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aroacesimp69 · 6 days

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A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.”

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.”

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?”

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

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aroacesimp69 · 9 days

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Reblogging because I'm proud of this

Re-uploading this ficlet so it's not a billion meters long

Meeting

Walking through the remains of orange star city was a surreal experience, everything has been ever since I woke up in this world. I felt my ki and anxiety spike at every noise, every piece of rubble that fell, every groaning building settling with the fresh holes and dents, every bug that crawled. It was a strange sensation, feeling life energy, it was the one thing i could actually do upon arriving 3, 4? Years ago? It was difficult to track the days, but i didn't really care about that too much really, minutes blurred into hours into days. I hated it.

My eyes settled on a big building that seemed relatively undamaged, especially considering the state of everything around it, as i took in the sight of the large, multi sectioned, multi story building, i spotted an oddly round protrusion on the front and walked closer to inspect the possible shelter.

As i got closer, i noticed the protrusion had an image and words, though it was difficult to make out, broken and covered in dust as it was. I sucked in a breath as i realised it was a star, the logo of the city, and though half the words were missing, from the letters that remained i knew it used to say 'orange star high school'.

I carefully made my way to the exist, extending my senses to feel if there was any life around me as i walked. Nothing. Not even a bug. My ki flared up for a second before i surpressed it again, i couldn't risk anyone sensing me. Especially since one of those people would love to absorb me and every bit of energy i have, although I don't think he had awoken yet, i was paranoid.

I saw the hinges of a double door half torn off, where it had gone, or how, i couldn't say, but i did see bits of the school's logo next to the entrance, confirming the location with most of the other missing letters.

i couldn't help but imagine the bustling area this whole place used to be as i walked in, i wondered if I would've gone here if i had landed in the main timeline instead of this one. I cursed my rotten luck, not only had i landed in a crazy anime world with scarily strong people, but i landed in the apocalypse version of it. I could only hope there was a version of me that grows up in a, well, not safe per say, since that's not really possible in this universe, but a non apocalyptic world.

I was surprised at the complete lack of life in this building as i made my way through it, i allowed my ki to form a shield around my body, not enough to where i was noticeable, not unless you were looking for ki signatures, but enough to protect me from a bullet or a punch. I finally made my way onto the roof, and i had to say, even though the city and surrounding ecosystem was mostly leveled, the view was quite phenomenal, picturesque in a post apocalyptic kind of way. Other than the fact that we were mid apocalypse, but still.

It was when i was admiring this serene moment that i noticed two dots in the distance, although they were quickly getting bigger and closer, i felt my heart stop as i realised they were human sized, with blond and black hair and no ki. Without thinking i jumped off the side of the roof, using my ki to cushion my fall, my tail wrapped tightly around my waist, i once again cursed my rotten luck and pressed ran to the front of the building myself flat against a bit of the wall that had fortunately formed an almost tent shape with some pieces of rubble.

In the shadows of the rubble, every single muscle i had was tense, my body had started a cold sweat and i forced myself to breath evenly, couldn't risk a seizure, especially at this moment. ' shit!' I thought to myself 'they left the city two days ago, why are they back?' i heard them land on the side i had landed on as well, i immediately suppressed my ki as much as i could, i was fairly certain they didn't have sensors for that, but i was absolutely not taking any chances of being wrong, not when I'm so close.

" Hm, 'coulda sworn i saw someone round here." I heard a voice lazily drawl, it was smooth and high pitched, but definitely male, it made my skin crawl. I had never been close enough to hear their voices before, hell i had never even seen what they look like in real life because i always made sure to always go where they were only if they had been there recently, they weren't known to backtrack so early.

' So why oh why, in all that is sacred, are they here?! ' i wasn't proud to admit it took everything in me to not whine out loud, oh of all the times for my physical age to shine through! I wanted nothing than to throw a tantrum at that moment, to stomp my feet and whine and cry, and fuck was that urge strong, i figured it was the saiyan in me angry i was weak and wanting to fight the androids, but i was not going to give in to any stupid reckless-

" Well well well, if it isn't 'the golden fighter' and his little sidekick, " i ran to the edge of the building and poked my head around to see who could only be this timeline's gohan and trunks, my eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when gohan turned super saiyan. This was my chance, my chance to really do something about this shitty situation I'm in, hell, i might be able to become a super saiyan myself. I felt an inappropriate sense of giddiness at the prospect.

I carefully stepped out from my cover, my eyes met with gohans briefly, but he made sure to keep his gaze focused on the androids, trunks was a little less subtle about it, but his gaze clearly wanted me to run. I didn't think about how weird it was that i could see all these little details from this distance, but i chalked it up to the one piece of good luck that followed me in this world - the fact that i had perfect vision, even a little bit of night vision, one of the few saiyan traits i actually had in this world.

