a-place-for-stupid-things - Tumblr blog

a-place-for-stupid-things · 8 months

Text

Banana Bus

My life is just a routine, a cycle of insubstantial platitudes and activities.

A life where relationships are fleeting, emotions are discarded and lives considered currency. The corporate world turns everyone into a statistic, and you’d best hope you do not prove yourself a liability.

I pace the room, trying to quiet my mind. The sound of my footfall echoes on the cold marble floor.

I gaze at my watch. It’s 7:30 in the morning. Too much time left alone with my thoughts and the weight of the future bearing down on me.

I hate waiting—the uncertainty.

The growing pit in my stomach threatens to consume me or, at the very least, cause me to throw up. I need to sit down. I close my eyes to stop the world from spinning.

I cover my ears as the sounds overwhelm me. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights. I know I should run, but I cannot. Fear and morbid curiosity anchors me.

Then a shrill noise causes me to flinch; my face scrunches, and I groan in recognition. I recognise the voices that call out my name; they are the clarion call to what peace I had managed to obtain.

“Hell has arrived,” I groan as I put on the mask I have had since I was a child.

I look them over—six girls, all striking in their own way, each hell-bent on shortening my lifespan and fraying what little is left of my sanity.

Yet somehow, despite everything, they give me a sense of normalcy.

Suddenly a voice pipes up, “Whatcha doin’ captain?” Alicia says, hopping forward as she leans close to me, giving me a two-finger salute and sticking her tongue at me.

I shake my head, and the other girls giggle. “You look more overworked than usual,” she said, getting closer, her face mere inches from mine.

She was unbearably close.

Those bright blue doe eyes looking for an answer, partly hidden behind her long red hair. Those bright red lips curled into a smile, and sixteen freckles arranged in near-perfect symmetry.

I furrowed my brow and, with a grimace, asked, “What are you doing, Alicia?”

I tried my best to keep calm, sweat forming on my forehead. Through gritted teeth I said, “You know very well, I don’t like it when people get too close to me.”

Alicia cocked her head, and realisation flashed in her eyes. She began to apologise, getting even closer. When she touched my shoulder, I froze.

Without thinking, I grabbed her and threw her down onto the sofa. I stood up quickly, a rush of blood filling my head as I suppressed a groan.

“Alicia,” I said, “it goes without saying, but I hope there isn’t a next time.”

I didn’t need to look at her to know the face she was making. Red and puffed up cheeks embarrassed at her faux pas, puppy dog eyes glazed with tears.

My ears perk up as I begin to calm down. I hear the sound of snickering and laughter. If I didn’t know better, I’d peg the voices as a gaggle of gossiping schoolgirls bullying the quiet kid in the sandbox.

I look over the girls, and a sense of foreboding fills me.

A set of piercing green eyes catches mine, she holds my gaze, and a knowing smirk grows on her face.

She brushes her blonde hair over the back of her ear as I move towards her, crossing her arms as she licks her lips in anticipation.

I shake my head and sigh. “Angela,” I say, “you are supposed to be my second in command.”

She cocks her head to the side as the sound of laughter quiets down.

“You’re supposed to reduce the burden of my command, not add to the ever-growing list of people that annoy me," I said, far angrier than I had intended to.

She looked me up and down, her pink-coloured lips rising to smirk as she shrugged, saying, “O’ Captain! My Captain. You looked so high strung that I simply wanted to relieve the tension."

Her voice flowed like honey; however, the subtext was clear.

I shook my head again; it had become a theme when dealing with her. “Basically,” I said, “you simply wanted to mess with me.”

She smiled and nodded in response.

A long, exasperated sigh comes from me as I look Angela over. "Smugzilla," I think, chuckling to myself, causing the ears of all the girls to perk up.

“So you can smile, captain," Angela said, in an uncharacteristic tone of warmth. “It looks good on you.” I scoffed in response, but Angela ignored me and continued, “Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

My shoulders slumped as I looked away from her, gazing at nowhere in particular.

She always had a nasty habit of seeing through my lies, through the façade...

I couldn’t look at her, but that alone spoke volumes as she simmered, waiting for my non-answer.

