"So you did what?"

Detective Sergeant John is a female detective with a male surname. They still mock her up to this day in the unit. She's grown a huge beer belly in the last six months, like some sort of phantasmal pregnancy after she broke up with her boyfriend. Or an eldritch-belly, he might say. He saw plenty of them suspicious bloatings then sprouting in thousands tentacles, like a symphony of tentacular joy. He's looking at it.

"I'm tired of this worshipping thing. I can see no end to it."

Detective Sergeant John is aware of his gaze and instinctively lowers her eyes to check if anything is wrong with her t-shirt. That's a trivial interrogatory mistake, she's giving up authority just for some self-esteem issues. She raises her baby blue eyes up.

"Save me."

"Alright, let's pretend I believe you. You're the All-side Strangler. Give me proof. I'll help you."

They named it the "All-side Strangler" for it was spreading all around from the Westside and the Eastside, and the Northside to the Southside and they couldn't decide what was more preeminent.

"I can't. My god saved me from leaving any trace behind, thus saving me eternally from human justice."

"So you can't prove you're the strangler. Your god is saving you from our justice. Why are you betraying him?"

"I'm..."

There was a pause. A pause that seemed to increase Detective Sergeant John's belly considerably. But he never thought his act in terms of betrayal. He was just tired.

"You're what?"

"Look, maybe it's better we part ways."

Detective Sergeant John was fine with it and raised from her chair. Her clearance rate was shit enough for the month not to chase around any fool's claim.

He walked out the police station, she went back to her office, one hand on her belly. Maybe she was pregnant after all, she felt like throwing up. Throwing up a thousand squids.

He was out the police station. Maybe he needed one more victim. Just one more. Please. I'm not betraying you. I will never think about that again.

[PART 3/3]

“You can do that?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I think so.”

I sat there, dumbfounded, wondering how someone who couldn’t even handle the stress of protecting humanity could be allowed to trade off souls of innocent mortals who have passed.

“I thought only the Kingdom Holders could do that?”

“No, I can, too, since I’m the Guardian Angel.”

That just caught me even more off guard. I mean, I was one of the most highly ranked demonic Overseers, and even Satan didn’t allow me to trade our souls, since that was supposedly only his job.

But I wasn’t going to pass of the offer. “Well, Satan did say we could use some more souls,” I licked my lips with my snake-like tongue. “How many we talking?” I asked her.

“I don’t know… fifty?” Skyler voice was a lot calmer now. She wasn’t nearly as frantic as she was during her breakdown.

“Hmm… make it a hundred.” I grinned.

“Oh, uhh… alright. A hundred it is, then…” she didn’t sound to sure of herself, like she was regretting making such a deal. “So, will you agree to take my job for a couple years?”

“Yes.” My thought of having new souls to torment made me completely forget about the consequences of guarding mortality.

“Oh, my Heavens, thank you!” she said, sighing. She then began to let out a breathy laugh. “Oh, I can finally take a break! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Xavier, you are a life saver I tell you. Oh, you have no idea what this means to me.”

“So, where are my souls?” I interpreted.

“Oh, you want them right now?” Skyler sounded surprised.

“Yes. If you don’t give them to me now, then consider the deal broken.”

“Okay, fine!” I could tell she regretted her decision, but she wasn’t turning back.

I could hear the cries of the souls as they scream in pain and agony while being transported to Hell. But I didn’t care. I was just happy to get more of them, and I could tell Satan was, too. The cries continued to resonate in my head, but I just ignored them.

That was until the time came where I took on Skyler’s job as Guardian Angel—or should I say, Guardian Demon—looking over all of humanity. I, Xavier Blood-claw, the Great Overseer of the Dangerous Mortals, was now in charge of keeping humanity intact.

I could feel my stomach start to turn again. I didn’t know what about it was making me feel this way. As I made my way to Earth to protect the first mortal, I could feel myself getting nauseous, but I couldn’t bring myself to find the reason behind it.

That was until I guarded my first mortal. I soon realized the terrible mistake I made when the world began to cave in and crumble into the pits of Hell. It was only then that I remembered the curse I once told Skyler about; one that I was so cautious of before, but have completely forgotten it like it was merely nothing. Now that I acknowledged my grave mistake, I quickly tried to undo it all. But the damage was already done.

I never once expected myself to feel so sorry for the humans. I normally enjoyed seeing them suffer. But this was different. Somehow, I felt guilty, ashamed even. I knew what I have done. I knew what unfair eternal punishment I had just given these souls. Not just to the ones who deserved it, but also to the ones who were nothing but innocent. I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt and shame that was eating away at me.

And now, there was no going back.

The curse has been unleashed.

