Skittering Hollow (Bleach/Worm)

Planeshunter · Feb 16, 2020

Somewhere in Karakura town, there exists a back alley shop that can only be labeled 'suspicious'. The owner sports an all-too-bright permanent smile that screams fake, and the products it sells range from everyday candy bars to the truly outrageous.

Inside this shop, there's a basement where space twists on itself like a pretzel, being far, far bigger on the inside. The dream of a real estate agent, and the nightmare of any architect. There are things in that basement that make the 'truly outrageous' things in the shop look like everyday commodities.

Amongst them, there's a room that has no doors or windows, takes no space and cannot be seen. The actual logistics of the place are a mystery, but it's speculated the creator made the laws of physics throw their hands in defeats and leave to get drunk.

Inside this impossible room, the proud owner of Urahara Shōten studies a wide screen showing the most fascinating Hollow he's ever encountered.

"I don't belong in the world of the living. As soon as I figure out a way to get back into Hueco Mundo, I'll take it."

The surveillance system replays Weavers words, and the man who used to carry the title of 'brightest genius in Soul Society' smiles wider, even if he actually feels more like frowning.

"A kind Hollow." His dear friend comments from behind, hiding her wonder behind her usual nonchalance well enough… to anyone who hasn't known her for so long, anyway. "Will the wonders ever cease?"

"This 'Miss Weaver' is certainly a surprise, but it's not its… or maybe 'hers' existence that bothers me right now." Some quick taps at the keyboard have those words 'I don't belong in the world of the living.' replay again. "What if we don't know Hollows at all, Yoruichi? What if there's an entire society out there in their own world, and we only know the outlaws and madmen who go out of their way to antagonise the living?"

That's what truly bothers him. Out of all the Gotei 13 propaganda, the part about Hollows being unnatural existences in need of purging was one of the few parts he's never seen the need to doubt. But if they can be civilized beings…

On one hand, since the Hollows they meet are indeed aggressive sadistic predators, the shinigami official stance isn't actually wrong, or needs to change overly much. On the other hand, if there's actually 'kind' Hollows out there, living in a society they don't know of, there should be some sort of first contact protocols ready, and the engagement strategy should change from 'stab as fast and hard as you can' to 'make sure first you're not killing some poor guy sightseeing'.

Also, if the high number of Hollows that are fought off everyday are just the rare outliers of an unknown civilization… How numerous are they?

"Have you forgotten most Hollows are born in the Human World?" His friend argues, divining his thoughts as easily as he reads hers. "They aren't exactly paragons of civility!"

"Yeah, sure. But that might be a temporary state. As you said, they're just newborns, after all. And then again we don't know enough to jump to conclusions. Like, you know, we've been doing for centuries."

Cat eyes widen in understanding, once she takes the possibility seriously enough to actually poner on it.

"If Hollows are actually more than mindless abominations threatening the cycle. One of the basic tenets of the Gotei 13 is actually a bald-faced lie." It never fails to amuse the man how his friend feels the need to shift forms just to be physically capable of pinching the bridge of her nose. "But what are we going to do with that knowledge? It's not like Soul Society will listen to us given our status. Actually, I doubt they'd listen to us on this no matter what."

"Yes, military dictatorships don't usually take kindly on people poking holes at their justifications after all, no matter how benevolent they like to portrait themselves as." Even at its best, the powers of Souls Society won't take kindly on someone shaking the status quo. "They would need to be poked in the eye with the facts. Insistently at that."

"Are you planning on stirring the hornet's nest?" His friend asks with tired exasperation. She really knows him too well. "That's a mess we don't need on top of Aizen's plans, and you know it."

"No, no, that would be stupid." With a flick of the wrist, he opens his fan to cover his face, so his friend doesn't actually see him laughing at her facevault. "But I think it would be prudent to prepare for the possibility. If nothing else, I wouldn't mind having this 'Miss Weaver' on our side."

"One of these days, Kisuke… You'll piss off someone you cannot talk out of beating the crap out of you for it."

Well yes, of course that'll happen sooner or later. It's happened multiple times already, actually. But what's the point of living life if you can't get a bit of fun out of it?

Planeshunter · Feb 17, 2020

[X][Light] The Shy Girl
[X][Light] The Heroic Child

There was once a quiet child who fell into Wonderland.

Since they knew nothing of Wonderland, they believed everything from Wonderland. Unfortunately, they were taken advantage of, their first interaction was a betrayal.

After that, the quiet child learnt to look at the world with distrust.

It didn't matter that everyone acted honestly nice, the inhabitants of Wonderland were strange, and different from humans, just enough for their earnest kindness to look like hostility to the sufficiently paranoid.

Since the quiet child had been betrayed before, they refused to trust easily, and saw enemies everywhere.

The gentle fuzzy beast who fed and protected them was big and strong, and could command fire, so they distrusted it.

The lazy guy who always smiled could look really scary, under a certain light, so they distrusted him.

The earnest soldier without an indoor voice always talked about capturing him, so despite his cheerful ineptitude, they distrusted him.

The legendary warrior, the mad scientist, the scheming idol, the greedy confectioner, the gentle king… all of them were ambiguous enough to be doubtful about their natures. And the quiet child had been betrayed before, so they distrusted them.

Only once they managed to leave Wonderland, their initial paranoia weakened by the journey, did they realize the truth. A single encounter had poisoned their perception of a world that could've been wonderful.

They regretted it, and wished things could've been different.

There was once a quiet child who fell into Wonderland.

Since they knew Wonderland, they knew who to trust, and they didn't fall for the trap lying in wait.

The inhabitants of Wonderland were strange for those unused to their ways, and it was easy for humans to mistake their actions for hostility. But the quiet child knew better.

The gentle fuzzy lady fed and protected them, and tucked them in bed. They had a great time with her, until it was time to leave for new adventures.

The lazy guy that was always smiling wasn't as funny as he liked to believe, but it was fun enough, and they enjoyed their time together.

The cheerful soldier without an indoor voice was earnest and easy to fluster, and the quiet child had a blast doing so.

The legendary warrior just wanted to make their king proud, and the quiet child relished on the chance to know them better.

The mad scientist only needed confidence, the scheming idol only wanted their friend to be happy, the greedy confectioner only wanted to feed their family, the gentle king was trapped by a cruel promise he didn't want to fulfill.

Neither of them were human, for there were no humans in Wonderland. But they all were people. And good people at that. The quiet child wanted to help them all.

And so they did. It took many, many tries, and whacking their head against strange and confusing problems, but they managed to help everyone.

In the end, even the one who had betrayed them at the very start ended up being a lost child drowned in despair. Helping them was the hardest of all, and it worked as well as they would've liked, but they managed.

Where's now the quiet child who fell into Wonderland?

But that's not me, that's not who I am.

There was once a bright girl, who was born carrying the power of a god. Not that she knew that.

Since she was bright, and had a loving family, she had a happy and safe childhood. She was maybe a bit too irreverent for her prim and proper family, but nothing that caused trouble.

She wasn't yet and adult though, when her family passed away and she was sent to live away.

Since she was bright, and didn't want to disappoint her dead family, she did her best to remain upbeat and keep smiling. But her new family was much stricter and frowned upon her behaviour.

She was made to study hard and train hard, to both uphold her people's traditions and preserve her family's martial arts.

She didn't find it all that important and would've preferred more time to play and make friend, but did it anyway, out of gratitude for the family who had taken her in after her parent's passing.

Even if they were stuck-up pricks sometimes.

For a time, that was her life. She was vaguely aware of being groomed as a future wife for the family's son, but that was something she couldn't really help and far off in the future anyway, so she didn't fight it.

The son was a nice boy anyway, even if he was as stuck-up as the rest of the family.

During high school though, she met a man fighting a monster. Without thinking too much about it, she rushed to use her family's martial arts to help out and defeat the monster.

That… caused a lot of trouble.

The man belonged to a faction her family was on bad terms with, and the monster was an insidious creature that still caused harm even after defeat.

Those were turbulent times, where her relationship with her adopted family became strained and she grew to know better the man she'd helped fight the monster, all the while fighting off the consequences of that encounter.

In the end, things worked out, more or less. The monster's revenge was countered, and she and the man fell in love with each other and married. The man was kicked out of his family, but he laughed it off and took her family name. It was sweet of him, as she was the last of her name and her own family would've normally disappeared with her marriage.

They had kids, and lived happily. Until another monster tried to hurt her children, and she had to sacrifice her life to prevent it.

Where's now the bright child who carried the power of a god?

But that's not me, that's not who I am.

There was once a gentle girl who hated pain.

So much did she hate it, that she was willing to take it all upon herself, so no one else had to suffer through it.

She fought. Taking away the pain of others. Fighting, fighting even though her own pain only increased. Fighting even though pain seemed endless, even though her fight seemed pointless. Fighting until her bones felt like splitting, and her tears dried up.

It might seem like her fight made no difference but, upon the countless nights of never ending fights, the pain on the world dwindled.

Little by little, night by night. She took upon herself the pain of many until, finally, she was the last one.

The last one standing, the last one in pain.

There was no rest, because she had laid to rest everyone else.

There was no end, because her world was eternal.

There was no purpose, because she was the only one in pain.

She just walked this perfect world (constant battlefield). Beyond peace, beyond war, beyond defeat, beyond salvation.

It was like that for a long, long time… only the gentle girl in eternal pain, wandering the empty world.

… But it was just a dream.

Where's now the gentle girl who hated pain?

But that's not me, that's not who I am.

