#fff193
Text
Starstruck
I used to be quite drawn to stars
And taken by their endless light
Would map them out for hours and hours
Knowing
. Their points
Could keep me right.
.
And with their constant
Tried and true
Relied upon them day by day
Until the day …
. When I met you.
.
Can you really,
. Be in wonder?
.
That you over
. Wrote
That space?
.
Replacing data overnight.
.
The heavens had
. just come to me.
. A brilliant light,
I could adore …
.
A miracle
Fueled by
. Milk
And
. Tea.
.
For no celestial body
Could ever be …
As fascinating,
. … As yours.
.
100 words for @flashfictionfridayofficial 💜
So late! But hey @johnlocky @chinike @rhasima @fluffbyday-smutbynight @ohlooktheresabee @totallysilvergirl (clearly Drawn to Stars came to mind first! Haha) 💜, @7-percent @inevitably-johnlocked @discordantwords @khorazir @raina-at @kettykika78 @masterofhounds @janetm74 @sgam76 @missdeliadili @dinner--starving @loki-lock @mutedsilence @wizama @peanitbear @peageetibbs @iwlyanmw @mrb488 @scrub456 @ewebie @victorianpining @br00klynn2428 @train-mossman @impalaparkedat221b @topsyturvy-turtely @justanobsessedpan @gaylilsherlock @holmesianlove @safedistancefrombeingsmart @liquor-liquor-lips
#bbc sherlock#johnlock#johnlock poetry#sherlock poetry#flash fic friday#fff193#sherlock poem#sherlock pov#liriels poetry
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Moonstruck (mShenko)
Summary: Looking at Earth from 384,400 km away makes Kaidan homesick.
@flashfictionfridayofficial prompt [#FFF193 Celestial Bodies]
To say he was relieved when they left the Alliance training facility after destroying the rogue VI would be the understatement of the year. Its last reaction had been a desperate plea for help, and it had chilled him to the bone. He wasn’t exactly claustrophobic, but he definitely felt better now, outside of the pillbox and without any murderous drones on his heels.
He walked away from the mako, leaving Tali and Shepard to their conversation. Of course, Tali was exited as hell and convinced that the rogue VI had been on the brink of achieving true consciousness. Maybe that was true. Maybe it wasn’t. They’d never find out, and somehow, he was glad.
He looked up, taking in Earth’s view and smiling. He’d visited countless worlds and moons before, especially since he’d started serving under Shepard. There had been quite a few moons that had offered a spectacular view of the planet they diligently followed and would until their systems’ sun died.
But none of the views had quite felt… This lonely.
He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, a strange and heavy feeling settling into his gut.
Earth. He had grown up there, had family scattered across a dozen Canadian cities, and some more across the stars. On Earth, he had a place he would forever call home – no matter how embarrassing his collection of space romance novels was or how outdated the sheets on his childhood bed were. It was home, no matter how homelike the Normandy felt after all those days and weeks and months on end.
It was kind of sad that they would spend their shore leave in Luna’s capital Armstrong. He could’ve easily hopped onto one of the many shuttle flights, but he’d told himself that he could visit Earth any time he wanted. Sure, his family would’ve been more than happy to welcome him home, but he also wanted to spend time with the crew and the people who were fast becoming his friends.
He snorted. At least here in the silence of Earth’s satellite he could afford to let his tightly reigned in emotions run rampant. He looked back at Shepard and Tali who had apparently decided to grant him the distance he’d created; a distance he desperately needed now more than ever.
Shepard wasn’t easy to walk away from.
Too late he realised that Shepard was looking back at him, tilting his head the way he always did when he was analysing something. Or someone.
He turned away again, surrendering himself to the inevitable confrontation he knew was coming. It had been coming for a long time.
“There you are,” Shepard said, his voice strangely soft and quiet. “You were awfully silent on our way out.”
“Yeah.” He looked to Earth once more, taking a deep breath, or as deep a breath as the scrubbers would allow him. “You think it was already self-aware?”
“No. At least, I hope so.”
“Yeah.” He hoped so too. The last thing they needed was a true AI on their hands right now. “Yeah,” he repeated, his thought drifting to Earth and home again.
“Okay. Let’s have it. I guess it’s not about us, is it.”