End of Part Three

WRITER’S NOTE: Sorry this is so long and kinda dark. I don’t why I came up with this, I just did. I wasn’t expecting it to be this long either, so yeah. If someone just so happens to be reading this, I hope you enjoyed none the less, though! I know this story may not be the best, for many obvious reasons, lol. Also, sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes in this. I was typing kinda fast when writing this so that I can get it over with. And Reddit didn’t allow me to put it all in one comment, so I had to write this in 3 different comments. So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Once again, sorry for the story turning out.. like this.

[PART 2/3]

“I’m so burned out from watching over humanity, waiting for a moment I could protect someone from harm,” she continued on. “The dangers on earth are only getting higher. People’s physical and mental health keep deteriorating. The number of deaths keep rapidly going up. The amount of times I had to stop someone from taking their own life, it’s just… too much.”

Skyler couldn’t hold it back anymore as she started crying through the phone.

“I can’t keep up with the world anymore. Not with the state that it’s in, especially when it keeps getting progressively worse. Constantly having to adjust my shield, and use up more of my power, just to keep humanity from the brink of extinction. I can’t do this anymore, Xavier!”

Her words provoked me in a way that made my stomach turn. “What do you want me to do about it?” I asked her. “I’m in charge of watching over serial killers, kidnappers, sex traffickers, pedophiles, rapists, abusers… and yet you want me to do your job for you? You’re afraid of humans being on the brink of extinction, while I will literally cause them to go extinct all together!”

“Please, Xavier. I’m begging you. I know it’s a lot to ask for, but I know you can do it. We’ve been friends for most of our childhood. You always were the nicest to me, despite being a demon. You were always there for me when no one else was. You actually cared about me. I know you can do this for me. I trust you.”

“That’s in the past, Skyler. Things are different now. What we had in the past was nothing. We were children, we didn’t know better. But now, you’re the new Guardian Angel, and I’m the Overseer of the most dangerous of criminals before they died. We both hold high and powerful ranks, and if we were to switch places, the whole world would be destined for damnation.”

“Xavier, please! I need you, you’re the only one I have. None of the other angels are up for task, or have enough power for such a duty. It’s all up to you. I mean… we used to be the best of friends. Why can’t we go back to the way things were? Why did you have to change?”

Because people change, Skyler. We’re not the same being we were thirty years ago.” I took a deep breath to keep myself from entering a fit of rage. “We were never even supposed to be friends. We had to go behind our Kingdom Leader’s backs because angel-demon relationships were forbidden. If either one of them ever found out… we would have been ultimately perished.”

I bent down to pick up a skull that was lying by my feet. I rolled it around in my hand, my long, sharp claws poking at the brittle, cracked bones. “In fact, we shouldn’t be talking right now. If Satan sees what I’m doing, I’m screwed.”

“Please, Xavier! You’re my only hope!”

I crushed the skull with my powerful fist, with an infuriated look on my face. “What do you want me to do, kill the human population? Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I can’t protect them. Only you can, Skyler.”

I was about to hang up when I heard her shaking voice yell, “Wait!”

“What?” I hissed.

“If… if you watch over humanity for a couple of years in place, I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll… trade off some of the souls here in Heaven.”

End of Part Two

Will get to the other prompts eventually. They're pretty interesting.

[PART 1/3]

“But… I’m a demon!” I exclaimed at the baffling request.

“I know,” she responded with a tired tone.

“Then… why? Why me, out of anyone else?”

“Because I trust you, Xavier.” Skyler’s sweet, angelic, soft-spoken voice filled my ears, making me sick to my stomach. But I held it together.

“How can you possibly trust me?” I growled. “You’re an angel, shouldn’t you hate us?”

She left an uncomfortably long pause, leaving me irritated and impatient, before finally breaking the silence. “We aren’t supposed to hate you, and neither are the mortals who follow us. It’s the protocol of the Lord. We’re only supposed to love.”

That last sentence made me break down in laughter, almost choking on the pig’s blood I had just taken a sip of. It was almost impossible to believe that, seeing all the Christians out there that were judging, shaming, and belittling others in the name of their Heavenly Father. It was quite ironic if that wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“What’s so funny?” I heard Skyler say on the other end of the phone.

“Oh nothing,” I replied. “Just the fact that so many people don’t even follow that protocol.”

I took another sip of pig’s blood before continuing. “No wonder so many people leave the faith,” I chuckled.

I expected her to respond with something like, “That’s not true! Our followers are very loving!” But she didn’t. She just remained silent.

“And besides, wouldn’t that bring a curse among humanity if I took your place as The Great Protector?” I finally said.

I was right. Legends had it that if a demon were to take the place of a guardian angel in mortal protection, than it would bring a curse of destruction and damnation to that person’s life, even if it was a life of holiness and righteousness. And, if the demon was powerful enough, it could spread that curse to many others. And since I was one of the most highly ranked demons in the kingdom of Hell, I knew that the human I protected wouldn’t be the only one who felt the wrath.