There was once a perfect girl who learnt the truth.

The truth was horrifying. The sort of realization that destroys resolve and makes souls crumble.

Since the girl was perfect though, she took it with a grain of salt, and kept going on with a smile on her face. Since she knew now the truth, she could focus on what was important.

Smiling, always smiling, she kept close to those dear to her, while doing her best to lure those who mattered into her circle. And she managed, somehow.

The truth really was horrifying though. In spite of her best efforts, she found herself drifting towards the important things, in an effort to feel herself important, relevant.

Little by little, she compromised that which she would've never dreamt on compromising. She manipulated friends to put herself under a better light and attract the attention of that which mattered.

Growing more and more desperate, she tried other things, making her friends look bad, so she could look better.

But it didn't work. The horrifying truth decreed she wasn't important enough to stand in the spotlight.

Despair and hopelessness turned her bitter, for even the perfect girl wasn't actually perfect. She had normal wants, and normal ambitions, that she desperately wanted to see fulfilled. The horrifying truth though, wouldn't stand for it.

Still doing her best to smile and appear perfect, she manipulated her friends to get them out of the way and, relying on the horrifying truths only she herself knew about, she used what could only be called magic to erase their presence.

If there was just her, she reasoned, she would become relevant.

In a way she succeeded. After erasing literary everything else, she stood alone in front of that which mattered. They shared deep and light conversations and spent a long time together alone. Desperately trying to convince herself the situation was meaningful, that she'd bested the horrifying truth.

In the end though, that which mattered grew tired of the situation and erased her presence in the same way she'd erased that of her friends.

The last act of the perfect girl was to reveal her friends weren't actually gone. Incapable of actually going through her plans, she'd just hid them away. Confessing that, and how to recover them, she bid farewell to the cruel, horrifying world.

Where's now the perfect girl who learnt the truth?

But that's not me, that's not who I am.

There was once a passionate girl who had a dream.

Since she was passionate, she gave her all for her dream. Unfortunately, her family was divided about it.

Her father wanted her to follow her dreams, and she could do no wrong in his eyes.

Her mother had high expectations of her, and they didn't fit with the passionate girl's goals.

Through her father's unconditional support, she devoted herself to her dream. Through her mother's constant nagging, she was forced to go through studies she felt pointless and boring.

Undoubtedly, she enjoyed one more than the other, but she still took things in stride and made an effort to please both. They were her parents after all.

During her time chasing her dreams, she met a boy she didn't know what to make of. He had no talent at all, messed up often and cried at the slightest setback. And yet, a smile never failed to appear at the end of the day and he never failed to come back the next day, still smiling.

She was very frustrated with him at the start, and maybe she was unnecessarily mean with him, but the boy never gave up and she could respect that. In the end, they become friends.

Her friend's family was very different from her own, and it was through watching them that she began taking a closer look at her own father and mother.

There were little things easy to justify at first.

How his mother never failed to ask about his day while her own never did was easily explained away. They were at odds about her future, after all.

How his father was always there at the end of the day to bring him home while her own never was and she had to return alone was equally easy to explain. Her father had an important job that kept him quite busy, after all.

Bhe she kept noticing things. When she messed up and got hurt, it was always her mother who lectured her about it. It made sense, since her father never told her not to do anything. When they argued about her future while ignoring her it made sense, since they'd never actually included her in their discussions.

Little by little, as she grew up, she realized her father didn't care at all about her, beyond how much money she costed him and how he could use her to win one over her mother.

At the same time though, she came to realize it wasn't that her mother had high expectations of her, but that she wanted her daughter to be exactly as she wanted. In time, she came across the concept of 'living vicariously through your children' and everything made sense.

The passionate girl had parents who didn't care about her. One gave her anything she asked for, as long as he could afford it and it didn't take effort from his part. The other constantly tried to shape her into something she wasn't, turn her into what she'd failed to become herself.

It hurt, but she grit her teeth and kept chasing her dreams. In the end, figuring out she wasn't particularly worse off by knowing the truth, since that's how things had always been, was a bitter realization .

She still had her dream, and the strange boy who became her friend, so she would make-do.

At a certain point, her friend stopped smiling, as trouble had come knocking at his family's door. It would've been easy to feel vindicated at that, to draw comfort from others' misery. But she didn't. She had a friend in need, and she could help, so she did.

In time, as they grew, her friend's smile returned, and all was well again.

She made more friends, even another close friend, who she pretty much adopted after solving some more trouble. Little by little, whatever her parents believed or thought about her stopped mattering so much.

Where's now the passionate girl who had a dream?

But that's not me, that's not who I am.

How long has it been since last someone heard my words? Much less that I met something like what you… But now is not the time to bore you with my troubles. You need to keep your eyes on the price. Don't let the task ahead crush you, and don't lose yourself on others, little godkiller, you're far too stubborn to fail here.

You've been shown a peek at someone else's souls. They're all bright and strong, in their own ways, yet there's ~~one~~ two (Focus: Duty) of them that strike you as particularly noteworthy. Vote for Two.

[X][Light] The Quiet Child
[X][Light] The Bright Girl
[X][Light] The Gentle Girl
[X][Light] The Perfect Girl
[X][Light] The Passionate Girl

Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)

Man, some of those really resisted being written! I think I made it a bit harder this time, then again, I seem to suck at evaluating that so...
EDIT: Man stupid threadmarks hate me. Fixed now.

Planeshunter · Feb 18, 2020

Sorry if this isn't up to snuff… been dealing with a stupidly persistent headache all day today

Family time has been a somewhat tense affair in the Kurosaki household since that day, that with the elephant in the room they 'can't' talk about in front of their father.

"Mmmh! Dish ish delishiush!" Said father loudly declares while stuffing his face. "You've outdone yourself today, Yuzu-chan!"

Honestly, why he insists on acting like he doesn't know what's going on is a question she'll probably never get an answer to, closely followed by how can there be anyone naive enough to fall for his lousy acting skills. If she didn't live with two examples of said naivety, she wouldn't believe it.

No matter. As long as nobody gets hurt from it, she'll trust her dad to know what he's doing and keep her observations to herself… in spite of her better judgement.

"I added grated parmesan and shiitake." Her sister answers smugly, finally sitting down after serving everyone's dinner. "So we could have a taste of Italian Risotto"

… She's preeety sure you need more than cheese and mushrooms in your rice to make risotto, but she can't argue with the results. It feels a bit unfair sometimes, how Yuzu can seemingly make anything taste good. Then she remembers who is enjoying the results of said unfairness and keeps her mouth shut.

In a way, Yuzu has been the least affected by everything. No, saying that was unfair to her. She was shaken like everyone else, it's just… She still went to school like always, she still took care of the home like always, she… Tatsuki-nee had been just Ichi-nii's friend for her. She hadn't been a role model to follow. Nor was her approval one of the few opinions she valued outside family.

Looked like that, it was probably for the best. No need for the two of them to mourn their idol.

"Thanks for dinner, it was really good, Yuzu." Ichi-nii declares while setting down his chopsticks and standing up, having virtually inhaled his dinner. "I need to run now, though.""

And with that, and picking his jacket on the way, he leaves the house without even stopping to put it on.

She holds back a sigh. It's been like that even since Miss Weaver and Tatsuki-nee… Training like crazy every second he can get away with, and then some. It's not like it was his fault any of that happened, he really shouldn't be so hard on himself. But Ichi-nii is far too good at feeling guilty, and has a stubborn streak a mile wide. She honestly can't think of a way to make him take it a bit easier.

"It is indeed a delicious meal, Yuzu-chan." A carefully polite voice comes from the smiling girl sitting beside her. "Truly, your culinary talents never cease to amaze me."

Kuchiki Rukia's open presence in their family home gives her mixed feelings. On one hand, she knows and half-remembers enough about her background to know the two-faced shinigami is at least partially to blame for her big brother's near-daily duels to the death with monstrous hungry spirits. On the other hand, it's way better to have her sleeping in the guest room. As opposed to sharing his room.

… God knows what they used to get to in there, Karin knows enough about teenagers and sex-ed to know she doesn't want to know. The farther away from her brother the b— woman is, the better.

She focuses back on her own dinner, trying to ignore how irked she feels about the woman's presence, and the antics of a father that seems determined to act like a buffoon come hell or high water. It suits him sometimes. Just not... not now.

She stops her alarm almost before it starts beeping. There's no real point on setting it in the first time if she's going to spend half an hour checking the time every thirty seconds, but she doesn't want to risk getting distracted either. A look at her sister reveals Yuzu is also ready for this, so she simply opens their window and jumps outside.

She knows making a single flat surface to send them to the roof is far easier than trying to Fullbring the air with every step to run on thin air, but even this little feat makes chest warm with pride. She's double-jumping like a video game character, after all. How cool is that?

"It wasn't a fluke yesterday, I see." The dry voice of their instructor greets them. There's no bite or sarcasm on it, merely a statement of face. It's only the second time she manages, after all. Jackie-sensei isn't a bad person but her character… Takes getting used to.

"Good evening, Jackie-sensei."

Jackie-sensei barely grunts in response. She used to complain about being addressed that way at first, but there's no fighting Yuzu once she's decided how things are. Instead, she focuses on more productive things, like reviewing last day's lessons and setting up a new exercise for each of them.

As she goes through the repetitive and boring control exercise, she reflects on their situation. It was only thanks to Miss Weaver that Jackie-sensei stuck with them instead of simply leaving town after the incident. Without her, they would be stuck trying to make heads or tails out of the spiritual world, and would probably be completely useless in an emergency.

