Community [January 2025] Future's Writing Event

[Novama]

It's common to spend the new year time reflecting on the past year. Instead, consider the coming year. Assume the role of one of your characters or an npc in IH. In 1000 words or less, write about their hopes, dreams, predictions, fears, etc for the coming year. With the fae-human war closed for the moment and the Hive nation here to stay for a time, there's no shortage of thoughts for many in the 2nd continent.

• All Participants will receive reward.
• You only need one post in this thread to participate.
• What constitutes as sufficient participation will be up to me to decide as I'm handing out rewards.
• All writings are due January 31st.
• You may write for multiple characters/npcs if you wish but only first submission matters for the purposes of rewards.

 

[Gadg8eer]

Oliver didn't remember what he'd been doing previously. He remembered tears, anger... the wrapping of fabric pulled close in a vain attempt to comfort himself... but not why, or where, or when.

He remembered a few key details. His real name and why not to use it. His username and his favorite video games. Who and what he was, if what he remembered concluding about dreams was true... but this was no dream.

He realized he was staring at his hands. The sleeves of a red hoodie gave way at his wrists to a pair of fingerless gloves made from some sort of comfortable blue fabric. Reflexively, he did a lucidity check, counting his fingers. One, two, three... plus his thumb. 8 digits total. He counted again and it didn’t change, prompting him to realize this was neither reality nor dream.

“IT MUST BE SO HARD FOR YOU. UNABLE TO GROW OR ADVANCE IN ANY WAY.” said a voice from above. It sounded like a teenage boy, but cranked up like a movie theater speaker system, booming like a megaphone.

Oliver looked up to see a face made of solid marble with strings of grassy outgrowths, except somehow with the consistency of mortal flesh in that it was fully animate. That was just on recognition. The being’s face was easily recognizable to any humanoid being, yet if the being had wanted to he could have swallowed Oliver whole. The thought of that was certainly enough to have him apprehensive.

The being gave out a hearty laugh that sounded like trying to muffle a jet engine. When done, the giant addressed the fear and confusion on his guest’s face. “I SEE YOUR HOME TIMELINE AND WHAT BEFELL IT. I CAN’T SAVE IT, BUT I WOULDN’T WORRY. THE TREE OF TIME AND DREAMINGS DOES NOT ABANDON ITS FRUIT. YOU, HOWEVER...” he began to explain.

“Am I...” Oliver started to ask.

“DEAD? OF COURSE NOT. YOU’RE GADGE-EIGHT-EER.” the jolly green giant explained. “YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT, YOU JUST NEEDED A GOD TO CONFIRM IT TO YOU. NOT MUCH OF A LEGACY TO BE REMEMBERED, BUT YOUR HUMILITY IS A VIRTUE.”

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE ISEKAI.” the behemoth said, and waved his arm like a train wreck in progress to gesture to the world around them. “I AM GAINS, ONE OF THE GODS OF THIS WORLD!”

“What was that about Humility being a virtue?”

“I HOLD YOUR VERY SOUL IN THE PALM OF MY HAND, I THINK I CAN AFFORD TO BE SLIGHTLY BOASTFUL, MORTALBORN. NOW, WHERE WAS I?”

“World of the Isekai? Holy crap, Japanese manga artists were right. But who else has been here?”

“FROM YOUR WORLD AND WORLDS LIKE IT? TOO MANY TO COUNT, AND NOT YOUR CONCERN.”

“And what is?”

“THIS WORLD IS FOREVER STUCK IN PLACE. WHETHER IT'S DEMON LORDS, PLAGUE, WAR, OR OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS, THE WORLD REFUSES TO PROGRESS IN DEVELOPMENT. THROUGH MASS LOSS OF LIFE, DISCOVERY, AND CULTURE, THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD CAN BARELY STAVE OFF MOVING BACKWARDS IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU ACCEPT IT, IS TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM ITS PERPETUAL STASIS. OTHERWISE, LIVE AS YOU PLEASE...”

“Standard plot for this, got it. Am I amusing to you?”

“WELL OF COURSE. YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERY GOD NEEDS A MUSE TO FOCUS THEIR POWER. IS THAT A PROBLEM?”

“Actually... the only real problem is, how do you even expect me to survive?”

“I’LL SHOW YOU!” Gains grinned, as if about to play a mean trick. His fingers curled in around Gadg8eer. It was certainly not enjoyable to feel the sudden pressure, even less so when the boy felt himself pop like a grape.

When Gains unclenched his left fist, an orange backpack was left behind, and though completely empty it matched the one the boy had been wearing. The giant raised his right hand, mirroring the position his left hand had been earlier, and Gadg8eer reappeared in a burst of pixels.

“THAT’S HOW. I AM THE GOD OF GROWTH, I WON’T LET YOU DIE, KID. IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO LOSE A SOUL WITH SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM YET SO LITTLE SELF-CONFIDENCE.”

“What if I don’t want to grow up?”

