amidoinitrite?

>>7831527

I... I just don't know.

>>7831516
The world is not 'ancient', it is not even old. In fact, it is the creation of a being with an active imagination, who is making it. Right. Now.

It is slowly raveling itself into formation over the period of years. You wake up one day and find you have parents. You have memories of them, your mind tells you that you should love them, but in your heart you know yesterday they did not exist. Everything you are tells you that this is how the world should be. You should stay in your place, be what the world tells you you are.

Fuck. That.

You and a select few others realise how mutable this new reality is. You realise you do not need to be what the world tells you you are, and if you pit your will against the world you can avoid that fate, you can avoid that mediocre position at the bottom rungs of society. You will learn to bend the world to your will, flex rules that exist only because someone thinks they should exist.

You will find this god, you will spit in his eye, and you will tell him "Fuck you, I am what I want to be, and the world cannot tell me otherwise".

>>7831563

That was rather inspiring.

>>7831522

Rabbits think that humans are awfully prudish. They are jealous of human bodies, with their abilities to build, and to craft, and to screw in many more imaginative ways. It is this screwing that the rabbits truly envy above all else, and many imagine what life in a human body may be like.

>>7831522
It is the year 2051, and during 'The Cataclysm' 80% of the human population died. However we still need people to do the mediocre jobs, to till the fields, to work those jobs no one wants.

So a scientist invented the RabMen. Low intelligence and a docile nature means they can be trained easily, or even imprinted with knowledge to do their tasks. They can farm as needed, eat what they need to survive, and send the rest back to the human cities. Any excess Rabmen that are born can be slaughtered and sent to the city to suplement the mean shipments.

At least, that was the plan.

Then they developed a taste for human flesh. They reproduce at an astronomical rate, and are single minded in their quest to eat the few remaining humans. They are stupid, but they understand speech. To hear one begging, like a child with a speed impediment, for just a taste of your flesh from the other side of the door as they try to batter it down is the nightmare all of the few remaining survivors have.

>>7831493

A giant decides to control humans by putting them in a birdcage, you are one of those humans.

SIMPLE ENOUGH.

These are usually a lot of fun but I think the idea is to post a new image with each "story bit" you post, so it keeps on rolling.

>>7831533
This is the Azure Library, where we scry the endless reflections of tomorrow and peel back the fabric of the cosmos. Beside us now are the Brothers of the Firmament, two ancient gods that the original architects of the Library chained to this plane, so that the Library will forever hang in the space between time. Ahead of us now are the Twin Ladies of Grace, whose eternal vigil serves as a reminder of our duty to uncover the stories of the numberless planes.

This is but a tiny fraction of what you will find here but we have little time. It is the Inner Sanctum that we must hurry to, for I have something to show you. Something that the universe itself has conspired to hide from creation.

>>7831653
oh ok, sorry i didnt know

>>7831674

>>7831493
No way, 4th ed. is just wow on paper.

>>7831674
We thought man had conquered nature. Now nature has reinforcements. We cut down the trees to burn for our head. We chipped away the rock to form our buildings. We kept nature at bay by harnessing it's resources to our will. Now nature fights back.

Our every city is choked with trees and plants. There is no way of knowing which ones are the natural plants, and which ones are more... vicious. In this time of trial we should be banding together to survive, but still we fight.

Have you ever had your life saved by a tree? I was bringing the parchment to the alcove of eldars when I was set upon by bandits. I killed one through sheer luck, but the other knocked me to the ground. He was going to kill me when the vines got him. They would've gotten me if they had held off their attack for a few seconds. Vines wrapped around his arms and legs. He screamed as he was dragged towards the trunk, but I could only watch. He was pulled back across it's wide wood surface until I heard his shoulders pop out. His screams kept coming. They kept coming as the moss spread across his body, searching for any opening it could find. It almost flowed down his mouth, up his nose. I heard his screams gurgle away as every last drop of moisture was drained from his body.

According to the eldars, this ritual should pacify the trees. Though some say it will put them under the eldar's control. I'm not sure I trust them with such power.

