent battlefield
"It may have seemed like that to the historians, the reality is far more telling of our arrogance. When humanity was discovered it was on the moon of Illi they had a small colony exploring and studying the resources available. The moon had already been marked to become a mining colony by the Alliance. We studied their technology and culture, the decision was made to make contact and ask the colony to respect our claim,"
"I thought the war started on planet of Illi not the moon?"
"It did, the humans agreed and forfeited their claim to the moon, however they had already established a colony on Illi, it was decided that the humans knew their place and would remove themselves from Illi as well,"
"But they didn't,"
"They delayed and stalled, they said a vote would need to be taken and their representatives would have to debate the issue, they stalled and pleaded for time, we mistook this for weakness and timidity,"
"It wasn't was it?"
"Yes and no,"
The former High Marshal notices my confusion and stops walking, he bends over and picks up a destroyed Alliance blaster, it has been violently snapped near in half Tarsonis inspects the weapon as he continues
"It was humanity terrified of both an alien force demanding it bend the knee and also terrified it might finally ascend to its true purpose, to be completely in a state of war, before this they had only each other to hone their blade, both brutal and tragic they couldn't fully commit to fighting themselves because it would be their undoing. But a non human enemy threatening their very existence, they could finally ascend to total war,"
"So what happened?"
"We bombed them into the dust and crusaded to their home system, they weren't ready for us and we intended to defeat them before they had a chance to fight back,"
"This lead to the blockade of earth?"
"Yes, I was in command of the blockade we would contain the humans and force them to submit through starvation of resources, it was worming to, the human gathered everyday we seemed to be making progress to their subjugation and who knows, if things had gone differently it might have worked,"
"Why did the fleet launch strikes on Earth if the blockade was working?"
"Some in the fleet command cadre assumed that the human were again playing for time, trying to talk in the face of might, that it was an insult to the Alliance they had no submitted yet,"
"So it was to make the humans surrender, you launched these missions against humanity to make them surrender faster?"
"No, the three strike missions were launched without my consent, I was out-voted by the other fleet High Marshals. I had my reasons why the blockade must be maintained,"
"So you didn't want to attack the human home world?"
"No."
"Why?"
The High Marshal placed the broken blaster down, and moved closer to the bunker, he stops at the final line of defences the ground is darker here, a mixture of Alliance species and human blood has stained the dirt here, Tarsonis doesn't take his eyes off the stained earth as he continues
"We never fought humanity, we assaulted them, never given them a second to actually bring their forces to bear, and with hindsight we see that the Alliance mainly butchered civilian installations, humanity had nearly completely disarmed itself as a means of survival against itself. I had suspected this. The few pockets of resistance we faced on our sprint to Earth had cost us greatly, small cells of human resistance caused horrific amounts of damage, I didn't want to risk over extending our position, better to bide our time and wait them out,"
"But the three strikes did happen,"
"Yes, three cities bombed for mass casualties and to break their moral, Shanghai, New York and Rome, all centres of the human world at one point, the casualties I am told were in their millions,"
"What was the Alliance planning to follow those terror strikes with?"
"The message was simple, submit or suffer something worse."
"How did they respond?"
"With silence, for the first time there was no talking, no pleading, no begging for understanding or time. The decided to respond with action."
"What happened next?"
"Humanity unleashed itself on us......... and we never stood a chance." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | The T'losh ambassador stroked his head-tails as he strode down the brightly lit, almost sterile hallway. He studied his datapad, reviewing his most recent diplomatic proposal, when a small icon flashed in the upper left corner. Irritated at the sudden interruption, he moved to dismiss it without bothering to view the contents, when a sudden flurry of footsteps sounded behind him. He drew himself up, turning with indignation, reprimands ready on his tongue, but there they remained.
​
The owner of the erratic footsteps was quickly approaching, a slender, four-legged Sheth, with an inscrutable expression on its face. "You are summoned to the council room" it murmured in the soft tones the Sheth were known for. The natural quietness of speech did not detract from the undercurrent of unease layered in its tone.
​
The ambassador merely nodded, following the now graceful motions of the Sheth's nimble gait. "Am I to be informed as to the reason? Do assure me that a Sheth is not wasting my time with trivial matters, I am quite busy today and..."
​
The Sheth, without breaking stride, cut off his inquiry with a wave of its own datapad. "You should have already been notified. I am simply your escort."
​
The T'losh, recalling the irritating flashing symbol, opted to open instead of dismiss. His eyes scanned the contents quickly, absorbing and analyzing the contents instantly as only his kind could. He closed an eye and put a finger between his eyes, attempting to hide an uncharacteristic confusion. He made to ask a question, but was kept silent by the door to the council room sliding soundlessly open. The spacious room was nearly at full capacity, only a few delegates missing. The Kaneth ambassador - no, military advisor - seemed to be the focal point of this meeting. A current of unease wafted through the room, made all too obvious by the quivering antennae on the ever sensitive Qu'fe delegate.
​
"Enough of us are here to begin, so let's get to it" the other tall figure in the middle, across from the Kaneth, stood to full height, commanding the attention in the mostly seated room. He was Human, that much was obvious, but his demeanor was completely off. The normally docile Human was... agitated? No, too composed. Nervous? Not likely, given his confident tone and posture, as was typical of Humans. This was something different, and unseen in the past 91 cycles that Humans had been a part of the Galactic Confederate. It tasted like fear. This alone unnerved the T'losh. Humans, ever since first contact, had been the prime example of diplomacy and courtesy. Never aggressive, always finding ways to negotiate and deal themselves out of any trouble they found themselves in, though they always seemed to come out ahead in every situation. In fact, so skilled were they at negotiation, they had never been directly involved in any martial conflict at all. That is, of course, until now. The notification on his datapad had informed him that two solar weeks prior, the Kaneth had declared hostile intentions toward the Human sector. This was not uncommon of the Kaneth. Always aggressive, ever expanding, the Kaneth were as imposing in a battle formation as they were physically. They towered over every other race, save the Sheth, and their sheer bulk made them a formidable foe in any situation.
​
"You do not speak, Human, you are not worthy! Your cowardly race flees before the might of the Kaneth. When we have conquered your outer colonies, we will press on and crush you all! Your manipulations and lies do not deceive us as they have the others! We will..."
​
"Your information is outdated and incorrect, and your words border on direct violation of the military code of conduct for the Confederate." The Human interrupted. He was relaxed, far too relaxed for a race with no military conflict to draw experience from.
​
"We have submitted multiple declarations, following all the necessary laws and codes." The grating voice of the Kaneth made clear his race's intentions. "We will eradicate your weak minded species and free the galaxy of your corruption! We will return the galaxy to..."
​
The Human waved his hand, interrupting the Kaneth yet again "There's no stopping your ranting, I suppose, so I'll cut right to the heart of the matter. The reason I called this meeting is simple." He stepped forward and placed his datapad on the table, projecting a three dimensional map into the room. "This is the Kaneth fleet, shortly after commencing their invasion. They, without warning, swept through an unarmed merchant fleet, ignoring all attempts at communication. A total of 5,000 civilian casualties were reported." He paused, fixing the T'losh with a pointed stare. "Avoidable casualties, as there was no military presence in the quadrant at all. This hostility borders on outright genocide, and we are prepared to respond as such." Sweeping his eyes across the room, he touched his datapad. "That was a week ago. This is that quad now." The image changed to reveal no ships whatsoever. A perfectly normal quadrant of space.
​
Suspiciously devoid of the destruction expected of the Kaneth.
​
The T'losh studied the Human. He had misjudged the emotion roiling off the man, thinking it fear. A sudden chill of realization swept up his body as he understood. It wasn't fear he had sensed. It was a deeper emotion, more primal. Something none of the Confederate had expected. Bloodlust.
​
"Long have we put up with your hatred." The Human voice dripped with sudden malice. "Long have we ignored your illegal raids and ambushes. The Kaneth have their reputation, and we have ours. No longer." The Human stepped back from the table as the map changed to a holovid of the Human quadrant that had come under attack. "Under the provisions of the Confederate law of Preservation, the Human race has declared total war on the Kaneth." The room fell into a stunned silence as the vid revealed the Kaneth fleet being utterly decimated by an unknown force. Ship after ship vaporized until nothing remained. As the victorious fleet swept in, the familiar markings of the Terran Alliance were brightly visible on each frigate, cruiser, and battleship.
​
"I-I-Impossible! This is a lie!" The Kaneth howled. He glared at the Human, barely suppressed rage leaking into his speech. "The Humans have no such fleet! No military force in this universe could eliminate my fleets so thoroughly!"
​
"And yet the evidence lies before you, clear as any star in the galaxy. Not enough for you?" The map changed to Kaneth space. The room went from silence to uneasy murmuring as those present quickly grasped the situation. The Kaneth were being wiped out. Every skirmish, every encounter ended in complete and utter annihilation of Kaneth forces. The Human fleets, though outnumbered, were hardly being challenged. For once, the Kaneth representative was completely speechless.
​
The T'losh turned to the Human, "Completely ignoring the fact that the mightiest military force in the galaxy is currently being treated like a disobedient child, what is your intent here? Are we to watch the complete eradication of the Kaneth race? Despite your correct usage of Preservation, I assure you the Confederate will not stand for genocide."
​
The Human didn't move, eyes glued to the map. No expression crossed his face, but the T'losh detected a small amount of satisfaction leak through his response. "No, but we will make sure, in no uncertain terms, that direct military action against Human civilians will never be tolerated. Allow me to bring you all up to speed." The map shifted, and the room went from uneasy murmur to outright chaos. All Human ships were gone from Kaneth space. As were all Kaneth ships. The only signs of life that remained were the Kaneth homeworld, and pockets of civilain colonies scattered across nearby planets. The Human fleet had cut through them with laserlike, ruthless precision. And it had only taken one solar week. The T'losh looked around, but the Kaneth advisor had already fled, the stink of his terror still lingering. The crowd now eyed the Human warily, giving plenty of room. The T'losh nodded, his usual impassive nature coming back to bear.
​
"That was... efficient."
​
"Well, if three World Wars taught us one lesson, it's this." He faced the T'losh "The longer we allow war to ravage us, the longer we spend regretting the losses. We aren't peaceful because we want to be. We're peaceful because we have to be. We almost destroyed ourselves before, and while we were able to rebuild and unite, there's no guarantee of that success a second time." He retrieved his datapad from the table and turned to leave, the crowd parting before him. "I only hope the rest of you can take our failures to heart, and avoid the mistakes that almost cost us everything." | I meet with the former High Marshall Tarsonis in the museum of The War of the Stars. We stand in the what has been called "The Scar" by both humanity and the former Alliance species, the site of the final battle before the Alliance surrendered to humanity and agreed to the terms it dictated. The hall covers the site of the final bloody firefight, the centre stands the bunker that was the catalyst to the surrender. Tarsonis is covered in scars, the Emmane chitin starting to fade to a dull green with his age, his species distinctive wings misshapen from injury and retracted, it is clear to see how much apprehension he has about visiting this place
"You know I have never visited this place?"
"Why is that?"
"I couldn't tell you honestly, maybe I didn't want to see how real it was,"
"But you were there,"
"Yes and at the same time I wasn't,"
We walk past a broken shield projector, Tarsonis runs on of his hands over it, feeling the blacked metal with his fingers
"You know we first thought them nothing but talkers, completely incapable of matching our martial prowess,"
"Is that why the war started? Because it was believed they posed no threat?"
The former High Marshal laughed at my question as we continued to move through the eerie and pristine silent battlefield
"It may have seemed like that to the historians, the reality is far more telling of our arrogance. When humanity was discovered it was on the moon of Illi they had a small colony exploring and studying the resources available. The moon had already been marked to become a mining colony by the Alliance. We studied their technology and culture, the decision was made to make contact and ask the colony to respect our claim,"
"I thought the war started on planet of Illi not the moon?"
"It did, the humans agreed and forfeited their claim to the moon, however they had already established a colony on Illi, it was decided that the humans knew their place and would remove themselves from Illi as well,"
"But they didn't,"
"They delayed and stalled, they said a vote would need to be taken and their representatives would have to debate the issue, they stalled and pleaded for time, we mistook this for weakness and timidity,"
"It wasn't was it?"
"Yes and no,"
The former High Marshal notices my confusion and stops walking, he bends over and picks up a destroyed Alliance blaster, it has been violently snapped near in half Tarsonis inspects the weapon as he continues
"It was humanity terrified of both an alien force demanding it bend the knee and also terrified it might finally ascend to its true purpose, to be completely in a state of war, before this they had only each other to hone their blade, both brutal and tragic they couldn't fully commit to fighting themselves because it would be their undoing. But a non human enemy threatening their very existence, they could finally ascend to total war,"
"So what happened?"
"We bombed them into the dust and crusaded to their home system, they weren't ready for us and we intended to defeat them before they had a chance to fight back,"
"This lead to the blockade of earth?"
"Yes, I was in command of the blockade we would contain the humans and force them to submit through starvation of resources, it was worming to, the human gathered everyday we seemed to be making progress to their subjugation and who knows, if things had gone differently it might have worked,"
"Why did the fleet launch strikes on Earth if the blockade was working?"
"Some in the fleet command cadre assumed that the human were again playing for time, trying to talk in the face of might, that it was an insult to the Alliance they had no submitted yet,"
"So it was to make the humans surrender, you launched these missions against humanity to make them surrender faster?"
"No, the three strike missions were launched without my consent, I was out-voted by the other fleet High Marshals. I had my reasons why the blockade must be maintained,"
"So you didn't want to attack the human home world?"
"No."
"Why?"
The High Marshal placed the broken blaster down, and moved closer to the bunker, he stops at the final line of defences the ground is darker here, a mixture of Alliance species and human blood has stained the dirt here, Tarsonis doesn't take his eyes off the stained earth as he continues
"We never fought humanity, we assaulted them, never given them a second to actually bring their forces to bear, and with hindsight we see that the Alliance mainly butchered civilian installations, humanity had nearly completely disarmed itself as a means of survival against itself. I had suspected this. The few pockets of resistance we faced on our sprint to Earth had cost us greatly, small cells of human resistance caused horrific amounts of damage, I didn't want to risk over extending our position, better to bide our time and wait them out,"
"But the three strikes did happen,"
"Yes, three cities bombed for mass casualties and to break their moral, Shanghai, New York and Rome, all centres of the human world at one point, the casualties I am told were in their millions,"
"What was the Alliance planning to follow those terror strikes with?"
"The message was simple, submit or suffer something worse."
"How did they respond?"
"With silence, for the first time there was no talking, no pleading, no begging for understanding or time. The decided to respond with action."
"What happened next?"
"Humanity unleashed itself on us......... and we never stood a chance." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | By the time we made it to the stars, humanity had been through 4 world wars. It took 500 years to climb from the radioactive ruins of the third and the less said about the nanoplagues left from number 4... literally, some are keyword activated and the decon protocols aren't perfect.
When we arrived on the galactic scene it seemed obvious that the sheer power needed by interstellar drives made them effectively superweapons in their own right.
We just.... kind of assumed that everyone kept a stock of impactors or more exotic superweapons out in the cold spaces between the stars and just didn't talk about them directly at diplomatic events as some kind of taboo.
Given our recent past we played it very very safe. We didn't want to get into a cold war with some galactic power where we lacked a red telephone to talk things out carefully and avoid any unfortunate novas.
It took decades of study of the histories of other planets for the xenologists to be certain and by then our SOP and reputation on the galactic scene had become that of peaceful diplomats who shy away from all military conflict.
We had gained a reputation for being soft, weak and overly forgiving.
On the galactic scale superweapons were almost unknown. Almost.
The Orion empire decided they wanted to send a message to some of our allies. They virus bombed the colonies of alpha centauri in a surprise attack. A billion people were wiped out overnight and protocols dating back to just after the last war went into effect.
Deadman switches tripped.
The Orion sued for peace after the first of their colony world's was shattered by near lightspeed impactors.
The galactic community pleaded on their behalf after the 5th.
They had no concept of mutually assured destruction. They had no stockpile of superweapons. The one they had used was all they had.
we explained that there was no mechanism to call back the counterstrike. We explained that all 76 world's of the Orion empire would soon be dust and fire.
the silence in the galactic council chamber was total.
Humans don't have a reputation for being overly forgiving anymore. | I meet with the former High Marshall Tarsonis in the museum of The War of the Stars. We stand in the what has been called "The Scar" by both humanity and the former Alliance species, the site of the final battle before the Alliance surrendered to humanity and agreed to the terms it dictated. The hall covers the site of the final bloody firefight, the centre stands the bunker that was the catalyst to the surrender. Tarsonis is covered in scars, the Emmane chitin starting to fade to a dull green with his age, his species distinctive wings misshapen from injury and retracted, it is clear to see how much apprehension he has about visiting this place
"You know I have never visited this place?"
"Why is that?"
"I couldn't tell you honestly, maybe I didn't want to see how real it was,"
"But you were there,"
"Yes and at the same time I wasn't,"
We walk past a broken shield projector, Tarsonis runs on of his hands over it, feeling the blacked metal with his fingers
"You know we first thought them nothing but talkers, completely incapable of matching our martial prowess,"
"Is that why the war started? Because it was believed they posed no threat?"
The former High Marshal laughed at my question as we continued to move through the eerie and pristine silent battlefield
"It may have seemed like that to the historians, the reality is far more telling of our arrogance. When humanity was discovered it was on the moon of Illi they had a small colony exploring and studying the resources available. The moon had already been marked to become a mining colony by the Alliance. We studied their technology and culture, the decision was made to make contact and ask the colony to respect our claim,"
"I thought the war started on planet of Illi not the moon?"
"It did, the humans agreed and forfeited their claim to the moon, however they had already established a colony on Illi, it was decided that the humans knew their place and would remove themselves from Illi as well,"
"But they didn't,"
"They delayed and stalled, they said a vote would need to be taken and their representatives would have to debate the issue, they stalled and pleaded for time, we mistook this for weakness and timidity,"
"It wasn't was it?"
"Yes and no,"
The former High Marshal notices my confusion and stops walking, he bends over and picks up a destroyed Alliance blaster, it has been violently snapped near in half Tarsonis inspects the weapon as he continues
"It was humanity terrified of both an alien force demanding it bend the knee and also terrified it might finally ascend to its true purpose, to be completely in a state of war, before this they had only each other to hone their blade, both brutal and tragic they couldn't fully commit to fighting themselves because it would be their undoing. But a non human enemy threatening their very existence, they could finally ascend to total war,"
"So what happened?"
"We bombed them into the dust and crusaded to their home system, they weren't ready for us and we intended to defeat them before they had a chance to fight back,"
"This lead to the blockade of earth?"
"Yes, I was in command of the blockade we would contain the humans and force them to submit through starvation of resources, it was worming to, the human gathered everyday we seemed to be making progress to their subjugation and who knows, if things had gone differently it might have worked,"
"Why did the fleet launch strikes on Earth if the blockade was working?"
"Some in the fleet command cadre assumed that the human were again playing for time, trying to talk in the face of might, that it was an insult to the Alliance they had no submitted yet,"
"So it was to make the humans surrender, you launched these missions against humanity to make them surrender faster?"
"No, the three strike missions were launched without my consent, I was out-voted by the other fleet High Marshals. I had my reasons why the blockade must be maintained,"
"So you didn't want to attack the human home world?"
"No."
"Why?"
The High Marshal placed the broken blaster down, and moved closer to the bunker, he stops at the final line of defences the ground is darker here, a mixture of Alliance species and human blood has stained the dirt here, Tarsonis doesn't take his eyes off the stained earth as he continues
"We never fought humanity, we assaulted them, never given them a second to actually bring their forces to bear, and with hindsight we see that the Alliance mainly butchered civilian installations, humanity had nearly completely disarmed itself as a means of survival against itself. I had suspected this. The few pockets of resistance we faced on our sprint to Earth had cost us greatly, small cells of human resistance caused horrific amounts of damage, I didn't want to risk over extending our position, better to bide our time and wait them out,"
"But the three strikes did happen,"
"Yes, three cities bombed for mass casualties and to break their moral, Shanghai, New York and Rome, all centres of the human world at one point, the casualties I am told were in their millions,"
"What was the Alliance planning to follow those terror strikes with?"
"The message was simple, submit or suffer something worse."
"How did they respond?"
"With silence, for the first time there was no talking, no pleading, no begging for understanding or time. The decided to respond with action."
"What happened next?"
"Humanity unleashed itself on us......... and we never stood a chance." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | He watched her approaching the congressional chamber. She walked down the halls towards their meeting, pushing her communicator into her sleeve pouch. In the same movement, she brought out some morsel of food and offered it to the odd creature perched on her shoulder. The flaps covering its epidermis expanded, flashing brilliant green as it cooled over the morsel. He reflected on how....unsettling these humans were. They always preferred to bond with those around them.
Unlike every other species, they would bond emotionally with everything. Animals, humans, other sentients. And they would always solve problems with *talk*. Wretched, wretched talk. They were the best at *talk*. They talked the Karinzin down from war with the Kayelt, which his people had spent a century executing for their growth.
No, now they had to take this grievance to the Galactic Congress and *talk* about how they were right for starting a war with these barbarians. He had demanded their immediate and unconditional surrender at the close of yesterday’s session. It shouldn’t take long even if they resist.
And, one these vermin were under the yoke of the Raythin empire, they would no longer be allowed to destroy what they spend so long crafting. He smiled as she approached the table. Today would be a great day, he mused to himself.
She seated herself across the grand table, the rest of the body seating in the voting theater circling the central stage. “Honorable members of this body, I have come to deliver our response,” she stated as the assembly slowly hushed for the proceedings. “The Human Planetary Union demands that the Raythin Empire cease all aggressions and retreat to their home territory. Our offer is that we will not declare war on your people.”
***
Karina stared at the lizard creature before her. The entire assembly was hushed, many showed obvious signs of confusion. No one expected a power play from the young race that always talked.
Of course, none of them wanted what the humans had. Mineral rich worlds that were otherwise planets used to scare children into behaving. The handful of planets that other races might like inside Human space just weren’t worth it. Those races that chose to live near humans tended to become extremely friendly with them and even protective. Everyone thought the humans had some sort of chemical secretion that would overwhelm the other races’ minds if they spent too much time near them.
But, they weren’t aggressive. They seemed too agreeable. So agreeable that everyone pretty much ignored them and left them to their business.
The crowd began to murmur as the Raythinite fluttered its throat. “We reject your.....interesting proposal,” Delegate Othrr stated calmly.
Karina nodded. “Please...” her voice faltered and the crowd went silent once more as she regained her composure, “Please. I beg of you, with tears in my eyes, do not do this. If you reject this offer again, we will kill you all.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Othrr squared his posture. “You pathetic beast. You aren’t even sentient enough to know when to surrender.” He swiped at her from across the table, she quickly bobbed back from the gesture.
“Very well, Delegate.” She sighed and coldly pulled out her communicator, “General. The offer has been rejected. Proceed with Operation Bedtime.”
A collective eye-brow-equivalent raised in the audience. “The Human Planetary Union officially declares war on the Raythin Empire. Anyone who allies themselves will forfeit all Human trade and diplomatic relationships until such time as the war is ended. Good day, delegates,” Karina said, almost clinically.
As she turned to walk out of the theater, Othrr bellowed and swiped at her again. He missed her as she deftly maneuvered out of his way - but managed to hit the small animal perched on her shoulder.
The assembly that had turned to discuss the strange Human declaration turned back when they heard a blood curdling, full bodied scream of vengeance. The fairly small mammal had shed her blue delegate cloak and was furiously hacking at the Raythinite delegate with a knife about the length of her forearm. In her rage, she chopped at everything that moved on the Delegates body, finally hacking so aggressively that a full third of his torso was reduced to bloody splatter in mere moments.
Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped. The entire congregated assembly had what seemed one pair of eyes as they followed her over to her animal, watched her gingerly pick him up, then gather her wardrobe and stomp out of the hall.
***
The battles were swift and brutal for the Raythinites. Every battle had them surrounded by large flights of craft too small for them to accurately destroy. Their forces were hacked apart much like their delegate had been. World after world was methodically eliminated until they had only their home solar system left.
As the Human fleet approached their system, they unexpectedly halted in their advance.
In the citadel on the home world, the Raythinite Regent was summoned to read a communication. “We would like to discuss a ceasefire.”
The Regent stared at his console in disbelief, alternating between the message displayed and the scanning equipment that couldn’t even accurately count the number of ships at the edge of the system’s cloud.
“I....would also like to discuss a ceasefire....” he finally replied. | I meet with the former High Marshall Tarsonis in the museum of The War of the Stars. We stand in the what has been called "The Scar" by both humanity and the former Alliance species, the site of the final battle before the Alliance surrendered to humanity and agreed to the terms it dictated. The hall covers the site of the final bloody firefight, the centre stands the bunker that was the catalyst to the surrender. Tarsonis is covered in scars, the Emmane chitin starting to fade to a dull green with his age, his species distinctive wings misshapen from injury and retracted, it is clear to see how much apprehension he has about visiting this place
"You know I have never visited this place?"
"Why is that?"
"I couldn't tell you honestly, maybe I didn't want to see how real it was,"
"But you were there,"
"Yes and at the same time I wasn't,"
We walk past a broken shield projector, Tarsonis runs on of his hands over it, feeling the blacked metal with his fingers
"You know we first thought them nothing but talkers, completely incapable of matching our martial prowess,"
"Is that why the war started? Because it was believed they posed no threat?"
The former High Marshal laughed at my question as we continued to move through the eerie and pristine silent battlefield
"It may have seemed like that to the historians, the reality is far more telling of our arrogance. When humanity was discovered it was on the moon of Illi they had a small colony exploring and studying the resources available. The moon had already been marked to become a mining colony by the Alliance. We studied their technology and culture, the decision was made to make contact and ask the colony to respect our claim,"
"I thought the war started on planet of Illi not the moon?"
"It did, the humans agreed and forfeited their claim to the moon, however they had already established a colony on Illi, it was decided that the humans knew their place and would remove themselves from Illi as well,"
"But they didn't,"
"They delayed and stalled, they said a vote would need to be taken and their representatives would have to debate the issue, they stalled and pleaded for time, we mistook this for weakness and timidity,"
"It wasn't was it?"
"Yes and no,"
The former High Marshal notices my confusion and stops walking, he bends over and picks up a destroyed Alliance blaster, it has been violently snapped near in half Tarsonis inspects the weapon as he continues
"It was humanity terrified of both an alien force demanding it bend the knee and also terrified it might finally ascend to its true purpose, to be completely in a state of war, before this they had only each other to hone their blade, both brutal and tragic they couldn't fully commit to fighting themselves because it would be their undoing. But a non human enemy threatening their very existence, they could finally ascend to total war,"
"So what happened?"
"We bombed them into the dust and crusaded to their home system, they weren't ready for us and we intended to defeat them before they had a chance to fight back,"
"This lead to the blockade of earth?"
"Yes, I was in command of the blockade we would contain the humans and force them to submit through starvation of resources, it was worming to, the human gathered everyday we seemed to be making progress to their subjugation and who knows, if things had gone differently it might have worked,"
"Why did the fleet launch strikes on Earth if the blockade was working?"
"Some in the fleet command cadre assumed that the human were again playing for time, trying to talk in the face of might, that it was an insult to the Alliance they had no submitted yet,"
"So it was to make the humans surrender, you launched these missions against humanity to make them surrender faster?"
"No, the three strike missions were launched without my consent, I was out-voted by the other fleet High Marshals. I had my reasons why the blockade must be maintained,"
"So you didn't want to attack the human home world?"
"No."
"Why?"
The High Marshal placed the broken blaster down, and moved closer to the bunker, he stops at the final line of defences the ground is darker here, a mixture of Alliance species and human blood has stained the dirt here, Tarsonis doesn't take his eyes off the stained earth as he continues
"We never fought humanity, we assaulted them, never given them a second to actually bring their forces to bear, and with hindsight we see that the Alliance mainly butchered civilian installations, humanity had nearly completely disarmed itself as a means of survival against itself. I had suspected this. The few pockets of resistance we faced on our sprint to Earth had cost us greatly, small cells of human resistance caused horrific amounts of damage, I didn't want to risk over extending our position, better to bide our time and wait them out,"
"But the three strikes did happen,"
"Yes, three cities bombed for mass casualties and to break their moral, Shanghai, New York and Rome, all centres of the human world at one point, the casualties I am told were in their millions,"
"What was the Alliance planning to follow those terror strikes with?"
"The message was simple, submit or suffer something worse."
"How did they respond?"
"With silence, for the first time there was no talking, no pleading, no begging for understanding or time. The decided to respond with action."
"What happened next?"
"Humanity unleashed itself on us......... and we never stood a chance." | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | The T'losh ambassador stroked his head-tails as he strode down the brightly lit, almost sterile hallway. He studied his datapad, reviewing his most recent diplomatic proposal, when a small icon flashed in the upper left corner. Irritated at the sudden interruption, he moved to dismiss it without bothering to view the contents, when a sudden flurry of footsteps sounded behind him. He drew himself up, turning with indignation, reprimands ready on his tongue, but there they remained.
​
The owner of the erratic footsteps was quickly approaching, a slender, four-legged Sheth, with an inscrutable expression on its face. "You are summoned to the council room" it murmured in the soft tones the Sheth were known for. The natural quietness of speech did not detract from the undercurrent of unease layered in its tone.
​
The ambassador merely nodded, following the now graceful motions of the Sheth's nimble gait. "Am I to be informed as to the reason? Do assure me that a Sheth is not wasting my time with trivial matters, I am quite busy today and..."
​
The Sheth, without breaking stride, cut off his inquiry with a wave of its own datapad. "You should have already been notified. I am simply your escort."
​
The T'losh, recalling the irritating flashing symbol, opted to open instead of dismiss. His eyes scanned the contents quickly, absorbing and analyzing the contents instantly as only his kind could. He closed an eye and put a finger between his eyes, attempting to hide an uncharacteristic confusion. He made to ask a question, but was kept silent by the door to the council room sliding soundlessly open. The spacious room was nearly at full capacity, only a few delegates missing. The Kaneth ambassador - no, military advisor - seemed to be the focal point of this meeting. A current of unease wafted through the room, made all too obvious by the quivering antennae on the ever sensitive Qu'fe delegate.
​
"Enough of us are here to begin, so let's get to it" the other tall figure in the middle, across from the Kaneth, stood to full height, commanding the attention in the mostly seated room. He was Human, that much was obvious, but his demeanor was completely off. The normally docile Human was... agitated? No, too composed. Nervous? Not likely, given his confident tone and posture, as was typical of Humans. This was something different, and unseen in the past 91 cycles that Humans had been a part of the Galactic Confederate. It tasted like fear. This alone unnerved the T'losh. Humans, ever since first contact, had been the prime example of diplomacy and courtesy. Never aggressive, always finding ways to negotiate and deal themselves out of any trouble they found themselves in, though they always seemed to come out ahead in every situation. In fact, so skilled were they at negotiation, they had never been directly involved in any martial conflict at all. That is, of course, until now. The notification on his datapad had informed him that two solar weeks prior, the Kaneth had declared hostile intentions toward the Human sector. This was not uncommon of the Kaneth. Always aggressive, ever expanding, the Kaneth were as imposing in a battle formation as they were physically. They towered over every other race, save the Sheth, and their sheer bulk made them a formidable foe in any situation.
​
"You do not speak, Human, you are not worthy! Your cowardly race flees before the might of the Kaneth. When we have conquered your outer colonies, we will press on and crush you all! Your manipulations and lies do not deceive us as they have the others! We will..."
​
"Your information is outdated and incorrect, and your words border on direct violation of the military code of conduct for the Confederate." The Human interrupted. He was relaxed, far too relaxed for a race with no military conflict to draw experience from.
​
"We have submitted multiple declarations, following all the necessary laws and codes." The grating voice of the Kaneth made clear his race's intentions. "We will eradicate your weak minded species and free the galaxy of your corruption! We will return the galaxy to..."
​
The Human waved his hand, interrupting the Kaneth yet again "There's no stopping your ranting, I suppose, so I'll cut right to the heart of the matter. The reason I called this meeting is simple." He stepped forward and placed his datapad on the table, projecting a three dimensional map into the room. "This is the Kaneth fleet, shortly after commencing their invasion. They, without warning, swept through an unarmed merchant fleet, ignoring all attempts at communication. A total of 5,000 civilian casualties were reported." He paused, fixing the T'losh with a pointed stare. "Avoidable casualties, as there was no military presence in the quadrant at all. This hostility borders on outright genocide, and we are prepared to respond as such." Sweeping his eyes across the room, he touched his datapad. "That was a week ago. This is that quad now." The image changed to reveal no ships whatsoever. A perfectly normal quadrant of space.
​
Suspiciously devoid of the destruction expected of the Kaneth.
​
The T'losh studied the Human. He had misjudged the emotion roiling off the man, thinking it fear. A sudden chill of realization swept up his body as he understood. It wasn't fear he had sensed. It was a deeper emotion, more primal. Something none of the Confederate had expected. Bloodlust.
​
"Long have we put up with your hatred." The Human voice dripped with sudden malice. "Long have we ignored your illegal raids and ambushes. The Kaneth have their reputation, and we have ours. No longer." The Human stepped back from the table as the map changed to a holovid of the Human quadrant that had come under attack. "Under the provisions of the Confederate law of Preservation, the Human race has declared total war on the Kaneth." The room fell into a stunned silence as the vid revealed the Kaneth fleet being utterly decimated by an unknown force. Ship after ship vaporized until nothing remained. As the victorious fleet swept in, the familiar markings of the Terran Alliance were brightly visible on each frigate, cruiser, and battleship.
​
"I-I-Impossible! This is a lie!" The Kaneth howled. He glared at the Human, barely suppressed rage leaking into his speech. "The Humans have no such fleet! No military force in this universe could eliminate my fleets so thoroughly!"
​
"And yet the evidence lies before you, clear as any star in the galaxy. Not enough for you?" The map changed to Kaneth space. The room went from silence to uneasy murmuring as those present quickly grasped the situation. The Kaneth were being wiped out. Every skirmish, every encounter ended in complete and utter annihilation of Kaneth forces. The Human fleets, though outnumbered, were hardly being challenged. For once, the Kaneth representative was completely speechless.
​
The T'losh turned to the Human, "Completely ignoring the fact that the mightiest military force in the galaxy is currently being treated like a disobedient child, what is your intent here? Are we to watch the complete eradication of the Kaneth race? Despite your correct usage of Preservation, I assure you the Confederate will not stand for genocide."
​
The Human didn't move, eyes glued to the map. No expression crossed his face, but the T'losh detected a small amount of satisfaction leak through his response. "No, but we will make sure, in no uncertain terms, that direct military action against Human civilians will never be tolerated. Allow me to bring you all up to speed." The map shifted, and the room went from uneasy murmur to outright chaos. All Human ships were gone from Kaneth space. As were all Kaneth ships. The only signs of life that remained were the Kaneth homeworld, and pockets of civilain colonies scattered across nearby planets. The Human fleet had cut through them with laserlike, ruthless precision. And it had only taken one solar week. The T'losh looked around, but the Kaneth advisor had already fled, the stink of his terror still lingering. The crowd now eyed the Human warily, giving plenty of room. The T'losh nodded, his usual impassive nature coming back to bear.
​
"That was... efficient."
​
"Well, if three World Wars taught us one lesson, it's this." He faced the T'losh "The longer we allow war to ravage us, the longer we spend regretting the losses. We aren't peaceful because we want to be. We're peaceful because we have to be. We almost destroyed ourselves before, and while we were able to rebuild and unite, there's no guarantee of that success a second time." He retrieved his datapad from the table and turned to leave, the crowd parting before him. "I only hope the rest of you can take our failures to heart, and avoid the mistakes that almost cost us everything." | As any biologist will tell you, the human body is a peculiar thing. Among many things, there is a specific cell in the immune system that is so deadly, when it fights infection, it kills healthy cells as well. It evolved to off itself in a short time to avoid killing too much of the body.
You could almost say the same for humans.
Much of the rest of the galaxy was older than us, but we were the first in our area. An entire half of the galaxy left unexplored by six other species because they were complacent with what they had, with all their tech and resource planets. They had all made contact with each other very early, been talking with each other since the very beginnings of their civilizations. They’d grown up, grown fat, and stopped. They’d stopped seeing the point of war a long time ago.
We had grown up with that point staring us in the face.
Then meeting us was sheer coincidence. One of their fleets bumped into a small explorer ship of ours, and they immediately began rushing in to where we were, looking for us. They probably though that as one species, we had two or three star systems under our control.
We had taken a full third of the galaxy.
They were a bit more than surprised.
Of course we discarded all signs of a big war species right away. Took up a position as negotiators, middlemen. That kept us going for a while. They questioned how we advanced so far in such a small time, and had set ourselves up to be the ancient godlike species for a huge chunk of the galaxy. We just shrugged and said it just happened.
Until the eight species arrived.
Conquerors from outside the galaxy, trying to take over everything. They saw us, both in their experience and the reports of the other six species, as weaklings, trying to avoid fighting at every opportunity. They even tried to wipe out a bunch of our systems, in a show of force. They thought they had perfected war.
What a bunch of god damn idiots.
The other six species pulled back, leaving them to sweep into the outskirts of the galaxy in a few days. By day 6, everybody was thinking they would win.
By day 7 we were standing over the corpses of their frontal fleet.
Our ancestors, the ones who turned war into an art, smiled upon us that day. We used tactics both old and new, striking with ferocity built up and hidden away for years and strength that nobody knew we had. We had less than them, our tech almost on their level, but we had been used to fighting ourselves at a disadvantage for millennia.
On the seventh day, the wrath of a people who were done hiding their true nature was seen. Our nature was not negotiating or talking peace.
It was war.
And the universe would fear and respect it. Lest they face us. | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | By the time we made it to the stars, humanity had been through 4 world wars. It took 500 years to climb from the radioactive ruins of the third and the less said about the nanoplagues left from number 4... literally, some are keyword activated and the decon protocols aren't perfect.
When we arrived on the galactic scene it seemed obvious that the sheer power needed by interstellar drives made them effectively superweapons in their own right.
We just.... kind of assumed that everyone kept a stock of impactors or more exotic superweapons out in the cold spaces between the stars and just didn't talk about them directly at diplomatic events as some kind of taboo.
Given our recent past we played it very very safe. We didn't want to get into a cold war with some galactic power where we lacked a red telephone to talk things out carefully and avoid any unfortunate novas.
It took decades of study of the histories of other planets for the xenologists to be certain and by then our SOP and reputation on the galactic scene had become that of peaceful diplomats who shy away from all military conflict.
We had gained a reputation for being soft, weak and overly forgiving.
On the galactic scale superweapons were almost unknown. Almost.
The Orion empire decided they wanted to send a message to some of our allies. They virus bombed the colonies of alpha centauri in a surprise attack. A billion people were wiped out overnight and protocols dating back to just after the last war went into effect.
Deadman switches tripped.
The Orion sued for peace after the first of their colony world's was shattered by near lightspeed impactors.
The galactic community pleaded on their behalf after the 5th.
They had no concept of mutually assured destruction. They had no stockpile of superweapons. The one they had used was all they had.
we explained that there was no mechanism to call back the counterstrike. We explained that all 76 world's of the Orion empire would soon be dust and fire.
the silence in the galactic council chamber was total.
Humans don't have a reputation for being overly forgiving anymore. | As any biologist will tell you, the human body is a peculiar thing. Among many things, there is a specific cell in the immune system that is so deadly, when it fights infection, it kills healthy cells as well. It evolved to off itself in a short time to avoid killing too much of the body.
You could almost say the same for humans.
Much of the rest of the galaxy was older than us, but we were the first in our area. An entire half of the galaxy left unexplored by six other species because they were complacent with what they had, with all their tech and resource planets. They had all made contact with each other very early, been talking with each other since the very beginnings of their civilizations. They’d grown up, grown fat, and stopped. They’d stopped seeing the point of war a long time ago.
We had grown up with that point staring us in the face.
Then meeting us was sheer coincidence. One of their fleets bumped into a small explorer ship of ours, and they immediately began rushing in to where we were, looking for us. They probably though that as one species, we had two or three star systems under our control.
We had taken a full third of the galaxy.
They were a bit more than surprised.
Of course we discarded all signs of a big war species right away. Took up a position as negotiators, middlemen. That kept us going for a while. They questioned how we advanced so far in such a small time, and had set ourselves up to be the ancient godlike species for a huge chunk of the galaxy. We just shrugged and said it just happened.
Until the eight species arrived.
Conquerors from outside the galaxy, trying to take over everything. They saw us, both in their experience and the reports of the other six species, as weaklings, trying to avoid fighting at every opportunity. They even tried to wipe out a bunch of our systems, in a show of force. They thought they had perfected war.
What a bunch of god damn idiots.
The other six species pulled back, leaving them to sweep into the outskirts of the galaxy in a few days. By day 6, everybody was thinking they would win.
By day 7 we were standing over the corpses of their frontal fleet.
Our ancestors, the ones who turned war into an art, smiled upon us that day. We used tactics both old and new, striking with ferocity built up and hidden away for years and strength that nobody knew we had. We had less than them, our tech almost on their level, but we had been used to fighting ourselves at a disadvantage for millennia.
On the seventh day, the wrath of a people who were done hiding their true nature was seen. Our nature was not negotiating or talking peace.
It was war.
And the universe would fear and respect it. Lest they face us. | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | He watched her approaching the congressional chamber. She walked down the halls towards their meeting, pushing her communicator into her sleeve pouch. In the same movement, she brought out some morsel of food and offered it to the odd creature perched on her shoulder. The flaps covering its epidermis expanded, flashing brilliant green as it cooled over the morsel. He reflected on how....unsettling these humans were. They always preferred to bond with those around them.
Unlike every other species, they would bond emotionally with everything. Animals, humans, other sentients. And they would always solve problems with *talk*. Wretched, wretched talk. They were the best at *talk*. They talked the Karinzin down from war with the Kayelt, which his people had spent a century executing for their growth.
No, now they had to take this grievance to the Galactic Congress and *talk* about how they were right for starting a war with these barbarians. He had demanded their immediate and unconditional surrender at the close of yesterday’s session. It shouldn’t take long even if they resist.
And, one these vermin were under the yoke of the Raythin empire, they would no longer be allowed to destroy what they spend so long crafting. He smiled as she approached the table. Today would be a great day, he mused to himself.
She seated herself across the grand table, the rest of the body seating in the voting theater circling the central stage. “Honorable members of this body, I have come to deliver our response,” she stated as the assembly slowly hushed for the proceedings. “The Human Planetary Union demands that the Raythin Empire cease all aggressions and retreat to their home territory. Our offer is that we will not declare war on your people.”
***
Karina stared at the lizard creature before her. The entire assembly was hushed, many showed obvious signs of confusion. No one expected a power play from the young race that always talked.
Of course, none of them wanted what the humans had. Mineral rich worlds that were otherwise planets used to scare children into behaving. The handful of planets that other races might like inside Human space just weren’t worth it. Those races that chose to live near humans tended to become extremely friendly with them and even protective. Everyone thought the humans had some sort of chemical secretion that would overwhelm the other races’ minds if they spent too much time near them.
But, they weren’t aggressive. They seemed too agreeable. So agreeable that everyone pretty much ignored them and left them to their business.
The crowd began to murmur as the Raythinite fluttered its throat. “We reject your.....interesting proposal,” Delegate Othrr stated calmly.
Karina nodded. “Please...” her voice faltered and the crowd went silent once more as she regained her composure, “Please. I beg of you, with tears in my eyes, do not do this. If you reject this offer again, we will kill you all.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Othrr squared his posture. “You pathetic beast. You aren’t even sentient enough to know when to surrender.” He swiped at her from across the table, she quickly bobbed back from the gesture.
“Very well, Delegate.” She sighed and coldly pulled out her communicator, “General. The offer has been rejected. Proceed with Operation Bedtime.”
A collective eye-brow-equivalent raised in the audience. “The Human Planetary Union officially declares war on the Raythin Empire. Anyone who allies themselves will forfeit all Human trade and diplomatic relationships until such time as the war is ended. Good day, delegates,” Karina said, almost clinically.
As she turned to walk out of the theater, Othrr bellowed and swiped at her again. He missed her as she deftly maneuvered out of his way - but managed to hit the small animal perched on her shoulder.
The assembly that had turned to discuss the strange Human declaration turned back when they heard a blood curdling, full bodied scream of vengeance. The fairly small mammal had shed her blue delegate cloak and was furiously hacking at the Raythinite delegate with a knife about the length of her forearm. In her rage, she chopped at everything that moved on the Delegates body, finally hacking so aggressively that a full third of his torso was reduced to bloody splatter in mere moments.
Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped. The entire congregated assembly had what seemed one pair of eyes as they followed her over to her animal, watched her gingerly pick him up, then gather her wardrobe and stomp out of the hall.
***
The battles were swift and brutal for the Raythinites. Every battle had them surrounded by large flights of craft too small for them to accurately destroy. Their forces were hacked apart much like their delegate had been. World after world was methodically eliminated until they had only their home solar system left.
As the Human fleet approached their system, they unexpectedly halted in their advance.
In the citadel on the home world, the Raythinite Regent was summoned to read a communication. “We would like to discuss a ceasefire.”
The Regent stared at his console in disbelief, alternating between the message displayed and the scanning equipment that couldn’t even accurately count the number of ships at the edge of the system’s cloud.
“I....would also like to discuss a ceasefire....” he finally replied. | As any biologist will tell you, the human body is a peculiar thing. Among many things, there is a specific cell in the immune system that is so deadly, when it fights infection, it kills healthy cells as well. It evolved to off itself in a short time to avoid killing too much of the body.
You could almost say the same for humans.
Much of the rest of the galaxy was older than us, but we were the first in our area. An entire half of the galaxy left unexplored by six other species because they were complacent with what they had, with all their tech and resource planets. They had all made contact with each other very early, been talking with each other since the very beginnings of their civilizations. They’d grown up, grown fat, and stopped. They’d stopped seeing the point of war a long time ago.
We had grown up with that point staring us in the face.
Then meeting us was sheer coincidence. One of their fleets bumped into a small explorer ship of ours, and they immediately began rushing in to where we were, looking for us. They probably though that as one species, we had two or three star systems under our control.
We had taken a full third of the galaxy.
They were a bit more than surprised.
Of course we discarded all signs of a big war species right away. Took up a position as negotiators, middlemen. That kept us going for a while. They questioned how we advanced so far in such a small time, and had set ourselves up to be the ancient godlike species for a huge chunk of the galaxy. We just shrugged and said it just happened.
Until the eight species arrived.
Conquerors from outside the galaxy, trying to take over everything. They saw us, both in their experience and the reports of the other six species, as weaklings, trying to avoid fighting at every opportunity. They even tried to wipe out a bunch of our systems, in a show of force. They thought they had perfected war.
What a bunch of god damn idiots.
The other six species pulled back, leaving them to sweep into the outskirts of the galaxy in a few days. By day 6, everybody was thinking they would win.
By day 7 we were standing over the corpses of their frontal fleet.
Our ancestors, the ones who turned war into an art, smiled upon us that day. We used tactics both old and new, striking with ferocity built up and hidden away for years and strength that nobody knew we had. We had less than them, our tech almost on their level, but we had been used to fighting ourselves at a disadvantage for millennia.
On the seventh day, the wrath of a people who were done hiding their true nature was seen. Our nature was not negotiating or talking peace.
It was war.
And the universe would fear and respect it. Lest they face us. | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | Humans are a species of civilized monsters.
There was silence in the vaulted halls of the home of the Council, as the human delegation passed. For each member species, the station housing the center of the Milky Way's government had its own name. Officially, human governments called it Canis Prime. Most of us, however, had lovingly dubbed it Grand Central Station; a meeting place, a crossroads, a symbol of unity.
That's what it was supposed to have been. What it was no longer.
The hallways, no longer teeming with chatter, stank of fear.
We humans had always been aware of our reputation among the rest of the galaxy. The diplomats never said it our faces, of course - decorum had always been observed in the halls of political power among the members of the Galactic Council. But we heard the rumors. Things like that were impossible to hide. Given enough time, a word spoken ill behind one's back will always make it to one's ears.
We smiled and accepted it. It was better this way. Better that they didn't know. Better that they think us overly kind to the point of weakness, rather than reveal ourselves for what we actually are; creatures little better than a wild predator, killing for power, for territory, for pleasure, held in place by binding rules that we enforce upon ourselves because, if we hadn't, we simply wouldn't be here anymore. Weak or not, we were loved, back then. Welcomed on every planet as peacekeepers, we served in the enviable position of mediator between conflicting races. It was a position that granted considerable political clout and the pleasure of being liked, if not precisely respected, by nearly all we encountered. Not that we were spineless, either; just less inclined to hot anger than the rest of the species of the galaxy. It served us well.
Or it did, until the Praerept Confederacy disputed our claim to a colony planet.
This wasn't abnormal - it wasn't the first time humans had entered into a colony dispute with another race. It often resulted in humanity conceding more land than we might have liked, but it maintained out reputation as it was, and there was a growing tendency to look down upon any race that 'took advantage' of our apparently diplomatic nature. It served our purposes to allow this, and we thought that the same might happen here; claims would be reviewed, we would conceded probably a little more than was strictly fair, and all would go back to normal.
That's not what happened, this time. The Confederacy initially laid claim to the land under one colony city as the site of an earlier confederate landing zone. We tabled an offer to pay them for the land, much more than a barren landing zone would normally have been worth. They rejected, and laid additional claim to the land under another city. We offered rights to natural resources in the areas around both cities. They rejected again, and laid claim to an entire continent. We, growing wary, offered the land back to them, pending a large-scale relocation project for our colonists.
They called the offer insulting, and invaded the capital of the planet overnight.
Thousands died. The Confederacy expected to walk in and lay claim to the city without a fight, knowing that humanity kept no standing armies on its colony planets. They expected a controlled military response, which they would win, because humans are weak and small, and lack spine. Instead, our civilians took to the streets and were slaughtered. Thousands in the first night, and then tens of thousands as the confederacy took their invasion to new cities. Hundreds of thousands as the civilians refused to accept their invaders as their new leaders.
The Confederacy, bolstered by the petty response from the human military, refused to consider any cease-fire without the immediate surrender of a dozen human planets. They thought that the civilian rebellion was the extent of our *military* response. Why would it be anything else? Only soldiers fired upon other soldiers. This wasn't a grassroots rebellion, in their eyes - it was a rag-tag, terribly organized military response, which they crushed easily and without remorse. And, in recompense for the extended fighting, they wanted more from humanity - to the tune of half of our galactic colonies.
Perhaps it was our fault. We hid our histories from them, ashamed of what they might think. They entered the negotiations for a cessation of hostilities without complete information about their enemies.
It was an unpopular demand with the Council, but the Confederate soldiers were the strongest and best-trained in the galaxy, often capable of winning direct combat with armies four or five times its size. Nobody could stop them from taking whatever they wanted - especially not the humans with their tiny military, with hardly 5% of the standing forces held by their opponents.
It never once occurred to them that we didn't need more than that.
The first indication that something was different, this time, was the fact that we sent our military leaders to the negotiating table, rather than the diplomats. Most of the present diplomats didn't even know humans *had* proper military leadership. The generals laid out their demands - an immediate withdrawal of all forces from human colonies, or face the full brunt of our mustered force.
The diplomats laughed. The generals left to prepare.
Perhaps the historians will blame us for not being clear with our threats of retribution. The galactic races fought their wars with ground troops. Certainly, well-armed ground troops, with advanced weaponry and tactics, but ground troops nonetheless, armed with guns filled with bullets that are intended to kill enemies one at a time. The concept of a weapon of mass destruction was utterly known to them.
It is unknown no longer. This morning, warheads detonated across the surface of the Praerept home planet. Within the hour, the surface of the planet had turned to glass. Nothing was left but the radioactive storm and dust.
We'd warned them. Was it our fault they weren't capable of comprehending what wolves we could be, dressed as we were in sheep's clothing?
The doors of the Galactic Council opened to silence. The human delegation entered, looking grim.
The chairwoman spoke, finally. "What... have you done?"
The leader of the human group, an older man, let his eyes slide shut. He looked tired. So tired. "Genocide," he said. "It's called genocide." | As any biologist will tell you, the human body is a peculiar thing. Among many things, there is a specific cell in the immune system that is so deadly, when it fights infection, it kills healthy cells as well. It evolved to off itself in a short time to avoid killing too much of the body.
You could almost say the same for humans.
Much of the rest of the galaxy was older than us, but we were the first in our area. An entire half of the galaxy left unexplored by six other species because they were complacent with what they had, with all their tech and resource planets. They had all made contact with each other very early, been talking with each other since the very beginnings of their civilizations. They’d grown up, grown fat, and stopped. They’d stopped seeing the point of war a long time ago.
We had grown up with that point staring us in the face.
Then meeting us was sheer coincidence. One of their fleets bumped into a small explorer ship of ours, and they immediately began rushing in to where we were, looking for us. They probably though that as one species, we had two or three star systems under our control.
We had taken a full third of the galaxy.
They were a bit more than surprised.
Of course we discarded all signs of a big war species right away. Took up a position as negotiators, middlemen. That kept us going for a while. They questioned how we advanced so far in such a small time, and had set ourselves up to be the ancient godlike species for a huge chunk of the galaxy. We just shrugged and said it just happened.
Until the eight species arrived.
Conquerors from outside the galaxy, trying to take over everything. They saw us, both in their experience and the reports of the other six species, as weaklings, trying to avoid fighting at every opportunity. They even tried to wipe out a bunch of our systems, in a show of force. They thought they had perfected war.
What a bunch of god damn idiots.
The other six species pulled back, leaving them to sweep into the outskirts of the galaxy in a few days. By day 6, everybody was thinking they would win.
By day 7 we were standing over the corpses of their frontal fleet.
Our ancestors, the ones who turned war into an art, smiled upon us that day. We used tactics both old and new, striking with ferocity built up and hidden away for years and strength that nobody knew we had. We had less than them, our tech almost on their level, but we had been used to fighting ourselves at a disadvantage for millennia.
On the seventh day, the wrath of a people who were done hiding their true nature was seen. Our nature was not negotiating or talking peace.
It was war.
And the universe would fear and respect it. Lest they face us. | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | By the time we made it to the stars, humanity had been through 4 world wars. It took 500 years to climb from the radioactive ruins of the third and the less said about the nanoplagues left from number 4... literally, some are keyword activated and the decon protocols aren't perfect.
When we arrived on the galactic scene it seemed obvious that the sheer power needed by interstellar drives made them effectively superweapons in their own right.
We just.... kind of assumed that everyone kept a stock of impactors or more exotic superweapons out in the cold spaces between the stars and just didn't talk about them directly at diplomatic events as some kind of taboo.
Given our recent past we played it very very safe. We didn't want to get into a cold war with some galactic power where we lacked a red telephone to talk things out carefully and avoid any unfortunate novas.
It took decades of study of the histories of other planets for the xenologists to be certain and by then our SOP and reputation on the galactic scene had become that of peaceful diplomats who shy away from all military conflict.
We had gained a reputation for being soft, weak and overly forgiving.
On the galactic scale superweapons were almost unknown. Almost.
The Orion empire decided they wanted to send a message to some of our allies. They virus bombed the colonies of alpha centauri in a surprise attack. A billion people were wiped out overnight and protocols dating back to just after the last war went into effect.
Deadman switches tripped.
The Orion sued for peace after the first of their colony world's was shattered by near lightspeed impactors.
The galactic community pleaded on their behalf after the 5th.
They had no concept of mutually assured destruction. They had no stockpile of superweapons. The one they had used was all they had.
we explained that there was no mechanism to call back the counterstrike. We explained that all 76 world's of the Orion empire would soon be dust and fire.
the silence in the galactic council chamber was total.
Humans don't have a reputation for being overly forgiving anymore. | The Chime of Ung sounded it’s low, forbidding tone across the chamber of the 301 delegates. The susurrus of conversation dimmed as the delegates of the Great Civilization took their seats. As before, the Archstronomer Piyt r’Ultarc stood before them to report on the ongoing war. At her gesture, the lights dimmed and a holographic display filled the dome.
“As you can see, the Ghur-Dan Empire has moved to attack from above the Galactic plane. We have lost the Hur, KJull, and X’kzzzz systems.” Her voice trailed off in despair. The entirety of the delegation sat quiet. “Our peaceful civilizations are falling faster and faster. We had hoped that the humans would be able to stop the Ghur-Dan, but the diplomatic envoy…”
The Archstronomer paused at the barking laugh that came from the newest delegate. The three-hundred and first delegate. The human. She looked at the human with what she hoped was indignation. You could never tell with the humans. At least they were bipedal and relatively humanoid in shape. But their sense of humor was juvenile and even the most dignified of them failed to comprehend the decorum required of a delegate of the Great Civilization.
“Diplomatic envoy! That’s a good one, Piyt!” The Archstronomer bristled at the familiarity.
“Is that not what you sent? I was told that a team was being sent to reason with the Ghur-Dan. Some archaic Earth saying: “Ultima ratio Regum?”
“Oh yeah. That’s Latin. Means the “last argument of kings.” Ole Louis XIV had it engraved on his cannons. We didn’t send a diplomatic envoy. We worked with the R,Krians to build a ship that could contain a singularity, cloaked it to hell and back, and are driving the damn thing hard and fast at their homeworld.”
“THEY ARE EXPECTING A PEACEFUL DELEGATION!”
“We clearly named the ship and told them to expect it. We even included a primer on Terran languages and history. It’s not our fault if they didn’t study their Terran history.”
“NO ONE STUDIES TERRAN HISTORY!”
“Well, then they’ve only got themselves to blame.”
Piyt looked around the chamber. Only a few of the delegates looked as shocked as she felt. The rest were looking at the human with something akin to admiration... | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | He watched her approaching the congressional chamber. She walked down the halls towards their meeting, pushing her communicator into her sleeve pouch. In the same movement, she brought out some morsel of food and offered it to the odd creature perched on her shoulder. The flaps covering its epidermis expanded, flashing brilliant green as it cooled over the morsel. He reflected on how....unsettling these humans were. They always preferred to bond with those around them.
Unlike every other species, they would bond emotionally with everything. Animals, humans, other sentients. And they would always solve problems with *talk*. Wretched, wretched talk. They were the best at *talk*. They talked the Karinzin down from war with the Kayelt, which his people had spent a century executing for their growth.
No, now they had to take this grievance to the Galactic Congress and *talk* about how they were right for starting a war with these barbarians. He had demanded their immediate and unconditional surrender at the close of yesterday’s session. It shouldn’t take long even if they resist.
And, one these vermin were under the yoke of the Raythin empire, they would no longer be allowed to destroy what they spend so long crafting. He smiled as she approached the table. Today would be a great day, he mused to himself.
She seated herself across the grand table, the rest of the body seating in the voting theater circling the central stage. “Honorable members of this body, I have come to deliver our response,” she stated as the assembly slowly hushed for the proceedings. “The Human Planetary Union demands that the Raythin Empire cease all aggressions and retreat to their home territory. Our offer is that we will not declare war on your people.”
***
Karina stared at the lizard creature before her. The entire assembly was hushed, many showed obvious signs of confusion. No one expected a power play from the young race that always talked.
Of course, none of them wanted what the humans had. Mineral rich worlds that were otherwise planets used to scare children into behaving. The handful of planets that other races might like inside Human space just weren’t worth it. Those races that chose to live near humans tended to become extremely friendly with them and even protective. Everyone thought the humans had some sort of chemical secretion that would overwhelm the other races’ minds if they spent too much time near them.
But, they weren’t aggressive. They seemed too agreeable. So agreeable that everyone pretty much ignored them and left them to their business.
The crowd began to murmur as the Raythinite fluttered its throat. “We reject your.....interesting proposal,” Delegate Othrr stated calmly.
Karina nodded. “Please...” her voice faltered and the crowd went silent once more as she regained her composure, “Please. I beg of you, with tears in my eyes, do not do this. If you reject this offer again, we will kill you all.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Othrr squared his posture. “You pathetic beast. You aren’t even sentient enough to know when to surrender.” He swiped at her from across the table, she quickly bobbed back from the gesture.
“Very well, Delegate.” She sighed and coldly pulled out her communicator, “General. The offer has been rejected. Proceed with Operation Bedtime.”
A collective eye-brow-equivalent raised in the audience. “The Human Planetary Union officially declares war on the Raythin Empire. Anyone who allies themselves will forfeit all Human trade and diplomatic relationships until such time as the war is ended. Good day, delegates,” Karina said, almost clinically.
As she turned to walk out of the theater, Othrr bellowed and swiped at her again. He missed her as she deftly maneuvered out of his way - but managed to hit the small animal perched on her shoulder.
The assembly that had turned to discuss the strange Human declaration turned back when they heard a blood curdling, full bodied scream of vengeance. The fairly small mammal had shed her blue delegate cloak and was furiously hacking at the Raythinite delegate with a knife about the length of her forearm. In her rage, she chopped at everything that moved on the Delegates body, finally hacking so aggressively that a full third of his torso was reduced to bloody splatter in mere moments.
Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped. The entire congregated assembly had what seemed one pair of eyes as they followed her over to her animal, watched her gingerly pick him up, then gather her wardrobe and stomp out of the hall.
***
The battles were swift and brutal for the Raythinites. Every battle had them surrounded by large flights of craft too small for them to accurately destroy. Their forces were hacked apart much like their delegate had been. World after world was methodically eliminated until they had only their home solar system left.
As the Human fleet approached their system, they unexpectedly halted in their advance.
In the citadel on the home world, the Raythinite Regent was summoned to read a communication. “We would like to discuss a ceasefire.”
The Regent stared at his console in disbelief, alternating between the message displayed and the scanning equipment that couldn’t even accurately count the number of ships at the edge of the system’s cloud.
“I....would also like to discuss a ceasefire....” he finally replied. | The Chime of Ung sounded it’s low, forbidding tone across the chamber of the 301 delegates. The susurrus of conversation dimmed as the delegates of the Great Civilization took their seats. As before, the Archstronomer Piyt r’Ultarc stood before them to report on the ongoing war. At her gesture, the lights dimmed and a holographic display filled the dome.
“As you can see, the Ghur-Dan Empire has moved to attack from above the Galactic plane. We have lost the Hur, KJull, and X’kzzzz systems.” Her voice trailed off in despair. The entirety of the delegation sat quiet. “Our peaceful civilizations are falling faster and faster. We had hoped that the humans would be able to stop the Ghur-Dan, but the diplomatic envoy…”
The Archstronomer paused at the barking laugh that came from the newest delegate. The three-hundred and first delegate. The human. She looked at the human with what she hoped was indignation. You could never tell with the humans. At least they were bipedal and relatively humanoid in shape. But their sense of humor was juvenile and even the most dignified of them failed to comprehend the decorum required of a delegate of the Great Civilization.
“Diplomatic envoy! That’s a good one, Piyt!” The Archstronomer bristled at the familiarity.
“Is that not what you sent? I was told that a team was being sent to reason with the Ghur-Dan. Some archaic Earth saying: “Ultima ratio Regum?”
“Oh yeah. That’s Latin. Means the “last argument of kings.” Ole Louis XIV had it engraved on his cannons. We didn’t send a diplomatic envoy. We worked with the R,Krians to build a ship that could contain a singularity, cloaked it to hell and back, and are driving the damn thing hard and fast at their homeworld.”
“THEY ARE EXPECTING A PEACEFUL DELEGATION!”
“We clearly named the ship and told them to expect it. We even included a primer on Terran languages and history. It’s not our fault if they didn’t study their Terran history.”
“NO ONE STUDIES TERRAN HISTORY!”
“Well, then they’ve only got themselves to blame.”
Piyt looked around the chamber. Only a few of the delegates looked as shocked as she felt. The rest were looking at the human with something akin to admiration... | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | "I don't have much time, the humans are closing in on this location. For the Dosh Empire, our end marches inevitably closer. And the worst part about it is that we were the architects of our own downfall.
We thought the humans would be a simple conquest. It was the way of the galaxy, the strong controlled, or killed the weak. We started with attempts to enslave the humans. Instead of accepting their roles as our servants, they fought back. Every one of them. We ended up slaughtering every human we tried to enslave, it was easier that way.
We should have known then to stop. But we were blinded by our bloody history of success. If it weren't for the enlightened Yslimmi, we would have been rulers of the galaxy! Every other sentient species bowed to us for fear of becoming our slaves! Not the humans, they refused to submit.
Instead, they sent negotiators and ambassadors, thinking our abduction and eventual slaughter of several colonies was an 'accident'. They were willing to forgive and forget, and tried to placate us with promises of resources, trade, and wealth. The Dosh way has always been to take what we want, when we want it. We rebuffed them, thinking we would stroll right into their star system and conquer it.
Their final ambassador met us at one of their colonies, alone. Little did we know, they evacuated the colony ahead of our forces. The last human in the system was this sad, pathetic ambassador.
'Honorable Dosh, we greet you with open arms. Though we loved this star system, we gave it up for your esteemed personages to enjoy. Please enjoy this system as we have, and we look forward to continuing peace between our races.' Her words are burned into my memory. How cowardly! I thought. We were about to destroy the pathetic being when she continued to speak.
'While we hope for peace, any further incursion into human space will be met by force. We beg of you, do not force our hands. We left war long ago for the benefit of our species, not because we're afraid of it, but because we love war. So I beg of you, with tears in my eyes, please don't push us any further. Please don't make us destroy you.'
We laughed. What did these sniveling beings know about war? What did they know about conquest? If you're hearing this, then you already know what the outcome was. "
The narrator paused for a few seconds as an audible rumble could be heard in the background, items in the background could be heard rattling and falling to the ground.
"The shield was just destroyed. I must wrap this up soon, my end is close.
We destroyed the ambassadors vessel, then proceeded onto the next occupied star system. We were on the hunt, conquering was what we thrived on.
That star system put up a fight, and did surprisingly well considering what cowards humans were. Our victory was short lived when ships of an unknown origin exited hyperspace directly behind us and nearly destroyed our fleet. Out of over 50 ships, only 17 escaped.
We quickly regrouped, joining another fleet. We tried taking another human star system, only to meet with similar results. We knew we were outclassed and quickly fled before we suffered many losses. We fled! The Dosh! Only the Yslimmi have ever caused us to flee!
It wasn't their technology that helped them defeat us, it was their sheer ferocity and cleverness that allowed them to defeat us so easily. Our homeworld was sent a message after the second defeat, "Surrender, or Die." We never responded, not believing that the humans had it in them to destroy the mighty Dosh Empire!
They waited for a response for 30 of their planets days. Then it happened, out of nowhere the humans attacked nearly half of our empire!
You see, the humans inherently knew that only the strongest survive. Though they played for peace, and pursued it almost in a religious fashion, they were always ready for war. They had massive fleets built, and armies always training. Yet, they were ready for peace to fail. They knew that they would encounter a species like us Dosh, and they weren't going to let us destroy them.
The humans were ruthless in their slaughter of my people. Once unleashed, there was no stopping them, it was obvious that they relished the chance for all out war, and that's what they did. Total war, their entire species practically shifted overnight from peace seekers to war makers.
The Dosh Empire fell. The ferocity in which the humans attacked astonished every sentient in the galaxy, and here I sit, listening to the humans systematically demolish the Dosh's final base.
During our failed attempt at conquering the humans, I learned a new human word, and to best understand how serious the humans wage war, I leave you with my final words,
Don't fuck with humanity."
--
If there are typos, on mobile.. Will fix later. | The Chime of Ung sounded it’s low, forbidding tone across the chamber of the 301 delegates. The susurrus of conversation dimmed as the delegates of the Great Civilization took their seats. As before, the Archstronomer Piyt r’Ultarc stood before them to report on the ongoing war. At her gesture, the lights dimmed and a holographic display filled the dome.
“As you can see, the Ghur-Dan Empire has moved to attack from above the Galactic plane. We have lost the Hur, KJull, and X’kzzzz systems.” Her voice trailed off in despair. The entirety of the delegation sat quiet. “Our peaceful civilizations are falling faster and faster. We had hoped that the humans would be able to stop the Ghur-Dan, but the diplomatic envoy…”
The Archstronomer paused at the barking laugh that came from the newest delegate. The three-hundred and first delegate. The human. She looked at the human with what she hoped was indignation. You could never tell with the humans. At least they were bipedal and relatively humanoid in shape. But their sense of humor was juvenile and even the most dignified of them failed to comprehend the decorum required of a delegate of the Great Civilization.
“Diplomatic envoy! That’s a good one, Piyt!” The Archstronomer bristled at the familiarity.
“Is that not what you sent? I was told that a team was being sent to reason with the Ghur-Dan. Some archaic Earth saying: “Ultima ratio Regum?”
“Oh yeah. That’s Latin. Means the “last argument of kings.” Ole Louis XIV had it engraved on his cannons. We didn’t send a diplomatic envoy. We worked with the R,Krians to build a ship that could contain a singularity, cloaked it to hell and back, and are driving the damn thing hard and fast at their homeworld.”
“THEY ARE EXPECTING A PEACEFUL DELEGATION!”
“We clearly named the ship and told them to expect it. We even included a primer on Terran languages and history. It’s not our fault if they didn’t study their Terran history.”
“NO ONE STUDIES TERRAN HISTORY!”
“Well, then they’ve only got themselves to blame.”
Piyt looked around the chamber. Only a few of the delegates looked as shocked as she felt. The rest were looking at the human with something akin to admiration... | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | Humans are a species of civilized monsters.
There was silence in the vaulted halls of the home of the Council, as the human delegation passed. For each member species, the station housing the center of the Milky Way's government had its own name. Officially, human governments called it Canis Prime. Most of us, however, had lovingly dubbed it Grand Central Station; a meeting place, a crossroads, a symbol of unity.
That's what it was supposed to have been. What it was no longer.
The hallways, no longer teeming with chatter, stank of fear.
We humans had always been aware of our reputation among the rest of the galaxy. The diplomats never said it our faces, of course - decorum had always been observed in the halls of political power among the members of the Galactic Council. But we heard the rumors. Things like that were impossible to hide. Given enough time, a word spoken ill behind one's back will always make it to one's ears.
We smiled and accepted it. It was better this way. Better that they didn't know. Better that they think us overly kind to the point of weakness, rather than reveal ourselves for what we actually are; creatures little better than a wild predator, killing for power, for territory, for pleasure, held in place by binding rules that we enforce upon ourselves because, if we hadn't, we simply wouldn't be here anymore. Weak or not, we were loved, back then. Welcomed on every planet as peacekeepers, we served in the enviable position of mediator between conflicting races. It was a position that granted considerable political clout and the pleasure of being liked, if not precisely respected, by nearly all we encountered. Not that we were spineless, either; just less inclined to hot anger than the rest of the species of the galaxy. It served us well.
Or it did, until the Praerept Confederacy disputed our claim to a colony planet.
This wasn't abnormal - it wasn't the first time humans had entered into a colony dispute with another race. It often resulted in humanity conceding more land than we might have liked, but it maintained out reputation as it was, and there was a growing tendency to look down upon any race that 'took advantage' of our apparently diplomatic nature. It served our purposes to allow this, and we thought that the same might happen here; claims would be reviewed, we would conceded probably a little more than was strictly fair, and all would go back to normal.
That's not what happened, this time. The Confederacy initially laid claim to the land under one colony city as the site of an earlier confederate landing zone. We tabled an offer to pay them for the land, much more than a barren landing zone would normally have been worth. They rejected, and laid additional claim to the land under another city. We offered rights to natural resources in the areas around both cities. They rejected again, and laid claim to an entire continent. We, growing wary, offered the land back to them, pending a large-scale relocation project for our colonists.
They called the offer insulting, and invaded the capital of the planet overnight.
Thousands died. The Confederacy expected to walk in and lay claim to the city without a fight, knowing that humanity kept no standing armies on its colony planets. They expected a controlled military response, which they would win, because humans are weak and small, and lack spine. Instead, our civilians took to the streets and were slaughtered. Thousands in the first night, and then tens of thousands as the confederacy took their invasion to new cities. Hundreds of thousands as the civilians refused to accept their invaders as their new leaders.
The Confederacy, bolstered by the petty response from the human military, refused to consider any cease-fire without the immediate surrender of a dozen human planets. They thought that the civilian rebellion was the extent of our *military* response. Why would it be anything else? Only soldiers fired upon other soldiers. This wasn't a grassroots rebellion, in their eyes - it was a rag-tag, terribly organized military response, which they crushed easily and without remorse. And, in recompense for the extended fighting, they wanted more from humanity - to the tune of half of our galactic colonies.
Perhaps it was our fault. We hid our histories from them, ashamed of what they might think. They entered the negotiations for a cessation of hostilities without complete information about their enemies.
It was an unpopular demand with the Council, but the Confederate soldiers were the strongest and best-trained in the galaxy, often capable of winning direct combat with armies four or five times its size. Nobody could stop them from taking whatever they wanted - especially not the humans with their tiny military, with hardly 5% of the standing forces held by their opponents.
It never once occurred to them that we didn't need more than that.
The first indication that something was different, this time, was the fact that we sent our military leaders to the negotiating table, rather than the diplomats. Most of the present diplomats didn't even know humans *had* proper military leadership. The generals laid out their demands - an immediate withdrawal of all forces from human colonies, or face the full brunt of our mustered force.
The diplomats laughed. The generals left to prepare.
Perhaps the historians will blame us for not being clear with our threats of retribution. The galactic races fought their wars with ground troops. Certainly, well-armed ground troops, with advanced weaponry and tactics, but ground troops nonetheless, armed with guns filled with bullets that are intended to kill enemies one at a time. The concept of a weapon of mass destruction was utterly known to them.
It is unknown no longer. This morning, warheads detonated across the surface of the Praerept home planet. Within the hour, the surface of the planet had turned to glass. Nothing was left but the radioactive storm and dust.
We'd warned them. Was it our fault they weren't capable of comprehending what wolves we could be, dressed as we were in sheep's clothing?
The doors of the Galactic Council opened to silence. The human delegation entered, looking grim.
The chairwoman spoke, finally. "What... have you done?"
The leader of the human group, an older man, let his eyes slide shut. He looked tired. So tired. "Genocide," he said. "It's called genocide." | The Chime of Ung sounded it’s low, forbidding tone across the chamber of the 301 delegates. The susurrus of conversation dimmed as the delegates of the Great Civilization took their seats. As before, the Archstronomer Piyt r’Ultarc stood before them to report on the ongoing war. At her gesture, the lights dimmed and a holographic display filled the dome.
“As you can see, the Ghur-Dan Empire has moved to attack from above the Galactic plane. We have lost the Hur, KJull, and X’kzzzz systems.” Her voice trailed off in despair. The entirety of the delegation sat quiet. “Our peaceful civilizations are falling faster and faster. We had hoped that the humans would be able to stop the Ghur-Dan, but the diplomatic envoy…”
The Archstronomer paused at the barking laugh that came from the newest delegate. The three-hundred and first delegate. The human. She looked at the human with what she hoped was indignation. You could never tell with the humans. At least they were bipedal and relatively humanoid in shape. But their sense of humor was juvenile and even the most dignified of them failed to comprehend the decorum required of a delegate of the Great Civilization.
“Diplomatic envoy! That’s a good one, Piyt!” The Archstronomer bristled at the familiarity.
“Is that not what you sent? I was told that a team was being sent to reason with the Ghur-Dan. Some archaic Earth saying: “Ultima ratio Regum?”
“Oh yeah. That’s Latin. Means the “last argument of kings.” Ole Louis XIV had it engraved on his cannons. We didn’t send a diplomatic envoy. We worked with the R,Krians to build a ship that could contain a singularity, cloaked it to hell and back, and are driving the damn thing hard and fast at their homeworld.”
“THEY ARE EXPECTING A PEACEFUL DELEGATION!”
“We clearly named the ship and told them to expect it. We even included a primer on Terran languages and history. It’s not our fault if they didn’t study their Terran history.”
“NO ONE STUDIES TERRAN HISTORY!”
“Well, then they’ve only got themselves to blame.”
Piyt looked around the chamber. Only a few of the delegates looked as shocked as she felt. The rest were looking at the human with something akin to admiration... | |
[WP] With total war as a concept alien to the rest of our galaxy, All saw humans as negotiators and peacemakers, soft and weak. Today is the day when the galaxy discovers why being so good at finding ways to avoid war was a survival mechanism. | Humans are a species of civilized monsters.
There was silence in the vaulted halls of the home of the Council, as the human delegation passed. For each member species, the station housing the center of the Milky Way's government had its own name. Officially, human governments called it Canis Prime. Most of us, however, had lovingly dubbed it Grand Central Station; a meeting place, a crossroads, a symbol of unity.
That's what it was supposed to have been. What it was no longer.
The hallways, no longer teeming with chatter, stank of fear.
We humans had always been aware of our reputation among the rest of the galaxy. The diplomats never said it our faces, of course - decorum had always been observed in the halls of political power among the members of the Galactic Council. But we heard the rumors. Things like that were impossible to hide. Given enough time, a word spoken ill behind one's back will always make it to one's ears.
We smiled and accepted it. It was better this way. Better that they didn't know. Better that they think us overly kind to the point of weakness, rather than reveal ourselves for what we actually are; creatures little better than a wild predator, killing for power, for territory, for pleasure, held in place by binding rules that we enforce upon ourselves because, if we hadn't, we simply wouldn't be here anymore. Weak or not, we were loved, back then. Welcomed on every planet as peacekeepers, we served in the enviable position of mediator between conflicting races. It was a position that granted considerable political clout and the pleasure of being liked, if not precisely respected, by nearly all we encountered. Not that we were spineless, either; just less inclined to hot anger than the rest of the species of the galaxy. It served us well.
Or it did, until the Praerept Confederacy disputed our claim to a colony planet.
This wasn't abnormal - it wasn't the first time humans had entered into a colony dispute with another race. It often resulted in humanity conceding more land than we might have liked, but it maintained out reputation as it was, and there was a growing tendency to look down upon any race that 'took advantage' of our apparently diplomatic nature. It served our purposes to allow this, and we thought that the same might happen here; claims would be reviewed, we would conceded probably a little more than was strictly fair, and all would go back to normal.
That's not what happened, this time. The Confederacy initially laid claim to the land under one colony city as the site of an earlier confederate landing zone. We tabled an offer to pay them for the land, much more than a barren landing zone would normally have been worth. They rejected, and laid additional claim to the land under another city. We offered rights to natural resources in the areas around both cities. They rejected again, and laid claim to an entire continent. We, growing wary, offered the land back to them, pending a large-scale relocation project for our colonists.
They called the offer insulting, and invaded the capital of the planet overnight.
Thousands died. The Confederacy expected to walk in and lay claim to the city without a fight, knowing that humanity kept no standing armies on its colony planets. They expected a controlled military response, which they would win, because humans are weak and small, and lack spine. Instead, our civilians took to the streets and were slaughtered. Thousands in the first night, and then tens of thousands as the confederacy took their invasion to new cities. Hundreds of thousands as the civilians refused to accept their invaders as their new leaders.
The Confederacy, bolstered by the petty response from the human military, refused to consider any cease-fire without the immediate surrender of a dozen human planets. They thought that the civilian rebellion was the extent of our *military* response. Why would it be anything else? Only soldiers fired upon other soldiers. This wasn't a grassroots rebellion, in their eyes - it was a rag-tag, terribly organized military response, which they crushed easily and without remorse. And, in recompense for the extended fighting, they wanted more from humanity - to the tune of half of our galactic colonies.
Perhaps it was our fault. We hid our histories from them, ashamed of what they might think. They entered the negotiations for a cessation of hostilities without complete information about their enemies.
It was an unpopular demand with the Council, but the Confederate soldiers were the strongest and best-trained in the galaxy, often capable of winning direct combat with armies four or five times its size. Nobody could stop them from taking whatever they wanted - especially not the humans with their tiny military, with hardly 5% of the standing forces held by their opponents.
It never once occurred to them that we didn't need more than that.
The first indication that something was different, this time, was the fact that we sent our military leaders to the negotiating table, rather than the diplomats. Most of the present diplomats didn't even know humans *had* proper military leadership. The generals laid out their demands - an immediate withdrawal of all forces from human colonies, or face the full brunt of our mustered force.
The diplomats laughed. The generals left to prepare.
Perhaps the historians will blame us for not being clear with our threats of retribution. The galactic races fought their wars with ground troops. Certainly, well-armed ground troops, with advanced weaponry and tactics, but ground troops nonetheless, armed with guns filled with bullets that are intended to kill enemies one at a time. The concept of a weapon of mass destruction was utterly known to them.
It is unknown no longer. This morning, warheads detonated across the surface of the Praerept home planet. Within the hour, the surface of the planet had turned to glass. Nothing was left but the radioactive storm and dust.
We'd warned them. Was it our fault they weren't capable of comprehending what wolves we could be, dressed as we were in sheep's clothing?
The doors of the Galactic Council opened to silence. The human delegation entered, looking grim.
The chairwoman spoke, finally. "What... have you done?"
The leader of the human group, an older man, let his eyes slide shut. He looked tired. So tired. "Genocide," he said. "It's called genocide." | "I don't have much time, the humans are closing in on this location. For the Dosh Empire, our end marches inevitably closer. And the worst part about it is that we were the architects of our own downfall.
We thought the humans would be a simple conquest. It was the way of the galaxy, the strong controlled, or killed the weak. We started with attempts to enslave the humans. Instead of accepting their roles as our servants, they fought back. Every one of them. We ended up slaughtering every human we tried to enslave, it was easier that way.
We should have known then to stop. But we were blinded by our bloody history of success. If it weren't for the enlightened Yslimmi, we would have been rulers of the galaxy! Every other sentient species bowed to us for fear of becoming our slaves! Not the humans, they refused to submit.
Instead, they sent negotiators and ambassadors, thinking our abduction and eventual slaughter of several colonies was an 'accident'. They were willing to forgive and forget, and tried to placate us with promises of resources, trade, and wealth. The Dosh way has always been to take what we want, when we want it. We rebuffed them, thinking we would stroll right into their star system and conquer it.
Their final ambassador met us at one of their colonies, alone. Little did we know, they evacuated the colony ahead of our forces. The last human in the system was this sad, pathetic ambassador.
'Honorable Dosh, we greet you with open arms. Though we loved this star system, we gave it up for your esteemed personages to enjoy. Please enjoy this system as we have, and we look forward to continuing peace between our races.' Her words are burned into my memory. How cowardly! I thought. We were about to destroy the pathetic being when she continued to speak.
'While we hope for peace, any further incursion into human space will be met by force. We beg of you, do not force our hands. We left war long ago for the benefit of our species, not because we're afraid of it, but because we love war. So I beg of you, with tears in my eyes, please don't push us any further. Please don't make us destroy you.'
We laughed. What did these sniveling beings know about war? What did they know about conquest? If you're hearing this, then you already know what the outcome was. "
The narrator paused for a few seconds as an audible rumble could be heard in the background, items in the background could be heard rattling and falling to the ground.
"The shield was just destroyed. I must wrap this up soon, my end is close.
We destroyed the ambassadors vessel, then proceeded onto the next occupied star system. We were on the hunt, conquering was what we thrived on.
That star system put up a fight, and did surprisingly well considering what cowards humans were. Our victory was short lived when ships of an unknown origin exited hyperspace directly behind us and nearly destroyed our fleet. Out of over 50 ships, only 17 escaped.
We quickly regrouped, joining another fleet. We tried taking another human star system, only to meet with similar results. We knew we were outclassed and quickly fled before we suffered many losses. We fled! The Dosh! Only the Yslimmi have ever caused us to flee!
It wasn't their technology that helped them defeat us, it was their sheer ferocity and cleverness that allowed them to defeat us so easily. Our homeworld was sent a message after the second defeat, "Surrender, or Die." We never responded, not believing that the humans had it in them to destroy the mighty Dosh Empire!
They waited for a response for 30 of their planets days. Then it happened, out of nowhere the humans attacked nearly half of our empire!
You see, the humans inherently knew that only the strongest survive. Though they played for peace, and pursued it almost in a religious fashion, they were always ready for war. They had massive fleets built, and armies always training. Yet, they were ready for peace to fail. They knew that they would encounter a species like us Dosh, and they weren't going to let us destroy them.
The humans were ruthless in their slaughter of my people. Once unleashed, there was no stopping them, it was obvious that they relished the chance for all out war, and that's what they did. Total war, their entire species practically shifted overnight from peace seekers to war makers.
The Dosh Empire fell. The ferocity in which the humans attacked astonished every sentient in the galaxy, and here I sit, listening to the humans systematically demolish the Dosh's final base.
During our failed attempt at conquering the humans, I learned a new human word, and to best understand how serious the humans wage war, I leave you with my final words,
Don't fuck with humanity."
--
If there are typos, on mobile.. Will fix later. | |
[WP] Unbeknownst to humanity, hell has been frozen over for a long time. The only problem is that it has started to thaw... | ​
Hell was designed to punish sinners.
​
Just not this many.
​
As the world’s population increased, so too did the amount of sin. Basic morality was misplaced in favor of wealth, progress, and power. The population of the mortal realm increased, and as such the number of souls increased, the majority of which came to hell.
Hell is run by only one being; and that is me.
When too many souls came to my realm, it quickly became apparent that something must be done. Now Hell has a reputation for being hot, correct? You know it to be true. And I for one am not without a sense of humor. How goes the phrase… “when Hell freezes over”? I fear that many of you are due to eat your words, as that’s exactly what I did.
You heard that correctly. I froze Hell! It serves as both a punishment, frozen but sentient for all eternity, and a measure of crowd control. A perfect solution that enables me to sit on my ass and do nothing, while also doing my job.
But my leisure days are coming to an end. Hell is thawing, and I can’t stop it. Can’t even figure out why. And once it thaws, ill be left to deal with an almost infinite number or souls, all various levels of evil, seething, spiteful, and ready for revenge.
I don’t know if I can die, but perhaps death would be better than what is coming for me now. | Lucifer gazed across his melting kingdom. He had clawed his way out of the ice that had entrapped him and lumbered across Hell’s infinite expanse.
Along the way, he freed demons that were encased in the cold. Let us not assume the Devil is heartless.
His naked paws pounded against the snow as he ran.
Lucifer stopped. He had arrived at a Beacon. The Devil bowed to no one, but he nodded respectfully at It. It hummed in acknowledgement.
The Lord of Hell rasped what might have been words of a language that was ancient when the Lord was borne of nothingness. The Beacon’s flesh-colored beams highlighted Lucifer’s cheekbones as he stepped into the light.
God was in a white room, dressed in a black suit that strained across His shoulders and were loose at the narrow hips. He regarded Lucifer’s nakedness across from his desk through white spectacles.
Lucifer snarled.
“Arre you awarre, my Loorrrd,” the Devil began. “That You have deeply compromised ourrr rrelationship? I have endurred one centurrry of the snowy Hell, and—”
God held up a hand. “I am aware. You were growing too arrogant, and must be kept docile.”
“*Docile!?* You fearr me, Lorrrd, and you fearr I shall overtake your rrrealm. I shall—”
The Lord of the Universe pressed a regal hand over Lucifer’s ugly face. Lucifer let out a muffled whine of annoyance.
“Silence. I have not awakened you for naught. You must help restore balance to the Earth. It has grown... unsatisfactory in your absence.”
The Lord of Hell cackled and ripped God’s hand off its maw. “Ah, so Yourrr purrrpose is rrrevealed. I wonderrr if You have everrr helped a man solely to uphold good, without demanding compensation.”
“You are no man, Lucifer.”
“I rrespectfully disagrree, my *Lorrrd.* However, I digrrress. What is it that You would have me do?”
“I order you to restore the balance of My planet. No one may slip your attentions.”
“How shall I do that, Lorrd?”
“Here is an example, Demon. Robert’s mother swore that he would pass his classes ‘only when Hell freezes over. However, as a result of my rendering your Hellscape an icy one, Robert is earning great grades. To compensate for the thawing of Hell, your first assignment is to make sure he fails.”
Lucifer shook and gasped a wet noise, and it took even God a second to realize it was a second round of laughter.
“Ha! What trrriviality! One condition, God.”
“You are not in a position to bargain.”
“Ah, but I am, Lorrd. I shall cast myself into the frrrozen Hell if You do not bend to this.”
A silence came from God. He was reluctant to show weakness, but the battle was already lost.
“You are a child, Lucifer, but I do not deny your usefulness. What is it that you wish?”
“I demand You frreee my fellows in the Underrrworld. You have subjugated us underrrr Your tyrranical fist forr millennia. Only then will You receive my help.”
God shook with anger, but His power was waning and His resolve was weak.
“Very well. Your desire shall come to pass by my hand.”
Lucifer’s face split into a toothy grin. “Let us start.” | |
[WP] Unbeknownst to humanity, hell has been frozen over for a long time. The only problem is that it has started to thaw... | ​
Hell was designed to punish sinners.
​
Just not this many.
​
As the world’s population increased, so too did the amount of sin. Basic morality was misplaced in favor of wealth, progress, and power. The population of the mortal realm increased, and as such the number of souls increased, the majority of which came to hell.
Hell is run by only one being; and that is me.
When too many souls came to my realm, it quickly became apparent that something must be done. Now Hell has a reputation for being hot, correct? You know it to be true. And I for one am not without a sense of humor. How goes the phrase… “when Hell freezes over”? I fear that many of you are due to eat your words, as that’s exactly what I did.
You heard that correctly. I froze Hell! It serves as both a punishment, frozen but sentient for all eternity, and a measure of crowd control. A perfect solution that enables me to sit on my ass and do nothing, while also doing my job.
But my leisure days are coming to an end. Hell is thawing, and I can’t stop it. Can’t even figure out why. And once it thaws, ill be left to deal with an almost infinite number or souls, all various levels of evil, seething, spiteful, and ready for revenge.
I don’t know if I can die, but perhaps death would be better than what is coming for me now. | Silence reigns in this cold place. Flakes of ice cling, fall and break against plains of brittle glacier and make the space ring painfully with the complete absence of any air, breath, movement. Ineffably deep crevasses sigh as blankets of ice shift with the anxious, waking starts of the twisted creatures below. Their ebony skin stretches over bone crushed by the slow and patient work of time. Crystalline spears of ice hang above them and rolling hills of untouched snow hide dozens, hundred, thousands of their bloodied teeth and claws just below the surface.
They wait.
Something trembles, rises from the depths and bubbles to the surface like the gurgling last breath of a dying giant. A sudden blasting heat turns the glaciers and heavy silence to oceans and waves of screaming sound as uncounted demons bend their bone-ridged necks for a first, shuddering breath in thousands of years.
They shake their heads free of frigid droplets of water and stretch their wings to full, dizzying widths, crawling with emaciated limbs onto the remaining islands of ice. Guttural roars tear from their throats as they take to the sky, up to the underbelly of the earth's crust.
Chaos reigns in this place. | |
[WP] Unbeknownst to humanity, hell has been frozen over for a long time. The only problem is that it has started to thaw... | ​
Hell was designed to punish sinners.
​
Just not this many.
​
As the world’s population increased, so too did the amount of sin. Basic morality was misplaced in favor of wealth, progress, and power. The population of the mortal realm increased, and as such the number of souls increased, the majority of which came to hell.
Hell is run by only one being; and that is me.
When too many souls came to my realm, it quickly became apparent that something must be done. Now Hell has a reputation for being hot, correct? You know it to be true. And I for one am not without a sense of humor. How goes the phrase… “when Hell freezes over”? I fear that many of you are due to eat your words, as that’s exactly what I did.
You heard that correctly. I froze Hell! It serves as both a punishment, frozen but sentient for all eternity, and a measure of crowd control. A perfect solution that enables me to sit on my ass and do nothing, while also doing my job.
But my leisure days are coming to an end. Hell is thawing, and I can’t stop it. Can’t even figure out why. And once it thaws, ill be left to deal with an almost infinite number or souls, all various levels of evil, seething, spiteful, and ready for revenge.
I don’t know if I can die, but perhaps death would be better than what is coming for me now. | Heh, they always said that hell is burning hot.
What they didnt know is, hell has been frozen over millennia and it should have stayed that way unless the power that be decided we are all doomed.
For eternity.
Nobody realise that hell started thawing ever since the end of Ice age. It started slowly, with the disappearance of dinosaurs, followed by most of primitive animal species and now, the polar bears are not faring well either with the constant climate change.
The weather are not just temperamental; actually that is an understatement. The weather is *hell* *bent* in being an arse to humanity. Winter is becoming shorter, while summer last for months on end.
For the last few years, summer has brought out the most devastated dry spells the history of mankind has ever witnessed. Autumn is basically just a season for trees to start dying and not be bothered by the scorching of summer.
Oh spring, you're talking about spring. Forget about bloom of wonderful flowers, the heat forces plants to mutate to adapt. Flowers started to smell like rotten meat till human kind realise that, most plants are now carnivorous. The switch aids them in thriving as they now rely on getting nutrients from other sentient beings.
Ah, hell is thawing fast.
We definitely didn't see this one coming. We thought the world will just continue spinning on its axis, never to stop and last for eternity.
Nith sighed heavily, look up from the weather chart she's been poring on for years now, to me.
"The layers of ozone is getting thinner, I guess soon enough there will be a rise in skin cancer from UV exposure."
Ah yes, even the gates of heaven refuses to protect the earth now.
"It's time for us to pack up and leave," Nith said, "there is nothing else we can do anymore."
So we did, leaving mankind with the destructions they built upon themselves. The gates of hell would soon lit itself and consume the world, whole.
We, the angels, has tried our best to reverse everything and put as much effort to slow down the thawing of hell.
I guess, mankind needs to be eradicated soon. | |
[WP] One day, a guy has a deadly premonition of a woman meeting her fate, but ends up saving her life just in the nick of time. He gets to know her a little and soon after they fall for each other, head over heels. It’s been 100 days as of this morning, and so far he’s saved her life 99 times. | Ty didn’t believe in fate. He didn’t believe there was any order to your steps, but he didn’t particularly care either way. Sometimes, of course, he wondered about things like destiny and if it existed, but either way, life was happening.
Life happened for him pretty much the same every weekday. He would wake up, make a bowl of oatmeal, eat it and read the paper, shower, then eat a banana on his walk to the office. It was during this time that he wondered, whether fate would reach its hand in and pull him out of his monotonous, starchy loop, but so far, nothing.
This morning, the crosswalk was as busy as ever. Ty was a little late, but so was everyone else trying to make it to work by 9am.
Then he saw it.
*The woman, trying to time it, waiting for the other light to turn red, taking a step right before the walk sign flashed, not seeing the taxi, zooming in, trying to cut a corner…*
He pulled her back, not thinking about it. The taxi zoomed by with an angry honk, and Ty and the woman were sprawled on the concrete as everyone walked past, giving them nothing more than a bemused look.
The woman brushed her hair out of her face, and looked at Ty. She smiled.
“I’m Karen.”
“I’m Ty,” he said, wondering if fate had finally paid him a visit.
\-
It had become a running joke between them, as they made breakfast.
“What do you think it’s going to be today?” Karen asked.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of hoping something crazy happens. Like a guy with a knife. Then I’ll get to be like a superhero.”
“Why?”
“It’s the 100th day.”
“100?”
She sat down, staring into the plate.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“100 times? 100 times you’ve had to save me? Is this what it’s going to be like?”
“Hey, don’t think like that.”
“I…just wish I wasn’t so helpless.”
“You’ve already saved my life,” he said, gently, “but you’ve made me a hundred times cornier.”
She laughed, but still wore a half frown on her face.
\-
Today, they didn’t take the train. It was sunny out but not too hot, and a perfect day for a walk.
They were relaxed, of course, but both were waiting. Waiting for a sign of trouble, of the shock, the instant vision, like plunging your face into cold water.
But the day was perfect. Passerby’s with dogs smiled and said hello, kids skateboarded respectfully around them, and the traffic was languid and slow.
“What if-“ Ty had barely finished the sentence when it happened.
*The argument, in the apartment above. A woman and a man, veins bulging out of their heads, the words meaning less than the volume…*
The computer came frighteningly fast, and ended up landing a few inches from where they sat, on the concrete.
Ty stared at his savior, who stared down at her own hands.
He smiled. “I told you.”
They were still laughing when the cops pulled up, the sun and the fates still smiling over them.
\-
[r/penguin347](https://reddit.com/r/penguin347) | Kai stumbled in pain as a burning sensation jolted throughout his skull, “Damn it, I thought we had more time!” He fumbled for supplies in a dark-brown pouch he had thrown over his left shoulder. Kai tossed away used needles across the grey metal floor, cursing, “Only one left, let’s make this one count, Amira!”
Amira looked at Kai, feeling a pang of guilt seeing how he suffered, scrambling to do whatever he could to protect her. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she had resolved to surrender, to finally stop running from the inevitable. Amira was glad to have met him, she didn’t think love would have been possible for someone like her, but there he was, unyielding. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep this up forever.
“You don’t have to keep this up Kai, I’ll die no matter what, if not today then tomorrow, or the next day!” Amira said, trying to save him from sharing her fate.
“Come now, we just need to find more of these,” Kai presented the last injection device, thick purple liquid sloshing behind the transparent tube, “then we’ll be unstoppable!”
Amira shook her head, “Where will we find more Accession packs? I doubt anyone on this primitive planet has access to a spark-well, seeing as it doesn’t exist anywhere near this system!”
Kai grinned the way he always did before one of his stupid ideas, which somehow always worked out in the end. “Leave one intact, dust the others, trust me!” he commanded, “six of them.”
Amira readied her pistol, pointing the energy weapon towards the cracked opening of the container, “I don’t like it when you’re like this,”
His grin widened further, “They won’t either,” Kai said, injecting himself with the Accession pack. Veins popped all over his face, neck and arms. Dark energy pulsated as it mixed with his blood, thrumming rhythmically, he stifled a howl of pain, groaning as silently as possible.
Reality shifted as gateways opened outside, near their red container. Men in black and red armour, bearing the mark of Akanyah, the crimson crest across the chest depicting an open hand grasping for a planet, or at least that’s what it looked like to Kai.
The six humanoid soldiers immediately went into combat formation as the rifts closed behind them. Two in each unit, searching the containers while shouting updates to each other, “This one is clear!”
Kai’s thoughts were a jumbled mess before the effects of the pack stabilized, he was unable to act through the pain. A euphoria he had come to enjoy spread throughout his systems, as the pain subsided. Kai ran off at such speeds that it appeared as if he was teleporting short distances, the container doors flew wide open as Kai zipped past them, Amira opened fire from behind a stack of boxes.
“They’re in the red one-” the closest group announced desperately before the pair slammed into a yellow container behind them in a sickening crunch, Amira following-up with green bolts of lightning, quickly evaporating the two soldiers.
The remaining four opened fire on their impossibly fast assailant, their targeting systems were too slow to home in on Kai, they had to rely on their own skill for this. One soldier veered off and started shooting suppressive fire towards Amira, keeping her locked down, hoping that his team would be able to finish off the boosted human.
Screams filled the air as limbs were torn clean off by the inhuman strength presently coursing through Kai’s veins. This group came woefully unprepared. Soon the last soldier that had been shooting suppressive fire fell, as easily as all the others. The effects of the Accession pack ended soon after the last one slain.
“They didn’t even graze me,” Kai boasted, “these things are amazing!”
Amira carefully stepped off the container, still on guard with her weapon raised, “OK, so what was your brilliant plan?”
Kai picked up a discarded limb, an arm that still had an intact rift bracer attached to it, “I’m getting tired of running, what do you say, Amira? Want to go home?”
*****
Not sure where I'm going with this, more? Thank you for reading!
[/r/NordicNarrator](https://www.reddit.com/r/NordicNarrator) | |
[WP] Aliens came to Earth disguised as humans to blend in. Now they have forgotten about their actual mission and just pass all day using Reddit and looking at memes. | Jerry sipped his can of mountain dew through a straw and set it on the desk next to his keyboard. Something was bothering him--a strange sense of unfinished business nestled at the back of his mind.
"Hey Frank," he said, turning to the man next to him.
"Yeah?" Frank answered without looking away from the computer screen.
"Do you ever feel like... like we forgot something? Like there was something we were supposed to be doing?"
Frank scratched his chin. "No, not really. Did you forget to mail something?"
"Nah, that's not it..." Jerry tapped his thumb on the edge of his mouse. He shifted his weight in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. Then he looked down at his hand and noticed a cut--no, a tear.
*What the hell?* he thought, examining the wound. There was no blood, no sign of muscle beneath the surface. Just a rip in his skin. He prodded it, surprised at the lack of pain.
Then it dawned on him. He only *looked* human; he was not one of them. He was sent here--he and Frank--to do *something*. Something important. But what--
"Hey Jerry," Frank said with a chuckle. "Check out the video I just sent you."
Jerry clicked on the message, revealing footage of two foxes playing in someone's back yard.
"Ha, that's adorable," Jerry said. He watched the video several times, left a comment among a sea of others, and completely forgot about his earlier discovery.
r/Ford9863 | So... yeah, I am an alien. You see this neckless? If I take it off, I turn into an alien. Now I cannot show you, but I can definitely tell you I'm not the only one.
We don't have "noses", as we do not need any air to survive. Our skin is as strong and resistant as the walls of a human stomach - it's a really harsh life in Aspelorst, or "the planet that is alive" in our language. We thought we were the only ones. Then we found you. A planet that was habitable. We managed to see an explosion that could've only be caused by artificial ways - the Chernobyl disaster was detected by our advanced telescopes.
We've studied your planet and your shapes, and all we needed to do was to integrate in your planet to...to...
Look, I am not sure why.
All I know is that some of this technology does not exist on our home planet.
The Internet is just amazing. We don't have it on Aspelorst.
The trip lasted for about 16 weeks...and we quickly learnt some words from your English language to not look suspicious, and used the Internet to learn the rest.
Not sure how did the first alien understood the words, but we followed his steps and things were just fine.
But...the Internet is also a powerful, distractive and entertaining weapon. You know memes, right? We don't know how can they be so entertaining, but I got glued to them because of their simple vocabulary and funny images.
We don't even talk to other aliens. We spend the all day looking at memes on...how is it called...redit? Reddit, yes, that.
We thank you humans, for showing us a better world and way of life. No way I'm leaving this place! | |
[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly wakes up one day with their consciousness in someone else's body, but no one says anything for fear of sounding insane. Everyone tries to live out what they think should be their bodies' day-to-day life. | *I'm writing this email because I don't know what else to do. I woke up this morning alone, in a strangers apartment. Immediately felt very strange, and noticed my skin had turned black. I rushed out of bed to the nearest mirror and realized I was inside of a different person.*
*A lot of inner thought took place in the following hours as I nursed my concussion and treated this body as if it were my own. The pain sure felt like it was mine, and deservedly so. I passed out when I saw what I had become.*
*It's been 28 hours and I have yet to sleep. Being a man trapped in a woman's body is definitely a trip. A stunningly gorgeous woman, to boot. She's a journalist for the Seattle Times, so yes, I'm in Seattle. It's a beautiful city, that I've never been to. I, you, us.*
*So this email is to serve as a reminder that this happened. In case I wake up tomorrow.*
*Don't forget Jasmine Williams, 25, Seattle, WA. Journalist for Seattle Times.*
----
I knew the email would be there when I finally got around to checking my email. It had been 2 days since Avertalypse, as it's so being coined. Everyone is back in their bodies. Everyone is back to living their lives.
Apparently it was random who you became, there was no pattern to it and people didn't simply just swap bodies with another person. Some people died. Some people are simply brain-dead. Amazing and terrible things are coming out every moment about what happened.
My flight leaves in an hour, so my emails can finally get some attention. I skip right past the ones from my boss complaining to me for taking a week vacation during this difficult time. Don't really care. I'm going to see her. Jasmine Williams.
I have not been able to stop thinking about her. Her beauty. Her style. Her tastes in music and movies. How she felt... inside. So *warm*. Everything about her has radiated in my mind 24/7 since I have returned to being Adam.
I spent my 6 hour flight struggling with the idea of telling her or not. You know, Everything. That I've seen her naked, been inside of her body, listened to her music, ate her food. I know that's the *right* thing to do, but to me, it seems unfair. When she hears that, she won't even give me a chance. She will be embarrassed, find me weird. Reject me.
She deserves a chance to get to know the real me.
When I arrived in Seattle, it was already dark out. I took a cab to the hotel and got myself checked in. I took my time getting accustomed to the room. I packed all my clothes away neatly, preparing for my long stay. I took a long, hot shower and then gave myself a clean shave. It was still strange looking at myself since being her, and especially since I had my bleached my hair last night.
It was time to go out and test the persona. I feel *kind of* weird pretending to be someone else, but I only get one chance to leave a first impression with Jasmine. She might like my regular personality, but I can start being myself later. This won't be *that* different. She's just a bit more politically involved. She is a big Bernie Sanders supporter. I'm not. She clearly has a weakness for horror movies, I can't stand them. She's just a bit more outgoing, and I'm an introvert.
I can fake outgoing, though. I do it at work all the time!
*I've got to get to Target before they close, and I could really use a drink.*
I toss on my hoody, then my backpack, and I'm out the door!
Inside Target, I was at a loss for inspiration. I didn't know what shirt I should get for my big day tomorrow, then I remembered the email. I pull out my phone, open the email sent from J.Williams0107@email.com. After swiping through the many different attachments, I found the ex-boyfriend folder.
I swiped through it for a bit, a bunch of blonde haired white guys looking like Abercrombie models.
*A cardigan would work. I have khakis back at the room.*
I make sure to pick up a bottle of sleeping pills and a pack of condoms on my way out, as well. The cashier gave me an odd look, but young girls are immature, I get that. It's insane that people will judge you for being safe.
*Definitely need that drink, now.*
I walked a few blocks until I spotted a nice, out of the way bar. I slipped in and sat down.
"Gin and tonic, please." I ask the cute bartender.
"From New York?" she asks.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" I reply, knowing what she's going to say.
"You're accent is pretty telling." she says, letting out a laugh.
"You from around here, I'm sorry - what's your name?" I ask.
"It's Stacy!" she says, extending her cute, dainty hand. "And no, I'm not. I'm from New Yawwwk myself."
She exaggerated the pronunciation, and continued. "I just don't have such a heavy accent."
Laughing myself, I say, "You sure don't, but that's a very cute smile you have."
"Hey, flirting is the bartender's job. You do your job and drink, pretty boy." Stacy responds, blushing.
*Maybe I'll practice more than just my persona tonight on Stacy.*
A few hours later, and I was walking her into my hotel room. Her laughter filled the darkness but it was quickly muffled by the sounds of our kissing. I began pulling off her clothes and she did the same with mine. Somewhere between foreplay and intercourse, though, she stormed out.
I had only tried to tie her up, don't most girls like it? She was being a bitch about it, honestly. She could have humored me and let me show her what she was missing. I'd of stopped if she said to. *Whatever.*
I pulled out my phone, set my alarm, pulled my pants back down and ended my night as it usually ends.
----
It was 8:30 and there I stood there on the corner of E Aloha and 15th. I was wearing my new cardigan with my khakis. I looked good. My backpack even matched the outfit. And there it stood, one familiar place in a sea of the unknown. Jasmine's apartment. She was a few minutes late. I pulled out my phone again and checked her calendar to make sure she didn't have anything special going on today. That's when I heard the door opening.
I put my phone away and began searching for a taxi. I luckily signaled one down pretty quickly, and I heard Jasmine let out an audible sigh.
I turn to her, "Did I steal your taxi? We could share, ladies first of course." I said, ushering her inside.
"Really? You wouldn't mind? I'm running late to work."
She looked beautiful. Her voice was even sweeter than I remembered it.
"Of course, please. It'd be an honor to share a taxi with you." I said, with a wink.
She looked at me sideways but still came forward and got into the cab. Charm was working.
I looked over at her while she danced between the apps on her iPhone, stopping to type frantically every now and then.
"Late for work, so what is it you do?" I ask her.
She looks over, "I'm a journalist actually. We've got our monthly meeting today."
"Interesting," I say in response, "do you focus on any topics in particular? Sports? *Politics?*"
"I'm sorry, I'm kind of just playing catch up right now with my emails. I hate to be rude but I just have to get this finished quickly." she says with a frown on her face.
"Oh... Okay." I say, back. Trying to keep my cool, here. "Maybe we can talk about it over a drink later?" I say, with a smile.
"I'm actually traveling tonight. I'm going to Los Angeles until Friday! Sorry, though." she says, only briefly looking up from her phone.
I take out my phone, and go back to her calendar. She's lying. She's got nothing on here about that. She's going to see her mother for her 60th birthday on Thursday. I felt my face heating up, and decided to just look out of the window for the rest of night.
I open my backpack up and look for my wallet. The sleeping pills rattle as I dig towards the bottom and reveal my wallet.
"Right here's good, sir. Thank you" I say, not even looking at her.
"Have a fun trip, Jasmine." I say as I exit the cab.
The perplexed look on her face floated off as the taxi continued on, towards Seattle Times. I flagged down another.
"Corner of E Aloha and 15th. Thanks."
----
/r/nocre8ivity | "Gleep gloop," the strange looking cat said. It had six legs, two tails, and looked like a mountain lion but was somehow profoundly different than anything that Nick Foreman had ever seen. He tried walking and fell. "Gorpie zynvxie."
"What is happening?" Nick said, but the words were hard to say with this odd, blunt snout that he now had for a mouth. He tried to walk and fell. "Please help."
"Blaxi taxi!" the cat-lion-insect looking thing said before pouncing on Nick.
​
\*\*\*
​
"You're awake!" the words sounded wrong and lispy, but at least it was in a language that Nick recognized. "One already died."
"Who are you?" Nick asked, opening his eyes. He expected a human, but saw another cat creature. "What happened?"
"The best we can tell is that these aliens somehow transplanted our minds into their bodies. No one knows why."
"This is a dream. I'll wake up."
"You won't."
​
\*\*\*
​
*I dunno where I'm going with this...seems like a cool idea though.* | |
[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly wakes up one day with their consciousness in someone else's body, but no one says anything for fear of sounding insane. Everyone tries to live out what they think should be their bodies' day-to-day life. | Okay, I tell myself. The important thing is not to panic. I gulp and close my eyes. Okay. Breathe in. Breathe out.
No pressure. I'll just open my eyes and everything will be as it should be. I'll be getting up, grabbing my keys, and going to the coffee shop before heading to work like usual. I can do this. Joe Michael Daves is okay.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I open my eyes to look at myself in the mirror. Except it isn't myself. Instead of my dark brown eyes, I'm peering into baby blues. My beautiful sacred beard I grew for No Shave November is instead replaced by PEACH FUZZ. My handsome locks of spikey black hair imitating that one Korean pop star who I forgot his name was gone. Instead I have curly red swirls of a mess sitting atop my noggin. MY FREAKIN' HAIR! I open my mouth to scream.
It was so high pitched it would give soprano opera singers a run for their money.
Shit. I'm here stuck in... Whatever the heck this is! Dream? Nightmare? I don't know. All I know is I gotta wake up soon.
The doorknob nearby rattles.
Oh fuck.
I'm peering up at a lady who I'm guessing is "my" mom? Well she seems to have similar features to me, curly red locks and all. Nice looking.
"Oh."
The lady is just... Standing there at the door.
Um... I look at her and she looks back at me.
We're not saying anything and everything is just awkward and tense. Suddenly it felt like some forced drawn out game of wits where whoever moves first loses or something.
I see her gulping and shifting her gaze left and right. What is with her? It's kind of suspicious...
"Oh hey Sally honey! Uh, I heard you... Screaming and stuff... Um... You ok?"
Wait. Sally? Oh. So "my" name is Sally.
She seems to notice me shifting my steps, "Oh, uh does your feet hurt or something?"
I shake "my" head, "N-no... Mom, I'm ok, seriously. No big deal, just a bug... Or something."
She seems relieved. Good. "Oh. A bug... Yeah... Alright then. So I'll just uh, go make breakfast and stuff. Oh uh, good job on your report card, kiddo! First grade English and all, nice!"
Nice?
"Imma go now. Get ready for school... Or something. Um, yeah."
She leaves the hall and I'm just standing there just as perplexed as I was earlier.
"Dang six years old and already talks like an adult, kids are growing up fast. I didn't even know they could scream that high."
Wait, something's up. If this was "my" mom, shouldn't she not be surprised at the ability of my vocal cords? Vocab I'll have to work on now that I know that "I'm" a six year old named Sally. Who freakin' names their kid Sally nowadays?
I overhear "my" parents talking. It sounds a little off...
"Hey, uh honey, I made breakfast. Eggs and bacon and stuff."
"Oh. Oh! Uh... Thanks... Dear, I like it."
A pause.
"Wait, I think I'm supposed to be watching my cholesterol."
"Oh. Oh that's right, you right, you right, Get some cereal, boo."
"Huh?"
"Uh, I mean, get some cereal and hurry up, don't wanna be late, honey!"
"Right. I'll just get coffee and grab donuts on the way."
"Cool."
Another pause.
"Um, honey, I forgot, how do we work this coffee maker?"
(First time posting here, I hope this is alright!) | "Gleep gloop," the strange looking cat said. It had six legs, two tails, and looked like a mountain lion but was somehow profoundly different than anything that Nick Foreman had ever seen. He tried walking and fell. "Gorpie zynvxie."
"What is happening?" Nick said, but the words were hard to say with this odd, blunt snout that he now had for a mouth. He tried to walk and fell. "Please help."
"Blaxi taxi!" the cat-lion-insect looking thing said before pouncing on Nick.
​
\*\*\*
​
"You're awake!" the words sounded wrong and lispy, but at least it was in a language that Nick recognized. "One already died."
"Who are you?" Nick asked, opening his eyes. He expected a human, but saw another cat creature. "What happened?"
"The best we can tell is that these aliens somehow transplanted our minds into their bodies. No one knows why."
"This is a dream. I'll wake up."
"You won't."
​
\*\*\*
​
*I dunno where I'm going with this...seems like a cool idea though.* | |
[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly wakes up one day with their consciousness in someone else's body, but no one says anything for fear of sounding insane. Everyone tries to live out what they think should be their bodies' day-to-day life. | I was faking my way through the day at the "work" address I'd found in the thankfully unlocked cell phone when I saw her - or, should I say I saw me? I'd known, obviously, that I was still in Houston, but I didn't know this area of the city very well. When I woke up in someone else's body I knew that talking about it would earn me a one-way trip to a mental health hold. Instead, I figured I'd just fake my way through being "Erica Halstead," the petite 29-year-old on the driver's license. I tried to shove down the turbulent emotions while I devoted 10% of my attention to making it look like I knew what the spreadsheet on Erica's work computer meant while devoting the rest of my attention to thinking of what could possibly have happened to me and how I could get back.
​
Last night everything had been normal. I'd spent the night watching Netflix with Todd, one of his arms resting over my stomach as I leaned back across his chest on the over-stuffed, slightly sagging plaid couch in our living room. "You know," he mentioned as we watched the hero arc across the screen in a jump, "it's *supposed* to be sci-fi. I love the series but the wrong arc on the jumps kills the physicist in me just a little bit." I just laughed and poked him in the stomach. "At least it's not as bad as *The Iron Monkey*." He groaned. "I don't think anything's as bad as the *Iron Monkey*." We'd laughed at the memory of the 90s flick and snuggled a bit closer as the movie wrapped up, eventually falling asleep after dragging ourselves from the couch to the bedroom. The last memory I had was of slipping off to sleep, trying to ignore his soft snore.
​
When I woke up, it was in the wrong bed, without Todd, to the sound of a cat meowing determinedly. I'll spare you the in-depth description of my panicked first hour of running around, staring at mirrors, frantic googling, and racking my memory of what I'd eaten the night before.
​
So here I was, wearing someone else's button-down shirt and a pair of heels that I certainly wouldn't have bought, not knowing how I was supposed to react to the sight of myself walking down the street next to the office. I stared out the window, looking down at my body - walking, looking around, and wearing an expression of concern that pulled at my eyes and accentuated the wrinkles I'd started noticing a few years ago. My makeup was totally wrong, my hair parted on the wrong side, but it was definitely me. My mind spun faster. Did we switch? Was Erica Halstead down there, just as confused as I was about being 35-year-old Cara Sheppard, maybe coming here to a familiar scene? I felt a rush of relief that my body wasn't at the courthouse representing my client without me. As bad as missing the trial would be for my annual review, as ticked off as the client would be and as disapproving as Judge Mortenson would be when I got this figured out and begged for a continuance, it was probably preferable to Erica Halstead, Senior Marketing Consultant, who I very much doubted was terribly familiar with the nuances of white collar crime law.
​
I watched her looking around the plaza outside and had no idea what to do. It'd been 6 hours and I had no more ideas on fixing this than I did the moment I realized it. The world seemed to be getting more and more surreal. I looked around the office, head spinning slightly, and it seemed to me that everyone looked as nervous as I felt, that the laughter at the water cooler was a little too high-pitched, that the people in the glass-walled conference room next door looked like they weren't entirely sure why they were having a meeting (though, to be fair, that wasn't that unusual in my experience). I was probably just projecting, but my contemplation was interrupted by a man - one of Erica's coworkers, I guessed. He was perhaps a few years older than her 29, with a happy-looking face and dark brown eyes.
​
"How was your weekend" his eyes seemed to dart to the name tag on the corner of the cubicle, and he hesitated for half a moment before saying her name "...Erica?" Great. Office small talk. I'd hated the first 3 months of work at my firm for this very reason. Once I knew the paralegals, staff, and other associates on my floor it was fine, and we could laugh and chat about who'd gone to what event and could you believe what Darren did again, but the painful weeks of "Yep, doing good, you?" had almost convinced me that I should have followed my teenage dream and become a backwoods ranger at one of the National Parks in Alaska. I didn't have enough mental power left to make up a lie about what Erica did, so I subbed in my own weekend, hoping this co-worker didn't know her well enough to know what she thought about Star Trek. "Just hung out. Watched the whole new Star Trek trilogy, ha ha."
​
His eyebrows raised in surprise. "No way, me too!" Huh. What are the odds. "Which one did you enjoy most," I asked him. We chatted for a few minutes about the different films, and I was surprised by how easy it was - I didn't usually talk this well with strangers. Then he confessed "I'll admit, though, some of the physics in the fights scenes are pretty painful... I've only seen one movie where the bad jumps-with-wires killed me more. Old martial arts flick, the Iron Monkey. You ever seen it?" I could feel my stomach drop to the floor in shock at the same moment that my heart seemed to start pounding. My mouth was dry as I responded "I don't think anything's as bad as the *Iron Monkey*." He reached out and grabbed my hand, suddenly struck dumb. I could see the panic in his eyes now that he was too surprised to keep up the mask, and maybe a hint of relief, too, as he realized the same thing that I did.
​
"Todd," I whispered. "It's not just us." | "Gleep gloop," the strange looking cat said. It had six legs, two tails, and looked like a mountain lion but was somehow profoundly different than anything that Nick Foreman had ever seen. He tried walking and fell. "Gorpie zynvxie."
"What is happening?" Nick said, but the words were hard to say with this odd, blunt snout that he now had for a mouth. He tried to walk and fell. "Please help."
"Blaxi taxi!" the cat-lion-insect looking thing said before pouncing on Nick.
​
\*\*\*
​
"You're awake!" the words sounded wrong and lispy, but at least it was in a language that Nick recognized. "One already died."
"Who are you?" Nick asked, opening his eyes. He expected a human, but saw another cat creature. "What happened?"
"The best we can tell is that these aliens somehow transplanted our minds into their bodies. No one knows why."
"This is a dream. I'll wake up."
"You won't."
​
\*\*\*
​
*I dunno where I'm going with this...seems like a cool idea though.* | |
[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly wakes up one day with their consciousness in someone else's body, but no one says anything for fear of sounding insane. Everyone tries to live out what they think should be their bodies' day-to-day life. | Okay, I tell myself. The important thing is not to panic. I gulp and close my eyes. Okay. Breathe in. Breathe out.
No pressure. I'll just open my eyes and everything will be as it should be. I'll be getting up, grabbing my keys, and going to the coffee shop before heading to work like usual. I can do this. Joe Michael Daves is okay.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I open my eyes to look at myself in the mirror. Except it isn't myself. Instead of my dark brown eyes, I'm peering into baby blues. My beautiful sacred beard I grew for No Shave November is instead replaced by PEACH FUZZ. My handsome locks of spikey black hair imitating that one Korean pop star who I forgot his name was gone. Instead I have curly red swirls of a mess sitting atop my noggin. MY FREAKIN' HAIR! I open my mouth to scream.
It was so high pitched it would give soprano opera singers a run for their money.
Shit. I'm here stuck in... Whatever the heck this is! Dream? Nightmare? I don't know. All I know is I gotta wake up soon.
The doorknob nearby rattles.
Oh fuck.
I'm peering up at a lady who I'm guessing is "my" mom? Well she seems to have similar features to me, curly red locks and all. Nice looking.
"Oh."
The lady is just... Standing there at the door.
Um... I look at her and she looks back at me.
We're not saying anything and everything is just awkward and tense. Suddenly it felt like some forced drawn out game of wits where whoever moves first loses or something.
I see her gulping and shifting her gaze left and right. What is with her? It's kind of suspicious...
"Oh hey Sally honey! Uh, I heard you... Screaming and stuff... Um... You ok?"
Wait. Sally? Oh. So "my" name is Sally.
She seems to notice me shifting my steps, "Oh, uh does your feet hurt or something?"
I shake "my" head, "N-no... Mom, I'm ok, seriously. No big deal, just a bug... Or something."
She seems relieved. Good. "Oh. A bug... Yeah... Alright then. So I'll just uh, go make breakfast and stuff. Oh uh, good job on your report card, kiddo! First grade English and all, nice!"
Nice?
"Imma go now. Get ready for school... Or something. Um, yeah."
She leaves the hall and I'm just standing there just as perplexed as I was earlier.
"Dang six years old and already talks like an adult, kids are growing up fast. I didn't even know they could scream that high."
