#they teamed up anyways agreeing to commit “minor terrorism“

[mioakem]

techno: “join me, let’s destroy l’manburg”

tommy: “you’ll help me get back my discs if i team with you?”

techno: “i’ll help you get back your discs tommy”

tommy: “i won’t help you but you’ll help me?”

techno: “tell you what, we’ll do some minor terrorism from which the government can- ehhh, you know what tommy? we’ll get the details on the way

tommy: “technoblade, i am a huge fan of minor terrorism”

CTOMMY MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE DIDNT WANT TO HELP CTECHNO DESTROY LMANBURG, AND CTECHNO KNEW THAT AND AGREED TO HELP ANYWAYS. NEITHER OF THEM BETRAYED EACHOTHER

[sirenfromthelostcity]

A Cat and Spider Game

A/N: For a really long time i could not get the idea of making a Black Cat Reader x Spider-Man fic out of my mind so i finally decided to make one. Black Cat has really white hair so for the purpose of this fic, when you’re dressed as your alter-ego (Black Cat) you’ll be wearing a platinum white wig. I just wanted to say that from the beginning bc that’s just how Black Cat’s character looks and also i feel like it’d actually help keep your secret identity a secret if you didn’t have platinum white hair on your civilian persona as well lol. When writing this i was thinking about the Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 game but tbh this can also fit in for Tom’s version of Spider-Man too since they’re both still Peter Parker anyways, it’s just that in this story he’s older. This is also a college AU so all the characters in here are about 20 years old. With that said not everyone you has powers, just you and Peter so far but i guess we’ll see what happens no? This is my first ever Marvel fic so i’d reeeaaalllyyy appreciate some feedback on this and if you’d like a second part just shoot me an ask or like and reblog and whatnot :) 

I do not own Spider-Man’s character or any of these characters (except you i think?). I hope you enjoy!!! <3333

Words: 3.6k+

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Making your way through the cluttered dormitory halls, you sigh in satisfaction as you not only finally reach your assigned suite but are greeted with silence and emptiness. You’ve arrived before any of your other roommates. You actually know who one of your roommates is going to be but only because you’ve dormed together last semester and got along so well that you’ve requested to dorm together again. Still, you’ve always made it a personal mission to be one of the first to arrive on campus on moving in day. Mostly just so you can pick out your room, settle in, enjoy some alone time, and overall begin preparations for the beginning of the semester and your “other” plans. 

A few hours pass and in that time you’ve managed to get a good chunk of your stuff unpacked and set up in your room. Wanda, your previous roommate, also arrived, said hi, and settled herself in. The two of you are still waiting for your third and final roommate to arrive. 

Deciding to take a break, you grab the Daily Bugle newspaper you picked up earlier on the way to the dorms and plop down on your freshly done bed. 

You stifle a laugh as you read the headline in J. Jonah Jameson’s voice. 

“MASKED MENACE SPIDER-MAN STILL TERRORIZING CITY!” 

They bring him back for one piece and of course he decides to make this the headline. 

You continue to peruse the many articles in the newspaper and stop as you find the one you’ve been looking for. 

“No new leads on New York’s newest criminal police are calling ‘Black Cat.’”

Criminal.

By definition according to google, ”a person who has committed a crime.”

Yes, a criminal is technically a bad person. However, you would argue that there are bad people and then there are worse people. Personally, you don’t feel as if you fall onto the worse branch.”

“As if I ever even actually hurt anyone,” you begrudgingly comment to yourself. “Rich people don’t count so, technically, I never did hurt anyone.” 

You haphazardly flip the page of the magazine you were browsing when you hear suddenly hear a knock on your door prompting you to look up.

“Come in,” you say and in enters your roommate Wanda along with another girl.

“Hey (Y/N), this is Gamora,” she gestures to the tall girl next to her, “it’s her first year at Empire State and she’s our new roommate.”

“Oh,” you sit up from your bed and walk up to the two women to properly greet your new roommate. “Hi, I’m (Y/N),” you smile at Gamora as you shake her hand.

“You showed her around the suite?”

“Mmhmm,” Wanda nods.

“Cool. So first year, huh? How you liking the campus so far?”

Gamora hesitates her response, “I’ve seen a lot of it since I got lost finding my way to the right dorm building yet I still don’t think I’ve seen all of it. But, so far it looks really… “

Both Wanda and you interject. 