Mustering up my courage, I replied, “You know that I have my-“

"Duties!" Angela shouted, as she cut me off. “You and your fucking duties, captain! ” There was venom in her words: “When was the last time you took a break?!” She sounded incredulous, shaking her head in frustration.

Suddenly a voice piped up, and in a sing-song manner said "Uh-oh! Mom and dad are fighting again~"

Grey eyes, tanned skin, wearing a crop top to show off her muscles.

"Julia,” I said, taking advantage of the situation to change the subject “still not conforming to the dress code I see."

She chortles and stretches giving us a better look at her toned midriff "Why hide what you’re proud of!" She says, absolutely beaming.

Angela and I rolled our eyes in response. I bury my face in my hand, shaking my head, while she tries to suppress her laughter.

Julia’s voice rises, shouting, “So, you two only stop fighting to gang up on me!”

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Angela looks Julia up and down, licking her lips.

“Gang up on you, you say?” Anglea says seductively. “That can be arranged.”

Julia clicks her tongue in response and in an angry tone, Julia says, “I should really carry a spray bottle whenever I am with you.”

She shakes her head and then looks at me, saying, “You really should just let this thirsty bitch die of dehydration, captain.”

Angela puts a hand on her chest, pretending to be hurt. Julia rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue, prompting Angela to bite in response.

Julia cringed as I shook my head at the scene. Truthfully though, I live for these moments, for these girls. I’d never admit to it but I consider them my family, and I’d do anything for them.

While I loathe their constant attempts to get a rise out of me, I appreciate their efforts to include me, to shift my focus to things that are more manageable, like their petty arguments.

Suddenly my ears perk up, hearing the distinct ding of the elevator.

“Strange.” I think, furrowing my brow. “The cleaners aren’t scheduled for another hour.”

Then my eye twitches for a moment, adrenaline rushes through my veins.

A familiar presence was close. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the shift in atmosphere; the silence.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder.

I immediately bat the hand away and go for the throat, the figure tries to block me, but I crush through their defence.

“Solomon.” I say through gritted teeth. “You know better than anyone that I do not like being touched.”

I look at his prosthetic hand and a wicked grin grows on my face. “Speak! Why are you here?” I ask him, my voice rising.

He tries to tap my arm but thinks better of it.“What’s that, Solomon?” I ask him, my voice dripping with venom, “Am I choking you?”

I tighten my grip around his throat, fear and tears well up in his eyes.

Then I let him go. It would be too simple to kill him like this, no challenge, like beating up a child.

“Get up!” I growled as I looked him over, he had been a constant source of torment. Now here he is struggling to get off of his knees.

“Pathetic!” I spat as I got closer to him, grabbing him by the hair and saying, “I am not the same child you knew.” Then I threw him to the ground, demanding an answer.

“Why are you here? And for your sake Solomon, try not to be a self-aggrandizing prick.”

Solomon rises to his knees, rubbing his now raw throat. In between fits of coughing and sputtering he manages to say, “The Archon has summoned you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, it was a large and loud laugh, perhaps even a bit manic. This was icing on the cake for me.

I kick him, sending him flying back towards the elevator. A metallic thud can be heard as I chuckle,

“Consider this a courtesy Solomon.” I say, extending my arms out and taking a large bow.

Through a wicked grin, I say “Because, if she sent you here, she was testing both of us…

“And I won.”

Solomon attempts to stand as the elevator doors open for him.

Eventually he simply settles for crawling into the elevator, using the bars inside as support. As the elevator doors close, he looks at me with a newfound feeling of fear.

"Captain?" A small, frightened voice calls out.

I turn around, saying, "Yes, Samantha?"

Then I am met with a sight I never want to see again. The girls' faces blanched, their expressions a mix of fear and worry. In my celebration, I had let the mask slip off.

My gaze settles on Samantha. She flinches in response, fidgeting as I walk towards her.

Angela was the first to recover. She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear, preparing to speak, but I silenced her with a gesture. Then, I reached out, hesitating for a moment before placing my hand on Samantha's head.

Surprised, Samantha let out an 'eep!' Her eyes were wide, and her ears burned with the same intensity as her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Samantha," I said, stroking her hair. “I tend to get carried away.”

Flustered, Samantha nodded her head. I gave her a warm smile and then turned my attention to Angela.