“YOU WON’T! THAT’S WHY I PICKED YOU OUT OF THAT DOOMED WORLD. I AM THE ONE WHO HAS GROWN, GROWN BORED OF ADVENTURERS AND SUCH SIMPLY AIMING TO GO HOME OR CHANGE THIS WORLD BY SWORD OR DICTATE. THIS WORLD HAS TOO MANY OF THE SAME TIRED MUSES, ALL THE HAREM SEEKERS AND OVERLORD WANNABES. THEIR STORIES END IN MUNDANITY OR DEATH. THOSE WHO WERE DIFFERENT WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, AND IT WAS IN YOUR DOOMED WORLD THAT I FOUND INSPIRATION FOR HOPE.”

“From global thermonuclear warfare?” Gadg8eer asked, haunted by what little he remembered of it.

“FROM WHAT THEY BUILT. FROM WHAT YOU LIVED IN NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVED AT. THE WORLD TREE WITHIN A WORLD TREE. YOU CALLED IT THE INTERNET.”

“How does that save this place? It didn’t save us.”

“IF YOU COULD WARN THE PAST WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG, HOW WOULD YOU PLANT THE SEEDS OF THE INTERNET? WOULD YOU DEFAME ZUCKERBURG? EXPOSE CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA? DESTROY THE GREAT FIREWALL?”

“I’d try.”

“EXACTLY. YET NO. YOU OFFERED, YOU WOULD, UNLESS I DIDN’T ASK.”

“How is that a fair assessment?”

Gains chuckled and smiled. “YOU ARE DEFENSIVE. NO NEED. IF I DID NOT ASK BUT TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD BUILD AN INTERNET IN THIS WORLD, OR IF I TOLD YOU NOTHING AND LEFT YOU TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I’VE GIVEN YOU, YOU WOULD. YOU HAVE THE PASSION TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. I GRANT YOU THE MEANS TO DO IT. GO FORTH. BUILD AND GROW THIS WORLD A NETWORK WHICH IS MORE THAN AN ENCYCLOPEDIA TELEVISION CAMERA. AUGMENT THIS REALITY. OH, AND TRY TO ROLL WHEN YOU LAND.”

“Huh?”

Gains tilted his hand, and Gadg8eer yelped as he tumbled downwards.

 

[Femboy]

A Silly Little Message from a Silly Little Jester

The events of that one time when Deliverance, Ninelle and Qzioah had visited some magical manor had passed quite a while ago. Life would go on for the inhabitants and visitors of the location, but for one little jester who was left alone in their study, they would have all the time in the world to toil with what they pleased and tinker with whatever trash they deemed treasure. But for this little jester, they knew exactly what they were doing. They had dreams and motivations of their own, and today was going to be the first step of making them reality.

"Oh, hey, it finally took you long enough, come in! Please, I've actually just been dying waiting for you to show up. Waitwaitwait, I gotta seat and stuff, here, I have a desk, you can sit at the other side and I'll sit at the businessy manager side. It'll be all professional-like" Yz welcomed her visitor, giggling yet the only present expression being the permanently plastered smile upon her mask. Waving and gesturing her invited guest over to her conveniently set up desk, she sat at one side whilst her guest took her word and sat at the other.

"Now I know what you're thinking: Yz, you are so smart, and beautiful, why would you call upon such a peasant like me into your chambers to have a little chitty-chat? Well I'm not glad you didn't ask because confidence is key little one, BUT I understand how nervous you must be to be in such greatness so I'll tell you anyway~!" the jester cheerfully chimed as she lounged back for a moment in her chair, kicking up her feet on the desk.

"You see, I've got something I'm interested in. And... well, " she laughed, before continuing. "It's not like I need your assistance to do it, but I just wanted to say it. You know, so everyone can hear it and everyone knows... " Yz hummed as she sat up, rubbing her chin at her guest's non-asked question.

"Oh? But you're the only one here? Nonono darling, you must not understand it. See, I'm fully aware that you're not my guest right now" Yz answered. Yz didn't have any other person in the room with her, she was talking to air. Though, Yz would turn and look directly at you.

"You think I'm stupid? Just a silly little clown? I get your little GAME, your little... hm, your little Hell of Isekai playthings, or whatever you wish to call it? Look, I'm no judge to insult what people call fun, but I do have one big complaint. Looking at you, mister Nova, you handsome devil. Ahem-" Yz would continue, slamming her hands on her desk before pulling out a sheet of paper with information she had written down. After a moment, she held it up.

"You know what this is? No, clearly you don't. I haven't said it in text, nor has the writer DESCRIBED IT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, but I know very much about how things run here. And quite frankly, do you understand how MISERABLE it is to be limited as one of these non-played characters? It's dull. So here, I followed the rules, I filled in a character sheet, and once the pitiful existence of a writer who thinks they're writing for me gets their other useless beings caught in dull experiences, ME, the greatest Yz to ever Yz, will deliver YOU, my beautiful darling Nova... or Saxon, but Saxon is kind of a d- look that's not important" Yz skipped on, leaning closer.