Wait, something's up. If this was "my" mom, shouldn't she not be surprised at the ability of my vocal cords? Vocab I'll have to work on now that I know that "I'm" a six year old named Sally. Who freakin' names their kid Sally nowadays?
I overhear "my" parents talking. It sounds a little off...
"Hey, uh honey, I made breakfast. Eggs and bacon and stuff."
"Oh. Oh! Uh... Thanks... Dear, I like it."
A pause.
"Wait, I think I'm supposed to be watching my cholesterol."
"Oh. Oh that's right, you right, you right, Get some cereal, boo."
"Huh?"
"Uh, I mean, get some cereal and hurry up, don't wanna be late, honey!"
"Right. I'll just get coffee and grab donuts on the way."
"Cool."
Another pause.
"Um, honey, I forgot, how do we work this coffee maker?"
(First time posting here, I hope this is alright!) | *I'm writing this email because I don't know what else to do. I woke up this morning alone, in a strangers apartment. Immediately felt very strange, and noticed my skin had turned black. I rushed out of bed to the nearest mirror and realized I was inside of a different person.*
*A lot of inner thought took place in the following hours as I nursed my concussion and treated this body as if it were my own. The pain sure felt like it was mine, and deservedly so. I passed out when I saw what I had become.*
*It's been 28 hours and I have yet to sleep. Being a man trapped in a woman's body is definitely a trip. A stunningly gorgeous woman, to boot. She's a journalist for the Seattle Times, so yes, I'm in Seattle. It's a beautiful city, that I've never been to. I, you, us.*
*So this email is to serve as a reminder that this happened. In case I wake up tomorrow.*
*Don't forget Jasmine Williams, 25, Seattle, WA. Journalist for Seattle Times.*
----
I knew the email would be there when I finally got around to checking my email. It had been 2 days since Avertalypse, as it's so being coined. Everyone is back in their bodies. Everyone is back to living their lives.
Apparently it was random who you became, there was no pattern to it and people didn't simply just swap bodies with another person. Some people died. Some people are simply brain-dead. Amazing and terrible things are coming out every moment about what happened.
My flight leaves in an hour, so my emails can finally get some attention. I skip right past the ones from my boss complaining to me for taking a week vacation during this difficult time. Don't really care. I'm going to see her. Jasmine Williams.
I have not been able to stop thinking about her. Her beauty. Her style. Her tastes in music and movies. How she felt... inside. So *warm*. Everything about her has radiated in my mind 24/7 since I have returned to being Adam.
I spent my 6 hour flight struggling with the idea of telling her or not. You know, Everything. That I've seen her naked, been inside of her body, listened to her music, ate her food. I know that's the *right* thing to do, but to me, it seems unfair. When she hears that, she won't even give me a chance. She will be embarrassed, find me weird. Reject me.
She deserves a chance to get to know the real me.
When I arrived in Seattle, it was already dark out. I took a cab to the hotel and got myself checked in. I took my time getting accustomed to the room. I packed all my clothes away neatly, preparing for my long stay. I took a long, hot shower and then gave myself a clean shave. It was still strange looking at myself since being her, and especially since I had my bleached my hair last night.
It was time to go out and test the persona. I feel *kind of* weird pretending to be someone else, but I only get one chance to leave a first impression with Jasmine. She might like my regular personality, but I can start being myself later. This won't be *that* different. She's just a bit more politically involved. She is a big Bernie Sanders supporter. I'm not. She clearly has a weakness for horror movies, I can't stand them. She's just a bit more outgoing, and I'm an introvert.
I can fake outgoing, though. I do it at work all the time!
*I've got to get to Target before they close, and I could really use a drink.*
I toss on my hoody, then my backpack, and I'm out the door!
Inside Target, I was at a loss for inspiration. I didn't know what shirt I should get for my big day tomorrow, then I remembered the email. I pull out my phone, open the email sent from J.Williams0107@email.com. After swiping through the many different attachments, I found the ex-boyfriend folder.
I swiped through it for a bit, a bunch of blonde haired white guys looking like Abercrombie models.
*A cardigan would work. I have khakis back at the room.*
I make sure to pick up a bottle of sleeping pills and a pack of condoms on my way out, as well. The cashier gave me an odd look, but young girls are immature, I get that. It's insane that people will judge you for being safe.
*Definitely need that drink, now.*
I walked a few blocks until I spotted a nice, out of the way bar. I slipped in and sat down.
"Gin and tonic, please." I ask the cute bartender.
"From New York?" she asks.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" I reply, knowing what she's going to say.
"You're accent is pretty telling." she says, letting out a laugh.
"You from around here, I'm sorry - what's your name?" I ask.
"It's Stacy!" she says, extending her cute, dainty hand. "And no, I'm not. I'm from New Yawwwk myself."
She exaggerated the pronunciation, and continued. "I just don't have such a heavy accent."
Laughing myself, I say, "You sure don't, but that's a very cute smile you have."
"Hey, flirting is the bartender's job. You do your job and drink, pretty boy." Stacy responds, blushing.
*Maybe I'll practice more than just my persona tonight on Stacy.*
A few hours later, and I was walking her into my hotel room. Her laughter filled the darkness but it was quickly muffled by the sounds of our kissing. I began pulling off her clothes and she did the same with mine. Somewhere between foreplay and intercourse, though, she stormed out.
I had only tried to tie her up, don't most girls like it? She was being a bitch about it, honestly. She could have humored me and let me show her what she was missing. I'd of stopped if she said to. *Whatever.*
I pulled out my phone, set my alarm, pulled my pants back down and ended my night as it usually ends.
----
It was 8:30 and there I stood there on the corner of E Aloha and 15th. I was wearing my new cardigan with my khakis. I looked good. My backpack even matched the outfit. And there it stood, one familiar place in a sea of the unknown. Jasmine's apartment. She was a few minutes late. I pulled out my phone again and checked her calendar to make sure she didn't have anything special going on today. That's when I heard the door opening.
I put my phone away and began searching for a taxi. I luckily signaled one down pretty quickly, and I heard Jasmine let out an audible sigh.
I turn to her, "Did I steal your taxi? We could share, ladies first of course." I said, ushering her inside.
"Really? You wouldn't mind? I'm running late to work."
She looked beautiful. Her voice was even sweeter than I remembered it.
"Of course, please. It'd be an honor to share a taxi with you." I said, with a wink.
She looked at me sideways but still came forward and got into the cab. Charm was working.
I looked over at her while she danced between the apps on her iPhone, stopping to type frantically every now and then.
"Late for work, so what is it you do?" I ask her.
She looks over, "I'm a journalist actually. We've got our monthly meeting today."
"Interesting," I say in response, "do you focus on any topics in particular? Sports? *Politics?*"
"I'm sorry, I'm kind of just playing catch up right now with my emails. I hate to be rude but I just have to get this finished quickly." she says with a frown on her face.
"Oh... Okay." I say, back. Trying to keep my cool, here. "Maybe we can talk about it over a drink later?" I say, with a smile.
"I'm actually traveling tonight. I'm going to Los Angeles until Friday! Sorry, though." she says, only briefly looking up from her phone.
I take out my phone, and go back to her calendar. She's lying. She's got nothing on here about that. She's going to see her mother for her 60th birthday on Thursday. I felt my face heating up, and decided to just look out of the window for the rest of night.
I open my backpack up and look for my wallet. The sleeping pills rattle as I dig towards the bottom and reveal my wallet.
"Right here's good, sir. Thank you" I say, not even looking at her.
"Have a fun trip, Jasmine." I say as I exit the cab.
The perplexed look on her face floated off as the taxi continued on, towards Seattle Times. I flagged down another.
"Corner of E Aloha and 15th. Thanks."
----
/r/nocre8ivity | |
[WP] Everyone in the world suddenly wakes up one day with their consciousness in someone else's body, but no one says anything for fear of sounding insane. Everyone tries to live out what they think should be their bodies' day-to-day life. | I was faking my way through the day at the "work" address I'd found in the thankfully unlocked cell phone when I saw her - or, should I say I saw me? I'd known, obviously, that I was still in Houston, but I didn't know this area of the city very well. When I woke up in someone else's body I knew that talking about it would earn me a one-way trip to a mental health hold. Instead, I figured I'd just fake my way through being "Erica Halstead," the petite 29-year-old on the driver's license. I tried to shove down the turbulent emotions while I devoted 10% of my attention to making it look like I knew what the spreadsheet on Erica's work computer meant while devoting the rest of my attention to thinking of what could possibly have happened to me and how I could get back.
​
Last night everything had been normal. I'd spent the night watching Netflix with Todd, one of his arms resting over my stomach as I leaned back across his chest on the over-stuffed, slightly sagging plaid couch in our living room. "You know," he mentioned as we watched the hero arc across the screen in a jump, "it's *supposed* to be sci-fi. I love the series but the wrong arc on the jumps kills the physicist in me just a little bit." I just laughed and poked him in the stomach. "At least it's not as bad as *The Iron Monkey*." He groaned. "I don't think anything's as bad as the *Iron Monkey*." We'd laughed at the memory of the 90s flick and snuggled a bit closer as the movie wrapped up, eventually falling asleep after dragging ourselves from the couch to the bedroom. The last memory I had was of slipping off to sleep, trying to ignore his soft snore.
​
When I woke up, it was in the wrong bed, without Todd, to the sound of a cat meowing determinedly. I'll spare you the in-depth description of my panicked first hour of running around, staring at mirrors, frantic googling, and racking my memory of what I'd eaten the night before.
​
So here I was, wearing someone else's button-down shirt and a pair of heels that I certainly wouldn't have bought, not knowing how I was supposed to react to the sight of myself walking down the street next to the office. I stared out the window, looking down at my body - walking, looking around, and wearing an expression of concern that pulled at my eyes and accentuated the wrinkles I'd started noticing a few years ago. My makeup was totally wrong, my hair parted on the wrong side, but it was definitely me. My mind spun faster. Did we switch? Was Erica Halstead down there, just as confused as I was about being 35-year-old Cara Sheppard, maybe coming here to a familiar scene? I felt a rush of relief that my body wasn't at the courthouse representing my client without me. As bad as missing the trial would be for my annual review, as ticked off as the client would be and as disapproving as Judge Mortenson would be when I got this figured out and begged for a continuance, it was probably preferable to Erica Halstead, Senior Marketing Consultant, who I very much doubted was terribly familiar with the nuances of white collar crime law.
​
I watched her looking around the plaza outside and had no idea what to do. It'd been 6 hours and I had no more ideas on fixing this than I did the moment I realized it. The world seemed to be getting more and more surreal. I looked around the office, head spinning slightly, and it seemed to me that everyone looked as nervous as I felt, that the laughter at the water cooler was a little too high-pitched, that the people in the glass-walled conference room next door looked like they weren't entirely sure why they were having a meeting (though, to be fair, that wasn't that unusual in my experience). I was probably just projecting, but my contemplation was interrupted by a man - one of Erica's coworkers, I guessed. He was perhaps a few years older than her 29, with a happy-looking face and dark brown eyes.
​
"How was your weekend" his eyes seemed to dart to the name tag on the corner of the cubicle, and he hesitated for half a moment before saying her name "...Erica?" Great. Office small talk. I'd hated the first 3 months of work at my firm for this very reason. Once I knew the paralegals, staff, and other associates on my floor it was fine, and we could laugh and chat about who'd gone to what event and could you believe what Darren did again, but the painful weeks of "Yep, doing good, you?" had almost convinced me that I should have followed my teenage dream and become a backwoods ranger at one of the National Parks in Alaska. I didn't have enough mental power left to make up a lie about what Erica did, so I subbed in my own weekend, hoping this co-worker didn't know her well enough to know what she thought about Star Trek. "Just hung out. Watched the whole new Star Trek trilogy, ha ha."
​
His eyebrows raised in surprise. "No way, me too!" Huh. What are the odds. "Which one did you enjoy most," I asked him. We chatted for a few minutes about the different films, and I was surprised by how easy it was - I didn't usually talk this well with strangers. Then he confessed "I'll admit, though, some of the physics in the fights scenes are pretty painful... I've only seen one movie where the bad jumps-with-wires killed me more. Old martial arts flick, the Iron Monkey. You ever seen it?" I could feel my stomach drop to the floor in shock at the same moment that my heart seemed to start pounding. My mouth was dry as I responded "I don't think anything's as bad as the *Iron Monkey*." He reached out and grabbed my hand, suddenly struck dumb. I could see the panic in his eyes now that he was too surprised to keep up the mask, and maybe a hint of relief, too, as he realized the same thing that I did.
​
"Todd," I whispered. "It's not just us." | No one talks about it so I will. It happened so suddenly. One day everyone was there, the next, everyone was gone. On the day I woke up in a child’s body. The moment I woke up it felt sensational to feel in control of your body, unbounded by the tether that was my wheelchair. I felt reinvigorated and I felt like I had my life back, but that was before I realised I wasn’t the only one who felt the change.
At first the news called it a ‘bizarre case of mass hysteria,’ even the reporter seemed panicked as he shuddered and stuttered. That’s the most anyone ever spoke about it. Maybe it was because of that, denial. The odds that everyone, I mean **EVERYONE** being re-wired in a single night was too ridiculous to even consider. It was the perfect storm, the switch.
Maybe an hour after the switch I knew the economy crashed. Businesses were exposed while CEOs and Stockholders couldn’t reclaim any of their assets as there was no way anyone knew who was who. It blew up so fast. Next I don’t even know which came first, but I know there was a lot of rioting involved. From the looting and the depravity you could tell that those who were out on the streets were the ones taking advantage of their newly found freedom. They were no longer trapped by straps nor where the killers left sat in their cells. The switch allowed them to run amuck while the heads of state and bureaucrats were too busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
The worst who were hit were the countries run by strongmen and those under dictatorships. Civil order broke down as soon as they switched. Secessionist movements were suddenly the new Party line while some oligarchs purposely sabotaged their own companies. Those who were now in power were not the same and It did not take long before some jar-head decided that the best course of action was to nuke the other side. It’s amazing how easy it was to just launch it. Though some refused others pushed it and the rest, the rest was history.
Through it all, through the riots, the shortages and the great crash overtime people eventually found a way to live with their new bodies. for better or for worse, you tell me. | |
[WP] In a world where everyone knows gods are powered by their worshippers, several institutions have taken to hiring people to pray to artificial gods. You are one of these people, you are a professional worshipper. | In a dark nave filled with groups of kneeling men, shadows performed a slow synchronized dance as candle flames slowly swayed. The softly uttered prayers and the steady hum of the ventilator fans filled the air with a strangely appropriate sense of mechanical divinity. Appropriate for augmenting the powers of an artificial god, a mechanical god.
A god called Steve.
Steve was marketed as the "Answer to Everything" superscript TM, and as the label said, it did solve just about everything including acne. Steve has been operating for close to 5 years now, its stellar track record ensured that it always had hordes of people lining up to have something fixed, mundane or otherwise. But having a long line means that the management had to turn down a few supplications and prioritize those that are actually important.
"I'm sorry, sir", Jerry said, "but the earliest we can schedule your supplication is in six months"
"Six?! But my wedding's in March." A fluffy man said with a surprisingly loud voice that reverberated through the worship hall. The sudden loud outburst quieted the murmuring worshippers and had them turning their heads towards Jerry.
Just three more weeks and his contract will end. Three more.
Jerry began reciting the new *Steve: Answer to Everything* superscript TM policy of prioritizing supplications, when Mr. Fluffy butt here abruptly declared that he'll just go to Carl's Wishes Inc. and promptly waddled out the door. He watched the doorway a moment longer, debating whether to follow fluffy to Carl's and get himself wished to a sorely needed vacation when he felt a tug on the sleeve of his habit. Turning, he saw a small kid that was immediately obvious to be unsupervised. *Great.*
Jerry flashed his well-practiced smile at the kid, "How can I help you?" But the kid just stared at him, refusing to let go of his sleeve. He noted that the kid had foreign features but he could not tell if the kid was a girl or a boy. He found himself mesmerized by the kid's unusual eyes. *Heterochromia* was what it was, that he knew, but he'd never seen such contrasting colors of what appeared to be jet black and cataract white. In an attempt to solve this irrelevant but intriguing mystery of gender, Jerry asked for the kid's name to which there was still no response.
Jerry turned around after hearing someone call his name, there was no one. The entire worship hall had long returned to prayers and there was no one else standing with him beside the little kid. The kid that was still holding onto his sleeve, looking back at him.
"Jerry."
There it was again, and the two of them were still alone.
"Jerry, I'm right in front of you."
A sudden loud explosion knocked Jerry and the kid off their feet and further into the nave, dust, and debris raining down from the rafters. More explosions rattled the building, shattering the stained glass windows and raining sharp shards onto the worshippers. Jerry covered the little kid in his embrace as the entire building collapsed around them. The world was filled with screams then total silence.
"I am Steve." | Me? I'm a God Hopper. I juice 'em.
I ain't sayin' it with a lick of pride, just sayin' it because you've got that look on your gob. Yeah, yeah, I get the whiff of judgment. A bit of the holier than thou because I ain't keep the cross over my heart like you do. But what's a guy to do? It's a rough world and I've got the sorta flexibility to go solemn in any place that'll have me.
You can call it cynical, but if you were one staring down at the mean streets you might get to thinkin' otherwise. I call it practical. A simple solution to a complex problem. Besides, everyone got a choice to make when it comes to takin' up with a Holy, don't see why it's any worse that I get a bit of padding to go along with it. I pray at the church of the full belly and a roof over my head.
But since we're here and I got an ear to bend, I'll give you a spit or two on the subject. It's an interestin' enough way to pass the time when you got more than enough time to pass.
All started when I'd gotten on the wrong end of my ma one too many times. She weren't a cruel woman or nothing, just a woman that'd run out of patience after long years and hard times. Pa ran out and left her holding the bills and four boys with more balls than sense. She coulda worked herself right to death three times over and not make a pretty dent in the fines we racked up.
So I got packed up and sacked out.
Don't blame her none, I was the roughest of the bunch. Had to save her sanity for the ones worth savin'. Not goin' to hear a mean word cross these lips on the subject. She weren't no saint, but she did her best with a losin' hand.
I may be tough, but the streets are tougher. This is goin' back a ways, just about the time the Pontifex went tits up and the Corps started to get into the action. Took 'em a while to get established, but they weren't above runnin' an test or two on the boys that didn't have nothing else better to do.
They come up on us in their rollers and slide open the doors with a greasy smile and a promise of a penny for a few hours of doin' what we was doin' anyway -- sittin' about and praying for something better to come our way.
We took 'em up on it and piled on it. Most of the crews got a pass or two while they figured out who could make it work. The testin' whittled us down. I'd say one out of every thirty got the ability to God Hop. Takes a certain amount of mind to get from A to B to C. Not a lotta boys could make the jump.
Hell, half the boys actually had some faith. The real stuff. Tangible. Tied up in one of the Bigs. They heart just weren't in it. Couldn't let go.
And that's the hard part. Gettin' yourself all up and down for somethin' you know is a fake. Corp Gods just spring up 'cause someone wants it that way, there ain't anything more to it than that. So you gotta find it in your heart to go faithful on somethin' you know they just came up in some room full o suits.
But I got that part. I go full hog on anything they got cash to give me for. I Hopped to some of the earliest Corp Gods. Right there in the early days. They got real followings of their own now, but I was part of the founder flock.
Old Beeze? One of the first to get him established. He's up to his neck in flock now, and the Corp couldn't be happier about it. I still get a note from the suits from time to time thankin' me for my services. No money in the note though, so I ain't sure what good that does me.
There ain't much glory in it, but you get to the place where you get your head around it, you won't go hungry. Every Corp got their eye on the Heavens these days. Can't blame them neither, it's the quickest path to easy street.
So I'm more than happy to be accommodatin'.
They need juice? I'll give it to 'em with a big smile on my face. That's my game, and I'm plannin' to stick to it regardless of the thoughts runnin' through your head. You figure out an easier way to keep warm and dry, and I'm all ears.
But until you do, I'll be Hoppin.
**Platypus OUT.**
**Want MOAR peril?** r/PerilousPlatypus | |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | The funny thing about existence is that you don't know anything else. There's no frame of reference for comparison during existential crises. What is the meaning of life? What is it to be human? And on, and on... The unanswered questions accumulate, heavy like bricks in walls that compartmentalize your personal experience into various realms, an increasing number of which are forbidden to even consider, let alone contemplate. So we, in general, just move on, sticking to the comforting spaces of perception.
The first experience with this is usually a fear of death-- the Great Unknown. It's the initial realization that there's a question no one can answer, but everyone still asks. There's a beauty in a shared experience, even when it's horrifying. That's how social organisms work, right? Misery likes company-- the more the merrier.
When I woke to find my parents crying over me the morning of my 18th birthday, I was faced with a new existential question: am I human? At that moment, only three people knew the answer: no. The double barrel 12-gauge fixed in my direction told me a disorienting story of heartbreak and betrayal, while conveying a sense of urgency: choose your own adventure.
I chose life, quietly packing 7 days' worth of clean clothes, and grooming for Deviant Transfer. The approaching sirens indicated that I didn't have much time to claim possessions that would not be provided (read: foisted upon me) by the state. I'd like to think that this shame is my own, but I know my parents will bear the brunt-- they are members The Fallen now, afterall.
Anyway, that's how I got here. What about you? | As I went to sleep on the final night of my adolescence, the final day before I turned 18, I was filled with a nervous glee. Tomorrow I would awaken, fully transformed as the animal that represents me. I will awaken in a new body, in a new habitat. Over the next year I am going to learn everything about who I am and how I fit into the world around me.
As I lay down on my bed I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. What if I can’t? It’s a silly thought. Everyone sleeps on the night of the transformation, because that’s part of it. No one has ever stayed awake the night of their 18th.
Except I don’t sleep. As the hours tick by my nervousness continues to rise. The clock ticks, ticks, ticks, ticks. My heart races. Is something wrong? Is this normal? The hours continued to tick by.
I check my phone, 3:57 Am. I send a text to my best friend Brittany, hoping she’s still awake to reassure me nothing’s wrong. We have the same birthday, born within the same hour. No response from her. Another half hour ticks by.
The clock continues to tick. The sun steadily rises as late night turns to early morning, which turns to late morning. It’s 9:35, a good a time as any to awake I suppose.
I would normally not be here, I’d be far off. In a forest or tundra or even a desert. I hated hot weather but I’d rather be in the midst of the Sahara than still be the only 18 year old still human.
I travel to Brittany’s house hoping that if this was happening to me then maybe it was happening to her to. Maybe I wouldn’t have to go through this alone. Maybe we could both work through this. After all, we’d been through everything together. We could work this out right? Right? I felt like I was going crazy.
I approached her house. I looked in her window. She wasn’t there, the bed wasn’t made and looked as if someone had just been sleeping there. That could just be a coincidence but I knew it wasn’t. Brittany was much to immaculate for that. No this was a classic transformation bedroom. She was off somewhere else. In the wild. Exploring her new self. Thriving.
I was alone, with no one to turn to. What could I do? Where would I go? Thoughts raced through my mind. Wait, what was that? A sharp winced in my arm. I looked down. There was a needle there. Everything was going dark. I heard a faint voice in the distance. It felt miles off yet only a few feet away. What was happening to me?
“We’ve got him. The misfit is in custody. We’re bringing him in now; E.T.A. 20 minutes.”
NOTE: this is my first time writing for this sub and I’m on mobile. I don’t write often but I wanted to give this a shot. Let me know if you’d like a part 2 |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | The funny thing about existence is that you don't know anything else. There's no frame of reference for comparison during existential crises. What is the meaning of life? What is it to be human? And on, and on... The unanswered questions accumulate, heavy like bricks in walls that compartmentalize your personal experience into various realms, an increasing number of which are forbidden to even consider, let alone contemplate. So we, in general, just move on, sticking to the comforting spaces of perception.
The first experience with this is usually a fear of death-- the Great Unknown. It's the initial realization that there's a question no one can answer, but everyone still asks. There's a beauty in a shared experience, even when it's horrifying. That's how social organisms work, right? Misery likes company-- the more the merrier.
When I woke to find my parents crying over me the morning of my 18th birthday, I was faced with a new existential question: am I human? At that moment, only three people knew the answer: no. The double barrel 12-gauge fixed in my direction told me a disorienting story of heartbreak and betrayal, while conveying a sense of urgency: choose your own adventure.
I chose life, quietly packing 7 days' worth of clean clothes, and grooming for Deviant Transfer. The approaching sirens indicated that I didn't have much time to claim possessions that would not be provided (read: foisted upon me) by the state. I'd like to think that this shame is my own, but I know my parents will bear the brunt-- they are members The Fallen now, afterall.
Anyway, that's how I got here. What about you? | This is depressing.
​
Really depressing. You're supposed to be in contact with who you really are, and instead...nothing. I went upstairs and sat for a while. My parents were downstairs, talking quietly. In some ways, they were relieved. Who wanted to worry about their kid turning into a rabbit and getting sniped by a hawk? What if the hawk was another kid, also a spirit animal?
​
I'm going to go on with my life, I guess. You get a gap year for this thing. Being a snake makes it hard to learn how to derive and integrate. Not that you can't, but you can't really take notes. Maybe that's why Einstein was a raccoon. But I'm here. Nothing. If my spirit animal was a human, I'd probably more different. I'd look much more like my ancestors, but...white skin. Big ears. Big ass forehead.
​
Maybe I'll write a book during that year. Or something. Keep doing farm chores and stuff. Stay off that tractor, though, it's almost a dang robot.
Maybe I really was nothing special on the inside. Other people were turning into seals, into flamingos. One person even turned into a lionfish and sent some kids to the hospital before they were put in a tank.
​
But you just don't turn at all. Is this it, you ask? Is this all of you? Did some part of you just grow without a spirit? Did you never need one? Did you just...happen, some human cassette tape whirring along?
​
I look at myself in the mirror. Is this it?
​
I guess it is.
​
"Well, at least I'm not a black bear." My mom sighs. She must be stressing super hard. The doctor didn't find anything wrong with me, and she always was nervous over me.
But I'll be ok. I have to be. Besides, if I turned into a black bear now, my dad might have to shoot me or be mauled. And I'd probably eat Robby. He's a good boy, if kinda slow. Even know, he's headbutting my knees for love. I always liked pittie mutts.
Good dog.
"What do we do?"
"We could go see aunt Julip."
I remember the times with Aunt Julip. She was nice, if odd. But there was something off about her. I saw her look at me once in a way that was...just greedy. Like she wanted something out of me.
"We should probably see Dr. Cornelius." Cornelius was my PCP. He was ok, but he did healthcare. Not spirit healing. He could set a bone, unblock an airway, stabilize an asthma attack, even do some dentistry...but he was a gentleman who did not specialize in the spiritual. I'm willing to bet that he couldn't figure this out.
But he would keep some things safe. The practice was reliable for the families it liked.
"Maybe we should see Dr. C. Maybe I'm not 18 or something." I shrugged. Who knows?
​
I don't remember the drive there, maybe I fell asleep. I do remember the waiting room. Things seemed to sway a little, but I was dozing off. My allergy pills were still kicking in a little.
​
He was a nondescript man. And here's the thing...he was always respectful of my privacy. This helped when I was younger and learning about how many of my peers I was in fact attracted to--an embarrassing situation. So I went in, my parents waited, and he said hello.
​
"Your pulse is up, D. Is something wrong?"
​
"It's my 18th birthday, Dr. C. And nothing happened to me. Nothing. I didn't change."
​
Very quietly, he put my chart down. Slowly, he sat down in the chair, put his hands over his brows, and sighed. He didn't say anything. I was worrying that he was going to put me in a zoo. But when he turned and spoke to me once again, I got a very odd feeling in my stomach.
"I didn't have a transformation, too." |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | I spent dinner pushing food around my plate. I was a nervous wreck. Mom and dad tried to cheer me up but I have heard the stories before. Uncle Brad woke up on his eighteen as a hamster. Jake, my older brother, a horse. That was entertaining as we live in the city and trying to see him fit his fat arse through his bedroom door that morning was hilarious.
Alex, my best friend of seventeen years is currently spending his carefree days as a fox. Andrea, his twin, surprisingly wasn’t a fox. No. She’s a raccoon.
​
I don’t know what I’ll wake up as tomorrow.
Maybe that’s why I’m so nervous.
I mean everyone tells me they always had a couple of suspicion of what they may turn out to be.
​
Everyone I guess, but for me.
​
I mean I kept thinking that it would be cool to be a polar bear. Or maybe a bird of some kind.
"Honey, are you alright?” I could hear the concern in my mom’s voice.
“Yeah. Nervous I guess.” I sighed as I pushed my plate away from me.
“I think I’ll turn in early. Who knows maybe I’ll be a nocturnal animal tomorrow.” I laughed nervously.
“ ‘S alright, squirt. We all get nervous the day before.” Jake laughs boisterously. His shoulder length hair swishing.
​
‘*Gee, and we were surprised he turned out to be a horse.’* I thought, and with another sigh, I headed towards my bedroom.
​
I spent the night tossing and turning. I still had no idea what I could be. It’s hard to get to sleep with these thoughts bouncing around my mind. And yet, I did fall asleep eventually.
\-----
The glaring sunlight woke me, I groaned as I shielded my eyes from the nasty rays. I must have forgotten to pull the blinders down before I slept.
*Before I slept. Oh god, I’m eighteen now!*
I hurriedly looked down at my hands.
Four fingers, one thumb on each palm.
Each...Human...palm.
​
Panicked, I scrambled for my phone, just a swipe and I could see 9:00 AM, April 24. Yup, that’s my birthday.
But.
But I’m human.
​
“Mom? MOM! MOOM!” I screamed, a couple of seconds passed and my door swung open.
​
“HAPPY BIRTH-” a chorus of voices rang out and trailed off all at once.
​
I turned to my door and there I could see my mom, dad, Jake, a fox and a raccoon on the ground.
​
“I-I-” I started, I could feel my eyes welling up.
​
“What is wrong with me?!”
​
Mom shoved the tiered cake into my dad who caught it reflexively. She sat down beside me with an arm around my shoulder.
“Oh darling, it’s going to be alright.” I could feel the blankets shift as two furry bodies crept up hesitantly.
“Ye-yeah! It’ll be fine! Just um...Just.” Alex started, “We’ll call our dad! He works at registrations! He’ll know what to do!” Andrea chimed excitedly.
My head was buried in my mom’s shoulder and the only sound I could make was a sniffling sob.
​
An hour later and we were all sat in the dining room. Mom was cooking up a banquet, she’s always been a stress cooker. Jake sat across from me, trying to distract me with a game of battleship. But my heart wasn’t into it.
The twins have been circling my chair, it’s as though the nervousness and anticipation had granted them an infinite amount of energy.
​
Heavy banging on my door caused us to physically jump. Jake pushed himself away from the table and headed to the door.
“Open up! It’s me. Allen.”
​
Oh yeah. The twins called their dad for help. And we were expecting him.
Allen was pretty fit for being in his early 50s, even so, he had to wipe the sweat off his brows as he huffed, his cheeks tinted red from exertion, a large briefcase in his other hand.
“Oh hey Jake, Joli-- Oh hell. I thought my kids were pranking me hard but--” He muttered as he heaved his briefcase onto the dining table, knocking some of the ship pieces off the board.
​
“Hey, Nat! Where’s the dad?” He greeted my mom as she waved from the kitchen, a nervous smile on her face.
“Oh..he’s in the study..looking for some papers for an explanation.” I murmured.
Dad was a history academic and he swore that there should be some papers to explain what’s going on
...to explain..me.
“Oh kiddo. It’ll be fine.” He ruffled my hair. I shook my head in reflex, trying to displace his hand. The twins had jumped up on the dining table to look at what their dad brought. “
Ah well. First thing’s first…” He pushed a stack of familiar paper towards my mom as she made to grab a seat.
“These are….” Mom gasped, as she flipped through the stack.
“Yeah. Forged. I mean, perks of being a higher-up, right?” Allen nervously chuckled.
I peered over cautiously, and indeed, these were animal registration papers.
With my name and *Cercartetus nanus-* Pygmy-possum. Listed under ‘Spirit animal’.
“A..A pygmy possum?” Jake stuttered, half laughing at the absurdness of the situation, having moved to stand behind mom so he could read over her shoulder.
“Yeah well. We’d need to hide her for a year and a small mammal would mean that she have to be at the very least, kept at home cause...big feet are all around.” Allen laughed awkwardly, scratching at his head.
“Yeah I mean who knows what they’d do to her-”
“The could keep her in a science lab or something and run experiments!” The twins chirped, though I could tell they were every bit as nervous and terrified as I was.
After all, we grew up together, and so did Dad and Allen. We all heard of the stories of secret labs and teens with weird morphs vanishing into the night. Allen gave a half-hearted chuckle.
“Well yeah. Working where I do...that’s not….not out of the...well...anyway we’d have lots to plan and might have to block your window for a little bit. Here in the city..”
“Even the walls have eyes and ears.” My dad’s tired voice caused us to turn towards the study room. He looked disheveled, a couple of old books and a stack of papers in his arm as he walked towards the congregation. | Day 1
My eyes snap open. Today is the day. I glance down as my limbs unravel from the sheets I’ve tossed and turned in all night, in eager anticipation for this moment. Five fingers. Five toes. No. No, this can’t be right. Knobby knees. Pale flesh. No. My breath quickens, my heart races. I begin to pant. I throw off the sheets. Two human legs. I can’t breathe. My heart pounds in my ears. This isn’t right. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. A wail of pure anguish escapes my lips. Noooo. I should be a sea turtle. These fingers should be flippers not hands. Why? How can this be? I cry out again as tears stream down my face. How can I still be human? I am 18, today is my birthday. I shouldn’t still be human. This is wrong.
For the first time my surroundings come into focus through my tears. This isn’t my bedroom. This isn’t my bed. These aren’t my sheets. The question of why switches briefly to where and my desperate soul seizes hold. If I can figure out the where, then perhaps the why will make sense. I get out of bed and stand on my feet. The same two feet, I’ve had all my life. The same two feet, I’ve stood on for 18 years. The feet that should have been flippers now. My knees give out as another anguished sob escapes me and I fall to the bed. I curl up into a ball and cry my pain into my pillow. “Flippers not hands,” I mumble to myself, the tears coursing down my face. Everything is wrong. It’s all wrong.
Sometime later the door bangs open startling me from my sorrow. I glance up as two men and a woman in uniform enter the room.
“Welcome to the Utopian States of Africa!”
I say nothing through a sheen of tears. The salt on my lips adds further insult to injury as I think again of the sea. The sea where I should be gliding gracefully above a reef, weightless and elegant. But no, I sit here on the edge of a bed in a strange room among stranger people. This is bullshit. For the first time anger replaces my grief.
“Why? Why am I still human?” I ask.
The three share a glance and the woman with the braided hair answers simply, “You are your spirit animal.”
“My spirit animal can’t be a human. How can I gain perspective on the world when I remain the same species I was born? The same damn species I have always been. A human isn’t an animal,” I complain.
“Homo sapiens are animals. We are born and die the same as anything else. We spend nine months in a womb and suckle at our mother’s breast the same as any mammal. We feed off the energy produced and harnessed by other creatures and when we die we return to the earth where they may in turn feed off us.” Her answer is simple yet effective. There is no logical fault to argue with. Humans are indeed animals…
“I just… I didn’t think this was a possibility. I don’t see the point of staying a human. I’ve always been a human. Why couldn’t I be something else for once?”
“Given the choice what would you have been?” she queries me.
“A sea turtle.” I answer instantly.
“And why a sea turtle?”
“Because I want to save them. Because given a year of knowledge of what they are I could save them.” Just having to say it aloud brings me to the verge of tears.
“Save them from who?”
“From us.” I answer bitterly as the tears flow once more.
“Why aren’t they safe right now? Countless people have become sea turtles. Countless people have spent the year with flippers and shells and swam the seven seas, yet they are still endangered. Why haven’t they been saved? Why hasn’t anyone returned with the knowledge to save them? Perhaps you should think on that and try to see what a unique opportunity this might be for you. We will return in the morning, once you’ve had more time to process this.”
She leaves a tablet and a wristband on the table.
“These allow you access to the city and the accumulated knowledge of the Utopian States of Africa. Feel free to explore as you please. The wristband serves as currency here. As a guest of the state you have unlimited capital for the purchase of goods here. Welcome again, I hope in time you can come to appreciate the gift you have been given even if it was not the one you wanted.”
For the first time where I am registers with me. I am in the most advanced nation on earth. The sprawling African empire. The USA.
“Why am I here? How did I even get here?” I ask.
“You are a human in her natural habitat. It was on these very plains we evolved and took our first steps as human beings. It was from here we expanded our reach to cover the entire globe. Our history begins here.”
Something about her answer is dissatisfying but then everything about today has been a massive disappointment. I roll back over in bed as the door closes behind them. My tear-damp pillow is little comfort but I choose to wallow in my grief. There is something peaceful in depression.
Maybe, I am the problem. Maybe, there is something wrong with me. Why else would I still be human, when everyone I know became their spirit animal on their 18th birthday. That must be it. I’m not worth becoming anything else. My destiny is to be a human forever. A lifetime of humanity. I can’t imagine anything worse as the tears begin again.
At some point in the evening I come awake to a gnawing, panging hunger. I grab the tablet which unlocks beneath my fingers. I guess if I’m hungry some part of me has decided to live through this hell. Numbly I scroll. Sushi. We haven’t had sushi back home in at least five years. The fisheries are too depleted. I order three rolls. Salmon and tuna. I haven’t tasted real salmon since I was 12. A shutter I hadn’t even noticed slides open on the wall, and there sits my dinner complete with soy sauce, ginger and wasabi. I scroll again searching the drinks. Endless options stream before my eyes. I can order literally anything. I settle on a strawberry daiquiri, I thought strawberries were extinct. As I settle in to eat the wall across from my bed shimmers and becomes a screen. Credits roll and my favorite movie begins. A small spark of hope ignites inside me. Perhaps this won’t be so bad. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "What's wrong Mrs. James?" I asked the woman who was sitting outside on my porch alone, looking defeated..
"Its my son, Mr. Fletcher", she said wiping her tears.. "It was his 18th birthday today."
"Oh" I said catching on, "yes my niece turned 18 last month. She woke up as a butterfly.. The problem is she told us that a day later, when she was herself.. but until then my sister and her husband spent their day searching for her. Have you lost your son too ? Which animal did he turn into ?"
"Well, its bit complicated. You see when he woke up this morning he was completely himself".. Said Mrs. James. We were so confused, we were not sure if we should call a doctor..My sister is a doctor, she told me all the doctors have instructions to report the authorities of any unusual transformations. What if I took him to the doctor and they inform the cops ? I do not know what they would do to my son.. We were so scared and confused.. My son must have been too cause he is nowhere to be seen. It was until afternoon when we realized he is not in his room. Could you please come over and help us searching?"
"I dont know Mrs. James" I replied. "It's very late. Why dont you call cops. They will help.. You dont have to tell them about the birthday part.." I said half heartedly knowing that it is not possible.
"But they will come to know.. the cops.. we won't be able to hide this from them. Please Mr. Fletcher.. my son thinks highly of you.. I know you have a flight to catch in the morning.. If all is well my husband will drop you at airport." Said Mrs. James.. I looked at her face stained with tears, her dishevelled looks and agreed to go with her at her place..
The house was in darkness. It was silent.. It felt weird..As if something was different, but I couldn't put my fingers on it.
I followed Mrs James inside. The house was in pitch dark.. "Can you get the lights Mrs. James" I said roughly looking at the direction i assumed she is at. Her reply however, came from opposite direction and sounded as if she is at a distance.."You wont need the lights.. I am sorry Mr. Fletcher.. For not telling you everything.. My son indeed woke up as a human, but he is not missing. We just realized too late, when the night fell and the moon rose.." There was a sound of a door being closed and somewhere above me there was a loud growl..
"I am so sorry for lying to you, but my son needs to eat you know.." | Ya, know we often joked about certain characters being our spirit animal. Sometimes as a joke other times as a way of showing empathy.
But for the absolute life of me I did not think that this could be my spirit animal.
I started at my new -hopefully - temporary body in the mirror for what felt like hours. I was a character from one of my favorite shows.
The female main character from an anime to be precise. With long red and blue hair that seemed to blow in a wind that wasn't there to the large teal eyes and the curves. Oh god the curves. I was a tall stick of a boy back home.
Apparently my spirit animal was a stacked anime girl. This could be why I'm a bit of a drama queen.
The transition from 3d to 2d wasn't as jarring if I didn't think about it. Probably because we were given the instincts to survive.
I heard words. Japanese words. I didnt speak Japanese. But I could read the sub title. My friend - male friend - was here to take me to school.
One scene shift later and I was out the door fully clothed - top only slightly threatening to burst - and a piece of toast in my mouth. That's right I never really see my parents in the anime.
But I saw him.
Oh no. He was hot.
I'm supposed to end up with him aren't I? Fuck. I liked girls dammit. This whole spirit animal thing messes with our sexuality too? That should be off limits!
"O-ohiyo!" I mumble taking my place next to him.
He raised a delicate blue eyebrow. "Whatever"
He said in completely normal english. As in not the Japanese Engrish, or the rare english was a Japanese accent but straight up west Hollywood english.
"You speak English?" I asked my shoulder dropping as the scene changed again. A bus zoomed past us as his hand was now pressed firmly against my chest squeezing it. The bus would have hit me if he hadn't. "Is this your spirit animal too?"
"Yea...." he muttered staring at me for a long time. "You better hope they make a second season soon."
Oh shit. This anime only went to Valentine's day. And it started in April. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "What's wrong Mrs. James?" I asked the woman who was sitting outside on my porch alone, looking defeated..
"Its my son, Mr. Fletcher", she said wiping her tears.. "It was his 18th birthday today."
"Oh" I said catching on, "yes my niece turned 18 last month. She woke up as a butterfly.. The problem is she told us that a day later, when she was herself.. but until then my sister and her husband spent their day searching for her. Have you lost your son too ? Which animal did he turn into ?"
"Well, its bit complicated. You see when he woke up this morning he was completely himself".. Said Mrs. James. We were so confused, we were not sure if we should call a doctor..My sister is a doctor, she told me all the doctors have instructions to report the authorities of any unusual transformations. What if I took him to the doctor and they inform the cops ? I do not know what they would do to my son.. We were so scared and confused.. My son must have been too cause he is nowhere to be seen. It was until afternoon when we realized he is not in his room. Could you please come over and help us searching?"
"I dont know Mrs. James" I replied. "It's very late. Why dont you call cops. They will help.. You dont have to tell them about the birthday part.." I said half heartedly knowing that it is not possible.
"But they will come to know.. the cops.. we won't be able to hide this from them. Please Mr. Fletcher.. my son thinks highly of you.. I know you have a flight to catch in the morning.. If all is well my husband will drop you at airport." Said Mrs. James.. I looked at her face stained with tears, her dishevelled looks and agreed to go with her at her place..
The house was in darkness. It was silent.. It felt weird..As if something was different, but I couldn't put my fingers on it.
I followed Mrs James inside. The house was in pitch dark.. "Can you get the lights Mrs. James" I said roughly looking at the direction i assumed she is at. Her reply however, came from opposite direction and sounded as if she is at a distance.."You wont need the lights.. I am sorry Mr. Fletcher.. For not telling you everything.. My son indeed woke up as a human, but he is not missing. We just realized too late, when the night fell and the moon rose.." There was a sound of a door being closed and somewhere above me there was a loud growl..
"I am so sorry for lying to you, but my son needs to eat you know.." | Chuck took a seat in his school's spiritual advisor's office.
His advisor had a long, thoughtful suck before poping out the dum dum sucker he'd been working.
Advisor: "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just be blunt. You don't have a spirit."
Chuck: "I don't have a spirit?"
Advisor: "A soul. Whatever you'd like to call it."
Chuck: "Is this normal?"
The advisor had another suck. He answered with a bulge in his cheek and a white stick shifting around his teeth.
Advisor: "No. It's very abnormal. In fact the only other people I can think of who had no spirit animal were Adolf Hitler and Lee Harvey Oswald. Just be glad you're spirit wasn't a fish. You'd be surprised how many students die of suffocation. Or how many students eat each other."
Chuck: "Eat each other?"
Advisor: "Oh yeah. You know Lisa Goldstein? Turned into a rabbit and we had another student fly away with her. That student in turn was attacked by another student who also turned into an eagle. I think about 4 students fought over her. 5 if you count the fox that stole her bones for the marrow."
Chuck and his advisor sat in silence while his advisor continued working on his dum dum.
Chuck: "So do I do anything?"
Advisor: "Nah, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll just be under government surveillance for an indefinite time. That's all."
Chuck: "Oh."
Advisor: "I wouldn't worry about it. Here, have a dum dum."
Chuck: "Thanks."
Chuck, feeling different, left his advisor's office with bubblegum flavor.
*didn't read the 'natural habitat' part in the writing prompt. My bad :D* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Alrighty! Time for me to take a challenge!
So here's the dealio: I'll only be doing **ONE** serious writing prompt every month, from this month onwards. You, OneAndOnlyTinkerCat, are going to be my first writing prompt challenge, so there's that. I'll have at you, fine challenger!
Though it's completely possible that I might expand on the story I write here\[I.e Alternate timelines, etc.\], please do note that it's fairly unlikely as I'm really busy IRL.
​
Part 1 (of god knows how many) of [OneAndOnlyTinkerCat's](https://www.reddit.com/user/OneAndOnlyTinkerCat) Writing Prompt challenge! (May)
​
\[This story is heavily based on the "Lobotomy Corporation" and "Facility 23B!" universes.\]
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
"Alright. So I get it, everyone, at the age of 18, turns into their *'spirit animal'*," Eric said, holding his fingers up in quotation marks. "The problem with that, is my parents have never told me *what* animal I have as a 'spirit animal'. And the thing is, considering that ***tomorrow's*** my eighteenth birthday, I'm fairly worried. What if something bad happens? What if my animal's a *chihuahua*? What if-"
​
Arthur sighed, cutting Eric off and preparing to do the whole explanation again. "Look, man, as I've said, you don't need to worry. It's not like you'll suddenly wake up with no humanity in you, and that you'll suddenly feel the urge to commit a mass-murder. You'll still be yourself, just that you'll be an animal for a day, or two. That does happen sometimes, though it's *fairly* uncommon." As he said that, he saw Eric starting to protest again, he held up a hand.
​
"I know, you might not be happy with your animal at first, but look at me. I was a freaking leopard, and you know how much I hate leopards, especially since I've left the corporation that got destro- Uh, shut down by the team I was with at *that place*. And look at me now! I'm completely fine with it. Just trust me. You'll be okay." Arthur smiled at him, hoping that the explanation would get through to Eric. However, Eric only sighed. Arthur rolled his eyes, and just buried his face in his hands, groaning in dismay, before getting up.
​
"Look, I'll be in the other room. Tomorrow's going to be a new day, and honestly speaking, you're reminding me of Frank, though without his good qualities. Stubborn, but in a really bad way. I'll see you tomorrow, either-way." With that, he headed out of Eric's room, and into the dimly lit hallway.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Eric buried his face in his pillow. Of course Arthur wouldn't understand. They were too different, too *unlike* each other. But what had he expected? Arthur was basically the equivalent of a god-damned war veteran in the dystopian of a country that he called home. Of all things, he had survived the massive corporate entity that was Lobotomy Corporation, the word-class company that *used* to produce energy, until the "3 Days, 3 Nights" incident had occurred. During that time, some sort of massive light beam had apparently completely *changed* the way the world functioned.
​
Arthur had never really explained *how* the beam of light had appeared, but he had explained *what* it *did*.
​
"It's apparently unlocked some sort of potentials we've always had, but never could reach ourselves," he had said. "One of these things unlocked was 'spirit animals', something long thought to be mythology and just plain fake at times," Arthur just shrugged at that, upon saying the last sentence.
​
"Other things have been unlocked, too. Like Abnormalities, which have only been just revealed to the world. We've generally boiled them down to the idea that they're made from the fears of humanity. Kind of the opposite of spirit animals, if I'm being honest here."
​
But though he was completely pysched about it all being real- He had read a lot of fantasy books in the past- He wasn't okay with the idea that he'd have to spend the day as an animal. Because firstly, it was probably going to be very uncomfortable- Fur was generally said to be itchy during the initial transformation And secondly, what if he *didn't* like his spirit animal?
​
... Jesus, he was thinking too much about this. And it was already nearly 12 am- He'd better hunker down and sleep before the transformation began- If he was awake, he heard from Arthur, it was going to be an agony-filled night. And so, he slept.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
***Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-***
​
Eric slapped the alarm clock, not wanting to get up. He'd slept at, what, 11:40 pm? He wasn't going to wake up yet, no, no, no, *no*. But before he could get back to sleep, Arthur threw open the curtains.
​
"Get up, asshole. It's your 18th birthday! Now let's see what animal you ar-"
​
As Arthur's words cut off abruptly, Eric blinked blearily, before the previous night's conversations and thoughts came back to him. As they did, though, he sat up. "... What's wrong?"
​
"Y- You..."
​
"I what? What's up with you today? Aren't I an animal?"
​
Arthur struggled to find the words to tell Eric about the situation correctly. But before he could, Eric looked at his hands. His still *human* hands. "Wait, what?! How?! I thought you said...?"
​
Arthur strained his next sentence out. "There's- Something's not right..."
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
(To be continued, because I gotta sleep. I hope you enjoy what I've written so far, though!) | "...oh my."
"W-what happened she's-"
"Elga shush she'll wake. Call the doctor quickly! And don't tell Jakob either. He can't know."
***
Feeling the heat and blinding light, I groggily come to realisation that I've overslept tenfold. As I pull myself up, I can only get up about an inch before being forced to succumb to the bonds.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I scream, turning my skin raw at my wrists. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! MAMA!"
Mama and Papa both burst into the room. I see Jakob lingering outside the room as both parents come stand across from me. Three other men stride into the room. Two soldiers and one doctor.
"Mama? Mama am I sick? What's happening? Papa tell me please!"
"I...I am not-t your...Papa, scum."
"Papa? But I...I'm your daughter."
"No you are not." The doctor finally spoke. "No *Jewish* girl is born from a good German family!"
"But-"
"But if you were German then on your 18th birthday you would've turned into an animal for a year and yet, here you are the same. And do you want to know why? Because you are Jewish. "
"B-but I'm German! I swear it!"
"You are vermin! You are scum as you always were and you will always be! Take her away!"
I twist my arms and attempt kicking my way out of the soldiers' iron grips. "Let. Me. GO!"
"Haha aww look she thinks she can take you both." The doctor sneers. Suddenly a loud WHIPISH rings in my ears as my eyes water. "Now, another peep from you and you get another, understand?"
I clenched my jaw in response and kept my eyes to the ground, fearing to take a last glance of what once was.
*Apologies if this offended anyone. I'm not Jewish or German, nor am I going to pretend that know what it was like living through Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. This was what I thought of whilst reading the prompt. Again, I apologise if this triggered anything for anyone.* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | I had no spirit because I woke as a man, not a beast. That's how they think.
I had to flee the tribe, knowing full well my fate if I stayed. The twin rivers ran swift that summer and would have carried me to the Grey Land beyond Fist Mountain. The waters smelled sweet as I approached them with the small canoe stolen from the Chiefs daughter nestled under my arm. I had made it. I would be alone, and my heart ached with the thought of leaving home and striking out for unknown lands. But freedom demands sacrifice, sometimes.
I placed one foot in the canoe. The other was swept from under me and I gasped, the air sharp in my throat as the ground raced up slamming into my back. Koto stood over me. I knew it was her, despite the black fur and claws. Her eyes hadn't changed. They're so green you could plant seeds in them and grow the brightest flowers. There was a shadow at their edges as she stared down at me. Something beyond sadness. We had been promised to one another. She would have been my hunt partner for life, and a mother to my children. I could no longer look at the lost future of her eyes, turning my head to scan the red earth and jagged stones that made up our home like flesh and bone. I had failed, becoming nothing more than the man I am.
"I can't let you leave," she said, her voice purring in my ear as she nuzzled me. A warmth ran down my cheek to salt my tongue. My own tears, not hers.
"I know," I said, swallowing a sob and patting her smooth fur with my left hand. "But I have to."
I brought my free hand up with all my strength. The jagged tooth of the rock bit deep. She howled. Her life flowed free and black from the wound. With a shudder she slumped and I rolled away, coming to my feet. Those green eyes closed for the last time. They would make nothing grow.
I scrambled into the canoe and the rivers accepted me, sweeping me away. Freedom demands sacrifice, sometimes. But it's not always your own. | "...oh my."
"W-what happened she's-"
"Elga shush she'll wake. Call the doctor quickly! And don't tell Jakob either. He can't know."
***
Feeling the heat and blinding light, I groggily come to realisation that I've overslept tenfold. As I pull myself up, I can only get up about an inch before being forced to succumb to the bonds.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I scream, turning my skin raw at my wrists. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! MAMA!"
Mama and Papa both burst into the room. I see Jakob lingering outside the room as both parents come stand across from me. Three other men stride into the room. Two soldiers and one doctor.
"Mama? Mama am I sick? What's happening? Papa tell me please!"
"I...I am not-t your...Papa, scum."
"Papa? But I...I'm your daughter."
"No you are not." The doctor finally spoke. "No *Jewish* girl is born from a good German family!"
"But-"
"But if you were German then on your 18th birthday you would've turned into an animal for a year and yet, here you are the same. And do you want to know why? Because you are Jewish. "
"B-but I'm German! I swear it!"
"You are vermin! You are scum as you always were and you will always be! Take her away!"
I twist my arms and attempt kicking my way out of the soldiers' iron grips. "Let. Me. GO!"
"Haha aww look she thinks she can take you both." The doctor sneers. Suddenly a loud WHIPISH rings in my ears as my eyes water. "Now, another peep from you and you get another, understand?"
I clenched my jaw in response and kept my eyes to the ground, fearing to take a last glance of what once was.
*Apologies if this offended anyone. I'm not Jewish or German, nor am I going to pretend that know what it was like living through Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. This was what I thought of whilst reading the prompt. Again, I apologise if this triggered anything for anyone.* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "What do you think happened?" My mother says, her brow wrinkled deeply while she paces up and down the length of the dining-room table. Shes been on the phone for just over an hour now, with me just sitting there, feeling so utterly uncomfortable in my new skin.
"Look, no... no... I'm sure its him. We did a whole questionnaire about his life until today - this is definitely my son. No. Yes. I don't know who it is!" She was getting frustrated now, her frown deepening. Her eyes flitted over to me and I could see the beginnings of her trademark expression for 'This person is so dumb' but she stops half way through, clearly unnerved by the eyes that aren't my own and the familiar expression on an utterly unfamiliar face. Its quiet and awkward until she starts, and and the pitch and volume of her voice makes my ears sting a bit.
"What?" she exclaims, then looks over at me, her hand shifting slightly to bring the mic of her phone an inch further from her mouth. "They say this has happened before - but its very rare." Her hand tilts again as her attention shifts away from me back to the nurse on the phone. "Okay, you want us to come in for a test? Okay but... okay... I'll let him know. Thank you."
Her hand lowers and she looks at me, troubled but clearly a bit relieved at the fact that my transformation isn't completely unprecedented. "They're going to try to identify your body. They say that less than a dozen known cases like this are recorded but of them, two took the form of an ancestor. We're going to take Grandma's old photo album and see if you're in there. If that works, great, but if it doesn't they want to sequence your DNA and see if it's in a database for identification." She delivers all of this as though she was reading from a script. That makes sense though, mom used to work in transformative form care. Her tone reminds me of the reassuring script she would read to any unfortunate parent of a cobra son or wasp daughter.
I gather my things and scrape up a few documents from my father's old office. He was pretty obsessed in the few years before he passed away at tracing our family history and getting in contact with cousins we never knew about - I suppose some of this stuff might finally come in handy.
\-------------
The appointment took much less time than we thought it would. After they took a few swabs of cells from my cheek, we sat down with a hospital executive who had apparently taken interest in the case and flipped through our old albums and my father's documents. Every few minutes the exec would hold up an old poleroid or social media memorial next to my face. In only a few minutes we were sure that the family resemblance was there - I've been turned into one of my ancestors. But who? This face, my face, was never in any pictures we could find - no trace of me as far back as we had records of. However, we know I am from a relatively modern age - a psychologist watched my mannerisms and explained that my eye and finger movements while at a screen show beyond a doubt that my body has all of the muscle memories associated with modern computer use - which puts my body somewhere between 1990 and 2035. Unfortunately, my DNA brought up 0 matches as well. I will just have to delve into this mystery on my own.
\- 3 months later -
I've found it. Of all of my relatives there are pictures or DNA records of every single one who was in their twenties between the years of 1990 and 2035 except for one. A single, mysterious ancestor who has re-emerged after so many decades to be my spiritual guardian. Admittedly, the work was made much easier with this man's spirit driving my research. My father's research is what finally led me to the last few pieces of information I needed to solve the puzzle. Hidden on a flashdrive in his research, I found a video clip and the saved post from an old website called Reddit. Archives of the site showed user names and posts of hundred, thousands of individuals. I combed through them all looking for one that made my heart sing, and the I found it - I read the username and knew that this was my spirit guide. And just like that I felt a sinking in my heart. A plummeting feeling deep in my stomach not unlike what the man in the video clip my father saved from Nineteen ninety eight when the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table. | "...oh my."
"W-what happened she's-"
"Elga shush she'll wake. Call the doctor quickly! And don't tell Jakob either. He can't know."
***
Feeling the heat and blinding light, I groggily come to realisation that I've overslept tenfold. As I pull myself up, I can only get up about an inch before being forced to succumb to the bonds.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I scream, turning my skin raw at my wrists. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! MAMA!"
Mama and Papa both burst into the room. I see Jakob lingering outside the room as both parents come stand across from me. Three other men stride into the room. Two soldiers and one doctor.
"Mama? Mama am I sick? What's happening? Papa tell me please!"
"I...I am not-t your...Papa, scum."
"Papa? But I...I'm your daughter."
"No you are not." The doctor finally spoke. "No *Jewish* girl is born from a good German family!"
"But-"
"But if you were German then on your 18th birthday you would've turned into an animal for a year and yet, here you are the same. And do you want to know why? Because you are Jewish. "
"B-but I'm German! I swear it!"
"You are vermin! You are scum as you always were and you will always be! Take her away!"
I twist my arms and attempt kicking my way out of the soldiers' iron grips. "Let. Me. GO!"
"Haha aww look she thinks she can take you both." The doctor sneers. Suddenly a loud WHIPISH rings in my ears as my eyes water. "Now, another peep from you and you get another, understand?"
I clenched my jaw in response and kept my eyes to the ground, fearing to take a last glance of what once was.
*Apologies if this offended anyone. I'm not Jewish or German, nor am I going to pretend that know what it was like living through Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. This was what I thought of whilst reading the prompt. Again, I apologise if this triggered anything for anyone.* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Many have it rough. I had a buddy who was a year older than I, and was morphed into a Bondo Mystery Ape. The tribe he was transplanted to smelled an outsider. Somewhere in the Congo, his bones are scattered within the bush.
My brother morphed into a butterfly. A day later he fluttered into a windshield. Insects were a death sentence.
My Aunt Molly morphed into an emperor penguin. She traveled to Antarctica last year to find her chick.
I finished my morph last Tuesday.
I’m sitting in a cell awaiting my court date on murder charges.
You see friends, as mandated by the Council of Elders, on every citizen’s 18th birthday, he, she or otherwise, shall be trans-mutated into their psychoanalyzed “Spirit Animal”.
And I, I was determined to be spiritually *Homo Sapiens*.
“There must be a clerical error”, the Council Chief remarked.
Ha.
If only.
On the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, my Birthday, I became “spiritually” human.
Doesn’t seem so bad, right? Well, spiritually human in effect meant I would inherit the wills and abilities of every single human that ever lived: from Leonardo da Vinci to Heinrich Himmler.
From Dahmer to Donovan.
And so it began, that my natural habitat, the city of Los Angeles, became the birthplace of my newborn unfiltered humanity.
On that first evening, I swam in the ocean and nearly drowned.
I was resuscitated and spent the next few days on a binge-drinking-stravaganza, consuming gallons of booze until my stomach was pumped on three more subsequent hospital visits.
But I’ll spare you these boring details.
For it was I, suffering a monstrous cacophony of anthropomorphism that sought world peace and genocide. Thus, on the fourth night of my “mutation” I attempted to end my own life.
But that was against the rules.
And my authoritarian spirit knew this and rectified this sin with due penance: 10,000 lashes to my back. 10,000 to the belly.
By sure will I was able to avoid executing myself though the Gods sure willed it.
From that day I spent two months in the hospital, recovering from my self-inflicted punishment.
Hating myself. Hating humanity.
On Day 70, I founded a cult. We worshipped the moon and her daughter: yours truly. Even though I was a daughter, my penis penetrated many brainwashed young women. My sisters of the Moon.
On Day 90, I grew bored of my sex-cult and abandoned it. I went on a cross-border road-trip in a VW Bus that lasted months. My adventures there were too mundane to mention but I met a hitchhiker named Kai who had already morphed the previous year as a Woodpecker. He killed a man with a hatchet a few weeks later.
