Humanity are space Blorgs? Wait, that can’t be right….

I want more

[removed]

kitchen

​

show me the

moon's belly

the bottom of her white skirt

crescent stretch marks

yellow light firefly

drive in movie

​

on the mountain immortal dogs run wild

watch out for curled tails bared teeth

each awake when tomatoes bloom

​

winter woods watch

shedding woolen wrappings of ice blanket

peaks shred revealing naked rock thigh

as spring lights the spark parting

powder snow leaving ash behind

each season a funeral procession

"Oh, well, to be honest, my power wasn't real hard to discover - in fact, it was pretty obvious. I'd say my parents figured it out when I was still in a high chair!"

"That's... fascinating," the health inspector offered, obviously confused. I hadn't actually told him what my power was yet, of course. Still, he diligently kept up with my faster pace, jotting down notes as we strolled through he production facility. He responded, somewhat absently, after jotting down another paragraph. "Most folks learning their power that young, well.. With lots of time to develop, they end up putting on tights!"

"Ah, the super hero route was never for me, to be honest. My power doesn't suit itself to that, and, to be frank, it's much too dangerous work. The plant here? We're as safe as it gets!"

"I admittedly find that odd," the inspector muttered. "Your safety equipment is, admittedly, shiny and new, but... something is off. Employees. The way they're handling things."

"Ah, yes! We absolutely prioritize safety and distance for the employees! If something is about to go wrong, just back off and let it happen!"

"Hm," the inspector hummed, "Most producers would... Well... Put some higher priority on preserving the product. Not to sound cynical or accusatory, of course... but that's a lot of money to let go of."

"Ah, true, but that's where I come in! It's why I'm the production supervisor, after all!"

"Oh? Uh... How so? If you... I mean no offense, but... I don't see how..."

I simply laughed.

"Just believe me, I'm their hero around here. Both the guys on the floor and the big wigs above!"

Just then, we heard shouting. Down the warehouse, a handful of employees were stepping back, pulling away, as a large machine began to sputter and spark. Splatters of the product began to leap out of the device, and finally, with a loud 'bang', a geyser of baked beans spouted from the top of it, soaking the area around it in viscous brown liquid and vegetables. An Old Faithful of barbecue special, a tidal wave of frank toppings, an absolute flood of our famous baked beans covered the entire area. By the time the flow stopped, a full ton of product must have been oozing across the floor.

"Oh, goodness," the inspector said, lifting his clip board to take notes. "That's got to be an expensive mistake."

"See, this is where I come in!" I cracked my knuckles, strode forth quickly, and chuckled. Time was of the essence, after all.

The men cleared the way, with a few apologies and a "You got this, boss!" I approached the edge of the spill, and sat down. With a deep breath, I prepared myself...

I let out a loud, embarrassingly accurate estimation of a baby's laughter. I laughed, I giggled, and I squealed like any good toddler strapped in their high chair and having a good time. I kicked my legs, I flailed my arms about, swung my hands wildly, and twisted all over.

I'm sure an outsider would have been perturbed, and the inspector, I noticed from the corner of my eye, stood aghast, but everyone here at the company loved me for it.

With that, my power activated - the ability to magically un-spill food. The beans shot back up into the air, up into the machine, and back where they came from!

I pushed myself to my feet, and after a few laughs with the team, I strolled back to the inspector, who's jaw practically sat upon the floor.

"Magically returned! No contaminants or anything like that, they're exactly as they were before the incident! We actually have some test results to prove it."

"I..." the inspector offered, at a loss for word. "I don't know what to make of this."

I laughed, and nudged his side.

"I call it: 'The 10-second rule'!"

Friendship is optimal. Please do not resist.

Love this

Supreme Warmaster Lzurg looked up; his three eyes boggling in awe and terror. The night sky was filled not with the familiar stars of his youth. The Human armada hung over the planet with finality, like a death sentence.

His adjunct, Undersquad Commander Hrug, thrummed his gelatinous thorax to grab Lzurg’s attention. “What should we do, Warmaster? The Council requests your presence immediately.”

Lzurg ignored the question. He craned his cranium up, up to the vast fleet of warships. His people were no match for them, no match at all. Now, they stood on the twilight of their kind; after this, his people would only exist in stories, like the Vreen and Koxads before them.