"Look, I'm following all the rules by doing this. My sheet is correct, I'll get to submit it, and you can't just tell me no. See that, this is MY hopes and dreams. I can read the prompt for the event, don't deny me my dreams. Ever since I was a tiny Yz, all I wanted to do, was be a free spirit, and NOT an NPC. Grant me thy purpose, oh pointy-eared one" Yz praised as she raised her hands in the air, before looking to you.

"Seriously, do you understand how long I've been waiting for this. My entire original concept got repurposed and scrapped eventually, I got used for three roleplays that didn't make it anywhere, and now my current lineage is turning into a ROCK in a single, kinda mid RP" Yz answered, before eventually walking around the desk and sitting the side directly in front of you. She stared directly and deeply at you, before dropping to her hands and knees.

"OH PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE MAKE ME A REAL YZ, I WANT TO BE A REAL CHARACTER, I TOTALLY WON'T BREAK ANY CANON OR LOGIC OR ANYTHING I GET IT I UNDERSTAND I ACCEPT DA RULES, PRETTY PLEASE" Yz begged before immediately standing up.

"Plus, if you don't, then you're ruining my dreams, and this is my post about my hopes and dreams for this year. And that's not cool. Imagine how uncool you'd be being right there. What a douche thing to do. Anyway, I have nothing else to say" Yz spoke as she shrugged, standing up and holding up her character sheet.

"Just remember though I'm gonna do this, it's already finished. I want to be a real Yz. Don't worry, the last thing I wanna do is let everyone know they're not real, defeats the purpose and fun of it all. But anyway, BYEBYEBYEBYE. But for real, look, I kinda wanna make it into that Pirate RP on time, and you better not skimp out on stalling to accept me. The pirate's life is teh liefs for me, you know? It Yz what it Yz. Ok byebye, thank you for reading my text. Guess what, I have feelings too, so that is why I totally deserve to become a real character. END SCENE. END IT NOW."​

 

[Maxxob]

Adelhein El-Melloi von Breyer // Artoria // Gilgamesh

​

Titles:
Adelhein: [Isekai], [Human], [Adept Magus] Color - #e60e0e
Saber Alter: [Isekai], [Construct], [Adept Swordsman] Color - #470c85
Gilgamesh: [Isekai], [Construct], [Adept Mage] Color - #d3fa5c

​

Spoiler: Influences

Corruption

0%

Saber Alter's Influence

15%

Gilgamesh's Influence

5%

In a rare moment of solitude, even apart from his Servants, Adelhein found himself in the library of his manor. Not far from him stood one of the mercurial maids, a silent creation ready to cater to its creator's needs.

The young magus was seated on one of the plush couches within that chamber of knowledge, his gaze unfocused as he brought a teacup to his lips. He sipped the warm contents slowly, his mind reeling back and forth, consumed by the events that had unfolded since he first set foot in this strange world.

Why had he chosen to tread the same path that any magus family of worth pursued in his homeland? The answer was simple: it was all he knew. The pursuit of greatness, of prestige, and of perfection had been instilled in him throughout his upbringing. Mediocrity was anathema to Adelhein, a concept he could not—and would not—accept, even if it might have been the easier choice.

Instead, he resolved to build something of his own. That determination drove him to establish his mentorship program, gathering those with potential under his wing. Yet, while the teachings of the El-Melloi family had ingrained in him a belief in his inherent superiority due to his lineage, he could not completely deny a lingering fear.

The fear of falling short. The fear of failing to achieve the greatness expected of him. Worst of all, the fear of failing those who had entrusted themselves to his guidance. Every step had to be measured, calculated, to ensure that his darkest predictions did not come to pass. His name would be known, and it would be held in higher esteem than ever before—even beyond of what his kin had achieved in his homeland. That was his promise, both to himself and to those under his mentorship. And he would fulfill it, one way or another.

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

BLACK CAT SITS DOWN WITH IZURU IN TELL ALL INTERVIEW

Black Cat: Thanks for agreeing to sit down with us Izuru. For any of our readers who aren't so familiar with you; mind introducing yourself?

Izuru: Sure? I'm Izuru, a wandering mage and aspiring poet

BC: Some of his recent achievements include helping resolve the Mayoral Election in Lanstritch, banishing eldritch abominations for Giuseppe Gasparo of the Merchant Guild, ensuring the safety of the crew building a teleportation relay on Gala'Kraoth and even helping out with the apple crisis that befell Caelia Barony. Wow! A backlog of adventures like these must have been exciting.

Izuru: Eh, most of the time I was just doing my best to avoid starvation. Time on the road eats up your funds pretty quick. One of the reasons I agreed to this was because you promised free desserts. Where are those, by the way?

BC: Back on track before we go on a side tangent. We reached out to some of the adventurers and party members you worked with in the past. You are certainly a polarizing figure. Mister Gasparo and Ul Dryer have praised your creative problem solving but had issues with your interpersonal skills. Aurae Faren and Lady Regula Caelia have criticized your dismissive behavior as well as your lack of focus. How do you feel about such blunt critiques?

