theresidenteccentric-writes

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Together

When you hold me like that

In your arms,

And you tell me that who I am

Is all you ever wanted,

I feel warm.

Hold me like that more,

Your fingers across my cheek,

Those big brown eyes

Staring back into mine.

It rocks me to my core.

Someday I could let myself be yours.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Three hundred sixty five days.

We met for an instant,

We’ve talked for one year

Yet known each other a lifetime.

Were we aware of it at the time?

That one evening in the city?

That night in the halls of a school

Neither of us attended.

Playing it cool, looking pretty, we were

Uninvited guests that blended in fine

In our ink-coloured suits, shoes all shined.

The young night brought conversation

And music above the din, and in

That moment your eyes stared into mine

I felt my heart miss a beat. Did you feel it?

It was a break in the rhythm of the jazz piano

And the dim lighting. You leaned on the

Side of it and smiled at me, the shy girl

Standing in the corner, stumbling through

Conversations I had no interest in.

Brought on by chance, or maybe your glance,

I walked over to you, the boy with a smile

And eyes that made conversation worthwhile.

You told me we’d be great friends.

I smiled yesterday when I realized

You were right then.

And you still are right now,

Three hundred sixty five days later.

Well howdy howdy there, poetry people! You guys are all absolute geniuses, so I don't even have to tell you guys what day it is. I'm going to anyway though because it's fun for me and you can't stop me.

That's right, its time for another One-word poetry prompt!

I would like to give a very special thank you to @i-am-the-writer for suggesting this week's prompt Serendipity!

If you're new to the idea, we pick one word to base an entire poem off of. Then you tag me in the poem so I can reblog it and let others read your work!

This prompt speaks volumes to me, I've had my own serendipitous moments and the poem I've written for it is about one of those very moments with someone who means very much to me. We actually met twice! Once here on Tumblr, and then randomly in my work one day! We didn't even know we were in the same city, let alone the same state, and then there she was. She said she loved my poetry before I even said who I was, and then we figured out who eachother was! So serendipity is the name of the game here!

I can't wait to read everyone's poems!

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A Serendipitous Song

You stepped into my life like a cool breeze, gaining all of my focus for a moment in time

You were unsure of your words

I was unsure of their meaning

You sang your tales, poetic songs of love and longing

You sang your tales of a poet in the ether

Of a poet who stole your attention with his pen

A poet who stole your heart

How surprised I was to hear my name in your song

Serendipitous was the name of your song

It was beautiful and it carried my name

You came into my life like a warm drink, felt keenly and comfortably

You staved off frigid temperatures with only your words, unsure of their meaning as you were

You sang your love songs, tales of a favored poet somewhere in the vast cosmos, surely roaming amongst things far too distant to comprehend

Tales of a poet somehow standing just before you, his roaming and his searching leading to you and to what you offer

How surprised I was to hear my name in your song

How surprised you were to know I heard your song

Fortuitous was the name of your song

It was grand and it carried my name

You told me a man with my name spoke poetry into the world and stole important things from you, things this man would cherish

A man with my name stole more than your heart

Love was stolen from you

Was it serendipitous

Was it fortuitous

Was it anything but the single greatest mistake of my life

Was it anything but the end of a song

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

I am string and silk in your hands,

As I have been in the hands of others before.

Seeing where the stitches lay,

You take note of where each rip is,

Where I’ve previously been opened and

Taken apart and built new, again and again.

I wait for the needle, not in fear,

But in dissonance, my expression placid,

My body steady, my heart heavy as I wait

To be ripped into and made different.

My eyes close and I brace myself, but,

You tear neither my seams nor my heart.

I feel the gentle patches you put over me,

Caressing me with utmost care and love,

So far removed from the possession I’ve felt.

You unravel not my body, but my heart,

And even when you kiss me, I do not flinch.

Your whisper to take care of me is your vow.

I can only hope you will uphold it,

But your word, like your love, is strong.

Hey there all you wonderful party people and poetry pals! I hope you're all doing absolutely fantastic! I know I am, because it is that time again! That's right, the One-word poetry prompt strikes back! One word to rule them all, One word to find them, One word to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them! Or some such, I've been awake too long.