Despite the inevitability before him, Lzurg thought of his prime-wife, Lizza. She was part of 3rd Warfleet that fell to the humans in the Harachi system. He turned to his assistant. “Informing the Council of their impeding extinction may be the last task that brings me happiness before the end.”

---

“Warmaster, what will be the humans next steps now that they are in orbit of Homeworld?”

Lzurg didn’t bother to hide the look of disgust and contempt for the simpering and near-edible Vicecouncil Blurg. The holo-display in the main council chambers showed the fleet moving into coverage orbit around his defenseless planet. “If it was us, we’d commence orbital bombardment of Homeworld immediately after our fleet was situated, like we did with the Vreen. Unless they have been successful in their studies of our physiology to use bio-weapons. I expect Homeworld to be lifeless in about 2-3 weeks. They’ve ignored civilian targets up to now, aside from the Harachi system, but without our fleet, we cannot repulse them. After that, the human fleet will move outward to finish our extermination.”

The Council murmured and burbled amongst themselves. Lzurg could hear their shock, fear; his voice was the only one that sounded of tired resignation. None of these pampered cowards lost like the military had; like he had. The only belief he had any confidence in was how that would change very soon for these brood-runts.

Councillor Hruch seemed to measure the Warmaster before speaking. “Is there any change in your opinion of their messages? That the humans want peace and an alliance with us?”

He scoffed in response. “That’s not how the galaxy grips, Councillor. It’s kill or be killed. That’s just human propaganda to make us lower our defenses so we’re easier to kill.”

Hruch paused for a moment, his gripping tentacles stilled as if in thought. “Warmaster, have the humans had any problems destroying your mighty Warfleets with their defenses raised?” Lzurg did not have a response to that.

Hrug pointed to the display. “Look, Warmaster, the humans are sending invasion craft!” Several smaller craft, lightly armed, were descending from the main concentration of the human ships.

“Invasion? Are they slavers, then?” What kind of sadistic barbarians are these humans? Xenocidal murder was the galaxy norm. It’s what the Koxad tried with them and failed; every race met since was this struggle. Lzurg had never heard of a race enslaving another race. It was an alien concept completely. He thought, briefly, of his wife, a slave, working the endless fields of Harachi-7 until her brutal death.

“We’ll find out soon, Warmaster. The ships are heading here directly. No anti-ship defensives operational near the Capitol. We have some scattered units but none nearby. At best, the guards here have small arms.”

“Rally them.” It felt good to give commands; Lzurg almost felt alive again. “For the Homeworld!”

---

The human craft, all sharp angles and flat surfaces, landed engines screaming in the main park outside the council chambers. Several heavy interceptors were already flying combat patrols. Lzurg always admired the Human efficiency; if the Ysari Brood Empire had to fall, it was to a far superior foe. The Council Guard were set in their defensive positions, for whatever that would accomplish. It was mercy, he eventually decided: like the Warfleet, at least these guardsman would die in battle.

The troopship’s rear hatch opened, ready to disgorge human marines. Lzrug’s tentacle gripped his weapon. He was ready for almost anything.

Except for the site of Lizza unsteadily gliding down the ramp in full dress uniform. Behind her, several more Ysarians were disembarking; tepid, unsure movements as they gawked at their surroundings like tourists from the Rim instead of hardened soldiers. All the ships were emptying of his people. He looked up. There were more ships coming down, tens, hundreds, the sky burning bright like day with retrorockets.

His wife’s voice, amplified with near-magical Human technology, snapped his reverie. “Ysarians, I’ve been told by the humans that those ships are filled with more of our people, survivors from battles. The humans want… the humans want peace with us. As a gesture of goodwill, they are returning all our survivors.”

---

Their stories were all the same, with little variation. The only believable part was the ease the human fleets sliced through their defenses, like a torch through brindlevine. The rest was fairy tales to Lzurg. Ysarian survivors were gathered; the injured cared for by the humans at first and then Ysari medical survivors. “Survivors”, “prisoners of war”, “Geneva Conventions”, “ambassadors”: each term was more alien than the next to Lzurg. The battle of the Harachi system had only one goal: so the humans could feed their prisoners. Interrogations that resulted in confusion instead of corpses. There was a lot of gurgling about “beating plasma cannons into argi-tractors”, whatever that meant.

