I checked the palm of my right hand as I followed Handsome Guy.
Forty-four minutes to go until… dunno.
Was it a timer for this transformation running out, the same way Pino had a limit? Or was it counting down until I could ...
2023-04-18 23:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostBending down, I chose a box from the pile by my feet—easy-to-cook cheesy lasagna—and slotted it into the remaining space on the shelf level with my eye. I was rearranging our pantry along with all the new stuff I bought. The box fitted so perf...
2023-04-16 22:54:30 +0000 UTC View PostThe scientific method was the process of finding out stuff through experiments. Tonight, I, Erind Hartwell, was going to be a scientist, experimenting with what the Domino mask could do—cue sci-fi-ish intro music. Make sure there’d be...
2023-04-11 12:17:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Not exactly this very place,” Aileen corrected herself, sheepishly grinning. “We’re in the inner ward of the Hold. From all historical accounts—” she neglected her history lessons and had no right to utter those words “—t...
2023-04-09 09:38:55 +0000 UTC View Post“Deen is a weirdo, Deen is a weirdo,” I sang as I chose a carton of milk from the many brands on the shelf. It was for Mom; she mixed milk with her coffee. As for me, I drank tea, sometimes adding honey as a sweetener. After chucking the milk ...
2023-04-01 12:52:42 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s in the same envelope as your note,” I said. “Just asking if you put this here or maybe the—”
“I didn’t have an envelope,” Imani replied, brows pressed together as she examined the flyer. “I gave my folded note to th...
2023-03-31 10:12:39 +0000 UTC View PostEarlier this morning, the lobby receptionist at the condo handed me an envelope as we were about to leave for the police station. Inside were two pieces of paper—the first was a flyer for a cruise ship, and the second was a note from Imani. She ...
2023-03-28 00:43:20 +0000 UTC View Post“There’s so many of them!” Clement exclaimed. Hiero put an assuring hand on the Khayo gardener’s shoulder. Clement looked up at Hiero, eyes struck with fear, tried as he could keep composed. “Wha-what are they?”
“Werswach R...
2023-03-22 12:56:35 +0000 UTC View PostI subtly eyed the police officers in the room. Four. None of them looked my way. Three more were in the adjacent room, and two should be by the lobby. How many were in the rest of the building? How many were outside?
The answer: not enough.<...
2023-03-17 14:20:25 +0000 UTC View Post“Sit here,” I said, pulling out one of the chairs by the dining table. Deen had a quizzical look, her hands on her hips. Before she could ask, I explained, “You’re too tall, duh. Even if I stand on tiptoes, I can’t reach your ear. What d...
2023-03-16 01:05:37 +0000 UTC View PostEudora (Euphonia)
Euphonia touched her face. Her cheeks had risen, and her lips had curved up. She didn’t realize she was smiling while reviewing old videos and pictures in her files. Perhaps she did miss the good ol’ da...
2023-03-12 05:54:38 +0000 UTC View PostHiero gazed east as the horns sustained their call. Through Molding, he enlarged his eyes into that of the owl king, this time allowing his skull’s sockets to deform and widen to fit them better. He had returned to the walls before the cannons b...
2023-03-10 01:24:54 +0000 UTC View PostI frowned as Deen stood on my left and held my hand—more like hugged it. She laced her fingers with mine and sandwiched my arm between her two giant marshmallow bumpers. The warmth of another human—Deen’s no longer human, but still...
2023-03-04 07:54:06 +0000 UTC View PostVanessa Minnows
Vanessa Minnows was the last to go through the door on the floor. She wavered momentarily, thinking of asking Euphonia how to pay for helping them. But Euphonia was busy directing her monstrous creations; mor...
2023-03-03 10:06:34 +0000 UTC View Post“An expelled Gardener,” Hiero clarified, glancing at the throne hall doors to see if they were shut tight. He then strode down the hallway, beckoning Alluverius to follow. “I swear Rebecca has an uncanny sense to detect any mention of Mitho...