Anyhow, without further ado, I would like to announce this week's one word writing prompt, Unraveling!

This bad boi was suggested by the wonderful @myharshwordspoetry !!! Thank you so much for suggesting such a great prompt!!! Yall give her some love!!!

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Unraveled

You unraveled me

Thick bands tightly constricting, keeping all inside

Every anguish

Every joy

Everything that made this clock keep ticking

All of my secrets laid bare

Your soul spoke in ways both louder and more soothing than any other

Your soul knew mine better than most

Your soul knew mine in ways I dared not allow

You unraveled me

Was it just to see how far you could permeate my being

Was it just to see what lies behind the wrappings

Was it just to see what made me tick

You built me in ways I could not fathom

In ways these calloused hands did not know

Fed me your secrets and your smiles

Your anguish and your joy

Wrapped me in your thick bands I called home

Constricting me tightly, warmly

I'm sure you meant to tie the wrappings, held firmly in your hands

I am sure you did

I reassure myself

You unraveled me

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Pulse: For Someone I Secretly Love

You're warm, firelike You glow, flickering and gentle But you hurt to touch, it's dangerous But being with you keeps me alive

The cold shrinks back in fear From the wave of heat you give The ice melts, the snow retreats, And the wind's incessant howl stops

You know I am an isolate, So you dance your fingers across mine And you hear my shallow breathing stop, as if You've never held my hand before

It's not intimate, far from it. We're sitting there, hand in hand, together Anyone can see us, anyone can say something But my focus is only on your pulse

It's not intimate, and yet still I'm shivering as if I'm freezing, or scared But you stop me, your hands moving up To wrap around my back and pull me in closer

You know I rarely let myself feel So I decide to give in and melt into you, Placing my head on your shoulder, I feel Your silent laugh against my skin

It's not love, we're not calling it that yet We're not ready for feelings, for risk or reward But we are ready for touch and comfort and All the silent ways love makes itself known

You're warm, firelike And you melt me like February's frost, And even if it's dangerous, I'll trust in you, Because being with you keeps me alive

Hello poetry people! It is that time again! I am very excited to be revealing the newest One-word poetry prompt!

Without further ado, the prompt this time is Skin! I'd like to give a special thank you to @butwhyareyoureyessosad for coming up with such a great prompt!

If you're new to the idea, we come up with a single word to base an entire poem off of. You would then tag me in the poem so I can reblog it and let others read your work! Thank you!

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Skin

Your skin

So soft and beautiful

It holds something wonderful inside

If only I could somehow slip through it and find what wonders make your soul so alluring

My skin

Etched with lies and broken things

It holds something terrible inside

If only I could peel it away to find what rot makes this soul so loathsome

Perhaps if I could touch you our skin would meld

Perhaps what lives in you could be enough to excise the rot

The many broken things etched into me

The terrible paintings on my canvas

Perhaps they could be filled

Could be washed away

Perhaps I would mirror you

Your skin

So soft and beautiful

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Detonation.

Trigger thinner than a hair,

Slowly and softly, it ignites itself

At random, and I never can tell

What might happen when time

Runs out and I find myself facing

The inevitable outcome of my actions?

Who can ever truly say for sure

If that spark that begins this reaction

Is inherently good or bad?

I will only find out, it seems,

Once it all combusts in a flash of flames.

...I can feel my skin already beginning to burn.

Hello everyone! It's that time for another one-word poetry prompt! Well, to be fair, my watch is broken and it says it's always time for a one-word poetry prompt, but I dig it, so I'm going to do it!

Without further ado, this time the prompt is Spark. A special thank you to @peepeepoopoo3d for coming up with such a great prompt!

If you're new to the idea, we make an entire poem based off of one word. You would then hopefully tag me in it so I can reblog it and let others read your work!