When he had a moment with his primewife, they merged together as one. “Do you believe this? Any of this?”

He felt her fear and terror but something else; he couldn’t quite grip it. “Not at first. I thought I was going to die on that ship. They knew our language – they learned to speak with us. I thought it was to learn our defenses. The noise they make when they laugh, I’ll never forget that; like a guggeldrakh roar.” She paused, her thoughts a tangle of tentacles and emotions. “What changed my mind was the doctors. They would have their Human doctors learning from ours. They… they were learning how to treat our injuries. To those that died… they learned the death-song to sing it with us. They stood and sang beside me over Arluga after she died.”

Lzrug didn’t know what to think.

She continued, the thoughts tumbling out now, “We were so scared when we found the ships on the Rim. It was like the Vreen all over again. We fought, we killed them all, and then they came for us. I told them, all of them, that we fought them because every race we encountered tried to kill us first. It’s how the galaxy grips: kill or be killed.”

“What did they say to that?”

Her response chilled him right to the core: “’Not in our galaxy.’”

I really like the "lightness heat" and the contrast of the dark blackness with the flames. This feels so doomful and threatening to me. Also like the greek mythology - I googled charon and the river styx to see what they are (havent heard of before), and I like the connection between all of the greek myth references.

Brian fishes the bottle from the water and takes out the paper. In large letters, it says: KILL HER. "I wish I could, mr. Bottle, I wish I could," he chuckles.

It was ironic in its own twisted kind of way. Brian had chosen to take a walk along this quiet beach to put his thoughts in order. His wife and him don't love each other anymore and he doesn't know what to do. Other people might have seen the letter as a sign, but Brian knew better.

It's crazy, Brian thinks, how things like that work. He had never thought it would happen to him. Unhappy marriages are for losers without a spine. It's what happens to couples in soaps when the writers need some cheap drama. But it shouldn't happen to him.

He watches the seagulls soar over the ocean. Now that's a life. Just flying around, eating some fish, not a care in the world. It's way better than a loveless marriage. If only it were as easy as killing her.

But he still cares for her. She doesn't arouse him like she used to. He doesn't feel the deep connection he once felt. But she is the mother of his children. His mother loves her. She's a good woman. Just not the woman he met eleven years back.

Then, she was a ravishing beauty. Her lust for life impressed him, scared him even. She dragged him to places he would never have gone on his own. He shared her love for fine dining. In the early days of their relationship they would save up for several months just to be able to afford a meal at a fancy restaurant.

What exactly had changed? These days they have more than enough money to afford dining out at very good restaurants regularly. She still loves experiencing new things, and he still love being dragged along. The glisten in her eye and the dimples in her cheek are still there. Only the fire in his heart is gone.

It's not the fights. They hardly if ever fight. They mostly keep silent. Not out of animosity. They just don't have anything to say to each other. It's not enough to kill someone over.

He puts the message back in the bottle. This omen isn't meant for him. He chucks it back into the ocean. May the next person who happens upon it find it useful.

Seems like someone would just shoot or stab this hero!

The Queens of Paragon stared in awe and... Utter confusion as their planet was covered in... Teddy bears, pillows, blankets, and other assorted softness. Flowers, some dead, dying, or barely alive were strewn all over their homeland. They were baffled by humanity's ammunition of choice.

"You mock us, humans?! We tell you we hate you, then you rain down... These cute little bears, these... What did you call them?" They looked at one another, then at the pillows, then the Corporal before them, as she stood, waiting.

"Pillows, maladies. We use them for a comforting sleep and to keep our heads on an even plane to level out our spinal columns. Plus, have you felt how SQUISHY they are?!" The Captian giggled as she held and squeezes her memory foam pillow.

"Yes... These... Pillows are quite... Nice." Queen Amidos and Queen Isthar looked at one another pensively.

They both sighed heavily, recalling their tendrils back into their body as they looked back at the Captain. "Fine... We will put aside our xenophobia, on the condition you CLEAN THIS MESS UP!" Queen Amidos roared, glaring at the Captain.