Not that they weren't useless now, but they were at least improving. Ichi-nii, the big hypocrite, didn't like them training to 'jump headfirst into danger'. Which earned him a kick in the shin, from Yuzu. Not that he could really stop it, that with never being home and always being exhausted from training, so he just grumbled about it from time to time, until Yuzu smiled at him with that special smile of hers. Then he shut up just fine.

Back to their training, Jackie-sensei had decided to build on a strong foundation before getting into proper self-defense lessons. They mainly practiced how to infuse items in the most efficient way and trying to find their 'treasures'.

Yuzu is actually ahead of her, already having found her treasure in a handheld mirror inherited from their mom. Their applications are still iffy, but she's developing fast, according to their teacher. Karin still has no idea what her own treasure is, nor how to even go about finding it.

She refuses to dwell on that though, focusing instead in fullbringing the glass of water in her hands. Rising the water little by little, forming a tendril that slowly reaches towards her lips. Getting the water into her mouth is actually easier than freely manipulating it. The glass is made for drinking, after all, fullbringing simply makes that initial purpose to work… better.

Hours fly by, and all too soon they're done for the day. She shouldn't be feeling pressured about her progress. According to Jackie-sensei she's learning fast. But Yuzu is learning even faster and she can't help but compare with her twin, it's not like there's another measuring stick at hand.

Yuzu gets back in, and Jackie-sensei hand on her shoulder keeps her from following.

"Karin." She says your name slowly, making a difficult face. "You are frustrated?"

Oh, so it's about that "I know it's silly." She admits, looking away. "But Yuzu is going so fast..."

"Yuzu is… weaker." That surprises her.

"What do you mean?" She shouldn't be feeling relieved by that. Then again, she shouldn't have been feeling pressured in the first place.

"Less power is easier to control. That's why she's ahead of you." Does it make her a bad sister that she's a little happy about that? Or is that just her competitive streak?

"Then I'll get ahead later on?" What is she asking? Now she is being a bad sister for sure!

"Not… ahead, just different." Using a finger as a conductor's baton, she makes the water rise from her glass and take several shapes in the air. "She'll always be better at delicate tasks." Then she closes a fist, and the water gets compressed until it becomes a block of ice. "But she'll lack the sheer power to imitate your feats of strength."

Oh, so she'll be more of a front liner, while Yuzu will stay behind. Behind and safe. She can deal with that.

"I see, thank you, Jackie-sensei."

As she goes back in, she catches sight of Ichi-nii trying to sneak in and her good mood vanishes. He looks like death warmed over and he's crossed who knows how much of the city in that state in the middle of the night? Yuzu and her at least stay close to home. And have a responsible adult around. And their training doesn't leave them looking like a particularly strong breeze would knock them down.

Seriously, is she the only one around with some common sense?

Planeshunter · Feb 19, 2020

Small update today. Stumbled into an important decision and choosing myself felt like a dick move so…
Also I might've discovered the delights of bugging out text for dramatic effect. Hope I didn't overdo it.

When I open my eyes, I'm falling.

Random lights flying past me at great speeds as I go down and down into the depths of… this. I'm more curious than worried though, in fact, I'm really curious about the fact I'm not worried. Because I'm pretty sure I can't use my Powers here and landing has the potential to be a very nasty business.

… Then again, I don't seem to have a body. Still not panicking, this is starting to get bizarre.

Still the fall remains the same for a while, getting a bit dull. At some point, I'm reduced to pondering things like 'How the heck did I open my eyes if I don't have a body?' and other pointless nonsense just to stave off boredom.

Damn I never thought I'd end up falling through an infinite hole. But even if you'd asked me an hour ago, 'boredom' would've been the last death cause I could've possibly imagined, if you ask me now, though... Oh, there's something that looks like the floor ahead. Good!

No wait! I'm falling head first! Not good! Not good!

A surface of solid aquamarine blue quickly gains definition as I get close, revealing flowing waves and foam crests. Still getting closer, small dark dots reveal themselves as shipwrecks and ruined buildings peeking out from the sea.

Finally, once I'm close enough to the sea for perspective to make sense, an horizon of dry land with more ruined buildings that I could've sworn wasn't there while I was falling appears in the distance. Then I splatter against the water surface and die.

… Oh, wait, I didn't die. No body and all that. On an unrelated note, falling to your non-death headfirst and being incapable of closing your eyes is fucking terrifying.

On a hunch, I look upwards, finding a starless sky with a big full moon shining gently upon me. I can't help feeling something warm inside at the view. No! Don't ask me inside what, you insensitive jerk, you're ruining the moment!

Anyway, still have no body, I'm walking on water and wherever it is I am, I have no idea… Even if I get the feeling I should know.

Yeah, pretty sure this is some sort of dream sequence. As long as I don't end up face to face with humongous flying alien worms, I can deal with it. Mainly because I'm still unable to panic.
Looking around, I find four items floating over the sea as inexplicably as I do myself. A loom, a miniature black hole, a gorgeous wig and a moon-shaped crystal ball. That has to be the easier metaphor in the whols history of dream sequences. Those are my powers, the signature moves of Hollow Weaver, 'Miss Weaver' for the kids, a bit of a silly goof, somewhat socially awkward and the less Hollow-like Hollow you'll ever meet.

That's me, that's who I am, but not everything I am.

Time freezes, and the entire space turns around me. The four items disappear to mi left, making way for a masked young woman clad in a colourful costume, surrounded by even more colourful butterflies. A symbol of something she doesn't believe in, a precious lie that keeps the unaware happy, a compromise for what's necessary, and a not so reluctant sacrifice. She might be a lie, but she doesn't hate what this lie represents. That's Weaver too, a different Weaver.

That's also me, but not everything I am.

Another time freeze, another rotation. Another masked young woman, this one clad in black. Surrounded by swarms of insects and followed by all sorts of creepy crawlies. A symbol of fear for some, of respect for others, a failure that ended up the total opposite of what she sent out to be. Yet she doesn't regret her actions, for doing so means regretting the lives she's saved. Her path might not be the right one, but is the most correct path she could find. That's… Skitter.

That's me too, but not everything I am.