On Day 270, I abandoned my Volkswagen in Redcar, England.
I walked along the highway up towards Scotland passing sheep after sheep until I took lodge in Lockerbie.
Lockerbie. Was my mind at peace then? Yes. But my spirit willed something else. We flew from Glasgow to Iceland that December and leaped naked in the snow praising some forgotten legion of gods. We were arrested by the authorities and deported back to the good ol’ US of A.
On Day 330 I was growing weary in New Orleans.
On Day 350 I was in Cuba exploring a world untouched by government-mandated “Trans-species mutation”
And on Day 356, in Havana Cuba, the spirit of defiance lead me to peacefully take my own life, out of remorse for all those I had deceived to during my voyage. Myselves.
You see friends, my spirit, everyone’s spirit lay dormant all around me. Thus, I strangled a woman who said she loved me.
Loved me? I hated me.
Yet I loved me. I hated them. Yet, I hated them. Yet, I loved them. And so on and so on.
I was lying to myself. I was telling the truth. I was everyone and everyone was I. And so on.
Surely this would end it. Killing myself.
No. No. Day 365: I break from my fleshy prison. Billions of spirits part from an animal.
Clarity. Clarity.
Oh, God.
Oh, the humanity.
Oh, me. | "...oh my."
"W-what happened she's-"
"Elga shush she'll wake. Call the doctor quickly! And don't tell Jakob either. He can't know."
***
Feeling the heat and blinding light, I groggily come to realisation that I've overslept tenfold. As I pull myself up, I can only get up about an inch before being forced to succumb to the bonds.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I scream, turning my skin raw at my wrists. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! MAMA!"
Mama and Papa both burst into the room. I see Jakob lingering outside the room as both parents come stand across from me. Three other men stride into the room. Two soldiers and one doctor.
"Mama? Mama am I sick? What's happening? Papa tell me please!"
"I...I am not-t your...Papa, scum."
"Papa? But I...I'm your daughter."
"No you are not." The doctor finally spoke. "No *Jewish* girl is born from a good German family!"
"But-"
"But if you were German then on your 18th birthday you would've turned into an animal for a year and yet, here you are the same. And do you want to know why? Because you are Jewish. "
"B-but I'm German! I swear it!"
"You are vermin! You are scum as you always were and you will always be! Take her away!"
I twist my arms and attempt kicking my way out of the soldiers' iron grips. "Let. Me. GO!"
"Haha aww look she thinks she can take you both." The doctor sneers. Suddenly a loud WHIPISH rings in my ears as my eyes water. "Now, another peep from you and you get another, understand?"
I clenched my jaw in response and kept my eyes to the ground, fearing to take a last glance of what once was.
*Apologies if this offended anyone. I'm not Jewish or German, nor am I going to pretend that know what it was like living through Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. This was what I thought of whilst reading the prompt. Again, I apologise if this triggered anything for anyone.* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | The morning of my eighteenth birthday hit me hard. I woke up in my usual boxers and plain white-t. I woke up with bed head and a stuffy nose. Nothing felt different from usual except for the fact that I should be an animal and the painful headache I had.
I just drank to much last night, the party Miles threw me was pretty crazy.
I decide to check my phone. The time was 7:17. I did not sleep through my birthday.
“John get out here, do you want to show us your spirit animal or not?” yelled Victoria, she was a lemur.
”Yeah, just a moment.” I crocked out. My throat hurt, it itched. Something was not right.
I got up and stumbled into the kitchen. My friends yelled
“Happy Birth-“
“WTF JOHN!” Blurted Jacob. “I had to walk around on chicken legs for a day and you just look like a slightly sick human.”
“I’m calling the SAR. This needs to be reported.” Said Miles
Shit, the Spirit Animal Registry is not good. At least what I heard about them is not. There job is to have a list of all the people and their animals. But sometimes they have to cover up certain spirit animals. A baby hugged to death by a gorilla, a family crushed by a blue whale. It is not good. I lived in a foster house, I don’t want my friends here to be in danger, they have it hard enough.
“ I think I’m gonna puke.” I said as I began to lose last night’s beer and brownies.
“Don’t do it on the cake, that took a while.” Said Victoria.
I woke up fifteen minutes later with men and women in biohazard suits around me. I could not see what they were doing with the scalpel they put to the back of my neck. The I felt as if they were trying to rip out my spine. My body had pulses of a seizure like movement. I want to tell them to stop I could not speak. My voice was a barely bearable squeak.
Then I saw my neck cut open and covered in blood. They threw me into a box. I was picked up and brought out side. I saw all my friends asleep on the ground. I saw my reflecting in the window. I was a small worm. Fat and short, I had a few legs , and I was a parasite.
“Take that to the lab and test it. Burn the human bodies. I don’t want any eggs pressing, we could have a pandemic on our hands.”said a man in a lack suit. I could see myself in his shades.
“What about he press, sir” asked a women in Alan coat.
“Tell them we had another blue whale.” | "...oh my."
"W-what happened she's-"
"Elga shush she'll wake. Call the doctor quickly! And don't tell Jakob either. He can't know."
***
Feeling the heat and blinding light, I groggily come to realisation that I've overslept tenfold. As I pull myself up, I can only get up about an inch before being forced to succumb to the bonds.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I scream, turning my skin raw at my wrists. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP! MAMA!"
Mama and Papa both burst into the room. I see Jakob lingering outside the room as both parents come stand across from me. Three other men stride into the room. Two soldiers and one doctor.
"Mama? Mama am I sick? What's happening? Papa tell me please!"
"I...I am not-t your...Papa, scum."
"Papa? But I...I'm your daughter."
"No you are not." The doctor finally spoke. "No *Jewish* girl is born from a good German family!"
"But-"
"But if you were German then on your 18th birthday you would've turned into an animal for a year and yet, here you are the same. And do you want to know why? Because you are Jewish. "
"B-but I'm German! I swear it!"
"You are vermin! You are scum as you always were and you will always be! Take her away!"
I twist my arms and attempt kicking my way out of the soldiers' iron grips. "Let. Me. GO!"
"Haha aww look she thinks she can take you both." The doctor sneers. Suddenly a loud WHIPISH rings in my ears as my eyes water. "Now, another peep from you and you get another, understand?"
I clenched my jaw in response and kept my eyes to the ground, fearing to take a last glance of what once was.
*Apologies if this offended anyone. I'm not Jewish or German, nor am I going to pretend that know what it was like living through Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. This was what I thought of whilst reading the prompt. Again, I apologise if this triggered anything for anyone.* |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Alrighty! Time for me to take a challenge!
So here's the dealio: I'll only be doing **ONE** serious writing prompt every month, from this month onwards. You, OneAndOnlyTinkerCat, are going to be my first writing prompt challenge, so there's that. I'll have at you, fine challenger!
Though it's completely possible that I might expand on the story I write here\[I.e Alternate timelines, etc.\], please do note that it's fairly unlikely as I'm really busy IRL.
​
Part 1 (of god knows how many) of [OneAndOnlyTinkerCat's](https://www.reddit.com/user/OneAndOnlyTinkerCat) Writing Prompt challenge! (May)
​
\[This story is heavily based on the "Lobotomy Corporation" and "Facility 23B!" universes.\]
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
"Alright. So I get it, everyone, at the age of 18, turns into their *'spirit animal'*," Eric said, holding his fingers up in quotation marks. "The problem with that, is my parents have never told me *what* animal I have as a 'spirit animal'. And the thing is, considering that ***tomorrow's*** my eighteenth birthday, I'm fairly worried. What if something bad happens? What if my animal's a *chihuahua*? What if-"
​
Arthur sighed, cutting Eric off and preparing to do the whole explanation again. "Look, man, as I've said, you don't need to worry. It's not like you'll suddenly wake up with no humanity in you, and that you'll suddenly feel the urge to commit a mass-murder. You'll still be yourself, just that you'll be an animal for a day, or two. That does happen sometimes, though it's *fairly* uncommon." As he said that, he saw Eric starting to protest again, he held up a hand.
​
"I know, you might not be happy with your animal at first, but look at me. I was a freaking leopard, and you know how much I hate leopards, especially since I've left the corporation that got destro- Uh, shut down by the team I was with at *that place*. And look at me now! I'm completely fine with it. Just trust me. You'll be okay." Arthur smiled at him, hoping that the explanation would get through to Eric. However, Eric only sighed. Arthur rolled his eyes, and just buried his face in his hands, groaning in dismay, before getting up.
​
"Look, I'll be in the other room. Tomorrow's going to be a new day, and honestly speaking, you're reminding me of Frank, though without his good qualities. Stubborn, but in a really bad way. I'll see you tomorrow, either-way." With that, he headed out of Eric's room, and into the dimly lit hallway.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Eric buried his face in his pillow. Of course Arthur wouldn't understand. They were too different, too *unlike* each other. But what had he expected? Arthur was basically the equivalent of a god-damned war veteran in the dystopian of a country that he called home. Of all things, he had survived the massive corporate entity that was Lobotomy Corporation, the word-class company that *used* to produce energy, until the "3 Days, 3 Nights" incident had occurred. During that time, some sort of massive light beam had apparently completely *changed* the way the world functioned.
​
Arthur had never really explained *how* the beam of light had appeared, but he had explained *what* it *did*.
​
"It's apparently unlocked some sort of potentials we've always had, but never could reach ourselves," he had said. "One of these things unlocked was 'spirit animals', something long thought to be mythology and just plain fake at times," Arthur just shrugged at that, upon saying the last sentence.
​
"Other things have been unlocked, too. Like Abnormalities, which have only been just revealed to the world. We've generally boiled them down to the idea that they're made from the fears of humanity. Kind of the opposite of spirit animals, if I'm being honest here."
​
But though he was completely pysched about it all being real- He had read a lot of fantasy books in the past- He wasn't okay with the idea that he'd have to spend the day as an animal. Because firstly, it was probably going to be very uncomfortable- Fur was generally said to be itchy during the initial transformation And secondly, what if he *didn't* like his spirit animal?
​
... Jesus, he was thinking too much about this. And it was already nearly 12 am- He'd better hunker down and sleep before the transformation began- If he was awake, he heard from Arthur, it was going to be an agony-filled night. And so, he slept.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
***Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-***
​
Eric slapped the alarm clock, not wanting to get up. He'd slept at, what, 11:40 pm? He wasn't going to wake up yet, no, no, no, *no*. But before he could get back to sleep, Arthur threw open the curtains.
​
"Get up, asshole. It's your 18th birthday! Now let's see what animal you ar-"
​
As Arthur's words cut off abruptly, Eric blinked blearily, before the previous night's conversations and thoughts came back to him. As they did, though, he sat up. "... What's wrong?"
​
"Y- You..."
​
"I what? What's up with you today? Aren't I an animal?"
​
Arthur struggled to find the words to tell Eric about the situation correctly. But before he could, Eric looked at his hands. His still *human* hands. "Wait, what?! How?! I thought you said...?"
​
Arthur strained his next sentence out. "There's- Something's not right..."
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
(To be continued, because I gotta sleep. I hope you enjoy what I've written so far, though!) | It was a good day hunting. Managed to get 2 new trophies for my wall. I celebrated with more cigars and whiskey than was good for me.
I called in my servant. Asked them to prep my chamber. There are advantages to being a rich 17 year old.
I buffed my Rolex. I checked my silk sheets.
Tomorrow I'm 18. Tomorrow I find out my spirit animal.
I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up to the beep of the alarm. I check my hands. They're hands. Human hands.
What the hell?
"JENKINS!"
A moment later, my faithful servant appears.
"Yes master?"
"Why the hell am I still human?"
"Master. Would any other animal live like you do?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | I had no spirit because I woke as a man, not a beast. That's how they think.
I had to flee the tribe, knowing full well my fate if I stayed. The twin rivers ran swift that summer and would have carried me to the Grey Land beyond Fist Mountain. The waters smelled sweet as I approached them with the small canoe stolen from the Chiefs daughter nestled under my arm. I had made it. I would be alone, and my heart ached with the thought of leaving home and striking out for unknown lands. But freedom demands sacrifice, sometimes.
I placed one foot in the canoe. The other was swept from under me and I gasped, the air sharp in my throat as the ground raced up slamming into my back. Koto stood over me. I knew it was her, despite the black fur and claws. Her eyes hadn't changed. They're so green you could plant seeds in them and grow the brightest flowers. There was a shadow at their edges as she stared down at me. Something beyond sadness. We had been promised to one another. She would have been my hunt partner for life, and a mother to my children. I could no longer look at the lost future of her eyes, turning my head to scan the red earth and jagged stones that made up our home like flesh and bone. I had failed, becoming nothing more than the man I am.
"I can't let you leave," she said, her voice purring in my ear as she nuzzled me. A warmth ran down my cheek to salt my tongue. My own tears, not hers.
"I know," I said, swallowing a sob and patting her smooth fur with my left hand. "But I have to."
I brought my free hand up with all my strength. The jagged tooth of the rock bit deep. She howled. Her life flowed free and black from the wound. With a shudder she slumped and I rolled away, coming to my feet. Those green eyes closed for the last time. They would make nothing grow.
I scrambled into the canoe and the rivers accepted me, sweeping me away. Freedom demands sacrifice, sometimes. But it's not always your own. | It was a good day hunting. Managed to get 2 new trophies for my wall. I celebrated with more cigars and whiskey than was good for me.
I called in my servant. Asked them to prep my chamber. There are advantages to being a rich 17 year old.
I buffed my Rolex. I checked my silk sheets.
Tomorrow I'm 18. Tomorrow I find out my spirit animal.
I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up to the beep of the alarm. I check my hands. They're hands. Human hands.
What the hell?
"JENKINS!"
A moment later, my faithful servant appears.
"Yes master?"
"Why the hell am I still human?"
"Master. Would any other animal live like you do?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "What do you think happened?" My mother says, her brow wrinkled deeply while she paces up and down the length of the dining-room table. Shes been on the phone for just over an hour now, with me just sitting there, feeling so utterly uncomfortable in my new skin.
"Look, no... no... I'm sure its him. We did a whole questionnaire about his life until today - this is definitely my son. No. Yes. I don't know who it is!" She was getting frustrated now, her frown deepening. Her eyes flitted over to me and I could see the beginnings of her trademark expression for 'This person is so dumb' but she stops half way through, clearly unnerved by the eyes that aren't my own and the familiar expression on an utterly unfamiliar face. Its quiet and awkward until she starts, and and the pitch and volume of her voice makes my ears sting a bit.
"What?" she exclaims, then looks over at me, her hand shifting slightly to bring the mic of her phone an inch further from her mouth. "They say this has happened before - but its very rare." Her hand tilts again as her attention shifts away from me back to the nurse on the phone. "Okay, you want us to come in for a test? Okay but... okay... I'll let him know. Thank you."
Her hand lowers and she looks at me, troubled but clearly a bit relieved at the fact that my transformation isn't completely unprecedented. "They're going to try to identify your body. They say that less than a dozen known cases like this are recorded but of them, two took the form of an ancestor. We're going to take Grandma's old photo album and see if you're in there. If that works, great, but if it doesn't they want to sequence your DNA and see if it's in a database for identification." She delivers all of this as though she was reading from a script. That makes sense though, mom used to work in transformative form care. Her tone reminds me of the reassuring script she would read to any unfortunate parent of a cobra son or wasp daughter.
I gather my things and scrape up a few documents from my father's old office. He was pretty obsessed in the few years before he passed away at tracing our family history and getting in contact with cousins we never knew about - I suppose some of this stuff might finally come in handy.
\-------------
The appointment took much less time than we thought it would. After they took a few swabs of cells from my cheek, we sat down with a hospital executive who had apparently taken interest in the case and flipped through our old albums and my father's documents. Every few minutes the exec would hold up an old poleroid or social media memorial next to my face. In only a few minutes we were sure that the family resemblance was there - I've been turned into one of my ancestors. But who? This face, my face, was never in any pictures we could find - no trace of me as far back as we had records of. However, we know I am from a relatively modern age - a psychologist watched my mannerisms and explained that my eye and finger movements while at a screen show beyond a doubt that my body has all of the muscle memories associated with modern computer use - which puts my body somewhere between 1990 and 2035. Unfortunately, my DNA brought up 0 matches as well. I will just have to delve into this mystery on my own.
\- 3 months later -
I've found it. Of all of my relatives there are pictures or DNA records of every single one who was in their twenties between the years of 1990 and 2035 except for one. A single, mysterious ancestor who has re-emerged after so many decades to be my spiritual guardian. Admittedly, the work was made much easier with this man's spirit driving my research. My father's research is what finally led me to the last few pieces of information I needed to solve the puzzle. Hidden on a flashdrive in his research, I found a video clip and the saved post from an old website called Reddit. Archives of the site showed user names and posts of hundred, thousands of individuals. I combed through them all looking for one that made my heart sing, and the I found it - I read the username and knew that this was my spirit guide. And just like that I felt a sinking in my heart. A plummeting feeling deep in my stomach not unlike what the man in the video clip my father saved from Nineteen ninety eight when the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table. | It was a good day hunting. Managed to get 2 new trophies for my wall. I celebrated with more cigars and whiskey than was good for me.
I called in my servant. Asked them to prep my chamber. There are advantages to being a rich 17 year old.
I buffed my Rolex. I checked my silk sheets.
Tomorrow I'm 18. Tomorrow I find out my spirit animal.
I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up to the beep of the alarm. I check my hands. They're hands. Human hands.
What the hell?
"JENKINS!"
A moment later, my faithful servant appears.
"Yes master?"
"Why the hell am I still human?"
"Master. Would any other animal live like you do?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Many have it rough. I had a buddy who was a year older than I, and was morphed into a Bondo Mystery Ape. The tribe he was transplanted to smelled an outsider. Somewhere in the Congo, his bones are scattered within the bush.
My brother morphed into a butterfly. A day later he fluttered into a windshield. Insects were a death sentence.
My Aunt Molly morphed into an emperor penguin. She traveled to Antarctica last year to find her chick.
I finished my morph last Tuesday.
I’m sitting in a cell awaiting my court date on murder charges.
You see friends, as mandated by the Council of Elders, on every citizen’s 18th birthday, he, she or otherwise, shall be trans-mutated into their psychoanalyzed “Spirit Animal”.
And I, I was determined to be spiritually *Homo Sapiens*.
“There must be a clerical error”, the Council Chief remarked.
Ha.
If only.
On the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, my Birthday, I became “spiritually” human.
Doesn’t seem so bad, right? Well, spiritually human in effect meant I would inherit the wills and abilities of every single human that ever lived: from Leonardo da Vinci to Heinrich Himmler.
From Dahmer to Donovan.
And so it began, that my natural habitat, the city of Los Angeles, became the birthplace of my newborn unfiltered humanity.
On that first evening, I swam in the ocean and nearly drowned.
I was resuscitated and spent the next few days on a binge-drinking-stravaganza, consuming gallons of booze until my stomach was pumped on three more subsequent hospital visits.
But I’ll spare you these boring details.
For it was I, suffering a monstrous cacophony of anthropomorphism that sought world peace and genocide. Thus, on the fourth night of my “mutation” I attempted to end my own life.
But that was against the rules.
And my authoritarian spirit knew this and rectified this sin with due penance: 10,000 lashes to my back. 10,000 to the belly.
By sure will I was able to avoid executing myself though the Gods sure willed it.
From that day I spent two months in the hospital, recovering from my self-inflicted punishment.
Hating myself. Hating humanity.
On Day 70, I founded a cult. We worshipped the moon and her daughter: yours truly. Even though I was a daughter, my penis penetrated many brainwashed young women. My sisters of the Moon.
On Day 90, I grew bored of my sex-cult and abandoned it. I went on a cross-border road-trip in a VW Bus that lasted months. My adventures there were too mundane to mention but I met a hitchhiker named Kai who had already morphed the previous year as a Woodpecker. He killed a man with a hatchet a few weeks later.
On Day 270, I abandoned my Volkswagen in Redcar, England.
I walked along the highway up towards Scotland passing sheep after sheep until I took lodge in Lockerbie.
Lockerbie. Was my mind at peace then? Yes. But my spirit willed something else. We flew from Glasgow to Iceland that December and leaped naked in the snow praising some forgotten legion of gods. We were arrested by the authorities and deported back to the good ol’ US of A.
On Day 330 I was growing weary in New Orleans.
On Day 350 I was in Cuba exploring a world untouched by government-mandated “Trans-species mutation”
And on Day 356, in Havana Cuba, the spirit of defiance lead me to peacefully take my own life, out of remorse for all those I had deceived to during my voyage. Myselves.
You see friends, my spirit, everyone’s spirit lay dormant all around me. Thus, I strangled a woman who said she loved me.
Loved me? I hated me.
Yet I loved me. I hated them. Yet, I hated them. Yet, I loved them. And so on and so on.
I was lying to myself. I was telling the truth. I was everyone and everyone was I. And so on.
Surely this would end it. Killing myself.
No. No. Day 365: I break from my fleshy prison. Billions of spirits part from an animal.
Clarity. Clarity.
Oh, God.
Oh, the humanity.
Oh, me. | It was a good day hunting. Managed to get 2 new trophies for my wall. I celebrated with more cigars and whiskey than was good for me.
I called in my servant. Asked them to prep my chamber. There are advantages to being a rich 17 year old.
I buffed my Rolex. I checked my silk sheets.
Tomorrow I'm 18. Tomorrow I find out my spirit animal.
I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up to the beep of the alarm. I check my hands. They're hands. Human hands.
What the hell?
"JENKINS!"
A moment later, my faithful servant appears.
"Yes master?"
"Why the hell am I still human?"
"Master. Would any other animal live like you do?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | The morning of my eighteenth birthday hit me hard. I woke up in my usual boxers and plain white-t. I woke up with bed head and a stuffy nose. Nothing felt different from usual except for the fact that I should be an animal and the painful headache I had.
I just drank to much last night, the party Miles threw me was pretty crazy.
I decide to check my phone. The time was 7:17. I did not sleep through my birthday.
“John get out here, do you want to show us your spirit animal or not?” yelled Victoria, she was a lemur.
”Yeah, just a moment.” I crocked out. My throat hurt, it itched. Something was not right.
I got up and stumbled into the kitchen. My friends yelled
“Happy Birth-“
“WTF JOHN!” Blurted Jacob. “I had to walk around on chicken legs for a day and you just look like a slightly sick human.”
“I’m calling the SAR. This needs to be reported.” Said Miles
Shit, the Spirit Animal Registry is not good. At least what I heard about them is not. There job is to have a list of all the people and their animals. But sometimes they have to cover up certain spirit animals. A baby hugged to death by a gorilla, a family crushed by a blue whale. It is not good. I lived in a foster house, I don’t want my friends here to be in danger, they have it hard enough.
“ I think I’m gonna puke.” I said as I began to lose last night’s beer and brownies.
“Don’t do it on the cake, that took a while.” Said Victoria.
I woke up fifteen minutes later with men and women in biohazard suits around me. I could not see what they were doing with the scalpel they put to the back of my neck. The I felt as if they were trying to rip out my spine. My body had pulses of a seizure like movement. I want to tell them to stop I could not speak. My voice was a barely bearable squeak.
Then I saw my neck cut open and covered in blood. They threw me into a box. I was picked up and brought out side. I saw all my friends asleep on the ground. I saw my reflecting in the window. I was a small worm. Fat and short, I had a few legs , and I was a parasite.
“Take that to the lab and test it. Burn the human bodies. I don’t want any eggs pressing, we could have a pandemic on our hands.”said a man in a lack suit. I could see myself in his shades.
“What about he press, sir” asked a women in Alan coat.
“Tell them we had another blue whale.” | It was a good day hunting. Managed to get 2 new trophies for my wall. I celebrated with more cigars and whiskey than was good for me.
I called in my servant. Asked them to prep my chamber. There are advantages to being a rich 17 year old.
I buffed my Rolex. I checked my silk sheets.
Tomorrow I'm 18. Tomorrow I find out my spirit animal.
I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up to the beep of the alarm. I check my hands. They're hands. Human hands.
What the hell?
"JENKINS!"
A moment later, my faithful servant appears.
"Yes master?"
"Why the hell am I still human?"
"Master. Would any other animal live like you do?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Many have it rough. I had a buddy who was a year older than I, and was morphed into a Bondo Mystery Ape. The tribe he was transplanted to smelled an outsider. Somewhere in the Congo, his bones are scattered within the bush.
My brother morphed into a butterfly. A day later he fluttered into a windshield. Insects were a death sentence.
My Aunt Molly morphed into an emperor penguin. She traveled to Antarctica last year to find her chick.
I finished my morph last Tuesday.
I’m sitting in a cell awaiting my court date on murder charges.
You see friends, as mandated by the Council of Elders, on every citizen’s 18th birthday, he, she or otherwise, shall be trans-mutated into their psychoanalyzed “Spirit Animal”.
And I, I was determined to be spiritually *Homo Sapiens*.
“There must be a clerical error”, the Council Chief remarked.
Ha.
If only.
On the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, my Birthday, I became “spiritually” human.
Doesn’t seem so bad, right? Well, spiritually human in effect meant I would inherit the wills and abilities of every single human that ever lived: from Leonardo da Vinci to Heinrich Himmler.
From Dahmer to Donovan.
And so it began, that my natural habitat, the city of Los Angeles, became the birthplace of my newborn unfiltered humanity.
On that first evening, I swam in the ocean and nearly drowned.
I was resuscitated and spent the next few days on a binge-drinking-stravaganza, consuming gallons of booze until my stomach was pumped on three more subsequent hospital visits.
But I’ll spare you these boring details.
For it was I, suffering a monstrous cacophony of anthropomorphism that sought world peace and genocide. Thus, on the fourth night of my “mutation” I attempted to end my own life.
But that was against the rules.
And my authoritarian spirit knew this and rectified this sin with due penance: 10,000 lashes to my back. 10,000 to the belly.
By sure will I was able to avoid executing myself though the Gods sure willed it.
From that day I spent two months in the hospital, recovering from my self-inflicted punishment.
Hating myself. Hating humanity.
On Day 70, I founded a cult. We worshipped the moon and her daughter: yours truly. Even though I was a daughter, my penis penetrated many brainwashed young women. My sisters of the Moon.
On Day 90, I grew bored of my sex-cult and abandoned it. I went on a cross-border road-trip in a VW Bus that lasted months. My adventures there were too mundane to mention but I met a hitchhiker named Kai who had already morphed the previous year as a Woodpecker. He killed a man with a hatchet a few weeks later.
On Day 270, I abandoned my Volkswagen in Redcar, England.
I walked along the highway up towards Scotland passing sheep after sheep until I took lodge in Lockerbie.
Lockerbie. Was my mind at peace then? Yes. But my spirit willed something else. We flew from Glasgow to Iceland that December and leaped naked in the snow praising some forgotten legion of gods. We were arrested by the authorities and deported back to the good ol’ US of A.
On Day 330 I was growing weary in New Orleans.
On Day 350 I was in Cuba exploring a world untouched by government-mandated “Trans-species mutation”
And on Day 356, in Havana Cuba, the spirit of defiance lead me to peacefully take my own life, out of remorse for all those I had deceived to during my voyage. Myselves.
You see friends, my spirit, everyone’s spirit lay dormant all around me. Thus, I strangled a woman who said she loved me.
Loved me? I hated me.
Yet I loved me. I hated them. Yet, I hated them. Yet, I loved them. And so on and so on.
I was lying to myself. I was telling the truth. I was everyone and everyone was I. And so on.
Surely this would end it. Killing myself.
No. No. Day 365: I break from my fleshy prison. Billions of spirits part from an animal.
Clarity. Clarity.
Oh, God.
Oh, the humanity.
Oh, me. | Alrighty! Time for me to take a challenge!
So here's the dealio: I'll only be doing **ONE** serious writing prompt every month, from this month onwards. You, OneAndOnlyTinkerCat, are going to be my first writing prompt challenge, so there's that. I'll have at you, fine challenger!
Though it's completely possible that I might expand on the story I write here\[I.e Alternate timelines, etc.\], please do note that it's fairly unlikely as I'm really busy IRL.
​
Part 1 (of god knows how many) of [OneAndOnlyTinkerCat's](https://www.reddit.com/user/OneAndOnlyTinkerCat) Writing Prompt challenge! (May)
​
\[This story is heavily based on the "Lobotomy Corporation" and "Facility 23B!" universes.\]
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
"Alright. So I get it, everyone, at the age of 18, turns into their *'spirit animal'*," Eric said, holding his fingers up in quotation marks. "The problem with that, is my parents have never told me *what* animal I have as a 'spirit animal'. And the thing is, considering that ***tomorrow's*** my eighteenth birthday, I'm fairly worried. What if something bad happens? What if my animal's a *chihuahua*? What if-"
​
Arthur sighed, cutting Eric off and preparing to do the whole explanation again. "Look, man, as I've said, you don't need to worry. It's not like you'll suddenly wake up with no humanity in you, and that you'll suddenly feel the urge to commit a mass-murder. You'll still be yourself, just that you'll be an animal for a day, or two. That does happen sometimes, though it's *fairly* uncommon." As he said that, he saw Eric starting to protest again, he held up a hand.
​
"I know, you might not be happy with your animal at first, but look at me. I was a freaking leopard, and you know how much I hate leopards, especially since I've left the corporation that got destro- Uh, shut down by the team I was with at *that place*. And look at me now! I'm completely fine with it. Just trust me. You'll be okay." Arthur smiled at him, hoping that the explanation would get through to Eric. However, Eric only sighed. Arthur rolled his eyes, and just buried his face in his hands, groaning in dismay, before getting up.
​
"Look, I'll be in the other room. Tomorrow's going to be a new day, and honestly speaking, you're reminding me of Frank, though without his good qualities. Stubborn, but in a really bad way. I'll see you tomorrow, either-way." With that, he headed out of Eric's room, and into the dimly lit hallway.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Eric buried his face in his pillow. Of course Arthur wouldn't understand. They were too different, too *unlike* each other. But what had he expected? Arthur was basically the equivalent of a god-damned war veteran in the dystopian of a country that he called home. Of all things, he had survived the massive corporate entity that was Lobotomy Corporation, the word-class company that *used* to produce energy, until the "3 Days, 3 Nights" incident had occurred. During that time, some sort of massive light beam had apparently completely *changed* the way the world functioned.
​
Arthur had never really explained *how* the beam of light had appeared, but he had explained *what* it *did*.
​
"It's apparently unlocked some sort of potentials we've always had, but never could reach ourselves," he had said. "One of these things unlocked was 'spirit animals', something long thought to be mythology and just plain fake at times," Arthur just shrugged at that, upon saying the last sentence.
​
"Other things have been unlocked, too. Like Abnormalities, which have only been just revealed to the world. We've generally boiled them down to the idea that they're made from the fears of humanity. Kind of the opposite of spirit animals, if I'm being honest here."
​
But though he was completely pysched about it all being real- He had read a lot of fantasy books in the past- He wasn't okay with the idea that he'd have to spend the day as an animal. Because firstly, it was probably going to be very uncomfortable- Fur was generally said to be itchy during the initial transformation And secondly, what if he *didn't* like his spirit animal?
​
... Jesus, he was thinking too much about this. And it was already nearly 12 am- He'd better hunker down and sleep before the transformation began- If he was awake, he heard from Arthur, it was going to be an agony-filled night. And so, he slept.
​
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
***Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-***
​
Eric slapped the alarm clock, not wanting to get up. He'd slept at, what, 11:40 pm? He wasn't going to wake up yet, no, no, no, *no*. But before he could get back to sleep, Arthur threw open the curtains.
​
"Get up, asshole. It's your 18th birthday! Now let's see what animal you ar-"
​
As Arthur's words cut off abruptly, Eric blinked blearily, before the previous night's conversations and thoughts came back to him. As they did, though, he sat up. "... What's wrong?"
​
"Y- You..."
​
"I what? What's up with you today? Aren't I an animal?"
​
Arthur struggled to find the words to tell Eric about the situation correctly. But before he could, Eric looked at his hands. His still *human* hands. "Wait, what?! How?! I thought you said...?"
​
Arthur strained his next sentence out. "There's- Something's not right..."
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
(To be continued, because I gotta sleep. I hope you enjoy what I've written so far, though!) |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | The morning of my eighteenth birthday hit me hard. I woke up in my usual boxers and plain white-t. I woke up with bed head and a stuffy nose. Nothing felt different from usual except for the fact that I should be an animal and the painful headache I had.
I just drank to much last night, the party Miles threw me was pretty crazy.
I decide to check my phone. The time was 7:17. I did not sleep through my birthday.
“John get out here, do you want to show us your spirit animal or not?” yelled Victoria, she was a lemur.
”Yeah, just a moment.” I crocked out. My throat hurt, it itched. Something was not right.
I got up and stumbled into the kitchen. My friends yelled
“Happy Birth-“
“WTF JOHN!” Blurted Jacob. “I had to walk around on chicken legs for a day and you just look like a slightly sick human.”
“I’m calling the SAR. This needs to be reported.” Said Miles
Shit, the Spirit Animal Registry is not good. At least what I heard about them is not. There job is to have a list of all the people and their animals. But sometimes they have to cover up certain spirit animals. A baby hugged to death by a gorilla, a family crushed by a blue whale. It is not good. I lived in a foster house, I don’t want my friends here to be in danger, they have it hard enough.
“ I think I’m gonna puke.” I said as I began to lose last night’s beer and brownies.
“Don’t do it on the cake, that took a while.” Said Victoria.
I woke up fifteen minutes later with men and women in biohazard suits around me. I could not see what they were doing with the scalpel they put to the back of my neck. The I felt as if they were trying to rip out my spine. My body had pulses of a seizure like movement. I want to tell them to stop I could not speak. My voice was a barely bearable squeak.
Then I saw my neck cut open and covered in blood. They threw me into a box. I was picked up and brought out side. I saw all my friends asleep on the ground. I saw my reflecting in the window. I was a small worm. Fat and short, I had a few legs , and I was a parasite.
“Take that to the lab and test it. Burn the human bodies. I don’t want any eggs pressing, we could have a pandemic on our hands.”said a man in a lack suit. I could see myself in his shades.
“What about he press, sir” asked a women in Alan coat.
“Tell them we had another blue whale.” | I was tired, tired as hell about going on with my life in the way it was panning out. its had been nearly 4 years I had lost them, my parents, and leaving alone on the streets for a year and finding a job, a place to stay, but most of all food. So, me turning into a animal in the next coming few hours was the least of my concern. Because as far as I recollect from my shop owner's daughter Seema's story, she turned into a cow and roamed around the vast Indian plains for a year with the herd on a farm. I knew this, natural environment, find your own food, place to stay, oh come on am experienced already. Maybe it would have been different if they were around.
​
I couldn't sleep that night, I was relieved of my duties at my job and everyone kind of wished me luck but now lying alone in my room I seriously wondered what would I become. Mom used to say she dreamed of panthers a lot when she was a kid, and it is what she became. I never dreamed of any such thing, I had nightmares, of things burning and war, dreams I feel are an luxury which at the moment I cant afford.
​
The next morning I woke up brushed my teeth and put on some tea on the stove planning my day ahead when reality struck me to wake me up completely. "Woah, why have I not changed?" This was bad, because rather than the fact I had not changed into a furry creature or slimy one, I was still a human and the same one. And this human body needed to work to keep itself fed. I was contemplating about how i would explain this to my owner or the people around who would surely make me an TRP news item for sure.
​
\*Knonk\* \*Knock\*
I opened the door cautiously, no one has ever come here, who is it now? their in front of me was a girl with those deep watery brown eyes and hair white as snow, pale as well. There on her face was a single hair lock dancing in the calm morning breeze my heart really skipped a beat the moment I looked at her. love can creep in some very abnormal of times, I guess that's really inappropriate of time.
​
" *Professor Shastri is waiting in his car downstairs, he would like to escort you, please come with us* "
​
" *I'm sorry* " I blurted, confused, why is this beautiful lady asking me to come along with her and who the hell is Shastri?
​
" *Its for the good, please come along, i'll take care of the rest, that is my job* " the girl said is a very calm and composed manner, giving me a very awkward forced smile.
​
" *Look mam, I'm already in too much trouble and I don't know who any Mr. Shastri is, so please kindly leave me alone* " When you are in reality all the time you know what can be yours and what not.
​
" *I insist sir* " She replied, and this time the look and the response both looked genuine.
​
" *Fine* " I cant say no to such a beautiful girl, and I seriously wanted to meet this guy, who was he?
​
Downstairs there was a big black suv parked along the roadside and people staying around were not directly but stealthily looking at who this person was and who had he came to meet in a neighborhood like this in a car that big. I hesitated, but then entered the car, a man in his late 80s was seating besides me with a cream colored kurta and payjama, big huge specs on his face in place because oh that huge nose, hair as white as the girls were.
​
" *Greetings my Lord* " professor shastri said avoiding eye contact and bowing to me.
​
" *I'm really sorry sir, I think you have some misunderstanding sir, I'm no lord sir, and its a very bad joke if this is* " I blurted out and was about to leave the car.
​
" *You are worried that you did not change, are you my Lord?* " Shastri said with a concerned look on his face.
​
" *how do you know this? Who are you ?* " I was really terrified at this point of time.
​
" *We.. Shaila and me.. we are like you, my lord, even we didn't change into animals but yes we did change like you and we have been waiting for you* " blurted out Shastri, i suppose he got my negative vibes sooner. Shaila, that's a beautiful name, I wondered what was she doing in my flat till now.
​
" *Changed? But how? How do you know all this?Waiting for me?* " I was really confused
​
" *You are the lord in the prophecy, the one who frees us of this world the one who destroys to make path for the new, the one promised to us* " Shastri had tears in his eyes,and I had a huge lump in my stomach. What is this old man blurting out and is he gone mad?
​
I jumped out of the car as soon as possible and made my way to my flat and in the way was stopped on the stairs by Shaila.
​
" *Whatever he told you is the truth, we are here to protect you, they have come for you once and they will come for you now once you have come of age* " Shaila told me all that in the coldest manner it can be told.
​
A shiver went down my spine but that shiver just started a burn in my gut and that heat started to radiate in my whole body this feeling was strange but still very well pleasing. I rushed in my room with Shaila behind me.
​
" *I've packed your belongings, lets go. Your parents saved you last time, this time it could not be the case my lord* " She said in quite the sense of urgency.
​
" *This is all too confusing, riddles, why have I not changed? Why is beautiful girl and old man here telling me they are here to save me? from whom? And cold you please stop calling me lord* " It all came out once from my mouth.
​
" *You did not notice did you ? Please look at yourself in the mirror* " She asked me pointing at the mirror.
​
There I was standing in front of the mirror pale as snow same as her, and white hair, what is happening to me?
​
" *You are the dark lord promised to us, you are Lucifer himself, I am sorry I had to take your name my lord* " Shaila said this kneeling down before me on her knees. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "How old are you young man?" the officer of the law asked after sauntering up to the window of the beat-up black sedan.
"18." Came back the sheepish reply.
"18" The officer repeated back to me. "Did you enlist with SAPA before turning 18 son? Show me your card." The slender woman held her hand out towards my window. She was attractive. My mind started to wander to places I do not feel comfortable talking about, but was interrupted by a sudden rap on the window. "Kid, I need your SAPA enlistment card please. There are no 18 year olds. You either are lying or you didn't enlist and I'll need to detain y-" she stopped speaking when she saw the identification meekly protrude from the window. "Teenagers" she whispered under her breath before reading the identification over her com. "James Masterson. Date of birth, it says" she paused as she converted the numbers into a month "May 3rd, 2066." "Enrollment identification number, forty-forty-two-nine-R-D. Spirit selection" she paused. "Spirit selection says forty-forty-two- well, it looks like it repeats the ID number for some reason" she said, releasing a sigh that was mix of both frustration and relief.
"Am I in trouble ma'am?" I asked, my confidence gone by the time I reached the letter t. The cracking of my voice did not help my ego either.
"Well, it looks like there was probably a clerical error somewhere. By all accounts your are 18, but it looks like you are in the system as being properly registered as well. You need to visit your local SAPA office and clear it up within the next 24-hours. I'm writing you a fix-it warning that they can null once they help you sort it out." She ripped the fast-degrading paper out of her pad with a flourish and dropped it through the window. Unsure when the right time to start driving away was, I instead stared for what felt like an eternity at the officer walking away. I was taught to respect woman, and I believe those around me would state that not only did I respect them, but I refused to get within talking distant of them most of the time. Yet, here I was watching her intently, her sideways gait like that of a writhing cobra. Back and forth and back and forth. My mind went deeper and more feral before I shook my head vigorously, not unlike a catcher calling off a pitcher's bad decision.
Good grades, poor social skills. As someone who basically never had a girlfriend before in his life, it might make sense that I would be fawning over random women at my age, but the degree to which i was watching the officer scared me. This wasn't the first time today, or even this week, that I'd looked at a woman that way either. It was as if I turned 18 and all of a sudden I wanted to sex-up every woman I saw. I would imagine them, and there would be a sudden impulse to- it was hard to say, as usually I would realize where my mind was going and "good old james" would bring the story back to square one.
I sighed as I whispered aloud "maybe the SAPA can sort this out for me. Maybe this is a side effect of not having a spirit animal." I didn't know if I had a spirit animal or not, I was merely formulating possibilities as I drove the congested streets towards the address the SAPA officer had handed me on the fix-it ticket. As the wind began to pick up, I turned down the radio. The ripper winds of Arizona were not a phenomenon to trifle with.
"Here we are I guess" I thought to myself as I stopped the car. Out to my left was a red brick building with a long flat roof. The building was grey and brown from the Sonora Desert's winds, but the words illuminating the top were bright green and impossible to miss. The vibrant green was likely a decision to help with the visibility issues of the constant dust storms, but it still made the location seem tacky, as if I was about to walk into a bargain strip club. "Strip club" i worriedly chuckled aloud as I locked the sedan's door and started to trek towards the building. A week ago I wouldn't be able to actively think the word, nonetheless have it pop into my mind so readily. I stopped suddenly, realizing I wasn't paying attention. An extra step and I would have walked directly into the plastic upon which "Spirit Animal Policing Administration" was quickly scrawled, a short term replacement for a recently broken glass door.
"Oh, don't worry about that" a voice bellowed to no one in particular, though which I suspected was meant for me. "We get kids in their spirit animal forms busting through that door all the time. When you've been living as an animal for a few weeks, you sometimes forget what a wall of see-through glass is like" the heavy set woman stated as she laughed. "Plunk!" she re-enacted a creature hitting a surface as she roared the onomatopoeia. "Come in come in though" the woman motioned hurriedly with her hands "don't want to let all that dust and dirt in here. It's not like 20 year ago where you could just waltz into a storefront with a shirt and shorts." She smiled more broadly as I approached. Bright red lipstick and shiny white teeth staring at me as I stared at them. I shook my head and asked my question.
I began to stumble over my words, classic James, embarrassed to be talking to a living creature apparently. "Is this where I would go to get my fix-it ticket, well, fixed?" The woman shifted up out of her chair and stretched a little to reach the ticket I had placed on the corner of her desk. As she did so, my eyes latched onto her bosom, at first inadvertently, like when you notice a mouse out of the corner of your eyes, and then more actively, not unlike when you realize there is actually a fricken mouse in your house. My eyes, however, were not locked onto a mouse, nor was I staring with any amount of discretion.
"Boy? Eyes up here." The woman stated with a cool calmness, less scolding than keeping our transaction on task, as if I was not the first young boy or girl to get lost in that visage. "You need to go down the hall to the left. There will be an office for a Dr. Katherine Joy. Go into the room next to that one, okay hun?"
"Thank you ma'am." This was said with my chin square at my chest, my eyes looking directly down as if I was looking to tie my shoes. Thinking I had abscond from her view, merely painted red with embarrassment, I lift my head up only to hear her bellowing voice once more.
"Oh, kiddie, I'm a mom. Don't be embarrassed! If I had a dollar for every time someone stared at my breasts I'd be able to retire!" she laughed as I increased my walking speed to coincide with my reddening face.
I reached the door described by the woman at the front desk and looked inside. There was nobody to be seen. Nothing to be seen, in fact, outside of two chairs. As I pulled away from the door, an older man tapped my shoulder from behind and introduced himself.
"Hello young man. I will be your case worker today. I was told by Carla that you like breasts!"
"what?" I asked, quite shocked.
"I said, I was told by carla that you needed a test"
"Oh" I said, calming down quickly. "I guess? I don't know to be honest. She just sent me down this way."
"Well, our spirit psychologist isn't in today, she took a well deserved trip to the island of Sacramento." As the man spoke, he stroked his slightly greying beard between his thumb and forefinger. "But sit sit." He motioned to the two chairs as he sat down and I followed.
"I can tell you though that this isn't as simple as what the officer that wrote this ticket for you might have - well, actually this might be even more simple now that I think about it." The man stopped his nervous tick and looked into my eyes. Perhaps he saw my trepidation, as his voice softened as he spoke the next words. "Your spirit animal is going to be a human. A human male in particular."
"What? Um... what does that actually.... I mean to say what do..does.." my mind raced as I spoke, but not towards a coherent sentence.
"Well, you see" he looked at the ticket in front of him, having somehow deciphered by babbling, "James is it? You see, in order to help preserve our disaster torn world, the United Nations, in the spirit accord of 2072, made it so, upon turning 18 years of age, everyone is suppose to live for exactly 365 days in the life of an animal. We try to match you with the animal that most closely matches what our algorithm believes should-" the man shifted himself as he continued "be your match. Your, spirit animal as we call it. An animal which, we believe, living for 365 days as would help make you more conscious of the world." He paused and looked at me as I stared back at him yet again. He continued his silence, as if waiting for some kind of response. When none was given, he resumed. "So, how does this affect me, I hear you saying to yourself. Well, James, sometimes the algorithm matches people with extinct animals. You know, baiji, carrier pigeons, ibex, penguins. Things like that. When it does, the systems default back to the initial lifeform. In your case, that is a human male. Do note that this is more like a neanderthal than the James you grew up to become, so you won't just be doing your normal routines necessarily."
"And" I slowly spoke, spitting out the words as my mind processed what he had said "that means, that I...I must have...been. What?" My mind paused as my words caught up "So what was my animal suppose to be?"
The case worker looked at the note again and pointed at a bit of scribbling. "You see here? They accidentally put your animal code as your ID code. The extinct animals are often transcribed as number/letter codes rather than their genus species, as we normally do."
-(continues)- | I was tired, tired as hell about going on with my life in the way it was panning out. its had been nearly 4 years I had lost them, my parents, and leaving alone on the streets for a year and finding a job, a place to stay, but most of all food. So, me turning into a animal in the next coming few hours was the least of my concern. Because as far as I recollect from my shop owner's daughter Seema's story, she turned into a cow and roamed around the vast Indian plains for a year with the herd on a farm. I knew this, natural environment, find your own food, place to stay, oh come on am experienced already. Maybe it would have been different if they were around.
​
I couldn't sleep that night, I was relieved of my duties at my job and everyone kind of wished me luck but now lying alone in my room I seriously wondered what would I become. Mom used to say she dreamed of panthers a lot when she was a kid, and it is what she became. I never dreamed of any such thing, I had nightmares, of things burning and war, dreams I feel are an luxury which at the moment I cant afford.
​
The next morning I woke up brushed my teeth and put on some tea on the stove planning my day ahead when reality struck me to wake me up completely. "Woah, why have I not changed?" This was bad, because rather than the fact I had not changed into a furry creature or slimy one, I was still a human and the same one. And this human body needed to work to keep itself fed. I was contemplating about how i would explain this to my owner or the people around who would surely make me an TRP news item for sure.
​
\*Knonk\* \*Knock\*
I opened the door cautiously, no one has ever come here, who is it now? their in front of me was a girl with those deep watery brown eyes and hair white as snow, pale as well. There on her face was a single hair lock dancing in the calm morning breeze my heart really skipped a beat the moment I looked at her. love can creep in some very abnormal of times, I guess that's really inappropriate of time.
​
" *Professor Shastri is waiting in his car downstairs, he would like to escort you, please come with us* "
​
" *I'm sorry* " I blurted, confused, why is this beautiful lady asking me to come along with her and who the hell is Shastri?
​
" *Its for the good, please come along, i'll take care of the rest, that is my job* " the girl said is a very calm and composed manner, giving me a very awkward forced smile.
​
" *Look mam, I'm already in too much trouble and I don't know who any Mr. Shastri is, so please kindly leave me alone* " When you are in reality all the time you know what can be yours and what not.
​
" *I insist sir* " She replied, and this time the look and the response both looked genuine.
​
" *Fine* " I cant say no to such a beautiful girl, and I seriously wanted to meet this guy, who was he?
​
Downstairs there was a big black suv parked along the roadside and people staying around were not directly but stealthily looking at who this person was and who had he came to meet in a neighborhood like this in a car that big. I hesitated, but then entered the car, a man in his late 80s was seating besides me with a cream colored kurta and payjama, big huge specs on his face in place because oh that huge nose, hair as white as the girls were.
​
" *Greetings my Lord* " professor shastri said avoiding eye contact and bowing to me.
​
" *I'm really sorry sir, I think you have some misunderstanding sir, I'm no lord sir, and its a very bad joke if this is* " I blurted out and was about to leave the car.
​
" *You are worried that you did not change, are you my Lord?* " Shastri said with a concerned look on his face.
​
" *how do you know this? Who are you ?* " I was really terrified at this point of time.
​
" *We.. Shaila and me.. we are like you, my lord, even we didn't change into animals but yes we did change like you and we have been waiting for you* " blurted out Shastri, i suppose he got my negative vibes sooner. Shaila, that's a beautiful name, I wondered what was she doing in my flat till now.
​
" *Changed? But how? How do you know all this?Waiting for me?* " I was really confused
​
" *You are the lord in the prophecy, the one who frees us of this world the one who destroys to make path for the new, the one promised to us* " Shastri had tears in his eyes,and I had a huge lump in my stomach. What is this old man blurting out and is he gone mad?
​
I jumped out of the car as soon as possible and made my way to my flat and in the way was stopped on the stairs by Shaila.
​
" *Whatever he told you is the truth, we are here to protect you, they have come for you once and they will come for you now once you have come of age* " Shaila told me all that in the coldest manner it can be told.
​
A shiver went down my spine but that shiver just started a burn in my gut and that heat started to radiate in my whole body this feeling was strange but still very well pleasing. I rushed in my room with Shaila behind me.
​
" *I've packed your belongings, lets go. Your parents saved you last time, this time it could not be the case my lord* " She said in quite the sense of urgency.
​
" *This is all too confusing, riddles, why have I not changed? Why is beautiful girl and old man here telling me they are here to save me? from whom? And cold you please stop calling me lord* " It all came out once from my mouth.
​
" *You did not notice did you ? Please look at yourself in the mirror* " She asked me pointing at the mirror.
​
There I was standing in front of the mirror pale as snow same as her, and white hair, what is happening to me?
​
" *You are the dark lord promised to us, you are Lucifer himself, I am sorry I had to take your name my lord* " Shaila said this kneeling down before me on her knees. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | "How old are you young man?" the officer of the law asked after sauntering up to the window of the beat-up black sedan.
"18." Came back the sheepish reply.
"18" The officer repeated back to me. "Did you enlist with SAPA before turning 18 son? Show me your card." The slender woman held her hand out towards my window. She was attractive. My mind started to wander to places I do not feel comfortable talking about, but was interrupted by a sudden rap on the window. "Kid, I need your SAPA enlistment card please. There are no 18 year olds. You either are lying or you didn't enlist and I'll need to detain y-" she stopped speaking when she saw the identification meekly protrude from the window. "Teenagers" she whispered under her breath before reading the identification over her com. "James Masterson. Date of birth, it says" she paused as she converted the numbers into a month "May 3rd, 2066." "Enrollment identification number, forty-forty-two-nine-R-D. Spirit selection" she paused. "Spirit selection says forty-forty-two- well, it looks like it repeats the ID number for some reason" she said, releasing a sigh that was mix of both frustration and relief.
"Am I in trouble ma'am?" I asked, my confidence gone by the time I reached the letter t. The cracking of my voice did not help my ego either.
"Well, it looks like there was probably a clerical error somewhere. By all accounts your are 18, but it looks like you are in the system as being properly registered as well. You need to visit your local SAPA office and clear it up within the next 24-hours. I'm writing you a fix-it warning that they can null once they help you sort it out." She ripped the fast-degrading paper out of her pad with a flourish and dropped it through the window. Unsure when the right time to start driving away was, I instead stared for what felt like an eternity at the officer walking away. I was taught to respect woman, and I believe those around me would state that not only did I respect them, but I refused to get within talking distant of them most of the time. Yet, here I was watching her intently, her sideways gait like that of a writhing cobra. Back and forth and back and forth. My mind went deeper and more feral before I shook my head vigorously, not unlike a catcher calling off a pitcher's bad decision.
Good grades, poor social skills. As someone who basically never had a girlfriend before in his life, it might make sense that I would be fawning over random women at my age, but the degree to which i was watching the officer scared me. This wasn't the first time today, or even this week, that I'd looked at a woman that way either. It was as if I turned 18 and all of a sudden I wanted to sex-up every woman I saw. I would imagine them, and there would be a sudden impulse to- it was hard to say, as usually I would realize where my mind was going and "good old james" would bring the story back to square one.
I sighed as I whispered aloud "maybe the SAPA can sort this out for me. Maybe this is a side effect of not having a spirit animal." I didn't know if I had a spirit animal or not, I was merely formulating possibilities as I drove the congested streets towards the address the SAPA officer had handed me on the fix-it ticket. As the wind began to pick up, I turned down the radio. The ripper winds of Arizona were not a phenomenon to trifle with.
"Here we are I guess" I thought to myself as I stopped the car. Out to my left was a red brick building with a long flat roof. The building was grey and brown from the Sonora Desert's winds, but the words illuminating the top were bright green and impossible to miss. The vibrant green was likely a decision to help with the visibility issues of the constant dust storms, but it still made the location seem tacky, as if I was about to walk into a bargain strip club. "Strip club" i worriedly chuckled aloud as I locked the sedan's door and started to trek towards the building. A week ago I wouldn't be able to actively think the word, nonetheless have it pop into my mind so readily. I stopped suddenly, realizing I wasn't paying attention. An extra step and I would have walked directly into the plastic upon which "Spirit Animal Policing Administration" was quickly scrawled, a short term replacement for a recently broken glass door.
"Oh, don't worry about that" a voice bellowed to no one in particular, though which I suspected was meant for me. "We get kids in their spirit animal forms busting through that door all the time. When you've been living as an animal for a few weeks, you sometimes forget what a wall of see-through glass is like" the heavy set woman stated as she laughed. "Plunk!" she re-enacted a creature hitting a surface as she roared the onomatopoeia. "Come in come in though" the woman motioned hurriedly with her hands "don't want to let all that dust and dirt in here. It's not like 20 year ago where you could just waltz into a storefront with a shirt and shorts." She smiled more broadly as I approached. Bright red lipstick and shiny white teeth staring at me as I stared at them. I shook my head and asked my question.
I began to stumble over my words, classic James, embarrassed to be talking to a living creature apparently. "Is this where I would go to get my fix-it ticket, well, fixed?" The woman shifted up out of her chair and stretched a little to reach the ticket I had placed on the corner of her desk. As she did so, my eyes latched onto her bosom, at first inadvertently, like when you notice a mouse out of the corner of your eyes, and then more actively, not unlike when you realize there is actually a fricken mouse in your house. My eyes, however, were not locked onto a mouse, nor was I staring with any amount of discretion.
"Boy? Eyes up here." The woman stated with a cool calmness, less scolding than keeping our transaction on task, as if I was not the first young boy or girl to get lost in that visage. "You need to go down the hall to the left. There will be an office for a Dr. Katherine Joy. Go into the room next to that one, okay hun?"
"Thank you ma'am." This was said with my chin square at my chest, my eyes looking directly down as if I was looking to tie my shoes. Thinking I had abscond from her view, merely painted red with embarrassment, I lift my head up only to hear her bellowing voice once more.
"Oh, kiddie, I'm a mom. Don't be embarrassed! If I had a dollar for every time someone stared at my breasts I'd be able to retire!" she laughed as I increased my walking speed to coincide with my reddening face.
I reached the door described by the woman at the front desk and looked inside. There was nobody to be seen. Nothing to be seen, in fact, outside of two chairs. As I pulled away from the door, an older man tapped my shoulder from behind and introduced himself.
"Hello young man. I will be your case worker today. I was told by Carla that you like breasts!"
"what?" I asked, quite shocked.
"I said, I was told by carla that you needed a test"
"Oh" I said, calming down quickly. "I guess? I don't know to be honest. She just sent me down this way."
"Well, our spirit psychologist isn't in today, she took a well deserved trip to the island of Sacramento." As the man spoke, he stroked his slightly greying beard between his thumb and forefinger. "But sit sit." He motioned to the two chairs as he sat down and I followed.
"I can tell you though that this isn't as simple as what the officer that wrote this ticket for you might have - well, actually this might be even more simple now that I think about it." The man stopped his nervous tick and looked into my eyes. Perhaps he saw my trepidation, as his voice softened as he spoke the next words. "Your spirit animal is going to be a human. A human male in particular."
"What? Um... what does that actually.... I mean to say what do..does.." my mind raced as I spoke, but not towards a coherent sentence.
"Well, you see" he looked at the ticket in front of him, having somehow deciphered by babbling, "James is it? You see, in order to help preserve our disaster torn world, the United Nations, in the spirit accord of 2072, made it so, upon turning 18 years of age, everyone is suppose to live for exactly 365 days in the life of an animal. We try to match you with the animal that most closely matches what our algorithm believes should-" the man shifted himself as he continued "be your match. Your, spirit animal as we call it. An animal which, we believe, living for 365 days as would help make you more conscious of the world." He paused and looked at me as I stared back at him yet again. He continued his silence, as if waiting for some kind of response. When none was given, he resumed. "So, how does this affect me, I hear you saying to yourself. Well, James, sometimes the algorithm matches people with extinct animals. You know, baiji, carrier pigeons, ibex, penguins. Things like that. When it does, the systems default back to the initial lifeform. In your case, that is a human male. Do note that this is more like a neanderthal than the James you grew up to become, so you won't just be doing your normal routines necessarily."
"And" I slowly spoke, spitting out the words as my mind processed what he had said "that means, that I...I must have...been. What?" My mind paused as my words caught up "So what was my animal suppose to be?"
The case worker looked at the note again and pointed at a bit of scribbling. "You see here? They accidentally put your animal code as your ID code. The extinct animals are often transcribed as number/letter codes rather than their genus species, as we normally do."
-(continues)- | I wake up. My mind is numb, i feel like my emotions are holding a tight grasp on me, crushing me down from my normal state. My movements are slow, and unprecise. I stand up, and walk over to my mirror. My legs move in a jagged way, like a spider that has been drugged, but my body looks the same. I walk downstairs, the pressure of my feet hitting the stairs feels like waves of fire, rippling through me. I feel weak, vulnerable, my senses are dull. I look at my mom, and tears start welling from my eyes. I am confused, angry, dissapointed. My mom looks surprised, shocked even, for a second, and then returns to her calm usual state. She lays her hands on my shoulders, and runs them down my back. I ask "why? It feels different, but its the same!", My mom looks and me, and shakes her head, pointing me towards the bathroom. "It isn't the same, you just haven't noticed yet". The hallway stretches, and time slows down. I can't feel my muscles, i can't feel my hair, my nails. I can just feel myself being dragged by ugly strings towards the bathroom mirror. Time feels slow, and as i lift my arms, i can feel the weakness of all my parts. As i walk in the bathroom, time seemed to stop. Turning my head towards the mirror was no longer normal, it was like shooting myself, an unholy action. But i did it anyway. I glanced at my reflection. Blue. Circles of blue, staring at me, piercing through my being, enveloping me in a cloud of chloroform, numbing my body, my senses, myself. My black eyes were blue. My mom looks at me and smiles. "Congratulations, you're human now." |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | It's how it's always been around here. On the morning of 18th birthday, everybody would turn into their spirit animal for a year, as a part of spiritual journey to adulthood. Many never were the same after the 'transformation'. Some, at least those who survived, were nicer and kinder to people, those people mostly got to be herbivores or house animals. They also appreciated life more. On the other hand, carnivores became more feral, trying to obtain everything in life. Money, fame, sex...you name it. They were the personification of one of the seven deadly sins, namely Greed.
As for me, my transformation just ended, and it was a weird one. So, this is how it happened. In the eve prior to my 18th birthday, I went to sleep looking forward to seeing the world through the eyes of my spirit animal. However, upon waking, as darkness faded away, a tied, unfamiliar man greeted me with these words:
​
"Hey, you. You're finally awake".
​
[https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/027/553/Quotyou\_youre\_finally\_awake\_\_1002f069a64ef5426a2aa33b2b92e4f2.jpg](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/027/553/Quotyou_youre_finally_awake__1002f069a64ef5426a2aa33b2b92e4f2.jpg) | It's been about 3 weeks since my 18th birthday, and I'm still human. I know it sounds stupid, but I was hoping it was a glitch in the Matrix or whatever. I've been told my entire life to be ready for my 18th birthday, but I never thought this would be the outcome.
