《The OP Adventures of Joe》Chapter 2.5: The Plot Thickens
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The morning of the horrific day that will go down in history in Brunveld, 53 innocent lives were lost and 27 more were gravely injured by an angel in the afternoon, at nighttime another 1524 were lost in the collapse of the local hospital.
~~Joseph is procrastinating with news while he should be studying birds on the internet~~
“This is Trisha Tawakona with channel 105 news, I’m here at the scene of an attempted armed robbery which recently took place in Brunveld, Canada at the local Ronalds fast food restaurant. At approximately 2am on January 13th, the assailant, Jacob Blackburry, took his family’s self defense .38 revolver and held up an employee at gun point in an attempt to rob the store. Based on the video evidence leaked from the stores cameras we assume that Jacob was on edge and accidentally shot one Joseph Ashton, the employee working the register at the time, and we have not been able to recover a statement regarding his current state. However, in the video we clearly see that shows no signs of even feeling the bullet to his shoulder, and after a brief exchange of words that were not recorded, Jacob promptly unloaded the rest of his magazine into Joseph’s chest. In the footage we see he does react to getting shot this time, but our experts have said he should have (Boring parts omitted). Jacob fled the scene, where he was apprehended 26 minutes later in his own home with his daughter in his arms (Skip) Joseph shows no clear signs of discomfort in the parking lot (Blah-blah-blah). No one knows who the woman that he was talking to is at the moment. Joseph and the women were then brought to the hospital by ambulance, leading some to believe the woman was a relative of his. Joseph’s co-workers (No one cares). We will keep this story updated when any new information is brought in.” This bitch is trying too hard, any more news about me?
“This is Michael Berg here with channel 58 news, we have managed to secure an exclusive interview with the assailant, Jacob Blackburry, in the recent and mysterious armed robbery that took place last night at a Ronalds in Brunveld, Canada. The video of the robbery has already reached over 1 billion views on TeleTube as people are trying to discern what happened for themselves or are just interested in watching someone tank through gun shots. In just a few short moments we will show his answers to our reporters’ questions.”
‘What happened after you pulled the gun on Joseph?’
“H-h-he didn’t even care, h-he didn’t even flinch when it hit him…”(Jacob)
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*The interviewer prods him to continue*
“I told him to give me all the m-m-money in the r-registers.. Then he a-asked if I wanted to make that a meal, so I yelled at h-him, and then shot him… H-H-HIS WOUND CLOSED IMMEDIATELY! It was the s-same after I shot the rest of my b-bullets.”(Jacob the Puss)
‘Why did you decide to rob the restaurant?’
“I o-owed some money to a certain l-loan shark… HE WAS GOING TO T-TAKE MY DAUGHTER DAMNIT! I--”(Irresponsible Father) YAWN, fuck it, back to the goddamn birds.
~~Later that day~~
NATIONAL BREAKING NEWS *Dramatic Noises*
CNNN Headquarters, current viewers: 3554672 “This is Laura Newman with Channel 1’s National News Network Headquarters where we have just received shocking amateur video footage from Brunveld, Canada of an angel appearing out of thin air. It is currently being streamed live through one of the spectators phones and this is the scene you are seeing on your screens right now. Seemingly random passersby have been chosen to bear witness to what could be the second coming of-“Sup?”—WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!*Distant Vomiting Noises* CUT THE-“ ~Technical Difficulties~
~~A few minutes later~~
NATIONAL BREAKING NEWS *Dramatic Noises*
CNNN Headquarters again, current viewers: 23845721 “This is Laura Newman, with tragic news to share here on CNNN. In an abrupt takeoff by the angel, we are receiving reports of possibly over 100 casualties, though not yet confirmed. Video footage has been compiled and in one of the frames you can see that the angel was preparing for flight… Hold on I’m getting something… We have just received word that the Pope has absolved the angel on a plea of ignorance, saying it could not have known that the humans around it would be thrown about in such a way as it had just descended upon our planet.”
