《The End + The Instant》Instant #28 - Magick Circle
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“Careful what you wish for, right?” Oli says.
“Yeah,” Lark agrees. “But maybe I’m just not the best at foresight. Near-sighted third eye.”
Oli smiles at this, but Lark does regret his poor predictive abilities. He didn’t think of himself as an impulsive person; he was generally fearful, risk-averse. It took him, if anything, too long to make decisions. The truth, though, was that he made up his mind in bursts of decisiveness after long periods of unresolved, anxious ambivalence. He weighed up choices and made plans, but usually with too much information and no sense of what they would feel like.
Before he moved to Portland, he looked at rainfall tables and gas prices, apartments to rent, lists of the nicest parks, day trips to take, and venues he could visit. He promptly forgot these facts and statistics. Portland, for him, was a sensory smudge of gray skies, the chipboard walls of practice studios, good coffee, shivering in his damp room, the sun filling up Quinn’s kitchen. Liminal. It never became his home.
If he’d been honest with himself, he would have expected that, could have known he would always be trying to leave. Maybe he could have told Max, too, and they both could have made better decisions about their futures.
Lark is almost relieved that he didn’t have to choose between two conservatories. He doubts he would have made the decision based on anything other than rank tables, but only after months of fretful waffling about the different styles of the piano tutors.
“It’s hard to predict anything,” Oli says. “We do a lot of guesswork.”
Lark knows this is true, but he also appreciates that his poor sense of what the important facts are only make his guesses worse.
When he extricated himself from his friends in Portland, he didn’t quite realize the effect it would have on him. He still thinks of Dana becoming fretful after he announced his departure, holds the guilt and worry close. She told him that she did not want to be alone with Max, burnt sage in their living room to dispel the negative energy left behind by their arguments.
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She was better off putting her faith in rituals than in Lark. He didn’t know what to do to help her. Even his own hopes were obscure to him; he could not see what was best for anyone else.
I kept my plans from Max and Dana as long as I could. Jules reprimanded me for hiding the news from my bandmate. Trying to soothe my anxiety, they said I shouldn’t feel guilty for getting, finally, this opportunity I had worked for. Then they said what I knew was really true: every day you wait, the worse it will be.
I still waited.
Spring forced its way through the icy rains, and the changing season warned me. More change ahead. I spent evenings in my room, fretting over sky-high San Francisco rent prices, making a list of places I could apply to teach piano in the evenings. I closed my laptop if Max or Dana came to my door.
When Max went out, I sat on the floor with Dana, our backs against her bed, heads together over her laptop. She was submitting work for group shows, trying to whittle down dozens of image folders to ten photos she mockingly referred to as representative images.
What do they represent? I asked, trying to understand the criteria Dana was using to build her portfolio. She repeatedly reprimanded me for suggesting gig photography or nature photos, images with lush contrasts and light.
Her selections were obscure, sad choices to my eye: a nighttime photograph of me through the window of the Salvation Army, a trapped specimen in the fluorescent lightbox of the store; our shoes on the concrete stairwell that lead into our apartment.
Some were less familiar, too.Two girls, in black lace and nose rings, twisted together while one shaved the wedge of an undercut into the side of the other’s head. Max with a bloody nose, his shoulders gripped by someone I didn’t know. His eyes were closed like he was in pain, but he was smiling, blood on his white teeth.
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I didn’t ask Dana where those photos were from, when.
What’s wrong? she asked.
I told her nothing was wrong. Then amended that, said, sometimes, her photography made me feel sad. Or not sad. Not in a bad way. Melancholy.
She closed the laptop, and I covered my eyes, flustered by my own reaction to these images of the past year. In them, I could see who we had become, the three of us. Whatever spell we’d woven around each other back on the east coast had broken. We were different now, and I was lonely even among my friends. There was no one else traveling on my path.
I could hear the clattering of bangles as Dana lifted her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Her hoops had been replaced by crescent moon studs.
I told her then: I got enough money. To go to conservatory.
Dana’s instinct was to hug me, to congratulate me. You did it, she murmured against my ear. You did it. I am so happy for you.
I’ll be moving to California. In September, probably. Or earlier, if you guys want to move.
Dana shook her head, let the idea settle over her. Wow. So it will just be me and Max?
You have your friends, I said. You’re always doing something here.
I had thought that they would move in together without me. Combine rooms. I had felt like an intruder, sometimes, but maybe I was something else to Dana. A neutral zone. A safety net.
It will be different when you go. It’s always been the three of us. Dana looked up at me through blunt-cut bangs. Does Max know?
Not yet.