After all, I was the one responsible for watching over only the most dangerous of people during their lifetime.

“Oh, c’mon! That’s just a myth,” Skyler said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

I couldn’t believe what I just heard. How could an spiritual adherent of the Holy Spirit be so delusional? Even I was being more reasonable than her. And I was normally a chaotic and reckless demon who loved watching the mortals on Earth suffer from the consequences of their immoral actions. And even I knew this was a bad idea.

“There’s no damn way I’m agreeing to that,” I told her.

“Please, Xavier! I’m begging you!” She began to sound less genuine and more desperate. “I’m so tired of being the Guardian Angel, and trying to always trying to be the top angel in Heaven. It’s so exhausting trying to protect the mortals when the world only continues to grow more dangerous and corrupted by the minute. I can’t do this anymore! I need a break!”

“Then why can’t you talk to God about it?” I asked abruptly.

“Because when we’re chosen to be the Guardian angel, we have to run for at least a century. But I can’t do a century! It’s too much!”

“Then ask God if you can take a break!” I yelled.

“I tried, but he told me that I must run the whole hundred years first. If I take a break now, no other angel will be able to cover for me. The mortals will be left without protection.” I could hear her voice begin to break as she tried to hold back the tears. “He even told me that I was strong, and I could handle it. He tried to give me hope and encouragement, but it didn’t work. It only made it worse on me.”

I never thought an angel could get so emotional. It genuinely seemed like she was on the verge of tears. I always remembered her being so bright, cheerful, and optimistic, and so hopeful for humanity and the future.

But this… this was different.

End of Part One

i need a full series, a manga adaptation, and an anime

Oh, so you use him across stories? That's always fun!

Ello there, I present a cowboy: J.J. Oliver.

He is based off a mixture of Lucky Luke and Arthur Morgan, but somewhat more in writing rather than characteristics. I enjoy writing high and low honor versions of him as it forces me to keep a character consistent yet different.

I always use him as a muggle reference for my more magic-related works, such as when I had him fight Dwarves invading from the magic world.

goddammit is this a jojo reference

It's strange really. Back in the days, when I was untouched by her, this place would have been just a police office. Drunkards in the tank, officers going about their day. Occasional tension might pop up when some looney started arguing about a ticket they got while they were alone on the road.

Now, it's different. The texture is different. I can see the texture of the concrete walls as if I was up close, yet I stand far away. People's smells cling to the inside of my nose, as if I were standing next to them. Their thoughts dance through my mind, thinking of everything and nothing, from hope to fear, from lust to revulsion.

The pattern has repeated itself more times than I can fathom, but this pattern must be broken. I scan the room and find an officer looking at me. His brow furrows and his eyes squint, highlighting the dark circles of sleeplessness nights. I hear his thoughts putting things together. I know him. He's been around. It's his personal mission to catch me.

I walk up to him, grab a seat from an empty nearby desk and sit down. Three officers are paying attention to me. I can smell the stench of the sweat from the lot of them, mixed with cheap tylenol, a hint of gunpowder and the sad stale aura of depression and a life lived too intensely. Though maybe, that's just me.

"Hello officer. I'm here to surrender myself to your custody. We need to talk. Now."

The officer's eyes widen. Two more cops pay attention. An old lady, whose cancer is nearly killing her yet she's unaware of it, turns her head.

"Wow there, slow down. Your name, please?"

"Patrick Mayhew Donovan. You know me as The Stripper. I killed fifteen men over the past three years in this state. If you need names, I remember all of them. Details too."

The entire police station grew silent, besides a fan rotating on its axle, attempting to freshen up the air in here. Several officers clench their jaws, I can hear the grinding of their poorly maintained teeth, as well as the release of several clasps of holsters.

From my coat pocket, I pull out a set of polaroids. Pictures of crime scenes as I left them. Victims when they were alive and after she and I killed them, stripping them of their flesh, draining their blood. The pictures came down on the desk, and he saw them. His eyes went wide like a dear in headlights. The heart in his chest that is bound to fail in two years starts beating twice as fast as he sees the pictures. He stands up immediately, the chair he rested on falling backwards, clanging on the stone floor. The pistol in his holster is drawn with damn near expertise and is pointed at my head.

I have been seated in this room for about three hours now. It's strange, but I'm sure they need time to put it all together. They don't know what I know. What they have, what they found when they searched me, as puzzle pieces that are incomplete. They won't like what they'll see if they put the whole thing together.

My strange friend, the police officer named Daniel Lofter, stands behind the glass, along with a federal agent and a detective. They've been discussing things such as evidence, motive, probably cause, the case they've built over the years. It's mind-numbingly boring chit chat, for which I don't have time.