Izuru: Giuseppe has some merit to what he says; I did find it hard to contribute at times so I held back in hopes of being useful at some point. I'm surprised that elf lady Ul had anything positive to say about me considering I was a bit busy playing with lab grown dinosaurs at the time. As for Aurae and Lady Regula... it was all on them for making assumptions. Aurae kept bashing her head against the problem until it caved. She readily took my help but kept placing me in situations where my talents were unneeded. Lady Regula treated me like a troublemaker just because I was bad at talking. I'm honestly shocked she didn't ban me from Caelia Barony given how everyone treated me like an idiot.

BC: Wow... thats a lot to unpack. Last question before we begin the wrap-up. What are your plans going forward? More adventures to pay the bills or are you undertaking any grand projects?

Izuru: Yes I have something big coming up. You see I've been meaning to get around to summoning my very own abomination. Unfortunately the materials I need to do that without any talent in summoning can get pretty expensive. Plus I need to retrieve my magic rock from that pink haired lady.

BC: An abomination?! What do you need one of those for? Didn't you almost die facing one of those during the... Hellish Inheritance?

Izuru: Now THAT abomination was the result of a silly dark magic mishap. What I'm going to do is far smaller in scale but no less potent. I'll feed it, walk it and it can sleep with me in bushes whenever I can't afford a room at local inns. Naturally I understand this to be a dangerous undertaking. However I also think that NOT making use of what I've been picking up would be a waste of good momentum.

BC: I shudder to think what you mean by momentum. Yet thats all she wrote given that its time to wrap-up the interview. Thanks for sitting down with us today, Izuru. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for and wish you luck with future endeavors. Try not to do anything that would get us flak for publishing this though.

Izuru: (Eating Noises)

BC: HEY DON'T HOG THE CREAMPUFFS. I SAID COMPLIMENTARY NOT BUFFET!

 

[Maverick Six]

Marcus Banecroft
Interaction: ....
Titles: Human (Mundane), Hospitaller, Eastern Empire Military E, Abomination Fighter, Rico's Roughneck, Peacekeeper
Language Key: Common | [Terran]
Timeline: A few weeks after [2024 World Low combat] Operation: Rico's Raid

Monastery of Saint Cassandra, Eastern Empire ​

---

Serenity

Even here, he could smell it. The chittering of the bugs. Their shrills screams when they'd met their demise. His comrades yelling and speaking frantically in a blur as shadows danced all around him -- threatening attack from every angle. A teammate had been dragged away screaming. Yet eventually a bug would be staring down the point his spear. For as many as they had taken, he had aided in the killing of more than what they had taken.

Yet that wasn't where Marcus was. At least not really. Something was shaking him, reminding him that these were but memories of the past. Yet within them, he found solace in day's work and blood paid back. For all his life he had been cared for.

I must pay it back.

There was a familiar voice. It seemed distant and to be getting louder.

Closer. Though in a way that it had felt he was pulled.

"Marcus."

"Marcus."

"Marcus!"

His eyes were open. Yet it seemed as though he had missed where exactly he was. He looked around for a familiar face -- and he found that of a little boy dressed humbles tunic, robes and sandals.

"Thomas." The Boy's name was spoken out loud -- as the Man-At-Arms took stock of his surroundings. He was not in a dark cave. He was in a gardened, forged by the hand of his fellow Hospitallers. This was once a place that he had called "Home" where he had been dropped away as a boy.

Before him was a young lad who'd noticed him visiting, a familiar friend. The very same one who'd seen him off when he went on his first "adventure" beyond the Hospitaller Corps: Thomas.

"Marcus! I didn't recognize you. Your armor looks so different!"

"I managed to have it fixed for me."

"It looks like when your master had it!"

Marcus leaned his still-clad head onto his fist. "Does it now?"

The boy ran up next to Marcus and sat. He looked up at him, someone who had taught him the ways of the spear and stick when he was younger. And whom Marcus had traveled with to various villages to offer aid. There were many times and places in which Marcus' eyes were watching over the boy in the wilderness, on the frontier, and even in the bustling cities.

"Mhm!" He nodded eagerly, before adding. "I wanted to ask you that question. Did you remember to take the father's advice....?" There was a moment of silence.... before Marcus reached to the boy. And he pinched his ear and gave a gentle squeeze.

"OOOOOOOOW! OWWW OW! Marcus stoooooooooop!" The boy whined, his voice briefly.

"You did turn your back on his advice!" Thomas cried, more playfully retaliating against the warrior with an attempted beating. Though even at full strength, the boy's limp hammerfists bounced off the armor like raindrops. And the boy knew he was in more danger of harming himself than Marcus.

"Hardly drink much more the watered-down wine which keeps my water pure. And I do not covet hookers."