"You'll have to forgive my wife... She can be hostile when she doesn't get a good night's rest. What was your name again?" Queen Isthar turned back to the Captain, waiting patiently.

"Peggy Zeal. Because I'm very zealous when it comes to completing my missions and pegging them down!" She cackled at her pun.

"You humans give one another... Weird names and odd senses of humor... I'm going back to bed and I'm taking these with me!" Queen Amidos huffed again, using her tendrils to pick up a weighted blanket, a teddy bear that matched her in size, and a body pillow before storming back into the castle.

"Right... Well, hop to cleaning up, please. I'll go advise our citizens of the change of plans so they stop blowing your people out of the sky." With that, Queen Isthar also grabbed similar-sized items to her wife before storming off.

"You heard the queens! It's time to clean!" Captain Zeal spoke into her handheld radio.

"Understood, Captain Zeal." One of the subordinates said from the main ship in space.

"Booya! Mission accomplished!" Captain Zeal began to pick up what should could and formed it into a pile as her troops beamed down to the planet to help.

"Friendship is magic. The saying came from a... peculiar show, I must admit, but the words do embody our ethos well."

Ener, human envoy and diplomat, spoke to beings who were all around him. Floating mist, it is how Ener's mind made them appear to him. Other humans felt them like a gust of wind, or an ethereal set of interconnected neurons.

It's one of the reasons they laughed at us. We still fought with bullets and mean words on the internet, while they had discarded their flesh. Mind had overcome matter, thoughts shaped reality while we suffered it. They had no need for the internet, as their thoughts could be transmitted far and wide with a larger emotional depth than mere words could.

Had they invaded Earth, there's not a thing humans could have done to resist a nearly instantaneous extinction event.

"Obviously," Ener added, "my words may sound both crude and treacherous, considering the hungry payload our ships have in store in your orbit."

Ener was surrounded by an angry, murderous mist. The mist happened to be surrounded by ships containing horrors the mist knew to be far, far worse than the construct of flesh and bone before them.

"But let me assure you, our intentions are nothing but pacific."

Of course they were. Never had Ener been more honest than in this very moment.

When humanity was ignored, they still studied the few mysterious interactions they had with these beings. They learned what little they could. When another, lesser species felt an odd sense of kinship as they felt just as weak, Ener extended a hand to strengthen them both in a hostile universe. They shook appendage, and a friendship was born.

"Understand this," Ener's tongue passed over his lips, "friendship is what makes us strong."

Humanity communicated with their new friend, opened ambassies, invited them over, welcomed them with open arms, buried some of theirs on Earth. Then, they dug the bodies up and studied them. Each word, each gesture, it's effect in space, analysed and dissected. The best parts of society, copied and reused at home.

"Friendship is so much more efficient than warfare."

When the lesser species asked for some clear boundaries, humanity feigned shock and sadness. When they pushed for boundaries harder, humanity revealed it's true colors.

As driven befrienders.

What good day it had been, when Ener knocked at their door and told them that friendship was non-negociable. But as he was a strong believer in free will, he gave them a choice: be friends, or face total obliteration.

Today, nobody spoke of the lesser species. They were part of humanity, integrated, their history absorbed and digested.

"Hence why I insist how important it is for me that you understand my point."

That on the other hand, was utter bullshit. Ener only wanted them to comply, them understanding was irrelevant to his grand design.

In time and in discretion, humanity found a way to touch these beings, make them feel and see death the ways humans did.

"Friendship made us."

Indeed. Friendship had made them absorb the old, forgotten species. Friendship had made them copy their societal strong points, friendship had made them develop creatures made of violence, kill them, and contain their death cries in a frozen capsule, ready to be opened on case friendship was refused today.

Friendship had made humans erase their boundaries, kill dissent, forced Earth to smile forever like Ener did right now. Friendship had made good mood mandatory.

"Friendship is why we reached the stars instead of burning down on our planet."

Of course, older generations would say this is anything but friendship. But the generation nearly killed humanity with global warming and had been erased in turn, as such they couldn't be right because they weren't there to be right and nobody remembered them.

"I ask again. Will we be friends?"