To say I caught Angela off guard would be an understatement. Her usually composed demeanour was replaced with uncertainty; her voice quivered and her eyes darted to and fro.

“What was that?” she asked, “I-I didn’t mean it was bad or anything…” She was fumbling, and I was captivated by the sight, forgetting to censor myself I muttered the words “Adorable.” Much to everyone's shock, especially my own.

Angela’s face was a mix of joy, and utter embarrassment. “Of all the people in this world, Angela.” I say, slowly walking towards her, “You were the last person I would have expected to blush from a simple compliment.”

Leaning forward, I say, “It appears as though I have found Smugzilla’s weakness." Angela, in response, held her arms close to her chest, surprised at the unexpected closeness. She gasped as I cocked my head and put my hand on her head.

“Truthfully, Angela," I said, looking into her green eyes. “I expected your weakness to be something more… exotic.” A grin was sprawled on my face.

Angela looked away, avoiding my gaze. In response, I held her chin and forced her to look at me. Our faces, now mere inches away from each other.

I move my hand from her chin towards her face, then I flick her nose.

“Ow!” Angela exclaims, puffing her cheeks and pouting. “What was that for?!” She asked incredulously.

“You got too close to me.” I said, Angela’s words caught in her throat, she sputtered like an old engine.

She replied, “But you were the one who-” She stopped herself, her voice was rising like the grin on my face, she had realised what I was doing.

She grumbled and simmered and looked away from me, which prompted me to ruffle her hair much to her chagrin.

“I suppose that’s my cue to stop messing around.” I say, shrugging. I flash Angela a smile and she flips me off, sticking her tongue out at me. It appears she has recovered.

“Well,” I said, turning to leave, “I have been called by the Archon. Best not to keep her waiting.”

“And then what?” Julia asks, “You’ll keep letting her walk all over you?” Venomous words from someone who always claims to not care.

“And what would you have me do?” I reply, and turn to face her. I hold her gaze as she replies,

“Look, just fucking put your foot down. You are her best agent, quite literally the only fucking reason why this entire operation hasn’t gone FUBAR.”

Julia took a breath, once to calm herself down, twice to steady herself, and a third to get to the topic.

“You’re literally letting her and the rest of the executives walk all over you.

You’re taking all the blame while they get the glory. You, the same fucking person who keeps telling us that we should put our foot down, has a fucking martyr complex.”

“What would you have me do?” I shout in reply, “Get us all killed?” I look away with a huff; I shouldn’t have shouted, but what’s done is done.

I turn around and walk towards the elevator. There is silence once again between me and my thoughts. I look at the girls as the elevator doors close.

I massage my temples as the elevator goes up. Then I bite my lip as I mull over what Julia said. She was right, of course; that wasn’t the issue.

Then the elevator door opens, depositing me in the service hallway. A divider between the underground complex and the main corporate building.

The corridor was clinically white, the glare of bright lights bouncing off every surface assaulting my eyes alongside the smell of cleaning supplies. This place was always eerily quiet. Sounds seemingly disappear the instant they are made.

At the end of the hallway was a set of double doors. I push them open and enter the lobby. Cold black and gold marble floors, tall glass windows. The lobby was a hive of activity, office drones and executives constantly moving to and fro. Conversations ranging from the mundane sales report, to the juiciest of office gossip that conveniently die down as soon as I get close.

Up next were 64 floors filled with the deadest air imaginable. I found myself missing the chaos that the girls brought. I couldn’t let myself get distracted, pushing my thoughts and emotions down has helped before, there is no reason it wouldn’t now.

Foreboding. A single word that fully encapsulates my current predicament: I stand outside the door to her office, my hand on the handle. All I need to do is turn the knob, but I find myself incapable of moving.

She’s right. I have let this woman walk all over me.

Why should I be afraid? I am the most valuable asset this company has. I am the leader of the six most powerful individuals in the world. I have broken nations and armies, and yet... I can’t even open a fucking door.

Then it opens. She stares at me with those blue eyes I have learned to hate. Appraising my entire self-worth at a glance and my state of mind. “Stop dawdling; I raised you better," she says, her words cold.

I nod my head. "Yes, mother," I reply, as I follow her inside her office.