"You know you can take your helmet off, right? I told the others about it too. You won't scare anyone." Thomas said softly.

Without a single word whatsoever, Marcus reached towards his helmet. Locks were snapped and straps unfastened. And Thomas looked looked upon his visage, well familiar with just how distorted Marcus' lightning burned visage looked. The beastly shaped bronze helm was placed to his side, settling softly on the grass.

"No new scars, it looks like. So...what did you do? What happened on your journey."

It was a lengthy question for him to answer. What did he do? Many stories came from Marcus' lips. He spoke of haunted mansions, undead and eldritch abominations. He spoke of collapsing sinkholes swallowing towns and witnessing that of the Fae. He spoke of barely fending off a woman's blows before being struck down by her magical summoned knights for his recruitment into the military. He spoke of exploring the arctic wasteland of Rotia after a train derailed. He spoke of the bug invasion, during which he worked with the forces of Fae.

Thomas stared with wonder as he recounted the various events and the people he was there with. Beastmen, his fellow man, adventurers, mercenaries, healers, a wandering bard in the capital, and more.

"What will you do now?"

"What I have always done Thomas: I will seek to protect the Empire. You. My family. My home. My country and it's people at large."

Marcus began. "The War with the Fae have ended. And thus, I can hardly claim to concern myself with them: For now. I have no interesting in throwing more bodies into that affair. Only for them to hand over whomever was responsible for the destruction of Chachail. But we all know that will hardly come to pass."

A finger raised.

"However, enemies still lie in wait. The bug invasion threatens us all. These disgusting creatures seem to do naught except kill, eat and devour as monsters do. Enemies lurk upon the horizon, praying for our demise. And I suspect something unseen lurks within the shadows....having us dance like strings. Yet....we are resilient. I butchered insects before and will butcher more.

And I believe in a future with lads like you at the helm." He said to the boy, cracking a smile. Thomas turned sheepishly away, looking towards the grass.

"Don't you get tired?"

Marcus shakes his head.

"No Thomas. Indeed, I feel it's pull yet even as I sit here in peace. I enjoy it here. Yet seeing this place, seeing you, only further reminds me of what I must protect. Come. Let us go hike. I want to enjoy what time I do have, here." Marcus stands up, extending an armored hand to Thomas.

"You're going to hike in that armor??? But it's so HEAVY...."

Marcus only chuckled.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aqua

---

17 again.

That the name of a movie yes, but that's also what she would experience for the second time within less than one year. Last time she was a complete failure. She failed everything she tried to do and in the end, she decided to stop trying. Even today if she close her eyes and peeked into the deepest part of her heart she could still see those mocking eyes and grins in the corner, waiting for a chance to strike at her.

However, she's different now, at least that's what she likes to think. She had reasons to live and to struggle. She wouldn't disappoint her parents this time, no more dropping out of the academy and she would get them all the money they need. She also wants to do something for the others, to give the kindness she had received back to the world, the 'Isekai Volunteer Club' is one way she can think of, but she still needs time to prepare it. She needs to look for potential members, search for a teacher to be the club's counselor, filling the paperworks and all that.

Of course she also has the more selfish wishes, she has many of it. Though if she needs to name one that she really wants then it would be... L-love? The cheesy wholesome teenage kind of love? She never experienced it before, she was too scared. Scared of opening herself to others and being heartbroken more than she already was. Content with playing princess through the countless otome games she played, all while pathetically trying to convince herself that she didn't need anyone else.

Mother, father, that Goddess who brought me here. Please give me your blessing to move forward.​

 

[Lolory]

WINREY | Beastkin-Bunny | Enigma
​

Winrey stared down at the cake with it's few burning candles, a strange sick feeling welled in the pit of his stomach at the sight of it. His parents stared at him expectantly from across the table with bright smiles, waiting for him to blow them out so they could cut it and serve it up. It was then that he realized today really was something special, it had marked a year since he awoke in this new world and left his old one behind. Back in Blackwell City, he had never grown older in the centuries he'd been working with his Aunt Elvyra. In fact, he'd always just been himself, and had long since forgotten until this very day, when his parents seemed to act all giddy and secretive about something they wouldn't let him in on only to then reveal this cream covered cake, that he had actually grown older.

"Well son? What are you waiting for, the candles will melt the cake if you don't hurry!" His dad said with an eager smile.

The cake will melt if I'm not fast enough...all things will come to an end eventually, just like I will. Sure, he'd died in his last life but that was pure happenstance, an accident. It dawned on him then, that he was really mortal, and not really a homonculus who could live forever despite a curse that plagued him. He would always just be a normal Beastkin in this life. He geared up to blow the candles out, but then his mother shot a hand out to stop him. "Oh wait! You have to make a wish first, and then blow them out!" She informed him.

His dad nodded, "Oh that's right. Gee, I almost forgot that part about birthdays. Go on then, make a wish. Don't tell us, though!" He said. "Or else it won't come true."