A promise of an end, the fog knew. Worse than the unreal beasts in the capsules, there was the beast of humanity, always hungry, always smiling, a smile lined with sharp teeth, the bits of previous pray still clinging to it. The beast didn't linge at you. It awaited with open mouth for you to step inside to be devoured.

But if the fog didn't, humanity would make sure to do much, much worse than a single extinction event.

Slowly, the fog coalesced into a hand.

Ener shook it, ecstatic.

"You will see. Friendship is magic."

"The fleet is in position, sir."

Admiral Matthew nodded, not moving his gaze away from the green-and-purple planet on the display. Even from high orbit, the enormous honeycomb cities of the V'raal were visible, gleaming in the light from the binary suns. The sight was both alien and beautiful.

"Hail them one more time," he said.

"Yes, sir," the communications officer said. "Hailing across all channels."

The planet on the display was replaced by a tall winged humanoid with grey skin who glared at Matthew with large compound eyes. The resemblance to Earth insects was, of course, coincidental; the instinctive revulsion could be overcome.

The alien's lips moved out of sync with a synthesized voice. "Humans. So you show your true colors at last."

"I'm Admiral Matthew aboard flagship Arthra," he said. "We come in peace."

"Your fleet encroaches upon our home," the alien hissed. "In my name as the High Queen, we will fight to the last!"

He sighed. "We do not seek to destroy you. We wish to trade. To exchange ideas. Haven't we had several decades of successful communication?"

The queen made a clicking noise that the computer failed to translate. "Such things inevitably end in the destruction of one of the species involved."

"You've been betrayed before," he said, nodding. "So have we."

"Then you understand what kind of place the universe is. We all clawed our way to the top of our food chains. We do not suffer rivals."

He spread his hands. "Even so, we would take the risk. We would be your friends."

"Friends? You say that even as your fleet draws closer!"

"We only came because you stopped responding to our signals," he pointed out. "Anyone would get concerned when their closest neighbors fall silent."

The queen's translucent wings fluttered, raising her off the floor. "You should have had the sense to stay away. We do not wish to communicate. We do not wish to trade. And if you don't leave, we will destroy you!"

The transmission cut off, and all at once, the bridge erupted into action.

"Orbital defense platforms are locking onto our vanguard."

"Missile launches detected from the surface—"

"Numerous combat craft launching from the second moon!"

Admiral Matthew sighed and slumped back in his chair. "So be it."

The battle was as brutal as it was short. The kinetic weaponry of the V'raal was impressive, but the human ships boasted laser armaments developed in collaboration with the Abetti, antimatter reactors bought from the Gerurians, and superalloy hulls invented on Earth. In less than a day, the planet's orbital defenses were reduced to a cloud of rubble. Still the aliens stubbornly refused to answer any attempts at radio contact.

"There's no choice," Matthew said. "I'll have to land and speak with this High Queen directly."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

He shrugged. "We can't convince them of our intentions if I don't do this much. Prepare the landing shuttle."

In short order he sat strapped in alongside a squad of grim-faced marines. The shuttle shook as it broke into the planet's thick atmosphere. He turned to watch a screen on which the hive-city the first transmission had come from was steadily growing larger.

A siren blared, and the shuttle veered sharply, the straps cutting into his chest.

"They're firing at us!" the pilot exclaimed.

"Steady, lads!" Matthew yelled. "Arthra has orders to provide support."

A pink energy beam lanced down from the skies like a finger of god, and a mushroom of smoke erupted on the surface. Another beam followed. Matthew closed his eyes and sighed.

It was a bumpy ride, but they made it in one piece, setting down on a field before the smocking wreck that was the hive. Matthew pulled on a breathing mask. The marines' sergeant offered him a gun, but he waved it down.

"Stay behind me," he said. "Weapons hold unless I say otherwise."

The sergeant appeared dubious but snapped off a salute. The hatch opened with a hiss of air. Matthew tilted his head up at the scarred wall of the hive looming ahead and grimaced. If only the fools had listened.

He disembarked, his steps springy under the lower gravity. Movement by the hive's wall caught his attention. A V'raal lay trapped under debris, one wing broken and oozing silvery blood, chest laboring for breath. Waving back the marines, Matthew slowly approached and did a double take when he recognized the queen.