“Opulent?” 

“Preppy?” 

“Yes, actually. No offense.”

You exchange an amused smile with Wanda, “None taken, this is a pretty preppy and opulent school but it’s got some good people in it. Also some bad people, but that’s everywhere you go really. Luckily for you though, you now have us to navigate your way through Empire State.”

“This is mine and (Y/N)’s second year at here so we know the terrain and its people pretty well,” Wanda elaborates.

“Speaking of terrain, have you had a chance to go to The Cool Bean Cafe?” you ask.

“No, but it sounds like a popular cafe.”

“Unfortunately it is a popular cafe. Not unfortunate for the owners, the sweetest old couple by the way, but kinda unfortunate for us in that it often gets crowded. But y’know,” you glance at your watch, “it’s only one-thirty right now, people ought to be busy unpacking and whatnot at this time. Do you guys want to wanna go now? It’d be the perfect chance to get to know each other better, my treat.”

“It’s always a yes from when the cafe is involved,” answers Wanda.

“Doesn’t sound like it could be terrible. I’m in.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fortunately for all of you, The Cool Bean Cafe is only moderately crowded today so you and the girls were able to find a table to sit at. You spend most of your afternoon chatting with them and, to yours and Wanda’s delight, even witnessed Gamora genuinely laugh a few times. Okay she laughed once and briefly smirked one other time time but it was still silently agreed between you and Wanda that those were some pretty monumental moments shared with your new roommate. You did learn a lot about her too. Apparently it was Gamora’s dad who really pushed her to apply to this school. She wasn’t planning on attending upon acceptance, partly because of the move she’d have to make from Virginia to New York, but she was offered a full scholarship and her dad convinced her to attend. Afterall, Empire State University is a pretty highly esteemed school. It couldn’t be all that bad, she figured. Her major is astrophysics and she’s decided she wants to take on a second concentration but hasn’t decided on one yet.

Gamora learned a lot about you and Wanda as well. She learned that you and Wanda were roommates for your first semester at Empire State. Because there was no other roommate, you two had the whole suite to yourselves and became very close. She learned that Wanda has a twin brother named Pierto but he’s currently playing professional soccer in Sakovia. Wanda is an international student from Sakovia and is pursuing a psychology major with a minor in Sakovian studies. You were born and bred in Queens, New York and your major is journalism but you haven’t yet picked out a second concentration.

Wanda was explaining to Gamora the locations of the buildings in which her classes are going to be held in when you get a email notification from your phone.

“Shit,” you lowly mumble.

“Is everything alright?” Wanda inquires.

“Yeah, it’s just an email from my film studies professor. Apparently he believes that ‘Teamwork makes the dream work’ so as part of our weekly assignments he’s paired everyone in the class into pairs of two to complete the assignments together.”

“(Y/N) loves working with people,” Wanda sarcastically comments to Gamora and to both of yours and Wanda’s surprise, she actually chuckles at the joke.

“Does it say who you’re paired with?” Gamora asks.

“Yeah, he provided a list with the email, I’m checking right now……. Peter B. Parker.”

“Hopefully he’s not an asshole,” Gamora takes a sip from her coffee.

“Fortunately he’s not,” you put away your phone and take a sip of your coffee before elaborating. “I used to go to high school with him. We never talked because I was really busy with stuff at home and our after school activities never collided. He’s super smart though, we had a few classes together and I know he was in the school’s robotics club for a while as well as the academic decathlon team. Trust me, the guy is brilliant. Plus, from what I heard, he’s apparently a total sweetheart. I don’t think I have much to worry about.”

“You sure seem to know an awful lot about a boy you’ve never spoken to,” Wanda complacently coos before blowing at her tea and drinking it.

“Y’know, I have to agree with Wanda there,” Gamora raises her eyebrows.

“Could it be you harnessed a crush for this Peter guy back in the old high school days?” Wanda twirled her cup in hand, smirking but not looking at you.

You playfully scoff, “Y’know you treat your roommates out to one of the finest cafes within walking distance and how do they thank you? Oh yeah they don’t, they interrogate you instead,” you tsk and slowly shake your head side to side. “In all honesty though, no I did not harbor a crush for Peter Parker. Believe me, with the stuff I had going on at that time with my family and myself, boys were the last thing on my mind.”