Winrey thought for a while, the wax on the candles were dripping profusely now, hitting the top of the cake. I wish to see this year through to the end. And the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after...Until I die of old age. That seemed like a nice enough wish.

And thus, the candles were blown out.

 

[Develius]

---

Timeline:
Between "Operation: Rico's Raid [Worlds RP]" and "The Freeze is Coming! Go, go, go!"​

---

"How long has it been?"

Baharius eyes open as a voice echoed through his head. It sounded familiar. Almost too familiar. Surrounding him was a black void of an infinite abyss spreading as far as the eye could see. He couldn't feel anything aside from the fact he was standing on... nothing? He couldn't smell or taste, yet neither did he feel starved or parched. It was as if he was in a state of limbo... entropy perhaps. It was something he had felt only once before...

No... he couldn't be. Right?

Last time he checked he was sleeping under a tree by the shores of the great continental lake. He didn't have any fresh injuries that would prove fatal. In fact he hadn't battled anything in over three days. Nor was he poisoned or diseased in a way that warranted an imminent passing. Even in age Baharius would be equivalent to that of a human in their fourties. Middle-aged. And he could live twice if not three times their age if time was kind to him. Should he be on death's door he'd certainly know about it.

Baharius briefly looked around for the source of the voice. "Who am I answering to?"

The voice chuckled deeply. "Who you're speaking to doesn't matter." it replied cryptically, "But should it help ease your mind... you could say that I am from your past, present, and future."

The saurian sighed. "If you're here to finally claim me." Baharius stated bluntly as he raised both of his arms out from him, "Do it quickly."

"Claim you?" the voice inquired almost confusedly before realizing, "Ah... no. No, I'm quite unable to do that. Even if I could, I'm afraid your time hasn't quite yet come. After all, it's already been thwarted once before..."

"Then-?"

"I just wanna ask you a few questions." The tone now was more playful in nature... rather disarming, "Have a little chat." Baharius tensed stance loosened as he crossed his arms in submission.

"Now... How long has it been since you've arrived here?" it asked.

"I... I do not know." Baharius hesitated as he struggled to ponder the very question, "A year? Maybe two? I've lost count a long time ago..."

"You have endured a lot these past... two years, we'll call it. You've faced many challenges and hurdles... fought in many battles and slept many nights. You seem to be making quite a name for yourself."

The voice paused as Baharius pondered the experiences he remembered since arriving here. From the moment he rose from the swamps of the first continent all the way to this very moment. "Hm... I suppose I have."

"And what drives you to wake up and seize each day?"

Baharius thought for a moment... but couldn't help but turn up blank. "I don't know..."

"You don't know?"

"I haven't thought much of it. All this time I felt like I've been drifting from one area to the next. When one job is done I travel to the next. It's consistent enough... you can get buy on that sort of life... but its with little more than scraps. You could say I'm... merely surviving. Not thriving."

"What about fighting? You were a general in your past life... a beloved figure of the people of Afroiya. Your birthplace. And you still enjoy the thrill of battle now. Perhaps becoming a general for one of the Empires may suit you? After all, you recently fought with the Eastern Empire against the bugs. The armor you wear now had been crafted by their hand... Maybe you could climb the ranks and become one for them?"

The saurian grumbled. "Impossible. They despise beastmen. They have a whole slave trade almost solely comprised of them. Even if I was accepted by them I would be fighting in support of a corrupt principle I didn't believe in. They asked me to join the mission because they somehow had heard of my accomplishments... from whom I don't know. And I joined because it was against an enemy that threatened the entire world as a whole. Once that was over, I left. At least the armor they gave me in compensation is... convenient."

"A shame. On them, that is. Not you. But if not the East... what about the West? They're primarily made of beastkin... though, well, they also dabble in indentured servitude."

"Yes... a harsh caste system. Though they at least have opportunities for those to escape that life. To tell you the truth, I prefer the way of being independent. Too long have I been shackled in league for one country... and you must be aware of what happened in my previous life to know the price of change."

"Corruption is at the heart of most governments I'm afraid. Then again, if I recall correctly... didn't Afroiya also imply slaves to serve in the workforce and fodder military ranks? No doubt you were aware of it happening when you were a general yourself?"

"That is something I'd very much want to DISTANCE myself from!" the saurian barked back, loosing his temper for a moment before calming down, "Yes! Afroiya employed slaves. Though most were made up of criminals and convicts ... with a good portion coming from conquered tribes and kingdoms that actively fought against the Empire. I was blind to the atrocities when I was young, I'll admit. Even I didn't care much for them back when my ambitions craved for power...

"But it wasn't until I truly saw their strife first hand that I begin to understand... and when I decided to go against the status quo. And I never looked back. While I could never have truly abolished the concept in the rank that I was, I at the very least tried to treat those we conquered with respect. I tried giving them at least better lives and opportunities then shunning them to the depths of eternal servitude... let alone to be slaughtered. I tried all that I could... and frankly I should've done more. Had I become King I would've abolished slavery outright. Without question! Though by the time the higher ups caught wind of what I was doing... well, they surely wanted me out of the picture...

