Nestled asleep in my arms, so small and innocent, no one could guess at the power you contain.

I fell into the abyss and now I blackmail people

Notes- Semester 2- 1/14/23- Magical Defense

• "Defense is for pansies who think battle scars get bandaged by their mommies." - Dr. Luke Constantine from Fraudulan University
• Offense = Best Defense?
  • Someone who is defending can't attack themselves.
  • Damage Over Time > Big Hits Over Short Period
  • Pain prevents casting spells
• How to gain "the high ground"- Advantage
  • Counterspells
    • Low Level spells- Protection Magic
    • Low Level Physical attacks- DownB
  • Traps
    • Both the explosive and catboy kind work as distractions.
  • Cunning
    • Tricks like lying and [teleports behind you]
    • Romance if required.
• What to do when on the advantage
  • Cause as much pain as possible.
    • Anything that may break their concentration is important.
  • Important spells to practice-
    • Worm/Parasite summoning
    • Flame Magic
    • Water Creation- Only use if you can target lungs.
    • Gun-
    • Torture Magic
    • Itching Magic
    • Gun, but Bigger
    • Electricity Magic- especially if your opponent has electrical nervous system
    • Soggy Pizza Magic.
  • Prevent Spellcasting-
    • Wand Removal Lessons
    • Force Feeding Soggy Pizza
    • Gun, But Massive(wrong section, rewrite later- fuck you Jeremy)
    • Anti-Magic Wards.
    • Gun
• Conclusion
  • When in doubt, attack first.
    • Feel > Function

I'm tired of just couples ending up kissing. I kind hope that it was a three's company thing and they keep on keeping on the charade because the house is soooooo good for rent. But they eventually find something else out about the house that keeps them there.

I'm not sure but it's sad and I knew it complete

(2)

"But your light was gone," I say as I flip the final card, this depicted a crow with crimson eyes staring straight at Matthew and standing on an old rickety sign with an arrow on it, "the old sign you saw was that way to get back onto your path. But the crow swooped in at the last minute. And you stared it in the eyes."

"Ok? But what does that mean?" Matthew asked in confusion.

"It's snowing outside. As it was snowing when you fell asleep."

Matthew stared sadly into my eyes, slowly coming to the realization.

"N-no, it can't be," Matthew said stumbling out of his chair, "this can't be the truth!"

"Your body was too weak to fight the cold, you went peacefully in your sleep."

I phase through the bar and slowly leaned down to him helping him up. He began to bawl as he hugged me.

"If I could, I would have tried to save every lost soul I met in this tavern," I said as I sat him back down at the bar and collected my cards, but sadly, I only show their paths, from where they began, where they walked, to where they must continue to. That is the comfort I try to give the lost."

It was silent for a while, another custom my patrons made to respect those who have made it to the end of their paths. Then Matthew spoke once more with a much calmer voice.

If I am dead, I would like to know your name. I would like to remember the person who was able to comfort me in this dark time."

I paused for a moment. I never had a name for people to call me by. But the longer I thought about it, I was given many names, but one stuck out to me. Since the name references travelers, I figured it would be a fitting name for me.

"You may call me... Meili."

"Alright then, I thank you, Meili." Matthew said with a warm smile, possibly the warmest it's been in a long time.

In the corner of the tavern, a large lizard being stood and spoke in a booming voice.

"Well, now that we know his path. Let's send him off the right way!"

The rest of the tavern cheered and began to resume their tunes and dancing, with a few of the patrons pulling Matthew into the crowd. I felt a little better for each soul I send to die knowing that they won't be sent off in a whimper of pity, but a cheer of good fortune and joy. And when Matthew was finally sent on his way through the doors, the snow had cleared. And a beautiful meadow under the warm blanket of the sun was in place of the gloomy fog-covered path. I watched as Matthew walked away as the door closed behind him.

To the ones that worry about going the wrong way in life, that lost their lives too early, that are just beginning to walk their path, it doesn't matter how lost you are. I will be here, keeping a seat open at my bar, so you can tell me about your travels.

The Crossways. A strange place, among all the realms, connects them. Many different creatures come through the Crossways, all from different walks of life, but they all have the same story of how they got to the Crossways. As they walked their life's path, they got lost on the way, and sometimes they made it to the end of their path. No matter how they make it to the Crossways, they will always make it to my tavern.

In the doorway, a bell rang, and the thunder outside boomed. There was a man, a human, old and shaggy, poorly dressed in soggy clothes, and his eyes showed his exhaustion.

"Welcome to the Travelers table wanderer," I say behind the bar preparing a drink, "what'll it be?"