“I feel that,” Gamora nods. “Also, do all professors send emails days before the first class?”

“Some professors do but not all of them, which is why you have to be really vigilant with your emails. I’ve ignored them for most of my life, but trust me you’re gonna have to pay attention to them from now on.”

Wanda nods as she downs the rest of her tea. “Speaking of vigilance, Gamora, have you yet heard of the masked vigilante swinging through our streets?”

Gamora shrugs, “A little actually. I overheard a few students talk about him when I was looking for the dorm building. Apparently he often literally swings by our campus and goes by…. Spider-Something?”

“It’s Spider-Man,” Wanda chuckles. “There’s some mixed opinions of him in this city but for the most part he saves lives, helps people in need, and fights crime. He’s a hero. Have you heard about the theories?”

“No. There’s theories about this guy?”

“Oh, there are so many theories about his origins and his identity. Some people think he’s an alien who snuck in through the vortex that opened in the 2012 attack here, but others argue that maybe he’s actually just a person with advanced technology. Some people even think he actually attends here because of often he seems to pass through the campus. Personally, I don’t think that’s true. Simply seeing him pass by the school a lot is not enough to support that theory and being in college while maintaining a job is hard enough. I cannot imagine a person trying to maintain a job, along with their grades, and a crime fighting alter-ego on the side. I just think he passes through here as a shortcut to someplace else, we are in a very big city after all.”

“Wow, people seem to be really fixated with this Spider-Guy,” says Gamora.

“(Y/N),” Wanda calls for your attention. “You’ve been awfully quiet on this topic. Don’t you have any theories of your own about the Spider-Man’s identity?”

“Not really,” you lie. “I mean as a journalist major in New York, it’s impossible to not write about him, especially with all the recent crime that’s been going on here, but outside of that I don’t really think much about him.”

“Wait, so there’s frequent crime happening around here? God, I really should’ve done more research before just moving here,” Gamora shakes her head.

You lightly laugh at Gamora’s reaction, “Don’t worry it’s not really that bad. Lately what’s been happening is a string of robberies but whoever’s doing it seems to be targeting the homes of the very rich or the places only the very rich can afford so we have nothing to worry about.”

“It still amazes me that the police still have no lead as to who the thief could be,” Wanda comments. “The investigation has been going on for at least two months now and already four homes have been robbed. Whoever has done that must be very affluent right now.”

You hesitate for a moment but deep down you can’t help but wonder and ask, “Do you think that, y’know whoever robbed those homes, that they earned the loot?”  

Wanda furrows her brows at first but takes a few seconds to ponder her answer, “Well, morally no because stealing is wrong. However, the people this person decided to target, they’re already insanely wealthy with more money than they could ever spend in one lifetime. Not to mention that the thief is so adept at what they do that no one has any clue as to who they could be so… I guess in some ways… yes, I’d say they earned their loot but I still think that stealing is wrong.”

You hum in thought, “That’s a good point. What do you think Gamora?”

“I agree that it’s not morally correct to steal but if this person is as good as you say they are then, I guess they do deserve to have their earnings. It’s not exactly easy to baffle the cops, normally they have at least one clue. But, it also makes me wonder why are they doing this, the thief I mean. Is it because they’re good at it or because they need the money or both? Guess we’ll never know.”

“Those are good questions, though,” says Wanda. “It does make me wonder about the thief’s motives. What about you, (Y\N), do you think the thief earned their prize?”

“Honestly, yes. I do believe he or she earned their prize. I get that it’s not morally right to steal but, according to the reports no one was harmed during the robbery. No one was even aware anything was stolen until the morning. And as you said, Wanda, the targets of this thief have more money than they could ever use in a lifetime so it’s not like the thief is preying on the less fortunate. As for the motive, we really can’t know without directly asking the thief. But my guess would be that it’s a combination of both the need for it and the confidence boost they must get from the police’s frustration at their lack of leads to his or her’s identity. As if stealing from a bunch of rich duds is the worst thing a person can do, though. There’s bigger issues than some rich people missing a couple of priceless artifacts. But I guess that could just be my bias against rich people speaking,” you tilt your head to the side and lightly laugh.

“If I hadn’t already known about your hatred for rich people I sure would know now,” Wanda awkwardly laughs.