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Spark

A spark ignited

Burning flames awaking a long dormant beast

Perhaps enough to burn away the rot in this soul

A spark tingling

Electricity in these finger tips painting maps along your skin, so I will not lose my way

A spark ignited

Burning away, fueled with rage

Perhaps enough to incinerate this soul and all within it, left barren

A spark tingling

A prelude of whats to come, violent energies wreaking havoc on all in its path

Sparks led to warmth

Sparks led to flames

Raging fires burned my maps to you

Sparks led to light

Light leads to shadow

Long days spent in shadow leads to light too blinding

Sparks burned much in this soul

Long days in shadow, light too blinding for these weary eyes, one needs a guide

A hand extended

Warmth in its touch

Not burning

Electricity in these fingers

Tingling excitement

Not violent

A spark ignited

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

The gears no longer shine like they used to.

I'm no longer a beautiful work of the mind,

Nor am I some "genius", some perfect image.

My head slumps forward with a screech of metal,

Resting on the table like a dead man's.

One hand is outstretched, empty, the gold faded.

The other is curled tightly around a single slip of paper.

"I fear all is lost. Salvage what you can, if you can."

Script neat even at the end of my "life",

If my period of existence can even be classified as such.

Perhaps you'll find me shined and polished again soon,

Smiling and golden, lively as a wind-up toy.

Perhaps I'll rust completely, and this will be my "death".

As I've heard others say, "Time will tell".

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Late night panic writing, read at your own discretion, I used this font because the voice said so, I'm sorry in advance.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Well... here goes nothing!

In no particular order:

Fall of the Dream Prince (Original work, not posted)

Nightmare Logic (Original work, posted in bits)

Fight to Remember (Original work, kind of a crapshoot, not posted)

Unusual Incidents (Original work, posted, trying to continue it)

She Came From The Sea (2 OC backstories for Identity V)

Winner Winner (OC backstory for Identity V)

Untitled Danganronpa Spin-Off (Danganronpa Fangame I started in September and kinda forgot about but might continue sometime)

Festival Play (Unfinished play I was writing for a festival entry, discarded, restored, and left unfinished. After reading it over I kind of want to try completing it...)

I have no idea who to tag so if you see this... have fun with it!

got my tag from @alamochaaa-a !

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips I don't know enough people for this ngl

decadence in the delirium (ranpo x reader)

two-way sheut box (aesop x reader)

infomercial for the nonexistent (luca x reader)

self-affliction (philippe x reader)

call me back when you get this (yukito x reader)

kerosene tastes awful good to those with a seasoned tongue (florian x reader)

saint to nowhere (original work)

figments (original work)

aku fic stuff (akutagawa x reader)

midnight rice (original work)

kusuriuri fic stuffs (kusuriuri x reader)

for given (original work)

green beans and barley (original work)

idk who to tag 😭😭 uhhhh @soutsuji @concerete-hooves @hnnnnnnnm @v0idprince IDK OPEN TAGS GO HAM

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Shima-Enaga

For Someone I Will Always Love

⚙️

⚙️

You, with your pure white wings Like pieces of the clouds, fly Above the colourless town. You are graceful and dainty, Beloved by all who see you, Talked about and praised as if  You were an angel, a blessing.  I wonder if you know this?

Your eyes reflect the world and The love you have been given, The love you now give to others With a smile and a turn of your head. You are a purity, not yet tainted by Resentment, by prejudice or the like. You rise up, you rise above it all, In your own untouchable world.

There are some who would cage you, Some who would catch you and Clip those hopeful wings of yours. There will always be those people.

And then there are the people you chose, Myself and others, the ones you Fly to, the ones you sing to, and The ones who sing back, in harmony with you.

⚙️

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

...So, seems as though I've hit a milestone.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

I have woken up, albeit slowly, from that fog.

I forced myself, it was not of my own volition.

I cannot sleep through the night when I'm wired to

Stay awake, reprogramming myself with every

Sip and every pill and every pinch of my skin...

Ah, how much more of these substances must I use

Until my heart once again beats normally

And my mind finally clears itself for good

And I ultimately wake up from these nightmares?

How much more must I put my pathetic body through

Until I'm restored to what I can pretend is "good health"?

How much more can I take until I break and crumble to dust?