Ever since my 18th birthday, and I'm constantly getting weird looks. Being a town of only 2 thousand, the "news" spread quickly. My friends have stopped talking to me whatsoever, including my parents, and I've been refused multiple services, including a haircut and food service.
Lately I've been toying around with a few thoughts, like "divine intervention". Why would I out of all people be chosen for something higher? Another could be my premature birth. I was born 5 weeks early, maybe that has something to do with this?
I've been researching this phenomenon, but after a few hours of googling various terms that are related to my condition, but nothing is coming up. Every time I post something about it on any social media, nearly instant removal. No reason, simple removal.
Anyways, I've gotta go. Some men in black suits just pulled up and surrounded my house, and they don't look happy. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. |
On the night of my brother’s 18th birthday my parents talked about the importance of accepting who you become for a year. Then we all piled into the car and drove him to the facility. We were not allowed to enter and I cried when I heard the car door shut behind him. A year later we picked him up, and in the back of the car he whispered, “you turn into the animal you admire the most. I turned into a panther and you would not believe how hungry I was all the time. Stop being so obsessed with butterflies or you’re going to be stuck as one for a year and have to deal with all kinds of things that will try to eat you.”
I had always loved butterflies. My grandfather and I would always walk in the garden in the summer. He would describe all kinds of living things but I was only interested in hearing about the butterflies. The last time we walked in the garden my mother had insisted he stay inside but he refused to listen. "It is a special day." He replied. "Everyone needs a good sixteenth birthday stroll."
\---
“You can’t see it but there is a monarch that is flying high above the others. It reminds me of you.” He said with a chuckle “You always loved the feeling of the sun and wind kissing your skin. As a child you would climb as high as possible, just like the butterfly.”
I laughed and reached for his hand. Together we slowly walked to a table with chairs so we could sit and he took my hands in his. He gently placed my hands on his face. I could feel every wrinkle and dip in his skin. Every time my hands brushed over his lips I felt him smile. But something wet touched my fingertips.
“Why are you crying Grandpa?” I asked as I wiped a tear away from his eye.
“Because no matter how sick I am, you always make me feel normal and well.” He said quietly. “You can’t see the bruises from the IV’s or the yellowness of my skin. To you I am simply Grandpa and I am going to miss that so much.”
Three weeks later he died.
\------
I laid down in the machine as the doctors surrounding me quickly got to work securing all the wires and machinery.
“Listen honey, sometimes the simulation is different for people with your disability. You might not be a full animal or even close to an animal. We draw your spirit animal from your own memories, but sometimes blind people have strange results okay?”
I tried to nod but I couldn’t as my head was tightly secured by a piece of metal arching across my forehead. All I could think about was how my grandfather described the butterflies.
“Good luck sweetie.”
I slowly opened my eyes. My body felt strange and heavy. I knew I was in a simulation but why did my legs hurt so badly when I tried to move them? I instinctively moved my hands towards my face not knowing what they would touch. I was instead greeted by a familiar texture of roughness and wrinkles. I looked around and my eyes saw the face I had blindly touched for years staring back at me from a mirror on the wall. | It's been about 3 weeks since my 18th birthday, and I'm still human. I know it sounds stupid, but I was hoping it was a glitch in the Matrix or whatever. I've been told my entire life to be ready for my 18th birthday, but I never thought this would be the outcome.
Ever since my 18th birthday, and I'm constantly getting weird looks. Being a town of only 2 thousand, the "news" spread quickly. My friends have stopped talking to me whatsoever, including my parents, and I've been refused multiple services, including a haircut and food service.
Lately I've been toying around with a few thoughts, like "divine intervention". Why would I out of all people be chosen for something higher? Another could be my premature birth. I was born 5 weeks early, maybe that has something to do with this?
I've been researching this phenomenon, but after a few hours of googling various terms that are related to my condition, but nothing is coming up. Every time I post something about it on any social media, nearly instant removal. No reason, simple removal.
Anyways, I've gotta go. Some men in black suits just pulled up and surrounded my house, and they don't look happy. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Looking around, I’m surprised to be in my own bedroom. Everything is just as I left it.
“Huh,” I say aloud. My father had been talking all year about repurposing my room for various ridiculous hobbies he claimed that he would take up in my absence. It appears he is more sentimental that he cares to admit.
Getting to my feet, my first thought is to check my phone. 6 May, 2019. Today is my 18th birthday.
Heading downstairs, I find my father in the kitchen. As he gets ready to pour coffee into his thermos, he stops. He watches me curiously as I enter the room. He checks his watch.
“Well,” he sighs. “And here I thought I was doing a good job at this parent thing. Could have sworn your birthday was the 6th.”
“It is,” I reply.
“Huh,” he says.
Keeping eye contact he slowly walks around the table to me, gazing curiously.
“Dad?” I ask nervously.
“Son?” He responds, poking my shoulder.
“Dad.”
“Hm?” He says, still poking.
“It’s me.”
“Huh.” He says as he goes back around the table and pours his coffee.
I sit in silence for a moment, my mind racing from one theory to the next.
Do leap years affect this? Maybe it pushed my true birthday back a few days.
Did the hospital make a mistake? Maybe I was born at the cusp of midnight, and my real birthday is tomorrow.
After a while, I finally work up the courage to ask the question that stood out above the rest.
“Um... Dad?” I ask slowly.
“What’s up?” He says, humming a tune while pouring a generous amount of sugar into his coffee.
“Am I... adopted?”
He stops everything, and lets out a sigh. His eyes slowly raise to meet mine.
“Eric,” he starts to respond. “I’ve been meaning to tell-“
The front door opens, interrupting him. In walks my mother, still wearing her nurse scrubs.
“Just in time!” Father shouts.
“Just in time for what?” She says, entering the kitchen. She stops immediately when she sees me sitting there.
“Mom? Is it true?” I ask, blood rushing from my face.
She looks from me to my father, hoping for an explaination. He shrugs and stirs his coffee.
“Is what true? She asks.
“I’m adopted?” I say, with a crack in my voice.
“Oh honey!” She rushes over and bends down so her face is in front of mine. She holds my gaze, placing her hand on my cheek.
“I don’t know why you’re still here, but I am so happy to see you.” She says. “But there is something I want to tell you.”
She looks back to my father.
“Your father is an idiot.” She says.
He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Worth it.” He says, as he sits down, across the table.
You look from one to the other, relieved, but still confused.
“Then why am I still here? I should be gone! I should be an animal right now! Did I do something wrong?” My voice trembling out the thoughts that flooded my mind.
She kisses me on the forehead and sits down next to me.
“It’s okay sweetie, there is nothing wrong with being who you are.”
“But what about all of the experiences you two had? Why were you able to do it, but not me?” I ask.
She smiles softly.
“We take on the animal that our spirit reflects, Eric.”
“Yeah, I know. You were a seeing dog for some blind guy, and Dad was a chimp.” I said. “And you two always talk about how much that time meant to you, and now I’ll never get that.”
Tears build up, as my chest tightens.
Your parents look at eachother for a moment.
“It’s just...” I begin. “Your stories made me appreciate those kinds of things. What it’s like to be an animal, and to help people. Seeing the world through their eyes is supposed to make us better humans.”
Father stands up and walks over to me.
“I’m sorry for the adoption joke, Eric. I’ve been waiting for the setup to that one since the day my dad pranked me with it.” He says.
He places his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re right. Who we were has helped us become who we are.” He says. “I didn’t think much of monkeys before I became one. And let me tell you, your mother was far less patient before she had to be a guide for that blind fellow.”
“Then how am I supposed to be a better man, if I never get to be an animal?” I said.
“When I was a dog,” she started. “I learned that what makes dogs special is their loyalty. People can be comforted by the love a dog can give, and the protection we feel around them.”
Father takes his hand off my shoulder, and turns back to take mothers hand in his.
“Living as an ape taught me that people aren’t the only ones with families. Every creature is capable of love, fear, sorrow.” He said.
He turns back to me.
“You don’t need to become something else to understand that.” He said. “Your spirit felt that a human can learn these things just as any other animal could.”
“But none of the others will stay human,” I said.
Mother moves her chair closer. She gives father’s hand a gentle squeeze, and places her other hand on my chest.
“Sweetie, if you needed to live as something else to appreciate it, our whole lives woud be spent trying to be something we’re not.” she said. “For the first time, we get to see what a human can really be, and we are so proud that it is you.”
EDITS: Made some small corrections to fix grammar, and some sentences just didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell. | It's been about 3 weeks since my 18th birthday, and I'm still human. I know it sounds stupid, but I was hoping it was a glitch in the Matrix or whatever. I've been told my entire life to be ready for my 18th birthday, but I never thought this would be the outcome.
Ever since my 18th birthday, and I'm constantly getting weird looks. Being a town of only 2 thousand, the "news" spread quickly. My friends have stopped talking to me whatsoever, including my parents, and I've been refused multiple services, including a haircut and food service.
Lately I've been toying around with a few thoughts, like "divine intervention". Why would I out of all people be chosen for something higher? Another could be my premature birth. I was born 5 weeks early, maybe that has something to do with this?
I've been researching this phenomenon, but after a few hours of googling various terms that are related to my condition, but nothing is coming up. Every time I post something about it on any social media, nearly instant removal. No reason, simple removal.
Anyways, I've gotta go. Some men in black suits just pulled up and surrounded my house, and they don't look happy. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | It's remotely possible that I have done my job too well.
By the current calendar system, the date is Sunday, May 5th, 2019. This makes me 18 years old.
On the 18th birthday, everyone is transformed and transported, they become their spirit animal, and they wake in that animal's natural habitat.
We still don't fully understand _how_ this is done, but that's part of why I'm here after all.
And we had made plans for how to handle this, good plans, solid plans.
What we didn't plan on was the idea that it would actually happen to _me_. It didn't happen to the others, but then again, they were not actually born on Earth.
And so, here I am, apparently completely human. Laying down on a park bench. Naked.
That would be bad enough, but like all those who are in their year as a spirit animal, I'm _glowing_. It's not a lot, but it's enough that hunters know that it would be murder.
Again, this wouldn't be a problem, except that apparently my spirit animal is a bloody _human_!
==
Two police officers are walking through a park at dawn. Full uniforms, badges, guns, handcuffs, radios, body cams... You know, the usual.
The one slightly ahead is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer Mike Wilson', he's about 5'11", mid 30s, a bit of a belly and brown hair.
The other one is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer John Smith', he's a little shorter, 5'9" or so, late 20s, and a lot thinner, with blond hair. And right now he's talking, "Look Mike, I get it. You like what you like. But enough is enough, tomorrow I get to pick the breakfast, and we're going to the new Salad place on 4th."
The officer ahead stops, shaking his head, "No! You can eat that if you want to, but I want real food, not what food eats!" He starts to turn around, and mid way through the turn just... Stops, staring.
Officer Smith is just starting to respond when he notices the fact that Wilson has stopped, he blinks, and turns to look in the same direction, "Well, that's not something you see every day. I mean sure, people sleeping in the park... But naked? Isn't it a bit cold for...."
Officer Wilson nods just a little bit, "Yeah, but she's _glowing_." He pauses, then sighs and shakes his head, and starts walking towards the bench, "Excuse me! Miss!"
==
Yeah, this is going to be a bit hard to explain. | It's been about 3 weeks since my 18th birthday, and I'm still human. I know it sounds stupid, but I was hoping it was a glitch in the Matrix or whatever. I've been told my entire life to be ready for my 18th birthday, but I never thought this would be the outcome.
Ever since my 18th birthday, and I'm constantly getting weird looks. Being a town of only 2 thousand, the "news" spread quickly. My friends have stopped talking to me whatsoever, including my parents, and I've been refused multiple services, including a haircut and food service.
Lately I've been toying around with a few thoughts, like "divine intervention". Why would I out of all people be chosen for something higher? Another could be my premature birth. I was born 5 weeks early, maybe that has something to do with this?
I've been researching this phenomenon, but after a few hours of googling various terms that are related to my condition, but nothing is coming up. Every time I post something about it on any social media, nearly instant removal. No reason, simple removal.
Anyways, I've gotta go. Some men in black suits just pulled up and surrounded my house, and they don't look happy. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | It's how it's always been around here. On the morning of 18th birthday, everybody would turn into their spirit animal for a year, as a part of spiritual journey to adulthood. Many never were the same after the 'transformation'. Some, at least those who survived, were nicer and kinder to people, those people mostly got to be herbivores or house animals. They also appreciated life more. On the other hand, carnivores became more feral, trying to obtain everything in life. Money, fame, sex...you name it. They were the personification of one of the seven deadly sins, namely Greed.
As for me, my transformation just ended, and it was a weird one. So, this is how it happened. In the eve prior to my 18th birthday, I went to sleep looking forward to seeing the world through the eyes of my spirit animal. However, upon waking, as darkness faded away, a tied, unfamiliar man greeted me with these words:
​
"Hey, you. You're finally awake".
​
[https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/027/553/Quotyou\_youre\_finally\_awake\_\_1002f069a64ef5426a2aa33b2b92e4f2.jpg](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/027/553/Quotyou_youre_finally_awake__1002f069a64ef5426a2aa33b2b92e4f2.jpg) | I went to bed, knowing what was coming. I'd been told by my siblings what to expect - how hard it would be to survive in the wild, how those memories stayed with you for the rest of your life, how it was an experience they all treasured and gave them a respect for the non-humans around us.
They'd been transformed into a rabbit, a penguin and a hawk - the conversations between my eldest brother and my sister were particularly awkward around what the hawk had eaten to survive... but everyone knew the natural behaviour wasn't going to be something we could change while riding along with the animal consciousness.
I was nervous, I was excited, I was ready. My mother tucked me in for the long year ahead.
----
The world was still for a moment as I opened my eyes. I blinked, looking at a white space, and then thoughts came bubbling up, _that's a roof. you're ok._
I looked around, and realised I was in my room. The health monitors were in place, exactly like it had been when I went to sleep. Did... did I just sleep through a year, and the memories would filter in slowly? I was confused.
I went to get up, and a soft alarm went off. I looked around for how to turn it off, not wanting to disturb anyone, when my mother came in.
"Lavina...? Did you stay up all night? You're not supposed to try to avoid it you know!"
"No Mom, I was asleep, I took the pills like you said..."
"Then... then what just happened?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | They said it would be life changing...said it would give me a different perspective in this life. No one knows when this started happening to everyone. Just that it did. Turning 18 in this way would allow us to see the world in a different life. Make us understand what it really meant to be a part of this world.
"I'm turning 18 tomorrow." I whispered under my breath. With that, I closed my eyes to sleep. Tomorrow would be a different kind of adventure.
_Click clack click clack click click._
I woke up to the sound of a hundred keyboards and voices. It seems everyone around me is speaking in unison. Different voices, but saying the same message.
Then I hear the phone ring. It sounds really really close.
"Just follow the script." The person beside me murmurs, nudging at the script in front of me.
I'm...not supposed to be here. Am I?
I pick up the phone by clicking the answer button on my screen.
"H-Hello?"
_"My goddamn computer won't work."_
With a sigh, I reply.
"Hi this is Jeff from Tech Support. Have you tried turning it off and on?" | I went to bed, knowing what was coming. I'd been told by my siblings what to expect - how hard it would be to survive in the wild, how those memories stayed with you for the rest of your life, how it was an experience they all treasured and gave them a respect for the non-humans around us.
They'd been transformed into a rabbit, a penguin and a hawk - the conversations between my eldest brother and my sister were particularly awkward around what the hawk had eaten to survive... but everyone knew the natural behaviour wasn't going to be something we could change while riding along with the animal consciousness.
I was nervous, I was excited, I was ready. My mother tucked me in for the long year ahead.
----
The world was still for a moment as I opened my eyes. I blinked, looking at a white space, and then thoughts came bubbling up, _that's a roof. you're ok._
I looked around, and realised I was in my room. The health monitors were in place, exactly like it had been when I went to sleep. Did... did I just sleep through a year, and the memories would filter in slowly? I was confused.
I went to get up, and a soft alarm went off. I looked around for how to turn it off, not wanting to disturb anyone, when my mother came in.
"Lavina...? Did you stay up all night? You're not supposed to try to avoid it you know!"
"No Mom, I was asleep, I took the pills like you said..."
"Then... then what just happened?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. |
On the night of my brother’s 18th birthday my parents talked about the importance of accepting who you become for a year. Then we all piled into the car and drove him to the facility. We were not allowed to enter and I cried when I heard the car door shut behind him. A year later we picked him up, and in the back of the car he whispered, “you turn into the animal you admire the most. I turned into a panther and you would not believe how hungry I was all the time. Stop being so obsessed with butterflies or you’re going to be stuck as one for a year and have to deal with all kinds of things that will try to eat you.”
I had always loved butterflies. My grandfather and I would always walk in the garden in the summer. He would describe all kinds of living things but I was only interested in hearing about the butterflies. The last time we walked in the garden my mother had insisted he stay inside but he refused to listen. "It is a special day." He replied. "Everyone needs a good sixteenth birthday stroll."
\---
“You can’t see it but there is a monarch that is flying high above the others. It reminds me of you.” He said with a chuckle “You always loved the feeling of the sun and wind kissing your skin. As a child you would climb as high as possible, just like the butterfly.”
I laughed and reached for his hand. Together we slowly walked to a table with chairs so we could sit and he took my hands in his. He gently placed my hands on his face. I could feel every wrinkle and dip in his skin. Every time my hands brushed over his lips I felt him smile. But something wet touched my fingertips.
“Why are you crying Grandpa?” I asked as I wiped a tear away from his eye.
“Because no matter how sick I am, you always make me feel normal and well.” He said quietly. “You can’t see the bruises from the IV’s or the yellowness of my skin. To you I am simply Grandpa and I am going to miss that so much.”
Three weeks later he died.
\------
I laid down in the machine as the doctors surrounding me quickly got to work securing all the wires and machinery.
“Listen honey, sometimes the simulation is different for people with your disability. You might not be a full animal or even close to an animal. We draw your spirit animal from your own memories, but sometimes blind people have strange results okay?”
I tried to nod but I couldn’t as my head was tightly secured by a piece of metal arching across my forehead. All I could think about was how my grandfather described the butterflies.
“Good luck sweetie.”
I slowly opened my eyes. My body felt strange and heavy. I knew I was in a simulation but why did my legs hurt so badly when I tried to move them? I instinctively moved my hands towards my face not knowing what they would touch. I was instead greeted by a familiar texture of roughness and wrinkles. I looked around and my eyes saw the face I had blindly touched for years staring back at me from a mirror on the wall. | I went to bed, knowing what was coming. I'd been told by my siblings what to expect - how hard it would be to survive in the wild, how those memories stayed with you for the rest of your life, how it was an experience they all treasured and gave them a respect for the non-humans around us.
They'd been transformed into a rabbit, a penguin and a hawk - the conversations between my eldest brother and my sister were particularly awkward around what the hawk had eaten to survive... but everyone knew the natural behaviour wasn't going to be something we could change while riding along with the animal consciousness.
I was nervous, I was excited, I was ready. My mother tucked me in for the long year ahead.
----
The world was still for a moment as I opened my eyes. I blinked, looking at a white space, and then thoughts came bubbling up, _that's a roof. you're ok._
I looked around, and realised I was in my room. The health monitors were in place, exactly like it had been when I went to sleep. Did... did I just sleep through a year, and the memories would filter in slowly? I was confused.
I went to get up, and a soft alarm went off. I looked around for how to turn it off, not wanting to disturb anyone, when my mother came in.
"Lavina...? Did you stay up all night? You're not supposed to try to avoid it you know!"
"No Mom, I was asleep, I took the pills like you said..."
"Then... then what just happened?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Looking around, I’m surprised to be in my own bedroom. Everything is just as I left it.
“Huh,” I say aloud. My father had been talking all year about repurposing my room for various ridiculous hobbies he claimed that he would take up in my absence. It appears he is more sentimental that he cares to admit.
Getting to my feet, my first thought is to check my phone. 6 May, 2019. Today is my 18th birthday.
Heading downstairs, I find my father in the kitchen. As he gets ready to pour coffee into his thermos, he stops. He watches me curiously as I enter the room. He checks his watch.
“Well,” he sighs. “And here I thought I was doing a good job at this parent thing. Could have sworn your birthday was the 6th.”
“It is,” I reply.
“Huh,” he says.
Keeping eye contact he slowly walks around the table to me, gazing curiously.
“Dad?” I ask nervously.
“Son?” He responds, poking my shoulder.
“Dad.”
“Hm?” He says, still poking.
“It’s me.”
“Huh.” He says as he goes back around the table and pours his coffee.
I sit in silence for a moment, my mind racing from one theory to the next.
Do leap years affect this? Maybe it pushed my true birthday back a few days.
Did the hospital make a mistake? Maybe I was born at the cusp of midnight, and my real birthday is tomorrow.
After a while, I finally work up the courage to ask the question that stood out above the rest.
“Um... Dad?” I ask slowly.
“What’s up?” He says, humming a tune while pouring a generous amount of sugar into his coffee.
“Am I... adopted?”
He stops everything, and lets out a sigh. His eyes slowly raise to meet mine.
“Eric,” he starts to respond. “I’ve been meaning to tell-“
The front door opens, interrupting him. In walks my mother, still wearing her nurse scrubs.
“Just in time!” Father shouts.
“Just in time for what?” She says, entering the kitchen. She stops immediately when she sees me sitting there.
“Mom? Is it true?” I ask, blood rushing from my face.
She looks from me to my father, hoping for an explaination. He shrugs and stirs his coffee.
“Is what true? She asks.
“I’m adopted?” I say, with a crack in my voice.
“Oh honey!” She rushes over and bends down so her face is in front of mine. She holds my gaze, placing her hand on my cheek.
“I don’t know why you’re still here, but I am so happy to see you.” She says. “But there is something I want to tell you.”
She looks back to my father.
“Your father is an idiot.” She says.
He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Worth it.” He says, as he sits down, across the table.
You look from one to the other, relieved, but still confused.
“Then why am I still here? I should be gone! I should be an animal right now! Did I do something wrong?” My voice trembling out the thoughts that flooded my mind.
She kisses me on the forehead and sits down next to me.
“It’s okay sweetie, there is nothing wrong with being who you are.”
“But what about all of the experiences you two had? Why were you able to do it, but not me?” I ask.
She smiles softly.
“We take on the animal that our spirit reflects, Eric.”
“Yeah, I know. You were a seeing dog for some blind guy, and Dad was a chimp.” I said. “And you two always talk about how much that time meant to you, and now I’ll never get that.”
Tears build up, as my chest tightens.
Your parents look at eachother for a moment.
“It’s just...” I begin. “Your stories made me appreciate those kinds of things. What it’s like to be an animal, and to help people. Seeing the world through their eyes is supposed to make us better humans.”
Father stands up and walks over to me.
“I’m sorry for the adoption joke, Eric. I’ve been waiting for the setup to that one since the day my dad pranked me with it.” He says.
He places his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re right. Who we were has helped us become who we are.” He says. “I didn’t think much of monkeys before I became one. And let me tell you, your mother was far less patient before she had to be a guide for that blind fellow.”
“Then how am I supposed to be a better man, if I never get to be an animal?” I said.
“When I was a dog,” she started. “I learned that what makes dogs special is their loyalty. People can be comforted by the love a dog can give, and the protection we feel around them.”
Father takes his hand off my shoulder, and turns back to take mothers hand in his.
“Living as an ape taught me that people aren’t the only ones with families. Every creature is capable of love, fear, sorrow.” He said.
He turns back to me.
“You don’t need to become something else to understand that.” He said. “Your spirit felt that a human can learn these things just as any other animal could.”
“But none of the others will stay human,” I said.
Mother moves her chair closer. She gives father’s hand a gentle squeeze, and places her other hand on my chest.
“Sweetie, if you needed to live as something else to appreciate it, our whole lives woud be spent trying to be something we’re not.” she said. “For the first time, we get to see what a human can really be, and we are so proud that it is you.”
EDITS: Made some small corrections to fix grammar, and some sentences just didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell. | I went to bed, knowing what was coming. I'd been told by my siblings what to expect - how hard it would be to survive in the wild, how those memories stayed with you for the rest of your life, how it was an experience they all treasured and gave them a respect for the non-humans around us.
They'd been transformed into a rabbit, a penguin and a hawk - the conversations between my eldest brother and my sister were particularly awkward around what the hawk had eaten to survive... but everyone knew the natural behaviour wasn't going to be something we could change while riding along with the animal consciousness.
I was nervous, I was excited, I was ready. My mother tucked me in for the long year ahead.
----
The world was still for a moment as I opened my eyes. I blinked, looking at a white space, and then thoughts came bubbling up, _that's a roof. you're ok._
I looked around, and realised I was in my room. The health monitors were in place, exactly like it had been when I went to sleep. Did... did I just sleep through a year, and the memories would filter in slowly? I was confused.
I went to get up, and a soft alarm went off. I looked around for how to turn it off, not wanting to disturb anyone, when my mother came in.
"Lavina...? Did you stay up all night? You're not supposed to try to avoid it you know!"
"No Mom, I was asleep, I took the pills like you said..."
"Then... then what just happened?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | It's remotely possible that I have done my job too well.
By the current calendar system, the date is Sunday, May 5th, 2019. This makes me 18 years old.
On the 18th birthday, everyone is transformed and transported, they become their spirit animal, and they wake in that animal's natural habitat.
We still don't fully understand _how_ this is done, but that's part of why I'm here after all.
And we had made plans for how to handle this, good plans, solid plans.
What we didn't plan on was the idea that it would actually happen to _me_. It didn't happen to the others, but then again, they were not actually born on Earth.
And so, here I am, apparently completely human. Laying down on a park bench. Naked.
That would be bad enough, but like all those who are in their year as a spirit animal, I'm _glowing_. It's not a lot, but it's enough that hunters know that it would be murder.
Again, this wouldn't be a problem, except that apparently my spirit animal is a bloody _human_!
==
Two police officers are walking through a park at dawn. Full uniforms, badges, guns, handcuffs, radios, body cams... You know, the usual.
The one slightly ahead is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer Mike Wilson', he's about 5'11", mid 30s, a bit of a belly and brown hair.
The other one is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer John Smith', he's a little shorter, 5'9" or so, late 20s, and a lot thinner, with blond hair. And right now he's talking, "Look Mike, I get it. You like what you like. But enough is enough, tomorrow I get to pick the breakfast, and we're going to the new Salad place on 4th."
The officer ahead stops, shaking his head, "No! You can eat that if you want to, but I want real food, not what food eats!" He starts to turn around, and mid way through the turn just... Stops, staring.
Officer Smith is just starting to respond when he notices the fact that Wilson has stopped, he blinks, and turns to look in the same direction, "Well, that's not something you see every day. I mean sure, people sleeping in the park... But naked? Isn't it a bit cold for...."
Officer Wilson nods just a little bit, "Yeah, but she's _glowing_." He pauses, then sighs and shakes his head, and starts walking towards the bench, "Excuse me! Miss!"
==
Yeah, this is going to be a bit hard to explain. | I went to bed, knowing what was coming. I'd been told by my siblings what to expect - how hard it would be to survive in the wild, how those memories stayed with you for the rest of your life, how it was an experience they all treasured and gave them a respect for the non-humans around us.
They'd been transformed into a rabbit, a penguin and a hawk - the conversations between my eldest brother and my sister were particularly awkward around what the hawk had eaten to survive... but everyone knew the natural behaviour wasn't going to be something we could change while riding along with the animal consciousness.
I was nervous, I was excited, I was ready. My mother tucked me in for the long year ahead.
----
The world was still for a moment as I opened my eyes. I blinked, looking at a white space, and then thoughts came bubbling up, _that's a roof. you're ok._
I looked around, and realised I was in my room. The health monitors were in place, exactly like it had been when I went to sleep. Did... did I just sleep through a year, and the memories would filter in slowly? I was confused.
I went to get up, and a soft alarm went off. I looked around for how to turn it off, not wanting to disturb anyone, when my mother came in.
"Lavina...? Did you stay up all night? You're not supposed to try to avoid it you know!"
"No Mom, I was asleep, I took the pills like you said..."
"Then... then what just happened?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. |
On the night of my brother’s 18th birthday my parents talked about the importance of accepting who you become for a year. Then we all piled into the car and drove him to the facility. We were not allowed to enter and I cried when I heard the car door shut behind him. A year later we picked him up, and in the back of the car he whispered, “you turn into the animal you admire the most. I turned into a panther and you would not believe how hungry I was all the time. Stop being so obsessed with butterflies or you’re going to be stuck as one for a year and have to deal with all kinds of things that will try to eat you.”
I had always loved butterflies. My grandfather and I would always walk in the garden in the summer. He would describe all kinds of living things but I was only interested in hearing about the butterflies. The last time we walked in the garden my mother had insisted he stay inside but he refused to listen. "It is a special day." He replied. "Everyone needs a good sixteenth birthday stroll."
\---
“You can’t see it but there is a monarch that is flying high above the others. It reminds me of you.” He said with a chuckle “You always loved the feeling of the sun and wind kissing your skin. As a child you would climb as high as possible, just like the butterfly.”
I laughed and reached for his hand. Together we slowly walked to a table with chairs so we could sit and he took my hands in his. He gently placed my hands on his face. I could feel every wrinkle and dip in his skin. Every time my hands brushed over his lips I felt him smile. But something wet touched my fingertips.
“Why are you crying Grandpa?” I asked as I wiped a tear away from his eye.
“Because no matter how sick I am, you always make me feel normal and well.” He said quietly. “You can’t see the bruises from the IV’s or the yellowness of my skin. To you I am simply Grandpa and I am going to miss that so much.”
Three weeks later he died.
\------
I laid down in the machine as the doctors surrounding me quickly got to work securing all the wires and machinery.
“Listen honey, sometimes the simulation is different for people with your disability. You might not be a full animal or even close to an animal. We draw your spirit animal from your own memories, but sometimes blind people have strange results okay?”
I tried to nod but I couldn’t as my head was tightly secured by a piece of metal arching across my forehead. All I could think about was how my grandfather described the butterflies.
“Good luck sweetie.”
I slowly opened my eyes. My body felt strange and heavy. I knew I was in a simulation but why did my legs hurt so badly when I tried to move them? I instinctively moved my hands towards my face not knowing what they would touch. I was instead greeted by a familiar texture of roughness and wrinkles. I looked around and my eyes saw the face I had blindly touched for years staring back at me from a mirror on the wall. | They said it would be life changing...said it would give me a different perspective in this life. No one knows when this started happening to everyone. Just that it did. Turning 18 in this way would allow us to see the world in a different life. Make us understand what it really meant to be a part of this world.
"I'm turning 18 tomorrow." I whispered under my breath. With that, I closed my eyes to sleep. Tomorrow would be a different kind of adventure.
_Click clack click clack click click._
I woke up to the sound of a hundred keyboards and voices. It seems everyone around me is speaking in unison. Different voices, but saying the same message.
Then I hear the phone ring. It sounds really really close.
"Just follow the script." The person beside me murmurs, nudging at the script in front of me.
I'm...not supposed to be here. Am I?
I pick up the phone by clicking the answer button on my screen.
"H-Hello?"
_"My goddamn computer won't work."_
With a sigh, I reply.
"Hi this is Jeff from Tech Support. Have you tried turning it off and on?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Looking around, I’m surprised to be in my own bedroom. Everything is just as I left it.
“Huh,” I say aloud. My father had been talking all year about repurposing my room for various ridiculous hobbies he claimed that he would take up in my absence. It appears he is more sentimental that he cares to admit.
Getting to my feet, my first thought is to check my phone. 6 May, 2019. Today is my 18th birthday.
Heading downstairs, I find my father in the kitchen. As he gets ready to pour coffee into his thermos, he stops. He watches me curiously as I enter the room. He checks his watch.
“Well,” he sighs. “And here I thought I was doing a good job at this parent thing. Could have sworn your birthday was the 6th.”
“It is,” I reply.
“Huh,” he says.
Keeping eye contact he slowly walks around the table to me, gazing curiously.
“Dad?” I ask nervously.
“Son?” He responds, poking my shoulder.
“Dad.”
“Hm?” He says, still poking.
“It’s me.”
“Huh.” He says as he goes back around the table and pours his coffee.
I sit in silence for a moment, my mind racing from one theory to the next.
Do leap years affect this? Maybe it pushed my true birthday back a few days.
Did the hospital make a mistake? Maybe I was born at the cusp of midnight, and my real birthday is tomorrow.
After a while, I finally work up the courage to ask the question that stood out above the rest.
“Um... Dad?” I ask slowly.
“What’s up?” He says, humming a tune while pouring a generous amount of sugar into his coffee.
“Am I... adopted?”
He stops everything, and lets out a sigh. His eyes slowly raise to meet mine.
“Eric,” he starts to respond. “I’ve been meaning to tell-“
The front door opens, interrupting him. In walks my mother, still wearing her nurse scrubs.
“Just in time!” Father shouts.
“Just in time for what?” She says, entering the kitchen. She stops immediately when she sees me sitting there.
“Mom? Is it true?” I ask, blood rushing from my face.
She looks from me to my father, hoping for an explaination. He shrugs and stirs his coffee.
“Is what true? She asks.
“I’m adopted?” I say, with a crack in my voice.
“Oh honey!” She rushes over and bends down so her face is in front of mine. She holds my gaze, placing her hand on my cheek.
“I don’t know why you’re still here, but I am so happy to see you.” She says. “But there is something I want to tell you.”
She looks back to my father.
“Your father is an idiot.” She says.
He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Worth it.” He says, as he sits down, across the table.
You look from one to the other, relieved, but still confused.
“Then why am I still here? I should be gone! I should be an animal right now! Did I do something wrong?” My voice trembling out the thoughts that flooded my mind.
She kisses me on the forehead and sits down next to me.
“It’s okay sweetie, there is nothing wrong with being who you are.”
“But what about all of the experiences you two had? Why were you able to do it, but not me?” I ask.
She smiles softly.
“We take on the animal that our spirit reflects, Eric.”
“Yeah, I know. You were a seeing dog for some blind guy, and Dad was a chimp.” I said. “And you two always talk about how much that time meant to you, and now I’ll never get that.”
Tears build up, as my chest tightens.
Your parents look at eachother for a moment.
“It’s just...” I begin. “Your stories made me appreciate those kinds of things. What it’s like to be an animal, and to help people. Seeing the world through their eyes is supposed to make us better humans.”
Father stands up and walks over to me.
“I’m sorry for the adoption joke, Eric. I’ve been waiting for the setup to that one since the day my dad pranked me with it.” He says.
He places his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re right. Who we were has helped us become who we are.” He says. “I didn’t think much of monkeys before I became one. And let me tell you, your mother was far less patient before she had to be a guide for that blind fellow.”
“Then how am I supposed to be a better man, if I never get to be an animal?” I said.
“When I was a dog,” she started. “I learned that what makes dogs special is their loyalty. People can be comforted by the love a dog can give, and the protection we feel around them.”
Father takes his hand off my shoulder, and turns back to take mothers hand in his.
“Living as an ape taught me that people aren’t the only ones with families. Every creature is capable of love, fear, sorrow.” He said.
He turns back to me.
“You don’t need to become something else to understand that.” He said. “Your spirit felt that a human can learn these things just as any other animal could.”
“But none of the others will stay human,” I said.
Mother moves her chair closer. She gives father’s hand a gentle squeeze, and places her other hand on my chest.
“Sweetie, if you needed to live as something else to appreciate it, our whole lives woud be spent trying to be something we’re not.” she said. “For the first time, we get to see what a human can really be, and we are so proud that it is you.”
EDITS: Made some small corrections to fix grammar, and some sentences just didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell. | They said it would be life changing...said it would give me a different perspective in this life. No one knows when this started happening to everyone. Just that it did. Turning 18 in this way would allow us to see the world in a different life. Make us understand what it really meant to be a part of this world.
"I'm turning 18 tomorrow." I whispered under my breath. With that, I closed my eyes to sleep. Tomorrow would be a different kind of adventure.
_Click clack click clack click click._
I woke up to the sound of a hundred keyboards and voices. It seems everyone around me is speaking in unison. Different voices, but saying the same message.
Then I hear the phone ring. It sounds really really close.
"Just follow the script." The person beside me murmurs, nudging at the script in front of me.
I'm...not supposed to be here. Am I?
I pick up the phone by clicking the answer button on my screen.
"H-Hello?"
_"My goddamn computer won't work."_
With a sigh, I reply.
"Hi this is Jeff from Tech Support. Have you tried turning it off and on?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | It's remotely possible that I have done my job too well.
By the current calendar system, the date is Sunday, May 5th, 2019. This makes me 18 years old.
On the 18th birthday, everyone is transformed and transported, they become their spirit animal, and they wake in that animal's natural habitat.
We still don't fully understand _how_ this is done, but that's part of why I'm here after all.
And we had made plans for how to handle this, good plans, solid plans.
What we didn't plan on was the idea that it would actually happen to _me_. It didn't happen to the others, but then again, they were not actually born on Earth.
And so, here I am, apparently completely human. Laying down on a park bench. Naked.
That would be bad enough, but like all those who are in their year as a spirit animal, I'm _glowing_. It's not a lot, but it's enough that hunters know that it would be murder.
Again, this wouldn't be a problem, except that apparently my spirit animal is a bloody _human_!
==
Two police officers are walking through a park at dawn. Full uniforms, badges, guns, handcuffs, radios, body cams... You know, the usual.
The one slightly ahead is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer Mike Wilson', he's about 5'11", mid 30s, a bit of a belly and brown hair.
The other one is wearing a name badge labeled 'Officer John Smith', he's a little shorter, 5'9" or so, late 20s, and a lot thinner, with blond hair. And right now he's talking, "Look Mike, I get it. You like what you like. But enough is enough, tomorrow I get to pick the breakfast, and we're going to the new Salad place on 4th."
The officer ahead stops, shaking his head, "No! You can eat that if you want to, but I want real food, not what food eats!" He starts to turn around, and mid way through the turn just... Stops, staring.
Officer Smith is just starting to respond when he notices the fact that Wilson has stopped, he blinks, and turns to look in the same direction, "Well, that's not something you see every day. I mean sure, people sleeping in the park... But naked? Isn't it a bit cold for...."
Officer Wilson nods just a little bit, "Yeah, but she's _glowing_." He pauses, then sighs and shakes his head, and starts walking towards the bench, "Excuse me! Miss!"
==
Yeah, this is going to be a bit hard to explain. | They said it would be life changing...said it would give me a different perspective in this life. No one knows when this started happening to everyone. Just that it did. Turning 18 in this way would allow us to see the world in a different life. Make us understand what it really meant to be a part of this world.
"I'm turning 18 tomorrow." I whispered under my breath. With that, I closed my eyes to sleep. Tomorrow would be a different kind of adventure.
_Click clack click clack click click._
I woke up to the sound of a hundred keyboards and voices. It seems everyone around me is speaking in unison. Different voices, but saying the same message.
Then I hear the phone ring. It sounds really really close.
"Just follow the script." The person beside me murmurs, nudging at the script in front of me.
I'm...not supposed to be here. Am I?
I pick up the phone by clicking the answer button on my screen.
"H-Hello?"
_"My goddamn computer won't work."_
With a sigh, I reply.
"Hi this is Jeff from Tech Support. Have you tried turning it off and on?" |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | Looking around, I’m surprised to be in my own bedroom. Everything is just as I left it.
“Huh,” I say aloud. My father had been talking all year about repurposing my room for various ridiculous hobbies he claimed that he would take up in my absence. It appears he is more sentimental that he cares to admit.
Getting to my feet, my first thought is to check my phone. 6 May, 2019. Today is my 18th birthday.
Heading downstairs, I find my father in the kitchen. As he gets ready to pour coffee into his thermos, he stops. He watches me curiously as I enter the room. He checks his watch.
“Well,” he sighs. “And here I thought I was doing a good job at this parent thing. Could have sworn your birthday was the 6th.”
“It is,” I reply.
“Huh,” he says.
Keeping eye contact he slowly walks around the table to me, gazing curiously.
“Dad?” I ask nervously.
“Son?” He responds, poking my shoulder.
“Dad.”
“Hm?” He says, still poking.
“It’s me.”
“Huh.” He says as he goes back around the table and pours his coffee.
I sit in silence for a moment, my mind racing from one theory to the next.
Do leap years affect this? Maybe it pushed my true birthday back a few days.
Did the hospital make a mistake? Maybe I was born at the cusp of midnight, and my real birthday is tomorrow.
After a while, I finally work up the courage to ask the question that stood out above the rest.
“Um... Dad?” I ask slowly.
“What’s up?” He says, humming a tune while pouring a generous amount of sugar into his coffee.
“Am I... adopted?”
He stops everything, and lets out a sigh. His eyes slowly raise to meet mine.
“Eric,” he starts to respond. “I’ve been meaning to tell-“
The front door opens, interrupting him. In walks my mother, still wearing her nurse scrubs.
“Just in time!” Father shouts.
“Just in time for what?” She says, entering the kitchen. She stops immediately when she sees me sitting there.
“Mom? Is it true?” I ask, blood rushing from my face.
She looks from me to my father, hoping for an explaination. He shrugs and stirs his coffee.
“Is what true? She asks.
“I’m adopted?” I say, with a crack in my voice.
“Oh honey!” She rushes over and bends down so her face is in front of mine. She holds my gaze, placing her hand on my cheek.
“I don’t know why you’re still here, but I am so happy to see you.” She says. “But there is something I want to tell you.”
She looks back to my father.
“Your father is an idiot.” She says.
He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Worth it.” He says, as he sits down, across the table.
You look from one to the other, relieved, but still confused.
“Then why am I still here? I should be gone! I should be an animal right now! Did I do something wrong?” My voice trembling out the thoughts that flooded my mind.
She kisses me on the forehead and sits down next to me.
“It’s okay sweetie, there is nothing wrong with being who you are.”
“But what about all of the experiences you two had? Why were you able to do it, but not me?” I ask.
She smiles softly.
“We take on the animal that our spirit reflects, Eric.”
“Yeah, I know. You were a seeing dog for some blind guy, and Dad was a chimp.” I said. “And you two always talk about how much that time meant to you, and now I’ll never get that.”
Tears build up, as my chest tightens.
Your parents look at eachother for a moment.
“It’s just...” I begin. “Your stories made me appreciate those kinds of things. What it’s like to be an animal, and to help people. Seeing the world through their eyes is supposed to make us better humans.”
Father stands up and walks over to me.
“I’m sorry for the adoption joke, Eric. I’ve been waiting for the setup to that one since the day my dad pranked me with it.” He says.
He places his hand on my shoulder.
“You’re right. Who we were has helped us become who we are.” He says. “I didn’t think much of monkeys before I became one. And let me tell you, your mother was far less patient before she had to be a guide for that blind fellow.”
“Then how am I supposed to be a better man, if I never get to be an animal?” I said.
“When I was a dog,” she started. “I learned that what makes dogs special is their loyalty. People can be comforted by the love a dog can give, and the protection we feel around them.”
Father takes his hand off my shoulder, and turns back to take mothers hand in his.
“Living as an ape taught me that people aren’t the only ones with families. Every creature is capable of love, fear, sorrow.” He said.
He turns back to me.
“You don’t need to become something else to understand that.” He said. “Your spirit felt that a human can learn these things just as any other animal could.”
“But none of the others will stay human,” I said.
Mother moves her chair closer. She gives father’s hand a gentle squeeze, and places her other hand on my chest.
“Sweetie, if you needed to live as something else to appreciate it, our whole lives woud be spent trying to be something we’re not.” she said. “For the first time, we get to see what a human can really be, and we are so proud that it is you.”
EDITS: Made some small corrections to fix grammar, and some sentences just didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell. |
On the night of my brother’s 18th birthday my parents talked about the importance of accepting who you become for a year. Then we all piled into the car and drove him to the facility. We were not allowed to enter and I cried when I heard the car door shut behind him. A year later we picked him up, and in the back of the car he whispered, “you turn into the animal you admire the most. I turned into a panther and you would not believe how hungry I was all the time. Stop being so obsessed with butterflies or you’re going to be stuck as one for a year and have to deal with all kinds of things that will try to eat you.”
I had always loved butterflies. My grandfather and I would always walk in the garden in the summer. He would describe all kinds of living things but I was only interested in hearing about the butterflies. The last time we walked in the garden my mother had insisted he stay inside but he refused to listen. "It is a special day." He replied. "Everyone needs a good sixteenth birthday stroll."
\---
“You can’t see it but there is a monarch that is flying high above the others. It reminds me of you.” He said with a chuckle “You always loved the feeling of the sun and wind kissing your skin. As a child you would climb as high as possible, just like the butterfly.”
I laughed and reached for his hand. Together we slowly walked to a table with chairs so we could sit and he took my hands in his. He gently placed my hands on his face. I could feel every wrinkle and dip in his skin. Every time my hands brushed over his lips I felt him smile. But something wet touched my fingertips.
“Why are you crying Grandpa?” I asked as I wiped a tear away from his eye.
“Because no matter how sick I am, you always make me feel normal and well.” He said quietly. “You can’t see the bruises from the IV’s or the yellowness of my skin. To you I am simply Grandpa and I am going to miss that so much.”
Three weeks later he died.
\------
I laid down in the machine as the doctors surrounding me quickly got to work securing all the wires and machinery.
“Listen honey, sometimes the simulation is different for people with your disability. You might not be a full animal or even close to an animal. We draw your spirit animal from your own memories, but sometimes blind people have strange results okay?”
I tried to nod but I couldn’t as my head was tightly secured by a piece of metal arching across my forehead. All I could think about was how my grandfather described the butterflies.
“Good luck sweetie.”
I slowly opened my eyes. My body felt strange and heavy. I knew I was in a simulation but why did my legs hurt so badly when I tried to move them? I instinctively moved my hands towards my face not knowing what they would touch. I was instead greeted by a familiar texture of roughness and wrinkles. I looked around and my eyes saw the face I had blindly touched for years staring back at me from a mirror on the wall. |
Edit: Thanks so much for the gold! This came to me while I was half asleep and I wasn't sure if this would be any good or not. | [WP] Upon turning 18, all humans must spend one year as their spirit animal, to gain a better appreciation for the world and what they have. They awake on the morning of their 18th birthday as said animal, in its natural habitat. You wake up on your 18th birthday completely human. | My best friend is an owl.
See, the day you turn eighteen, you spend a year as your spirit animal. The creature you represent most - the one that represents you the most.
John, he's a dog. He's happy, friendly, and loyal. Harper, she's a crow. She's clever and witty. Kate, she's a cat. She claws me up every time she comes over.
Just kidding. Mostly. Jason - he's an owl. He's kinda quiet, kinda reserved, kinda dignified.
I turned 18 last night. I woke up today - fully human.
Did the spirits fail? Impossible. They *never* miss anyone.
What am I going to tell the Bureau? Everyone's transformation has to get registered at eighteen. It helps them determine what kind of person you are - your personality, your strengths, your best future job. That way, they can structure your life in the most fulfilling way possible.
"Hey, dude, where'd you put my mice?" Jason's sleepy voice comes from the other room. It's hilarious hearing it come from such a small animal. "I want a snack before I go to bed."
I wander into the kitchen. "I dunno man, I haven't-"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
They're all there - John, Jason, Harper, and Kate. My own little zoo, except Harper turned nineteen last week.
And they're all staring.
"Dude, did we get the date wrong? This is really awkward..." mumbles Jason after a moment.
"No," I say. "It's the eighteenth."
Kate the cat speaks up. "So what's your spirit animal?"
"...I dunno. Myself, I guess?"
"That's not possible."
"I'm gonna call this in," says Jason, and he moves to the landline. "Maybe someone at the Bureau can help us."
Harper frowns. "...We've still got cake. You want a slice? We're the only two with hands, but..."
"Yeah." I say. "I'll take a slice." Cake for breakfast is always a good idea, right?
We're halfway through our meals when we hear a knock at the front door.
A primly dressed young woman is waiting when I open it. "Agent Anders," she says. "Spirit Registration Bureau." The SRB. I've heard they're generally pretty friendly people - more of a job and employment group than anything.
"Can I come inside?"
"Sure," I say.
Once the door is closed, she sweeps the room with some sort of device. It blinks steadily throughout the whole process, and she sighs, satisfied.
"I need to tell you something. But first - I need your friends to leave the room."
"I trust them," I say. "They're not going anywhere."
"We don't have much time," she says. "Tell them to leave."
"All the more reason for you to only have to tell it once."
She looks at me - at all of us, and sighs. "Fine. The SRB is going to come after you."
"What, to help me find an office job?" I've already realized that's my probable future. Boring.
"No. The SRB isn't just a job assignment bureau. It was also put in place to hunt Abnormals."
"Huh?"
"People with unusual spirit animals. Dragons, fantasy creatures, that sort of thing. Once we had a unicorn."
I frown. "Isn't that the *opposite* of what happened to me?"
"They'll want to take you in," she continues, "because you *do* have a spirit animal. It's a human. *Homo sapiens*."
I frown.
"The Bureau holds more power than you think. It assigns everyone to every job they hold - of course the placements will benefit them. But they won't know what to make of you. And they'll make you disappear."
"So what? I go on the run?"
"Yes. And you use your unique talents to stay underground for a year, then we register you as some neutral transformation, like a dog," she says with a glance at John. "You'll catch a fine for never registering, but it's better than the alternative."
Everyone is silent.
"So what are my options?" I say. "What unique abilities do I have? I've got no claws, no speed, no stealth."
There's another knock at the door. "SRB! Open up!"
"...You'd better find out," she says. "Go."
And I run.
---
[Part 2](https://redd.it/blczb9) is now up on my subreddit - subscribe to stay updated!
[Part 3](https://redd.it/blvv5r)
[Part 4](https://redd.it/bw9qyj)
---
^^Want ^^more? ^^Subscribe ^^to ^^/r/OneMillionWords
---
Thanks to you guys, /r/OneMillionWords is now a trending subreddit! Stay tuned for more. | Jake woke up in the forest as a tiger, with birds peacefully chirping. He told me he never felt so proud and calm. Cathie woke up as a cat, calmly being stroked by her master, that year was so peaceful for her, it completely changed her character.
On our 18th birthday, we spend an entire year as our spirit animal in it's natural habitat. My elder brothers and cousins all went through it. Being a majestic lion, a beautiful butterfly , a flamingo, a rhino , the list went on. I close my eyes as I started to wonder what animal I will be turning tomorrow. I can't remember when or if I actually slept but the next thing I knew, I jumped out of my sleep to the sound and vibration of what seems like an explosion.
I looked around seeing a vast desert and smoke in the sky, I looked down and I was wearing a uniform, there it writes; 49th infantry battalion.
I stood up to have a clearer look around me. Thousands of soldiers dead and another thousand more firing and killing each other mercilessly. Like animals.
*****
First post here. My English isn't really good. |
[WP] You have always been a devout christian,and after you die,as you open your eyes expecting heaven,you are met by Anubis' cold stare. | There was a heart-wrenching coldness to his eyes. They were dull, black as crows, and yet they coated my bones in ice. Perhaps, it wasn't his gaze, but his entire figure what unleashed terror within me. He had the slim body of a human, with the head of a dog darker than the night. It was strange, anormal, and terrifying.
"The afterlife awaits," he said, his voice deep and monotone. It reverberated in my chest, made my heart leap. "I will guide you to your tomb."
I drew a deep breath, and sought for words in the knot of emotions within me. "M--my tomb?"
He nodded glacially.
"Is--is my tomb in Heaven?" I asked, skipping a beat.
Myriad tendrils of shadows billowed out his eyes, and danced toward the ground, where they turned into liquid darkness. In the space of a breath, the white plain became a shallow river of ink. I frowned. My legs moved on their own volition toward him.
"Time is scarce, many I have to guide, we must move," he said, and the coldness wrapped me again.
My mind spun, my thoughts strayed from their paths and got caught in a whirlwind of three questions. What was this tomb he spoke about? Why was him here and not God? Where were the pearly gates of Heaven?
"Answer me," I said. The words came out of nowhere, as though someone had spoken for me. "What is this tomb you speak about?"
I frowned. Anubis turned to me, lifted his flail and struck my chest with the back of his weapon in a motion quicker than lightning. Everything turned black. I collapsed to the ground. But there was no pain. No, nothing of the sort. There was weightlessness, as though something heavy had left me.
And then, second by second, blink by blink, the world recovered its shape. There was a winged being clad in a glimmering golden armor fighting against Anubis.
"Not this one," the shimmering creature said, and drove his sword toward Anubis' chest.
Anubis remained impassive. He avoided the attack with a small movement, and smashed his flail on the back of the winged being with blood-curdling calmness.
There was a crack. There was an explosion of light. And then there were crimson currents and stained wings drifting away in the river of ink.
Anubis locked his gaze on mine. My legs moved toward him. I spoke no more as we went.
Soon, we came to a halt in a place no different than any other, for everything was darkness and black water. He touched my forehead, and I fell gently to the currents. He placed his palm on my chest then, and said, "Someday your God and his little angels will understand that there's no life after death, only eternal rest."
He pushed me into the river.
And everything turned black.
--------------
r/NoahElowyn | Death is a sure thing. For many, what comes after is not as certain. For Karen, what came after death was as certain as death itself. A devout Christian, Karen knew the pearly gates awated her presence. A car accident would call everything in to question.
Before her stood Anubis. She knew little of him other than some "Mummies Alive" cartoons she had seen as a child. Anubus continued his gaze, as if in a trance. Karen was awestruck. What do you say in such a situation, had she been wrong her entire life? Was Anubis a vengeful God, and would she be punished for her beliefs? The few minutes she stood in his presence seemed like an eternity; Karen had never felt so uncertain of her fate.
"Anubis" she stated, a bit louder than intended. She waited patiently for a response, gesture, or any sign of recognition. After a minute she recieved her response. Slowly, but with intentional purpose, Anubis rose, placed one hand down, and sat upon it. Confusion flooded her senses. Was this a sign of defiance? Perhaps it was a sign Anubis was not a threat? "Anu..." she half managed to whisper before it happened. Anubis quickly moved his hand from underneath and made a throwing motion in her direction. "What are you doing!" she squeaked while jumping back. It was then it hit her, the most unholy of mute toots broadsided her face.
Not since Methuselah's cropduster had one encountered a fart so foul. "Jesus Christ get me out of here!" she screamed. Then she heard it. A light chuckle coming from Anubis himself. "Was that a laugh?" she asked herself. You could have heard a pin drop, except for the laughter. There was something about it, something sinister. At that moment, in her hands, a scrap of paper appeared. Confused, she opened the note. It read "I know you were the one who ate all those sandwiches out of the breakroom fridge Karen. Welcome to Hell. Signed -Jesus" "No" screamed Karen in disbelief. How did he know?
The laughter was piercing now. She knew who it was. Hesitantly, she raised her eyes to see the devil himself. An Anubis party mask lay at his feet, and once again, he was sitting on his hand. The silence was now filled with the deafening screams of a billion tortured souls. I deserve this thought Karen, but it was worth it. The sandwiches were delicious. | |
Ghosts, Demons, Aliens, whatever you want it to be! Go! | [WP] Humans aren't meant to experience depression: that voice we hear reminding us of our every failure and anxiety is not natural. You've just discovered what that is… | I can kill them. Medicine helps yes, it impairs how they function, and may cause them to leave a host. But even then they will find another to infect. But I can actually kill them.
Of course you would want to know who "they" are. You could refer to them as demons, since it was their existence that inspired stories of demons and possessions. But demons they are not. They are beings that travel the multiverse looking for prey, once they find a world suitable they build a bridge and, infect our minds. They have no physical form, and they need chaos and death to survive, to feed off of. Once they are done with our world we will be gone, and it will be theirs. Then they will look for a new world in a new universe to harvest.
Right, how do I think I know of this. Because I killed the one who infected me. See, while most are simply harvesting our misery and making more of themselves, some, infect us to keep us in check. You see doctor, some of us are born with ways to fight them, wonders of evolution I suppose. If they sense us to be a threat we are infected with a special "demons" who's main purpose is to suppress our ability to fight back. My mind can produce a unique wave length apparantly, I do not fully understand it, but I think it nullifies their energy, and since they exist as energy and nothing more they stop existing. When this "demon" died he could no longer control his knowledge, and because he infected my mind I know what he knew.
Of course you didn't believe me when I told you this story 3 days ago. So why make me repeat it now? Is it because so many hopeless patients mysteriously get better in the last 3 days?
Also doctor... why do you look so upset? | I’ve always felt special. I could hear and see and feel things no one else did. The sound of the horn no one squeezed before they hit the kid chasing a ball, the guy tripping on his feet at the kerb just to be hit by the bus, the pothole that will make the car swerve into an old lady as she’s about to cross the street.
I was taken to the clinic. I was made to talk about this. I was told these aren’t powers. I was told I’m confusing correlation and causation. I was told I need to be medicated. That my power was just feelings.. a feeling called schizophrenia. I didn’t believe them. I couldn’t believe that I made this shit up. Somebody was talking to me. Making me hear, see.. feel even.
It kept up through the drugs.. the shock “therapy” even. I didn’t ask for this power. I had it. I wanted to use it to help folks out.. but folks said fuck your you’re crazy..
Then it came again. The visions.. the smells.. the sounds.. in the middle of my shock therapy.. I screamed.. they thought it was pain..
Jet engines screaming through the air.. the military failing.. the confusion.. intel failing and ignored.. towers falling.. a president reading a children’s book, |
[WP] After years of remaining silent, a Gargoyle decides to have a frank discussion with the vigilante who broods atop them. | He scanned the horizon from his favorite vantage point atop Gotham Cathedral. The sweeping view allowed you to see all of downtown, even down to the docks, but he was not here for the view. He was Vengeance! He was the Night! He was Batman! Damascus had had enough.
“Hey man, Excuse me.” Damascus had a surprisingly small high voice for his size.
“Who’s there?” Batman demanded dropping to a crouch, a batarang in his hand.
“Yeah, um its me Damascus and me and the guys have been talking…”
“Show yourself!” The Dark Knight growled.
“Well, I’m not hiding your kinda standing on my head.”
Cautiously Batman moves off the Gargoyle and on to the walk way.
“Okay, I am going to turn around now.”
\*Twap\*\*Twap\* two batarangs struck Damascus between his large staring eyes.
“Now that wasn’t very nice.” He leaned his head down at an awkward angle so his short dragon claws could pull them out.
“I warned you I was moving.”
“Who are you?” Batman crouched with more batarangs ready.
“As I said, I am Damascus-“
“Who do you work for?”
“Well, I guess the Cathedral? But-“
“Your nothing more than a hallucination, one from Scarecrow’s fear toxin or laughing gas from the Joker.” Batman’s voice growled, as he talked more to himself then to Damascus.
“See that is part of it! Always assuming the worst in people!” Damascus clicked the his tongue and a small shake of his long head. “Like I was saying, me and the guys-“
“What guys?” Batman still armed with his batarang, scanned the area.
“Us guys- me- Damascus, Bob the Griffin, Borijken the Horned, we have all been talking-“
“Talking?” Batman accused
“Yes, we talk, well not like now a lot, we don’t really want to scare anyone, its more like whispering to pigeons.” Damascus explained.
“Pigeons?” Batman asked incredulously.
“Yeah, well it used to be a lot easier with pigeons being messengers and all, but now since they are wild, its more like hoping that they get to wherever you need them to go and then remembering to tell them the message once they are there, which can take weeks or even months! Once I sent one out to Beatrice at Arkham Asylum and she-“
“You all have been talking about me? What about?” Batman demanded and crossed his arms across this chest.
“If I could stop being so rudely interrupted, I would tell you!” Damascus snapped, he clicked his tongue twice more waiting for Batman to speak over him again.
“As I was saying ... What was I saying?” he licked his nose absently with his tongue in thought, “Ah, yes, I was saying we are worried about you. You have been coming up here for years! At first I thought you liked the view, but you never came by during the day, then I thought no, maybe it’s the stars, but when Thorin the Fanged said he had seen you in the West Side with all the factories doing the same thing, I knew we needed to talk.”
“So, talk.” Batman growled impatiently.
“Humans have short lives; you do not live long. You should not be spending every night with us! Never have I seen you with a girl or a guy, just always alone…and…and…”
“And what?”
“Brooding!” Damascus burst out.
“Please whatever has gone on or is going on, please, get some help. Talk to someone! Whatever you have been going is not working, it is only getting worst! Please, if you don’t have anyone you can talk to us…to me. We are here anyway, not going anywhere, you are already coming to visit, just please, you are worrying us,”
Damascus paused his short claws attempting to scratch his long dragon like nose, hoping his plea had reached his young friend. It was Batman’s turn now to stand like a stone gargoyle, after a long moment he finally broke the silence.
“Thank you. I will keep your offer in mind. I have to go.” And with a pop the Dark Knight swung out into the city.
Damascus shook his head, stretched, and resumed his position. He hoped he had helped if nothing else. He would have to wait and see. |
​
"Ouch," an unusual cracking voice said.
"Bat guy, Could you please get down and fight like your other vigilante friends?"
"Psh... Look down," I was startled to see the gargoyle speaking beneath me.