“Yeah, I kinda went off on a tangent there. Sorry about that,” you briefly look down before changing the topic. “Hey, do y’all wanna get ice cream and maybe show Gamora around the campus more? My treat.”

“Someone woke up in an incredibly generous mood today,” says Wanda.

“I’m all for the tour of the campus but since you’ve already paid for the coffee you don’t have to buy me ice cream,” adds Gamora.

“It’s not a problem guys, really. My mom got a bonus at her job so she decided to treat me to some extra cash and now I’m deciding to treat you all to some good food. Are we ready?”

Wanda and and Gamora briefly look at each other and simultaneously nod before grabbing their things and exiting the cafe with you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Much later that day…. 2:15AM ~ Stanlee Co-ed Dorms

Peter B. Parker lays comfortably asleep in bed after an exhausting day of moving into his dorm and of course being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man almost everyone loves. Peter loves being Spider-Man. While it can sometimes get complicated balancing out the hero life with the civilian life, Spider-Man truly helps people. Sometimes not everyone sees it that way but the good Spider-Man does heavily outweighs the few negative responses he receives, at least to Peter it does.

Yeah, being Spider-Man is great. Peter would never change it for the-

“Peter, wake up!” Ned storms into Peter’s room, effectively and abruptly waking him up.

“AH! WHAT?!” Peter locks sleepy eyes with Ned and then his alarm clock on his nightstand. “Ned, what the hell man, what are you-what are you doing up so late?”

“Binge watching Game of Thrones to prepare for the finale,” he shrugs,” but that’s not important right now. I heard the police scanner say something about an alarm going off at that really expensive wine place on east 98th street near the park. It fits the M.O. of that burglar that keeps getting away.”

Instantly Peter tosses his covers to the side, hopping out of bed and retrieving his Spidersuit from his closet, hastily putting it on.

“It’s a possibility that it could be a false alarm but I have a feeling about this one and it wouldn’t hurt to take a look since we don’t have class tomorrow,” Ned commentates, handing Peter his web shooters.

Peter takes his web shooters from Ned before finally putting on his mask, “Thanks, Ned. Don’t wait up!” With that said Peter swings out of his fire escape window and into the night to potentially catch what even he admits to be a very skilled thief.

“You know I will!” Ned yells out to Peter from the window. “Oh shit,” he quickly pulls himself in, realizing he’s in a dorm building with other people possibly sleeping.

“Go get em, Spider-Man!” he enthusiastically whispers as he exits Peter’s room and closes his door.

Swinging at breakneck speed, Peter makes his way to the location of the expensive wine store, Wine and Spirits Co.. Within four minutes, he spots not only the building but an opened window on the third floor. Quickly, and quietly, he zips through the window. Upon landing, Peter immediately spots the elusive thief simply standing behind a bar counter observing a bottle of wine and a wave of shock washes over him as he realizes he recognizes thief. Donned in an all  black, skin hugging suit laced with white,  small cat ears on her wavy platinum white hair, and a black mask. He never thought he’d see her again.

“I-It’s you,” he mumbles.

You turn around in slight shock but hum in delight at seeing the great Spider-Man himself right before you. “And it’s you. Not many people can sneak up on me and arrive two minutes before the police. I have to admit, that’s pretty impressive.”

“But you h-how are you–– I-I-I saw you-”

“Wow, do you always stutter like this around girls?”

“N-No- Darn it!”

You chuckle as you slip the bottle of wine into your bag that’s already filled with at least five bottles, “Y’know that’s actually kinda cute, but you need to relax more.”

“I’d relax more with some answers,” he starts. “That night- how did you survive the fall? I-I tried to save you-”

“You can’t save everyone, Spidey… I chose to be where I was. The job just didn’t work out as I had planned. It wasn’t your fault. Also in the end it wasn’t really that bad. I mean from your viewpoint, watching that serum practically explode in front of my face and send me plummeting down to what should have been my death probably was bad but… I still have about eight lives left. Why stop the thievery now? Especially when I’m so good at it. ”

“I don’t really think that’s how cats work,” he says, still shocked at the sight of you. “Wait, so you’re the one who’s been behind these robberies all along?”

“Mmhmm,” you hum. “I’m pretty damn good aren’t I?” You hop over the counter and proceed to walk towards the window you used to enter until he halts you by grabbing your arm that holds the bag of wine bottles.

“Look I know this is your first time being caught by someone so you might not be familiar with how things go, but I can’t let you leave.”