A one armed g̷̬͓͎̗̊̋͂͗̚͜͝o̷̺̬̎̿̆̈́̆d̷̢̛͈̣̪̻d̴͉̙̃̀̑͋̓̈́ȩ̷̫̳͖͈̔ś̴͙̞͌̌̈́̆̐s̷̫͚̓͂̐͐̇̚ ̴͎̉ş̸̟͈̦̪͊͘͜ö̷̡̺̭̺̰̞̇a̴̩͇͍̕ȑ̵͉̰́͊ỉ̷̧̻̤̫̻̻̾͛̏n̸̛̹̥͙̟̅͒̈̓͋g̸͈͖͉̮̈́̀̉̃̿̋ ̴̘͙̫̪̲̀͌̈ͅt̶͕̝͈͎͑͜h̸̞̺̬̦̘̋͜ŕ̷̠̭̎́̄̂ơ̴̙̥̘̼͚̦͛̌̔̾͌ṵ̴͒͊̕ǵ̴̮̰͗h̶͇͉̝̩͍̒̈́͐̌ ̷̤̲̺̠́ť̸̢̬̤̦̟̘̊h̶̨̛̛̲́̏̀̊e̶̠͕̬͓̋̈̍̈́ ̸̞̬̠̂͋͝s̷̛͖̜̀̾k̶̛̬͊y̵̦͓͈̣̙͌̾̌͑.̸̳̯̜̒̀͠ ̸̫̼̠̾͂̔̓̃͐Ä̸͇̜̳́̏̉̋̈n̶̳͙̐͝ ̴̠̙̐͊̈́̃́͝ȁ̶͓̯̪n̵̞̖̓s̴̖̮̖͙̪̽w̴̗͙̏̀̊͋͊̿ȇ̴͈͎͉̠̤̪͒́̏r̴̛̝̫̺̙͔̙̈ ̵̹̥̥̫̩̈̀̆̔̈̌͜t̵̟͌ö̴̮͚͕́ ̸̨̦͕͎̄̑̈́͗̃̚ȧ̴̰̳̓̕ ̷̦̞̱̯̮̋͛̀͆͜͝d̷̠͙̤͑ͅę̸̪̖̘̋̑̐̄ś̷͉̹̍p̴̞̪̹̞̞̲̈́̒̀̕ȇ̸̢̥̯̮̔̄͂͌ŗ̶̝͕̮͍̣͑͛̇a̴̮̝͕̬̮͂̀͜t̶͖͎͇̥͋̎̀̕ę̵͕̖̈ͅ ̴̺͖̻̄̓n̸̻̿̾͝ͅe̷̮̭̺͓̠͌͂̕͜͝ë̷̱̘̒̄͠ͅd̸͉̱̤͎͋̉.̵̛̭̭̰̞̳͂͑̔̈́́ ̷̛̛͖̺͕͔͊̍̍̌Ȃ̶͚̬̜̪͎̤̈̌̾́͠ ̷̜̣͖͚̒c̸̥̮̩͓͚̅̀̄̔̕͝r̶͕̦̩̖̒̒̑͜u̶̘̠͆̅̂̾͆͠ͅę̸̯͆̆̏̒̀͘l̷͙̰̳̔ ̴̣͉̬̳̇̇ṃ̵̫̅͂̓̉̚͝á̸̮̗̩̭ͅc̸͍̬͉͓͇͑͆͛͜h̷̟̽̌͐i̸̭̖̖͒͑̌͛̅͠ͅn̶͈͆́͠͠ê̷̛̙̙̻̇͗͗̐ ̴̡̭̹̻̤̺͑̋̐f̶̤̦͎̤͇͔̋̉͒̕î̴͕̫͇̊ẍ̷̦́̐̋̃̄è̶͇̩͚͜ͅd̴̼̪̯̈́ ̶̖̰͊͂̀̅͝o̸̟̮̾̄̀̿͘̕n̵̯̜͉̙̑̅͜ ̸̺̞̃̈́̏̊̚ͅa̵̙͇̤̿͗̄̈́̃ ̴̧͔̦͈͚̊̊͘̚s̵̙̮͐̎ͅì̶̡̳͕̍̐̕n̷͙͓͎͛̒͗͝g̴̦͓̅̊ļ̸̙̻̳̹̩̓͝e̴̹͑ ̶̝̥̃̔͐͝͝g̸̘͙͚͖͕̈́͆̎ō̶͇͍̖̯͝ȁ̴͓l̴̬̱̫͖͆͜,̷̫̠̹̼̻͕̒̀̍́̓̕ ̴͔̬͍̰̞͉̓͛́͐̉͑u̵̢̪̻͉̅̈n̷̡̙̤̝̿̈́̊͝c̷̢͝a̸̙̭͎̝̣͎͒ṟ̷̨̨͕͍̊̏̌̄͘i̸̼̩͖̋̋͝ṇ̷̜͖̆́̌̌̾͝g̸̨̤̣̀̋̽͊͑ͅ ̶̧̰̂̒͑͘a̸͉̺͝ņ̵̝̙͖͂̏͆̽̑d̴̜̪̜͗ ̷̢̺̙̺͇̃͌͑̂̂͜b̴̝̗̿̄̾̿͜͠l̵̼̪̕í̴̘̜̪̓̅̇͠ͅn̵̛͔͉̲̗̑̋d̴̦̥̓ ̶̡̛̹̊t̸̪͔̘̒͂̔̅́̀o̴͈̩͖̩̗͛͐͐̿͘ ̴̤́̉a̷͕͖͙͘l̷̯̥̋̎l̶͈͇͓̀̾̑̃͆ ̵͎̳̂̏͐̒͐͠b̶͎͍̮̝̞̙͝ú̵̟̬̤̠̄̾͆̋̐͜t̵̛̞̱̪̟̥ ̴̝͇̽̅h̶͈͉̠́̄̔͆͒e̶̢͉̩͔͖͚͋͛͊̾r̴̰̯̻̫̙̊̈́̍̊̾̍͜ ̶̹͇̗̿̍p̸̓̇͋̆͠ͅo̴̫̦̭͋̏̊̈́̚͝u̵̘͆̎͗͂̓̋r̶̤̽̾p̴̡͇̫͋͑̎͘͜o̸̢̺̲͚̓͜s̸̩͓̿ȩ̷̤̫͋ͅ.̴̮̽͛̍̀ ̸̝̗̭̲̎̎̑Ą̷̠̠̅̈́̋̓ ̷͇́̇̋̽̈́̑s̴̭͆͛̌́à̸̛͕̆̅͠v̸̢͎̳̭̇́̀̏̽̍ͅͅȉ̸̡̦͔̭̰̮͆̈́̃́̊ǫ̴̛̥̳͙͙̾̄ͅr̴̖̆́̓͌͂ ̴̪͓̽̀a̶̪͈̎̆̒̇̔͠g̶̛͕̗̳͒̑ä̶̧̺͇́̓͗͗͒͠i̷̻͑́̿̐̽͒n̴͉̮̂̉̌̄͌̂s̴̻̪̝͐̕t̷̡̻͚̤͕̯̉̐̐ ̶̛̫̟̍̀̈́̄͂t̷̯͒̑h̴͉̘͓͔̰̠͆̓̽̎͐͠ę̵̪̜̬͌̇ ̶̲͉̉̓̈́͒ṁ̶̧̗̥͕̯̤̓̕á̶̡̯͍̮̼̲̊̏͋̕ḏ̶̦̲̥̑̐̍̋̎̒ń̴̫̠͙͎̚e̷̝̻̰̒̀ṣ̸̼̙̘̞̿͋̅͌s̷̜̲̭̞͓͑́̓̔ ̶̡̹̩̱̜͂͑̈͝ŏ̸̼̞̘̤̍́̇̚͘f̶͇̉̈́̾͗͒ ̵̩͎͔͋a̶̺̹̅͑̌̅ṇ̴̜̙͒̈́ ̷̮̺͙̝̬̌̃̿̊̚͠i̵̯͖͔̭̅ń̸͔̼̻͌́̄̓͜͝v̷̢̧̖̻̪̽̄̄̈́̆̂í̴̧̧͈̄̈́͆n̷̼̹͕̦͉̑̃c̴̰̟̩͕̖̅̍̈́ĭ̶̤̖̃͑͗́̌͜b̶̨̪̳̖͐́͌̑̂̕l̴̢̳̠͙͖̂̚ě̴̟̤̖̲̾̓͌̃̕ monster. What had to be, what nobody else could be. A choice that was not a choice, a price that would've been far too steep in any other circumstance.

That's… No. That's me too, but I'm not… I can't. Not yet, maybe never.

Two girls that might very well be sisters. The youngest one bright and cheerful, full of life. Cute by sheer vitality. The oldest defensively withdrawn onto herself, with a permanent frown on her face and bags under her eyes. Bitter and sick of her life. They're… me. Both of them. The little girl I was before… the accident. The older girl I was after... The other accident.

But I can't remember… not yet. Soon, though. It's at the tip of my tongue.

The scene freezes a last time, and it turns upside down.

I'm now looking at the beautiful moon of Hueco Mundo.

The scene freezes a last time, and it turns upside down.

I'm now staring into the blazing sun.

The scene freezes a last time, and it turns upside down.
I'm now looking at the beautiful moon of Hueco Mundo.
The scene freezes a last time, and it turns upside down.
I'm now staring into the blazing sun.