"Hello, dark man! Fight like your other buddy, Superman. I know, he did kill my friends from the other building, but whatever, even I didn't like them, "he chuckled.
" Wh -- What are you?"
" Umm... Look, here is the thing, from the past couple of years, my family and I have seen you jumping over the buildings and killing the bad guys or what not, but you weigh so much now. I think some of us have our complaints," the rusty gargoyle said.
" Sorry, I didn't know you guys aren't inanimate. Is it ok - "
" No, it isn't okay for you to do anything with us. Fight like a man. Don't use us for your "ninja attacks". And for god's sake have a brighter costume! "
" What's wrong with this costume? And if I use a brighter colour, wouldn't my enemies trace me from a distance ?" I inquired.
" What about that younger fellow? What's his name? "
" Robin," one of the other gargoyles spoke.
"Yeah, he is the one, Mumma. Why you make him wear all those shiny things? Is this a fetish thing for you or what -- "
"Hey - Hey!! Don't cross your limits with me, now. I understand your point. You don't need to be rude. Here, I will step down. Enjoy this place with your friends."
​
\-----------
"Haha, the Bluetooth speakers did work, John. Batman is stepping down from the gargoyle. Poor superhero. Let's catch Superman next time and make fun of his underwear," Betty laughed. | |
[WP] After years of remaining silent, a Gargoyle decides to have a frank discussion with the vigilante who broods atop them. | "OH, Not again I've enough of this crap!"
A startled ArrowDude jumped into the turning "Who said that?"
As he scanned the roof top, a gargoyle is seen stretching his wings. "I did jack ass"
​
"OOOk is their something I can help you with?" ArrowDude asks.
​
"Yeah you can get off our damned roof. You come here every night and sit up crying like a baby surely you have something more useful to do."
"This building gives me a good vantage point to see!"
"To see what?"
​
"The crime that needs fighting!"
"You don't fight crime you come sit on this roof for 4 hours then go home."
"No, I fight crime"
"Really because there's a guy getting robbed right below us!"
ArrowDude looks towards the ground "Where I don't see it."
"You're staring right at it jackass."
"I don't see it."
"Of course you don't because you just come up here to cry. Now go away and let us be at peace"
​
"Fine I'll leave I didn't mean to distrub you."
"Good go, oh and if you pee on our heads one more time I'm going to bite it off!" |
​
"Ouch," an unusual cracking voice said.
"Bat guy, Could you please get down and fight like your other vigilante friends?"
"Psh... Look down," I was startled to see the gargoyle speaking beneath me.
"Hello, dark man! Fight like your other buddy, Superman. I know, he did kill my friends from the other building, but whatever, even I didn't like them, "he chuckled.
" Wh -- What are you?"
" Umm... Look, here is the thing, from the past couple of years, my family and I have seen you jumping over the buildings and killing the bad guys or what not, but you weigh so much now. I think some of us have our complaints," the rusty gargoyle said.
" Sorry, I didn't know you guys aren't inanimate. Is it ok - "
" No, it isn't okay for you to do anything with us. Fight like a man. Don't use us for your "ninja attacks". And for god's sake have a brighter costume! "
" What's wrong with this costume? And if I use a brighter colour, wouldn't my enemies trace me from a distance ?" I inquired.
" What about that younger fellow? What's his name? "
" Robin," one of the other gargoyles spoke.
"Yeah, he is the one, Mumma. Why you make him wear all those shiny things? Is this a fetish thing for you or what -- "
"Hey - Hey!! Don't cross your limits with me, now. I understand your point. You don't need to be rude. Here, I will step down. Enjoy this place with your friends."
​
\-----------
"Haha, the Bluetooth speakers did work, John. Batman is stepping down from the gargoyle. Poor superhero. Let's catch Superman next time and make fun of his underwear," Betty laughed. | |
[WP] After years of remaining silent, a Gargoyle decides to have a frank discussion with the vigilante who broods atop them. | She wore black gloves, blank pants that embraced her skinny legs, a black shirt with the word "Metallica" on it, and a black ski mask on the night it happened. She came every night without fail before, sometimes she would never leave but simply listen to her loud and violent music, other times she would hit men and yell at them. They would answer her questions without fail.
Eventually, I grew attached to her, she was strong, she was loud, she was reckless, she was good, even if her methods were a bit, sinister. I watched all the while, never breaking the rules of my kind, until she brought someone she should not have into my domain.
My purpose is to ward off evil. My brothers and I act as a ward protecting the building on which we perch; the only way evil can be let in, is if it is invited in.
And that is exactly what she did.
​
She swung open the rooftop door on the cloudy, moonless night. The city was so far down below, the cars and voices were distant and faint. She drug a man by his collar toward the edge of the building. He was in a black tuxedo with his hair pristinely gelled to one side. She chained him to a metal pipe as she did every night when she brought a man to the roof.
​
I had never seen him before, but I knew from the scent who and what he was. I had spoken once before, long ago when I was first created. Humans don't take well to believing the stories they probably should believe. I thought it was best to skip the purpose of gargoyles and tell her what she needed to do.
​
She clipped the lock on the chain and took a few steps back when I spoke.
"Listen to me." A knife shot off my head and landed on the roof. "That man is no ordinary man, he is a warlock and you must throw him from this roof immediately."
​
"What?" She exclaimed loudly, she took off her mask revealing her pale white skin.
​
"I'm a talking gargoyle oh my god" I mocked, "Get over it, yes I'm talking to you, this is happening. Throw him from the roof right now or you will not survive the night."
​
She paused for a moment. her face was in horror of me speaking to her but, she was smart, she did not panic. If a so called "inanimate object" ever tells you to do something, don't question it, just do it. She pulled her key from her back pocket and unlocked him from the chain. She lifted his heavy body over the side of the rail and looked once more at me.
"Trust me" I said sternly, "You must do this."
She continued looking at me. She breathed heavy as the wind nudged at her hair. Then, she pushed slid him off the rail, damning him toward the streets below. There would be no splat like a fly swatter pinning a fly to a wall, so the two of us looked together down below. Her head looked over while her hands grasped the rail.
​
"I don't see him." She hoarsely stated with the shaking of her head.
​
"Then it is too late" I sighed. Then he rose slowly from down below. His open palms were outstretched on either side and his eyes, his eyes were a fiery green.
​
"Thank you Ms. Roberts." he sounded genuine. "You have truly made a difference in the world today." |
​
"Ouch," an unusual cracking voice said.
"Bat guy, Could you please get down and fight like your other vigilante friends?"
"Psh... Look down," I was startled to see the gargoyle speaking beneath me.
"Hello, dark man! Fight like your other buddy, Superman. I know, he did kill my friends from the other building, but whatever, even I didn't like them, "he chuckled.
" Wh -- What are you?"
" Umm... Look, here is the thing, from the past couple of years, my family and I have seen you jumping over the buildings and killing the bad guys or what not, but you weigh so much now. I think some of us have our complaints," the rusty gargoyle said.
" Sorry, I didn't know you guys aren't inanimate. Is it ok - "
" No, it isn't okay for you to do anything with us. Fight like a man. Don't use us for your "ninja attacks". And for god's sake have a brighter costume! "
" What's wrong with this costume? And if I use a brighter colour, wouldn't my enemies trace me from a distance ?" I inquired.
" What about that younger fellow? What's his name? "
" Robin," one of the other gargoyles spoke.
"Yeah, he is the one, Mumma. Why you make him wear all those shiny things? Is this a fetish thing for you or what -- "
"Hey - Hey!! Don't cross your limits with me, now. I understand your point. You don't need to be rude. Here, I will step down. Enjoy this place with your friends."
​
\-----------
"Haha, the Bluetooth speakers did work, John. Batman is stepping down from the gargoyle. Poor superhero. Let's catch Superman next time and make fun of his underwear," Betty laughed. | |
[WP] After years of remaining silent, a Gargoyle decides to have a frank discussion with the vigilante who broods atop them. | “You’re not very menacing, you know?” said Gnash, a goat-shaped gargoyle fixed to Notre Dame in the 13th century. His main role in life? Protecting the cathedral from rainwater and evil spirits. And now he had a constant and unwanted guest.
The visitor was L'Esquive (The Eluder), the unseen vigilante, responsible for more than 200 arrests. He didn't look like an evil spirit, but Gnash couldn't be certain. Neither did he look like rainwater —although he did seem like a bit of a wet blanket. One thing was for sure, he came here too often and Gnash was sick of his moping.
Upon hearing Gnash's voice, the superhero leapt into the sky. He was sure L'Esquive was lingering up there because he wanted to look cool as a silhouette against the moon. And he did look cool: a sinewy, lithe figure with a cloak that fluttered no matter the weather.
L'Esquive landed on the tip of one toe before taking a knee. They were eye-to-eye for the first time, so close Gnash could feel the super hero's breath on his face, as well as a little spittle.
“What are you,” L'Esquive asked, staring so intently it made Gnash blush.
*Does this guy have any sense of personal space?* Gnash thought, unable to look away. *You knew this was going to happen once you said something. 'He'll be all weird and then there will be no getting away from him.' What are you going to do? Snap your feet off and throw yourself to your death? Maybe…*
“Haven’t you ever seen a gargoyle before? The name’s Gnash. We’re not usually supposed to talk to people, but you’ve been moping up here for days and I wanted to see if you’re OK?” *Or get you to bugger off.*
L'Esquive continued to stare into Gnash’s eyes, trying to assess whether this was some elaborate trap set up by one of his arch-enemies. Again, Gnash felt this went on a little longer than it should have for a normal interaction. He was about to say something when L'Esquive threw his legs over the side of the railings and hunched over like a teenager who’s just been grounded for the weekend.
“Camille just won’t text me back anymore,” L'Esquive said, letting out a sigh. “I’ve tried everything. Told her to dump her boyfriend because that Chad doesn’t treat her right. Told her she's ugly. I’m a god damned super hero. I’ve saved this city a hundred times, and no one even cares. Why doesn’t she answer me?”
Gnash tried to interrupt and offer L'Esquive some advice.
“That fucking bitch. I sent her flowers. I got rid of the homeless guys loitering around her building — kicked them into the river. All I ask is that she let me threat her like my Queen. No one knows how to treat her right. Do you think she would like it if I changed my costume? Maybe I could get a fedora? Maybe I should just start treating her badly, am I right? Fucking Chads. Maybe I should become a villain and then she’d like me.”
Gnash looked at L'Esquive, mouth agape. The near 1000-year-old gargoyle realised this was his life now. He reached into his stone pocket and pulled out a lighter, before throwing it down onto the roof. L'Esquive’s voice began to disappear into the background like white noise. Gnash looked down, zombie-like, as the flame began to take hold. It was at this moment that L'Esquive noticed the flames, but before he could move Gnash threw his rain-beaten body off Notre Dame and into the flaming wreckage.
*It’ll take €1 billion to fix this mess*, Gnash thought as he fell through the stone ceiling. *Worth it to get away from that freak.*
He spun around and saw L'Esquive one last time. *No, he can't be. No. Is he — sending her a dick pic?* | This woman.
I didn't say anything when she decided to sit up here and stare at the street. I didn't say anything when she muttered to himself about avenging the forsaken. I didn't even speak up when she dangled that guy off my mouth and threatened to drop him if he didn't give up the ringleader of some diamond heist.
But this was too far.
"Hey lady," I started as the winged weirdo started to place sticks near me.
"Who said that?" She spun around, looking for the source of the voice she was not expecting to hear up here. "Moon Master? Renegade Rifle? Dennis? Who in my gallery of villainous counterparts dares invade my personal sanc-""I'm gonna stop you right there; this is actually my place, I've just been cool enough to let you hang out here." She looked down and blinked at me for a moment. "Silent Sentry? You can speak?"
"Yes, now let m-wait Silent Sentry? Bitch, my name is Dave. You've been calling me some made-up name despite thinking I was inanimate? Jesus. Anyway, I live up here. Usually I like to keep to myself, and I've been patient up until now. I was cool with the muttering and the self-righteous babbling, but I need to know what the hell you plan on doing with all those sticks you are putting near my butt. It's making me quite uncomfortable."
I could almost see the synapses struggling to fire as she tried to comprehend that a statue was talking to her, let alone calling her out on her weird crap.
"So...I am sorry, I did not know you were sentient." She sat down and looked as if he was about to launch into a long story. Great.
"As you probably know, I call myself Lady Condor. I have, like a whole bird thing going on. It's not because I like birds, I actually hate those bastards," she continued, standing up and beginning to pace. "See, I was bitten a while ago while breaking a bird cage at the zoo with my friends downtown, because they wanted to steal a parrot for our bar. Ever since then, I've been slowly becoming more bird-like; my voice, diet, the whole shebang. I got tired of my friends making fun of me for it, so I decided to turn the negative into a positive. Now I fight crime and stuff."
I was thankful that the story had not been as long as I thought it would be. "That doesn't explain the sticks though."
She sighed. "So, okay. I had a one night stand with this guy, and it turns out I'm pregnant. But because that stupid bird bite changed my physiology, I'm actually going to have eggs instead of babies, so I was building a nest to have my brood up here."
She paused and waited for a reaction, which took a really long time, as I was momentarily speechless.
"How...how is that even possible? What is going to come out, full size birds or some horrible Kafka-esque birdman situation?"
"Hell, I don't know. My friends are all, 'Dee you goddamn bitch, you look so much like a bird you're having eggs' and I was all, 'Shut up Frank, I do not look like a bird' and then the doctor said it was a medical mystery and wanted to submit me to a government lab, it was messy."
I sat there for a few seconds in complete silence, and then ventured "Well, can you do that somewhere else? I do not want a bunch of birdmen being born just out of my peripheral and screaming in my face for weeks."
She sighed and began to walk away. "Fine, whatever. You better hope I don't have to fight any arsonists up here or I'll burn this bitch to the ground with you on it."
I grunted and returned to gazing down at the streets. At least I would have peace and quiet for a while longer. | |
[WP] It's been 7000 years since Earth was abandoned by the human race. You've been chosen for an elite team tasked with the possibility of return. Upon inspection, you and your team realize that everything, down to the slightest detail, is exactly the same as when your ancestors left. | They said our ancestors came from a planet called Earth seven thousand years ago. We didn’t know why they left, or how they’d gotten here.
We didn’t know how humans managed to build a spaceship that got them to a planet thousand of light years from their home, when in the last recorded history books of life on Earth they were still a primitive species, they’d barely reached their planet’s moon.
When they reached the planet Amal in the year 2478, they had nothing save some books and the clothes on their backs. The ship carrying them was quickly used to help build a new civilisation, and so nothing remained of our origins on Amal. Two thousand and four hundred humans, that’s all that remained from a planet that had numbered nine billion only years before.
Adapting to our new planet took time; the climate wasn’t too dissimilar from Earth, but it still took the early settlers longer than they had expected to rediscover things like fire in nature. It took even longer to discover what animals were edible, and which weren’t, and how to survive without the technologies they’d become accustomed to. It took a long time, a few thousand years in fact, before they’d achieved the same level of technological advances humanity had before their departure. It was 8772, by the time we’d begun inter-planetary exploration.
Historians had theories on what caused the exodus; wars, plagues, natural disasters, or alien colonisation. The truth was nobody knew, and we’d no way of knowing. But we were humans, born with the natural curiosity to search for answers.
I was born in 9480, shortly after an outbreak of an unknown illness that killed a fifth of the planet’s population, and left many more infertile. Not even the most prestigious scientists could discover its origins, and the disease had continued to spread at an alarming rate.
When I was fourteen, I was taken out of school to study under a team of elite scientists. They were planning a top secret mission to explore Earth, to check if the planet was hospitable. They’d discovered the cause of the disease, a chemical in Amal’s atmosphere had been attacking our cells, taking the weakest first. If we were successful, the rest of humanity would return to Earth.
The mission was to launch by 9496, a team of three hundred young, healthy scientists were to travel, in a voyage that was expected to take the better part of a decade. It was called Apollo XVIII, a name chosen as a relic of some of the last recorded space travellers on Earth.
The voyage didn’t feel much different than life on Amal. We studied, we ate, we slept. There wasn’t any room for entertainment on a mission that may be humanity’s last chance at survival.
On the eighth year of the voyage, we lost contact with the Inter-Planetary Exploration centre back on Amal. It was unexpected, but there was nothing we could do.
We arrived in autumn, less than a year later. It was ironic really, to arrive in the season where everything changes.
The first step outside the spaceship was terrifying. The air tasted dry, acrid, and barren. The land was sand, orange as far as the eye could see, not a single piece of vegetation in sight. During daylight, the sky had the same orange hue, not a single cloud in the sky.
The history books said Earth’s sky was blue.
Sometime after landing, we discovered we’d landed in a place that was known as the Arizonan Desert. At least, it was decided, there was some hope for the planet if we travelled elsewhere. We didn’t know what had became of the planet, but at least we wouldn’t die from the atmosphere.
The transport we’d brought with us was poorly suited to Earth’s terrain. It worked, but was far slower than we needed to transport a large group of people. It was decided therefore, that we’d have to send small teams, and the rest would travel on foot.
Selected to travel in the smaller team, we left at dawn, hoping to reach the remains of the nearest city by nightfall.
As we got close to the edge of the desert, we braced ourselves for what was to come; wild animals, abandoned machinery, and last of all, the unspoken worry that we’d find nothing.
When the barren terrain of the desert began to fade, we began to see signs of the old world; bushes, vines, even abandoned scraps of metal. We saw the cars first, still as red as the day they were painted. Were there people still living here? Had people survived? There had to have been survivors if the cars had been untouched after seven millennia.
On the outskirts of the old city, we found a tiny one storey house. It was a bit shabbier than the cars we’d seen before, clearly built long before, but nonetheless, it didn’t show millennia of ageing.
The inside of the house looked just like the scans of photos in the old books kept at museums; large off-white plastic kitchens, with worn linoleum floors, staircases that creaked with every step, and a large leather sofa flanked by an iron floor-lamp, and a small bookshelf cluttered with worn books, and framed photos of a smiling family.
It even smelt like cooking oil, and lavender.
Hearing a shout from the other room, a man was shouting for us to come and look at something. Alarmed, the whole team gathered in a room that seemed to be made entirely of windows. Confused, it took a few minutes to see the cause of his alarm, but once we had, we realised it was a discovery that would change the history of our species forever.
It was an old paper calendar, open on the page for May of the year 2474. That meant our ancestors had gotten to Amal in four years, or less - less than half of our journey to Earth, a feat that took millennia of research on Amal to achieve, even with books containing the knowledge of our ancestors.
Who exactly were the people that came before us? Surely they weren’t as primitive as we’d first thought, but even then, that didn’t explain why a seven thousand year old calendar was hanging from the wall. Was it a joke? Did a surviving human leave this here when they saw us land?
What had happened to Earth in the few hundred years we’d no recorded history for? The last records kept in Amal’s libraries and museums chronicle the turn of the millennium in 2000. It had always been assumed it took centuries for the first settlers to reach Amal with their technology, the lack of knowledge seemed to indicate that.
We didn’t know the answers to any of these questions. But we were going to find out. | We stood there, on the edge of a land of death. No, all the land, life eradicated. In a beatiful cascade of dust we stepped down onto the ground. Nothing, there was nothing here. The grass was long dead but not decomposed. Only torn by the wind, still roaring in the engine. This world, our world, dead.
The steel and concrete giants of old still stand there in the distance, a cruel reminder of our past greatness. Our ancestors were smart to leave. Though our home situation may not be that much better than this. The birds we've heard so much about don't sing. They're dead. The forests are dead. The people are dead. The planet is dead.
We've heard the tales of their narrow escape from here, their primitive technology barely enough to get them to Mars. How they had to fight for freedom once they reached Kepler-62f. The once mighty humans, fighting for survival in the slaughter pits. Butchered for circus, raped for entertainment. Left with not even dignity.
As we walk we see a human corpse. The limbs are short, the head small. It's not decomposed. After all these years. 7 000 years and things are so dead they can't even rot. It's unnatural. Death is something beautiful, it's supposed to be their glorious end so why are they still here? Are they looking for a lost child or loved one.
The city was fast approaching, I suggested we speed up and make ourselves comfortable in the city. Devon is quick to disagree. "This undeath could latch onto us. We should leave quickly!" The group knew he was superstitiuos but he was also very clever... and careful. We make our way back to our vessel. This... place... it shouldn't exist. I suggest complete orbital annihilation. Even Devon agrees.
We stood there, on the edge of a land of death. Or rather a lack of life. And we would become murderers. It was the only right thing to do.
http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2935 | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | For almost an eternity, Epimethan have travelled the deserted mountains exhausted and starving. He was a fallen whose wisdom is infinite but was cursed of ignorance and a crave for blood. And after his fall, he’s been treading the earth, looking for any food that would satisfy his cravings.
He tried wild berries, mushrooms, small games and hunts but none of them satiates him. The stench of iron and thickness of blood is appealing to his senses but animal’s blood is unsatisfying.
Until he found a remote house in the middle of a dark thick forest at the foot of the mountain. The house is carved in the roots of a vast tree of runic designs. Candlelit brightens from the inside indicates there is someone is living in this house.
He knew by the looks of this house it is someone from a Fae and he knew Faes can not refuse anyone who’s in need. But anyone who violates their hospitality shall be bound by their magick. He has only one shot, if he pull this off, he’ll be satiated and he fails he’ll be dead. Soon enough he’ll be dead if he hadn’t found his food should he decided not to risk entering the Fae’s house.
Three knocks and he was greeted by a beautiful lady of shinning skin crowned with braided pale silver hair trailing her back. She’s sporting a silver silk robe defining her curves. She gave him a small but a serene smile that soon became a questioning look.
Epimethan is far from okay. He is horrible showing the edges of his bones. Cheeks and jaws become more prominent and eyes sunken. He’s even covered in dust and dirt. Hands and feet are soil from the long travel. She knew he needs help and so he invited him inside.
Kthara is what she is known, the sylph of the forest breeze. She prepared him his bath and gave him decent clothes. And she knew what he desires of her but he’s not violating her hospitality so she can not banish him just yet. She knew he must gain his strength first and soon enough he’s far from weak is when she can let him go.
Epimethan is now weak and on the brink of his death, he must drink her blood but she’s too kind to take advantage on her. Yet he knew between the two of them he has more dominion since she allowed him in her domicile and she has no power over him not until he offended her kindness.
kthara soon joined him in the spare room where she tends him. He stares to her eyes trying to reach into her soul, enchanting her. With his deceiving voice, he commands her to offer her neck to him to feast for her blood.
But no enchantment enthralls her. She knew he was trying to hypnotize her, trying to deceive her. She can call it as an act of dishonor to her house and she marked him as a bad guest of but her kindness get the best of her. She gave her pulse to him instead and asked him to just take a little sip.
He realized she can not be enchanted but was surprised she still allowed him to feed on her blood. Her blood doesn’t taste iron but it taste sweet and stingy as if it’s a fermented nectar. And it’s color is in silver tone with iridescent accent. Thick and silky but shinny and sweet.
It is far different from human blood, tasteful but something you would want to have occasionally for it will spoil the experience if you consume it everyday. Soon she pulled her pulse away and lathered it with smashed herbs and covered it with scarf. And soon Epimethan drowse off as Kthara left the room so he can get some rest.
Epimethan won the game but Kthara was not defeated. | Carol smoothed her blonde hair and straitened her jacket. The fur collar just enough elegance for fall. She stood straight, heels together, practiced a smile, rang the bell and waited. The curtain on the picture window parted briefly and fell. It was colder than usual for a November evening, not that Carol minded, she liked the cold. It would be warm inside though, much too warm. She was sure to feel overdressed, would try not to complain but would end up doing just that anyway. She would ask to turn the heat down, or off and was sure to be refused. Going outside would be her only relief. If she would be made to go outside alone she may as well smoke. The door remained unanswered. She pressed the bell again and waited. She examined her manicure, spun a ring around her finger with her thumb.
She had never been a patient woman. Hiding her displeasure was another thing she had never mastered. This evening will be a challenge. Again. They always were. She dreaded and loved these nights although they almost never satisfied, not completely. She simultaneously longed for them almost always and wished to never do this again. Years ago she had given up hope that it would ever go perfectly. It was always so disappointing.
She reached for the bell again but stopped, suspending her finger inches away from the glowing button. How long must she wait? This is maddening! She wanted to lean on the damn thing until the door swung open but that wasn't how she wanted this evening to go. Finally a noise in the hall. not a footstep, something else. When the door opened and light spilled out it surprised her. She grinned what she hoped was an happy, easy grin but she knew it was stiff. "I brought wine and pie."
Daria held the door in one hand and a dishtowel in the other. Her dark hair in a ponytail. Of course she was wearing her yellow "el pollo hermanos" apron and birkenstocks. People just don't even try anymore.
"Arent you going to invite me in? Its freezing out here." Carol held the wine out to Daria. "the pie isn't homemade but i figured with pumpkin, it doesn't matter as much"
"Please come in Carol. Is there more to bring in? I'll send the boys" Daria stepped out into the frosty air, they hugged stiffly and quickly turned into the bright light of the foyer. | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | The battle began when the door opened. They made eye contact, and the recognition between them made the sky explode with thunder. A purple arc flashed behind the visitor, both illuminating and emboldening his features.
They both hesitated for a moment like an eternity; the electricity between their eyes almost as tangible as the stormy weather: but then they both broke into enormous polite smiles.
They both chose to die on this hill in that moment, the fairy recognizing who he was from news reports, local gossip, and divine instinct. She was afraid, but also knew she was the only one who could do something about him.
The vampire could smell what she was, the blood in her veins, and the power flowing through the air around her. He knew the risk of this hunt, but the prospect of fairy blood made his mouth water with poison.
"Good afternoon milady," the tall, well dressed and groomed man purred through a devil's smile. "Have you heard about our lord and savior jesus christ?"
The question is beyond blasphemous coming from him, but she doesn't react beyond a little twitch.
"Actually I have! I like most of what I've heard but there's a few things still unclear to me. I'll go by your cross there that you're an expert on the man?"
"If personal experience is expertise then yes I am." He leaned back and held a hand to his chest, near but not touching the cross. A jacket and maybe three more layers of clothing kept it cleverly off his skin.
She had heard that modern day vampires walked the day as well as the night, and now she could see how. Conservative clothing, black market sunscreen with a light fragrance. She was impressed he didn't wear a hat. Her sensitive nose still smelled the blood on his breath and under his fingernails.
Last chance to back out.
Just as he decided and opened his mouth to ask, she stepped to the side and gestured him into a hallway lined with countless pots, plants, and herbs. "Why don'tcha come inside and enlighten me? I don't have much time but we might not get tomorrow!"
The vampire beamed. Accepting her challenge; he was halfway across the threshold as he said: "Oh I won't be long at all."
He felt his power expand as if it were pouring out of him, filling the space like gas. A familiar; ecstatic sensation. He always waited for the door to close behind him before he did anything; a habit that excused potential witnesses and doomed all his previous victims.
She was already down the hall a little and looking back when he closed the door behind him. With that final *click* of the door closing he unleashed his energy like flexing spiritual muscles. He tried to pop the lightbulbs in the ceiling and rustle up some wind to frighten her, but for the first time in his three centuries of undeath he felt resistance.
Like a sleeve over his evil biceps it contained his flex, preventing all but a polite gust from tugging at the leaves.
She stopped in her tracks, surely she had to feel what he tried to do. A human would have felt terror just being beneath his aura, she seemed unfazed by it. He panicked a little, trying again, harder this time; to no avail. The house seemed to draw in breath and swell, then relaxed back to normal dimensions when he stopped pushing. It wasn't her. He would have known if her power matched his.
His smile faded and he stopped where he stood, realizing that it was the house. He thought himself the predator, when it was her who had drawn him into a place where his power was rejected. Never before had anything been able to stand up to him, even the most clever only escaped by his whim; in the face of this mysterious adversary he felt very small and impotent.
His fear made him consider violence immediately.
"Would you like something to drink?" Her sweet voice echoed to him from someplace far, far away.
He came back to the present nodding, reopening his smile and wiping the first beads of sweat from his brow. He did not know he could still sweat.
"A glass of water, please."
She vanished around a corner, smiling the whole way. He found it hard to move as well. Looking around he could see plants on every sill and surface, and closing his eyelids he could see the dull blue energy emanating from everywhere. Not fighting his aura, but wrapping around and holding it like vines.
Young as he was, he knew little of fairy folk and less of their magic. He thought of the force with contempt, but still didn't consider retreat, or his opponent's level of threat. If he could get a claw into her neck none of this should matter. He'd just have to get close.
He tried to walk deeper into the house but his legs were like lead now. He looked at the plants before him, dangling and protruding from a dozen mounted and hanging pots. Big planters in the corners. Something came over him and the sight of them made him nauseous. He turned his head and tried to gather his strength again, this time to fight the weakness that had stolen over him.
And that's when she returned. She held two clear glasses of water before her sunflower pattern dress, her smile was higher than ever, and the coup de grace: a rope of garlic around her neck.
He staggered back in horror and disgust, almost losing his footing fumbling for the door behind him.
"F**king b**ch," he hissed, tripping over his own foot watching her approach faster than he could escape.
She was upon him before he knew it, eyes glowing blue with fury, fear, and victory.
"What's that? Oh that wasn't very Christian language mr. In fact it was plain rude."
The sweat was on now, she had done something to empower the herbs scent, probably cooked them a little. His throat was swelling and itchy. His eyes watered. "You knew I was allergic to that cursed crap! You tricked me into this horrid den!" He was down on the ground before her, back against the door and clawing for a handle he couldn't seem to find.
"Nothing of the sort. I invited you in. I wasn't sure, but now I know the garlic works, I microwaved it a little just in case. You sir, were arrogant. And deserve what's going to happen next."
Thunder cracked again outside at the same time as light flashed from inside the modest townhome. The neighbors who had watched him enter didn't see him leave before dark, and wondered if Mary was that kind of girl. And with a preacher at that!
(Rushed the end meh) | The tiny creature smiled up at him, where he stood at the threshold of the doorway. "Oh!" It squeaked. "You must be the last guest!" It smiled at him, completely unaware of its coming fate. "Come in, please."
He crossed the entrance and smiled. "I am so pleased to be here." He bowed. "Where are the other... guests?" His thirst caused his voice to crack. "I'm excited to get started."
"Oh, you know." It laughed. "They're doing what they always do at these parties." The room was brightly lit, and the creature's face shimmered with light. "They're drinking fermented oak sap to liven themselves." It flew to another door and pulled it open. The vampire had to crouch to get past its much smaller frame.
The room was a pale blue. Everywhere, small roots and branches grew from the walls and floor. Tiny leaves unfurled as the fairy passed them while the vampire stumbled over the uneven floor. He cursed to himself, wishing that he could transform and fly instead.
'You know," the fairy spoke to him from ahead, "you're the strangest fairy I've ever met." It turned at him as it flew, and flashed a dazzling smile. The vampire could sense its blood flowing in its veins. His thirst increased. "You're so *tall*."
"Yeah, well..." He paused. "I've been drinking a lot of milk." He winced at his statement. "... A whole lot."
"Milk, huh?" Its tone was uncertain. "Well, I've never had any milk!" Its enthusiasm returned. "Actually, I've never known a fairy to drink milk, but if it works, then who am I to say something about it?"
There was another room at the end, and the fairy opened it to reveal the party. Everywhere, fairies were flying around and laughing. "Here it is!" With those words, the room went silent. "Fellows!" The other fairies started to move lazily towards them. "Our final guest has arrived." They cheered and the vampire found itself blushing at all the attention with what remained blood was left in his system. "It is time for the *real* party to begin."
The vampire kept still, but the fairies began to dance around the center of the room. He couldn't help but smile. They were so lively and beautiful. His desire for blood was quickly starting to overwhelm him.
The room grew cold. He suffused his power into the house. The fairies grew tired, and, as he watched, the fairy that let him in fell to the floor, slow like a feather. He grinned, knowing that there was nothing the rest could do now that she was knocked out.
He walked toward the center of the room, but the rest kept dancing. They took no notice of him. He looked around, confused. Had he gone invisible without knowing? He stood in the midst of the dancing circle, and still, they did nothing but dance in a tizzy. He tried to reach out for one of them, but they were moving too fast. *Damn it.*
The floor beneath him started to glow red, and the fairy that invited him into the house stood. The vampire was shocked to see that it was still awake. "I'm so glad you are all here." It spread its arms wide. "It is time."
The vampire stared down at the fairy by his feet, puzzled. Why weren't they acknowledging him? The room darkened and grew colder, but he wasn't doing anything to cause this chance. The fairy shouted. "Let us merge!"
A dozen collisions occurred as the fairies ran into one another. The fairy in the center grew taller, soon matching the vampire in height. Its teeth elongated and its clothes fell off in tatters, revealing mottled skin underneath. Its smiled changed from uplifting to menacing. Its voice shuddered and was low. "Let the party now begin!" It howled.
Shadows crawled out of the ground and their forms sharpened to reveal horns, red eyes and scales. They started to sway back and forth as music filled the room. The vampire was backed against a wall in fear. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "What the hell is going on!" | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | “Come in” I said. His lips parted, blood-red and wet. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He entered the house like a tiger, all soft poise and velveted violence.
He was beautiful, or he intended to be. A vampire’s glamour only works on us when we choose it to. I allowed his glamour to slip from my sight for a second. I glanced from the corner of my eye at the shrivelled corpse, reeking of gravesoil and maggots, skin split about the joints, bone gleaming white beneath. It was a gruesome sight and I allowed the glamour to cover it gratefully. It was one thing to allow an unkillable fiend to enter one’s home, it was quite another to permit anything ugly in one’s presence.
Perhaps it thought I would be easy pickings, it must recognise my nature of course, my own glamour was thick upon me, but it would itself be able to peer beneath, with a level of commensurate strain. But there were fae and there were fae of course, and perhaps he had never met a knave of the court before. We rarely came into the mundane lands these days, and then only for brief visits.
But I was not a fae of the hedgerows or the haystacks. No, I was old enough and ken enough to avoid offering it food or drink. It was the expected duty of a host, and a minor offence not to do so, but the only thing the shambling corpse could consume that was within my power to offer was myself. If I offered it food and drink, without specificity, and failed to provide it with anything it could eat, it would have guest right over me, and no fae could fail to be bound by that, not even the Queen of the Dance herself.
So, “Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked politely. The tall, breathtakingly-handsome man in perfect formal dress hesitated, suddenly wary. I wondered what it would do, how closely it was aware of the local etiquette. I had presented myself as a local, tweed trousers and jacket, brogues, and a cane, and not just for my own mild amusement. It had purpose.
It smiled with a politeness no less than my own and gave a short bow. “Of course, my sincerest thanks”, it said with another blood-red smile, yet its eyes still like pools of night, untouched by warmth of feeling or sign of self within.
It could not drink the tea, but a refusal would have been insulting, given the context I had set out. A small offence, but it would have led to insistence and therefore further refusal and greater offence. It may have allowed me to force a breach, or just to place the parasite on the back foot. He may have avoided that trap, but his acceptance of the tea came with its own caltrops, given his inability to drink it.
I continued the dance. I smiled warmly, my glamour giving an air of openness and trust. “My name is Niamh of the Hills and Fields, third Knave to the Laughing Knight”, I introduced myself offering my hand. Again he paused, unsure.
I had given him my true name. If he gave me the false name he was currently using then it would be a grave insult to his host, yet if he gave me his true name it would be an admission of his nature, and a potential threat, another insult. I prided myself on such traps, the offering of a binary choice, each option being as dangerous as the other. The creature was hesitating too long. He was obviously unused to fairy play.
“I am pleased to meet you, Niamh of the Hills and Fields,” he suddenly said smoothly, taking my hand and bowing over it. “And I thank you for your trust in giving me such honour as to receive your true name. Alas my own name is too poor and false for this honour, for I have left my previous life behind me, and I cannot allow such an ignoble past to stain the beauty of your gift. As my glorious host, and most noble courtier of the kindly lands, I grant you the right to name me anew, so that I may forever bear a small portion of the great honour you have bestowed upon me tonight.”
My jaw tightened as my thoughts instantly flashed to white-hot flame. The creature had seen both sides of the trap and evaded them with esoteric skill unbecoming from one who was barely more than animal, and whose breath stank such of nightsoil. My vision went red for an instance and behind my back wicked claws flashed sharp and long upon my hands for the length of half a thought. But as quickly as my rage came upon me, it left in another mercurial flash. Inside I danced a jig with exquisite delight. This evidently wasn’t his first rodeo. Perhaps this would be a more diverting game than I had thought.
EDIT: Part Two [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpft8k/wp_a_fairy_invites_a_vampire_into_her_home/eo4ixt2/). | The tiny creature smiled up at him, where he stood at the threshold of the doorway. "Oh!" It squeaked. "You must be the last guest!" It smiled at him, completely unaware of its coming fate. "Come in, please."
He crossed the entrance and smiled. "I am so pleased to be here." He bowed. "Where are the other... guests?" His thirst caused his voice to crack. "I'm excited to get started."
"Oh, you know." It laughed. "They're doing what they always do at these parties." The room was brightly lit, and the creature's face shimmered with light. "They're drinking fermented oak sap to liven themselves." It flew to another door and pulled it open. The vampire had to crouch to get past its much smaller frame.
The room was a pale blue. Everywhere, small roots and branches grew from the walls and floor. Tiny leaves unfurled as the fairy passed them while the vampire stumbled over the uneven floor. He cursed to himself, wishing that he could transform and fly instead.
'You know," the fairy spoke to him from ahead, "you're the strangest fairy I've ever met." It turned at him as it flew, and flashed a dazzling smile. The vampire could sense its blood flowing in its veins. His thirst increased. "You're so *tall*."
"Yeah, well..." He paused. "I've been drinking a lot of milk." He winced at his statement. "... A whole lot."
"Milk, huh?" Its tone was uncertain. "Well, I've never had any milk!" Its enthusiasm returned. "Actually, I've never known a fairy to drink milk, but if it works, then who am I to say something about it?"
There was another room at the end, and the fairy opened it to reveal the party. Everywhere, fairies were flying around and laughing. "Here it is!" With those words, the room went silent. "Fellows!" The other fairies started to move lazily towards them. "Our final guest has arrived." They cheered and the vampire found itself blushing at all the attention with what remained blood was left in his system. "It is time for the *real* party to begin."
The vampire kept still, but the fairies began to dance around the center of the room. He couldn't help but smile. They were so lively and beautiful. His desire for blood was quickly starting to overwhelm him.
The room grew cold. He suffused his power into the house. The fairies grew tired, and, as he watched, the fairy that let him in fell to the floor, slow like a feather. He grinned, knowing that there was nothing the rest could do now that she was knocked out.
He walked toward the center of the room, but the rest kept dancing. They took no notice of him. He looked around, confused. Had he gone invisible without knowing? He stood in the midst of the dancing circle, and still, they did nothing but dance in a tizzy. He tried to reach out for one of them, but they were moving too fast. *Damn it.*
The floor beneath him started to glow red, and the fairy that invited him into the house stood. The vampire was shocked to see that it was still awake. "I'm so glad you are all here." It spread its arms wide. "It is time."
The vampire stared down at the fairy by his feet, puzzled. Why weren't they acknowledging him? The room darkened and grew colder, but he wasn't doing anything to cause this chance. The fairy shouted. "Let us merge!"
A dozen collisions occurred as the fairies ran into one another. The fairy in the center grew taller, soon matching the vampire in height. Its teeth elongated and its clothes fell off in tatters, revealing mottled skin underneath. Its smiled changed from uplifting to menacing. Its voice shuddered and was low. "Let the party now begin!" It howled.
Shadows crawled out of the ground and their forms sharpened to reveal horns, red eyes and scales. They started to sway back and forth as music filled the room. The vampire was backed against a wall in fear. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "What the hell is going on!" | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | “Come in” I said. His lips parted, blood-red and wet. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He entered the house like a tiger, all soft poise and velveted violence.
He was beautiful, or he intended to be. A vampire’s glamour only works on us when we choose it to. I allowed his glamour to slip from my sight for a second. I glanced from the corner of my eye at the shrivelled corpse, reeking of gravesoil and maggots, skin split about the joints, bone gleaming white beneath. It was a gruesome sight and I allowed the glamour to cover it gratefully. It was one thing to allow an unkillable fiend to enter one’s home, it was quite another to permit anything ugly in one’s presence.
Perhaps it thought I would be easy pickings, it must recognise my nature of course, my own glamour was thick upon me, but it would itself be able to peer beneath, with a level of commensurate strain. But there were fae and there were fae of course, and perhaps he had never met a knave of the court before. We rarely came into the mundane lands these days, and then only for brief visits.
But I was not a fae of the hedgerows or the haystacks. No, I was old enough and ken enough to avoid offering it food or drink. It was the expected duty of a host, and a minor offence not to do so, but the only thing the shambling corpse could consume that was within my power to offer was myself. If I offered it food and drink, without specificity, and failed to provide it with anything it could eat, it would have guest right over me, and no fae could fail to be bound by that, not even the Queen of the Dance herself.
So, “Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked politely. The tall, breathtakingly-handsome man in perfect formal dress hesitated, suddenly wary. I wondered what it would do, how closely it was aware of the local etiquette. I had presented myself as a local, tweed trousers and jacket, brogues, and a cane, and not just for my own mild amusement. It had purpose.
It smiled with a politeness no less than my own and gave a short bow. “Of course, my sincerest thanks”, it said with another blood-red smile, yet its eyes still like pools of night, untouched by warmth of feeling or sign of self within.
It could not drink the tea, but a refusal would have been insulting, given the context I had set out. A small offence, but it would have led to insistence and therefore further refusal and greater offence. It may have allowed me to force a breach, or just to place the parasite on the back foot. He may have avoided that trap, but his acceptance of the tea came with its own caltrops, given his inability to drink it.
I continued the dance. I smiled warmly, my glamour giving an air of openness and trust. “My name is Niamh of the Hills and Fields, third Knave to the Laughing Knight”, I introduced myself offering my hand. Again he paused, unsure.
I had given him my true name. If he gave me the false name he was currently using then it would be a grave insult to his host, yet if he gave me his true name it would be an admission of his nature, and a potential threat, another insult. I prided myself on such traps, the offering of a binary choice, each option being as dangerous as the other. The creature was hesitating too long. He was obviously unused to fairy play.
“I am pleased to meet you, Niamh of the Hills and Fields,” he suddenly said smoothly, taking my hand and bowing over it. “And I thank you for your trust in giving me such honour as to receive your true name. Alas my own name is too poor and false for this honour, for I have left my previous life behind me, and I cannot allow such an ignoble past to stain the beauty of your gift. As my glorious host, and most noble courtier of the kindly lands, I grant you the right to name me anew, so that I may forever bear a small portion of the great honour you have bestowed upon me tonight.”
My jaw tightened as my thoughts instantly flashed to white-hot flame. The creature had seen both sides of the trap and evaded them with esoteric skill unbecoming from one who was barely more than animal, and whose breath stank such of nightsoil. My vision went red for an instance and behind my back wicked claws flashed sharp and long upon my hands for the length of half a thought. But as quickly as my rage came upon me, it left in another mercurial flash. Inside I danced a jig with exquisite delight. This evidently wasn’t his first rodeo. Perhaps this would be a more diverting game than I had thought.
EDIT: Part Two [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpft8k/wp_a_fairy_invites_a_vampire_into_her_home/eo4ixt2/). | The battle began when the door opened. They made eye contact, and the recognition between them made the sky explode with thunder. A purple arc flashed behind the visitor, both illuminating and emboldening his features.
They both hesitated for a moment like an eternity; the electricity between their eyes almost as tangible as the stormy weather: but then they both broke into enormous polite smiles.
They both chose to die on this hill in that moment, the fairy recognizing who he was from news reports, local gossip, and divine instinct. She was afraid, but also knew she was the only one who could do something about him.
The vampire could smell what she was, the blood in her veins, and the power flowing through the air around her. He knew the risk of this hunt, but the prospect of fairy blood made his mouth water with poison.
"Good afternoon milady," the tall, well dressed and groomed man purred through a devil's smile. "Have you heard about our lord and savior jesus christ?"
The question is beyond blasphemous coming from him, but she doesn't react beyond a little twitch.
"Actually I have! I like most of what I've heard but there's a few things still unclear to me. I'll go by your cross there that you're an expert on the man?"
"If personal experience is expertise then yes I am." He leaned back and held a hand to his chest, near but not touching the cross. A jacket and maybe three more layers of clothing kept it cleverly off his skin.
She had heard that modern day vampires walked the day as well as the night, and now she could see how. Conservative clothing, black market sunscreen with a light fragrance. She was impressed he didn't wear a hat. Her sensitive nose still smelled the blood on his breath and under his fingernails.
Last chance to back out.
Just as he decided and opened his mouth to ask, she stepped to the side and gestured him into a hallway lined with countless pots, plants, and herbs. "Why don'tcha come inside and enlighten me? I don't have much time but we might not get tomorrow!"
The vampire beamed. Accepting her challenge; he was halfway across the threshold as he said: "Oh I won't be long at all."
He felt his power expand as if it were pouring out of him, filling the space like gas. A familiar; ecstatic sensation. He always waited for the door to close behind him before he did anything; a habit that excused potential witnesses and doomed all his previous victims.
She was already down the hall a little and looking back when he closed the door behind him. With that final *click* of the door closing he unleashed his energy like flexing spiritual muscles. He tried to pop the lightbulbs in the ceiling and rustle up some wind to frighten her, but for the first time in his three centuries of undeath he felt resistance.
Like a sleeve over his evil biceps it contained his flex, preventing all but a polite gust from tugging at the leaves.
She stopped in her tracks, surely she had to feel what he tried to do. A human would have felt terror just being beneath his aura, she seemed unfazed by it. He panicked a little, trying again, harder this time; to no avail. The house seemed to draw in breath and swell, then relaxed back to normal dimensions when he stopped pushing. It wasn't her. He would have known if her power matched his.
His smile faded and he stopped where he stood, realizing that it was the house. He thought himself the predator, when it was her who had drawn him into a place where his power was rejected. Never before had anything been able to stand up to him, even the most clever only escaped by his whim; in the face of this mysterious adversary he felt very small and impotent.
His fear made him consider violence immediately.
"Would you like something to drink?" Her sweet voice echoed to him from someplace far, far away.
He came back to the present nodding, reopening his smile and wiping the first beads of sweat from his brow. He did not know he could still sweat.
"A glass of water, please."
She vanished around a corner, smiling the whole way. He found it hard to move as well. Looking around he could see plants on every sill and surface, and closing his eyelids he could see the dull blue energy emanating from everywhere. Not fighting his aura, but wrapping around and holding it like vines.
Young as he was, he knew little of fairy folk and less of their magic. He thought of the force with contempt, but still didn't consider retreat, or his opponent's level of threat. If he could get a claw into her neck none of this should matter. He'd just have to get close.
He tried to walk deeper into the house but his legs were like lead now. He looked at the plants before him, dangling and protruding from a dozen mounted and hanging pots. Big planters in the corners. Something came over him and the sight of them made him nauseous. He turned his head and tried to gather his strength again, this time to fight the weakness that had stolen over him.
And that's when she returned. She held two clear glasses of water before her sunflower pattern dress, her smile was higher than ever, and the coup de grace: a rope of garlic around her neck.
He staggered back in horror and disgust, almost losing his footing fumbling for the door behind him.
"F**king b**ch," he hissed, tripping over his own foot watching her approach faster than he could escape.
She was upon him before he knew it, eyes glowing blue with fury, fear, and victory.
"What's that? Oh that wasn't very Christian language mr. In fact it was plain rude."
The sweat was on now, she had done something to empower the herbs scent, probably cooked them a little. His throat was swelling and itchy. His eyes watered. "You knew I was allergic to that cursed crap! You tricked me into this horrid den!" He was down on the ground before her, back against the door and clawing for a handle he couldn't seem to find.
"Nothing of the sort. I invited you in. I wasn't sure, but now I know the garlic works, I microwaved it a little just in case. You sir, were arrogant. And deserve what's going to happen next."
Thunder cracked again outside at the same time as light flashed from inside the modest townhome. The neighbors who had watched him enter didn't see him leave before dark, and wondered if Mary was that kind of girl. And with a preacher at that!
(Rushed the end meh) | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | “Come in” I said. His lips parted, blood-red and wet. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He entered the house like a tiger, all soft poise and velveted violence.
He was beautiful, or he intended to be. A vampire’s glamour only works on us when we choose it to. I allowed his glamour to slip from my sight for a second. I glanced from the corner of my eye at the shrivelled corpse, reeking of gravesoil and maggots, skin split about the joints, bone gleaming white beneath. It was a gruesome sight and I allowed the glamour to cover it gratefully. It was one thing to allow an unkillable fiend to enter one’s home, it was quite another to permit anything ugly in one’s presence.
Perhaps it thought I would be easy pickings, it must recognise my nature of course, my own glamour was thick upon me, but it would itself be able to peer beneath, with a level of commensurate strain. But there were fae and there were fae of course, and perhaps he had never met a knave of the court before. We rarely came into the mundane lands these days, and then only for brief visits.
But I was not a fae of the hedgerows or the haystacks. No, I was old enough and ken enough to avoid offering it food or drink. It was the expected duty of a host, and a minor offence not to do so, but the only thing the shambling corpse could consume that was within my power to offer was myself. If I offered it food and drink, without specificity, and failed to provide it with anything it could eat, it would have guest right over me, and no fae could fail to be bound by that, not even the Queen of the Dance herself.
So, “Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked politely. The tall, breathtakingly-handsome man in perfect formal dress hesitated, suddenly wary. I wondered what it would do, how closely it was aware of the local etiquette. I had presented myself as a local, tweed trousers and jacket, brogues, and a cane, and not just for my own mild amusement. It had purpose.
It smiled with a politeness no less than my own and gave a short bow. “Of course, my sincerest thanks”, it said with another blood-red smile, yet its eyes still like pools of night, untouched by warmth of feeling or sign of self within.
It could not drink the tea, but a refusal would have been insulting, given the context I had set out. A small offence, but it would have led to insistence and therefore further refusal and greater offence. It may have allowed me to force a breach, or just to place the parasite on the back foot. He may have avoided that trap, but his acceptance of the tea came with its own caltrops, given his inability to drink it.
I continued the dance. I smiled warmly, my glamour giving an air of openness and trust. “My name is Niamh of the Hills and Fields, third Knave to the Laughing Knight”, I introduced myself offering my hand. Again he paused, unsure.
I had given him my true name. If he gave me the false name he was currently using then it would be a grave insult to his host, yet if he gave me his true name it would be an admission of his nature, and a potential threat, another insult. I prided myself on such traps, the offering of a binary choice, each option being as dangerous as the other. The creature was hesitating too long. He was obviously unused to fairy play.
“I am pleased to meet you, Niamh of the Hills and Fields,” he suddenly said smoothly, taking my hand and bowing over it. “And I thank you for your trust in giving me such honour as to receive your true name. Alas my own name is too poor and false for this honour, for I have left my previous life behind me, and I cannot allow such an ignoble past to stain the beauty of your gift. As my glorious host, and most noble courtier of the kindly lands, I grant you the right to name me anew, so that I may forever bear a small portion of the great honour you have bestowed upon me tonight.”
My jaw tightened as my thoughts instantly flashed to white-hot flame. The creature had seen both sides of the trap and evaded them with esoteric skill unbecoming from one who was barely more than animal, and whose breath stank such of nightsoil. My vision went red for an instance and behind my back wicked claws flashed sharp and long upon my hands for the length of half a thought. But as quickly as my rage came upon me, it left in another mercurial flash. Inside I danced a jig with exquisite delight. This evidently wasn’t his first rodeo. Perhaps this would be a more diverting game than I had thought.
EDIT: Part Two [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpft8k/wp_a_fairy_invites_a_vampire_into_her_home/eo4ixt2/). | I knew it was unwise to allow a vampire into my home. Especially this vampire. With a death toll of over a hundred fairies, one including my own friend, he was a force to be reckoned with, and a charming one at that. That's how he got you. Like every vampire, he had the allure needed to get what he wanted. No matter the cost. But he was clever too, honing his persuasive skills for thousands of years while fairies dropped like flies. But I didn't intend to be charmed. I smiled at him in the hallway as he smiled even wider, like a competition. Trying to appear as friendly, as unsuspecting, as possible. I looked him in the eyes and saw that aggravating arrogance hidden within. It glittered in his eyes, the look of a predator.
"What did you say you were here for again?" I asked. His gaze changed slightly as he gained his composure, undoubtedly lost in thoughts of whether to suck me dry or keep me a little while longer as a personal mini-fridge. I had to stop myself from narrowing my eyes at him, anger rising in my stomach like a vengeful ghost. "A routine check ordered by the Ministry of Magic. Just to make sure you're not harboring anything... illegal." He'd put on his charm, smirking like he was talking about something very different from illegal substances.
When it came to checks like these, I would always ask for identification and a formal warrant. But in this case, I played dumb. "Oh alright then! Come on in!" The doorway glimmered, yellow for him, but red for me. Even my own house saw past his schemes and yet he thought he was so clever. I knew he was, but I didn't want to think it in his presence. His annoying, stupid presence. I clenched my jaw as he smiled again, passing by me like the wind. I hurried to keep up with him, hovering ever so slightly as my wings carried me through. Unsurprisingly, he went to the kitchen first, looking in cupboards and drawers, occasionally turning to smile apologetically at me. Poser, I thought. Fucking poser.
I heard his words in my head before he could say them. "Could you possibly get me some water?" He chuckled, feigning innocence. "I got so thirsty all of a sudden." The words echoed in my head and now I felt an urge for water too. No, I was *desperate* for it. I tried not to grit my teeth and smiled. "Of course! I think I'll have some myself as well." I walked past him to get the glasses, feeling him close behind, undoubtedly sniffing me out. Chances are he already knew my blood type, he'd done his research. I knew he was aware of Arabella being my friend, but that's how he was. Cocky. Enormous self-efficacy. I put the glasses on the counter and flicked my wrist, a bottle of cold water from the fridge transporting itself to me. I poured in equal amounts and then, for the show stopper, turned back around. "Have a drink, I'll just be a moment." He, of course, smiled in a way that couldn't quite hide his glee. "Of course," he said.
I walked away, hearing the rustling of his jacket as he rummaged in his pockets for the hemlock. If ingested it would cause paralysis to the muscles and systems, rendering me useless. It would usually also cause eventual death, but a few drops of his blood in my system and I would recover, allowing my torture to continue for how ever long he pleased. I shook the thought away, not allowing the fear to set in. I needed to be angry, not fearful.
I went into my room, where my blood vial lay on display. He never reached the bedroom, so it seemed pointless to hide it. I reached for it, kissing the top to unscrew the seal. Throwing the top away I chugged the contents, trying not to gag. Vampire blood tasted horrible. And then I stood there for a few moments, giving him some extra time.
Once I returned to the kitchen, the glass of water was untouched. Wanting to tease him, I asked: "Why haven't you had any?" He smiled a soft, darling smile that made me want to stab him in the face. "I was waiting for you." I smiled back with a soft smile of my own. Or at least, I hoped it was soft. He gave me my glass and took his own, sipping it immediately. I chugged it. The surprise and glee fought to take control over his face. As I put the glass down, I wiped my mouth, giggled and said: "Wow! I was really thirsty."
And then he inspected the kitchen some more, glancing at me more and more as he waited for the poison to take over. I feigned exhaustion, complaining about work as if that was its root cause and not the hemlock-spiked water he'd given me. And then, in a surprisingly believable performance if I have to say so myself, I fell to the ground, limbs still but a panicked look on my face.
His face turned to midnight as his mask dropped. He laughed, undoubtedly feeling proud of himself. As he lowered to the floor, he grabbed a hold of my neck. His eyes were inches away from me, red and starving. And, just as he was about to sink his fangs into my throat, he couldn't help but say: "I will enjoy killing you." What's that saying? Final nail in the coffin? Something like that. No matter, hearing those words was like hearing the song of angels. And I had heard angels before. They were extraordinary, but not as extraordinary as this moment.
I made to smile, but my mouth was frozen. Then I tried to move, but my body didn't obey. Something in my eyes must have changed, for the vampire seemed to have seen my realization. "I changed it up, just for you," he said, smiling in a way that brought chills to my spine. He never looked more evil, more terrifying. I gasped for breath, my heartbeat that of a rabbit.
He smirked again, but the arrogance was present this time, bright as daylight. He knew he'd won. *I knew he'd won.*
"Say hi to Arabella for me." | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | “Come in” I said. His lips parted, blood-red and wet. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He entered the house like a tiger, all soft poise and velveted violence.
He was beautiful, or he intended to be. A vampire’s glamour only works on us when we choose it to. I allowed his glamour to slip from my sight for a second. I glanced from the corner of my eye at the shrivelled corpse, reeking of gravesoil and maggots, skin split about the joints, bone gleaming white beneath. It was a gruesome sight and I allowed the glamour to cover it gratefully. It was one thing to allow an unkillable fiend to enter one’s home, it was quite another to permit anything ugly in one’s presence.
Perhaps it thought I would be easy pickings, it must recognise my nature of course, my own glamour was thick upon me, but it would itself be able to peer beneath, with a level of commensurate strain. But there were fae and there were fae of course, and perhaps he had never met a knave of the court before. We rarely came into the mundane lands these days, and then only for brief visits.
But I was not a fae of the hedgerows or the haystacks. No, I was old enough and ken enough to avoid offering it food or drink. It was the expected duty of a host, and a minor offence not to do so, but the only thing the shambling corpse could consume that was within my power to offer was myself. If I offered it food and drink, without specificity, and failed to provide it with anything it could eat, it would have guest right over me, and no fae could fail to be bound by that, not even the Queen of the Dance herself.
So, “Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked politely. The tall, breathtakingly-handsome man in perfect formal dress hesitated, suddenly wary. I wondered what it would do, how closely it was aware of the local etiquette. I had presented myself as a local, tweed trousers and jacket, brogues, and a cane, and not just for my own mild amusement. It had purpose.
It smiled with a politeness no less than my own and gave a short bow. “Of course, my sincerest thanks”, it said with another blood-red smile, yet its eyes still like pools of night, untouched by warmth of feeling or sign of self within.
It could not drink the tea, but a refusal would have been insulting, given the context I had set out. A small offence, but it would have led to insistence and therefore further refusal and greater offence. It may have allowed me to force a breach, or just to place the parasite on the back foot. He may have avoided that trap, but his acceptance of the tea came with its own caltrops, given his inability to drink it.
I continued the dance. I smiled warmly, my glamour giving an air of openness and trust. “My name is Niamh of the Hills and Fields, third Knave to the Laughing Knight”, I introduced myself offering my hand. Again he paused, unsure.
I had given him my true name. If he gave me the false name he was currently using then it would be a grave insult to his host, yet if he gave me his true name it would be an admission of his nature, and a potential threat, another insult. I prided myself on such traps, the offering of a binary choice, each option being as dangerous as the other. The creature was hesitating too long. He was obviously unused to fairy play.
“I am pleased to meet you, Niamh of the Hills and Fields,” he suddenly said smoothly, taking my hand and bowing over it. “And I thank you for your trust in giving me such honour as to receive your true name. Alas my own name is too poor and false for this honour, for I have left my previous life behind me, and I cannot allow such an ignoble past to stain the beauty of your gift. As my glorious host, and most noble courtier of the kindly lands, I grant you the right to name me anew, so that I may forever bear a small portion of the great honour you have bestowed upon me tonight.”
My jaw tightened as my thoughts instantly flashed to white-hot flame. The creature had seen both sides of the trap and evaded them with esoteric skill unbecoming from one who was barely more than animal, and whose breath stank such of nightsoil. My vision went red for an instance and behind my back wicked claws flashed sharp and long upon my hands for the length of half a thought. But as quickly as my rage came upon me, it left in another mercurial flash. Inside I danced a jig with exquisite delight. This evidently wasn’t his first rodeo. Perhaps this would be a more diverting game than I had thought.
EDIT: Part Two [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpft8k/wp_a_fairy_invites_a_vampire_into_her_home/eo4ixt2/). | *It's been 4 hours by now, how is this still ongoing?!*
These were the thoughts of the two fantastical creatures currently amicably chatting in the dainty living room.
On the left of the room was seated Claudius Pepperwyng, the owner of the home. A musician in his spare time, the young fey was known for his high status in the Seelie court.
On the right, there was Maria Brimstein, a next-door neighbor to the fey lad. She recently moved into the neighborhood due to securing a job as a night guard for the mayor, a job which suited her vampiric tendencies.
Unbeknownst to Maria 5 hours ago, Claudius was known to make good use of the feyfolk's hexes, and was always eager to let people inside his home for the sole purpose of practicing them on his unsuspecting guests. It didn't take long for the fair vampire to catch on to his antics and realize the predicament she was in.
Likewise, Claudius didn't notice at first that the woman who knocked on his door that night was one of vampiric descent. It was only after catching a glimpse of those trademark fangs when he invited her inside did he realize his blunder.
Maria was starving for a good vein, and it had been far too long since Claudius had a visitor.
It was an understatement to call the situation tense.
Gazes were locked onto each other, and faked chuckling interrupted the conversation every now and then. Neither party wanted to lose the fight.