Adrenaline shot through him like a fix. Shepard knew. He fucking knew and he seemingly reciprocated, and he was just standing there as if that knowledge was the answer to every NP-complete problem left in the galaxy. “No. No, that’s not it,” he replied because what was he to say after a revelation like this?
“Then what? Talk to me, Kaidan.”
“I guess.” He shook his head. What was he supposed to say? Was he really ready to tell his commander that he was homesick? That he didn’t want to go to Armstrong? That he wanted to go back to Vancouver, drink a couple of lager with his dad and enjoy his mom’s home baked double-choc cookies? That he wanted Shepard to come with him, as his partner, boyfriend, whatever? “It just feels strange to stay here on Luna and not, you know, go home.”
He didn’t know what he’d expected to happen next, but the gentle backside hug hadn’t been on the list at all. “You’re homesick.”
He allowed himself to lean back a little, enjoy the gesture even though it was a quite awkward due to their hardsuits, and deal with everything else later. Much later. Probably when his befuddled mind had finally caught up with the script. “Yeah.”
“We’ve got three days. We can spend one or two planetside, you know?”
Another dose of adrenaline washed through him. Shepard wanted to come with him. “We?”
When Shepard let him go, he felt oddly bereft of a warmth he’d only imagined through layers of armour and underarmour. It was ridiculous.
“Problem, Lieutenant?”
“Not at all, Commander. But--why”
He knew the answer. At least, he hoped he did because he felt completely out of his depth.
Shepard’s sigh sounded both amused and exasperated at the same time. “For someone with two bachelor’s degrees under their belt, you’re awfully dense. Come on. Shuttle’s leaving Armstrong Spaceport at 1500 hours.”
He stared at Shepard, noticing the smirk he wasn’t able to hide under the faceplate. Shepard had planned this. He had fucking planned this, and Kaidan would probably kill him later for that. But right now? He was happy to jog after Shepard and pull him into an awkward one-armed hug.
The view definitely didn’t feel quite as lonely anymore and he knew for certain that the Normandy would feel a little bit more like home in the future.
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Title: Turn Right
Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial, a short fanfic written for Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
TW: war, death, implied suicide
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Word count: 1,000
Rating: T
Summary: Byleth and Dimitri are the only ones left at the end of a futile war.
Also available on ao3.
"If you do this, they will forget you," says Sothis. "To that prince, you will never have existed."
They were going to lose. Both of them knew that. The way to Enbarr was riddled with traps and battalions, none of which they had the capacity to fight anymore.
There were two of them left…just Byleth and Dimitri. Their friends, their allies, and all of those who supported them vanished behind the fires of the eternal flames. They were consumed by the blaze at Gronder Field that Edelgard’s army had unleashed as a last-ditch effort of escape, crushed under stampedes of imperial soldiers, murdered on the bloodied grounds during battle.
When Mercedes was run through by the Death Knight—her own brother—it should have rung in the end. Their best healer was gone.
When Annette tried to avenge her best friend’s death, she had fallen in a hopeless heap at the Death Knight’s feet, and her father Gilbert soon after he enacted his own revenge.
Ingrid burned with Bernadetta atop the archery tower in Gronder in a futile attempt to save her from Edelgard’s desperate wrath. Ashe tried to be her backup, but he too succumbed to the collapsing structures never to be seen again.
Sylvain took arrows to the heart for Felix, whose poisonous anger at losing his most trusted comrade spurned him on to become a beast. The death of Rodrigue was another nail in the coffin, making him bitter beyond recognition, even as Dimitri had finally started to realize that vengeance was not the answer to defeating the Empire.
Felix had charged into battle, uncaring for his well-being, and met his end as he sought nothing but death.
With no one else left to protect the prince, Dedue sacrificed himself so that Dimitri and Byleth could escape, claiming them the last hope for the Kingdom of Faerghus.
“Do you not have things you will regret? Accomplishments you wish to achieve?” Sothis presses, almost pleading in a way she has not seen before. She props her chin on her fist, balancing her elbow on the arm of her stone throne. “I do not expect to comprehend the whims of humans.”
Byleth laid back on the damp grass that peeked through the rotten floorboards and watched a star streak across the night sky. There were many of them blooming across the black like baby’s breath spattered on a dark meadow. The dilapidated home she and Dimitri hid inside of had a hole in the roof, and she could see the light shadow of the full moon.