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

My eyes are open and I cannot see.

I'm screaming and there's no sound.

My hands brush the table but I feel nothing there.

It's been six hours and I haven't moved a muscle.

Every thought in my mind dissipates like cold fog.

I don't believe I'm here anymore.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Universe City

I'll reach across outer space Across the vast dark expanse All speckled with glitter like Your favourite party dress

I'll stretch out my hand Far across the universe Calling your name in the Desolate silence I'm in

I'll gasp when something Brushes my fingers but It's not you and I feel sad It's only a stray shooting star

I'll follow its trail as it sails Through the galaxy, and Leaves its light scattered Behind in its wake

And that's when I'll see Your smile like a hundred Suns and moons, looking At me with eyes of starlight

We'll be at home among The cosmos and all the Nebulae, and it's not home But it is, because you're there.

Hello again, poetry friends, and even all you party people. The poems that everyone made for the last prompt were absolutely amazing, to such a degree that it makes me want to do another one far too early!

Without further ado, I would like to thank @noxnightingales for coming up with the amazing prompt Galaxy!

If you're new to the idea, we choose one word to base an entire poem off of. Doesn't have to be the exact word. For example, instead of Galaxy specifically, maybe your poem is about The Milky Way instead.

After you write your poem, you would hopefully tag me in it so I can reblog it and let others read your work!

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

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Galaxies

I sit and ponder at the galaxies before me

How could one such as I have found such a thing

To get lost in such a thing

To give witness to such sights is a blessing from the cosmos, there is not a doubt in my mind

The many colors before me

Many twinkles bursting forth, holding my attention fervently

What wonders to behold here

Promises of adventure everlasting

Promises of eternity lost within the fathoms of these two galaxies before me

What secrets to detect

Looking through these mirrors into a soul as boundless as yours

I found galaxies in your eyes

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

You could show me all the money in the world, a gleaming pile of golden coins amid stacks upon stacks of bills, and you would call that "luxury" and tell me I have nothing compared to you.

In return, I would show you every memory I have, every memory of love and kindness, friendship and romance and familial affection... and I would call that a greater "luxury" than any amount of money you could ever possess.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

If you're falling behind, I'll run to you... I'll take your hand and carry you with me to the finish line!

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Flowers Of My Mind

In the autumn, I planted inspiration, Hopes and dreams and motivation, Buried deep in imagination, Soon covered by the snow.

Winter froze my optimism, Left me in my nihilism. This is my pathetic euphemism For those hopes that never grow.

Soon the ice melted away. Skies of blue, not ones of gray, Shone in that budding, green spring day, With the sun filling up my room.

I walked outside, and I saw there, In the clear, warm and gentle air, My dreams come true, my thoughts laid bare, (Could I really have planted them there?) A masterpiece beyond compare, In a garden that I made bloom.

(Thanks @picklemafia for getting me out of a writer's block!! This is just what I needed :D)

Hello again, poetry friends! It's that time!

The one-word poetry prompt has been chosen!

I want to thank everyone for their amazing suggestions, and I want you all to know every single one will be used for further prompts, so don't be discouraged if your word wasn't chosen for this prompt.

The word chosen is Flowers, thank you @moonknightmaiden for your suggestion!

If you're new to the idea, we choose a word to base an entire poem off of, whatever you want the poem to be. You would then hopefully tag me so I can reblog it to my page so others can read your work!

I can't wait to read everyone's poems!

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Flowers

I stand in your bouquet

A tremendous field, you bloom all around me

You tell grand stories with your beauty

Your carnations tell stories of your love for the miracles we have created

They do not do it justice

Your sunflowers tell stories of your love and radiance, brighter than Sol, lighting up my soul

They do not do it justice

Your roses tell stories of your mystical beauty, known intrinsically to all, but known deeply by me

They do not do it justice

Your daisy's tell stories of your purity and innocence, such a kind, wonderful soul

They do not do it justice

Your daffodils tell stories of new beginnings and eternity, every day with you new and fresh, my love for you never ceasing

They do not do it justice

Many hues blending around me in a beautiful painting

Telling stories of nuance and depth

This field full of flowers

This grand bouquet

To grow within your fields

To be added to your bouquet

To help tell your story through beauty

The thought will never do the deed justice

- J.Lamana

© 2025 picklemafia/J.Lamana | Reposting on this platform is permitted with proper credit. Reposting on other platforms is not allowed. No edits. All rights reserved.