"I suggest you ask your questions quickly. My time is limited. Before long, my partner will now I went to the police and will come here to kill me. If she finds you standing between me and her, she'll wipe you off the face of the planet. I know you only found 11 bodies. I will tell you where the other 4 are, if you send someone here."

I realized I came across as a bit desperate. Now that I'm not near her anymore, I'm starting to feel something. An impending sense of doom, like people who suffer heart attacks do. She helped suppress the fear. But the thoughts behind the mirror were also starting to get harder to decipher. My power is waning. She knows. She'll be coming. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The detective, after some quick dialogue, retreats from the room, walks around the walls and enters the room, holding a rather thick folder. A woman with an aged complexion, dark, well maintain long curls and the body language of determination and confidence. I respect that.

She considers slamming the file on the table, but maintains her composure and gently sets it down. Now that she's closer, I can tell her basic thoughts. Diana. That's her name. The very face of professionality and discipline. Cool and calm, collected. But I can smell the fury in her breath. The seething disappointment. In her head, she imagines brutalizing me, beating me to a pulp with her fists and a chair. Kicking me, slamming my heard through the one-way mirror and grinding my neck across the broken glass, tearing my neck to pieces. But she doesn't.

"I'm here. Things align with what you've said so far. We have more questions."

"I have some things to say first. About my partner. She is coming."

"So you weren't acting alone?"

"No. No I wasn't."

"Well, I'd prefer we start from the beginning here, so if we can put a narrative of sorts together."

"There's not time for that. You don't get it, detective, and I envy your ignorance. I have seen what she does. I know what she can make people do. She walks in human form, but that thing is not human. She is beyond you, beyond me. I simply got too close to her, got infected by her very presence."

"I did not prepare myself for a comic book villain breakdown, so try to keep your cool, here. An interrogator is on the way."

"Detective Matthews. He's flying in from Houston. 43 years old, a wife and two kids. Worked in different positions of the force over the last 15 years, from patrol officer all the way to his current position. His wife feels lonely when he isn't around, because he's a workaholic. When he dies, he will be the kind of person to regret not having spent as much time with his children as he could. He feels guilty over it already, and drinks to make it go away. Well, that and some of the other experiences he's had. Stellar record with the force, though. A good choice. If my partner doesn't rip the plane out of the sky, just to let us know that she's coming because now that I know, so does she."

I can feel the anxiety in her head, crawling from the bottom of her brains, around the outside, to the top. As if skeletal hands cradle her brains and give it a squeeze. She looks back at the mirror. My friend Daniel seems confused, but the federal agent's face turn white as a sheet. He pulls out a phone and starts calling his superior.

"Listen to me, Diana."

"I never told you my name."

"Of all the ridiculous things I just said, that shouldn't be the worst. The reason why I'm involving you and everyone here is because I'm trying to expose my partner in crime. The more people know about her, the harder it is for her to erase her tracks and disappear. Will you listen?"

"You have my undivided attention."

"Thank you, detective."

"What can you tell me about this partner of yours?"

"Her preferred targets are men. She takes them, simply for the pleasure of tearing out of happiness in their hearts with her razor sharp teeth. I've seen her instill nightmares in men, leaving them weeping, gasping for air, making them call out her name. In her eyes, I see the ground and sky on fire, with no mercy at the end of days which she will bring. The blood of gods, fresh on her hands, with flaming wings and more eyes than I can count."

"This is hard to follow, Patrick."

"Fine. You want a description? She's beautiful. One look will take away your innocence, opening your mind to things you never could dream of before meeting her. She's a muse to anyone whose mind she breaks. Her hair is like fire, her skin like the porcelain of my grandmother's china set. Her eyes are greener than the leaves of summer. One look, and you'll know her name."

The federal agent returns to the room, phone still in hand, shocked. With a tremble in his hand and numbness in his mind, he tells Daniel of a plane crash just outside George Bush International. They both look at me.

"Her name is Jolene."

I'm sorry, but I would never share my runes!

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Good job.

I figure a demon would use heaven as a swear...

Nice! I think it's a good start to a short story or a novel.

Shriek is a cool name

The glitch concept sounds very intriguing!

That's cool that you try to educate in your writing too!

So not only did they discover runic magic they gained some type of Akashic education! Cool!

Ah, thanks! I do tend to let things like tense slip up after I write for a bit, but I'm glad you like it anyway!

I love you grunklestanwhich.

This is great, there were a few parts that you bounce between past and present tense that confused me a little, but it's the best piece I've read this week.

AO3 has a whole category tag for Original Works, you'll be fine posting there!

Thank you! Sorry if it was a bit long-winded, but I'm glad you like it. I have just finished the second part, which is thankfully shorter than the first, should you be interested.