She flinched as his shadow loomed over her and shielded her face with an inhumanly slender hand. He stooped and heaved off the debris with a grunt. The queen froze and stared up at him with her prismatic eyes.

He extended his hand. "Let's be friends."

She considered his hand as if it were something poisonous, then let out a defeated hiss. Slowly, she raised her trembling hand to clasp his.

“So they aren’t coming ?”

“No, Golden warrior said that it’s clear that I won’t hurt you so either your my accomplice or my lover . “ Silver tiger said , she blushed at. The mention of lover.

For the past three months I was kidnapped by Silver Titan and used As a bargaining chip . The thing is I was never in any danger. She kept me fed and safe . In exchange all I had to do was put up a convincing struggle .

Thanks to her power called “hammer space” which allows her to hide people and objects within her one of the gems on her body. While this seems like a very powerful ability for a thief it had flaws.

The first flaw being that if people struggled in the gem she could feel it. Plus , the gem was shattered from the inside ,she would die . So this alone meant that she couldn’t just use it to capture heroes or people who put up a good fight .

The Second flaw was the fact gems were placed very awkwardly. One was on her forehead, on her sternum , and the final was where her navel should be. This meant to use them she had to expose the gems themselves. Which lead to some very annoying costumes .

Finally her body tended to convert anything inside the gems into different things if left in there for too long or if she got stressed. The in on her head converts things into information, the sternum converts it into energy and healing , and the navel converts it into physical additions . This she learned the hard way when her navel gem converted a tiger into retractable claws and muscles . Leaving her permanently at seven feet tall .

“Well, I guess I’d better let you out now” Silver Tiger said as she lifted up her shirt slightly to reveal the gem holding me. I was usually in her navel gem . It was a part of her threat to convert me, but also the safest gem since it’s converting takes much longer .

“ ugh , Marie wait” I said , I used her actual name for once leaving her a bit stupefied . “ look these past few years have been pretty awesome. You’ve shown me more kindness than anyone else in the world has.”

“ Wait really ? Hehe, you must have low standards for kindness” Marie chuckled. She wasnt actually wrong . I really did have low standards but with her I felt safe something I hadn’t felt in a awhile .

“ eh , it’s more like I know how cruel the world really is and you’ve done nothing but treat me with care. “ Once again , Marie blushed . All she had done was treat me like I was a living person not just some kind of disposable doll. Sure she was technically a villain but she wasn’t a killer , she was just a thief. If it wasn’t for the fact that my family was absolutely filthy rich , she wouldn’t have taken me repeatedly.

“Anyway , I really don’t want to go back to that house . So , if you let me. I can give you something you’ve wanted for a while “ Marie looked down at her navel gem confused . She hadn’t really told me what she really wanted . What she really wanted was to be a hero. But ever since the tiger incident. She was a wanted fugitive . “I-I don’t think there’s anything you can do to help me , you can’t change the past “

“But what if I could change the future” I said , before dropping my personal forcefield . Immediately Marie felt it coursing through her . The gem was converting my body Into physical gains for her. Only , unlike the tiger , I had a few tricks up my sleeve.

“ what is this , Are you alright ?? SPEAK TO ME! “ Marie asked , as she felt the same feeling she felt when the tiger was converted. She immediately felt a pang of guilt , her new friend dying in her gem. Only then she felt there was more . She felt stronger , faster , her skin felt more powerful .

“ don’t worry, I’m fine . I can regenerate . What you just felt was me lowering my personal forcefield so you could gain some of my power. So my deal for you is , we become a superhero team . Me giving you power and you the actual hero.” It wasn’t an absurd request, thanks to my regen and shape shifting , there wasn’t much she could to to kill me.

Marie pondered my request for a bit. With the powers I was offering her . She could have a second . It could give her a peaceful life too. But still she worried . “ I don’t know , what if I use you all up? After all the gem coverts anything inside after 24 hours. “

“Don’t worry , I once hid inside a crocodile for a week to avoid having dinner with my dad . I’m certain I can survive inside a gem. So do we have a deal?”