[theresidenteccentric-writes]

Unusual Incidents: An Original Story

This work contains: violence, gore, blood, demons, snakes, mass murder, mystery, decapitation, honestly I'm too sleep deprived to add more but you get the idea.

A/N: Worked on this all through the week for my final assignment of the year in my writing class, and I'm actually pretty pleased with what it ended up as! I might continue the story later... heheh... I love these characters I made and I need to write more for them.

But anyway... here it is, my first full-length fic!

Please read at your own discretion!

⚙️

I’m someone who isn’t fazed by much. I’m used to things going sideways when I least expect it. As the old saying goes, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. 

But even then, the sight before me made me stop dead in my tracks. 

A cop like me shouldn’t have been so surprised by this. As a member of the Unusual Incidents unit, I deal with weirdness all the time. I know all the shady corners of the city tucked away from the public eye, and all the horrific cases that transpired there. I’ve seen things that scarred the minds of the most trained detectives, and didn’t bat an eye.

And still, when I walked into that basement, I could only stare.

“Holy shit.”

“Tell me about it,” my partner mumbles. For a talkative guy like Asher to be speechless like this tells me how scared he is. Jaw hanging open, hand still on his gun, eyes blown wide… he’s just like a statue. 

Funny I should say that.

In front of us are multiple bodies. Most are lying on the ground, sliced up as if some sort of animal got at them. The others are frozen. Mid-movement. Stone statues caught standing, turning, running, or screaming. 

I step closer, in front of a statue of a girl mid-dash, probably trying to escape. My hand rests on her stone shoulder, which holds the unmistakable warmth of human flesh. My skin crawls, and I fight off a shudder.

“What…” Asher’s voice trails off. He’s walking around, looking at the aftermath of the carnage that happened here. “What the… how—who?”

I don’t answer right away. The words don’t seem to want to work. Even so, I know what we’re dealing with. I knew from the first sight of the petrified people, from the way the mauled victims had puncture marks on their bodies like snakebites. But the reason I was so stunned was because I was under the impression the last of these creatures was dead. 

Damn it. If they’re back, things will only get worse from here.

“Gorgons,” I mutter.

“What?!”

I turn back to him. “Call for backup, Ash. This is going to be one hell of a case.”

“It can’t actually be gorgons, can it?” 

We’re back at my office, still reeling from what we found this morning. Asher shakes his head. “You told me they were extinct. None of them exist anymore. You said so, Remi.”

“I know what I said.” I huff. I was certain that no gorgons were alive anymore. Last I checked, they died out before the 21st century. Their species was reportedly eradicated around the end of the Cold War. Part of some anti-magic campaign. The details were vague. But even so…

“Oh, really now?” My partner’s voice raises. “Alright, genius. If you know so much, then how—”

“Do you have a better explanation?”

Asher blinks. His mouth hangs open. 

“Well, Ash?” 

He sighs. “No,” he mutters quietly. 

“Yeah. I didn’t think so.” I realize how harsh I sound and stammer out a “sorry” to him before I make things worse.

“We need to figure a lot of things out, Remi,” he says with a heavy sigh. “This isn’t going to be an easy case. Any normal cop would back out now.”

I straighten up and grin. “Since when were we ‘normal cops’?”

He laughs. “Dumbass.” 

My smile gets wider. He says that whenever I’ve made a point. 

And I’m smiling because, well, we’re not normal cops. The Unusual Incidents unit is made up of certain types of people: humans capable of interacting with magic, researchers, and people like me and Ash.

Less “people”, more “beings”.

To put it simply, we're not human. Well, not entirely. Most of us are half-human. But we’re more than what you see on the surface. 

I know Asher is. He’s told me there’s magic in his blood.