>>7831686

Stanislav Petrov knew this wasn't the world he wanted his children to inherit. He had dreamed of a glorious Motherland, dreamed it with along with every other comrade in the war. But the following years of Soviet rule made him jaded, suspicious, and exhausted. He was tired of being careful, toeing the line, and living in fear of both his country and the West.

And when he had heard that the Americans had launched their missiles towards Russia, his blood ran cold. For all the propaganda and all he believed in, he did not believe they were suicidal. Stupid, foolish, arrogant yes. They were all these things. But they had no more of a wish to die than the USSR herself. It was all Kazansky's fault. May God damn him for what he had done.

>>7831879

That pretty much writes itself

>>7831844

The moment the blips appeared on the radar, he tore of his headphones and ran straight for the commanding officer. Petrov didn't even get a chance to explain that the equipment was new, that it had just been installed yesterday, and that false positives WERE too be expected by the system. If the Americans were going to attack that day, why launch one missile? Why not a thousand? Why not blanket the Soviet skies with the arsenal of democracy? It. Did. Not. Make. Sense. But that fool of a man began to scream that a counterattack must be launched, that the Motherland would not go down without firing a shot.

It was too late to stop him. The officer in charge of the station was already on the phone to the Krelim and everywhere MPs were flooding in to escort the technicians to their stations.

>>7831953

>>7831717

A few years ago, there was a great drought. When this drought began, many farmers and druids believed that it was just temporary, like the other ones. But it turned out to be much more. The oceans themselves seemed drained. The civilizations outside mostly fell to pieces, no longer united even slightly. After all, how can you keep order when resources are this scarce? It drove many people mad, in anarchy. Most people just killed each other, or died out in their search for water.

You witnessed this happen before your eyes. Many people in your village died. But somehow, you survived. You also heard of a rumor - of a magical fountain that is capable of creating water for the whole world. But you were never daring enough to go search for it.

But then your hopes were rekindled. A ship was calling for a new crew - a ship that would not sail in the oceans, but the sands of the deserts. They had a goal similar to yours - find this fountain, and form a new civilization around it. It may be a waste of time, but you've decided to join this ship. After all, if this operation succeeds, there will never be such a drought again.

It is, after all, something to hope for.

Sorry if that sucked, I'm new to this.

>>7832006

No that was good, keep it up.

>>7832044
Thanks, man. I needed that.

Now he was stuck at his bench, watching the as the single blip traveled closer and closer to Vladivostok. A port city of no strategic importance. This was not the way Americans fought. He remembered them in the Great Patriotic War, how they would begin huge bombardments, raining down shell after shell from the sky, following afterwards with massive columns of tanks and infantry. An inevitable onslaughter of manpower. He could hear the officer barking orders to ready missiles for bombardment of the Eastern Seaboard. He had seen Atlanta once, before the Wall went up. It was a nice place, always warm and sunny. The people there were mystified at his accent, but had been courteous and kind to him. He could almost imagine living with them and thought perhaps they were not so different overall.

>>7831493
....And that's how I, Larfleeze, came about having Metropolis all to me. God I love myself.

>>7831879
WHAT IS THIS FROM!!!!!????? PLEASE TELL

>>7832110
Looks like Dresden Codak to me.

>>7832110

...you will never know

>>7832008


Creatures and monsters cavorted across the stone and metal pavings, their myriad bodies creating beautiful intricacies of colour and shape.
At the head of their number stood a human, a girl of no more than 6 years old. She watched imperiously over her many subjects, and, giggling to herself, clutched the most mighty of artifacts, the very thing which had given life to all her creations.

Her box of chalks.

She grinned impishly and sat down to decorate yet another inch of the walkways around her home, the fresh sea air catching her hair in its playful grasp.


___

Ive no idea where to go beyond that, oh well.

>>7832110
Dresden Codak, I forgot the website, but he makes webcomics I think.

Also, someone do >>7831905

>>7831953
Dinosaurs.
Yes, dinosaurs. The Nazi's secret weapon. You found this out after infiltrating their ranks, and Hitler expects you to be the one to tame them.
You suppose it's kind of your fault. You did, after all, claim your background to be a lion-tamer, and it wouldn't be such a stretch to change that to dino-tamer. But you were just a solider, spying on the Nazis. Your German background made it more believable.