Marie weighed the costs in her head for a moment then she lowered her shirt . Hiding me in the gem from the rest of the world. “I think this is the start of a beautiful partnership”

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* No AI-generated reponses 🤖 >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [RF] and [SP] for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

I like the implication that that goon could and would have killed him but his reputation saved him.

Finally. My time to shine. Everyone thought that Sollestte was my only back pocket trick, but when your trump card has an entire Rogue‘s gallery to deal with and only 1 of them kidnaps you on the regular you tend to pick up on a few habits.

The villain in question is Lunoir, her ability is called starlight. It’s essentially shadow manipulation that looks like a black sequence dress. While you’d think her weakness would be light, it’s actually darkness. She also doesn’t expect much from me and so only typically ties me to a chair with a rope from a local hardware store.

I owe Roy a beer for weakening the rope for the kidnapping. I got myself free with little fuss and pulled my tools from my socks and sleeves and got straight to work. Superhumans while strong all have the same weakness: they underestimate those who have none. Say in this case for example, a friendly electrician who due to impeccable service has friends in many places.

It would be a shame if say, she was the last person on the grid, has a fuse box built within the room she uses to hold people captive with a safety box that holds night vision goggles, rubber gloves, a walkie talkie, and a bottle of water… shame for me that she kidnapped me before her layer was finished as Shelly was going to put the gloves here when she was done with the kitchen.

I took a minute to get a drink and put my shoes on my hands and flipped every switch on the board. I put my shoes back on, slipped the night vision goggles on, and chucked a walkie talkie to the other side of the layer exit.

I heard a slight scream and herd her coming. I slipped away behind a mattress and as she opened the door and saw the broken ropes within the light of her flashlight. I then started speaking into the walkie talkie.

“Oh Luuunaaaa”

Luna whipped around to the other side of the room.

“Luna, Luna, Luna. Did you really think I was caught all this time? Muhahahaha!”

“H-how did you escape? A pocket knife? You’re a fool you know, if you come out now, I won’t-“

“YOU WON’T WHAT? Tell me, I’m curious. Will you glair at me menacingly? Slap me around?”

“The darkness is my stronghold, I am more powerful now than ever”

“ if that were the case? Than why have you done nothing? Could it possibly be that you have no shadow in the dark?”

“…” Luna froze solid not moving an inch

“Silence I see, tell me? Solestte is a VERY protective and soft-hearted person yes? Of course you’d know this as her “self-proclaimed” arch nemesis. If that was the case, if I were you, I’d start to question why she would start openly seeing someone.”

“I…simple, she can save you whenever she needs to”

“Then where is she?” I begin to cackle wildly

“Show yourself, you welp! Everyone is scared of the dark because of me! I am the thing that hides within your nightmares! I am the thing that people fear when walking alone in the Forrest! I am-“

“Not a force of nature.” I chimed in

“What are you talking about you powerless beast?!” She screamed using the flashlight light to make some shadow claws.

She clawed towards the walkie talkie and when they brought it to her, the colour drained from her face”

“ Since I was a child, I have faced nearly everything the elements can throw at a person; frost, wind, rain, jade skies, tornadoes were a strangely popular one, and even a volcano. Solestte is open with our relationship because I am not dead yet. And let me tell you something Luna.” I stopped talking into the walkie talkie and snuck up behind her.

“You are no force of nature” I said as Luna dropped the flashlight.

She fell to the floor gasping. I then left her a little note pinned next to her head with a knife. I left the layer and walked out just as Solestte can round.

“No need this time. I got out just fine.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t get here on time, Cerborzoi escaped and she was running amu-“

“I told you it’s ok, I’m not mad. It was actually pretty fun. You should’ve seen her face though it was hilarious.”

“(Sigh) at least everything turned out alright. So what was her plan anyways?” Solestte asked me

“I have no idea, all I know is that she’s not going to try anything soon again”

Everything Everywhere all at once.

The prompt reminded me so much of EEAAO mixed with Dorohedoro, and your writing only further cemented it. Great job!

oof

Yes, you can!

No, poetry and flash fic exclusively. I'd love to wrote a novel but I trip all over myself

I love it so much
It’s so nice to see the balance between the 4 elements and how you can see the harmony all through the poem

In this universe, it may actually be useful to cry over spilt milk it seems