I took a breath and pointed my finger at Android 17s head, Yu Yu Hakusho style, ' i am so gonna regret this ' i thought to myself as i gathered my Ki to shoot like a gun, and then i did. Though it flew at an extreme speed, 17 dodged it with no trouble, simply tilting his head to side. I doubted it would've done much damage had it hit anyway, but honestly I don't know what would've been scariest.

" YOU IDIOT! RUN!" I heard Gohan yell at me, but i didn't really pay attention, because within just a second, android 17 had picked me up by the neck of my jumper, and as his cold, almost glowing eyes looked into my own i could only think ' yup. Definitely regret this. ' I felt myself quivering and my hair and tail puffed up as he smirked lightly and tilted his head at me.

" Now who might you be? " I couldn't look away as his eyes scanned my face, he brought me closer to him and i stopped breathing, completely frozen, afraid that the littlest thing could make him kill me. He hummed as he lowered his grip on me, allowing my feet to just barely brush against the ground.

" Strange, your features don't resemble anyone of note in my database, and yet, " I squirmed as his other hand reached for my tail, I instinctively unraveled it from my waist in an attempt to get it away from him, but it didn't do anything as it was still in his reach. I yelped and felt a burning pain shoot up my spine when he grabbed and squeezed it, i squirmed harder, my tail flailing in every direction and trying to get out of his painful grip, every single cell in my brain was clouded by the pain, honestly I'm surprised i heard what 17 was saying at that moment.

" You have a Saiyan tail, just like Goku did, but you don't seem to be paralysed by grabbing it like he was." I had never been so happy to have had the foresight to train that reflex out of me, it was a painful and tedious process that i could have definitely made more progress on, but well, it was difficult to purposely do over and over again, and i didn't exactly enjoy it. Pain, in this case, was not the greatest motivator.

" It still seems to be a great weakness though, much more fun to watch you squirm in pain rather than just freeze up" he chuckled coldly.

I didn't properly register the sounds of a fight starting behind 17, because I was a little preoccupied with just how stupid i was and how fucked i probably was. The whines that came out of my throat when he let go of my tail were honestly more reminiscent of a kicked puppy than anything human or saiyan, but with the pain gone, my head finally started to clear and i could think again.

" Let me go, you unnatural freak!" I snarled at him, finally making an attempt at a proper escape, i shot a ki blast as flashy and powerful as i could, point black at his face using one hand, the other went tear my shirt where he had grabbed me, i dropped to the ground and bolted away from the fight on shaky legs.

I knew i wouldn't be able to get away, but i also knew that i was with two half saiyans whose hero complexes could make up the entire justice league if it gained consciousness.

And i was right, because Gohan and Trunks had managed to move the fight with 18 close enough that one of them could easily grab me and fly us out of there, which is exactly what i was betting on, since i couldn't fly myself quite yet.

" Trunks! Grab her and go! I'll be right behind you!" And that was what happened, Trunks(who i now noticed looked around my physical age, maybe even younger) hopped over to me and grabbed me, flying as fast as he could away from the battle. I yelped in surprise at the speed and snapped my eyes shut at the sudden gusts threatening to both dry out my eyes and fill them with debris, hands immediately holding on to the arms around my waist.

After a moment of wondering how the hell i was supposed to see while flying, i remembered that i could use my ki as a windshield if i focused on keeping my energy around my eyes. I held on tighter to Trunks's arms as i realised just how high up we were, my stomach doing a flip at the rushing scenery and the thought of how nasty a fall from this height would be, in the back of my mind i was thankful i hadn't inherited my mother's fear of heights.

" What the hell were you thinking idiot?! " Trunks yelled at me,

"Oy!" I said in indignation, turning my head to glare at him

" Attacking the androids like that- how stupid are you?!" He asked angrily, i felt my hair and tail puff up, though the wind hid it.

" Sorry for trying to help, you hypocrite!" We glared at each other for a moment before he scoffed and stopped flying, i was confused untill threw me into a cave on a nearby mountain, I managed to use my ki so soften the fall but i still scraped my hands. I got up and we continued glaring at each other for a moment, just analysing the others appearance.

His hair was an unfairly pretty lavender, and despite the neatness of the cut itself, his hair refused to conform to gravity, sticking out in every which direction, and pin straight. His eyes, though narrowed in suspicion, were upturned and big and blue, they were brighter than my own eyes, more of a cobalt or lapiz than the inconsistent, dull teal of my own.

He was, as everyone else in this hellscape i had seen, practically skin and bones, though there was more muscle definition than usual person i saw, whether that was because of his saiyan blood or because he had access to more food, i couldn't know, he had on a long sleeve shirt and pants, with the sturdiest looking boots i had ever seen, in this world or any other. He held himself with seemingly both confidence and apprehension, with his shoulders squared and jaw tensed so hard i was worried he'd break it.