"By any means necessary."

"I'm terribly sorry you had to go through all that. Honest. I understand your reasonings..."

There was another long pause as Baharius quietly pondered the painful memories which flashed by his subconscious. He only knew bits and pieces of his old life, at least the most important of them, but even so the rest were faint and distant.

"But if given the chance... would you want to return to your home world?"

Then a swirling mass of energy formed roughly twenty meters in front of the saurian. Green energy swirled in an ovular shape as scenes of a lost world flashed before Baharius' eyes. The continent of Meslandica... the desert dunes of Afroiya... other saurians going about their lives... echoes of a lost family. Baharius couldn't help but stare longingly into what he had left behind, stunned by the images he could see with his own eyes and not just his dreams.

"I've peaked into your dreams from time to time. I know you tend to still reminisce about your past life. I know you miss it, even if the world wasn't as kind to you as you believed. There's rumors... that you could return home from here and back. Though it won't be easy to get to that point. And you may not be the same person when you return home... for better or worse. But it is possible... only if your will to return is truly absolute."

Another long pause as Baharius reflected on the words. A tear slowly slid from his left eyelid. It was clear he was "Should anyone have asked me that in the beginning... I would without hesitation say yes." He took a deep raspy breath before slowly turning his back from the portal. "But no. I've long since accepted my current circumstances. I will always miss homeworld - the world of the Fantozoica. But as I've said... I'm a much different individual as I was then."

The portal would then rapidly close as Baharius found himself shrouded in darkness once again.

"The only tragedy of it all... is that I will likely never see any of my kind again. Not once have I encountered an individual like myself... another saurian. And I've traveled a lot. Sure... I've seen creatures vaguely resemble them, but no one looked or claimed to have come from home world. As far as I'm aware... I'm the only one of my kind here. And I have to accept that..."

"You truly believe you're the only saurian alive in this world?"

"Until proven otherwise... yes."

"...What if I told you there are other saurians here?"

Baharius scoffed. "You don't know that... How could you?"

Another cheeky chuckle came from the disembodied voice. "...Call it a hunch. Given how big and diverse this world is you're bound to run into one eventually. If not from your homeworld, perhaps from one very similar to it. And from there you may possibly find another... and another... until a network of saurians form for others like you to find. You could build a whole community of saurians with enough individuals. Or maybe there's one already established somewhere... be it an organization deep in the bowels of a city or a hidden village in the most remote parts of the natural world."

Baharius' head shifted upwards as his view was challenged by someone he had only just met. Whomever it was... they seemed to have a point. An idea. If there were others out there, he swore he'd find them one way or another.

"The pond is big, Baharius... You just need to know where to look... to look... to look..."

And then he woke up... under a great mighty tree just feet from the shores of the Continental Lake.

 

[Megilagor]

Diego Argento

Diego sat under a tree's shade at the Saoirse's estate using his once a week siesta to its fullest, despite still being in his armor and with his glaive by his side he was there to relax for today.
He tried to remember how he came here and yet he tried to plan for the future, a bit of a convoluted mess but it helped him think.

Though his mind still blanked out why he got transported here, he only remember a containment breach across the whole site, some kind of explosion when he was trying to contain a few of the anomalies, him and a few of the anomalies being thrown together by the blast into one spot, then darkness before waking up in this place.

“I really hope none of those bastards came with me. Especially not 049 or 682, though i wouldn’t mind 999 being here. That little orange blob could help people out here.” Diego said as if talking to someone, technically he was talking to his past self, trying to figure things out. To him his past self stood before him clad in a mix of his D-class onesie and his MTF personnel attire, pacing in front of him.

“You do remember you had a few anomalous objects on you when that happened right, they probably are in this world somewhere.”
“Did I have some on me?”
“Yes, you had. 034 the skinwalker dagger, 668 the bystander knife, and freaking 113 the gender-switching stone were on you. Still don’t know why you had 113 on you.”
“That's the only bargaining chip that works for 049, otherwise he would attack on sight.”
“Yeah, that checks out. Considering Dr. Sherman's constant yapping about it.”
Diego had a back-and-forth with himself despite only speaking part of it, as his past self was only heard by himself. Hopefully, no one was close enough to hear the conversation, or they might think he was crazy—that is if he wasn’t already crazy.

“So what's our plans for the future?”
“Our plans?”
“Yes our plans, remember I am you, just the you before we came here.”
“Yeah yeah. For starters, I'll try to imitate how my old weapon worked.”
“But wasn’t that a life-leaching blade, one that spreads necrosis? One that would drink your blood if its bloodlust was not met.”
“The very same one. It can’t be that hard imitating how it worked, especially since I somewhat managed to copy its blade.”
“Wait you copied its necrotic blade?”
“Not quite, I copied its blade. I am still working on bringing back its necrosis.”
Diego responded to himself as he grabbed his glaive into one of his hands and demonstrated the force blight that now coated the blade of his glaive.
“Well, that's at least a step in the right direction. But what else do you want to do?”
“The anomalies that were with me. And I don’t mean the objects. I plan to mimic their abilities.”
“Are you insane?!”
The past Diego yelled at the current Diego as he raised his machine gun and aimed it at current Diego's head, despite being but a figment of imagination Diego's head cocked back a bit as if it was pushed by the barrel of the gun.