You wonder how the U.S. will counter such a 'weapon'. And the messenger arrives, informing you that the U.S. are also looking into it.

It seems the war will be tougher than you first thought.

Second attempt, after >>7832006

If Vladivostok died, the Motherland would be hurt. But if America died, then the world was lost. He did not want his children to inherit a broken world. It was not his generation's to destroy for the sake of war. Humanity, if it still existed in the future, would not look back and say, 'This is where the First Men tore open the sky killed our planet.' His hand moved in a motion he never thought he'd use, and grabbed the Tokarev at his side. There were 8 bullets in his magazine. 8 chances to save the world. He spun around, the first shot hitting the viewscreen behind the officer. Time began to slow as he fired again and again, unless the slide jerked out and he could push the trigger no more. He saw that he had killed Kazansky and Dobrev, the latter whom he had worked beside for a dozen years. The officer snarled at him, "Petrov, are you mad? What is the meaning of this?"

"This is what's best for the Motherland, чиновник."

"Best? The Americans attack and you turn traitor? You are a fool. Your wife, your kids, they will all be dead unless we act."

"There is no American strike. It is one missile. It is a fake."

The officer nodded slowly. "They have gotten to you Petrov. I do not know how or when, but I will not let Russia fall on my watch." His left hand reached inside the greatcoat with blinding speed...but not fast enough. The bullet took him in the chest, crimson spreading out around his arm.

Petrov dropped his gun and rushed over to the dying man. But he was not there to comfort, no, what he sought was in the same place the man was reaching for. With shaking hands, he retrieved the key. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the countdown beginning to draw closer to zero...and he plunged the key into its lock. The numbers began to flash, then slow and finally stop on :03. The flight paths began to disapppear and the blip he saw, had in fact reached Vladivostok. He turned on the emergency radio and was greeted with only static. There was no emergency broadcast, no warnings about a nuclear explosion, nothing to indicate that a missile was fired. He sat down wearily, looking at the room around him. 4 men dead, a nuclear strike averted. They would question him. It wouldn't be the police or his superiors. No, it would be the KGB who would come for him. They would wring every last bit of information out of him, and still they wouldn't be satisfied. They would go for his family, his wife, his children. They would not give up their investigation until he and all he knew were dead. He glanced down at his Tokarev. There was still one bullet in the chamber. Odd, he swore it had been empty. He picked up the pistol, feeling its familiar grip in his hands. The things he would do for this world. The things he would do for his children. The things he would for mankind. He hoped they would be grateful one day. Then he raised the barrel to his mouth and squeezed.

>>7832282

Sorry about any run-ons or annoyances. I was typing nonstop and didn't bother to fix sentence structure. The story's a highly fictionalized version of what ACTUALLY happened with Stanislav Petrov, and I've taken several liberties.

>>7832159

A sheltered existence is all you've known. Sometimes, you can imagine as though you were in that world, while you're staring through that window. You yearn to leave. But you can't.

The monks know of your true nature and power. You've never met your parents. But according to the Order, they were of the Great Evil Tribe, and they were those who tapped in the hidden powers that humans truly had, but never knew how to use. The monks believe that you will also obtain this power, somehow. And they hope to use you to figure out how to use it for good, and even use it for others.

They say this is in case the evil comes back. But you doubt it. The city out there looks peaceful, eternally resting.

And you're starting to wonder if the monks are truly right.

Third attempt, after >>7832170

bump for more writefags

Well I think the thread's pretty much dead. I've exhausted myself writing that thing.

>>7832455
It was pretty good, I just finished reading it.

>>7831772
There is a world beyond our own, a world of thought, dreams, and nightmares. Should you so choose to see it, it will come to you. There, a person can do anything or be anything he wishes, with the right mindset.

Be careful, though, to remember who you really are. Of those unfortunate souls that forget, nothing remains but shadows.

>>7831767
It has been 5 years since the King has outlawed all magic. The grief over his wife's inevitable death has clouded his heart and his mind, leading him to believe that it was the very magic forces that helped him forge his realm were ultimately responsible for her untimely demise.