There’s something much more powerful in mine.

It’s been about three days since Ash and I found out about the gorgons. Since then, we’ve been busy. Our nights have been spent reading everything we can from the archives and trying to identify the perpetrator of these crimes.

We’re at another crime scene. Same details as last time: victims sliced open, people turned to stone, wounds like snakebites. There were no witnesses or survivors left. It’s not surprising, given how gorgons are, but it makes solving a case like this much more difficult.

To be honest, something felt off about this case to me ever since it started. Everything I’d ever read or learned about gorgons contradicts the evidence of the case. For one thing, they rarely kill en masse. Their kills are often targeted, directed at only one person, usually a hero, or a demigod. So why would one kill so many random people? Background checks showed no ties between the victims, save for the fact that all of them were human, nothing more. And I could smell it in their blood that these were innocent people.

“Hey, did you notice this?” Asher’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. He’s kneeling over a body.

“Notice what?” I step closer. In the corpse’s hand, there’s a cell phone. “Think he got pictures?”

Asher shrugs and picks up the phone. “Let’s see.” 

The phone is older, clearly. Asher unlocks it by pressing the dead man’s thumb to the home button, then scrolls to the photos app. What we see in the gallery is a burst of pictures, probably taken by mistake as the man tried to escape. Most are static and blurred, but a few show the same thing: the back of a tall figure with snakes where her hair should be. 

“Damn,” Asher murmurs. He starts swiping through the rest of the photos, but I stop him. 

“Wait a second. Go back.”

He does.

“Look. Her arm has something on it.” I zoom into the photo. There, on the gorgon’s arm, is an inscription of some sort. Asher studies it. 

“Wait, is that… by any chance, a summoning mark?”

I furrow my brows. “Looks like one. I’m not familiar with it,” I shrug. I look away from the photo, and turn my focus to the room. Standing up, I walk the perimeter of the basement, observing the walls. Smelling for magic, for corruption. It mixes with the scent of blood and stone. 

Something changes in the air as I turn around a dark corner. Yuck. I wrinkle my nose, but get closer despite it. My nose can barely detect the blood anymore. Instead, I smell evil. It’s so strong, I can barely breathe normally, but that means I’m getting close to something. Running a hand along the wall, I feel it. 

“Asher?”

He walks over. Turns on the flashlight and illuminates the wall, revealing an inscription. 

“It’s the same marking!” 

I nod. “The gorgon isn’t killing on her own. Something summoned her to this location.”

“Any idea who?”

“No. And you know how things are with summoned beings, Ash…”

“They’re not able to reveal the identity of their summoner, in any way. Binding magic. They carry out the will of the summoner and nothing more.” He looks over to me. “So what are we going to do? Kill her? Trap her? Pray she doesn’t kill us first?”

I think for a second.

“Asher,” I say, my voice tentative. “I’ve known you for seven years, and I know how damn good you are with magic. You could pull off a summoning. If you recreate the mark, we could lure the gorgon to a set location…”

His eyes stare into mine. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? I summon this thing, and what then? We both end up dead? Remi, how stupid are you?”

I grab his shoulders. “Ash.”

He quiets down. 

“You know what I am,” I continue. “How strong I am. Do you really think I’d let you die?”

“But Remi, if you die—”

“You know me, Ash.”

He places his hands over mine. “I know. But if things go wrong—”

“They won’t. We can’t afford to make a mistake. You need to summon the gorgon so I can kill her. Keeping her alive increases our chances of getting killed. If the summoner loses connection with her, the mark becomes a beacon. We could track them. We just have to do this as soon as we can. If we wait, we run the risk of more casualties.”

He’s silent. 

“Please, Ash…”

I’m scared, for a second, that he’ll just get up and run. Refuse to help. 

I hold my breath.

But Asher doesn’t leave.

His hands tighten around my own.

“Okay.” His voice shakes, but his words are final. 

We decide to begin the summoning at night, outside of the city, when my abilities are strengthened. I tell Asher to begin drawing the mark on the ground while I step off to the side. 

It’s finally time to shed my human skin.