Her body relaxed as she looked up. If only for a moment. "What would you have liked to have been?” she asked Dimitri, turning her head to the side to look at his covered eye. The black eyepatch was stark on his pale skin. “If you weren’t a prince?"
Dimitri’s lip twitched. A ghost of a smile. It did not reach his eye. "A commoner...a blacksmith, a farmer," he said with a hoarse whisper.
She nodded. "I would've liked that too," agreed Byleth. "Fishing for our meals...washing our laundry together."
“A simple life,” he said. When he looked at her, she caught the sadness on his face that he tried to hide, the crease between his brows. “You could have lived that.”
She brushed her hand against his fingertips. He hooked his fingers onto hers and their hands twined together.
“I wouldn’t have met you,” she spoke into the silence.
A summer breeze wafted by, soft on the ends of Dimitri’s blond hair, golden like the sunlight.
“There’s no turning back,” he said after a moment. His hand squeezed hers. He was not wearing his gloves this time. She felt every crack on his skin, every scar that nicked him.
“There isn’t,” she said.
Tomorrow, they would march on Enbarr.
Sothis glares at her now. “I will ask you one more time,” she remarks. Her gaze is fiery. “Will you not regret your decision?”
Fort Merceus is a sea of blood and gore. The thankless cries of those who had dared to charge against them fizzled out into the sunset and their last breaths were whisked away with the darkening horizon.
But there were only two of them, and Edelgard came. Angry and vicious and conniving. Dimitri, for the life of him, begged for her to spare his people, to spare Byleth. But she was too far gone from the student either of them had known years ago.
In the end, there were too many of them.
Byleth found that as she watched the axe Aymr being ripped from her torso, she felt nothing but relief that at least Dimitri was safe.
He screamed her name, of course. She saw the soldiers’ spears rushing toward him and willed it not so. To stop this, to save him.
She was surprised then when it did stop. So, when the celestial bodies whirled and halted their rotating blur, the world changed. Blinding light exploded in front of her.
“I won’t regret it.”
Byleth stood at the crest of a hill, a basket of cooking herbs in her hands. She passed it to the blond man who observed her.
“Ah, so you’re the one who moved in down the road?” he inquired. “I am Dimitri.”
She nodded. “Byleth,” she answered.
“I thank you for your kindness. These herbs are so fragrant,” he said with a grin. His head tilted. “But really, we should be gifting you something. It’s only proper that your new neighbors welcome you.” He nodded toward the home at the base of the hill where the river ran. “My family and I would be honored to welcome you for dinner.”
She smiled back, bowing her head. “I’d be glad to.”
“You’ll just let it go, then?” sputters Sothis, her green eyes wide. “All that pain and suffering? The war? For this?”
“For him,” Byleth says.
The goddess looks at her with an uncertain stare. She sighs. “Then let time take a different course.”
#fire embelm#flash fiction friday#fff193#dimileth#fe3h#fire emblem three houses#flash fiction#itsmoonpeaches fanfic#dimitri#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd#byleth#sothis
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Twin Moons
From the prompt given by @flashfictionfridayofficial
WC: 913
On an alien world, a story is told of how twin moons were formed in the sky.
---------------------------------------------------
“Ipokashi!” his deep voice called out across the rocks, “it is time for resting!”
Ipokashi turned an ear and glanced at him, hulking form coming up the path in small bounds. She quickly turned and let out a small noise of frustration, staring up.
“What are you doing?” he huffed, his paws making no noise as he padded across the slippery mountain path. “Storm is soon. We are to be inside.”
She flicked her tail in irritation, shuffling a little where she sat and whined. “What is it?” she asked, staring upward and tipping her head.
He followed her gaze, flicking an ear and letting out another huff around his tusks. Regarded her curiously for a moment, his long form flopping next to hers as he stretched out his forelegs and extended each claw, one by one. His tail slapped against the cold stone for a moment, the wide fin at the end making a slapping sound. “I forget you were not raised as we were. Those are Eletnka - Moons. The one there,” he nodded to one that was colored red like the mountain, “is Microhu. Wise Mirror. That one,” he nodded to the other looking like ice, “is Elniho. Bitter Shadow.”
She glanced at him and tipped her head, ears flopping to one side. “Why?”