You hear the police sirens go off signaling their arrival. Flashes of red, white, and blue begin to sear into the dim wine store and you give him a small smile, “Yes you can. You just won’t.”

You look down as you hear the footsteps of the police ascending the stairs then look back up to Spiderman, “But that’s okay. You’ll have other things to worry about.”

Suddenly the door to the entrance gets kicked in and in enters seven police officers aiming their guns and flashlights at the both of you.

“Freeze, Spider-Man!” yells an officer.

“Call this in, we got Spider-Man here and a potential accomplice,” instructs another.

“Accomplice, really?” Peter addresses the officers.

“Gotta run, Spidey. See you soon,” you say into his ear. Taking advantage of the distraction, you quickly attach a device onto him and jump out the window using your grappling hook to latch onto a roof’s edge and swing away.

Seconds later the EMP goes off, effectively short circuiting Peter’s suit and web shooters. He convulses in pain onto the ground until he manages to take off the device and stomp on it. Peter jumps out the window to follow you but is forced to tuck and roll onto the ground when he realizes you’ve disabled his webshooters. Not one to give up, he attempts to follow you on foot but your trail is quickly lost.

“Systems back online. Sorry about that Pete, she used an EMP device to disarm you.”

“It’s alright Karen. Can you call Ned for me, please?” with everything now fully functional, Peter lunges into the air and begins to swing through the air.

“Of course,” Karen replies. After a few rings, Ned finally picks up.

“Hey, Pete, did you get him?”

“No, but she got me pretty good.”

“She? What happened?”

“Remember the girl I told you about a few months ago, with the robbery?”

“Ohhhh, the one with the chemical explosion who seemingly disappeared after falling from a fifteen story rooftop? Yeah, that’s pretty hard to forget.”

“Yeah, well, it’s her. She’s been behind all these robberies all along and she’s picked up some new tricks.”

“Whoa, what kind of tricks?”

“Well, so far she’s used an EMP device to disable my webshooters and suit, and before she got away I saw her use some sort of grappling hook to swing away and escape, just to name a few. I’m sure she’s got more I haven’t had the chance to see yet but I’m sure I will soon,” he recalls your last words to him.

“No Way! Another super villain! But wait, how did she survive that fall, do you think it could’ve been something in that chemical explosion?”

“She said it was actually a serum but she didn’t specify. Not that we really had much time to talk when the cops stormed in anyways, they thought I was her accomplice!”

“The people know you, though, I’m sure that story won’t stick. Plus, when you catch her, it’ll all blow over quick. Where you heading to now?”

“Back to the dorms, I lost her trail but now that I know that she’s alive and that she’s behind all the other robberies I can probably create an algorithm to try to pinpoint where she might hit next.”

“Alright, well I’ll still be up when you get here. See you soon.”

See you soon

Your words echo in his head. He was there on the night of your apparent death. He tried to save you but failed. It haunted him for some time. Yet now you’re not only alive but back to your old ways. Peter didn’t know you but he still has some questions and, so long as you kept stealing, he knows he has to stop you.

[ecotone99]

[MF] When the Sun Sets

~Edited for formatting

Thirst burned Neo’s airway, not the typical dryness of the throat that one might experience upon awaking from a long nights sleep, but a constant searing fire. Neo perched more than sat in his weathered leather armchair, knees hugged against his chest as he remained fixated, gazing over his shoulder and through the darkness of his living room into the abyss of his kitchen doorway. The singular desk lamp with its curved neck and conical head, which stood like an upright question-mark on his right hand sitting room table, illuminated a comforting sphere of warmth around him, a sphere which protected him from the abominations that lurked within the shadows of his home.

Neo had not left his chair in nearly sixteen hours and had further neglected to drink anything in nearly twenty. He knew that relief for his dehydration in the form of a cool glass of water required merely that he arise from his recliner, turn on the lights, and walk into the kitchen…but it was still dark outside, and in these conditions he would rather die than leave his luminous sphere of protection. It was Monday night and the sun had not been visible since Friday evening. But he was content to wait for the natural light to save him, he always waited. It was much more comfortable this way, even if he had to deal with a minor thing like dehydration. His chest heaved, forcing out the rasping sound of a dry sigh as he once again turned forward to face the objects of his weekend long obsession.

