《Tentacles, loot boxes and apocalypse [monster evolution story]》🙡 Chapter 6.1 - The prisoner 🙣
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🙡 Chapter 6.1 🙣
The prisoner
Sometimes one wonders how much media we consume affects our instinctive reactions to life circumstances. How many people responded with stupid TV series reference at a funeral. Or, instead of behaving like a normal person tried using a trope from a romantic TV series only to sound like a creep. Or said “Long live the king” when making their brother fall to their death. You know, things all of us had experienced at some point or another.
If you are thinking what brought this up—against my best judgment, I had this urge to take my tentacles, wrap them around the bars of my prison and scream “LET ME OUT! LEEET MEEE OUT!”.
Instead, I observed my surroundings, while continuing to pretend to be asleep. I was in a cage big enough for a creature five times my size, so I had quite a lot of space left. Well, me and my new companion—a stuffed plushie, very well made though a bit worn out, of a cat with wings. Unlike modern plushies, which are far more stylised, this one seems to try replicating its model quite faithfully. Faithfully enough to, for a moment make me doubly glad I decided to try playing dead! On closer inspection I could tell It was quite old, even if someone took good care of it—there were quite a few mended holes, and part of its coat must have been replaced. Both of us lay on a floor stuffed with fresh straw, though I was also covered with a blanket. I could not see any rations, though there was a small plate filled with water. The conclusion was obvious.
I was to be made a subject of terrifying experiments. The stuffed toy was there to scare me into obedience, and show me that failure to follow proper procedures will end in being sent to death by being eaten by a flying tiger.
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What? You think I’m wrong? They might have just put me here for now, and they will want to make me a pet? Oh, you sweet, sweet, naïve soul, that is reading my diary that I shall soon start writing with my blood on the floor of my prison. What I have yet to mention was the OUTSIDE of the cage.
A white wall completely covered in blood-red symbols, with wooden beams peaking here and there. Closed shut windows. And finally rows and rows of jars filled with floating body parts of a multitude of creatures—ordered and labelled. A clean and well maintained chopping board, showing signs of being used for many years. Next to it dozens of knives, saws, hammers, and other torture devices. Humanoid hands and small wooden babies drying from ropes hung above my cage… and finally DRYING TENTACLES! Nooo! My cousin! I have never known you but I will do my best to avenge you! And living well is the best revenge so I have to get out of here! And, close to me, what must be a scene of struggle of the previous subject—scattered books and scrolls, and a big black stain on the ground, still wet, hastily covered with a dirty blanket.
A lone man-topus, armless (tentacless?) against an unknown mad researcher? I can’t give up, but my odds look bad. I mean look at these meagre stats! I was overpowered by a child, how am I supposed to fight against anyone?
[GENERAL]
Name:
Sir Yarnball (weak binding)
Race:
???
Age:
0
Titles:
Hidden seed [hidden]
[STATS]
Intelligence:
776
Strength:
154 (+2)
Dexterity:
147 (+1)
Body:
102 (+1)
Mind:
152 (+2)
[SKILLS]
Capricious fate
Lvl 2
???
???
[Covenant]
Covenant:
Fate’s Pathfinder
... Firstly, who the hell is Sir Yarnball? Also when will I finally be able to read the rest of my status? Well at least I got a new skill
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New Skill: Capricious fate
In a place that no path leads to, there is an ancient library, built before times. Inside it’s eternal walls, on shelves carved by those whose names are not remembered even by the oldest immortals, lie countless books, each describing the life of every soul that ever existed or will exist. A tome with your name is also there.
This skill grants a powerful heal every time it is used on the left page of the book of your fate, and a powerful burst of damage when used on the right page.
(Effect depends on Mind and Intelligence)
(This skill does not grow with use. As your effects on the world grow, so does the skill)
I sighed out mentally. I got my complaints out, now it’s time to do something about my situation. The new skill should be helpful..
I was not foolish enough to repeat the same mistake twice, so no touching anything until it is necessary, and even then—no using hands. There was a place of peculiar interest on the cage—hinges to the door of my prison, and it’s lock. I’m afraid I had no picking skills, so the likelihood of opening it was miniscule, but a bad lock should be openable by applying force on the latch directly.
The time has come to stop the pretend sleep. Under the watch of hundreds of eyes floating in a jar, I slowly rose up, and once again searched for any living creatures inside the room. Not finding anything I got closer to the lock. And hope! The mechanism looked relatively primitive, if I found something thin I might be able to move it up! The hinges on the other hand were blocked on both sides, a countermeasure against beasts that might have enough brute force to open the door this way. It made the simplicity of the lock more suspicious— could it really be that easy? On the other hand, would you use an expensive and complex mechanism to lock up a chicken?
For now I decided not to risk my appendages (and I knew they could be made thin enough to fit in, as when I was thinking about attacking the shackle, a few of them were moving next to it, unconsciously getting thinner and thinner, moving around seemingly testing the ways to break in, as if they had brains of their own), and picked the plate with liquid provided by my captors.