The wizards were the first to go. As much as the king's mind had been twisted, it still worked. He knew that his wife had been loved among his people and respected by the wizards, and so he called upon them all to attend her funeral. So great was the respect she commanded that none of the wizards failed to honour this call. What was to be a funeral for one quickly turned into a mass execution when the unsuspecting mages were struck down.

Afterwards, the king turned his attention on the animal world. Everything that had a hint of magic in it was deemed unnatural and dangerous, to be exterminated at sight for the good of the realm.

You are one of the King's hunters. You make a living by trapping magical creatures, slaying them and delivering proof of their demise to the royal offices. In the previous years, you have caugh unicorns, griffons and many more mythical beasts. But all those are gone now. The work pays well, and there are too much freelancers runniing around trying to make a profit. Bloody amateurs. Most got killed at first, but more took their place. The world never had a lack of fools. Those beasts smart enough to hide or flee the lands of the humans have long ago done so, and it is only in the remote areas of the realm that you still find your prey.

>>7832613
Yesterday was one of your luckier days lately. You caught a fairy in one of your traps. The small, defenseless creature never stood a chance. Although you twisted her neck, her body still glows as you trod through the treeline, back to the horse you left at the wood's edge. They tend to do that for another day or two. You find it annoying as you routinely check the other traps you've laid out on your way back. But at least it'll pay for a hot meal and a bed for a few days. Just as you were about to leave the forest, you hear a metallic clang to the east, in the direction of the last trap you just checked, followed by a small shriek. Approaching it slowly so as not to startle whatever you might have caught, you see another fairy has fallen for your bait. Some of her sisters are trying to get her free, but you know they won't make it in time. You set the cage down and pull ou your crossbow from under your heave cloak.

There is more prey to be caught. Tonight, you will sleep comfortably.


Reading through it now, it seems kinda cliché. But meh.

To reiterate, please include an image with what you post. It's the only way to keep it going.

>>7831730
Like other kids his age, Joey truly, unabashedly believes in monsters. For him, there as real as the sun shines or the rain falls, they're just harder to see. While other kids might keep an eye open in the dead of night or hurry their steps when they're passing the woods, Joey doesn't. Adults never bother to look for monsters and the other kids are too scared to. But not Joey. Why bother being afraid of something you've never seen before?

Now Joey has seen it and he's starting to rethink his train of thought that led him to this predicament.

>>7831686
Where'd you get that image?

>>7832829

Not mine, but my story was about that one.

>>7832851
>>7832829

OP here, that image was mine, I just had it somewhere on my computer.

>>7832851
I read it.
I had the image saved for a couple months, no idea where it came from though.

>>7832768
We've already got way more images than writings.

But here's a little of both anyway.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-

In ancient times, the Lightbringers had ruled Earth as they did all the universe. With their unrivaled mastery of Science, the holy art of understanding and controlling the forces of nature, they held absolute power, caring for lesser races, bringing them peace and prosperity, and carefully pruning them so they would not grow beyond their means.

This peace would not last. One race, now known as the Humans, was not content to simply live under the tyranny of the ineffable Lightbringers. Instead, they watched. The more they watched, the more they understood. Before long, their understanding grew so great that they were able to make Science their own, and they used this Science to take back their world.

Before the Lightbringers left for the depths of space, they swore vengeance upon the humans and all races who had followed in their example and rebelled. They swore that, as these races had proven they could not live with the Lightbringers, they would one day be wiped from the Universe, so that the Lightbringers and their perfect society would be all that is.

Millenia have passed since that time. Now, the Lightbringers are back, and they intend to make good on their promise.

>>7832768
Oh. Kay. Here you go.

No one had believed in Judgement Day anymore. Belief in God was a laughable superstition, dating back to the Old Ages, when mankind couldn't fend for itself. A myth to explain what they saw, but couldn't understand, with no more truth to it than to the belief that the Sun revolved around the Earth.

Mankind had taken refuge in science. In their own accomplishments. They didn't need religion anymore. Just another trouble spot to incite war and violence over in a world that already had enough of both. All the great beliefs were abolished over time, their wealth - both spiritual and physical - distributed or waned away. But just when Mankind had been ready to reach for the stars, to embark on that new frontier, their past caught up with them.