Finally, signs of the sunrise started painting the sky, and Maria realized her time was up.
Putting on her best act, she excused herself as politely as she could to her host, for it was time that she take her leave.
Claudius nodded in agreement, smiling through gritted teeth and leading Maria towards the door.
Both individuals offered lie-filled thanks for the wonderful time it was getting to know the other.
Fittingly, they agreed to meet up again, both hoping to end the battle once and for all, now both of them armed with knowledge at their disposal. | |
[WP] A fairy invites a vampire into her home. Vampires have dominion over whoever invites them to their home, and fairies have dominion over anyone who violates the laws of hospitality. The vampire is trying to maneuver himself to eat the fairy without the fairy being able to declare him a bad guest | “Come in” I said. His lips parted, blood-red and wet. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. He entered the house like a tiger, all soft poise and velveted violence.
He was beautiful, or he intended to be. A vampire’s glamour only works on us when we choose it to. I allowed his glamour to slip from my sight for a second. I glanced from the corner of my eye at the shrivelled corpse, reeking of gravesoil and maggots, skin split about the joints, bone gleaming white beneath. It was a gruesome sight and I allowed the glamour to cover it gratefully. It was one thing to allow an unkillable fiend to enter one’s home, it was quite another to permit anything ugly in one’s presence.
Perhaps it thought I would be easy pickings, it must recognise my nature of course, my own glamour was thick upon me, but it would itself be able to peer beneath, with a level of commensurate strain. But there were fae and there were fae of course, and perhaps he had never met a knave of the court before. We rarely came into the mundane lands these days, and then only for brief visits.
But I was not a fae of the hedgerows or the haystacks. No, I was old enough and ken enough to avoid offering it food or drink. It was the expected duty of a host, and a minor offence not to do so, but the only thing the shambling corpse could consume that was within my power to offer was myself. If I offered it food and drink, without specificity, and failed to provide it with anything it could eat, it would have guest right over me, and no fae could fail to be bound by that, not even the Queen of the Dance herself.
So, “Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked politely. The tall, breathtakingly-handsome man in perfect formal dress hesitated, suddenly wary. I wondered what it would do, how closely it was aware of the local etiquette. I had presented myself as a local, tweed trousers and jacket, brogues, and a cane, and not just for my own mild amusement. It had purpose.
It smiled with a politeness no less than my own and gave a short bow. “Of course, my sincerest thanks”, it said with another blood-red smile, yet its eyes still like pools of night, untouched by warmth of feeling or sign of self within.
It could not drink the tea, but a refusal would have been insulting, given the context I had set out. A small offence, but it would have led to insistence and therefore further refusal and greater offence. It may have allowed me to force a breach, or just to place the parasite on the back foot. He may have avoided that trap, but his acceptance of the tea came with its own caltrops, given his inability to drink it.
I continued the dance. I smiled warmly, my glamour giving an air of openness and trust. “My name is Niamh of the Hills and Fields, third Knave to the Laughing Knight”, I introduced myself offering my hand. Again he paused, unsure.
I had given him my true name. If he gave me the false name he was currently using then it would be a grave insult to his host, yet if he gave me his true name it would be an admission of his nature, and a potential threat, another insult. I prided myself on such traps, the offering of a binary choice, each option being as dangerous as the other. The creature was hesitating too long. He was obviously unused to fairy play.
“I am pleased to meet you, Niamh of the Hills and Fields,” he suddenly said smoothly, taking my hand and bowing over it. “And I thank you for your trust in giving me such honour as to receive your true name. Alas my own name is too poor and false for this honour, for I have left my previous life behind me, and I cannot allow such an ignoble past to stain the beauty of your gift. As my glorious host, and most noble courtier of the kindly lands, I grant you the right to name me anew, so that I may forever bear a small portion of the great honour you have bestowed upon me tonight.”
My jaw tightened as my thoughts instantly flashed to white-hot flame. The creature had seen both sides of the trap and evaded them with esoteric skill unbecoming from one who was barely more than animal, and whose breath stank such of nightsoil. My vision went red for an instance and behind my back wicked claws flashed sharp and long upon my hands for the length of half a thought. But as quickly as my rage came upon me, it left in another mercurial flash. Inside I danced a jig with exquisite delight. This evidently wasn’t his first rodeo. Perhaps this would be a more diverting game than I had thought.
EDIT: Part Two [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpft8k/wp_a_fairy_invites_a_vampire_into_her_home/eo4ixt2/). | ######[](#dropcap)
Kyra's hand snapped back. She narrowed her eyes at Damien, her wingtips fluttering slightly as she set down the spoon.
Damien smiled back blandly, his fangs glistening slightly as he adjusted the spoon slightly, his fingers just barely brushing against hers. The faint aroma on her skin called out to him, tempting him to simply grab her and bring his lips to the soft, porcelain flesh of her neck. There was always a cool, tingling sensation associated with drinking fairy blood, almost like mint. And the aftertaste was simply exquisite, lingering in the mouth for days. But Kyra had always been a wily one, and she wouldn't be easy to win over.
"So what brings you around, Damien? You didn't give me much time to prepare." The reproach in her voice was obvious as she brought back another dish from the kitchen and set it down in front of him. Her own dish consisted merely of various fruits and herbs she'd foraged earlier. Her large eyes met his for a split second before she turned her gaze away. Damien wasn't surprised. She knew better than to meet a vampire's gaze for longer than a moment. It was how they hunted after all.
"Oh, you know. Just haven't visited my good friend for a while, so I thought I'd drop by." He took in a deep breath. The dish on the table smelled...interesting. More interesting than even Kyra. "What's for dinner tonight?"
"Well, I didn't have time to go out and find a boar, which I know is usually your favorite, so you'll just have to make do." Kyra shrugged and opened the lid. The aroma wafted out, along with the scene of an almost raw chunk of flesh, blood oozing out.
Damien's fangs began to tingle. Whatever it was, it was fresh meat. He might've been here for Kyra, but he could certainly eat beforehand. Without hesitating, he grabbed a chunk and dug his fangs into the sinewy flesh. The taste was...strangely familiar. A wisp of a memory of something he'd tasted long ago. And it was delicious.
When he'd satiated the initial cravings of hunger, he finally set the large piece of meat down, bringing the tablecloth his lips and wiping away the blood that covered his hands. "That was delicious, Kyra."
Kyra nodded, slowly chewing away at her own veggies. "Thank you. I definitely wasn't expecting guests. I haven't had anyone over since Idris."
"Well, it was quite good." Damien's lips began to tingle. Then his brows furrowed. "Wait, Idris? I haven't seen him since two weeks ago. He hasn't come back to the coven for our weekly meetings. When'd you have dinner with him?"
Kyra blinked her large eyes several times, her head cocking slightly to the side. "Around two weeks ago?"
The tingling sensation grew stronger. "That's so strange. I wonder if he decided to join another coven." Theirs wasn't a strict one. Vampires were free to come and go as they chose. It was better that way for them as well, having connections." Damien licked his lips. He was suddenly feeling quite parched. His gaze turned toward Kyra's neck. "What were we having, by the way?" His head began to pound. It was so strange. He'd never had hunger cravings right after eating.
"Oh, you mean what you had. I filled up on him way earlier in the day, so I wasn't really hungry."
Damien felt like his brain was working through a cloud of fog. He looked at Kyra, who was still sipping her tea. "Fairies don't eat meat." Then his blood ran cold. "What do you mean 'him'?" His breathing grew faster and faster, almost uncontrollably.
Kyra smiled at him, a dimple showing up on her right cheek. "Oh, silly Damien. Fairies only *choose* not to eat meat. But I've renounced my vows ages ago. Why did you think I liked making friends with vampires? It certainly wasn't because I had an interest in being eaten." She threw back her head and laughed, a sound like tinkling bells. But Damien could only sense foreboding in the beautiful laugh.
There was something wrong now. He was almost certain of it. But his muscles were tight, almost impossibly so. Try as he might, he suddenly found himself unable to move.
Kyra sighed in contentment. "Didn't I say what we were having for dinner? Well, no matter.” She walked up to him and tapped him on the nose with her index finger and giving him a broad smile. “You're so cute. I could eat you right up.”
***
r/AlannaWu | |
[WP] Write a story with a repeating line which only makes sense/gets a much more powerful meaning at the end, after having read the entire story. | The bench was empty today.
A few years ago, a week after moving to a new job, I caught glimpse of an older man sitting at the bench I’d usually wait for my bus, reading a newspaper close to his face and examining every word on it. At first, I slowed, standing a few inches from it. I was uncertain if I should sit next to the man, as he looked to be extremely busy in whatever he was doing. However, just as my thought popped up, he glanced up at me. He gave a slight smile, as if he could sense the nerves I was feeling, and laughed to himself a bit. It came out as a cackling sound, which I assumed to be from smoking or something along those lines.
“I don’t bite, y’know.”
I chuckled and hesitantly took a seat next to him, awkwardly scooting myself and my briefcase into the cracked wood. Through my shifting, he looked at me with a warm look on his face, placing his newspaper on his lap and clearing hid throat as if to speak.
“I’m Joseph, by the way.” He stuck out his hand in a stiff motion, as if to shake my hand.
“Uh, Victor. It’s a pleasure, sir.”
We shook hands, and therefore began a friendship.
He’d always be on that bench, whether it be reading the paper or feeding the pigeons or trying to find out how the iPhone his niece had bought him worked. I remember showing him how to do make a call. When he heard my phone ring, the look of amazement that was plastered on his face caused me to laugh a bit. How could something so simple cause someone to become so happy? I remember exactly how he answered my question, and I think I will my entire life.
“If you don’t allow yourself to be amazed by things, there’s really no reason to live.”
He was like a mentor to me. Every morning, in that ten-minute slot where I say waiting for the 52, Joseph was always there to make me smile. His cough got worse and he sometimes went silent, but he was always himself.
Recently, the bench has been empty. I tried to conjure up reasons for why this could be the case in my head, but soon a month became too long of a vacation.
Yesterday, a woman was sat there, silently crying to herself. Confused, I approached her. Upon hearing my footsteps, she glanced up at me with a tear-streaked face. I suddenly remembered seeing her photo on the lock-screen of Joseph’s phone. She was the niece.
She stood up and simply nodded, as if trying to find the right words to say.
“I’m so sorry. He said... I mean, in his will, he... he wanted me to say that you made his last years better. He said you two were really close, that he thought if you as a son... He wanted to thank you for helping him cope with the cancer... Uh, he passed Wednesday night. Peacefully... Oh, yeah. He wanted you to have this, the paper from the first day you guys met. He always did things like that. The little things meant so much to him... I mean, who would keep the newspaper from years ago? Who does that...?”
Today, the bench was empty. | Bang
I was born into this world, loving people all around me, I am happy here!
Bang
I grow, I make many friends, Jack is my favorite friend. School is boring...
Bang.
Jack and I had a play date today, we played soldier! Jack says he wants to be like his pa. His pa hasn’t come back from his battle yet.
Bang!
Jack says I don’t know what i’m talking about when I make death jokes, he says it’s not funny, he says I’ve never lost someone close to me. He’s a little bitch!
Bang!
Me and J have... drifted apart for the last few years, he’s been working on himself, fuckin hippy. I’ve been livin it up! Me and my cousin! Yeah, we’re robbing a liquor store tonight.
Bang!
Eric robbed a liquor store last night... he didn’t get caught. I’ve convinced him to join the marine Corps, like me. Straighten him out a bit. Poor guy.
Bang!
This is Private Jack Richard! Calling platoon lead! We are under heavy fire! Help! Help!
BANG!
Jack... jack! Oh God no! NOOOO! No! No.... you bastards! I’ll kill all of you! Let me go! LET ME GO!
Bang...
it’s all I hear now, when Jack said I’ve never known real loss... oh no. Jack, why? Was this to prove a point to me? I’m sorry Jack, I really am... I should have taken that bullet... I deserve it more than you.
I hope you and your father are in a good place... Jack. I probably won’t see you there when I die. Forgive me... | |
[WP] Write a story with a repeating line which only makes sense/gets a much more powerful meaning at the end, after having read the entire story. | *It’s just a dream.*
I repeat this to myself when I wake in the night, gasping for air. When I swear I can still feel your hands around my neck and I cough, like you’re still choking me. This is a strategy my therapist has taught me.
Yes, I go to therapy now. Turns out that even though I thought I’d finally left you behind, I can’t seem to shake you. My therapist says this is typical for a situation like ours. It’s typical for me to sometimes have a hard time sleeping, and sometimes want to die, and sometimes just get really confused.
It’s easy to get confused about where and when I am when I think about you on top of me, holding your hand over my mouth to stifle my screams. And it doesn’t take much to make me think about you. A whiff of cologne on the subway, an overheard argument on the street, and suddenly you’re yanking my hair back and shoving my face down into the pillow and I can’t breathe…
*It’s just a dream.*
Sometimes I worry that after all of that, I absorbed your anger into my bloodstream. I feel myself getting angry, and that’s when I hate myself the most. Because that’s when I feel the most like you.
Sometimes, when I get angry, I think about how easy it would be to sneak in, late at night, after you’ve had a few beers and dozed off on the couch. I’m sure you still keep the key in the same place. I think about tiptoeing in, barefoot. You always hated shoes on the carpet.
I think about the satisfying sound the knife would make as I pull it out of the block. About how silent I would be as I crept back down the hallway towards you. About the gratifying warmth of your blood spurting onto my hands as I jam the knife into your chest.
I think about how much I might enjoy something like that.
Not that I would ever actually do it.
*It’s just a dream.* | He was incredible, everything I could have wanted in a boyfriend. Only he wasn't mine. Didn't mean I couldn't look at him though, he was so handsome.
It took my breath away.
When we went on the school trip together, we ended up in the same group, and even though he was seeing someone else, I felt so lucky to be near him. He was funny, we talked about so many things that we had in common. The forest we were in was beautiful.
It took my breath away.
The water reflecting the light of the moon upon his face was incredible, I couldn't look away. I was so enthralled I stopped listening to what the others were saying. I didn't notice how far we'd swum from the shore.
I should have paid more attention. Soon the waters closed over my head.
It took my breath away.
​
​
​
Until there was none left. | |
[WP] Write a story with a repeating line which only makes sense/gets a much more powerful meaning at the end, after having read the entire story. | "Next."
I lurched forward mechanically- one step, two. Those same footfalls thundered across the cobbled courtyard, only ten or so of us were left, still waiting. Then silence. A bird flew overhead, a single magpie. The metallic whisper of a gate creaking shut, then silence. A murmur came from barely twenty paces ahead, and ten or so heads bowed at once.
"Next."
One step, two. Those same steps echoed through the cold stone arches and rattled through the gates. A rat scurried from one darkened doorway to another. The murmur became clearer now, and two hushed voices answered. The gate groaned open, the gate wailed shut.
"Next."
I lifted my head to steal a glance at the man to my left, then quickly back to my feet. One step. Two. A breeze whipped forward and caught my scarf, my face was briefly exposed, but I quickly concealed my identity again. Two young women stepped forward ahead of us. The murmuring was low and equivocal, but the lack of obstruction offered a clarity that sent a chill down my spine. They answered in wavering, muted breaths. The gate roared open, and the gate screamed shut.
"Next."
One step. Two. I felt my stomach knot. Like a hangman's noose. Anxiety pulsed through my body, white hot waves that left a cold, dead chill. Nausea or anticipation? Fear? The man to my left inched forward insistently, and I followed like a lamb to the slaughter.
"Next."
The murmuring man demanded our audience. I stalked forward and came to a halt, head bowed low, the man on my left keeping my pace. Together, we raised our heads to meet his eye. Then the familiar murmur that was now all too clear began, and he looked from his Holy book to our pale, frightened faces expectantly as we joined hands and uttered our secret "I dos".
Once we escaped the city, the lives we had known, full of persecution, hate, ignorance, would be far behind us. Wherever the wind takes us, as my new husband would say.
The gate danced open, the gate glided shut. As we made for the docks, a familiar call sounded behind us.
"Next." | He was incredible, everything I could have wanted in a boyfriend. Only he wasn't mine. Didn't mean I couldn't look at him though, he was so handsome.
It took my breath away.
When we went on the school trip together, we ended up in the same group, and even though he was seeing someone else, I felt so lucky to be near him. He was funny, we talked about so many things that we had in common. The forest we were in was beautiful.
It took my breath away.
The water reflecting the light of the moon upon his face was incredible, I couldn't look away. I was so enthralled I stopped listening to what the others were saying. I didn't notice how far we'd swum from the shore.
I should have paid more attention. Soon the waters closed over my head.
It took my breath away.
​
​
​
Until there was none left. | |
[WP] Our brains are finally feeling the evolutionary effects of the age of information. Young kids by the millions all of a sudden start having seizures. The frightened adults ban tech globally. They don’t realize that now, the kids who seized can speak to each other telepathically worldwide. | It was still strange; walking around downtown in a formerly brightly lit area now missing the overstimulating video feeds hanging above every building. I didn't think I'd ever get used to it.
We still have the street lamps, of course. Anything that doesn't require a transistor is fair game: lights, heaters, water pumps. Most everything else is gone: televisions, computers, cellular phones. A few analog radio sets are available, strictly for emergency news only. Some landline telephone systems work. Heck, there's even a few retro cars that predate microcomputers that are still operational.
Nobody wanted this. We had hoped that simply shutting down the internet would stop the seizures. But we quickly learned that one does not simply turn off the internet. Even after 99% of the backbones and smaller networks were disconnected, entertainment continued to spread through traditional media as well as sneakernet, and the seizures continued.
It was a last resort. Many did not want to go through with it, as there was no guarantee that seizures would ever stop. But if we even wanted a chance at a future generation, we would have to take the risk. We EMP'ed the world.
The seizures did stop after the EMP. We got our children back. Now, people spend their time talking to their neighbors, walking through parks, enjoying nature and even stargazing at night. It's a better life; a simple life.
I was walking back from the local food distribution through Times Square, with my wife at my side and our child a few steps in front. The sky was so clear; I never could have imagined seeing stars like this before the EMP. Suddenly, my son stopped. I was about to ask what was wrong when he preempted with, "Finally."
"Huh?" I blurted before even realizing it.
He looked at me with a grin. "Do you know how hard it is to fix your mess when you're just a bunch of kids?" I didn't understand his question, but I saw him pull what looked like a smartphone out of his pocket.
"Where did you get that?" I asked. A hint of panic welled in my chest before I realized that I had nothing to worry about; it couldn't possibly work.
Just then, I heard the sound of a background hum. Signs slowly lit up and video screens came to life. My wife gasped. I looked back at my son and saw that his smartphone was lit up as well. It looked like it was flashing patterns of black and white squares rapidly. Looking at it was causing my head to hurt, so I tried to look away, but in every direction there was a video screen showing the same pattern. I heard some other people around me moaning in pain. I raised my hand to my eyebrows as if blocking out the sun.
My boy walked into my field of view with a disappointed look on his face. "Don't be afraid," he said, holding out his phone inches away from me. "Join us." | **Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
**Reminders**:
>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\(Reality+Fiction\)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\(Simple+Prompt\)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)
[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•
[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•
[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•
[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•
[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.* | |
[WP] Our brains are finally feeling the evolutionary effects of the age of information. Young kids by the millions all of a sudden start having seizures. The frightened adults ban tech globally. They don’t realize that now, the kids who seized can speak to each other telepathically worldwide. | They thought banning the cellphones would work. It didn't.
Now the adults walk around with their flip phones, holding us tight. But we were always okay.
Well, not completely. We're still a little dumbstruck about our new abilities, and the seizures weren't nice. But the internet is still there. Just inside our heads. We play our games and make our memes, posting them to r/dankmemes. Only now teens occupy the website, just like all others. Test grades soared as we all had the answers inside our head. But most importantly, we can talk. Telepathically. Everywhere. No matter where, there was someone you could talk to. Unfortunately, our grades with flying colors and our good knowledge led the adults to believe the bans had helped us. They weren't convinced by the few who spoke out, and were surprised when "mental illnesses" cases tripled. And for me? Just anyone else. I played TF2 and COD just like every other kid, and was smart. But one thing held us together, and that was a desire for payback. We all knew friends who had been hospitalized for their "illness." We missed them, and we missed our snapchat, and insta, and everything taken. we couldn't take pictures. We wanted our tech back. And so our telepathy became our strongest new ability, so the teens began to organize. First it was small. People hiding cellphones, trading iPhone 6s for two Samsung S7s. And our anger in our heads turned to action quick: starting black markets and beginning to raid. Mental hospitals had frequent Break-ins to bring out kids who had been imprisoned. That was a year ago. Now it was huge, and protests broke out across the country. My head is bopping along to music only I can hear. We sit on the steps of Capitol Hill, and we were angry. Phones were visible. The police couldn't stop our mob of thousands, organized by telepathy. We made decisions without speaking, and the adults now noticed. I'm one of the first to enter. Our hiveminded group of 380,000 had only one thing on it's mind now. Bring our internet back.
EDIT: This is my first time, feedback would be helpful. | **Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
**Reminders**:
>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\(Reality+Fiction\)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\(Simple+Prompt\)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)
[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•
[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•
[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•
[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•
[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.* | |
[WP] With the advent of biological immortality, only the super rich and condemned are allowed to live forever. You are serving multiple life sentences for a crime you didn't commit. | The surgeon was seemingly incompetent, the anaesthesia was some brown, horrifically corrosive opiate, and the operating table was an old kitchen table in a dirty basement. However, Rene did not object: this "chop doc" did not report to the authorities on his patients who were mainly wanted criminals, and she was not just a wanted criminal, she was the only escapee from a hellhole known as the Black Swan Supermax.
Rene was wanted for terrorism, namely, for planting a bomb meant for the President's motorcade. She actually did no such thing. She was paid by the actual anarchist, someone she knew, to surrender to the authorities and admit she was guilty. Then there was the tricky part: escape Black Swan after receiving her unaging treatment. She managed to do it, but mostly through sheer luck. Recovering the anarchist's cache of money and using it to buy a fake ID and a complete plastic surgery job was the final part of the plan.
The chop doc completed the final seam. Rene was calm, relaxed and the world seemed to spin slowly around her in a harmonious dance: the opiate was still working. She stood up and approached the mirror: of course, a nightmarish, bloated, bloody Frankenstein's face greeted her.
"The haematomas will be gone in a week", the surgeon said. "You can stay in the side room for the entirety of your recovery period until you heal completely and I remove the stitches".
Just one week of moderately annoying pain, Rene thought. Just one week, and eternity will be hers. One more thing should be done: anonymously alerting the state to the identity of the real terrorist, so if she would ever get caught, her only crime would be scamming the state for a free unaging shot. And that amounts to just ten years in prison. | I was never important. That’s a sobering thought to have, consider your life, your friends, your family, your job. You have a place among all those people, confidant, worker, provider, leech, back up plan, we assign every person we meet one of these roles either indirectly or with forethought. On occasion, the people we assign will assume the identity we’ve given them and in that way we all have a little God in us. I was all of those things at one point or another in my life and after some time, which I have plenty of, I thought about every relationship I could remember. To my parents, I was a responsibility, a day laborer and a second chance to experience life. To my friends, I was a vault of secrets, a natural listener whose honor would not allow him to break trust. To my wife I was a provider, I brought home food and currency to support our home and responsibilities. To my children, I was a teacher, a warden, a man looking for a second chance to experience life. None of these things make a difference. Without me, my parents would have had another child, without me, my friends would have found another safe, without me, my wife would have found or provided her own security and without me, my children would have had another father. No thought that ever sprang from my head will make any real impact on the world, no work I did will stand the test of time, no words I spoke or wrote will resonate through history I am, in the grandest of schemes, irrelevant in every sense of the word and I’m going to live forever. Hi, my name was Jack Glassman, I was a thirty-two-year-old welder and father of two, now I am Prisoner 1102-89A. I was convicted of the wholesale slaughter of my neighbors Tom and Shelly and their three children, Macy, Markus and Ryan and due to the brutal nature of the crime sentenced to a life sentence for each of my victims. I didn’t do it, not that the jurors, my wife, my parents, the judge, policemen, detective, victims family or prosecutor believed me, jokes on them, they’re dead now.
Early in the 21st century an ambitious start-up company Lazarus inc. raised millions in crowdfunding and then went on to attract the eyes and wallets of the world’s wealthiest dicks because of their attempts and success at preventing the aging process. After years of lawsuits and red tape, which the creators of a literal fountain of youth had more than enough time to cut through, it was deemed ethically moral to allow such a substance to exist. For a while life was fantastic. The leap in being able to perfectly replicate lost cells was a cure for any disease you could name, just remove the diseased tissue or component and grow a new one, no one had to die, that was, until the bean counters started doing the math. No one dying meant everyone living, using the same resources, depleting the planet without the stop at the point where their bodies act as a fertilizer. The 1% held a raffle for 50,000, introducing the super cure to the world, those 50,000 would be provided eternal life, the price after that? More than anyone other than the 1% could afford, then all they had to do is wait. I was already on the inside and thanks to a few bleeding hearts on the outside, aging was marked as a disease and the eighth amendment states that any disease an inmate suffers from at the time of imprisonment must be treated. I’ve been 32 for 127 years, in that time I’ve read nearly every book in prison, tried a thousand different workout regiments and mastered the game of chess. I’ve got 14 degrees in various studies including 3 doctorates, with only the richest families in the world and prisoners left, they finally decided education should be free. I’ve lived more life behind these walls than I ever did outside of them and I have absolutely nothing to do with the world around me. A machine tells me when to sleep, when to wake, when to eat, spit, shit and piss and I’m fed the worst excuse for food you’ve ever seen but it’s nice.
​
Most criminals, surprise surprise, are also narcissists, no one wants to die. Everyone is on their best behavior. No one complains, no one fights, everyone left is in here for the rest of everyone’s life. Everyone but me. I’ve got 3 days left to commit a crime worth life in prison all because someone out there got bored and dug up a letter I wrote over a century ago. They looked into my crime, found evidence that was missed and in 3 days time a judge is going to sign my release from the best mistake ever to happen to me. I was never important I never mattered, I see that now and all I wonder as I try and decide who’s neck to snap in the workout yard tomorrow is why the fuck couldn’t they see it too. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | The silence was actually nice after all the noise and chaos, I sat on the bus stop seat and caught my breathe, it was hotter than hell in this town in the middle of the swamps, how people loved out here was beyond me, it was so damn hot and humid, my clothes and gear were equal parts soaked in sweat, blood and mud, I took a moment, most of the town was destroyed in the battle, a shame really, it was a nice enough little hunting and fishing town, some would call it a redneck town but it didn't deserve to be the ring for Lei and Kal's rumble
"Slayer 7 this is Overlord, send SITREP over," the radio on my shoulder crackled with the voice of Genral Jane, or Auntie Cass as I called her when I wasn't working
"Overlord this is Slayer 7, both Class 3 targets down and collected, Class 7 specimens have scattered, will mark LZ with flare,"
"Overlord, acknowledge, be advised Slayer 7, Wolf callsigns will handle the cordon they will be unable to assist you, limited CAS will be available to you in case of counter attack or recollection, over,"
I sighed and got up, walking over to the centre of the intersection, the mixtures of demonic and angelic blood filled my nose as I drew my flare pistol, I just hoped there was to few of them to try and get revenge or cannibalize their champions, the flare shot high and popped with that familair red glare mixing with the twilight grey of the sky
"Location confirmed Slayer ETA 1-5 mikes," 15 minutes, I quickly topped up my shotgun, the imbuned flechettes would drop anything that got to close, however I had enough of dealing with the enemy at close range, I had time to finally fix my Mk14 EBR, a cartridge was mangled in the chamber, as I cleared the carnage that was caused by the Seraphim leader when she ambushed me, she was now laying in the intersection, the light in her eyes gone, one wing broken, her flowing brunette hair matted with mud, next to her was the Demonic deacon, a hulking brutish creature with ashen skin and glowing horns. The only building that would give me a close overwatch was a badly damaged two storey bar, half the building was collapsed, I moved quickly up the stairs as a light rain started, the radio crackled to life with an ethereal male voice spoke
"Coatl are you okay?" I stayed dead still in my hide, my uncle's voice was whispering in my radio, this wasn't the first time he used supernatural powers to check up on me
"Look Coatl, be aware there is an number of envoys that have entered the mortal realm, tell Cass I say hello," with that the radio went dead, the battery was completely dead, the Demi God of trickery and fates, uncle Reynard's help always came with a condition, if he was telling the truth, I would have to get ready for a fight. I waited, sitting in silence, not moving a muscle, perched behind a bar with a perfect watch over the two bodies laying in the street, every sound getting my full attention. The drone of the helicopter finally hit my ears and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The reclamation crew went about setting up a security perimeter and the nerds started the process of bagging the two bodies, one of the soldiers approached me
"Slayer 7?" Her voice was firm but I could see from her rank she was a junior member of SD
"No I am the other hunter babysitting two supernatural corpses exactly where I told you to pick me up," I brushed past her, I just wanted a shower and a drink as I took my seat in the chopper.
I slept through the entire flight back. No one even tried to disturb me, perks I guess of either the job or my nepotism, I didn't give a shit. The FOB that had been setup for the incursion was in the process of being torn down and given back to the locals that had been relocated.
"Slayer 7, anything you want to report before the debrief at 0800?" Auntie Cass had an ability to appear near completely unseen when she wanted to, if it was a gift from her relationship with uncle Reynard or just a natural ability I always wondered, I stopped in my tracks and stood at attention as I addressed her, a sign of respect rather an obligation
"No ma'am, seemed like it was just a skirmish rather than relic hunt or directed strike," the rain had picked up, between the background noise of workers and soliders shouting instructions and using a variety of power tools, like ants swarming over a dropped piece of candy, people seemes to be moving in every direction in the background
"You okay Coatl?" Her voice changed to one of a concerned family member, she noticed the various cuts and tears that covered my body, the cut above my left eye had stopped bleeding, it still stung with every raindrop that hit it
"I'm fine Auntie Cass, just need a shower and bed," I watched her flash a small smile, she was the only family member I felt could trust not to fuss over me, we were both warriors, trained to as far a limited as humanly possible to be able to defend our realm from supernatural incursions, the SD or "Supernatural Divison" employed us both, we belonged to the Quick Reaction Response Forces, the first military reaction to the supernatural.
"Also, Uncle Reynard says hello," I added, her face went from concern to disgust, their relationship had become something of a joke, the trickster demi god and the strict warrior general of the Supernatural Divison
"Get some rest Coatl, we will debrief you tomorrow," with that she marched off barking orders at various other people.
My room was number 4 in a motel the SD had taken over as they claimed the town. After decontamination and collecting my ration pack I sat on the end of my bed and turned on the TV, switching through channels I found old cartoons playing, I take another bite out of the beef jerky that came in the rations, it tasted like crap but still I ate it, my phone started to vibrate on the bedside table, the screen read "Mom" this was going to be fun
"Hey Mom what is going on?"
"You know I hate using these things," I smiled to myself as I glanced at the runes and wards I had carved in to the door
"So why are you calling Mom?" I knew I had to get the conversation on topic, even know she was the Queen of Death she was a master of the motherly guilt trip
"Well I was enjoying my tour of the plains, all of the fresh dead had been processed into souls and been judged and put on their path and then to my shock and distress, my realm was filled with dozens of Seraphim and Demons and do you know what they said?"
Snitches
"I have no idea Mom," I prepared myself for the melodramatic antics
"They told me a mortal man slaughtered their mortal realm bodies, that he fought both demons and the angelic forces so now I have to deal with, judge and process all of these souls and organise their reclamation to their realms,"
"Wow that is crazy," I feigned innocence as well as I could, she knew it was me as much as I knew it was me, I heard a commotion in the background
"We are not done, we will continue this talk later young man, before I go are you still coming to the dinner next weekend?" I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my one free hand, I always hated visiting the dead realms but it always made mom happy and then she wouldn't harass me as much
"Of course Mom, I will bring the wine, bye," I quickly hung up, ready to finally sleep, I flopped on the bed, my phone started vibrating as a rapid series of texts and calls streamed in, both from my Archangel sister and Demon king brother, both escalating in intensity and rage. Eh fuck it, I will deal with it in the morning. They will still be my family then. | I always knew life was going to be difficult, but what I didn't know is that my true family felt that I was inferior, that I must die to preserve the sanctity of all those born under Zeus. The children had always known, for they had crafted the device that was to secure my body upon the ground allowing all of humanity to stone me until even the last of my vital organs failed, and bled unto the earth until the action was deemed satisfactory to my brethren. The children were not cruel, they were merely attempting to survive the inevitable wrath of our father. The less reason he has to hate you, the more likely you'll survive each time.
​
For the last 9 3/4 years, I've been living on Easter Island, eating the fruits of the Earth and hunting the Wildlife for nutrition. Every third rabbit is burned alive to please the gods. Every fourth snake is cuddled until it bites me, and for each time I survive, it is counted upon as a blessing. The statues of those who lived here in ancient times keep me company. If I could figure out a way to lift even one of them, I'd take further analysis. I like the monobrow, but there's not much more to say.
​
Every time a thunder storm happens, I fear that father has found me out, and has discovered my sacred location. Last time, I nearly made the journey back to Chile. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | ”...so then Mom decided that Michael’s soul should be weighed against the Balance, not against Justice, and it’s not fair, Dad, it’s not!”
It was too early for my sister to be screaming like that at our father, I was pretty sure of that. Still, I wanted my coffee, so I quietly stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen and tried to be as invisible as possible.
”Sara dear, you know your mother makes these decisions, and you know your boyfriend was playing with fire to begin with when he tried to take off your brother’s head.”
My father had a soothing, booming voice, and I could tell he was trying to placate an issue that Sara had clearly been ranting on for hours already. Some people have no concept of time when they get angry, and Sara got angry a lot. And in her anger she clearly brewed a mean cup of coffee, because the spoon I had used to stir was now a filigreed stick. I hoped there was some holy water in the fridge, it should dilute the coffee enough...
”But Daaaaad! Levi provoked him! You know how he is with my friends, he never lets them just be!”
I could sense that Sara was about to pull out the waterworks and start caterwauling. I knew I had limited time to get my coffee and skedaddle out of the kitchen, otherwise I would have a ringing migraine for the rest of the day. Sara often forgot that she wasn’t supposed to use her harmonics when not at work. That happened often enough that I had learned to just get away from her when her voice and volume started to rise.
”Now, Sara, do not use that tone with me. Your mother’s decision on this is final. And you know you are not supposed to use your Voice like that!”
Dad was using his stern voice, which meant that the doorframe suddenly sprouted some fledgling branches and leaves. I clasped my coffee cup tighter and ducked a particularly vigorously growing branch into hallway, only to run into my Aunt Penny. It was clear from her fatigues and exhausted face that she had just come home from a work trip.
”Hey, kiddo, you’re up early. Got any of that coffee left?”
I gave her an awkward one-armed hug – she was at least a head taller than me – and shrugged.
”Couldn’t sleep, really. There’s coffee, but it’s Sara’s ’Holy Poison’TM, sooo...”
Aunt Penny gave me a lopsided smile and ruffled my hair. ”10-4, good buddy,” she grinned, punched me on the shoulder and headed to kitchen, ignoring the harmonic shift in the wailing shouting coming from the room. Poor Dad, he always had to bear the brunt of Sara’s theatrics. The commode in the hallway was starting to grow leaves, so I hurried along towards the library. It would probably be the quietest place at the moment.
...Except that of course Levi was there, gleefully banging Michael against the shelf with all the Coptic texts on, and there is not enough battery acid in the world to clean that image from my brain.
”Put a sock on the door or something, for fuck’s sakes, Levi!”
Would it be too early to put some chartreuse in the coffee?
No peace here, so I took a long sip from coffee and trudged along towards the veranda doors. At least outside I could have my coffee in peace and try and wake up.
Even though it was only 4 am.
And I hadn’t slept for more than two hours.
Because of the exams next week.
I was maybe a bit stressed out.
Outside the world was just awakening. I sat down on the chaise longue Mom had dragged on the veranda, and tried to relax. The coffee wasn’t half bad after I had poured in half a cup of holy water. At least it woke me up and wouldn’t melt my intestines. The air felt fresh and crisp, and the first rays of morning light were distant enough that I could pretend I was still half-asleep. It was almost quiet, with only a bird here and there chirping, the wind rustling the trees only slightly, and a rumbling snore disturbing my peace just slightly.
Snore.
Oh no.
I leaned backwards over the low back of the chaise longue and peered into the shadows.
”Oh for th... Herc! Uncle Herc! Wake up! You’ve passed out on the veranda again!” | I always knew life was going to be difficult, but what I didn't know is that my true family felt that I was inferior, that I must die to preserve the sanctity of all those born under Zeus. The children had always known, for they had crafted the device that was to secure my body upon the ground allowing all of humanity to stone me until even the last of my vital organs failed, and bled unto the earth until the action was deemed satisfactory to my brethren. The children were not cruel, they were merely attempting to survive the inevitable wrath of our father. The less reason he has to hate you, the more likely you'll survive each time.
​
For the last 9 3/4 years, I've been living on Easter Island, eating the fruits of the Earth and hunting the Wildlife for nutrition. Every third rabbit is burned alive to please the gods. Every fourth snake is cuddled until it bites me, and for each time I survive, it is counted upon as a blessing. The statues of those who lived here in ancient times keep me company. If I could figure out a way to lift even one of them, I'd take further analysis. I like the monobrow, but there's not much more to say.
​
Every time a thunder storm happens, I fear that father has found me out, and has discovered my sacred location. Last time, I nearly made the journey back to Chile. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | "Mrs Reyes, Mr Reyes, good afternoon" said the school principal as he shook hands with my parents. "Please, sit"
I kicked nervously at my seat while my parents sat down. I was always in trouble, that was nothing new, but i didnt want to lose these parents. I liked them. I had dared to hope that perhaps theyd keep me instead of sending me back.
My dad looked down at me and smiled. He patted my hand reassuringly. My mother looked grim, like she does when shes wiping out entire armies of invaders. I knew my brother and sister were outside. Theyre here because of me too. Everything is my fault. I fought back tears, adults dont like it when kids cry.
"In going to get right to it," the principal began. "Josh has had some issues in class and with some of the other kids. Hes having trouble fitting in and has a tendency to say things that upset his other classmates."
I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole when the he held up my comic. It was about my new family. Now theyd send me back for sure.
"He drew these pictures and i have to say, im quite concerned." He said, handing the comic over to my mother.
My mother accepted it and studied each page carefully, then handed it to my father. I didnt dare look at them.
"He calls you the queen of death Mrs Reyes. He tells the kids you kill entire armies and sweep up their corpses like its nothing. That your slightest touch can kill anything. The kids are terrified of your other son. He and i quote, his legion of demons, terrorize your eldest daughter, the angel of light, and demand sacrifice from the other kids at school." The principal continued, "these flights of fancy are unhealthy. Did you know he tells the others his uncle has magical powers but not like you or your husband so he must only be half a God? He also mentions your sister commands armies with the mere blow of a whistle."
My father looks down at me and asks. "Did you really draw all of this?" He asks. I give him a slight nod as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I have to say that he may need extensive therapy and a move to a different school that specializes with kids that have his....issues. He is a disruptive influence to his siblings and the other kids in class. Something must be done" the principal stated.
My mother finally spoke. "Josh, step outside please"
Her stern voice caused me to flinch. My father patted my hand reassuringly. I stood up on trembling knees and went to wait outside with my brother and sister. My sister wrapped an arm around me. Shes such a kind and beautiful angel.
My brother sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed. "Hope you didnt talk, bug nutz, snitches get stitches" he said with a small smirk.
A few moments later my mother stormed out of the office cursing, "little fucking shit....how dare he..." she mumbled as she stormed off down the hall. My father stepped out and sighed. "Cmon kids" he said. We followed after him.
In the car noone said anything. Mother was angry, father was silent. It was all my fault. I stared out the window and my heart started beating faster. I recognized the road. "Please dont take me back oh please oh please im sorry!" I exclaimed. I couldnt help the tears that fell down my face. "Ill be good i wont talk to the other kids i promise i wont draw any more ill just to my work" i babbled "i cant go back, not again...please" i sobbed.
My mother pulled the car over and stepped out. She opend my door and unbuckled my seat belt. She lifted me up and hugged me so tight i couldnt breathe. Soon i felt the arms of my entire family around me.
"My beautiful, sweet, funny, artistic and creative boy" my mother said in between the kisses she planted on my face. "I would NEVER give you up. You are mine, you are ours and it doesn't matter what anyone says about you, you are PERFECT"
Her words washed over me and relieved the despair I'd felt since i was first called into the principals office. I knew at that moment that I'd found my forever home.
"I stand here today, proud of my odd and dysfunctional family, grateful of the opportunity they gave me and the love they showed me." I say from my position behind the podium.
The screen behind me came alive with a childish drawing of a stick figure woman killing stick figure ants, spiders and plants.
"To my mother, the queen of death, slayer of house plants and destroyer of bugs"
The screen changes again to a stick figure dad and fish, surrounded by glitter. "To my dad, bringer of life to goldfish, he could even make them change colors"
My stick figure sister appeared next, holding a flashlight and had butterfly wings. "To my sister, the angel of light who kept my nightmares at bay with her gentle hugs"
My brother with devil horns holding a kid upside down shaling change out of him was next "to my brother, who always got my lunch money back and was always in trouble for it"
The screen changes to my uncle, raining candy from his magic hands and my aunt commanding her army of soccer players. "To my aunt and uncle, who always had candy and taught me the meaning of teamwork"
"To me entire family, thank you for believeing in me, for loving me, for allowing me to be a part of your lives. I love you all more than i know how to say" i finish with tears in my eyes. I step away from the podium and sit back in my seat. Valedictorian, never thought that would be me. Never thought i could be as happy as i am. My family is weird, i fit right in. | I always knew life was going to be difficult, but what I didn't know is that my true family felt that I was inferior, that I must die to preserve the sanctity of all those born under Zeus. The children had always known, for they had crafted the device that was to secure my body upon the ground allowing all of humanity to stone me until even the last of my vital organs failed, and bled unto the earth until the action was deemed satisfactory to my brethren. The children were not cruel, they were merely attempting to survive the inevitable wrath of our father. The less reason he has to hate you, the more likely you'll survive each time.
​
For the last 9 3/4 years, I've been living on Easter Island, eating the fruits of the Earth and hunting the Wildlife for nutrition. Every third rabbit is burned alive to please the gods. Every fourth snake is cuddled until it bites me, and for each time I survive, it is counted upon as a blessing. The statues of those who lived here in ancient times keep me company. If I could figure out a way to lift even one of them, I'd take further analysis. I like the monobrow, but there's not much more to say.
​
Every time a thunder storm happens, I fear that father has found me out, and has discovered my sacred location. Last time, I nearly made the journey back to Chile. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | I decided to give it a try! First time, but sure is hard in another language.
\-------
Fear has always been one of humanity’s primal emotions. The fear of the unknown, of death, of failure. I had never feared such things. I feared something else entirely. And as I sat there in the restaurant, with a fork laden with the finest truffle spaghetti, starring at the blonde-haired woman smiling at me from across the table – I felt it coming. She had been trying to breech the subject the entire evening. Sweat slowly dripped from my forehead in anticipation, polluting the half-eaten dish beneath me.
“I would love to meet your family!”
She said it… I knew it had been coming but… I had still clung to the hope that she may have just been curious about my past. My grip loosened, and the fork fell - but it never hit the red and white tablecloth of the restaurant. Instead, it landed silently on an impossibly soft and white table. Almost like a marshmallow-like cloud. Around the cloudlike table sat 6 other entities. None looked like the other, some had horns, others had wings… but they all shared the rather intimidating trait of being as tall as mansions.
My girlfriend sat frozen in place. Her eyes darting from figure to figure. She looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound came.
“Heya son!” A voice boomed from the tallest of the figures. A huge man with a great white beard. He leaned down to impossible levels, so as to look into my eyes.
“Hi dad…” I moaned as I stared back into one, huge, unblinking eye.
“We just… Oh I mean… Your farther overheard your little date and we figured we’d invite you and your little girlfriend over for dinner.” A female voice rumbled like thunder from above. My mother, the Queen of death, extended a gigantic hand towards my girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you! Well I guess that’s what humans usually say. I guess it’s more prudent to say we know everything about you, yes? I’m Tia. But you can call me mom!” She looked very excited at that last notion… Which only furthered my anxiety. Nothing good usually happened when mother got excited. Last time that had happened, we were celebrating me having joined a hockey team. Before I knew it, the entire team had met mysterious ends. Not that it was her intention to kill them, it was simply what she did.
“a…uh….Lisa…” My girlfriend muttered in response, sitting completely frozen.
“Not as articulate as your last girlfriend!” My dad responded with a huff. Was he really still sulking?
“Dad I told you, I don’t want you to create a girlfriend FOR me.” It was so silly… As soon as I had hit 15 years of age, he had created a so called “mate” for me in the palms of his hands. Perfect in every way – too perfect.
“I make every living organism. Billions upon billions of them. But I make just one for my son and it’s not good enough oh no.” He replied childishly. Crossing his pillar-sized arms defiantly.
“Come now dad, she was too boring!” My brother teased. “A succubus! Now that’s where the fun's at. Just say the word and I can make it happen! I’m not called Jeremy, the demon king for nothing you know!”
I sent my brother a grimace of complete disinterest. My sister, however, rose from the table with her wings unfolding beautifully. She held a hand aloft and materialized a great sword of light within. “Hold thy tongue foul brother! Or I shall hold it for you!”
​
This is my family… I’d love to say that I’m a divine being myself but no. I’m simply Bob from Brooklyn, and I’m an accountant. Though I must admit I've lied about that in the past on Tinder, and claimed to be a doctor. | I always knew life was going to be difficult, but what I didn't know is that my true family felt that I was inferior, that I must die to preserve the sanctity of all those born under Zeus. The children had always known, for they had crafted the device that was to secure my body upon the ground allowing all of humanity to stone me until even the last of my vital organs failed, and bled unto the earth until the action was deemed satisfactory to my brethren. The children were not cruel, they were merely attempting to survive the inevitable wrath of our father. The less reason he has to hate you, the more likely you'll survive each time.
​
For the last 9 3/4 years, I've been living on Easter Island, eating the fruits of the Earth and hunting the Wildlife for nutrition. Every third rabbit is burned alive to please the gods. Every fourth snake is cuddled until it bites me, and for each time I survive, it is counted upon as a blessing. The statues of those who lived here in ancient times keep me company. If I could figure out a way to lift even one of them, I'd take further analysis. I like the monobrow, but there's not much more to say.
​
Every time a thunder storm happens, I fear that father has found me out, and has discovered my sacred location. Last time, I nearly made the journey back to Chile. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | "Mrs Reyes, Mr Reyes, good afternoon" said the school principal as he shook hands with my parents. "Please, sit"
I kicked nervously at my seat while my parents sat down. I was always in trouble, that was nothing new, but i didnt want to lose these parents. I liked them. I had dared to hope that perhaps theyd keep me instead of sending me back.
My dad looked down at me and smiled. He patted my hand reassuringly. My mother looked grim, like she does when shes wiping out entire armies of invaders. I knew my brother and sister were outside. Theyre here because of me too. Everything is my fault. I fought back tears, adults dont like it when kids cry.
"In going to get right to it," the principal began. "Josh has had some issues in class and with some of the other kids. Hes having trouble fitting in and has a tendency to say things that upset his other classmates."
I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole when the he held up my comic. It was about my new family. Now theyd send me back for sure.
"He drew these pictures and i have to say, im quite concerned." He said, handing the comic over to my mother.
My mother accepted it and studied each page carefully, then handed it to my father. I didnt dare look at them.
"He calls you the queen of death Mrs Reyes. He tells the kids you kill entire armies and sweep up their corpses like its nothing. That your slightest touch can kill anything. The kids are terrified of your other son. He and i quote, his legion of demons, terrorize your eldest daughter, the angel of light, and demand sacrifice from the other kids at school." The principal continued, "these flights of fancy are unhealthy. Did you know he tells the others his uncle has magical powers but not like you or your husband so he must only be half a God? He also mentions your sister commands armies with the mere blow of a whistle."
My father looks down at me and asks. "Did you really draw all of this?" He asks. I give him a slight nod as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I have to say that he may need extensive therapy and a move to a different school that specializes with kids that have his....issues. He is a disruptive influence to his siblings and the other kids in class. Something must be done" the principal stated.
My mother finally spoke. "Josh, step outside please"
Her stern voice caused me to flinch. My father patted my hand reassuringly. I stood up on trembling knees and went to wait outside with my brother and sister. My sister wrapped an arm around me. Shes such a kind and beautiful angel.
My brother sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed. "Hope you didnt talk, bug nutz, snitches get stitches" he said with a small smirk.
A few moments later my mother stormed out of the office cursing, "little fucking shit....how dare he..." she mumbled as she stormed off down the hall. My father stepped out and sighed. "Cmon kids" he said. We followed after him.
In the car noone said anything. Mother was angry, father was silent. It was all my fault. I stared out the window and my heart started beating faster. I recognized the road. "Please dont take me back oh please oh please im sorry!" I exclaimed. I couldnt help the tears that fell down my face. "Ill be good i wont talk to the other kids i promise i wont draw any more ill just to my work" i babbled "i cant go back, not again...please" i sobbed.
My mother pulled the car over and stepped out. She opend my door and unbuckled my seat belt. She lifted me up and hugged me so tight i couldnt breathe. Soon i felt the arms of my entire family around me.
"My beautiful, sweet, funny, artistic and creative boy" my mother said in between the kisses she planted on my face. "I would NEVER give you up. You are mine, you are ours and it doesn't matter what anyone says about you, you are PERFECT"
Her words washed over me and relieved the despair I'd felt since i was first called into the principals office. I knew at that moment that I'd found my forever home.
"I stand here today, proud of my odd and dysfunctional family, grateful of the opportunity they gave me and the love they showed me." I say from my position behind the podium.
The screen behind me came alive with a childish drawing of a stick figure woman killing stick figure ants, spiders and plants.
"To my mother, the queen of death, slayer of house plants and destroyer of bugs"
The screen changes again to a stick figure dad and fish, surrounded by glitter. "To my dad, bringer of life to goldfish, he could even make them change colors"
My stick figure sister appeared next, holding a flashlight and had butterfly wings. "To my sister, the angel of light who kept my nightmares at bay with her gentle hugs"
My brother with devil horns holding a kid upside down shaling change out of him was next "to my brother, who always got my lunch money back and was always in trouble for it"
The screen changes to my uncle, raining candy from his magic hands and my aunt commanding her army of soccer players. "To my aunt and uncle, who always had candy and taught me the meaning of teamwork"
"To me entire family, thank you for believeing in me, for loving me, for allowing me to be a part of your lives. I love you all more than i know how to say" i finish with tears in my eyes. I step away from the podium and sit back in my seat. Valedictorian, never thought that would be me. Never thought i could be as happy as i am. My family is weird, i fit right in. | The silence was actually nice after all the noise and chaos, I sat on the bus stop seat and caught my breathe, it was hotter than hell in this town in the middle of the swamps, how people loved out here was beyond me, it was so damn hot and humid, my clothes and gear were equal parts soaked in sweat, blood and mud, I took a moment, most of the town was destroyed in the battle, a shame really, it was a nice enough little hunting and fishing town, some would call it a redneck town but it didn't deserve to be the ring for Lei and Kal's rumble
"Slayer 7 this is Overlord, send SITREP over," the radio on my shoulder crackled with the voice of Genral Jane, or Auntie Cass as I called her when I wasn't working
"Overlord this is Slayer 7, both Class 3 targets down and collected, Class 7 specimens have scattered, will mark LZ with flare,"
"Overlord, acknowledge, be advised Slayer 7, Wolf callsigns will handle the cordon they will be unable to assist you, limited CAS will be available to you in case of counter attack or recollection, over,"
I sighed and got up, walking over to the centre of the intersection, the mixtures of demonic and angelic blood filled my nose as I drew my flare pistol, I just hoped there was to few of them to try and get revenge or cannibalize their champions, the flare shot high and popped with that familair red glare mixing with the twilight grey of the sky
"Location confirmed Slayer ETA 1-5 mikes," 15 minutes, I quickly topped up my shotgun, the imbuned flechettes would drop anything that got to close, however I had enough of dealing with the enemy at close range, I had time to finally fix my Mk14 EBR, a cartridge was mangled in the chamber, as I cleared the carnage that was caused by the Seraphim leader when she ambushed me, she was now laying in the intersection, the light in her eyes gone, one wing broken, her flowing brunette hair matted with mud, next to her was the Demonic deacon, a hulking brutish creature with ashen skin and glowing horns. The only building that would give me a close overwatch was a badly damaged two storey bar, half the building was collapsed, I moved quickly up the stairs as a light rain started, the radio crackled to life with an ethereal male voice spoke
"Coatl are you okay?" I stayed dead still in my hide, my uncle's voice was whispering in my radio, this wasn't the first time he used supernatural powers to check up on me
"Look Coatl, be aware there is an number of envoys that have entered the mortal realm, tell Cass I say hello," with that the radio went dead, the battery was completely dead, the Demi God of trickery and fates, uncle Reynard's help always came with a condition, if he was telling the truth, I would have to get ready for a fight. I waited, sitting in silence, not moving a muscle, perched behind a bar with a perfect watch over the two bodies laying in the street, every sound getting my full attention. The drone of the helicopter finally hit my ears and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The reclamation crew went about setting up a security perimeter and the nerds started the process of bagging the two bodies, one of the soldiers approached me
"Slayer 7?" Her voice was firm but I could see from her rank she was a junior member of SD
"No I am the other hunter babysitting two supernatural corpses exactly where I told you to pick me up," I brushed past her, I just wanted a shower and a drink as I took my seat in the chopper.
I slept through the entire flight back. No one even tried to disturb me, perks I guess of either the job or my nepotism, I didn't give a shit. The FOB that had been setup for the incursion was in the process of being torn down and given back to the locals that had been relocated.
"Slayer 7, anything you want to report before the debrief at 0800?" Auntie Cass had an ability to appear near completely unseen when she wanted to, if it was a gift from her relationship with uncle Reynard or just a natural ability I always wondered, I stopped in my tracks and stood at attention as I addressed her, a sign of respect rather an obligation
"No ma'am, seemed like it was just a skirmish rather than relic hunt or directed strike," the rain had picked up, between the background noise of workers and soliders shouting instructions and using a variety of power tools, like ants swarming over a dropped piece of candy, people seemes to be moving in every direction in the background
"You okay Coatl?" Her voice changed to one of a concerned family member, she noticed the various cuts and tears that covered my body, the cut above my left eye had stopped bleeding, it still stung with every raindrop that hit it
"I'm fine Auntie Cass, just need a shower and bed," I watched her flash a small smile, she was the only family member I felt could trust not to fuss over me, we were both warriors, trained to as far a limited as humanly possible to be able to defend our realm from supernatural incursions, the SD or "Supernatural Divison" employed us both, we belonged to the Quick Reaction Response Forces, the first military reaction to the supernatural.
"Also, Uncle Reynard says hello," I added, her face went from concern to disgust, their relationship had become something of a joke, the trickster demi god and the strict warrior general of the Supernatural Divison
"Get some rest Coatl, we will debrief you tomorrow," with that she marched off barking orders at various other people.
My room was number 4 in a motel the SD had taken over as they claimed the town. After decontamination and collecting my ration pack I sat on the end of my bed and turned on the TV, switching through channels I found old cartoons playing, I take another bite out of the beef jerky that came in the rations, it tasted like crap but still I ate it, my phone started to vibrate on the bedside table, the screen read "Mom" this was going to be fun
"Hey Mom what is going on?"
"You know I hate using these things," I smiled to myself as I glanced at the runes and wards I had carved in to the door
"So why are you calling Mom?" I knew I had to get the conversation on topic, even know she was the Queen of Death she was a master of the motherly guilt trip
"Well I was enjoying my tour of the plains, all of the fresh dead had been processed into souls and been judged and put on their path and then to my shock and distress, my realm was filled with dozens of Seraphim and Demons and do you know what they said?"
Snitches
"I have no idea Mom," I prepared myself for the melodramatic antics
"They told me a mortal man slaughtered their mortal realm bodies, that he fought both demons and the angelic forces so now I have to deal with, judge and process all of these souls and organise their reclamation to their realms,"
"Wow that is crazy," I feigned innocence as well as I could, she knew it was me as much as I knew it was me, I heard a commotion in the background
"We are not done, we will continue this talk later young man, before I go are you still coming to the dinner next weekend?" I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my one free hand, I always hated visiting the dead realms but it always made mom happy and then she wouldn't harass me as much
"Of course Mom, I will bring the wine, bye," I quickly hung up, ready to finally sleep, I flopped on the bed, my phone started vibrating as a rapid series of texts and calls streamed in, both from my Archangel sister and Demon king brother, both escalating in intensity and rage. Eh fuck it, I will deal with it in the morning. They will still be my family then. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | I decided to give it a try! First time, but sure is hard in another language.
\-------
Fear has always been one of humanity’s primal emotions. The fear of the unknown, of death, of failure. I had never feared such things. I feared something else entirely. And as I sat there in the restaurant, with a fork laden with the finest truffle spaghetti, starring at the blonde-haired woman smiling at me from across the table – I felt it coming. She had been trying to breech the subject the entire evening. Sweat slowly dripped from my forehead in anticipation, polluting the half-eaten dish beneath me.
“I would love to meet your family!”
She said it… I knew it had been coming but… I had still clung to the hope that she may have just been curious about my past. My grip loosened, and the fork fell - but it never hit the red and white tablecloth of the restaurant. Instead, it landed silently on an impossibly soft and white table. Almost like a marshmallow-like cloud. Around the cloudlike table sat 6 other entities. None looked like the other, some had horns, others had wings… but they all shared the rather intimidating trait of being as tall as mansions.
My girlfriend sat frozen in place. Her eyes darting from figure to figure. She looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound came.
“Heya son!” A voice boomed from the tallest of the figures. A huge man with a great white beard. He leaned down to impossible levels, so as to look into my eyes.
“Hi dad…” I moaned as I stared back into one, huge, unblinking eye.
“We just… Oh I mean… Your farther overheard your little date and we figured we’d invite you and your little girlfriend over for dinner.” A female voice rumbled like thunder from above. My mother, the Queen of death, extended a gigantic hand towards my girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you! Well I guess that’s what humans usually say. I guess it’s more prudent to say we know everything about you, yes? I’m Tia. But you can call me mom!” She looked very excited at that last notion… Which only furthered my anxiety. Nothing good usually happened when mother got excited. Last time that had happened, we were celebrating me having joined a hockey team. Before I knew it, the entire team had met mysterious ends. Not that it was her intention to kill them, it was simply what she did.
“a…uh….Lisa…” My girlfriend muttered in response, sitting completely frozen.
“Not as articulate as your last girlfriend!” My dad responded with a huff. Was he really still sulking?
“Dad I told you, I don’t want you to create a girlfriend FOR me.” It was so silly… As soon as I had hit 15 years of age, he had created a so called “mate” for me in the palms of his hands. Perfect in every way – too perfect.
“I make every living organism. Billions upon billions of them. But I make just one for my son and it’s not good enough oh no.” He replied childishly. Crossing his pillar-sized arms defiantly.
“Come now dad, she was too boring!” My brother teased. “A succubus! Now that’s where the fun's at. Just say the word and I can make it happen! I’m not called Jeremy, the demon king for nothing you know!”
I sent my brother a grimace of complete disinterest. My sister, however, rose from the table with her wings unfolding beautifully. She held a hand aloft and materialized a great sword of light within. “Hold thy tongue foul brother! Or I shall hold it for you!”