The man was stunned at his surroundings, as most humans would be. All around him, filling the tables and dancing to the tunes, were various sentient species from the many realms the Crossways connect to. The man finally moved from the doorway and approached the bar, trying his best to stay away from the many beings in his path. He stopped and sat on the stool in front of me, one I always keep open for new arrivals.

"U-uhh, I'll just have some water, thanks," the man said in his hoarse voice, a dry cough came from him.

"Very well," I say as his glass grew and the water was poured in by a floating pitcher, "so, what's your story stranger."

The Tavern grew quiet as the various patrons paid attention, as is customary in my tavern.

"My story?" the man said as he looked around, "alright, my name is Mathew, I'm 46 years old as of last night. I was born in a small town in Nevada. And as of recently, I've been homeless."

A small murmur came from the patrons.

"How so?" I ask.

"I got fired from my old job and then I couldn't afford to live at home anymore so I was kicked out. With nobody to turn to, I lived on the streets and parks of the city for two months now."

A Tribarch, a tentacle being from a realm beyond humans, patted Matthew on the back.

"So tell me, do you know how you made your way here?" I asked taking his now empty glass and refilling it.

"Sort of, I remember last night, I was very hungry since I didn't have anything to eat for a few days and it was cold out that night. Feeling helpless and lost, I realized that I was spending my birthday sleeping on a bench. I felt pity for myself and slowly drifted to sleep. When I woke up, I was here."

"Where here exactly?" I asked, grabbing my deck of cards and looking out the window to the rain, now a snowstorm.

"Well, when I woke up, I was on a hill under a tree, surrounded by fog."

"What did the tree look like?" I say as I place a card face down on the bar.

"It was lush and had some low-hanging fruit on it, I ate a few of them."

"What did the fruit taste like?" I say as I tap the card twice.

"Oddly enough, it tasted like a bowl of tomato basil soup, but not just any kind, it was like the last meal I had before I ran out of money."

"Anything else?" I say as I rotate the card 180 degrees.

"When I finished eating the fruit, I looked around and saw a path down the hill and into the fog."

"What did this path look like?" I say as I place another card face down.

"At first, the path was straight and looked like a brick road. But then, as I went further into the path, it became more jagged, broken, but easier to see the path since the fog cleared."

"What happened when you finally made it to the end of the path?" I say as I drag my finger across the card.

"There was this light post, tall and black, and a dim light."

"What did you see after that?" I say as I turn the card 360 degrees.

"Walking past the lamp post, I saw a rickety wooden sign, that had some of the letters gone but it said 'Travelers table' with an arrow under it."

"What happened after that?" I say as I place my final card.

"A crow flew over me and landed on the sign."

A much larger murmur went across the tavern when he mentioned the crow, there was even a slight gasp.

"What did the crow do when it landed?" I say as I tap the part of the card closest to Matthew once.

"The crow locked eyes with me with its crimson pupils and flew off."

I drew a heavy sigh as I rotated the card 360 degrees twice.

"You truly fell quite far, my friend," I say as I flip the first card over, showing the lush tree bearing low fruit atop a hill surrounded by fog, "waking up on that hill meant that you came from a decent life at the start. The fog was thick, showing that you were blissful at the start. The lush tree that bore low-hanging fruit represents the opportunities you had at the start, and how easy it was to get them. The fruit tasted like the last comfort you had before the bliss began to fade."

I flipped the second card, it depicted a brick road that was straight and sturdy, but eventually, the road became uneven and jagged, leading all the way to a dimly lit light post.

"At the start, you knew that your life was clear and easy with the fog of ignorance still covering the rest of the path. When you finally make it past the fog, you finally saw that the rest of your life was slowly crumbling and getting worse. Making it to the end of your path you saw a light at the end of it, but it was too dim to make a difference, this light was that feeling of pity for yourself and the realization of moving forward with your life."

My throat clogged a little, I always hated doing this part.

(1)

[removed]

What? I know the song relatively well, but the main problem is I don’t know how to write a story. (Especially dialogue, which is often the most important part of a story)

I am very skinny, but very very very very heavy.

Taylor was the best at everything, except for one critical skill almost essential for living.

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Simon whooped in jubilation as the pentagram blazed with eldritch black fire as thick black smoke swirled and coalesced inside, forming a large, looming figure of dread.

"WHO DARES SUMMON ME...?"

It roared, it's voice a cacophony of thousands of battlefield curses and cries of treachery.

"I do...!"

The voice that replied was reedy, nasal and dripped with smug satisfaction.