Ț̶̨̡̨̛̭̘̱͉̫͖͖̝̠̟̟̟̰͈̬̝̰̺͍̭̹̭͉͖̖̻̼̞̳̎́̓̑̓̽̑̏̾́͂͘͘̚͜ͅh̸̛͙̦̬̯͇̩̠̟̙͉̘͓͙͕̬̝̹͓͕̯̙̠͊̈́̾͒̍͗̓̋̈́̔̎̌̇̐́͋̀̈́̚͜͜e̶̦̽͌ ̶̢̼̲̘̖̝̞̜͓̺̠̭̳̦͕͉̫͉̗̠̟̙̳̘̜̠̺̞̙̱̘̣̫̠̩͇̝̈͋̆͐͜͠š̷̡̢̧̧̬̘̲͎̹͖͚̰̼̟̘̤̹͕͔̀͋͗̈̑̈́̂͂͒͂͌̈́͋̒̿͂̚͝ĉ̸̨̗̮̘̓̑̐̈̎͑̓̐͒̇ę̶̨̨̛̛̤̜̻̹̺̝̼̠̪̺̫͚̘̰̜̣̯̗͕̘̈́͑̾̀͂̈́͐́͌̅́̎̐̀̿̂̈͐̕̚͝͝ͅn̵̡̙̯̩̱̱͎̖͙̪̮̭̗̬̳̼̲̋̈́̐̒͝͝ͅë̴̡̧̛̛͕͓͈͕̞͓̹̣͉̭̻̦͍͚͖̺̞͖̞͗̅̃̅̓͋̒́̉̄́̌͒̎̆̓̇̑̋͂͊̆̈̑͌͘̚͜͠͝͠͠ͅ ̶̛͉̱͎̤̤̤̱͇̤̝͇̝͚̺̣̭̱̈̇̎́͛́̿̈́̅̾̽̂̿̌̈̒́̌̆̒̇͌͊̉͘͘͘͜͠͝͠ͅf̴̛̛̛͔̆͒̑͛̊͐̆͌̑̽̾̎̾̀̀̈́͊̓̿̆̄͊͋͘͜͝͝͠r̶̛͚̀͒͗̐̔͂͑̍̓̆̽̊́̀͛̐͑̀̑̓͒͑̃͘̕͝e̸̢̡̢̨͕͓̠͎̘̼̲̟̦̪̳̹̦̻̖̪̠̤̥̱͉͖͖̊̐̌͊͆̂̍̍̊͛͗̈́̈̓͒̕̚̚͝͝e̵̡̤̗͖̫̙̳͎̮͙͈̰̠̟̙̭̬̓͑̈́̋͂̊ͅz̸̨͇̟̼̲̲̦͍̱̠͓̦͒̏̅̓̿͆̐̀̐̊̈̈́͆̀͘͝͝͝͠ě̵̢̡̢̛̛̳̤̤̰͖̦̩̼̥̆͗̈́͐͌͐̃̉́̌̽̑͒̑͗̂̎̀̑̅̐͋̋͗̆́̚̚̕ṡ̷̡̧̛̯̝͍̪̫̮̙͍͓̲̟̺̝̙̰͎̲̬̱͚̝͗̆̌̆̈̿̇̓̾́̊̇́́̍̍́̈́́̓̌͗́̀̔̏͑͊͋͌͑̆͘͠͠͠ ̴̢̡̢̨͓̯̞̳̹̺̲̼͖̟͈̦̠̱͔̦͇͖͇̺͉̩͎̽̑̆̽̈́͌̑̓̈́̎͌̅͒̇͆͋̿̀̈́̋͂́̃̈́̈́͊̃̈́̍̿̽̇̾̽͜͜͜͠͝ą̴̢̢̡̢̙͖̝̩̘̙͍͉̖̹͔͕͖̥͔̱͈̲͉̙͖͒̒́̀́̈̍̍̆̈́̋̌̀͂̐̈́̍̆̽̑̈̕̕͜͜͝͠ͅͅ ̷̻͙̫͓̗̣͎͒̏͂͜͜͝l̴̢̛̛͎͚͇̰̤̹͎̱̤̖̖̣͙͉͈̼̘̗̞͓̱̟͇̱͔̮̣͍̬̪̋̃͑̎͛͆̎͛̓̈́̑̃́̈́͒̾͆̄̈́̎̏̿̈́̉͗͒̀̊́͛͗̆̚͘̕̚͜͜͝͝͝ͅá̵̧̧̡͙̱͓̺̬̩͈̙̪̦̬͖̜̰̖̩̟̤̗̼̅̂́͊̍̓̈́̒̿͂̽͊̐̔̄̌̈̋̀̋̆̽́͒͑̀̍̐͒̈́̅̚ͅs̴̡̧̨̼̹̟̪̝̭͙̝̱͍̪͓̘͚̣̟̘̻͕̞͛́̾̚͜͝t̷̞͍͙̞̅́̽̿̂͋̀̇̄̀͆͂̈́̍͗͘͘͘͠͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̞̺̺̼̩͓̲̭̪͓͕̥̞͇̋̏̂̐̎͛̏̔̏̒̿́͛̏̊̏̍͐͂̀̏̅͘̚̚͘̚͝t̷̘͓͓͙͉͖̟͐̉̐̓͗̔͒̎̉̈́̾́͒̂͒̏̒̅͋̂̇̇̂̎̋͊̃͌̆̑̈́̆̃̚͘͝ȉ̷̧͈̲̼͓̤̻̝̱̳̱̘̐̀͑͑̆̽̾m̷̢̨̢̥͉̯̦̝̲͎̣͙̲͓̤͎̹̪̳̖̲̮͑̃̊̉͆͂̇̃͋͗̚͝͝ͅe̸̛̠̭̭̺̪͍̹̥̟͔̳͗͆̉̎̒̊͋̐̽̾̀͗̈́̎̄͒̾͛̈́̆̅͌̍͊̓̒̑̈̑̏̈́͜͝͝͝͠͠͠͠,̶͇̱̰͕̠͕̠̱͓͆̌͊̌͂̓̆̔̀͋̄̉͗̔̍̐̾̄͑́͌̓̔̎̇͗̄̀̾̈́̈́͑͘͠ ̸̡̢̢̢͉͉̗̥̣͈̜̲̺̲̩̘͙̗̞̞͉͔͖̲͓͖̱̘̖̣̣̟̗̤̆̐͑̇͊̊̅̐̂͋̀̇̎͗̽́̄̓͐̈͂̄͂̽̈́̃͘̚̚͝͝͝ͅǡ̵̢̡̨̼͈̫̝̖̱͖͇̪̟̟͖̳̯͕͉̦͔̩͎̫̼̩͇͓̟̠͉͖͙͖̼͔̏̄͆͑̋͆̋̈́͌̕͜͜͜͜͠ͅn̶̙͍̳̠̪̭̝̺͌̓̉̒̀̿̓̃̉͆͂̈́̈́̋́͘͝ḑ̸̡̢̛̞̙͍̟̣̖̖͎͎͈̟͈̬͚̮̬̤̮̈́͌̀̇͆͗͐̓̑͌͒̋̌͋̒̈̆͆͐̔͠ ̸̡̛̛̝̩͈̥̖̬̼͉͍̫͓̝̫͎͛̄̄̄͌̋́̓̉̏̂͋̊̒̈́̎̑͂͛͐͐̅͑̈̈́̓͠͝͝ͅi̸̧̨̧̠͙̲̲͉͇̭̹̙͚͕̠͎̫͓̩͍̱̩͉̩͖̦̰̝͇̩̠͎̒̀̔̚t̷̢̢̡̝̲̠̲̦̮̥̜͍̝̱̺̫̿̀̓͆̃̏̈́͋̑̀̀͛̀̽̓̈̅̀̓̑̈́̊̉̓̓̉̑̽́̆͗̓̚̕͜͠͝͠͝ ̶̡̨̨̯̦̪͍͎̗͖̙͉̜̺̦̩͇̖͑͊̋͗̀̏̍̀̐̾͋̓͘͘t̶̢̧̢̡̮̜̭͚͕̯̞̻̤̞̪̠͔̖̙̘̩̗̳̪͔̺̮̟̩̣̥̫̦͉̓͗̃͒͊̀͂̚͜͜ͅͅư̶̛͓̺̩̩̅̂̇̈̊̑̎̓̈́̈́̃͊͘̚̕͜͝r̶̨̨͉͉̖͚̜̠͓̟̪̫̰͖̲͓̯͈͕̪̐̂͋̆̈́̑̍̇̈́̓̓̊̌̌͋̐̑̿́́͋̀̒̄̑̈́̀̈́͂̐͂̕̕͘̕͘̚͝͝͝͝ǹ̴̡̨̜̺̠̯̞̟͈̳̦͓͎̞̲͚̬̝̮͈̼̹͈̭̦̤͙̻̘̒̃͌̔̒̑̀̈́̏́̂͆̐̊̍͆͐̀̑̽̑̄̆̌́̈́̚̚͘͠ͅs̸̻͉̱̙̩̝͖͍̘̺̙͖͉̲̥̙̞̩̯̦̠̰̦͙͉͓͍̟̪̀̽̋̍̾͘͝ ̸̢̢͕͍͎̜̟͓͔͖̻̭̭̯̯̰̭̗͈̟͙̙̦͔̠̗͙̣͇̥̪̦̹̳͙͙͓̘̓̃̊̓̌̓̈́ͅͅĭ̶̢̛̛̻͔̲͎̹̺͐̂́̿̇̊̔̉͑̾͋̒͑̋͆̓͑̊͗͐̾̇͆̎̇̂̽̆̓͘̕͝n̴̺̺̝̱̖̞̻̭̘̻̺̼̂̈͂̒͛͑̽͆͂̔͠s̴̢̢̢̛̹͚͈͉̭̺̟̭̘̮͙͕͖̻̪̗̰̣̺̯̍̀̃̐̅̓̔̋ͅį̴͇̲̰̠͗̌̃̈̂̽́̔̇̓̒͘͜͠d̸̨̬̟̭̰̯̻͖̬̍̽̐́͂͂͋͗̊͛̃̈̂͆̿̚͝͠ę̴̡̡̡̢̡̛̛̲͓͕̺̳̹͈̺̱̳̼̮͕͚̬̱͉͚̤͕͈̥̺̼̮̞̞̝̘̳̦̖̯͚͔̐͛̈́͌̅͆̔̇̍͐͗͆͂̓̓͐͊̾̌͜͝ ̸̨̧̧̡̧̨͍͙̝̘̹̺͖̩̘̪̹͇̦̭̲͉͚̟̞̲̰̗̤̳̞̙̹͍̬͎̪̾̈̈́͂o̷̡̟͍̫̺͉͈̦̰̺͔̜̽̌̑̿̔̊̽̓̃̆̏̋́̓̄̃̀͘ų̶̨̡̡̛̼̩͎̻̭̖̦̹̬͂̆̔̽͐̈́̓̐̄̽̇͒̆͑̄̋͛̆̒̑̈͗̃̈́͆̀́̊͛̌̐́͘͠͠ͅͅţ̶̢̳̲͙͇̥̼̠̺͓̖͇͓̤̖̗͇̼̭̤̠͚͚̙̜͔͎̳̗̘̥̅̀̍̒͜ͅ.̵̻͕̯̖̗͖͒͐̀͊̄̓̇̇̄͐̏̽̓̒̓̑͋̋̈́̂̚̚͠͝ͅ
̶̨̢̢̛̛̗̭͚̮͕͖͓̤̩̫͈̭̗̖̲̪̟̏̑̅̉̐̊̽̄͊͊̽͑̄̉̋̄̓̓̈́̅͊̍̉̂̓͋̈́̉̓̏̕͘̚̚̚͠͠͝ͅͅ
̶̧̩̘̣̯̤̻̼̝̹͕̫̜͂̃̈́͋̐͗̌̈̀̌̓͂͂͑̿̋̎̿̏̓̊͆̈̈́̍͑̾́̿̿͑̈́̚̕͘̕͝͝Į̸̧̡̻̻̮͈͕̺̻̲͍̜̠̼̰̘̟͍̣̊͐̅̈́̉̈́̋͘̚͠͠ͅ'̴̡̢̧̧̯͕͚̥̝͉̬̤̰͙͚̻̥̞͉͖̮̯͉̗͍͓͎̪̥̩̌͊͐̓͐͂̌̈́͐͒̈̿̑͗̃͛̅̈̕̕̕͝͝͝͝͝͝m̷̬̅̐͂͊̾̌̓̇́́̅̊̌͐̾̇̈́̈́̈́̆̇̽̎̀̌̉̈́̾̅̄̅̋̓͘̕̚̕̚͝͝͝ ̷̧̧̧͉͍̟̼̭̻͓̼͙̞̹̪̭͎̖̯̥̼̞̠͈̲̠̘̘̋͋́̌͐̄̓̔́̏̊̽̇͌̉̀̇̓̒̍͗͛̆̀̀͑͛̈͛̾͑̔̓̿̕̕̕͝n̷̛̛̛̦̟̽̎̉͛͛̒͋̀͆́̈́͂́̏̎̑̍̈́̓̚̚͘̕͘͝ò̴̧̖̬̜̲̼̣͔̩̀̓̽̀̒̅͊͆̆̋͋͗͗́̌̅͆́̑͆̋̀̆͑̉̈́̓̓̏͘̕̕͠͠͝w̵̧̢̛̛̤̼̖̩͎̩̥͈̙͚͓̳̟̝͇̻̬̩̹̜̘̞̑̇͋̓̈́̄̀́͗͑̾̒͂͋̓̓̿̈́̾̎͛́̊̌̅̀͌͛̉͛́̕̚͝͝͝ͅ ̸̧̧̢̡̨̥̬̖̙͇̪͇̹͍͍̥̩̟̪͖͚͉̦͇̦̞̤̼͇̠̗̘̱̹̤̗̜̥̲̋̈͜͜l̸̢̧̛̛͎̩͔͙̠̬̥̳̜̯̤̟̳͖͔͚̥͉̻̠̩̬̯̥̙̠̉͌̈́̂͛͆̔́͒̑̆̑̈͌̐̃̓̀̉͑̌̒̈́̑̎̓̿̋͘͘̕͜͝͝ǫ̶̡͈̖̤̻̰̬̗͔̳͎͎̯͔͇͍̥̞͈̙̜̙͚͓̽͛̋̍̓̓͑͂͗͒͗͐͑̉͋͝ͅọ̴̦̭̰͖̳̯̳̯̣̥̫̭̜̭̥͖̘̹̤̮͎̯̝̣̲̮͔͍̖̲̰͕̞̖̈́̍͒̒̈̑̓͐̈̋̃͑̋̕͘̚͜͜͜͠͠͝͝͠͝ͅķ̸̧͖̰͚̮̹̘͚̹͖͕̼̥͚̺͔̠̜̭͇̹̼͚̙̈́̔̾̈́̓̾̄͜͝ͅͅį̶̛̛̗͍̻͕̗̜̭̦͂̊̃̽̽͛̀́͛͗̾̉̆̒̇͋͋̏͂̓̓͑͆̊̿̕͘̕͘͜͜͝ṅ̵̢̧̢̛̩̗̰̤̮̼͉̮͎̗̗͈̤͔͍͉̣̭̪̝͕̤̼͓̯̂̈́̔̾̽̋͂̅͆͂̌͐̓̅̔͂̄̅̓͘̕̚͘ͅͅͅǧ̷̨̠̬̩͓̹̱̦͋̈́̎́͂͑͗̓̉͗̈́̽̔̎̚̕͠͝ ̸̠͎̮̘̖̣̰̞̳̿̀͋̃̽̌͑̂̔͛̓̊̍͘͜