No one had thought about Judgement Day in hundreds of years. So when the Angels came, no one was prepared.

Well, damn, no one wanted to do my picture.

>>7833017
Which one was yours?

>>7833054
This >>7831905

>>7833379
I'll do it.
---
It is the late 25th century. Some manner of catastrophe has caused mankind's evolutionary path to reverse. The sciences, art and culture of mankind has slowly degraded as our minds became more and more primitive. Medicine became less and less understood, and everything began to fall apart.

However, somewhere, a group of people managed to avoid the backwards fate of the populace. Their technology continued to advance, and eventually, they began studying the people in order to find out and undo whatever caused the earth and its people to devolve.

>>7833700
Not exactly what I was expecting, to tell you the truth. I wonder if people avoided it because I chose a hard picture.

bump

>>7833809
I honestly just pulled something random out of my ass. I barely tried.

A lot of these entries are very elaborate. I think people might feel intimidated by their size, and want their own entries to be up to par with those. That might be discouraging people from putting in the effort.

>>7831686
The command staff of the Neo-Soviet Front devastating on what should have been their moment of triumph. The awake-code was transmitted to the neuro-receiver inside of Severino Irinei, a NAU Psi-Agent planted within the ranks of the NSF, and he quickly began to carry out his pre-programmed instructions to assassinate the NSF's High Command.

The loss of their leadership greatly paralyzed the leaders of the NSF and its allies, thus the Coalition was able to mount a successful counterattack, freeing Eurasia from the iron-grip of the neo-Socialists. Unfortunately, most of the Earth's surface had been ecological damaged by the heavy use of Atomics during the war. The Coalition has begun the transfer of its remaining population from bunker deep under Earth's crust to Orbital Colonies and newly founded colonies in the outer solar system. However, the scattered remnants of the Socialist forces still continue to wage war by launching missiles from their hidden stockpiles at the Orbital Colonies and thru acts of biological terrorism inside of the remaining Coalition bunkers.

>>7833809

If I wrote one, it would be from the view of a captain of one of those ships who is surprised at seeing this...metal bird appear out of thin air. He believes they are a French trick designed to give them the edge over Nelson at Trafalgar. However, they are actually the Chrono Divison from the 23rd century, authorized to alter the time-line in whatever manner necessary to thwart disruptions and criminal time travel. It appears that in this warp their chrono shields have failed and they have revealed themselves to the denizens of this century. They must find some way of restoring history to the way it is, by finding who they were sent to capture and erase their tracks...before their superiors decide the only option is to erase them.

>>7831527
Jim looked away from the display screen and down at the man lying on the medical slab. His eyes moved rapidly beneath their closed lids. There were several electrodes connected to his head and various other parts of his body.

Jim looked back at the image paused upon the screen for a moment before turning towards the other man standing in the room. This man wore a lab coat over a wrinkled and food stained shirt. His pants were not in much better shape. He too stared at the screen. A slow grin spread over his face and he spoke. "Damn, how much of the stuff did you give the man, Jim? The only way I can describe this is madness."

Shaking his head he turned off the display. "We aren't going to get anything while he's like this, let's come back in an hour."

>>7831905
It had been a long night on a rolling sea. The only hint the dawn had come was a slight lessening of the fog and the clouds changing from ominous black to depressing grey. The rough conditions had not been kind to Juan's stomach and the three-fourths of a bottle of tequila had not helped as much as he thought it would when it first came into his hands.

The snap of canvas and the whistling of wind whipping through the rigging was slowly being drowned out by a roaring noise that filled Juan's ears. He wasn't sure if the new noise came from preexisting environmental conditions or from conditions he had inflicted on himself through a long night of drinking.

Suddenly the noise crested and became nearly unbearable. A massive purple shape flew out of the clouds and blew away the fog. It rode so low above the waves that it sprayed the ships with a hundred foot wake as it blasted through the fleet. In a few seconds it was gone as if it had never been.

Juan stared as the clouds settled back into their oppressive gloom like a bird settling its ruffled feathers, indignant at the disturbance. He blinked a few times before looking down at the bottle sitting loosely in his hand. He looked back towards the sky. Then he shrugged and took another pull.