He hefted a sigh and raised an arm, his giant paw coming around her neck and drawing her close. She let out a whooping little bark and he smiled, his whiskers pulling back at the motion. “Are you sure you want this story?”
Her tail thumped against the ground. “I like the stories.”
He chuffed at her, but the smile never left and she nosed his giant shoulder and gave an impatient huff.
“Long ago, there were twin Umatoe. They were the same except in this: one had fur the color of the high mountain, and one had fur the color of the low seas.
“Back then, the skies were dark. Darker than this. It made the hunt very hard for the twins and their family and their clan. They put their heads together, determined to create a solution. The one with the coat the color of the seas claimed ‘we must see better in the dark’. The one with the color of the mountains argued, ‘we must learn to create light’. The two argued and debated and mocked and fought over this for many seasons before they agreed to bring the debate to the clan leader.
“‘Leader,’ they asked, ‘which is better? To learn the dark or hide in the light?’ The leader contemplated this question. ‘To hide in the light takes great skill,’ she finally answered. ‘For if you can see prey, the prey can see you. But to learn the dark takes great courage, for the dark conceals many things. Why do you ask?’ They told her what they desired to do, and the leader nodded. ‘It is honorable to seek aid from the abilities granted to you, and from those around you. Work together to create a solution.’
“The one of mountain was pleased, but the one of seas was not. They went away and began to work. The one of the mountain found a way to use utaipra - reflection - to trick the light. The stars came and saw themselves in the reflection, tricked into aiding the one of mountain, as the prey saw the glow of starlight instead of the Umatoe behind. The one of the seas dove into the waters, learning to see in the dark of the ice and the shadowed depths. The one of seas emerged and proclaimed the dark had no hold over them, for they had learned to see as the shadows did.
“But were they not Umatoe?” Ipokashi asked, tilting her head. “What does this have to do with the moons?”
He chuckled. “I am coming to it, Ipo. It is said that when the stars learned of the trick, they came down to the one of mountain. ‘You have used us,’ they said. ‘We shall take you and do the same.’
“‘I apologize’ the one of mountain said. ‘I only seek to bring your light to our world. We are so far away from you, and we cannot see well. I meant no disrespect upon your light.’
“The stars considered. ‘Very well,’ they said. ‘We shall not punish you. We shall grant your wish instead, allow you to be light to your clan.’
“When the one of seas heard this, they turned bitter. ‘Have I not sought to aid my clan?’ they asked. ‘Have I not sought honor?’
“To their surprise, the void itself answered. ‘You have learned much,’ the void spoke. ‘You have walked between the lights of the stars, much like ourselves. If you wish, we will take you up to our realms like your twin, and there you may teach all to walk between the light as you have.’
“The one of sea was pleased and agreed.”
He looked up at the moons and studied them for a moment. “So it is said that when there is too much shadow over our lands, Microhu appears to teach us of light. And when we grow too accustomed to it, Elniho appears and chases their twin away, forcing us to learn walking among the shadows once again.”
He groaned and turned his wide head towards her, eyes like slits in the dark. “Now come. The skies rumble, and we are to be inside soon.”
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Raphael
Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt and the March prompts: comet and blunder
A comet, that is what she thinks it is when it comes down from the sky in a flash of brilliant colors. It makes sense, a lot more, it turns out, then what it really is.
A moment later, when the celestial body is almost forgotten about ( she has a lot on her mind), a man in clothing so white that it glows in the night and hurts her eyes, stands before her. She is stunned into silence.
Out walking to clear her head, the sudden appearance of the stranger has her intrigued and frightened.
“Who are you?” She gets out taken a step back and wishing for a weapon. She doesn’t even have her pepper spray with her!
“Don’t be frightened. Humans are always frightened.” His voice is like nothing from this world. It is full of music. “My name is Raphael.”
“What are you?”
“I am your guardian angel.”
“The comet,” she whispers, “that was you.” Not a question, just a statement of fact. It is something she has to say out loud to make it true.
“Yes. A slight but understandable blunder in your part, confusing the two.”
She laughs. Chuckling so loud that she ends bend over, her hands on her knees. She is having a hallucination, that is all. It must be. She isn’t seriously having a conversation with an angel. No way!
“Okay Raphael, if you are really here, let’s see what you can do.” She declares, once she gets ahold of herself again.