Upon his lap rested two parcels: one envelope, sealed and colored crimson, the other opened and colored white. Neo examined the white envelope for what was likely the ten thousandth time that day; it was almost completely devoid of distinguishing features, a mere business letter just like the millions of other envelopes that people all over the country received daily. But this one had his name and address in the center, typed neatly with a “Mr.” at the beginning. The prefix amused Neo, as during the five years since his eighteenth birthday, not once had he envisioned himself as the mature adult that those two letters implied.

The sender address revealed the sender as “Genesis Industrial Technology”, a company which Neo had sent a job application to the previous year. He had an interest in programming and had even sent a portfolio of personal projects that he had accumulated since discovering his hobby in the sixth grade. The files included simple games, little tools to improve user access, and even a few rough programs that he had lost interest in well before completing. Although despite his aspirations, Neo knew he had little chance of meeting the caliber of a large company, so he had instead applied as a technical assistant in the coding department. This position would provide him with the meager funds needed to maintain his reclusive lifestyle and allow him to work from home, sending in projects and attending meetings electronically was what he preferred anyway.

This was to say, he had originally been stunned when he opened the letter and discovered that not only had he been granted employment at Genesis, but apparently the hiring committee had decided that his portfolio warranted a significantly higher position and paygrade. This new position, which the writer of the acceptance letter called “Project Lead” would provide him with roughly quadruple his current salary, a company vehicle, and his own team of coders with which to develop, as they put it, “Exciting new cyber assets for the continued growth of the company”.

The job offer was everything he could have hoped for, and would have been the quintessential dream come true had it not been for one last detail: the position mandated that he change his residence to the local area of the business headquarters. This troubled Neo, as he had never left, nor planned on leaving the state of his birth, and the headquarters were in a city more than one thousand miles away.

Neo imagined himself a lone silhouette, cresting a hill with suitcase in hand as he approached a city of shadows on the horizon. The inky city scape dominated his vision, but the angular shapes of the skyscrapers and department stores seemed to pull away from the domineering shadow of Genesis HQ, a colossal pyramid which pierced the heavens with all the arrogance of a 20th century tower of babel. The pyramid before him seemed to have an emotionally magnetic effect despite the visible distance which lie between Neo and the base of the looming pyramid. Neo felt a tug at something just within his chest, and a sweetly inaudible whisper caressed his ear with promises of a filled void within his psyche. The Neo in Neo’s minds-eye took a step back…he wanted this new life so badly, and yet the new landscape, the whispers, the promises…they terrified him. In his mind he turned his back on the promised land and the pyramid, frantically sprinting back down the hill as the pyramid disappeared once again over the elevating horizon as the ache and the whispers in his chest and ears receded from memory.

Neo blinked, pulling himself from his cinematic array of thoughts and back to the reality of his dimly lit living room and dry throat. Neo had received the letter of acceptance roughly two weeks prior, and the deadline for his reply was a mere forty-eight hours away. Despite this lack of time, at the slightest thought of writing an email to the manager at Genesis, Neo would remember how dark the house outside of his sphere was, how the shadows of the unknown swirled about, threatening to rob him of his soul at the slightest touch. His laptop was in his office, and it was dark there too. He would continue to wait like he always did, he was sure everything would be fine when the sun came up.

In spite of the existential dread that Neo felt at the idea of leaving his sphere of light, and the sheer terror of leaving his familiar life to chase his dream career, in comparison to the contents of the crimson envelope all else appeared as waves before a tsunami. More accurately, it was the possibility of the envelopes contents which frightened him, as Neo had not yet summoned the monumental amount of courage required to break this envelopes gilded seal. The envelope lacked clear postage, bearing instead the name “Aurora” written in large cursive letters who’s golden ink swirled gracefully across the center of the envelopes front side. The signature was complemented by intersecting calligraphic designs of the same color on all four corners, an indication of the time and consideration put into what must be an elegantly written letter.