>>7834200
Sgt. Santiago looked through his scope at madness. It would take a Lovecraft to put down what he saw in prose. A Bosch to put it into paint.

Juan "Bling Rims" Santiago was neither of those things. He was instead a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and a sniper. His mind was occupied neither on how to put the Apocalypse into prose nor on how to paint an electric jellyfish hundreds of stories tall.

His mind was focused, in a way few human minds had ever been focused in the history of the planet, on adjusting his scope and placing his crosshairs on target before squeezing the trigger.

Had Sgt. Santiago been aware that he had been repeatedly chanting a now worthless Hail Mary as he focused, aimed, shot and dropped the horrors approaching San Diego he might not have been as intellectually annoyed as he was with the tardiness of his spotter in selecting new targets.

>>7835828

>>7835899
Having never played MWII - His name is Sgt Foley? Hot damn, he had a race-change sometime after the 1940s!

>>7835828
The little girl skipped about the stones on the edge of the beach.
"Shannon, we need to go! Shannon, where are you?" A voice called out from behind her, where she'd parked for their day out on the beach.
"I'm down here, mommy! I'm playing with my friend Billy!"
Her mother came over the crest of the hill and called down to her, carrying a picnic basket containing the remains of their lunch and smiling at the thought of her daughter playing with an imaginary friend.
"Well then, bring Billy along, the weather's starting to look bad dear. We need to head home."
Shannon turned and frowned at her mother.
"But moooooooom! Billy says he doesn't want to leave the water, he says he likes it there!"
"Well then, tell Billy bye, and tell him we'll see him tomorrow, okay? Now let's go before we get caught in the rain."Her mother says with a patient smile before turning and heading back towards the car.
Shannon pouted, and then brightened at the thought of playing with her friend again tomorrow.
"Alright, BYE Billy! See you tomorrow!" She shouted, waving at the low clouds over the water before turning and running up the hill towards her waiting mother.
The surf churns behind her, as though something unutterably large had stirred in it's depths. The mists over the water shifts, as a tentacle easily the size of a subway car appears, and waves almost delicately at the retreating child.
"BYE SHANNON. COME AND PLAY AGAIN."

>>7836487
Once the initial furor died down, living next to a wizard was surprisingly normal. Oh, sure, Mr. Hendricks got the occasional goth trying to break into his tool shed and the multiple denominations telling him he was going to hell, but other than that, it was all the same as it would have been if he'd been a banker, or something. At least, to us next door--and wasn't that all that mattered?

The thing was, Mr. Hendricks may have been a wizard, but he didn't really look it. He didn't have a pointy hat, like the wizards in children's stories, and in lieu of a long, white beard, he kept himself clean-shaven (He did have a robe, though--it was white and fluffy, and we saw him wearing it every morning when he fetched the newspaper in his slippers).

It was nice and quiet, and it would have stayed that way if those prep-school girls hadn't tried to break in on a bet. Apparently, only very rich wizards keep animals familiars these days--upkeep costs too much, Mr. Hendricks explained to us a week after. Most wizards just put a bit of magic into something that wasn't living already--like an empty suit of armor, or something. Or stuffed animals, if you had little kids and wanted to keep them amused for a while.

"Me," said Mr. Hendricks, "I've always preferred jam. Burglars are always looking out for guard dogs and trip-alarms, but they tend to miss the jam monster coming in from under the door."

>>7836701
Evening gentlemen. I do not wish to waste your time nor mine, so I will be brief. 67 hours ago, the Fourth Man became active a week ahead of schedule. He disabled and eluded the observation team attached to him and has managed to continue to elude us so far. From our rough approximations of his movements in the past few days, he is moving towards Central Citadel. Yes gentlemen, he is coming here.

We have no idea what memories he retains nor do we know to what extent his mind has accepted the hypnotherapeutic regime up til his rogue status. There are too many variables for us to simply allow him to come here and deal with it through...improvisation. Therefore, I nominate action in place of contemplation. Since this development, I have seen to it to accelerate the regimes of the other four Critical Assets and have found the progress satisfactory. My suggestion is their immediate activation and deployment to reacquire the Fourth Man.