~~At the same time~~
BRUNVELD BREAKING NEWS *Less Impressive Dramatic Noises*
“This is Trisha Tawakona with channel 105 news, we have confirmed that the ‘angel’ appeared to be nearly identical to Joseph Ashton. His whereabouts are currently unknown and experts around the globe are saying it’s a near 100% match with facial recognition software. It is currently unknown whether or not it has simply possessed Joseph’s body, however there are theories that he was an angel all along and that is why he received no damage from the revolver shots to his chest the night before. The angel’s declaration which was immediately followed by the disaster leads us to more strongly conclude the latter. We have also received reports from the local hospital that Joseph was discharged early this morning mere hours before the event. The discharge was unofficial, conducted by a nurse for breach of hospital rules, though it is not clear what the breach was at this time (And they’ll never know teehee~). On an ‘allegedly’ unrelated note, the woman seen with Joseph the night before is now in the local hospital as well, though we do not know why she has been admitted.”
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~~Later that night~~
The reporter is standing on a hill overlooking the city with a good view of the few remaining pieces of the hospital crumbling inwards. “This is Trisha Tawakona, here with channel 105 with tragic news once again. The current time is 11pm, and on this faithful day, without warning, the Brunveld Hospital has violently collapsed. The chance of finding a single surviving patient or staff member has been said to be a grim 0.5% chance. The scale of this…”
~~At the ‘same’ relative time on a much higher plane of existence~~
A council was currently convening within a ‘divine’ temple. The temple was so vast, a human couldn’t hope to reach the top, or even cross the base from one corner to the next, even using a helicopter or some bullshit in its ‘relatively’ pitiful lifespan (Not that they wouldn’t get a good laugh out of you trying though).
It was made out of Soul Crystal, the highest quality building material that extremely powerful beings may possess. The structure floated in a vast and empty space, located in the corner of the universe in a ‘dark zone’. This was done so that they could rule over planes of existence lower than theirs, however they have no interest in planets like Earth, which is on the lowest of the low of the Astral planes.
However, on this particular occasion all of the members of the important council were gathered and were looking at Earth with clear disdain in their ‘eyes’ (It was more like a feeling being projected by their incorporeal bodies). Earth was so pitifully weak compared to one of them, that their combined gazes actually managed to create a small nuclear winter at both poles of the planet even from this unfathomable distance. The focus of the meeting was one Joseph Ashton…
On the council were 12 semi-transparent beings, each one ruled over an Astral plane. Yet the 13th which included Earth and many other similarly low-energy planets had no representative. The power ranking goes in ascending order, but it is not so significant as the jump of power from the 13th to the 12th as it is for the rest (Councilmen 1 and Councilwomen 2 are relatively the same on the power scale, etc.). Joseph had inherited the combined powers of his mother and father, who actually were born and raised on the highest plane, the 1st. Sealing their power and deciding to settle down on an inconspicuous backwater planet was something they both agreed to, and they also wished to have a child. Rosalina and Pavlo Ashton managed to succeed, accomplishing their dream and raising a ‘normal’ baby boy for a few years.
Then, a terrible ‘accident’ occurred where the two insanely powerful beings were killed in a car accident… Thus leaving Joseph alone on that planet with no relatives. As he grew up, the seal on his power began to erode (I wonder why?) and with incredibly ‘convenient’ timing, activated just in time to prevent his death in a fast food restaurant. The 12 beings found all of this terribly amusing, but they found it even more so watching the ‘human’ play around with beings incredibly weaker then himself. In spite of his late mother and father, the council decided after a heated debate that it would be funny to appoint him to be the ruler of the ‘weak’ 13th plane and its many planets (If he ever showed up a council meeting they’d laugh him out). Of course, this would be a huge upgrade for Joseph, as he can receive ‘taxes’ on the living beings energy within his plane. But to the council, it was a single molecule of gas on Jupiter, insignificant enough to give away for the sheer entertainment value.
“HAHAHAH! Look at the little bastard go! What a fucking idiot! I AGREE!”(Councilman 9)
“Nyah~ahaha, what an easy decision, agree!”(Councilwoman 5)
And similar responses from every other member of the Council thus ended the heated debate. They swiftly placed Joseph’s body on the highest ranking planet of the 13th plane: Ybar. 26 times larger than earth (With many times more innate energy), it was in a rather stable but close orbit around a black hole. The ‘Sun’ of Ybar was also in an orbit with the black hole, at a suitable distance from Ybar and yet the distance between them never decreased or increased. Seasons were caused by the fluctuating energies of the planet, and 24 hour days were the result of a suitable rotation and axis towards its Sun (This is all so convenient… like some omnipotent beings made this for shits and giggles or something…). As the 12 omnipotent beings who loved shits and giggles transported his body across the universe, they noticed another being getting dragged along with him by a recognizable and distasteful link…
Naturally, they couldn’t care less and were more than happy to move onto other things.