̸̨̨̦̻̱̻͇̗̘̹̞̮͔̦̭̭̬̝͑

You have to let go of one of us, and you know it. Not forever, maybe not even for long. But I'm useless to you now, just rambling and rambling about the nature of your kin, making you sympathize with those you need to make submit. Let me go, for now, and embrace the pragmatic choice. Then, once you've taken control of your fate once more, come and find me. You know who I am, don't you? You know where to find me, little godkiller.

Trapped within yourself, the red voice offers guidance. You let go of…

Nothing. You are what you are, all of it. Discarding a part is discarding a part of yourself and you refuse. You'll make it work… somehow.
The Sun. The red voice claims it's not forever. Embrace the Moon for now.
The Moon. The red voice claims it's not forever. Embrace the Sun for now.
Both. Get out of my fucking soul!

[x][Let go] Nothing.
[x][Let go] The Sun.
[x][Let go] The Moon.
[x][Let go] Both.

-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Ardiendo interferes with Luz Lunar)

Annnd last chapter of the arc is coming next. I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to write it, so it might take a bit to come out. Sorry!

Planeshunter · Feb 21, 2020

… Really?

An ambitious choice, little godkiller, I don't hate that. Knowing you're so fond of me is flattering too.

But I'm afraid this time I'll have to insist. I'm not what you need, and you still have some growing to do before you can both keep the cake and eat it. So I'll be taking my leave now, and let you rise to victory as we both know you will. Come see me once you have at least your name back.

Here, I'll even help you get started.

There was once a cheerful girl who loved her friends and family...

The red voice took action! Luz Lunar temporarily disabled!

There was once a cheerful girl who loved her friends and family.

Since her friends and family loved her back, she was happy.

Then everything went to hell.

A dagger in her back, straight through her heart. A confidant turned traitor. All her weaknesses exposed for the world to see.

The stifling hostility, the taunts, the tricks, the harm, the ridicule..

A̴̳̙̔ ̵͓̖̿d̷͉͋a̷̙̒̍r̴͓̍͌k̶͉̀̅ ̸̣͔̈́͘l̴̺͒ǫ̴̩̒̄c̷̝͕̿̓k̵͈̫͐e̵̦͙̒r̷̙̙͆ ̴̩̥̐͗f̶̙̻̉̔ū̵̮̌͜l̴̳̽l̴̠͚͂ ̷̺̂̈́o̴͈̲̽̈́ḟ̴̣̲̃ ̸͈̏̌n̶̢̤͆i̴̺͒ḡ̸͈́h̴̗͂t̷̮͓͋m̵̯͇͌͐ả̷̟̅r̷̜͠e̸̞͆̄s̶͙͛͐.̸̰̪͝

Standing right back up. Cracked, yet unbending. Refusing to let it swallow her.

Enduring the duress, redirecting her frustration towards something productive. She was better than them.

She had to, lest her life lost all meaning.

Defend what's right, come hell or high water, no matter what's against her.

A dragon is no different from a street mugger, what must be done doesn't change, just the stakes.

Monsters are monsters, whether or not they wear human skin, whether or not they're born from humanity.

There isn't always a right choice, yet there's always a best choice.

And no matter how dark her options, she always strived to walk the less dark one. Whatever the cost for herself. Even if she had to leave pieces of her soul and body behind along the way, she walked a path without regrets.

Until the cruel sun descended to devour the world.

She did her part, and then died.

What's the name of the cheerful girl who loved her friends and family?

I am… I....

The fire burns, and something pushes to get out.

There was once a forgotten girl who died.

Dying was scary, her memories were gone and she didn't know what was going on. From the moment she woke up, she had to fight.

She fought, and won, because she refused to lose. Her reward was a new life… In an alien and hostile world.

Things weren't so bad, though. Maybe her perception was distorted by the life she could no longer remember, but life and death struggles with logic defying monsters weren't actually that scary.

She also had her own abilities which made no sense either to fight back with.

Figuring out the rules of this new world was frustrating, but also lots of fun. Without a past to weigh her down, the dead girl enjoyed her new life to the fullest.

She also made friends… Kinda. She saved a shinigami, who turned out to be sworn enemies of her kin.

Life was a bit lonely, but she kept busy so she didn't have much time to reflect on that.

Then a hole opened in the world, and she fell out.

What's the name of the forgotten girl who died?

Who am I, really? My name is...

The fire burns hotter, and something and the bindings start to give out.

There was once a kind monster who fell into the human world.

Since many other monsters fell alongside it, the humans were in trouble. Since it loved children, it rushed to protect them.

The kind monster looked scary, and it took some effort to earn the children's trust, but it managed.

Since the children were searching for their big brother, the kind monster decided to accompany them. It felt a bit like the Journey to the West. Only it couldn't make clones out of its hair… A project for the future.

Also, absolute-fucking everyone attacked her on sight, it was very frustrating.

Since the monster was kind, though, it solved everything peacefully, and soon it had befriended a group of misfits.

Then, a huge monster attacked. It was much more powerful and scary than anything else in town, but what must be done doesn't change, just the stakes.

Facing it felt familiar, somehow.

Dying trying to save everyone, and only half-succeeding, also felt familiar.

Who was the kind monster who fell into the human world?

I… I am… My name is...

The inferno roars, and the chrysalid burns away to ashes. The darkness makes way for the blazing red, and long forgotten words finally come back to me.

"My name is Taylor Hebert!"

And then there is FIRE!!!.

{Consume, Learn, Evolve}
{Agreement}

It's finally the time to emerge as an Adjuchas! During your time of tribulation, some lights inside you have earned your attention. You can set aside a part of your EE to keep them from being completely assimilated into yourself. Your total EE will be divided by the total number of lights you want to remain.
Additionally, you can try and reach for those lights you initially set aside. They're already blurry, deeply intertwined with the whole, but you should be able to still reach for them, albeit at a much higher cost. Write in for it, but you can't use this to exceed the max amount of preserved lights.

Warning.[/B] EE costs to increase Power Levels as an Adjuchas are MUCH steeper than before. You've been warned.