He nods and touches her arm. A peace unlike anything she has known, flows into her. It stills her mind and the troubles she has been struggling with, suddenly the solutions are there.
“Oh. Thank you.”
#my writing#fff193#flashficfridayoffical#celestial body#march prompts#writers write prompt#comet#blunder#raphael
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Finally found the time and spirit to write some more flash fiction for @flashfictionfridayofficial! Here's a short about one of the first Inscribed I made: the Wanderer of Spirit.
-------------------
The boundaries between the realms of Spirit and the Material were rather thin at the edge of it all. On the spirit side we were long past Umbra, even beyond the Fae Wild and its domain of winter. Meanwhile on the material end we had left the final planets and planetoids of the solar system; and yet Wanderer walked. It’s not common for my kind to feel fear, but the space beyond worried me. Yet this human was either brave or stupid enough to walk the path. I had become stupid enough to follow him.
The two realms thinned and joined into empty space. All around us the long lived light of distance stars shined down on us like spotlights, and whirled past us as we moved. Wanderer had a way of finding paths, bridges, and the like; among the stars there was a long empty road. Each step took us farther than the last.
I considered speaking up, convincing this Humanling to turn back. The realms of spirit were cultivated by the existence of minds and spirits, by the existence of humans. There was no telling what would happen if we stepped one step too far away.
The change was palpable, and we both felt it. Like we were entering into a heavy mist; we entered spirit once more.
“I don’t suppose we got turned around somehow?” he asked. I broadcasted a negative to him, which through his eyes looked like a shrug, “So… This isn’t a realm based in the Sol system then.” Wanderer’s face lit up in a way humans did when they found some new dangerous thing to play with. His walk became a run, and I was swept up in his excitement.
This Realm was in ruins. To Wanderer I imagined it was presented as damaged structures, like a town abandoned. Through my senses I could see it was not abandoned; rather, it was cracked open and devoured. I reached out to Wanderer and advised restraint and carefulness.
He looked around with his own senses, took it all in, and looked beyond.
“A new sun,” he began, “on the other side. Along with a couple of planets orbiting it.” Wanderer’s face lost its wonder but gained focus. A few short steps and we were in another Realm of blue’s and purple; the walls themselves were living, or used to be. This too was dead. “The third planet, it’s not like the others.”
Wanderer reached out with hand and spirit and made me a window. Beyond was a planet surrounded by corpses. Shattered planets, shattered Realms. This celestial body, though, was rather full and rather alive. Its surface was sinew and muscle, stories stretched and mythology mangled. A world of consumed gods and united flesh. One mind sat atop it all, a slumbering King.
We came to the same conclusion and left quietly, lest this Thing follow us home.
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✨ It seems like the stars align today for you to write!
Because it's Flash Fiction Friday!
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Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Friday’s theme in your text. Any way you see fit.
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Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
✨ And now, the new prompt!
[#FFF193 Celestial Bodies]
This prompt is brought to you by the one and only @charmycharmcharms, thank you very much! Which celestial body is this? And what has it got to do with your character? Whether it's them examining the celestial body or the other way around, whether a planet turns out to be alien or it's just about two people star gazing--the choice is yours! Happy writing!
.
.
.
The Collective <3
#writeblr#writing prompt#flash fiction friday#flash fiction#writeblr event#writing community#steal the banner!
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Heya, could I request some pallets for the name chance?
Hello! Of course, hope these are to your liking!
#ffeb93 | #fef5d4 | #3cb37f | #d2f8f0 | #f6c6b5
#f9efee | #5abe9e | #fff193 | #f481a6 | #ffac46
#f0b44d | #f383a3 | #e0e0e0 | #9ff28f | #ffeedd
#addfd4 | #dddddd | #ffaf93 | #ffd293 | #ffcc46
#fd8f68 | #b8f39b | #fbf7d9 | #b8cbc6 | #ffa146
#fac77f | #e3e1e2 | #9ae2d5 | #ff90a9 | #3eae7c
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The House of Fates
@flashfictionfridayofficial FFF193 "Celestial Bodies"
Another great prompt inspiring a random scene for Dragon Slayers!