It took all my strength to keep my knees from buckling and to keep my mind from going blank. I focused on other things to keep myself occupied. There are papers on her desk—reports, most likely. The cup of water recently filled, on its coaster off to the side. The paintings on the wall and the grandfather clock in the corner says it is 9 o'clock in the morning.

I was so distracted that I didn't even notice we had stopped until she was snapping her fingers at me. She was now sitting behind her desk, observing me. I surmise that I zoned out for a while; she had finished reading the reports, the cup was half-empty, and the clock now reads 10:30.

“I trust you’re not here to waste my time," she said, her voice tinged with a hint of anger and something else I couldn’t quite place.

I swallowed my saliva, but it got caught in my throat, and I shifted uncomfortably. "Breathe," I thought to myself. “Just breathe."

My voice shook as I spoke, “You sent Solomon to fetch me; why?” I asked.

She looked me over, a frown growing on her face as she stood up. I shifted to avoid her gaze, looking down to the floor. She grabbed my cheeks with her hand, her nails digging deep, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

My hands were shaking; a mix of fear and anger welled up inside me, wanting to be let out. I want to lash out at her and gouge those blue eyes out.

“Are you angry at me?” she said in a mocking tone. “Do you want to lash out at me? Kill me?” With a flick of her wrist, my sword flew out of its scabbard, straight towards her neck. “Do it!” She said, her voice dripping with venom and disdain.

It would have been so easy to end it all right now. But then I think back to before, all the "lessons" she had taught me.

“Never put yourself at a disadvantage," she said, burning it into my brain. Was this a test? Was this a bluff? A double bluff? Could I really be rid of her right now?

I grabbed the hilt of my sword, and she let go. The sword was now in my full control.

I pulled away. I couldn’t do it.

She slaps me, the shrill sound ringing inside her office. My left cheek burns as I sigh and sheathe my blade.

“You are weak," she spat. “I raised you better than this, to be stronger than what he made you.” She slipped up and showed her hand to me.

That was her reason? Why she was doing all of this. All her tests.

I couldn’t help but laugh, cackling in her face as she looked at me with shock in her eyes.

In between fits of laughter, I say, “So that’s why you have been doing all of this to me?” I couldn’t keep a straight face, and here I thought I had somehow become important in her life.

“What is a son to do when he is loved neither by his father nor his mother?” I say, my voice filled with disdain as I look her in the eyes. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. That is my life now, mother.”

“You say you want me to be better?” I continue, my voice cracking. “And yet, I did everything for you! For both of you! And it was never enough!”

My breaths were ragged, my hands shaking as my knuckles turned white, gripping the hilt of my sword.

“You, both of you, had to fucking take them away from me. The only two people in my life who cared about me! You are no better than father!”

I had struck a nerve. She punched me this time, hard, sending me flying back and slamming into the wall.

I didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t in pain, even though I was crying. I wasn’t angry, even though I had all the right to be. Remembering them again, the loss... It hurt so bad.

I pick myself off the ground, only to be slammed back into the wall, held up by my throat. I had never seen her this angry before. I didn’t even resist her; I wanted it all to end.

“You dare compare me to him!” She shouts at me prompting me to smile, my teeth stained with blood. I had managed to do what no one else could. Make the Archon lose her cool.

She lifts her other hand and snaps her finger. Bolts of pain surge through me causing me to reel, gasping for air. She drops me to the floor, as she composes herself.

“Get up!” she spits, “Get up or I’ll kill you.”

I struggle to stand, falling back to the floor even on my third attempt.

“Pathetic.” she says, looking me over with great disdain. “Perhaps I should replace you with one of your subordinates, perhaps they’ll be-” That sets me off, I lunge at her drawing my sword looking for blood.

“Don’t you dare touch them!” I shout at her, my attacks cutting through her shields with ease.

There was shock on her face as she defended herself against me. I had caught her by surprise and I had the initiative.

Blow after blow landed on her shields as she was pushed back towards the windows of her office.

I was faster and stronger than her physically, it never mattered before as I never could get close. Now was a different story, she couldn’t find an opening to counter attack, she could only endure.