I quietly floated above the plate, spilling the liquid on the plush toy to reduce the noise. The shiny ceramic surface reflected an ominous glow of small fire slowly cooking a certainly evil concoction I couldn’t see, but could hear bubbling away. I put it under the shackle. My tentacles tensing into spirals close to my body. The well oiled mechanism slowly gave way, the quiet sound of gears turning sounding like a jackhammer in this situation, and…
Success! Nothing happened, apart from the doors slowly opening! Not even a loud creak of the doors, they seemed well oiled actually. I looked back into the cage, and I felt a bit bad about leaving Mr. Cat inside, a foolishly sentimental thought. So I went outside instead.
Thanks to the magic of jumping off the table, I could just slowly float away, not even risking making the floor creak under my steps. Flying like a bird towards freedom! Floating like dandelion seeds towards sunnier pastures!
WOOOOOoooOOOoooOOOOOooOOO!
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NOVA INTERIT.US
It's 2063, and the town along with much of the nation are in disarray. The decay started years before the Great Event. Our town still had hope thanks to the five families, who'd created a blockchain based water distribution system for the locals, a valuable secret hidden from the Global Water Commission and their network of mercenaries. Earlier in the mid-2040's, right after the state secessions of Idaho, Montana, and Texas, the Global Council of Water Commissioners made their deals and moved into towns throughout the country. They called it "the integration." The Commission and their contractors integrated with municipal water departments, using their organized network to invade like parasites on local services. It all coincided with the 29th Amendment to the United States Constitution, later referred to as the Regional Trident Plan. Nova is a story about survival, power structures, the turning of relationships, and the networking between people and the systems to which they belong. It’s about A.I. blockchain possibility, and its potential for human betterment versus our detriment. It’s about the question of whether or not we need to be saved from ourselves, and by who or what? The Great Event at the end of the first chapter might just be what actually saves us. The epilogue will take place in 2517. This scene is fully sketched and the full arc of the novel is set. I expect to finish Nova Interitus by summer of 2023. This is realist hard-sci-fi dystopian fiction. I hope you find Nova to be a challenging and consuming story. This is not something I planned to write. It all came to me in a dream and I haven't been able to stop writing it. This Royal Road posting is basically a beta test with chapters and drafts to get some feedback and see if there's any readership for this narrative. For the full experience read Nova on Substack. I will be narrating a podcast version later this year there. https://novainteritus.substack.com/
8 143Vamped up
Kurayami of the house of Akeldama. Has his entire family brutally slaughtered one fateful night. he is a Vampire Progenitor. how will he navigate this semi-futuristic world with the power to destroy nations? And will he find his true love? And build his harem. Will he be able to blend and mix with humans and take revenge for his family? Or will he be driven by his bloodlust and be led to ruin? (some fan service scenes)
8 90Observations of the Nameless
Sometimes the world will just whirl by without a care for its inhabitants. Each passing day bring a new experience unlike the one before it. Why do we do anything... That's a really good question, isn't it? Author's Note: Each chapter is about 300 words, so that's the reason for the short story tag even though this will be a (somewhat) ongoing series. Expect an update twice a week on Tue/Wed and on Fri/Sat. No set time, but likely afternoon or evening.
8 98Indisposable Trash
Trash. The lowest class of society consisting of the majority of the Earth's population. Seen as primitive animals, their task is to take care of the rubbish thrown carelessly into the lower streets by the upper class. Despite being downtrodden and beaten as part of the Trash class, Lilac and Chickadee don't plan to stay in their place. Through shady businesses, dodgy dealings, and a well-timed war, they manage to pull themselves up the social ladder only to realise they were unfortunate individuals lured by a scheme, decades in the making. As mysteries unfold and coincidences pile up, they realise that a deeper conspiracy is brewing. A conspiracy that spans across many worlds. ------ Forewarning: This will contain disturbing this including but not limited to slavery, cannibalism, normilsation of emotional trauma, and minor plot holes due to lack of major editing. Reader descretion is advised. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, stories or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This story is also being posted on Wattpad under the title 'Indisposable Trash'. It is normally updated there frst but the more 'polished' version is on here...usually. The cover made by yours truly though the use of the ibispainx program
8 125PJO
These are some gourmet memes, trust me I scoured the internet for them.Most of these are NOT my memes, please keep that in mindNote there is a part 2 to this book
8 267Tokyo Ghoul X reader OneShots
[Requests are closed!]You know you love these characters as much as we all do, so I made it this easer to fantasize about them! My most recent chapters are all gender neutral, and I'm trying to use they/them pronouns as much as possible! WARNING: THERE IS SWEARING, SEXUAL THEMES AND SPOILERS IN SOME OF THESE! Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of its characters, who all belong to Ishida Sui.Characters featured so far:Abara HanbeeArima KishouFuruta NimutaIrimi KayaKuroiwa TakeomiMutsuki TooruNakiSasaki HaiseShirazu GinshiSuzuya JuuzouTakizawa SeidouTataraTsukiyama ShuuUrie KukiUtaVon Rosewald Karren Yomo Renji
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