" I'm going to go and help Gohan, but when we come back, you're gonna answer some questions." With folded arms I rolled my eyes and sat down on the cave floor, leaning my back against the wall, i was not going to challenge the child of Bulma and Vegeta to stubbornness competition, especially when i could practically see the bullheaded thoughts forming on his face at the thought of me fighting back right now.

" Fine, but if you abandon me here I'm gonna hunt you down." He didn't respond as he shook his head and left, flying off in the direction we came from. I took the chance to check up on my tail, it still hurt like all hell where 17 had grabbed it, and looking through the fur onto the skin, i could see an ugly bruise already forming on the furry limb, i winced as i checked that all the vertebrae were correctly in place and nothing was broken.

I winced as i realised my tail was actually now crooked where 17 had grabbed it, and cursed under my breath as I felt it, pain shooting up my whole nervous system at even a small brush, the vertebra wasn't broken, (at that i breathed a small sigh of relief) but it was slightly out of place, i could still move it, but there was now definitely a few caught nerves and a bone out of place.

I went to work trying to massage the nerves that were caught, i worked at a snails pace, wincing every moment, i hated how weak i was.

"I wake up as a part saiyan in the shitty future timeline, and the only saiyan traits i get are good vision and fangs." i grumbled, because my ki control only came from literally months and months on end of trying to meditate to even sense the shit, and anyone in this universe could do that if they tried. I was lucky enough to be part Saiyan, but then whatever bullshit force that decided to bring me here just thought it would be funny to have more be more human(or whatever else i was, i assumed human because i was on earth) than saiyan, and that I'd keep my hyperventilation based epilepsy.

I thought of the necklace that was wrapped around one of the belt loops on my too big, ripped cargo pants. It had appeared around my neck when i had woken up, and i was beyond confused, and i would continue to be confused about it for the foreseeable future. I had never owned anything like it before, but It confirmed that one of the gods of this universe somehow had something to do with it, because it looked like a potara, the earrings of the supreme kais.

I yelped as i accidentally prodded at my tail too hard, briefly pulling me out of my thoughts of my strange circumstances, i sighed and let go of my tail, letting it sit limply on the rocky floor, and undid the knot which had been holding the potara to my pants securely.

I dangled it in front of my face, just looking at it as the sunlight pouring into the cave shone through the blue gem, making it look like it was glowing, all sorts of hues of blue swirling around in the centre of it, i imagined the refracted light on my face was quite pretty.

There was no way to check of course, mirrors were both rare and impractical in this world, i had never thought myself as vain, but i quite missed being able to see what i looked like, and i couldn't really check in the broken windows of the cities and towns i visited, i had to keep my guard up against multiple things, looters, scavengers, wild animals. I could discern some things from touch, like how my cheeks had regained the baby fat from my youth i had waited for so long to grow out of, and how my skin was rough and dirty, and how my hair, once curly and bouncy, was now wavy, weighed down by dust, grease and all sorts of things i hated feeling.

Showers were also something i missed, now, that's not to say i didn't find ways to keep myself clean, rivers and lakes were honestly my favourite thing in this world, not only did they provide me with many of my necessities; drinkable water and food in the form of fish and other wildlife that lived near it - but they were one of the few things in this world that seemed to be untouched by the horror of the Androids.

I wrapped the chain of the potara back around my belt loop hidden under my far too big jumper, tucking the hanging gem into my pocket and out of sight. I sighed and rested my head on the wall behind me, closing my eyes as my thoughts continued to take over my mind, my elbow resting on my knee. I don't know how long i was like that, just thinking, existing, waiting, but eventually, i heard two pairs of feet land in front of me, i didn't have much energy left, but i opened my eyes and looked at the two half saiyans in front of me.

One regarding me with pure suspicion, and the other, while still suspicious, had sympathy in his dark eyes. It was hard to believe there was still someone with kindness so strong in this horrible reality, and i felt myself clam up at it, my throat was tight and my eyes watered. He walked closer and kneeled in front of me, and smiled, he honest to gods genuinely smiled at me, i couldn't remember the last time someone had done that, and i didn't realise how badly i needed to see that.

When he reached out his hand i instinctively flinched, but neither of us acknowledged it,

" Hi, I'm Son Gohan, it's nice to meet you," and when he spoke it was with a gentleness i didn't even know was possible, a gentleness that spoke volumes of his strength and character. With great trepidation, i reached out to him as well, he barely held onto my hand as he helped me stand.

He didn't let go of my hand as my lip began to tremble and my shoulders began to shake, as my eyes welled up with tears and i started sniffling. I tightened my grip on his large hand, feeling like the child i had been turned into as my tears fell and i used my other hand to wipe at my face.

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