“Not so nice being on the receiving end, is it?” I shouted at her, I wanted her to know my hate. It was a distraction that provided just enough of an opening to allow her to disarm me.

She sent my sword flying towards the wall, skewering a painting of her straight through the chest.

I used all the strength I could muster, punching, kicking, gnashing my teeth as I wailed away at her shield. It couldn’t keep up and eventually it broke.

But I was spent. And she knew it.

I was on my knees, my breath ragged and body numb. She picked herself up off the floor and walked towards me.

I grimaced as she approached, accepting the inevitable end. I watched her as she raised her hand, stretching it out towards me. I flinched in anticipation, but she pulled away.

I had a puzzled expression on my face as I watched her. She looked at her hand for a moment, then back towards me. There was something I couldn’t quite place in her expression, but before I could even begin to make sense of it, she spoke.

“So, it takes me threatening your subordinates for you to grow a backbone?” Her usually calm and detached voice sounded off; there was a slight warble, tinged with something else.

Had I shaken her that much? I pushed the thought aside as she walked past me, back towards her desk.

“Stand up!” she commanded. “We have much to talk about.”

Gritting my teeth, I slowly rose to my feet, stumbling as I made my way to the front of her desk. My breathing was ragged, and I could barely stand on my own two feet. I raised my head only to come face-to-face with my own sword, an inch away from my eye.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, she sheathed my blade and set it down. I nearly fell over as I picked it back up.

I rose and steadied myself, straightening my back and working to regain my composure. I used my sword as a makeshift cane to help me keep my balance.

She then moved her hand, gesturing for me to begin.

I took a deep breath before saying, “It was not our fault.” She raised her eyebrow in response, then gestured for me to continue.

“That’s a first," I thought to myself; usually she’d snap back at me. Lambasting me for my “failings” and/or slapping me, exercising her power to force me to the floor.

I’ll never hear the end of this from Julia. She always said I should stand up to the woman who could kill me with a single gesture. I guess I owe her an apology, as loathe as I am to admit, Julia can sometimes be right.

#original story

0 notes

a-place-for-stupid-things · 1 year

Text

Concept Dump 3

9:00pm Somewhere in the Slums of Neon City.

Her door was open, in fact, it wasn't on its hinges anymore.

Someone had found her, her heart was racing as she was contemplating whether to run or face the music.

She chose the latter, because if they found her here, they'd find her anywhere.

She scanned her apartment using her drones, nothing.

There was nothing inside, all her security systems, code, everything broken into, defeated and for good measure the intruder decided to just break down her door.

The thing that pissed her off was that from the recordings of the break in, was that all it took was a single kick on her door, immediately bypassing all her electronic countermeasures.

Occam's razor. She should've expected it, thought about that first. But when you have a security system that puts mega corps to shame, you don't really think about that.

10:30pm

She had been waiting, scanning the net, police, criminal, everything for signs. There were none.

Who did this? Was she safe? It was late, curfew in effect.

The Oni had been terrorizing the corps in the city, the bombing of Oracle ltd. and the distributions of their "Singularity Program." was just icing on the cake at that point.

She had been following his activities around the world, hacking comms and cameras, creating websites because she was fascinated by him, The Oni.

The Only thing she hated about the Oni was the curfews were because of him, now she couldn't get takeout from her favourite ramen shop.

She now resolved to return back to her home, it had her stuff, and it had been long enough.

11:30pm

Outside her door she assessed the damage. A single kick broke the lock, this was enough to open the door immediately and get in, it didn't even trigger her alarm because she was so used to electronic attacks.

Then for good measure the intruder removed the door from its hinges even looking at her hidden camera.

How?! The camera was small, hidden, and yet he knew.

Then finally as a flex the intruder just cracked all her electronic defense measures, even adding documentations as to how he did it.

"Arrogant bastard" She would mutter under her breath.

"I am, aren't I."

He was still inside her house. But she searched every nook and cranny with her drones and scanners. Nothing came up, IR, UV, Thermal, Bio. Nothing.

Hear heart was in her throat, she was panicking, was this how she died?

"Your pizza is cold, and your taste is shit. Really anchovies? Atleast add other topics to compliment them, or do you like the fishy taste mixing with the carboard cheese of Doctor Joes?"