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Circumventing Fate
When Lei Xing booked a luxurious cruise as a graduation present to herself, she expected to have plenty of well-deserved rest and relaxation with an ocean view before jumpstarting her career. What she did not expect was to be the unlucky person who would fall overboard to a miserable watery death… or so she thought. To her astonishment, she opened her eyes to find herself in an ancient setting, a different body, and a new life as the eldest daughter of a high court official. {...Okay, at least I'm rich...I can still live happily and freely, it's still a golden opportunity at a second life. I can live it well~...maybe go travelling, start a business, or something…It definitely could be worse...} To Lei Xing’s horror, her new host was scheduled to enter the palace to compete in the concubine selection for the new Emperor. {...What?! I am definitely not interested! Of all places, it’s that viper pit! I’m not built for any Royal BS or harem fights. Please keep your scheming lives to yourselves and leave me the hell out of it, NOT INTERESTED!!!... Can I not go, please? T_T)...No? Nevermind then, failure is always an option... Failure is the only possible outcome. Bring it on! Hahahaha…} While Lei Xing was making plans on how to skip out of town, fate was also very busy working out its own plans for her, mapping out its own course for her life behind the scenes... Poking holes in her plans to her confusion and outrage. "...Little chicken, as long as I'm alive you won't die." "Nonsense, if anyone is going to cause my death, it would be you!!" *** "Do you really feel nothing after all this time?" He asked as he looked at her with searching eyes, trying to see into her soul... "...Who...would..." she mumbled under her breath... *** "That stupid old man, I'm going to end him when I find him...You better hide well!!" |||~~~~~~~~~~~||| Author's Note~~ Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the read as you go along! Please VOTE and COMMENT as you read along and I will be sure to respond~~ Thank you again and HAPPY READING! ~~And if you have the wonderful urge to ever buy me a coffee. Here are the gateways and some love~ Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/miraisaesang Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MiraiSaesang
8 156The Legion
Miyu suddenly finds themself dead, without much recollection of how they had died. Stuck in what seems like purgatory or Hell for all of eternity and being tormented, a god of his world pulls them out. As a little experiment, the god breaks the rules and drops Miyu into another world. This world is being ruled by another god, a world full of magic, dungeons, and fantasy. Miyu has little say in this, and the god throws him into a body that is quickly dying. Miyu must survive and understand this new world, as the only goal is to draw the attention of this new worlds' god in hopes that he can get some kind of audience with the divine beings. Miyu will do anything to achieve their one and only goal, revenge on his original worlds' shitty little god.
8 186The Huntsman Of Ash
(RWBY x Dark Souls 3) "The Ashen One" One amongst the countless unkindled ash. A soul of the undead who hast failed their task long ago. A withering hollow who was reborn from ash once the four Lords of Cinder neglected to relink the first flame. And yet again, this warrior was doomed to fail... Rejecting the flame outright set forth a chain of events, trapping and condemning the Ashen One to a life without flame and without a means to coddle the warmth of smoldering embers. This realm of "Remnant" is young and uncorrupted...or is it? ||| Also available on Wattpad, FanficNet, Archive Of Our Own under @KiriKiwiS / @LordKiriKiwiS.|||https://www.wattpad.com/story/259180240-the-huntsman-of-ash-rwby-x-dark-soulshttps://archiveofourown.org/works/34017418https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13948963/1/The-Huntsman-of-Ash |||DISCLAIMER|||RWBY is property of RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum. Dark Souls is property of BandaiNamco and FromSoftware. All art/vids/music shown are property of their respective artists/companies.
8 217The Nerd who cried Bad Boy
"While I was gone; you've been telling everyone that we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Marcus asked, who looked extremely smug.I groaned and my eyes finally met his. "Manifestly, since I lied telling everybody that we're dating, my high school life has been awesome. No one bullies me anymore, everyone wants to be my friend and I finally can hang out with friends on weekends. Marcus, please just help me with this. It's my last year and I would like to have at least a nice memory of high school."Marcus quirked his eyebrow.I sighed knowing what he meant," And in return, I'll help you with your school work."Marcus grinned and before I could ask why, he leaned in and placed his lips on mine. I froze, startled. His lips felt warm and soft against mine. I was still frozen but then Marcus held my waist snapping me back to reality. I finally responded to the kiss by tugging him closer and wrapping my arms around his neck.I heard gasps and whispers from students around us and capturing of pictures.What have I gotten myself into?___Alyssa Heart, a seventeen year nerd who is brutally bullied by everyone in Lockwood High.Marcus Sawyer, is the hot eighteen year old bad boy, former gangleader who is very popular in Lockwood High and around. He has been arrested a few times and dated almost every girl he laid eyes on.Bullied all her life, Alyssa decides to put a stop to it by lying and saying that she and the bad boy, Marcus, are dating. When Marcus finds out, they make a deal and both decide to stick to the lie, which benefits them both.Getting popular by the minute, Alyssa's highschool life is what she had always wanted. Popular and wanted.But Alyssa learns that dating a protective, attractive, former gangleader comes trouble.And she must face the consequences.___HR: #11 in Teen Fiction #5 in Humor #6 in Badboy #24 in Sad__© geekisntweak_
8 93Improvisation and Magic Don't Mix (A Progression Fantasy)
Ya like jazz? Ya like adventure and fantasy and bards learning awesome magic? Well do I have something for you! In a world where bardic magic can backfire and blow up, most bards stick to carefully practiced pieces to make sure they still have a throat and fingers. Most, is not all. Meet Theo, a singer in The Pub in Union City, who has never been good with practicing, and prefers to make things up on the spot. Let's see how long he can go without visiting a healer. Expect: An interesting (yet still familiar) medieval fantasy setting A vibrant magic system, with lots of interesting growth and progression Human and imperfect characters who do their best The Power of Friendship! Sometimes chill vibes, sometimes exciting vibes, never bad vibes A story that ultimately ends in a happy ending for most Something that could be mistaken for wit What this won't have: Edgy MCs Harems Grimdark/trauma Too many cliffhangers Updating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays [Oct 2021 Writathon Winner]
8 115Path to Origin
A young boy with an active mind and a passion for gaming combined with the newly released VRMMORPG Eden Online.Maybe virtual reality is not as good as its name suggest.Have you ever wondered about the pro and cons of a VR?Does VRMMO has a limit? Or is it the human mind that is the limit?This story is spiced up with a little bit of dirty joke here and there.
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