The celestial bodies were just beginning to rise over the horizon as Casimir approached the entrance to the House of Fates. The setting sun cast a warm glow across the gate and walls, illuminating the delicate carvings on the stonework with an almost ethereal beauty. He stopped in front of the massive wooden doors, his eyes tracing the graceful arches that held up the roof and allowed light from above to enter the structure. The entire façade seemed to be made of carved wood rather than stone, giving it a delicate feel that was at odds with its imposing dimensions. A bronze plaque hung above the door, inscribed with a series of runes that he knew must be some magical protection against intruders.
He reached out to touch the iron ring set into the right side of the archway but hesitated when he realized no one else was around. There should have been guards posted outside or even a sentry on duty inside. But the only sound came from the wind blowing through the trees at the edge of the clearing where the House stood, like a whisper that faded away as soon as it had come.
"Hello?" Casimir called out loudly enough for someone to hear him, though there was still no response. "Is anyone here? I requested an audience with the God of Fates."
A low chuckle echoed off the walls, causing Casimir to jump. Several more chuckles followed it in rapid succession that quickly grew louder until they reverberated throughout the courtyard.
He stepped back as the laughter swelled again, sending chills down his spine. The sound was both unnerving and faintly familiar. It reminded him of something . . . a moment from his childhood, perhaps? Or maybe—
There was another laugh. This one much closer. He spun around, searching frantically for the source of the noise, but saw nothing except the same empty field and forest beyond.
As if in answer, a shadow detached itself from the darkness behind one of the nearby trees. Casimir gasped as he recognized the man who stepped forward, his face contorted in a wide grin.
He was tall, with narrow shoulders and long limbs. His face was lean and angular, with high cheekbones and a sharp nose. There were tattooed runes on his left temple trailing to his cheek. Deep-set silver eyes gleamed brightly beneath a dark brow as he studied Casimir's face. His ruffled white-blonde hair stood atop his head, fluttering in the breeze as he moved toward him. The gesture made him appear more like a bird of prey than a deity. He wore a leather duster over a gray shirt and dark pants, which were belted at the waist. There was a sword hanging at his hip, though Casimir couldn't see what kind of blade it was.
This was the man who had saved him the night his brother was killed. Was he the God of Fates?
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the art of losing (is easy to master)
(Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial‘s prompt: FFF193: Celestial Bodies. Title is a riff on Elizabeth Bishop’s One Art. Enjoy!)
How does a girl become a god?
Quite simply, if I’m being honest about it.
The ones I help do not know my name. Neither do I for that matter, but a name is a heavy thing to carry through the highest cliffs. I have walked through the narrowest straits, through mists denser than darkness itself. I have walked the abyss and the mountain tops beyond human knowledge, but this, I could only do by giving up my humanity.
(“Sir, I believe the exit is that way,” I say, “if you turn right after the staircase and walk past the blue building.”
The old man nods at me. “Thank you, my dear. I must have missed my stop.”
He touches a finger to his forehead. “It’s hard, you know, remembering. But I could have sworn it was getting late. Get home too, dear girl. It’s not good to be out so late after dark. Somebody must miss you.”)
I have walked the fires that burn deep in the darkest, deepest parts of the ocean, where cold sinks into your bones and does not leave. I have swum the currents of air that slice the very tips of clouds off.
I do not know how I got here. It must be like the others, because not all who wander are lost, but the people who end up here? The lost and the lonely. Not all the souls who end up here are alive either.
(“Ma’am?” I get the old woman’s attention. It’s a bus stop this time, and she clutches her purse to her. Her eyes are milky white, and she looks at me like she’s seeing somebody else.
“Are you my John?” She asks. “I’m… I don’t know where I am.”
“It’s okay,” I say, pressing my hand to her bony fingers. “You’re just lost.”
I guide her up, walking beside her as she hobbles towards a doorway that leads to a dark place I have never been to. She is dead, but as ghosts go, she has a strong grip. As we walk, she tells me about her John. Her John is a young man, who never visits his old grandmother. She worries for him, and for her daughter, Marie-Anne.
“Tell that girl she needs to eat more, and does she ever listen?” The old woman grumbles, “You, you tell her that she needs to eat her vegetables.”
I help her past the threshold. I cannot go beyond this point.)
I am the one who emerges beyond the mists, the guide who appears as a sister, a daughter, a brother. On occasion, I am an aunt or a grandmother.