He was mocking her.

"Look at me when I am talking to you, Sophia Newman."

He knew her name. She turned to face the man and to her surprise it was none other than the Oni himself.

"Good girl." the Oni said looking her over "You and your friends have been stalking me, and it is annoying."

Was the Oni about to kill her? Fear became excitement, she knew she shouldn't feel so excited but then, she had been following the oni for nearly a year, and now he was here in front of her. She was giddy.

"Tsk." The Oni noticed her change of demeanour and while annoyed he was also amused at this sudden change, it wasn't unexpected just incredibly weird.

"Try not to fangirl too much with the proposition I am going to give you INK."

INK nodded her head a bit too eagerly and her glasses came flying off much to her shock and the Oni's amusement.

"Right." The Oni said chuckling "Look, while I dislike you for stalking me and creating that god awful website for weebs and shitters, I know just what you're capable of."

The Oni moved closer to her. Her heart was beating rapidly.

"You saved my life and identity after that mistake in Aurora. You wiped the footage, all of it. Thank you." He said, the normally robotic and partly distorted voice that usually came from the Oni was normal, sincere.

She was screaming internally, this was too much she was overloading.

"I want to ask if you'd like to enter a partnership, after all I am pretty sure you know who I am at this point, and I could use a skilled hacker assistant, I have been following your work."

OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH.

The Oni would sigh "I think I may have been too forward with you Sophia, I should have known you'd act like this. After all, we've been classmates for years now."

"WHAT?!" INK would blurt out shocked, confused, flustered, the Oni was her classmate?

"I'll leave it a that because I am sure you heard me, you have been hanging onto my words after all." He said smugly "Here, when you put yourself together contact me."

Her Dataslate would ping, she would recieve a new contact. When she looked up there was a dissipating cloud of black smoke, the Oni was gone.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Thoughts raced in Sophia's head, the Oni was her classmate, but who?

She would resolve to figure things out, but first she needed to 1. Contact the Oni when she calmed down, and 2. Fix her door and security by incorporating the Oni's suggestions.

0 notes

a-place-for-stupid-things · 1 year

Text

Concept Dump 2

"Rain... Madeline, this is the 12th time I've been stuck out here waiting for you." Arthur muttered to himself impatiently. "One of these day's I'll leave you behind, and you'll..." Arthur sighs. "No... I can't do that, even if I really want to."

It had been an hour "How long does cheer practice even last, for fucks sake." Arthur was getting frustrated, tapping his foot, looking at his phone, and pacing around.

Then he heard it, the giggling and gossip. He recognized their voices. "Finally! They're done."

As he says that, the group come out of the school, a group of 20 somethings looking at them you'd recognize them as the "cool kids" of the school, with their queen bee Madeline.

Madeline spots Arthur, give him a sweet smile and immediately moves towards him, much to the chagrin and confusion of the group she was with.

"My lady, you are late." Arthur says to Madeline with thinly veiled frustration.

"Sorry, Arthur." She says in a sing-song way, and it was enough to snuff out any anger in Arthur.

Arthur sighed a long and exhausted sigh. Madeline has far too much power over him and she knew it.

"One of these days, I will leave you, you know."

"No you won't." Madeline replies, handing her bag over to Arthur

Arthur sighs again "No, I won't." Arthur repeats

"Because you love me?" Madeline asks, coyly

"No." Arthur says flatly, avoiding looking in her eyes.

"Aww." Madeline says as she sticks her tongue out at Arthur.

"So, your mother called me."

Madeline stiffens "Why?"

"She told me, to tell you that your grandmother will be at the estate, and that you should and I quote "Stop bullying your bodyguard and come back home at one, young lady. You two can have your dates later." End quote."

Madeline sighs "Grandmother... It's never good whenever she's there."

"I know." Arthur puts a hand on Madeline's cheek and Madeline holds it tightly. "I know I don't need to remind you, but your duty comes-"

"Before love. I know." Madeline interrupts Arthur finishing his sentence with uncharacteristic anger.

Arthur pulls Madeline close and hugs her tightly. “We should head back now.” Arthur says while stroking her hair. “Just a bit longer…” Madeline replies her voice muffled as her face is buried in Arthur’s chest. “Okay.” After what feels like forever (5 minutes) Madeline and Arthur finally stop. Arthur tries to get out his umbrella, but Madeline stops him, taking his hand and pulling him into the rain with her. A brief respite.