​
This is my family… I’d love to say that I’m a divine being myself but no. I’m simply Bob from Brooklyn, and I’m an accountant. Though I must admit I've lied about that in the past on Tinder, and claimed to be a doctor. | The silence was actually nice after all the noise and chaos, I sat on the bus stop seat and caught my breathe, it was hotter than hell in this town in the middle of the swamps, how people loved out here was beyond me, it was so damn hot and humid, my clothes and gear were equal parts soaked in sweat, blood and mud, I took a moment, most of the town was destroyed in the battle, a shame really, it was a nice enough little hunting and fishing town, some would call it a redneck town but it didn't deserve to be the ring for Lei and Kal's rumble
"Slayer 7 this is Overlord, send SITREP over," the radio on my shoulder crackled with the voice of Genral Jane, or Auntie Cass as I called her when I wasn't working
"Overlord this is Slayer 7, both Class 3 targets down and collected, Class 7 specimens have scattered, will mark LZ with flare,"
"Overlord, acknowledge, be advised Slayer 7, Wolf callsigns will handle the cordon they will be unable to assist you, limited CAS will be available to you in case of counter attack or recollection, over,"
I sighed and got up, walking over to the centre of the intersection, the mixtures of demonic and angelic blood filled my nose as I drew my flare pistol, I just hoped there was to few of them to try and get revenge or cannibalize their champions, the flare shot high and popped with that familair red glare mixing with the twilight grey of the sky
"Location confirmed Slayer ETA 1-5 mikes," 15 minutes, I quickly topped up my shotgun, the imbuned flechettes would drop anything that got to close, however I had enough of dealing with the enemy at close range, I had time to finally fix my Mk14 EBR, a cartridge was mangled in the chamber, as I cleared the carnage that was caused by the Seraphim leader when she ambushed me, she was now laying in the intersection, the light in her eyes gone, one wing broken, her flowing brunette hair matted with mud, next to her was the Demonic deacon, a hulking brutish creature with ashen skin and glowing horns. The only building that would give me a close overwatch was a badly damaged two storey bar, half the building was collapsed, I moved quickly up the stairs as a light rain started, the radio crackled to life with an ethereal male voice spoke
"Coatl are you okay?" I stayed dead still in my hide, my uncle's voice was whispering in my radio, this wasn't the first time he used supernatural powers to check up on me
"Look Coatl, be aware there is an number of envoys that have entered the mortal realm, tell Cass I say hello," with that the radio went dead, the battery was completely dead, the Demi God of trickery and fates, uncle Reynard's help always came with a condition, if he was telling the truth, I would have to get ready for a fight. I waited, sitting in silence, not moving a muscle, perched behind a bar with a perfect watch over the two bodies laying in the street, every sound getting my full attention. The drone of the helicopter finally hit my ears and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The reclamation crew went about setting up a security perimeter and the nerds started the process of bagging the two bodies, one of the soldiers approached me
"Slayer 7?" Her voice was firm but I could see from her rank she was a junior member of SD
"No I am the other hunter babysitting two supernatural corpses exactly where I told you to pick me up," I brushed past her, I just wanted a shower and a drink as I took my seat in the chopper.
I slept through the entire flight back. No one even tried to disturb me, perks I guess of either the job or my nepotism, I didn't give a shit. The FOB that had been setup for the incursion was in the process of being torn down and given back to the locals that had been relocated.
"Slayer 7, anything you want to report before the debrief at 0800?" Auntie Cass had an ability to appear near completely unseen when she wanted to, if it was a gift from her relationship with uncle Reynard or just a natural ability I always wondered, I stopped in my tracks and stood at attention as I addressed her, a sign of respect rather an obligation
"No ma'am, seemed like it was just a skirmish rather than relic hunt or directed strike," the rain had picked up, between the background noise of workers and soliders shouting instructions and using a variety of power tools, like ants swarming over a dropped piece of candy, people seemes to be moving in every direction in the background
"You okay Coatl?" Her voice changed to one of a concerned family member, she noticed the various cuts and tears that covered my body, the cut above my left eye had stopped bleeding, it still stung with every raindrop that hit it
"I'm fine Auntie Cass, just need a shower and bed," I watched her flash a small smile, she was the only family member I felt could trust not to fuss over me, we were both warriors, trained to as far a limited as humanly possible to be able to defend our realm from supernatural incursions, the SD or "Supernatural Divison" employed us both, we belonged to the Quick Reaction Response Forces, the first military reaction to the supernatural.
"Also, Uncle Reynard says hello," I added, her face went from concern to disgust, their relationship had become something of a joke, the trickster demi god and the strict warrior general of the Supernatural Divison
"Get some rest Coatl, we will debrief you tomorrow," with that she marched off barking orders at various other people.
My room was number 4 in a motel the SD had taken over as they claimed the town. After decontamination and collecting my ration pack I sat on the end of my bed and turned on the TV, switching through channels I found old cartoons playing, I take another bite out of the beef jerky that came in the rations, it tasted like crap but still I ate it, my phone started to vibrate on the bedside table, the screen read "Mom" this was going to be fun
"Hey Mom what is going on?"
"You know I hate using these things," I smiled to myself as I glanced at the runes and wards I had carved in to the door
"So why are you calling Mom?" I knew I had to get the conversation on topic, even know she was the Queen of Death she was a master of the motherly guilt trip
"Well I was enjoying my tour of the plains, all of the fresh dead had been processed into souls and been judged and put on their path and then to my shock and distress, my realm was filled with dozens of Seraphim and Demons and do you know what they said?"
Snitches
"I have no idea Mom," I prepared myself for the melodramatic antics
"They told me a mortal man slaughtered their mortal realm bodies, that he fought both demons and the angelic forces so now I have to deal with, judge and process all of these souls and organise their reclamation to their realms,"
"Wow that is crazy," I feigned innocence as well as I could, she knew it was me as much as I knew it was me, I heard a commotion in the background
"We are not done, we will continue this talk later young man, before I go are you still coming to the dinner next weekend?" I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my one free hand, I always hated visiting the dead realms but it always made mom happy and then she wouldn't harass me as much
"Of course Mom, I will bring the wine, bye," I quickly hung up, ready to finally sleep, I flopped on the bed, my phone started vibrating as a rapid series of texts and calls streamed in, both from my Archangel sister and Demon king brother, both escalating in intensity and rage. Eh fuck it, I will deal with it in the morning. They will still be my family then. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | "Mrs Reyes, Mr Reyes, good afternoon" said the school principal as he shook hands with my parents. "Please, sit"
I kicked nervously at my seat while my parents sat down. I was always in trouble, that was nothing new, but i didnt want to lose these parents. I liked them. I had dared to hope that perhaps theyd keep me instead of sending me back.
My dad looked down at me and smiled. He patted my hand reassuringly. My mother looked grim, like she does when shes wiping out entire armies of invaders. I knew my brother and sister were outside. Theyre here because of me too. Everything is my fault. I fought back tears, adults dont like it when kids cry.
"In going to get right to it," the principal began. "Josh has had some issues in class and with some of the other kids. Hes having trouble fitting in and has a tendency to say things that upset his other classmates."
I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole when the he held up my comic. It was about my new family. Now theyd send me back for sure.
"He drew these pictures and i have to say, im quite concerned." He said, handing the comic over to my mother.
My mother accepted it and studied each page carefully, then handed it to my father. I didnt dare look at them.
"He calls you the queen of death Mrs Reyes. He tells the kids you kill entire armies and sweep up their corpses like its nothing. That your slightest touch can kill anything. The kids are terrified of your other son. He and i quote, his legion of demons, terrorize your eldest daughter, the angel of light, and demand sacrifice from the other kids at school." The principal continued, "these flights of fancy are unhealthy. Did you know he tells the others his uncle has magical powers but not like you or your husband so he must only be half a God? He also mentions your sister commands armies with the mere blow of a whistle."
My father looks down at me and asks. "Did you really draw all of this?" He asks. I give him a slight nod as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I have to say that he may need extensive therapy and a move to a different school that specializes with kids that have his....issues. He is a disruptive influence to his siblings and the other kids in class. Something must be done" the principal stated.
My mother finally spoke. "Josh, step outside please"
Her stern voice caused me to flinch. My father patted my hand reassuringly. I stood up on trembling knees and went to wait outside with my brother and sister. My sister wrapped an arm around me. Shes such a kind and beautiful angel.
My brother sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed. "Hope you didnt talk, bug nutz, snitches get stitches" he said with a small smirk.
A few moments later my mother stormed out of the office cursing, "little fucking shit....how dare he..." she mumbled as she stormed off down the hall. My father stepped out and sighed. "Cmon kids" he said. We followed after him.
In the car noone said anything. Mother was angry, father was silent. It was all my fault. I stared out the window and my heart started beating faster. I recognized the road. "Please dont take me back oh please oh please im sorry!" I exclaimed. I couldnt help the tears that fell down my face. "Ill be good i wont talk to the other kids i promise i wont draw any more ill just to my work" i babbled "i cant go back, not again...please" i sobbed.
My mother pulled the car over and stepped out. She opend my door and unbuckled my seat belt. She lifted me up and hugged me so tight i couldnt breathe. Soon i felt the arms of my entire family around me.
"My beautiful, sweet, funny, artistic and creative boy" my mother said in between the kisses she planted on my face. "I would NEVER give you up. You are mine, you are ours and it doesn't matter what anyone says about you, you are PERFECT"
Her words washed over me and relieved the despair I'd felt since i was first called into the principals office. I knew at that moment that I'd found my forever home.
"I stand here today, proud of my odd and dysfunctional family, grateful of the opportunity they gave me and the love they showed me." I say from my position behind the podium.
The screen behind me came alive with a childish drawing of a stick figure woman killing stick figure ants, spiders and plants.
"To my mother, the queen of death, slayer of house plants and destroyer of bugs"
The screen changes again to a stick figure dad and fish, surrounded by glitter. "To my dad, bringer of life to goldfish, he could even make them change colors"
My stick figure sister appeared next, holding a flashlight and had butterfly wings. "To my sister, the angel of light who kept my nightmares at bay with her gentle hugs"
My brother with devil horns holding a kid upside down shaling change out of him was next "to my brother, who always got my lunch money back and was always in trouble for it"
The screen changes to my uncle, raining candy from his magic hands and my aunt commanding her army of soccer players. "To my aunt and uncle, who always had candy and taught me the meaning of teamwork"
"To me entire family, thank you for believeing in me, for loving me, for allowing me to be a part of your lives. I love you all more than i know how to say" i finish with tears in my eyes. I step away from the podium and sit back in my seat. Valedictorian, never thought that would be me. Never thought i could be as happy as i am. My family is weird, i fit right in. | “This baby,” I slapped the top of the redeemer model drone I was trying to advertise, “can fire 400 rounds a second with option of cold steel, purified silver or magnesium rounds just in case you need to blind and bind some otherworldly abominations”
Auntie Tess inspected the the paperwork if passed her with the same care and scrutiny that she gave my yearly school report, hopefully this could satisfy her more than those ever had.
With pursed lips and a furrowed brow she set the pile of paper down and met my eyes with her own steely gaze.
“It’s good miles, it’s real good.” She said as a manicured hand ran along the hawklike profile of the drone. “But it feels like I’m dealing with the devil, this will take the human element out of killing and escalate any conflict we go into.”
“General Raines, I assure you I’m on the side of the angels.” I paused as she frowned at that . “But yes, this weapon, this direction of warfare will make mother VERY proud.”
My aunt stood up from her inspection and straightened her uniform, brushing nonexistent dust from the stars on her shoulders. With a gesture an aid clicked a pen and placed it in her hand.
“I think that this is the kind of thing that will give you a visit from that family of ours... But we’re getting caught in the crossfire and we don’t have a deterrent. I’ll take anything I can at this point.”
My wrist unit beeped a series of reds and blues, like a dysfunctional Morse code. An evacuation in my office, as well as a last minute booking by a VIP... right on schedule.
Auntie Tess gave a minuscule flinch, perhaps the barest sign of concern before she set her features back to business mode. I liked that about her, my closest human relative knew that I liked to handle my own problems.
“A last minute booking. One I’ve been waiting for. No need to be alarmed, Kincaid will bring you the paper work in meeting room 4.”
———————-
I hated contacts, but they were necessary for trials like this. My sister was strong, but sometimes didn’t control her power well and INSISTED on coming in person to get her point across. It was bullying really, I think she didn’t like the idea of treating a mortal, not even her brother, as an equal.
The secretary desk and upper floor security to my high rise office was abandoned, standard protocol. Best for those I trust with guarding my inner sanctum to be as removed from family affairs as possible.
The roof to floor mahogany door was blown off its hinges, the price of giving the divine a direct line to you.
I stepped over the door and into my office, to see my sister, Reya standing before the shattered remains of my wall spanning window as stoic as a church statue keeping vigil.
I neglected standing near an obvious danger hazard and instead made my way to a scratched and worn desk, the result of an imploding window no doubt. That had been a gift from El’ my brother, and the sentimental value was enormous, I hadn’t met him face to face for years now.
“I didn’t know the angels endorsed property damage.” I commented. “Or were the wooden furnishings in my office descendants of the stakes that pierced your messiah?”
She turned to me then, great pinions drawn back and away as glass flowed like liquid back into its rightful place. Not apology, but atonement. It was her way to make things right, but everything she did was deliberate. If she trashed my office, she did so with purpose.
“You are selling the humans weapons that can hurt my forces.”
Her eyes glowed with light and heat. But the contacts i wire shielded me from the worst of it and I stood my ground. Eye contact was essential.
“Allowing people the ability to defend themselves... how terrible.”
“Humans are volatile, they can’t be trusted with tools like these.”
“No, we should just be herded and coddled like children our whole lives. Then conscripted by you and yours to fight your war.”
She drifted closer, towering over me. Her wings didn’t beat as she flew, they were ornamental, another sign of her station and divine power. I sat down behind my desk with as much grace as I could muster and withdrew a mercilessly unharmed decanter from a draw.
“I’m trying to keep things civil miles...”
she took the offered whisky from my hand and took a sip. Wasted really, on someone with her constitution, but I knew she liked it regardless. One of her few earthly indulgences.
“But the death toll increases with every turn of the hourglass. Surely you can see that the correct decision is to stand down and let us fight instead.” She said.
She places the empty glass on the desk, and I refilled it for her.
“But what about the times when you can’t fight for us, the times where attacks happen to quickly or too erratically for your precocognitive skills to foresee.” I replied. It was a low blow, am allusion to our times before the war.
She grabbed my arm at the wrist as I offered the next glass to her. It was like granite on my skin, cold and unfeeling. Also like stone it wasn’t aware of its own strength.
“Rey...” I grimaced through the pain, chorded sinew parting as porcelain digits dug down to the bone. “Let go of me.”
“No, Miles. I’ve had an idea! I’ll buy your weapons! You’ll make your profit and I’ll maintain my advantage. My warriors backed by your machines will surely succeed in the battles to come.” The voice came out excited, as if a flash of inspiration had come to her and with it the realisation of my assets.
“Reya, you’re hurting me.” I said with all the calm I could muster. Pain radiated from my hand, reducing my faculties.
“Oh. I was carried away with the possibilities.” She said, not quite apologising.
“No. I know you Reya, you never do ANYTHING by accident. You hurt me because you wanted to fake an emotion you didn’t feel. Just like that time when you accidentally hurt me to provoke our brother to anger. Right when you thought you could win a war.”
She reverted back to her original stance, wings wide and impassive.
“Leave Reya, you aren’t here for me. You’re here for your own agenda and I’m a busy man with a short lifespan. So get out of my sight.”
“You might blame me for this, miles. But it wasn’t me who ruined this family. I’m just the one who has to manage the collateral.” She replied.
She retreated until she entered the sheeting pillars of light that entered through the recently repaired window. And evaporated from view. The whole time meeting my eyes... a gaze blank and devoid of mercy. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | I decided to give it a try! First time, but sure is hard in another language.
\-------
Fear has always been one of humanity’s primal emotions. The fear of the unknown, of death, of failure. I had never feared such things. I feared something else entirely. And as I sat there in the restaurant, with a fork laden with the finest truffle spaghetti, starring at the blonde-haired woman smiling at me from across the table – I felt it coming. She had been trying to breech the subject the entire evening. Sweat slowly dripped from my forehead in anticipation, polluting the half-eaten dish beneath me.
“I would love to meet your family!”
She said it… I knew it had been coming but… I had still clung to the hope that she may have just been curious about my past. My grip loosened, and the fork fell - but it never hit the red and white tablecloth of the restaurant. Instead, it landed silently on an impossibly soft and white table. Almost like a marshmallow-like cloud. Around the cloudlike table sat 6 other entities. None looked like the other, some had horns, others had wings… but they all shared the rather intimidating trait of being as tall as mansions.
My girlfriend sat frozen in place. Her eyes darting from figure to figure. She looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound came.
“Heya son!” A voice boomed from the tallest of the figures. A huge man with a great white beard. He leaned down to impossible levels, so as to look into my eyes.
“Hi dad…” I moaned as I stared back into one, huge, unblinking eye.
“We just… Oh I mean… Your farther overheard your little date and we figured we’d invite you and your little girlfriend over for dinner.” A female voice rumbled like thunder from above. My mother, the Queen of death, extended a gigantic hand towards my girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you! Well I guess that’s what humans usually say. I guess it’s more prudent to say we know everything about you, yes? I’m Tia. But you can call me mom!” She looked very excited at that last notion… Which only furthered my anxiety. Nothing good usually happened when mother got excited. Last time that had happened, we were celebrating me having joined a hockey team. Before I knew it, the entire team had met mysterious ends. Not that it was her intention to kill them, it was simply what she did.
“a…uh….Lisa…” My girlfriend muttered in response, sitting completely frozen.
“Not as articulate as your last girlfriend!” My dad responded with a huff. Was he really still sulking?
“Dad I told you, I don’t want you to create a girlfriend FOR me.” It was so silly… As soon as I had hit 15 years of age, he had created a so called “mate” for me in the palms of his hands. Perfect in every way – too perfect.
“I make every living organism. Billions upon billions of them. But I make just one for my son and it’s not good enough oh no.” He replied childishly. Crossing his pillar-sized arms defiantly.
“Come now dad, she was too boring!” My brother teased. “A succubus! Now that’s where the fun's at. Just say the word and I can make it happen! I’m not called Jeremy, the demon king for nothing you know!”
I sent my brother a grimace of complete disinterest. My sister, however, rose from the table with her wings unfolding beautifully. She held a hand aloft and materialized a great sword of light within. “Hold thy tongue foul brother! Or I shall hold it for you!”
​
This is my family… I’d love to say that I’m a divine being myself but no. I’m simply Bob from Brooklyn, and I’m an accountant. Though I must admit I've lied about that in the past on Tinder, and claimed to be a doctor. | “This baby,” I slapped the top of the redeemer model drone I was trying to advertise, “can fire 400 rounds a second with option of cold steel, purified silver or magnesium rounds just in case you need to blind and bind some otherworldly abominations”
Auntie Tess inspected the the paperwork if passed her with the same care and scrutiny that she gave my yearly school report, hopefully this could satisfy her more than those ever had.
With pursed lips and a furrowed brow she set the pile of paper down and met my eyes with her own steely gaze.
“It’s good miles, it’s real good.” She said as a manicured hand ran along the hawklike profile of the drone. “But it feels like I’m dealing with the devil, this will take the human element out of killing and escalate any conflict we go into.”
“General Raines, I assure you I’m on the side of the angels.” I paused as she frowned at that . “But yes, this weapon, this direction of warfare will make mother VERY proud.”
My aunt stood up from her inspection and straightened her uniform, brushing nonexistent dust from the stars on her shoulders. With a gesture an aid clicked a pen and placed it in her hand.
“I think that this is the kind of thing that will give you a visit from that family of ours... But we’re getting caught in the crossfire and we don’t have a deterrent. I’ll take anything I can at this point.”
My wrist unit beeped a series of reds and blues, like a dysfunctional Morse code. An evacuation in my office, as well as a last minute booking by a VIP... right on schedule.
Auntie Tess gave a minuscule flinch, perhaps the barest sign of concern before she set her features back to business mode. I liked that about her, my closest human relative knew that I liked to handle my own problems.
“A last minute booking. One I’ve been waiting for. No need to be alarmed, Kincaid will bring you the paper work in meeting room 4.”
———————-
I hated contacts, but they were necessary for trials like this. My sister was strong, but sometimes didn’t control her power well and INSISTED on coming in person to get her point across. It was bullying really, I think she didn’t like the idea of treating a mortal, not even her brother, as an equal.
The secretary desk and upper floor security to my high rise office was abandoned, standard protocol. Best for those I trust with guarding my inner sanctum to be as removed from family affairs as possible.
The roof to floor mahogany door was blown off its hinges, the price of giving the divine a direct line to you.
I stepped over the door and into my office, to see my sister, Reya standing before the shattered remains of my wall spanning window as stoic as a church statue keeping vigil.
I neglected standing near an obvious danger hazard and instead made my way to a scratched and worn desk, the result of an imploding window no doubt. That had been a gift from El’ my brother, and the sentimental value was enormous, I hadn’t met him face to face for years now.
“I didn’t know the angels endorsed property damage.” I commented. “Or were the wooden furnishings in my office descendants of the stakes that pierced your messiah?”
She turned to me then, great pinions drawn back and away as glass flowed like liquid back into its rightful place. Not apology, but atonement. It was her way to make things right, but everything she did was deliberate. If she trashed my office, she did so with purpose.
“You are selling the humans weapons that can hurt my forces.”
Her eyes glowed with light and heat. But the contacts i wire shielded me from the worst of it and I stood my ground. Eye contact was essential.
“Allowing people the ability to defend themselves... how terrible.”
“Humans are volatile, they can’t be trusted with tools like these.”
“No, we should just be herded and coddled like children our whole lives. Then conscripted by you and yours to fight your war.”
She drifted closer, towering over me. Her wings didn’t beat as she flew, they were ornamental, another sign of her station and divine power. I sat down behind my desk with as much grace as I could muster and withdrew a mercilessly unharmed decanter from a draw.
“I’m trying to keep things civil miles...”
she took the offered whisky from my hand and took a sip. Wasted really, on someone with her constitution, but I knew she liked it regardless. One of her few earthly indulgences.
“But the death toll increases with every turn of the hourglass. Surely you can see that the correct decision is to stand down and let us fight instead.” She said.
She places the empty glass on the desk, and I refilled it for her.
“But what about the times when you can’t fight for us, the times where attacks happen to quickly or too erratically for your precocognitive skills to foresee.” I replied. It was a low blow, am allusion to our times before the war.
She grabbed my arm at the wrist as I offered the next glass to her. It was like granite on my skin, cold and unfeeling. Also like stone it wasn’t aware of its own strength.
“Rey...” I grimaced through the pain, chorded sinew parting as porcelain digits dug down to the bone. “Let go of me.”
“No, Miles. I’ve had an idea! I’ll buy your weapons! You’ll make your profit and I’ll maintain my advantage. My warriors backed by your machines will surely succeed in the battles to come.” The voice came out excited, as if a flash of inspiration had come to her and with it the realisation of my assets.
“Reya, you’re hurting me.” I said with all the calm I could muster. Pain radiated from my hand, reducing my faculties.
“Oh. I was carried away with the possibilities.” She said, not quite apologising.
“No. I know you Reya, you never do ANYTHING by accident. You hurt me because you wanted to fake an emotion you didn’t feel. Just like that time when you accidentally hurt me to provoke our brother to anger. Right when you thought you could win a war.”
She reverted back to her original stance, wings wide and impassive.
“Leave Reya, you aren’t here for me. You’re here for your own agenda and I’m a busy man with a short lifespan. So get out of my sight.”
“You might blame me for this, miles. But it wasn’t me who ruined this family. I’m just the one who has to manage the collateral.” She replied.
She retreated until she entered the sheeting pillars of light that entered through the recently repaired window. And evaporated from view. The whole time meeting my eyes... a gaze blank and devoid of mercy. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | Well it turns out none of the major religions were right, they all got parts but never much. It turns out that there is a pyramid of gods starting with the Goddess of Creation, and the God of Annihilation, the primordial gods, and the most powerful. Below them are the rest of the gods, the god of Agriculture, the god of War, ex. Below the gods lay the Arc Angels and Arch Demons, ruled by the Arc Angel of light, and the Arch Demon of Darkness, also known as the Demon King. You can tell how much power a being possess by the number of wings they have, normal angels and demons have one pair, Arc Angels and Arch Demons have two, gods have 4, so on so fourth.
Why does any of this matter well, my father is the god of life, my mother is the god of death, my brother is the Demon King, and my sister is the Arc Angel of light, and I am... just a girl who was orphaned at a young age and have the misfortune to be adopted by the strangest family anywhere.
"Oh no, its that time again" as my boyfriend asked when he would be able to meet my family.
My boyfriend was not the largest, or strongest man, but I loved him and i didn't want my family to screw this one up, and my relationships never last past the meeting the family phase.
"That's probably not he best idea" I said knowing that this would not sate his curiosity.
"Aww c'mon they can't be that bad" He replied in his usual joking tone.
"My mother is literately the god of death, and my brother is the king of hell" I replied fully knowing that he wouldn't believe me, after all they never do.
"Well even so, I'd like to meet them" He replied
I told my boyfriend to wait in the car. I walk into the house, my father greets me first. I take the family and sit them down at the table.
"Ok, I really like this guy so PLEASE try not to screw it up. That means no wings, no fireballs, no exorcisms, no possession, and no killing. GOT IT" My family nodded their heads.
I went back out to the car to find my boyfriend playing on his phone, as usual. I tell him its ok to come in now, as he walks up to the door I hear my family inside and. He opens the door and greets everyone in his usual overly friendly way.
After about an hour I begin to get suspicious, no body has done anything out of the ordinary, I mean I'm not complaining but it's just such a departure from my family's usual actions when i bring a boy home.
About half an hour later my father pulls me aside
"Is there something we should know about your new boyfriend there" he asked me
"No... why?" I responded
"There's something off about him, I can't pin it down but everyone else is also feeling it" he responded
"Well he isn't a god, or an angel, or a demon, or a demigod like your brother, so maybe its just that he is the only normal thing in this house except for me, and even I at least know whats going on" I retorted
"Maybe, but something about him doesn't sit right with me" my dad said
"Well you're not the one dating him so but out" I told my dad
I walk back into the dining room and see my boyfriend laughing, while everyone else looks uncomfortable.
"Well I guess that joke didn't land eh? Hey where is the bathroom" My boyfriend spouted
"Down the hall last door on the right" my dad yelled from the kitchen
"Oki doki then" my boyfriend said as he walked away.
30 seconds later I heard a bang, I walked down to find my boyfriend had gone the wrong way and opened up the literal portal to hell.
"Oh fuck" I thought to myself
"Hey... why the actual fuck is there a portal to hell in your house?" My boyfriend inquired with wayyy to little terror in his voice for a man who had just opened the LITERAL FUCKING DOOR TO HELL.
My mother came running, and when he saw my boyfriend he stopped and said
"He knows too much now, we can't let him leave"
She opened her two sets of wings and moved with incredible speed.
In an instant she had her hand over his heart.
"NOOO" I screamed, but it was too late he was dead.'
...
...
...
My boyfriend just stood there laughing.
The rest of my family had watched this and had the biggest deer in the headlights look ever.
Twelve absolutely black wings unfurled from my boyfriend. They looked less like objects and more like holes in reality.
The color drained from my mothers face, turning even paler then normal, and that's impressive considering she doesn't even have blood.
"Well I guess you were telling the truth" My boyfriend said
"Annnd I guess it's time to reintroduce myself, I'm the primordial god of Annihilation.
"I FUCKING LIKE THIS GUY, my brother yelled" | “This baby,” I slapped the top of the redeemer model drone I was trying to advertise, “can fire 400 rounds a second with option of cold steel, purified silver or magnesium rounds just in case you need to blind and bind some otherworldly abominations”
Auntie Tess inspected the the paperwork if passed her with the same care and scrutiny that she gave my yearly school report, hopefully this could satisfy her more than those ever had.
With pursed lips and a furrowed brow she set the pile of paper down and met my eyes with her own steely gaze.
“It’s good miles, it’s real good.” She said as a manicured hand ran along the hawklike profile of the drone. “But it feels like I’m dealing with the devil, this will take the human element out of killing and escalate any conflict we go into.”
“General Raines, I assure you I’m on the side of the angels.” I paused as she frowned at that . “But yes, this weapon, this direction of warfare will make mother VERY proud.”
My aunt stood up from her inspection and straightened her uniform, brushing nonexistent dust from the stars on her shoulders. With a gesture an aid clicked a pen and placed it in her hand.
“I think that this is the kind of thing that will give you a visit from that family of ours... But we’re getting caught in the crossfire and we don’t have a deterrent. I’ll take anything I can at this point.”
My wrist unit beeped a series of reds and blues, like a dysfunctional Morse code. An evacuation in my office, as well as a last minute booking by a VIP... right on schedule.
Auntie Tess gave a minuscule flinch, perhaps the barest sign of concern before she set her features back to business mode. I liked that about her, my closest human relative knew that I liked to handle my own problems.
“A last minute booking. One I’ve been waiting for. No need to be alarmed, Kincaid will bring you the paper work in meeting room 4.”
———————-
I hated contacts, but they were necessary for trials like this. My sister was strong, but sometimes didn’t control her power well and INSISTED on coming in person to get her point across. It was bullying really, I think she didn’t like the idea of treating a mortal, not even her brother, as an equal.
The secretary desk and upper floor security to my high rise office was abandoned, standard protocol. Best for those I trust with guarding my inner sanctum to be as removed from family affairs as possible.
The roof to floor mahogany door was blown off its hinges, the price of giving the divine a direct line to you.
I stepped over the door and into my office, to see my sister, Reya standing before the shattered remains of my wall spanning window as stoic as a church statue keeping vigil.
I neglected standing near an obvious danger hazard and instead made my way to a scratched and worn desk, the result of an imploding window no doubt. That had been a gift from El’ my brother, and the sentimental value was enormous, I hadn’t met him face to face for years now.
“I didn’t know the angels endorsed property damage.” I commented. “Or were the wooden furnishings in my office descendants of the stakes that pierced your messiah?”
She turned to me then, great pinions drawn back and away as glass flowed like liquid back into its rightful place. Not apology, but atonement. It was her way to make things right, but everything she did was deliberate. If she trashed my office, she did so with purpose.
“You are selling the humans weapons that can hurt my forces.”
Her eyes glowed with light and heat. But the contacts i wire shielded me from the worst of it and I stood my ground. Eye contact was essential.
“Allowing people the ability to defend themselves... how terrible.”
“Humans are volatile, they can’t be trusted with tools like these.”
“No, we should just be herded and coddled like children our whole lives. Then conscripted by you and yours to fight your war.”
She drifted closer, towering over me. Her wings didn’t beat as she flew, they were ornamental, another sign of her station and divine power. I sat down behind my desk with as much grace as I could muster and withdrew a mercilessly unharmed decanter from a draw.
“I’m trying to keep things civil miles...”
she took the offered whisky from my hand and took a sip. Wasted really, on someone with her constitution, but I knew she liked it regardless. One of her few earthly indulgences.
“But the death toll increases with every turn of the hourglass. Surely you can see that the correct decision is to stand down and let us fight instead.” She said.
She places the empty glass on the desk, and I refilled it for her.
“But what about the times when you can’t fight for us, the times where attacks happen to quickly or too erratically for your precocognitive skills to foresee.” I replied. It was a low blow, am allusion to our times before the war.
She grabbed my arm at the wrist as I offered the next glass to her. It was like granite on my skin, cold and unfeeling. Also like stone it wasn’t aware of its own strength.
“Rey...” I grimaced through the pain, chorded sinew parting as porcelain digits dug down to the bone. “Let go of me.”
“No, Miles. I’ve had an idea! I’ll buy your weapons! You’ll make your profit and I’ll maintain my advantage. My warriors backed by your machines will surely succeed in the battles to come.” The voice came out excited, as if a flash of inspiration had come to her and with it the realisation of my assets.
“Reya, you’re hurting me.” I said with all the calm I could muster. Pain radiated from my hand, reducing my faculties.
“Oh. I was carried away with the possibilities.” She said, not quite apologising.
“No. I know you Reya, you never do ANYTHING by accident. You hurt me because you wanted to fake an emotion you didn’t feel. Just like that time when you accidentally hurt me to provoke our brother to anger. Right when you thought you could win a war.”
She reverted back to her original stance, wings wide and impassive.
“Leave Reya, you aren’t here for me. You’re here for your own agenda and I’m a busy man with a short lifespan. So get out of my sight.”
“You might blame me for this, miles. But it wasn’t me who ruined this family. I’m just the one who has to manage the collateral.” She replied.
She retreated until she entered the sheeting pillars of light that entered through the recently repaired window. And evaporated from view. The whole time meeting my eyes... a gaze blank and devoid of mercy. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | "Mrs Reyes, Mr Reyes, good afternoon" said the school principal as he shook hands with my parents. "Please, sit"
I kicked nervously at my seat while my parents sat down. I was always in trouble, that was nothing new, but i didnt want to lose these parents. I liked them. I had dared to hope that perhaps theyd keep me instead of sending me back.
My dad looked down at me and smiled. He patted my hand reassuringly. My mother looked grim, like she does when shes wiping out entire armies of invaders. I knew my brother and sister were outside. Theyre here because of me too. Everything is my fault. I fought back tears, adults dont like it when kids cry.
"In going to get right to it," the principal began. "Josh has had some issues in class and with some of the other kids. Hes having trouble fitting in and has a tendency to say things that upset his other classmates."
I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole when the he held up my comic. It was about my new family. Now theyd send me back for sure.
"He drew these pictures and i have to say, im quite concerned." He said, handing the comic over to my mother.
My mother accepted it and studied each page carefully, then handed it to my father. I didnt dare look at them.
"He calls you the queen of death Mrs Reyes. He tells the kids you kill entire armies and sweep up their corpses like its nothing. That your slightest touch can kill anything. The kids are terrified of your other son. He and i quote, his legion of demons, terrorize your eldest daughter, the angel of light, and demand sacrifice from the other kids at school." The principal continued, "these flights of fancy are unhealthy. Did you know he tells the others his uncle has magical powers but not like you or your husband so he must only be half a God? He also mentions your sister commands armies with the mere blow of a whistle."
My father looks down at me and asks. "Did you really draw all of this?" He asks. I give him a slight nod as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I have to say that he may need extensive therapy and a move to a different school that specializes with kids that have his....issues. He is a disruptive influence to his siblings and the other kids in class. Something must be done" the principal stated.
My mother finally spoke. "Josh, step outside please"
Her stern voice caused me to flinch. My father patted my hand reassuringly. I stood up on trembling knees and went to wait outside with my brother and sister. My sister wrapped an arm around me. Shes such a kind and beautiful angel.
My brother sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed. "Hope you didnt talk, bug nutz, snitches get stitches" he said with a small smirk.
A few moments later my mother stormed out of the office cursing, "little fucking shit....how dare he..." she mumbled as she stormed off down the hall. My father stepped out and sighed. "Cmon kids" he said. We followed after him.
In the car noone said anything. Mother was angry, father was silent. It was all my fault. I stared out the window and my heart started beating faster. I recognized the road. "Please dont take me back oh please oh please im sorry!" I exclaimed. I couldnt help the tears that fell down my face. "Ill be good i wont talk to the other kids i promise i wont draw any more ill just to my work" i babbled "i cant go back, not again...please" i sobbed.
My mother pulled the car over and stepped out. She opend my door and unbuckled my seat belt. She lifted me up and hugged me so tight i couldnt breathe. Soon i felt the arms of my entire family around me.
"My beautiful, sweet, funny, artistic and creative boy" my mother said in between the kisses she planted on my face. "I would NEVER give you up. You are mine, you are ours and it doesn't matter what anyone says about you, you are PERFECT"
Her words washed over me and relieved the despair I'd felt since i was first called into the principals office. I knew at that moment that I'd found my forever home.
"I stand here today, proud of my odd and dysfunctional family, grateful of the opportunity they gave me and the love they showed me." I say from my position behind the podium.
The screen behind me came alive with a childish drawing of a stick figure woman killing stick figure ants, spiders and plants.
"To my mother, the queen of death, slayer of house plants and destroyer of bugs"
The screen changes again to a stick figure dad and fish, surrounded by glitter. "To my dad, bringer of life to goldfish, he could even make them change colors"
My stick figure sister appeared next, holding a flashlight and had butterfly wings. "To my sister, the angel of light who kept my nightmares at bay with her gentle hugs"
My brother with devil horns holding a kid upside down shaling change out of him was next "to my brother, who always got my lunch money back and was always in trouble for it"
The screen changes to my uncle, raining candy from his magic hands and my aunt commanding her army of soccer players. "To my aunt and uncle, who always had candy and taught me the meaning of teamwork"
"To me entire family, thank you for believeing in me, for loving me, for allowing me to be a part of your lives. I love you all more than i know how to say" i finish with tears in my eyes. I step away from the podium and sit back in my seat. Valedictorian, never thought that would be me. Never thought i could be as happy as i am. My family is weird, i fit right in. | A lot of people think it must be wonderful to be chosen to be special to be some great messianic hope in whichever fantasy they might care to conjure. I wish I had never been selected, I wish I didn't know the things I do and most of all I wish they had left me there when I died.
My mother and father chose me because I wasn't special, because nobody would miss the cadaver of a workhouse brat infused with Cholera. You might think they are merciful, but if they had been blessed with human empathy nd not obsessed with their worshippers being the truly faithful fanatics they could have taken me before I even caught the water plague that swept through London. They hadn't and I could stiĺl remember dying. Dad sats that gives me a unique insight into death and thats a good thing should he ever decide to retire. Mum says that my adoptive resurrection should give a unique perpective on her side of the coin and that he would never retire anyway. To teach me humility they kept me mortal although I am pretty sure that if and when I die they will find some far fetched excuse to bring me back yet still claim I am special because I can die. If I have to listen to another round of how envious everybody is that I can age, die and decompose I might kill myself. Not that it would do any good. They will probably keep me around forever at least thats what Thomas in public relations thinks. What African babies are to celebrities on Earth now so too am I to the Gods. It got ridiculous after the firsr decade. Now it is just sad. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | I decided to give it a try! First time, but sure is hard in another language.
\-------
Fear has always been one of humanity’s primal emotions. The fear of the unknown, of death, of failure. I had never feared such things. I feared something else entirely. And as I sat there in the restaurant, with a fork laden with the finest truffle spaghetti, starring at the blonde-haired woman smiling at me from across the table – I felt it coming. She had been trying to breech the subject the entire evening. Sweat slowly dripped from my forehead in anticipation, polluting the half-eaten dish beneath me.
“I would love to meet your family!”
She said it… I knew it had been coming but… I had still clung to the hope that she may have just been curious about my past. My grip loosened, and the fork fell - but it never hit the red and white tablecloth of the restaurant. Instead, it landed silently on an impossibly soft and white table. Almost like a marshmallow-like cloud. Around the cloudlike table sat 6 other entities. None looked like the other, some had horns, others had wings… but they all shared the rather intimidating trait of being as tall as mansions.
My girlfriend sat frozen in place. Her eyes darting from figure to figure. She looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound came.
“Heya son!” A voice boomed from the tallest of the figures. A huge man with a great white beard. He leaned down to impossible levels, so as to look into my eyes.
“Hi dad…” I moaned as I stared back into one, huge, unblinking eye.
“We just… Oh I mean… Your farther overheard your little date and we figured we’d invite you and your little girlfriend over for dinner.” A female voice rumbled like thunder from above. My mother, the Queen of death, extended a gigantic hand towards my girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you! Well I guess that’s what humans usually say. I guess it’s more prudent to say we know everything about you, yes? I’m Tia. But you can call me mom!” She looked very excited at that last notion… Which only furthered my anxiety. Nothing good usually happened when mother got excited. Last time that had happened, we were celebrating me having joined a hockey team. Before I knew it, the entire team had met mysterious ends. Not that it was her intention to kill them, it was simply what she did.
“a…uh….Lisa…” My girlfriend muttered in response, sitting completely frozen.
“Not as articulate as your last girlfriend!” My dad responded with a huff. Was he really still sulking?
“Dad I told you, I don’t want you to create a girlfriend FOR me.” It was so silly… As soon as I had hit 15 years of age, he had created a so called “mate” for me in the palms of his hands. Perfect in every way – too perfect.
“I make every living organism. Billions upon billions of them. But I make just one for my son and it’s not good enough oh no.” He replied childishly. Crossing his pillar-sized arms defiantly.
“Come now dad, she was too boring!” My brother teased. “A succubus! Now that’s where the fun's at. Just say the word and I can make it happen! I’m not called Jeremy, the demon king for nothing you know!”
I sent my brother a grimace of complete disinterest. My sister, however, rose from the table with her wings unfolding beautifully. She held a hand aloft and materialized a great sword of light within. “Hold thy tongue foul brother! Or I shall hold it for you!”
​
This is my family… I’d love to say that I’m a divine being myself but no. I’m simply Bob from Brooklyn, and I’m an accountant. Though I must admit I've lied about that in the past on Tinder, and claimed to be a doctor. | A lot of people think it must be wonderful to be chosen to be special to be some great messianic hope in whichever fantasy they might care to conjure. I wish I had never been selected, I wish I didn't know the things I do and most of all I wish they had left me there when I died.
My mother and father chose me because I wasn't special, because nobody would miss the cadaver of a workhouse brat infused with Cholera. You might think they are merciful, but if they had been blessed with human empathy nd not obsessed with their worshippers being the truly faithful fanatics they could have taken me before I even caught the water plague that swept through London. They hadn't and I could stiĺl remember dying. Dad sats that gives me a unique insight into death and thats a good thing should he ever decide to retire. Mum says that my adoptive resurrection should give a unique perpective on her side of the coin and that he would never retire anyway. To teach me humility they kept me mortal although I am pretty sure that if and when I die they will find some far fetched excuse to bring me back yet still claim I am special because I can die. If I have to listen to another round of how envious everybody is that I can age, die and decompose I might kill myself. Not that it would do any good. They will probably keep me around forever at least thats what Thomas in public relations thinks. What African babies are to celebrities on Earth now so too am I to the Gods. It got ridiculous after the firsr decade. Now it is just sad. | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | "Mrs Reyes, Mr Reyes, good afternoon" said the school principal as he shook hands with my parents. "Please, sit"
I kicked nervously at my seat while my parents sat down. I was always in trouble, that was nothing new, but i didnt want to lose these parents. I liked them. I had dared to hope that perhaps theyd keep me instead of sending me back.
My dad looked down at me and smiled. He patted my hand reassuringly. My mother looked grim, like she does when shes wiping out entire armies of invaders. I knew my brother and sister were outside. Theyre here because of me too. Everything is my fault. I fought back tears, adults dont like it when kids cry.
"In going to get right to it," the principal began. "Josh has had some issues in class and with some of the other kids. Hes having trouble fitting in and has a tendency to say things that upset his other classmates."
I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole when the he held up my comic. It was about my new family. Now theyd send me back for sure.
"He drew these pictures and i have to say, im quite concerned." He said, handing the comic over to my mother.
My mother accepted it and studied each page carefully, then handed it to my father. I didnt dare look at them.
"He calls you the queen of death Mrs Reyes. He tells the kids you kill entire armies and sweep up their corpses like its nothing. That your slightest touch can kill anything. The kids are terrified of your other son. He and i quote, his legion of demons, terrorize your eldest daughter, the angel of light, and demand sacrifice from the other kids at school." The principal continued, "these flights of fancy are unhealthy. Did you know he tells the others his uncle has magical powers but not like you or your husband so he must only be half a God? He also mentions your sister commands armies with the mere blow of a whistle."
My father looks down at me and asks. "Did you really draw all of this?" He asks. I give him a slight nod as tears begin to fill my eyes.
"I have to say that he may need extensive therapy and a move to a different school that specializes with kids that have his....issues. He is a disruptive influence to his siblings and the other kids in class. Something must be done" the principal stated.
My mother finally spoke. "Josh, step outside please"
Her stern voice caused me to flinch. My father patted my hand reassuringly. I stood up on trembling knees and went to wait outside with my brother and sister. My sister wrapped an arm around me. Shes such a kind and beautiful angel.
My brother sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed. "Hope you didnt talk, bug nutz, snitches get stitches" he said with a small smirk.
A few moments later my mother stormed out of the office cursing, "little fucking shit....how dare he..." she mumbled as she stormed off down the hall. My father stepped out and sighed. "Cmon kids" he said. We followed after him.
In the car noone said anything. Mother was angry, father was silent. It was all my fault. I stared out the window and my heart started beating faster. I recognized the road. "Please dont take me back oh please oh please im sorry!" I exclaimed. I couldnt help the tears that fell down my face. "Ill be good i wont talk to the other kids i promise i wont draw any more ill just to my work" i babbled "i cant go back, not again...please" i sobbed.
My mother pulled the car over and stepped out. She opend my door and unbuckled my seat belt. She lifted me up and hugged me so tight i couldnt breathe. Soon i felt the arms of my entire family around me.
"My beautiful, sweet, funny, artistic and creative boy" my mother said in between the kisses she planted on my face. "I would NEVER give you up. You are mine, you are ours and it doesn't matter what anyone says about you, you are PERFECT"
Her words washed over me and relieved the despair I'd felt since i was first called into the principals office. I knew at that moment that I'd found my forever home.
"I stand here today, proud of my odd and dysfunctional family, grateful of the opportunity they gave me and the love they showed me." I say from my position behind the podium.
The screen behind me came alive with a childish drawing of a stick figure woman killing stick figure ants, spiders and plants.
"To my mother, the queen of death, slayer of house plants and destroyer of bugs"
The screen changes again to a stick figure dad and fish, surrounded by glitter. "To my dad, bringer of life to goldfish, he could even make them change colors"
My stick figure sister appeared next, holding a flashlight and had butterfly wings. "To my sister, the angel of light who kept my nightmares at bay with her gentle hugs"
My brother with devil horns holding a kid upside down shaling change out of him was next "to my brother, who always got my lunch money back and was always in trouble for it"
The screen changes to my uncle, raining candy from his magic hands and my aunt commanding her army of soccer players. "To my aunt and uncle, who always had candy and taught me the meaning of teamwork"
"To me entire family, thank you for believeing in me, for loving me, for allowing me to be a part of your lives. I love you all more than i know how to say" i finish with tears in my eyes. I step away from the podium and sit back in my seat. Valedictorian, never thought that would be me. Never thought i could be as happy as i am. My family is weird, i fit right in. | ”...so then Mom decided that Michael’s soul should be weighed against the Balance, not against Justice, and it’s not fair, Dad, it’s not!”
It was too early for my sister to be screaming like that at our father, I was pretty sure of that. Still, I wanted my coffee, so I quietly stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen and tried to be as invisible as possible.
”Sara dear, you know your mother makes these decisions, and you know your boyfriend was playing with fire to begin with when he tried to take off your brother’s head.”
My father had a soothing, booming voice, and I could tell he was trying to placate an issue that Sara had clearly been ranting on for hours already. Some people have no concept of time when they get angry, and Sara got angry a lot. And in her anger she clearly brewed a mean cup of coffee, because the spoon I had used to stir was now a filigreed stick. I hoped there was some holy water in the fridge, it should dilute the coffee enough...
”But Daaaaad! Levi provoked him! You know how he is with my friends, he never lets them just be!”
I could sense that Sara was about to pull out the waterworks and start caterwauling. I knew I had limited time to get my coffee and skedaddle out of the kitchen, otherwise I would have a ringing migraine for the rest of the day. Sara often forgot that she wasn’t supposed to use her harmonics when not at work. That happened often enough that I had learned to just get away from her when her voice and volume started to rise.
”Now, Sara, do not use that tone with me. Your mother’s decision on this is final. And you know you are not supposed to use your Voice like that!”
Dad was using his stern voice, which meant that the doorframe suddenly sprouted some fledgling branches and leaves. I clasped my coffee cup tighter and ducked a particularly vigorously growing branch into hallway, only to run into my Aunt Penny. It was clear from her fatigues and exhausted face that she had just come home from a work trip.
”Hey, kiddo, you’re up early. Got any of that coffee left?”
I gave her an awkward one-armed hug – she was at least a head taller than me – and shrugged.
”Couldn’t sleep, really. There’s coffee, but it’s Sara’s ’Holy Poison’TM, sooo...”
Aunt Penny gave me a lopsided smile and ruffled my hair. ”10-4, good buddy,” she grinned, punched me on the shoulder and headed to kitchen, ignoring the harmonic shift in the wailing shouting coming from the room. Poor Dad, he always had to bear the brunt of Sara’s theatrics. The commode in the hallway was starting to grow leaves, so I hurried along towards the library. It would probably be the quietest place at the moment.
...Except that of course Levi was there, gleefully banging Michael against the shelf with all the Coptic texts on, and there is not enough battery acid in the world to clean that image from my brain.
”Put a sock on the door or something, for fuck’s sakes, Levi!”
Would it be too early to put some chartreuse in the coffee?
No peace here, so I took a long sip from coffee and trudged along towards the veranda doors. At least outside I could have my coffee in peace and try and wake up.
Even though it was only 4 am.
And I hadn’t slept for more than two hours.
Because of the exams next week.
I was maybe a bit stressed out.
Outside the world was just awakening. I sat down on the chaise longue Mom had dragged on the veranda, and tried to relax. The coffee wasn’t half bad after I had poured in half a cup of holy water. At least it woke me up and wouldn’t melt my intestines. The air felt fresh and crisp, and the first rays of morning light were distant enough that I could pretend I was still half-asleep. It was almost quiet, with only a bird here and there chirping, the wind rustling the trees only slightly, and a rumbling snore disturbing my peace just slightly.
Snore.
Oh no.
I leaned backwards over the low back of the chaise longue and peered into the shadows.
”Oh for th... Herc! Uncle Herc! Wake up! You’ve passed out on the veranda again!” | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | I decided to give it a try! First time, but sure is hard in another language.
\-------
Fear has always been one of humanity’s primal emotions. The fear of the unknown, of death, of failure. I had never feared such things. I feared something else entirely. And as I sat there in the restaurant, with a fork laden with the finest truffle spaghetti, starring at the blonde-haired woman smiling at me from across the table – I felt it coming. She had been trying to breech the subject the entire evening. Sweat slowly dripped from my forehead in anticipation, polluting the half-eaten dish beneath me.
“I would love to meet your family!”
She said it… I knew it had been coming but… I had still clung to the hope that she may have just been curious about my past. My grip loosened, and the fork fell - but it never hit the red and white tablecloth of the restaurant. Instead, it landed silently on an impossibly soft and white table. Almost like a marshmallow-like cloud. Around the cloudlike table sat 6 other entities. None looked like the other, some had horns, others had wings… but they all shared the rather intimidating trait of being as tall as mansions.
My girlfriend sat frozen in place. Her eyes darting from figure to figure. She looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound came.
“Heya son!” A voice boomed from the tallest of the figures. A huge man with a great white beard. He leaned down to impossible levels, so as to look into my eyes.
“Hi dad…” I moaned as I stared back into one, huge, unblinking eye.
“We just… Oh I mean… Your farther overheard your little date and we figured we’d invite you and your little girlfriend over for dinner.” A female voice rumbled like thunder from above. My mother, the Queen of death, extended a gigantic hand towards my girlfriend. “Pleasure to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you! Well I guess that’s what humans usually say. I guess it’s more prudent to say we know everything about you, yes? I’m Tia. But you can call me mom!” She looked very excited at that last notion… Which only furthered my anxiety. Nothing good usually happened when mother got excited. Last time that had happened, we were celebrating me having joined a hockey team. Before I knew it, the entire team had met mysterious ends. Not that it was her intention to kill them, it was simply what she did.
“a…uh….Lisa…” My girlfriend muttered in response, sitting completely frozen.
“Not as articulate as your last girlfriend!” My dad responded with a huff. Was he really still sulking?
“Dad I told you, I don’t want you to create a girlfriend FOR me.” It was so silly… As soon as I had hit 15 years of age, he had created a so called “mate” for me in the palms of his hands. Perfect in every way – too perfect.
“I make every living organism. Billions upon billions of them. But I make just one for my son and it’s not good enough oh no.” He replied childishly. Crossing his pillar-sized arms defiantly.
“Come now dad, she was too boring!” My brother teased. “A succubus! Now that’s where the fun's at. Just say the word and I can make it happen! I’m not called Jeremy, the demon king for nothing you know!”
I sent my brother a grimace of complete disinterest. My sister, however, rose from the table with her wings unfolding beautifully. She held a hand aloft and materialized a great sword of light within. “Hold thy tongue foul brother! Or I shall hold it for you!”
​
This is my family… I’d love to say that I’m a divine being myself but no. I’m simply Bob from Brooklyn, and I’m an accountant. Though I must admit I've lied about that in the past on Tinder, and claimed to be a doctor. | ”...so then Mom decided that Michael’s soul should be weighed against the Balance, not against Justice, and it’s not fair, Dad, it’s not!”
It was too early for my sister to be screaming like that at our father, I was pretty sure of that. Still, I wanted my coffee, so I quietly stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen and tried to be as invisible as possible.
”Sara dear, you know your mother makes these decisions, and you know your boyfriend was playing with fire to begin with when he tried to take off your brother’s head.”
My father had a soothing, booming voice, and I could tell he was trying to placate an issue that Sara had clearly been ranting on for hours already. Some people have no concept of time when they get angry, and Sara got angry a lot. And in her anger she clearly brewed a mean cup of coffee, because the spoon I had used to stir was now a filigreed stick. I hoped there was some holy water in the fridge, it should dilute the coffee enough...
”But Daaaaad! Levi provoked him! You know how he is with my friends, he never lets them just be!”
I could sense that Sara was about to pull out the waterworks and start caterwauling. I knew I had limited time to get my coffee and skedaddle out of the kitchen, otherwise I would have a ringing migraine for the rest of the day. Sara often forgot that she wasn’t supposed to use her harmonics when not at work. That happened often enough that I had learned to just get away from her when her voice and volume started to rise.
”Now, Sara, do not use that tone with me. Your mother’s decision on this is final. And you know you are not supposed to use your Voice like that!”
Dad was using his stern voice, which meant that the doorframe suddenly sprouted some fledgling branches and leaves. I clasped my coffee cup tighter and ducked a particularly vigorously growing branch into hallway, only to run into my Aunt Penny. It was clear from her fatigues and exhausted face that she had just come home from a work trip.
”Hey, kiddo, you’re up early. Got any of that coffee left?”
I gave her an awkward one-armed hug – she was at least a head taller than me – and shrugged.
”Couldn’t sleep, really. There’s coffee, but it’s Sara’s ’Holy Poison’TM, sooo...”
Aunt Penny gave me a lopsided smile and ruffled my hair. ”10-4, good buddy,” she grinned, punched me on the shoulder and headed to kitchen, ignoring the harmonic shift in the wailing shouting coming from the room. Poor Dad, he always had to bear the brunt of Sara’s theatrics. The commode in the hallway was starting to grow leaves, so I hurried along towards the library. It would probably be the quietest place at the moment.
...Except that of course Levi was there, gleefully banging Michael against the shelf with all the Coptic texts on, and there is not enough battery acid in the world to clean that image from my brain.
”Put a sock on the door or something, for fuck’s sakes, Levi!”
Would it be too early to put some chartreuse in the coffee?
No peace here, so I took a long sip from coffee and trudged along towards the veranda doors. At least outside I could have my coffee in peace and try and wake up.
Even though it was only 4 am.
And I hadn’t slept for more than two hours.
Because of the exams next week.
I was maybe a bit stressed out.
Outside the world was just awakening. I sat down on the chaise longue Mom had dragged on the veranda, and tried to relax. The coffee wasn’t half bad after I had poured in half a cup of holy water. At least it woke me up and wouldn’t melt my intestines. The air felt fresh and crisp, and the first rays of morning light were distant enough that I could pretend I was still half-asleep. It was almost quiet, with only a bird here and there chirping, the wind rustling the trees only slightly, and a rumbling snore disturbing my peace just slightly.
Snore.
Oh no.
I leaned backwards over the low back of the chaise longue and peered into the shadows.
”Oh for th... Herc! Uncle Herc! Wake up! You’ve passed out on the veranda again!” | |
[WP] Your elder brother is the demon king, your younger sister is the ArcAngel of light, your auntie is a army general of earth, your uncle is a demi-God, your mom is the queen of death and your father is the god of life. But you are a normal human who got adopted by the most dysfunctional family. | This'll get lost in the comments cause I'm five hours late and this is my first story but
I've been waiting for this, (figuratively) forever. A day where all of my family was FINALLY out the house, and I could have the place to myself. Don't get it wrong, I don't hate my family, but privacy is a very rare, and very expensive commodity when both of your parents are half-omniscient beings of unimaginable power.
Grabbing my bowl of popcorn from the coffee table, I lament my usual lack of alone time and try to regain some sense of independence by putting spongebob on the TV. Nothing says teenage rebellion quite like watching children's shows. Unfortunately, my pleasant afternoon screeches to a halt, and so does the living room TV. Apparently, they stop working after they get a 3 foot long spike embedded in the screen. Who knew?
Before I could seriously start trying to find out what the spike hit to have made the TV stop working, I am snapped out of my reverie by a _supernaturally_ loud shouting match, making me spill all my popcorn. Instantly recognizing the voices, I can't help but smile about what it is this time. Grabbing some ear protection I open the door and walk outside.
"WENCH, YOUR PLAYTHING HAS BREACHED THE BOUNDARY THAT I HAVE DEEMED ACCEPTABLE ACTION. My older brother Daemion's booming voice, quieted by my earpro seems to be more regal and mature than I last heard him. Seems like he's growing into the whole "Demon King" role.
"THAT WAS MY SUMMER HOUSE, AND HE BURNED IT DOWN. I THROUGH MY BESTEST PARTIES THERE"
Ah, Never mind.
A more feminine screech tears across the sky, and presumably into the neighboring houses. not that most of them are even occupied. Eldritch gods, suprisingly, aren't home often.
"ARRGHH"
Telling from that groan my sister Angelica's back from her temp job reincarnating souls. great.
"YOU SENT YOUR DEMONS TO DEFACE _MY_ STATUES AND YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO RESPOND?"
Actually, that was me. I can make a mean mustache when I get too bored. Not that I'm telling.
"I DID NOT"
"DID TO"
"DID NOT"
"DID TO"
Gotta time this right. aaaand NOW
*bang*
"DID N-"
As quick as I mortally can, I stick my glock brand glock back into my waistband and turn, trying to walk/walk really fast away and succeeding, for the most part.
suddenly I feel a heavy pressure on my back, preventing me from taking another step.
"Hansel, did you just try to shoot me?"
"No, I shot at you."
"what's the difference?"
Before I could answer, A golden chariot pulled by a couple of huge white draft horses materialized right on the driveway. Right on time. Mom and Dad are home. Mom takes a look at the situation and is the first to speak. "You handle this, I'll get dinner started"
As she walks into the house, leaving a trail of dead weeds in her wake, she leaves us in an awkward, but brief silence even more deafening than the previous cacophony.
"Why all the racket?" asks my Dad with all the tentative tone of what could be a future headache.
Before he could even finish speaking, my sisten makes her case. "Daemion defaced my largest statue while I was away"
Daemion starts but before he could finish,
"Hans, apologize."
Fuck.
after alot of accusatory finger pointing, yelling, and "who shot who" later, I finally say "sorry". But not without my fingers crossed begind my back.
"Uncross them, and I expect that staute clean by monday morning."
"yessir"
Suprisingly, gods are laid back punishers.
I futher more appreciate the purchase of this earpro after suffering through another otherworldly shout.
"WHO SPILLED ALL OF THIS POPCORN OF MY DAEDALUS GRIFFIN SKIN RUG? AND WHY IS THERE A SPIKE THROUGH THE QLED TV?"
Aw shit. here we go again.. | I sit. I think, typically.
I didn't know places like this existed anymore.
Reagan closed them all, I'd heard it told.
The other patients have made an attachment of me.
It is why they will suffer.
They already suffer, because of their attachments.
Each one is as pathological as the next, yet they feel they must lie.
The lie each one tells themself, and me, for whatever reason, is more.
It is a touchstone. It is baggage.
Most days, I try not to listen.
They are frustrated Emperor Nortons.
Angry that the world at large prefers its popular lies, even though,
(And they know)
Theirs are better.
I tend to agree;
What little plausible personal history they reveal is bloodless.
Excepting for the blood smears their personal history has left on them.
Somewhere, at some point in these people's lives, something happened.
And the blood, *their blood,* that stains their darkest, hidden self?
It is what drives them toward this form of insanity, rather than another.
These characters they decided they would rather be may talk a big game.
But none of these "benighted" souls are war-makers.
They are only a harm to themselves.
I, on the other hand, finding myself here, need to consider harm deeply.
Every moment spent considering the options I have to extricate myself?
A moment goes by that these, and so many others, suffer needlessly.
And this one, I, have done something entirely inextraordinary.
I sat.
When my world burned down, thrown into a squad car, lucky to be alive...
Cast into a Rachetic dungeon, the filth antiseptic, the pharmacology only trial...
I sat.
Confronting myself and all the illusions I had so desperately cleaved to.
I discovered, that those orange-robed, smiling bastards I had only met once?
Turns out they were right about desire and attachment, and suffering.
I had tripped over my shoelaces into Nirvana.
I had liberated my conceit of the ego-self beyond its most wild predictions:
By chance, I had less liberated it and more *VAPORIZED* it.
Funnily, I did it on accident, and entirely without prior such belief.
I mean, for the most part, transmigration, karma, prayer wheels?
Pfffshhh, my main man Siddy G. probably would've cocked a brow.
So I sat.
So I smiled.
------
***In the end, perhaps it is only fitting.***
I am very likely completely out of place here.
I am also very likely completely dissimilar to my new acquaintances.
**Yet, to the self-styled sane, I am indistinguishable from those suffering insanity.**
*Save, if they cared to look, for the absence of suffering.*
**Likewise, to those who spin unreal, fantastic stories of self-importance?**
*I am a completely normal human being, the thing that they used to be.*
Save, if they cared to acknowledge, that I'm not permitted to leave.
------
***In a sanitarium overrun with metaphysical and cosmological pretenders,***
***I hold an awareness, that it is man's folly, to pretend to be apart from anything at all.***
*I MEAN, THESE POOR LOONIES HAVE A BUDDHA IN THEIR BELFRY!* |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.