(“Auntie?” A young boy looks up at me from inside some modern looking station. “I think I’m lost? I missed my stop and my mum’s going to kill me.”
I point him to the next train, and tell him to get on it and take it a loop until he gets back out.)
I am nameless, and the lost often find things to call me. But none of them are my name. But it’s okay. Gods do not have human names. I don’t always know who people see when they look at me, but I try to be friendly. No one ends up here on purpose after all.
And then the day came when somebody did.
“Ma’am,” I begin, turning to the woman sitting on the bench. This is a proper labyrinth, sweet smelling like herbs and sunlight, and oddly familiar. It is a garden, flowers and warmth pressing themselves to my cheeks like a caress.
And then she’s looking at me and my breath catches. “Ma’am, I think you’re lost.”
“Oh, please don’t worry about that.” The woman stands, brushing off her skirts in a terrible, familiar motion. “I have been practicing this for a long time.”
Her eyes glint in the sunlight, “It’s harder than you would think, to find this place.”
“To find you.”
Her face is older than I remember, crinkles at the edge of her eyes and wrinkles at her forehead. Silver darts through her hair like shooting stars through the dark. When she grasps my hands, her hands are calloused, veiny and tender where they grip mine.
“Hello, Asteria.”
I should know her. I could swear I know her. The name rings in me like an old church bell, rocking me where I stand.
But I don’t know her.
“I don’t know your name.” My voice breaks from my chest, a quiet sort of devastation.
“It’s okay,” she says. “Do you remember how you got here?”
I shake my head.
“We were fighting. You were trying to find something, after our brother died. You were trying to bring him back, but instead, you got lost.” Her voice is quiet. “We looked for you forever, but we couldn’t find you. Until the rumours came out about an immortal guide, who finds the lost and helps them home.”
“Athena thought you didn’t want to come home. I disagreed. Athena thought you blamed yourself for our brother’s death. But then I realised this place was real.”
“Do you know, this place is a different plane of reality, a celestial body of sorts. It’s hard to know it exists, but even when you do, it’s harder still to remember who you are and what you’re looking for. You can only find this place by being lost yourself.”
And I know this. Or I knew it once. I have heard this story before, but now I know it again, hearing this woman speak.
“What’s your name?”
The woman shakes her head. “Nobody can know.”
She presses her lips to my forehead and pulls off her coat. She wraps it around me, and the scents take me back to her lab. Copper like the torches she’s so fond of, teak and walnut for tables which our brother gave her as a present when she finally set it up. Ink like her records of all the stories she’s ever told me about the world.
My big sister stands before me, but even now I feel my memory of her name escape me.
“I’m here to take your place.” She touches my face gently. “The guide must exist, to save the lost.”
“But it doesn’t have to be you.”
She presses her hand to mine and guides it to the exit of her- my garden.
“Athena’s waiting for you. Don’t worry about me. I’ve lived a good life, and you’ll see me again someday.”
How does a girl become a god?
Quite simply actually; she makes a decision.
#syl's writing#one art is an incredible poem and its themes verily work with this piece#flash fiction friday#celestial bodies
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Hello there, could you to a pallette for 'Lenore' please, and thankyou!
Lenore
(feffdb, fff193, ffcf67, ffae45, ff6600)
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Dragon Slayers Pitch
HunterxHunter x Demon Slayer x Greek Mythology
Dragon Slayers
Casimir Kincaide is a half-breed living in a world where humans are mere mortals and the spell-wielding hemomancers known as the Zegoshi reign as Gods. Upon his true identity being exposed, he is forced to undergo a trial by the unyielding God of Judgment, Sigmund Stein. His punishment is being conscripted into an organization of dragon slayers tasked with hunting down and punishing the beasts for infiltrating human society by disguising themselves as one among them.
Themes
Found family
Morally grey characters
Prophecies
War
Past trauma
Ruling class
Current Stage in Writing Process
Drafting
Artwork: Cover
Wip Relevant Links
Content Warnings
Violence
Gore
Profanity
Death
Torture
Blood
Anxiety
Demons
Murder
Fire
Genocide
Hostages
#mspw: pitch#mspw: adult#mspw: fantasy wip#mspw: high fantasy#mspw: dark fantasy#mspw: epic fantasy#mspw: political fantasy
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