0 notes

a-place-for-stupid-things · 1 year

Text

Concept Dump 1

I travel to an old castle consumed by the madness and evil of a curse cast upon the royal family that once called it home. An evil crone, a hag, a vile servant of evil jealous of the prosperity of the kingdom brought it low, through the King's daughter. The princess tricked, her kind heart abused by the crone, and through the princess wickedness flowed. This brought down the old kingdom that I only remember in flashes of a youth gone by.

For my penance I was tasked by my liege to rid this land of evil, and thus I set out at once. Through the twisted forest where beasts corrupted by the madness of the land, I fight the very earth itself. Through villages and towns, twisted and morphed into festering grounds of things made of flesh. Through the capital, a once vibrant and wealthy town, now broken and decrepit home to fiends and spawns that the mind cannot comprehend.

I enter the castle, passing twisted labyrinthine corridors and rooms into nightmares until I reach the throne room where the King still sits on his throne. Fused to it by flesh, sinew and bone, an effigy to evil, through milky white eyes the King regards me with intelligence however he cannot speak, only moan. I unsheathe my sword still stained by the "blood" of the things I fought, the King bows his head, and soon dies by my hand.

The castle shivers, creaks, and a wail can be heard from deeper within. It seems it is awake as I hear the skittering of insect like feet crawling to me, hungry.

I push forward, I find the queen in her Salon. The forms of corrupted noblemen… What I saw there I will not speak of, what they were doing to her I would not wish upon even on my most hated of rivals. The nobles beg for mercy, I give them none, I submit to my anger, to my hatred and ensure they depart this world painfully.

The queen dies by my hand as well, thanking me for putting an end to years of suffering. She was not broken, not claimed by madness, she was kept lucid for… for some great evil.

I move deeper, cutting a swathe through everything, my anger and hatred rising with every foe I slay. I allow it to fester, to boil to come close to consuming me, for it is the only thing keeping me sane in this house of horrors.

I see the children… I will not speak of them.

In the castle courtyard a large sprawling place, not to dissimilar to the forests I passed through. It was easy going for I knew this was where she was. The hag would know justice by my hand, the fight was fierce, she summoned all her dark servants to protect her while she taunted me, but all she did was fuel my rage. When she had died, the curse died with her, everything was returning back to normal.

I sought to explore more of the castle, I wanted to make sure it was all gone, and this was not a trick. Floor after floor, room by room I went and saw nothing but the remains of those that were corrupted. Then I reached the tower, and it was there I saw the princess.

She was reduced by the splendor of her bloodline was still there. She asked me if I was there to kill her, I said no. She asked me, demanded from me the answer as to why. Why was I not there to kill her? Why would I let her live after her crimes? What it another cruelty levied to her?

I said nothing, for there was nothing I could say that would comfort her. Thus I left her in her room for a time, locking the door. I returned later, cleaned up and bringing food and drink. I offered them to her and she took them, devouring them, even as starving as she was she still had the grace of old.

I would keep her company for a time, ensuring she would be alright, comforting her as best as I can, like how my mother did to me. She asked me of my quest, I told her it was penance. She asked me what it was that cause this. I told her that I was a knight under the old king, and under my watch he died, thus I was sent here to clear this place out.

She asked me if I was alone in my quest, I told her yes, she asked if I had other quests before this, I said yes, she then asked me a most peculiar question, one I never thought to ask, why was I the only one questing for the king. Surely other knights such as me have committed crimes most foul, and yet I was the only serving the king, dealing with threats… alone.

She told me the real reason, and deep down I think I knew why I was allowed penance. Because I was a figure now much larger than my king, he made the mistake of allowing me to live, to carve out a legend, now he seeks to martyr me.

Leaving the castle behind with the princess in tow, there was a somber beauty to it all. For three days I had fought, the kingdom must surely know by now that the corruption is gone. And now my purpose is renewed, no longer bound by my guilt, by my failure to protect my father. I seek justice, and what better time than the present, knowing you just made a powerful friend.

0 notes