2023-02-27 12:59:40 +0000 UTC View PostImani Nanda (Tove)
Imani Nanda checked her phone again, anxious to get a message from anyone. Jubilee, who went by Jubjub during missions, had sternly reminded her to turn off her phone because the police would be t...
2023-02-24 08:08:25 +0000 UTC View Post“Auntie Dora?” I might’ve heard that name before but couldn’t place it.
I began summoning my Blanchette mask, ready for a challenge. Our enemy—I assumed she was one—knew that we, mainly me, trashed the Tea Party boss and his mini...
2023-02-18 08:33:39 +0000 UTC View PostHiero had been called many names since he set out, a fledgling self-taught Flesh Molder. Early monikers related to the scar across his left eye. Thought by many to be the remnant of a sword slash suffered in battle, the scar fueled a reputation of...
2023-02-15 22:18:07 +0000 UTC View PostAmber Deen Leska
“What are you doing?” Amber Deen asked Erind despite knowing what was going to happen.
Not exactly this—Deen was super shocked that Erind went through with her threat. But Gabe did warn her to mo...
2023-02-15 22:09:55 +0000 UTC View Post“Argh!” Boojum stumbled forward but didn’t drop. Deen looked surprised he wasn’t knocked down. Boojum twisted back at her. “What the fu—?”
I grabbed his right wrist.
Deen caught his other hand and pulled his arm out. “T...
2023-02-08 14:20:52 +0000 UTC View PostCan we return to the tents outside? Hiero grumbled in his mind as he squinted his eyes. The rainbow shimmers gave him a headache, and his blurry left sight wasn’t helping. Could the braids be straining his scalp?
Hiero had fixed h...
2023-02-04 13:25:52 +0000 UTC View PostCan we do something else? I thought, going through another photo album. We had passed the high school era and were now unearthing fossil records of the college era.
I didn’t want to continue doing this shit. But what other stuff c...
2023-02-01 23:25:42 +0000 UTC View Post“How dare you kill my trusted subordinate!” Rabbit Ears growled, standing in the bloodied pit he had cleaved. “I picked him and his brother off the streets and raised them to be fine young men of flesh and steel!”
Why was this fucker...
2023-02-01 23:18:08 +0000 UTC View Post“This was in Ireland,” I said, pointing to a picture of Mom and me. “Mom used to work there. I think I was in the second year of high school here, not sure.”
“I must say,” Deen said from above me, “your looks barely changed. Yo...
2023-01-27 00:26:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Another great fanart made by Eri. Just going to post this here for those who don't visit our Discord. This is post-barbecue Vanessa with the metal bands on her right arm to hold back the mouth familiars. She has a more confident and badass attitud...
2023-01-26 07:07:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I fought Auron, I ignored Myra’s lesson to keep my distance against an Adumbrae. I was confident I could pulverize that pompous weakling without breaking a sweat. Finlay and another Adumbrae even joined the fight, but all they could manage ...
2023-01-26 06:50:15 +0000 UTC View PostBullets ripped through squishy normal humans.
Boojum rushed to shield them with his body. Shots thudded on his back. He grabbed the nearest person on the floor—a lady in a torn business suit and slacks—and used his powers to heal himself...
2023-01-20 08:10:10 +0000 UTC View Post(Author’s Notes: This next set of chapters is after Erind’s first meeting with Imani, chapter 5.21 in the main story. In the original, Deen was asleep, so Erind went out to buy food and met Imani. When Erind returned to her condo, Deen was sti...
2023-01-17 13:09:43 +0000 UTC View PostI grabbed the tentacles coming at me and sliced them with the rock. Full caveman with primitive tools! More chopped tentacles followed. This rock was sharper than expected. Probably more accurate to say everything was fucking sharp with enough sup...
2023-01-12 11:19:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe kiss barely lasted a second before Deen let go of my face and pulled away—just a cowardly peck on my lips. If I had my eyes shut, I would’ve thought a passing wind brushed me. After all that teasing, Deen didn’t have the guts to escalate...
2023-01-10 00:35:12 +0000 UTC View Post