There was no doubt in Neos mind whom this “Aurora” referred to, she had not only been the shining personification of joy in his otherwise apathetic life for nearly seven years, but had also placed the letter directly inside his mailbox for him to find last Friday morning. They had first met in highschool at his robotics club, as was the case with most of his acquaintances, a relationship formed more by proximity and necessity than out of preference. After a few months he grew to appreciate Aurora, she seemed to smile more than the other friends with which he kept company, and the sense of style and creativity that her appearance provided in the form of an ever changing set of hairstyles and clothing colors added a much needed chaos to the orderly math that his brain thrived upon. She always seemed to come up with oddly unconventional yet effective solutions to simple problems that Neo would normally gloss over without thought, a trait which he grew to look forward to seeing in action each week. He had even considered inviting Aurora to hang out privately, but he could never rationalize a plan safe enough to satisfy his cold pessimism. As a result, they remained mere friends until after graduating from high school. Without he weekly club meetings to facilitate their meetings, Neo had lost contact with Aurora for the most part in the following years, with the exception of the occasional message or comment online.

Yet despite the passing time, while leering over graphics cards at his favorite local mall (this due mainly to its quietness and general lack of patrons), he had received a tap on his shoulder. To his delight it was Aurora, who he had not spoken to personally in nearly two years. They became re-acquainted rather quickly and after several minutes of not-so-routine small talk, she had offered to treat him to dinner. They talked long into the evening, going so far as forgetting the time, that was until an anxious looking clerk approached their table and reminded them that the restaurant dining area would be closing in ten minutes. They parted reluctantly in what he had assumed were mutually satisfied states of mind. She had even gone so far as to message him the next day, suggesting that they might arrange to meet again the following weekend.

This sequence of events had led to what Neo had seen as nothing more or less than the rekindling of an old and valued friendship. It was not that he was devoid of any hopes of turning their relationship into something more meaningful, but he had resigned himself long ago to lacking the commitment needed to make such a life changing request of another person. Besides, posing ideas like dating or marriage would endanger the status quo of his comfortable friendship with Aurora, and that was a risk that he was not willing to take. But that changed when the sun vanished.

Neo had agreed to meet her again the previous weekend, as was their habit for the past three months, but when the sun had set on Friday and failed to reappear, he knew that he would not be able to make their previously ordained meeting. Neo was sure that he should probably let her know that he was not coming to see her, but he had left his phone prostrate on the table in his kitchen. He had refused to leave his safe sphere of light to brave the darkness on any of the dozens of instances during the weekend when his phone sounded out Aurora’s ringtone, and he would not be leaving it to send a text either. No matter how rude his ignoring Auroras existence must seem, the repercussions could wait until the sun came up.

For now, Neo perched in his comfortable leather armchair in the epicenter of his dimly glowing luminous barrier, the darkness and chaos of the outside world a mere threat upon the borders of his mind. The shadows whispered and Neo’s anxiety over the two envelopes in his lap grew heavier even as the heat in his throat grew drier. He knew everything would be fine in the morning, he just hoped the sun came back up soon.

~Authors notes (AKA, ramblings that completely spoil any ambiguity that the text creates, read at your own caution)

This story is meant to be something of an illustration of my own cycles/episodes of anxiety. When I describe the “Sun going down” and not coming back up for several days, the meaning is that Neo has entered a state of psychological/spiritual/mental/emotional darkness that he feels he has no way of relieving. He refers to it in a matter-of-fact way because it is something that he is used to, a part of life, and currently the only method he has found to help cope with it is to simply pause life and shelter-in-place. I added several time sensitive issues that he is neglecting to deal with in several aspects of life in order to show the self-destructive nature of this type of anxiety, how the inaction is threatening his career, his love life/family, and even his life (see death by dehydration), yet how the solutions for the problems are still accessible during the time of crisis, but the motivation and confidence to overcome simple obstacles (like walking through a room to flip a light switch, opening an envelope, going to grab a phone to send a text or email, or preparing a glass of water) is simply non-existent given the added factor of the “Darkness”. Aurora (which means sunrise, aka an alternative solution to Neo’s anxiety induced prison) is shown to be actively taking steps to try and improve Neos life, but his fear is going to cost him that. The naming of things was very intentional, see Genesis, Neo, Aurora, all names for new beginnings or a sunrise. Darkness here is also meant to symbolize the unknown factors or outcomes in life. While undergoing an episode of anxiety, it often feels as though you are drowning in a sea of forces and situations beyond you control or even understanding, the fear of the darkness is a reluctance or inability of Neo to force himself to confront uncertainty in his own life and put things back under his own control. If he was willing to enter the darkness and turn on the light, he would likely discover that the majority of his terrors were devised by his own heightened apprehension. <!

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