"My name is Simon, and now that I have summoned you, I compel you to do my bidding. I have a grimoire here with the names of all who have wronged me, that you must eliminate"

With that, he held up a cheap school notebook. The creature in the circle seemed to be glancing around the room, taking everything in; before chuckling with menace.

"And prey-tell-me... Simon, with your repurposed schoolbook, dollar-store dribbly candles and..."

It's voice pitched in disbelief

"A Youtube video loop of creepy chanting?"

It shook its now-solid horned head

"How could a pathetic snivelling worm like you find the hundred victims needed to summon me?"

Simon grinned, not only would he show his classmates, but this arrogant Demon too that HE was truly a master of reality. He held up a petri dish in one hand and a spray-bottle of antibacterial solution in the other.

"It was never stated that the victims must be human to summon you"

The Demon laughed as it stepped OUT of the circle, its cloven hoof leaving a scorch-mark on the floor.

"To summon me, that is true"

It tore Simon's still-beating heart from his chest and held it to him.

"But to BIND me... Now that is another matter entirely"

I wonder why they couldn’t just sacrifice individual cells if it works like that. How does the power scaling work here? Is it one second of bacteria equals one second of human life? Millions of bacteria seconds would absolutely blow everything else out of proportion. (Which to be fair does seem to happen a bit, but not as much as I would expect if it was a 1:1 ratio)

Plus, the human body contains millions of bacteria as required for our day to day survival. That’s basically a cheat code for immortality.

I was thinking Traverse Town from Kingdom Hearts, but Chrono Trigger works even better.

So you're saying you're not really sure how it goes?

We know of microbes because we can see them with tools. They can do the same thing with magic, it seems. It's fairly easy to assume that they know since they can sense them.

My thoughts were racing as I tipped the pure alcohol bottle towards the petri dish. Personally I was disgusted by the bacteria on it.

It was green, spotty, moist, and worst of all was it came from my face! I couldn't be more disgusted with myself and I knew that I would never see my body the same again, but that wasn't important right now.

What did matter was of this was going to work. The ritual itself is meant to restore a person's youth.

I'll admit that I am by no means old but my 20's are almost behind me, and I'm not ready to decline in all manners of health just yet!

My biggest concern wasn't really if this would work, but rather what might happen if it did.

Would it be as harmless as the bacteria has only been alive for a few days and therefore the sacrifice would only make me a few days younger?

My fear gripped me tight as I imagined the worse possiblity that if it does work and the bacteria on that tray included skin pieces that are as old as I am then I'd become a defenseless baby again!

Then again that is impossible. No part of the human body exposed to the outer layers is truly as old as the human body itself. With all of the skin we shed I'd actually be surprised if there was any living human tissue in that dish.

But wait! What if the ritual sees the age more than the form of the sacrifice?! The bacteria is only days old! It'll think I'm sacrificing babies!

In that moment I put the petri dish down, setting the alcohol aside. "I can't do it...I just can't."

I stared at the bacteria. It disgusted me greatly, but the risks were just too great. "Honestly, I've probably aged more in the last five minutes than I have in the past month. This can't be worth it."

I grab the dish and blow out the candles, sighing before calmly walking upstairs.

I toss the petri dish in the trash and walk towards the sink. "Really, I bet I'd at least feel a few years younger if I jogged three times a week. You know what? I actually think I'd like that!"

I smile to myself before squirting the hand sanitizer on my hands and rubbing them thoroughly.

I laugh, the joy of the idea of being healthy is as easy as taking a pleasure walk through the park was already making me feel younger!

My laughter soon ended as I noticed my skin start to feel more supple, smoother. I watched as my skin got plump and then skinny again as my hands steadily became smaller and less developed.

I gasped, "The ritual! Oh no! The sanitizer!!! Nooo!!! I was right!"

Before long all that remained was a pile of clothes on the floor and an underdeveloped embryo too small to even be noticed by the human eye.

>I took a couple of deep breaths and then reached out with my senses to find all of the infection and the microbes that shouldn’t be there

sounds like they can sense living organisms so they have a way to detect bacteria, greatly easing the process.

Thank you!

"Sir, how does one fight Avada Kedavra? You've said you have ways of defending against it?"

"No, I said I know how to prepare for after the spell is cast. Today class I will teach you how to sell your souls to multiple devils without them being none the wiser..."

But how do they know of germ theory at this point?

It really did, I reread that line a few times. It seems banal because you know at that point, but it’s really sad and gorgeous.

What in the world is a BBEG?

It might just be me, but the vampiress is giving me major tsundere vibes