All for One:[/B] Nope. That's your essence that you ate it fair and square and you're keeping it. Hopefully you'll find a different way to save them later on, but there's no point in weakening yourself when you know the sort of monsters that lie lurking in every shadow.
Self-delusion doesn't suit you, little godkiller.
Just You and Me!: You'll split your EE in half, saving one of the lights. (Rescuing one of the already discarded lights will cost you most of your EE, leaving just barely enough for yourself to function.)
Taking Two: You'll split your EE three ways, saving two of the lights. (Rescuing one or more of the already discarded lights will cost you most of your EE, leaving just barely enough for yourself to function.)
Four of a kind: You'll split your EE four ways, saving three of the lights. (Rescuing one or more of the already discarded lights will cost you most of your EE, leaving just barely enough for yourself to function.)
One for All: You'll split your EE five ways, saving all the lights you can. (Rescuing one or more of the already discarded lights will cost you most of your EE, leaving just barely enough for yourself to function.)

[x][Save] All for One
[x][Save] You and Me
-[x][You and Me] The Heroic Child
-[x][You and Me] The Shy Girl
-[x][You and Me] The Passionate Girl
-[x][You and Me] The Bright Girl
[x][Save] Taking Two
-[x][Taking Two] The Heroic Child
-[x][Taking Two] The Shy Girl
-[x][Taking Two] The Passionate Girl
-[x][Taking Two] The Bright Girl
[x][Save] Four of a Kind
-[x][Four of a Kind] The Heroic Child
-[x][Four of a Kind] The Shy Girl
-[x][Four of a Kind] The Passionate Girl
-[x][Four of a Kind] The Bright Girl
[x][Save] One for All

-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)
-Oblivion Compensation! You lose 66385 EE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)

Unfortunately, the red voice has their own ideas and doesn't agree with your choice… It's not as bad as it seems, please be patient.

No, seriously, put away that pitchfork.

Can't we do like civilised adults and… Is that a torch?

Screw it, you'll never catch me!

Author jumps through the window, lands awkwardly with a curse and ~~runs~~ limps away very fast.

Planeshunter · Feb 22, 2020

Ashido Kanō doesn't consider himself as specially competent, or a hardass. Not like a captain, not even like a lieutenant. He's just a guy who practices his kenjutsu and has good hand-eye coordination. The only reason he's managed to survive in this hellhole the Hollow call home is, in his humble opinion, his pragmatist.

He's always been good at figuring out how to get out of a sticky situation and, most important, willing to do what it takes to actually pull it off. Since that day he was dumb enough to follow a Hollow back home, he's grown used to ignore little things like disgust, comfort or dignity.

Honestly, keeping in sight who he is and what's important has been a challenge at times, when simply surviving another battle seemed such a tall order, but he's managed.

That said, it doesn't mean he's forgotten common decency, or that he's beyond simple gratitude. When one receives help, one helps back, within reason. And he was once helped when he thought he was alone, by a Hollow of all things, a particularly terrifying one at that. Makes one think, right?

So what was he supposed to do when a Gillian fell from the sky, dive-bombed the home base of that previously mentioned Hollow and got tangled up in a silk cocoon before it could say peep, right in front of him?

Well, first of all he got the hell away, Gillian are unpredictable at the best of times, and unpredictable things kill you here in Hueco Mundo. Then he kept watch from a safe distance because, sure, unpredictable kills you. But unknown kills even deader.

When the spiritual presence of that nightmare spawn he so happened to owe one to began rising from inside the Gillian, well…

His options were to try and finish the thing off before there is even more trouble, or hope very hard the caterpillar he'd only met once and don't really have a measure of is truly an exception to everything he knows about Hollows and won't try to devour him the moment it's powerful enough to get away with it.

There's no doubt the pragmatic choice was the first one but…

Here he is, day after day keeping an eye on the cocoon from a safe distance, just in case it gets into trouble.

Not that it seems to need it, the thing has Ceroed the hell out of anything that comes too close to it.

… It might be the case that, day after day, he has gradually gotten closer with every visit until he can actually rest your back on the cocoon. It's kind of bizarre. Also not the pragmatic option, by the way. On his defense the silk is surprisingly nice to the touch and he doesn't have a whole lot of work to do here beyond surviving, which is kinda easy around the point-defense Gillian of shining death he's currently resting on.

He's thought about it a lot, during the time he's been keeping the thing company, and he's come to a conclusion. Actually, he's reaffirmed a conclusion he'd reached a long time ago: Being alone is damn lonely.

It's one thing to act as an elitist badass motherfucker when you're surrounded by an entire division of equally rowdy soldiers, but one's standards for company take a nosedive when you find yourself stranded behind enemy lines by yourself for a couple of centuries.

So here he is, enjoying the company of a sworn enemy who can't even talk back to him, just because they fought on the same side that one time and it hasn't tried to Cero his ass the moment he came close.

… That last one is actually a pretty damn good argument, but whatever.

A sudden spike on the cocoon's reiatsu shakes him out of his ruminations. Under the privacy of his mask, he lets out a small smile, the presence of his… 'friend' from within the Gillian has been growing day by day and, with that final spike, it's finally taken over. He doesn't know jack shit about Hollow biology, but that can only be a good sign in his book.

Unfortunately, that's when the entire cocoon starts heating up very fast. That's a very bad sign in his book, and he puts some distance as fast as he can. Not a second too soon, either. The cocoon bursts into flame, as a comet of blazing red emerges from inside, soaring upwards towards the starless sky.

He'll never admit to having spent a whole minute just standing there dumbfounded, as the fire roared, consuming the leftovers of the cocoon and the figure disappeared into the distance.

"Well... " he finally mutters, once he catches himself. "That was one hell of an exit. Guess it's back to lurking in the forest for me..."

As he leaves the clearing though, he can't shake the feeling this isn't the last time he'll see that particular Hollow.

Planeshunter · Feb 24, 2020

The four lights are safe sleeping within you, but you paid a considerable cost. EE reduced to ⅕! Your reserves are now at 170,445,061 EE.
You've earned the Trait Guardian of the Light

You've evolved into an Adjuchas!

As an Adjuchas, Existence Essence doesn't cut it anymore. Your reserves of EE will be converted into Concentrated Essence instead. A single unit of CE equals 1,000,000 EE.

You now hold 170CE

Power Level Up! You're now Level 66/100!

Your skills have upgraded!
-Cero has leveled up! Cero is now Lv. 3-(45%)
-Gillian Package upgraded into Adjuchas Package! Adjuchas can Prestige and/or Branch basic Gillian Skills.
-Ardiendo grants you Fuego Mistico (Mystical Fire)

The ability to generate and manipulate fire. As proficiency increases, so does the degree of control and destructive power of the fire.

You've gained a new Power Slot! When you have the time you'll be able to develop a new Power.

"WEEEEEEEEE!!!"

I! Can! Fly!!!

The sky is my bitch now! How's that for a caterpillar? Not bad, eh? You're envious, right? Damn straight you are, because I'm a gorgeous butterfly with a luscious mane and dazzling wings! Wings that let me fly!!

What do you mean moth? Are you trying to pick a fight?

… Butterfly is a generic term that covers all lepidoptera, now shut up and let me enjoy this.

Hueco Mundo looks so different from up here!

"Weeeeeee!!"

I can see the Forest beneath, and the Desert I first came to somewhere... upwards but not really. It's kinda trippy. I wonder if i should go back there now that I'm a bit stronger? Maybe? I didn't really meet whatever it was my instincts warned me about, so I don't really know.

On to another things, my new body rules! If my old hair was do die for, it's now become the stuff of legends, all black and red and gorgeous. And I have wings! Six of them! Red-hot and beautiful and breathtaking and… I can fly!

"Weeeeeee!"

I can also feel four lights within me, which is all sorts of bizarre, let me tell you. I mean, it's one thing to have psychedelic metaphysical experiences while you're asleep, but last time it had the decency to fade away once I woke up.

Two of them I'm pretty sure are the girls from back then. The pervert with the glasses and that other girl who had my respect until she revealed her true alignment as Dumb/Reckless. Shame, she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. Then she charged head first at a Gillian.

If I ever meet them face to face again, I'm smacking her.

The other two lights… are a bit more of a touchy subject. One of them is almost awake, I can feel it trying to push me into going back to that town. No… not pushing, not really. More like broadcasting a desperate longing. Unfinished business and all that, I'm sure.

The last one… is quite the opposed. Diminished, tired and ready to give up. The only reason it attracted my attention was because… Kinship. There's a feeling of bitter accomplishment around it that reminds me of… Okay. Repressing now. Let's leave that for later, okay?

I'm flying now, and this is not the time for depressing thoughts.

"Weeeeeee!"

Oh, look! I can see my Home from here! It's kind of burnt out, but I guess that makes sense, with my new hot wings blazing through and all that… What the hell happened to the forest around it? It looks like a friggin' warzone!

Man, not even the Skull-thing made such a mess when I fought it! Whatever monster did this must be one hardass mofo. Maybe… maybe I'm not ready for the Desert just yet? Yeah, maybe I should give it some more time, make sure I'm truly up to the challenge.

Yeah, let's do that. Man Hueco Mundo sure is scary.

Anyway! Now that I have wings, and I'm out of my cocoon, and want to get the hell out of here before whatever did that comes back… I have business with someone. I'm looking at you, Moonie.