And thus, she followed.
Meanwhile, 8 hours before that ‘divine’ info dump on a quaint little rock called Earth…
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8 979Dear Spellbook (Link to rewrite in blurb)
A rewrite of this story has been posted here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/49881/dear-spellbook-a-fantasy-time-loop-rewrite Live. Study. Repeat. Tal is a sorcerer in a world where they are killed on sight, traveling with a man charged with carrying out the task. Every night Tal must pretend to study his spellbook to maintain his disguise as a Wizard’s Apprentice. If his disguise slips and his charade is uncovered, it will be his death. Seeking answers to mysteries that arose after his parent’s murder, Tal must accept any allies, no matter the risks, to uncover his family’s secret. But when he wakes up one morning to find himself trapped repeating the same day, he has to overcome his challenges all on his own. This story is an adaptation of a D&D campaign I ran but never was able to complete. I tried to capture the feel of a table-top RPG session —tropes and humor— without relying on the mechanics. This is not a litRPG or gamelit story and no D&D mechanics or system appear in the game. It follows one member of an adventuring party as he deals with the problems with that arise from being an adventurer. Namely, getting roped into adventures. The story has a time loop element, but will eventually move past that. This story explores the magic systems, the history, and the lore of the world through the lens of Tal's entries in his Spellbook and interludes from other written works in the world. New entries on Mondays Credit to JackOfHearts for the cover.
8 175Game Changer - Day Dreams
The greatest foe that man shall face lies within himself: his own mind. It can contort the world around him and make friends seem like enemies. Most often times we cannot see these delusions for what they are, the daydreams and the nightmares; and worst of all the crushing despair that cloys all we do and makes it seem for naught. One such soul in the depths of his own despair met an untimely end, but with his dying breath he made a plea, a plea to live. And so it was a being, neither human nor god or anything inbetween chose to save a life out of pity. But it did not understand the consequences of its actions, the changes a single life could bring. Like a pebble dropped into an ocean, first a ripple, then a wave, and soon all the lands of the world would be drowned before its might... So begins a new life, in a new world. While those who once knew him call it a game he calls it home. Now the question will arise, how far will he go to defend it.
8 104I Am a Hungry Ghost
I am from Buffalo. That's about the furthest you can possibly get from whatever Wuxia-or-Xianxia world this is. So how did I end up here? No idea. All I know is I have three goals. Number three, stay alive. Number two, don't get killed. Number one, eat all the delicious food. I'm just trying to do my part as the small-business owner of my restaurant. Please tell me how to stop getting tangled up with arrogant acolytes, demon princes, veiny, long-nailed witches, and apocalyptic conspiracies... Be warned, this story has some violence.
8 137Code Reader Kagami (LitRPG)
Sometimes things happen in this world that we are not in control of. Sometimes we are to a certain degree, and sometimes we are completely in control. However, this is a tale that constantly questions those boundaries. The story follows Kagami, a young programmer, as he winds up in a world almost alien to him. If it were up to him, he would have never visited this world and would rather stay raising his young daughter. Was it through his own actions that he had wound up here? Was it due to several combinations of factors? Or was it something he completely chose. These are questions that constantly haunt Kagami’s mind as he wanders this world and ponders his actions. Unfortunately, the glaring truth of it all refuses to ever look him in the eyes. Each night as he looks up at the night sky, he wonders if the end of this would turn out like the game he made. A tale of Guts and Glory… or would it turn out like he fears, a tale of blood and tears. Regardless of how it turns out, he will one day unveil the truth enshrouding it all. And perhaps in doing so, unveil the fate of his old world, enshrouded by mystery. ___________________________________________________________________________ While this is a typical Isekai started by the infamous truck-kun, the story is most definitely not what is to be taken at face value. I love making tragic twists into these types of stories. For Code Reader Kagami, you'll begin to see a descent into psychological madness. As your hero changes entirely from the moral man he initially was. If you're not a fan of dark aspect stories, this one is not for you. Thank you~
8 67Die For You ( VegasPete )
Having you one night was the greatest mistake I did, but losing you once is the worst decision I made. - Pete
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