I submit the floor to the rest of the committee.

>>7837278
Motion has been made. Second? All opposed? Motion carries.

The Critical Assets are hereby placed on active status and placed under the command of the Chairman. May God have mercy on our souls.

<bumping to add more pics, though there is an entire thread to choose from.>

>>7837538
That's also something to keep in mind. If you don't feel like writing something entirely new, feel free to add a continuation to someone else's bit.

>>7836487
AAAAAAW :3

>>7836701
"DAMNIT, FRANK!" Jonathan's voice boomed through the reciever. HOW THE HELL COULD YOU BE SO GODDAMNED CARELESS!?"

His anger was reasonable. Years of speculation, millions of dollars in grants, no small amount of favors called in, and ultimately, a string of blind luck that had led to the rediscovery of one of the world's most ancient artifacts...... and after signing it out for the long weekend, Frank went and lost the damn thing.

"Get a hold of yourself, man, have some composure. It isn't the end of the world. I'll go back over myself, clean this place out top to bottom, retrace my steps, I'll find it. Don't worry. By the end of the day, I'll know where it went." You somehow actually believed the words that came out of your mouth. How hard could it be, you were only back two days. It had to be here amongst the reports, maps and ciphers... just keep a cool head, and it will sort itself out."

"Ok, ok" came the much muted reply. "I'll finish up my analysis, and wait for your call. Oh, and I almost forgot. Grats on your engagement, man. I'm amazed you have time for love with all the globe trekking we've been doing..."

You were only half-listening, slowly going over the various papers strewn about your desk for clues, or even better, the ancient toaster-sized case containing the treasure. "She hasn't said yes, yet. I sent over my proposal as soon as we landed." he said distractedly as he picked up a clipboard and scanned the affixed manifest.

"Oh, that's what you were rambling about? You were so tired I could barely make out what you were saying. Good man, good ma-"

"Jon..... JON! I know where the crystal is...."

-MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN!-

>>7838474
-MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN!-


"Karina, a messenger just dropped this off for you!" Brittney beamed as she struggled her way into the office, carrying a package the size of a large lunchbox. "Its from Franklin, open it, open it!"

"Ok, ok, fine, I'll open it, stop freaking out, you're making me nervous..." Karina smiled, reaching across teh desk and pulling the case towards her. Before he had left on his last excavation, Frank had hinted about plans to take their relationship to the next level... since they had been together three years, as far as she was concerned, there was only one thing this could be.

She undid the latches, admiring the carved wooden design, taking a short breath before opening the lid... revealing a perfectly cut ruby the size of her fist lying atop a fitted fixture. Light seemed to emanate from the gemstone, transfixing her gaze.... but her coworker was not impressed into silence.

"Oh, take it out, it's gorgeous!" Brittney gushed, rushing around the table, excitedly egging Kari into action.

>>7838488
Karina reached into the box, and hefted the stone out, into the room, the dramatic light emanating from it casting dramatic shadows even in the morning light. The stone was pulsating, giving off small, warm bursts of heat in her hands.

"Hey, there's a card in here..." Karina shifted the stone to one hand as she reached in to retrieve the card, eyes lighting up recognizing Frank's handwriting. "It's a note from Frank, I think he's proposing!"

"READ IT!"

"Ahem.... Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become forevermore a human juggernaut!"

"....er...what? What's that supposed to mean"

Brittney's words were cut short as the gem seemingly exploded, light bathing the room and all in it to blindness. There was a slight vibration in Karina's eyes, the world moving slow, and out of focus...

"Karina, your clothes!"

Karina looked down, and to her embarrassment saw that teh explosion had been very real.... her desk lay in tatters at her feet, her chair was seemingly crushed by the impact, and her clothes had been all but disintegrated. All that remained were a pair of Franklin's boyshorts she had borrowed.

"SHIT!" Karina sprang to her feet to cover herself, but she had moved much faster than anticipated, and stumbled, towards the window....

>>7838474
>>7838488
>>7838498
Fucking lold. It's nice to see the two entirely different directions both writefags took.

>>7838561
those are all the same writefag