“Do you know you will stop being human!”
“And when was I human under the foundation? The anomalous beings with me didn’t cross over, and yet I sensed their presence when I woke up here. So the only thing I can think of is somehow part of them became part of me.”
Diego looked at his past self through his helmet's visor, his past self shivered in fear, if that was true… No it’s best to not think like that. There is no way several anomalies became part of him. There was no way the Plaque Doctor, the Unkillable Lizard, and Ananta Shesha were part of him in the future.
Diego glared at his past self scaring it out of existence, as it saw a glimpse of the three beings in his eyes.

“Finally peace and quite. ” Diego said to himself as he fixed his position and started to drift off to sleep, or maybe he was slowly waking up. How would he know, all he knew was shortly after he closed his eyes and darkness overtook his vision, Saoirse his boss in this new life called out to him as she needed him for something.
Diego hearing that stood up with a grunt of an old man and said under his breath.
“So much for a nice siesta.”
Diego then walked towards Saoirse to see what she wanted.

 

[Faynorae]

---

明日の事を言うと天井の鼠が笑う
^{Speak of tomorrow and the rats in the ceiling will laugh.}​

A Girl's(?) Feelings ♫

Tonight was some night in the back of a wagon. Sariel had lost count of the days. Before all this, he knew exactly what day was what—he would be excited for Sundays and Saturdays because it meant freedom from school. He looked forward to Fridays since it meant they would go down to that convenience store they liked, to buy those icecreams with the vague messages and stupid proverbs on their sticks, he would always collect all the unique ones. Things Sariel took for granted seemed so far away now and he missed them all the more. Waking up every day and greeting his mother good morning; walking to school and back with the only friend he liked; avocado toast sprinkled with salt and pepper and a cup of honey milk—he couldn't describe in words how much he missed those June mornings. He used to hate waking up in the morning because it usually meant going to school but now he longed for those mundane thoughts.

He was pretty sure he was dead and that he couldn't go back, but if god existed, then god could turn the clock back some weeks before it. He'd beat that bastard black, blue and red instead of being soft enough to let him off the hook if he had known what crap he was going to pull in the weeks off. Sariel found it kind of funny now, it was like all those people were dead. He couldn't describe the face of his dear friend or his mother's voice anymore; it was like trying to describe the taste of water, you know what it is but it can't be put in words he understood.

A las, his hands were chasing dreams out of reach again. There were a few things he wanted to do this year, in this world. First, he'd collect all those other feathers and get that freak to take him back home somehow. If Salboros was an angel, he could probably talk to god. He felt like he was repenting enough, was he not? These shitty feelings were nothing like getting jabbed in the gut or having your face kicked in; they were worse.

Second, he wanted to give god a good punch in the face. That piece of shit deserved it after all, he was the one who made him like the way he was in the first place. Although he doubted it was easy to get a jab in on that old man anyway. Sariel looked over at the thing he called P-tan (Salboros), who stared directly at him with his one, blood-red eye. It was creepy, sure, but otherwise, when Sariel would reach out and stroke under P-tan's head; it began to purr. It was strange for such a chimeric creature without any resemblance to a cat to begin purring when you pet it, but Sariel thought it was kind of cute.

"Thinking. Thoughts abounding, what are you thinking?" It shook its head in a wrong manner when Sariel pulled away his hand. "Things I want to do with a friend when I go home. They seem like important things now." Sariel responded. "What? Things? What to do?" and the thing Sariel called P-tan would inquire further more.

"Well... I want to go out to that store I liked and then I want to treat him to those icecreams we always buy, for once. It's funny really, I usually sat outside while he went to get them; unfair, ain't it?" Sariel looked up at the stars that seemed to twinkle in the sky, "I want to go to a beach and bury him in sand. I always wanted to do that when I was younger and I wanna take photos of it. Well, I'll need a camera first. Ah, and I want my own motorcycle." Sariel felt himself smiling as he just thought about it, "And then, in June, I wanna have avocado toast every morning. I wanna hug my ma again and I wanna go visit the old folks down in the country. Try and catch unagi, cook'em up myself. There's a lot of... Stupid things like that, that I want to do. When I go home." The thing's eye widened, its pupil almost colouring its entire iris black. "Want to go home? Feathers. Find all the feathers, heheheheh. Then go home!" It laughed. Sariel looked at it with a scowl, "Yeah, yeah. That's the goal for the year. We have plenty o' time, neh?"

If, at the time, I knew what that thing truly was and what it truly wanted, I would have split it in eighths before it could even mess with me in the first place.