A millennium’s worth of pure demon blood surges in me, like lightning coursing through my veins. It heightens every sense. 

It changes me. 

It hurts like hell. It always hurts, but the pain wakes me up even more. My nails slowly, agonizingly lengthen into full claws. My teeth sharpen until they’re knives. My back feels as though it’s being sliced into as leathery wings unfold from between my shoulder blades. A spiked tail grows out of the base of my spine. My eyes slowly darken until there’s no white left in them. Black blood drips down my face like tears. 

I look like something out of a nightmare. 

And I love it.

About fifty feet away from me I hear Asher beginning his summoning chant. The mark on the ground begins to glow blue, then green.

I can hear the monster before she even appears. The shriek that cuts through the air is so loud and piercing that I can see blood slowly dripping out of Asher’s ears. 

He pays it no mind. He finishes the incantation.

For a scary second, there’s dead silence.

Then another terrifying screech, followed by furious hissing as the gorgon pulls herself out of the ground through the summoning mark.

Asher stumbles backward, running away as fast as he can as the monster stands up. She hasn’t seen him. But she turns her head. Sniffs the air.

She doesn’t smell Asher.

She smells me.

I jump up from my hiding place, wings spread. My feet leave the ground with one strong flap. I know this won’t be an easy fight. I’ve never faced a gorgon before. I need to fight blind—even a small glance into her eyes will kill me. I take the tie from around my neck and yank it over my eyes.

Even without my vision, I can figure out where the monster is. The incessant hissing of snakes gives away her movements, as does her scent. Turning in her direction, I launch myself forward, claws out and ready.

She screeches. 

I make contact, knocking us both to the ground, and slash my claws across her face. I try to slash at the snakes. But the hissing only grows louder. I gasp as sharp fangs sink into my arm. 

Shit!

I roar in rage and pain. My spiked tail thrashes against the gorgon’s sides. She shrieks as blood starts to flow. And just as I feel confident—

“REMI, LOOK OUT!”

Asher’s scream sounds off just moments before I feel tens of needles in my skin. Fangs digging into my neck and face. I groan out in pain, the snakes ripping chunks of my skin.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” he yells. He’s trying to get the monster’s attention. 

Asher, you fool! You’ll die!

I can feel the gorgon stand up and turn. She knows he’s an easier target. She gives a growl as if considering her options.

I don’t give her the chance to. I flap my wings hard. Tear myself away from the snakes. Fly back and position myself the best that I can.

Then, I charge. Slam her back into the ground on her face.

And I plunge my claws as deep as I can into her neck.

The howl that follows is deafening. I don’t stop. I slash and slice at her throat repeatedly until I hear the sickening sound of her head coming free. 

By the time the slaughter is over, I’m breathless. Exhilarated, even.

“Remi!” Asher screams again. “Remi! Are you—” He’s cut off by his own retching. He must have seen the aftermath. I leave my makeshift blindfold on so I don’t see him vomit. 

After a moment, he speaks again. “Are you hurt?”

I pull the tie off. I’m soaked in blood, both my own and the monster’s. Her severed head is facedown on the pavement.

“Remi?” he asks again, shaking my arm. 

“I’m okay,” I breathe. I can feel the familiar ache of detransformation. My wings and tail retract. My nails dull and shorten. “The important thing is, you’re alive, and I’m alive, and she’s dead.”

He doesn’t respond. Just gives me a shaky hug. Looks into my still-black eyes like I’m anything but a monster myself.

“This is only the beginning, Ash,” I say. “This gorgon was powerful, but if we want to close this case, we’ll be going up against someone more powerful.”

He nods. “The summoner.”

It’s too much to think about right now, for both of us. The rush of fear and adrenaline is ebbing away, leaving a deep tiredness. Asher’s not much better, weak-kneed and trembling from it all.

“Ash, we’ll solve this.”

He nods, clearly still scared. I’m scared, too.

“We’ll solve this,” I repeat. “We’re the best the unit has to offer.”

But even when I say that, it sounds uncertain.

Because next time, we might not survive.

⚙️