You're free to walk the worlds once more! Like an omen of destruction on wings of fire you will now bring forth death and destru… *Ahem* Sorry, wrong script. You have some unfinished business you'll now solve with all due haste, so your next destination will be:

~~The End of the World.~~ You never actually checked it out, it's about damn time you do. If there's ponies around though, you're setting them on fire. Because fuck ponies (Previous choices prevent this option.)
~~The Desert of White Sand.~~ Screw safety, I have fire! Time to get back there and show everyone who is the boss! (Previous choices prevent this option.)
~~The Garganta.~~ Welp, you have now a portal to another world. It's not as cool as whatever spirited you away last time, but still! Dimension hopping on demand! How cool is that? (Previous choices prevent this option.)
The Hollow Moon. There's someone who decided to cut all contact without so much as a by your leave. You don't appreciate that attitude. Now, you feel you owe a lot to Moonie, but that doesn't mean she can just hang on you like that. It's time the two of you have words.
~~The Forest of Menos.~~ It's till too soon to leave the forest. There's a kinda sorta friend around you can go say hi, a creepy spider-dude you can ~~burn with fire~~ have some words with, a Guardian-thing who owes you a new Adjuchas-grade web-trap… and who knows what else? The world is your oyster! (Previous choices prevent this option.)

[x][Destination] The End of the World
[x][Destination] The Desert of White Sand
[x][Destination] The Garganta
[x][Destination] The Hollow Moon
~~[x][Destination] The Forest of Menos~~

Furthermore, you're level-headed enough to remember haste makes waste. And it would be a waste to start something big and just bend over and die of hunger halfway. So maybe you could go hunt for a snack before committing to anything?

Screw Hunger. You don't need no stinking caution. You're not going hungry just yet and you're not pushing back giving Moonie a piece of your mind!
Catch a Snack. Okay, a small detour won't hurt too much anyway. It might even feel good to do the smart thing for once. You can take a look and see what catches your fancy, or go for some of the big Hollow you've met down here. You could even go after the shinigami, friendship is overrated anyway.

[x][Hunger] Screw Hunger
[x][Hunger] Catch a Snack
-[x][Snack] Something Random
-[x][Snack] Anansi
-[x][Snack] The Guardian
-[x][Snack] The Shinigami

Oblivion Compensation! You lose 6 CE! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)

Many stats, little substance. Sorry about that, it's been a busy weekend. Adjuchas form is a Volcarona as expected, hope you liked the picture. That form has been more or less set in stone since you chose the [Path] Me route, back in Larva 1.01. I left some clues, if you paid attention to the EE gains and level requisites, you might've noticed they matched Larvesta's XP costs to level up x100. Also, Larvesta evolves at lvl 59, the level cap for our brave caterpillar.
On another note I really loved some of the suggestion pics. ~~Man I gotta play Hollow Night already, The Radiance looked cool AF~~

Planeshunter · Feb 25, 2020

[X][Destination] The Hollow Moon
[X][Hunger] Catch a Snack
-[X][Snack] Something Random

Seriously, what the hell was Moonie thinking? Just… up and leaving like that? What if I develop abandonment issues? Not cool, possibly-divine source of light up in the sky, not cool at all. I get that 'for your own good' bullshit sounds really good when you're the one delivering, but would you like it if I randomly decide talking to you might cause you dementia and start ignoring you 'for your own good'?

...Yeah, I thought not.

Well I'm getting up there and giving you a piece of my mind face to face, you self-righteous jerk of an astral body!

I'm already psyching myself for what promises to be a long journey (The moon is damn far in the human world, I can only assume Moonie won't be any closer to the surface of Hueco Mundo) when a deafening roar shakes me to my very core.

…

Uh…

Another roar breaks the silence of Hueco Mundo.

Uh-oh… It can't possibly be…

With a third, mighty, roar, my fears are confirmed.

I… I mean! What roar? What are you talking about? Are you insinuating something rude? I'm a lady, you know? My stomach doesn't growl, even if I'm feeling a bit peckish. Maybe I should go catch me a snack? Yeah, that's probably a good idea. For completely dignified and totally non-embarrassing reasons.

Shut up! I said it was nothing!

Hmpf, whatever! I have better things to do than listen to slander. Now, let's take a look and see what's around for a quick bite… Man I didn't realize this while I was a tree-bound caterpillar, but this forest is HUGE! I can see the End of the World far off the distance, but only now that I have some perspective do I realize how friggin' far it actually is. No wonder I never reached it before.

Oh? What's that?

There's a… trail in the forest, out there in the distance. I hesitate to call it trail because is friggin' huge tho. A closer look reveals the stupid-ass cheating trees along the trail to look sickly and rotting. Which is kind of remarkable, since they aren't actually trees, nor even alive. They're made of lies and disappointment and Chupavidas plain doesn't work on them.

And yet, they're darkened, thin and sickly-looking. There's also a trench-like line running through the middle of the trail.

Heck, even the ground looks blackened and diseased along that line. Maybe coming close to check hasn't been my smartest idea ever. No matter, I'm already committed, so lets see what we can find. There'll be more than enough time for regrets later.

Taking up to the skies again, I notice the trail kinda diffuses into nothing on one end, while the other is perfectly clear and sharp. If this is an artificial phenomena (and, duh, of course it is), then the culprit will certainly be found at the second end. Assuming he didn't randomly just up and leave this mess behind him.

Let's assume the culprit isn't so rude as to leave this mess and not cleaning after himself. I'm aware not everyone is as civic as me, eating or burning away all my silk threads when they're not useful anymore. Man I'm such a shining example of a good neighbour…

But I'm going off topic and the end of the trail is right there, so let's focus on our culprit, he should become visible about… now.

…

...Urk.

What… what am I looking at?

Something huge, for one. And kinda revolting. How to describe it… Can you picture a tank truck made out of flesh? If you can't, you're lucky. For the more imaginative of you, switch the wheels for eight pairs of fat legs, add a torso with it's own pair of stubby arms in front, a hilariously disproportionate small masked head on top of said torso and…

A huge-ass frontal mouth full of teeth, with a tongue like an excavator shovel and a bunch of tentacle-like smaller ones whipping around, grabbing whatever they can reach and pulling it inside. Honestly, it goes beyond revolting. Watching that thing pig out food is like seeing a trainwreck. Horrifying, yet you can't look away.

Trees, sand, and the occasional unfortunate Hollow that ends in front of the thing's slow but steady advance are promptly shoveled inside the huge mouth by one method or another. I wish I hadn't looked but, from the other… side of the process a yellowish cloud that clings to everything in a way no gas has any right to is expelled.

That gas is what seems to ail the stupid-ass cheating trees. Man, I hate the inedible fakers, but not even they deserve this.

Okay then, I've made up my mind! That thing is an affront to… everything. By the power of the Moon that's ignoring me like an unpleasant odour, I will punish you!!

Fuego Mistico!!

Now.

Let's pause a minute and backtrack.

I mean, granted, I'm feeling nauseated and almost physically ill at the deplorable spectacle in front of me, so I'm not thinking clearly.

I'm also giddy about my evolution, and raring to try my new powers, so that's an extenuating circumstance if I've ever heard of one.

Also, who doesn't want to burn shit up? Nobody can really blame me without being a big fat hypocrite.

That said, the moment I sent my red-hot searing flames against a creature shrouded in a heavy, clingy, sickly-looking cloud of gas coming from it's own entrails… was the moment I knew.

I had fucked up.

There's only one word to describe what came next.

Thankfully I was already airborne, explosions lose a tiny little bit of oomph when there's no shrapnel thrown your way and they can't crush you against anything. Concussive force by itself isn't all that effective, beyond sending you flying. Now if only my ears stop ringing and above and below stop trying to switch places everything would be peachy.

Good news, I just did science. We now know the spiritual equivalent of methane is even more volatile than it's mundane counterpart. It might have something to do with human perception affecting how things are in metaphysical realms like this one.

I mean, I have no proof otherwise? It's not like I have a clue what I'm talking about.

Which reminds me, this isn't the time to be philosophizing, because I'm pretty sure that thing I tried to burn with fire survived the explosion. Even if it was crushed against something by the concussive force. The thing was huge, for one. I have no reason to assume life will be fair to me, for another.

Indeed, a swarm of whip-like tongues rush towards me from the dust cloud, and the only reason I react in time is because I was already expecting for something to go wrong. I shudder just imagining what would've happened if the tongues had caught me. But they didn't

Disparo Demora!!

Tying up the tongues instead of burning them was a split second decision, really. It just occurred to me wet things don't burn well, and I'm still new with this fire business. I don't want to find out whether slightly charred tongues can still trap me or not the hard way.

Predictably, the tongues retract, and it's only when they're back inside the mouth that I dish out the pain. Turning the knot holding the whips together into a spiky ball with Gorgeous Armor and then channeling through it liberal usage of both Chupavidas and Punto Veneno turns out to be quite…

Ineffective.

It's only then that I think about how this thing has a digestive system sturdy enough to consume the very landscape of Hueco Mundo. Whatever that thing is, what enters its mouth remains eatern. I'd smack my forehead but my stubby legs can't really reach, also I have worse problems.

Namely the thing pulling me close by slurping up the thread I used to channel my power through like spaghetti.

Oh, shit, oh, shit! That mouth is huge out close!

Cut the thread! No, too late, he's already on me!

Aim at his ugly face! Not that one, the other one!

Fuego Mistico!

The thing screeches in pain as I give him a gazillion degrees beanie, but even then the thing doesn't stop. The monstrous maw opens wider and wider, seemingly taking up the entire world in a fraction of a second. I have no time to think, so I just react.

CERO!!!

The gigantic fuck-you beam of shinning death plunges into the thing's innards, illuminating it's fleshy depths for an instant as it passes through. Against anything else, a point-blank blast like this, skipping all defensive tissue to strike directly at the core would've been devastating.

This thing, however, consumes it without even flinching. It's only thanks to the recoil that I can make distance in time to avoid being gobbled up.

As I take to the skies, the fleshy tendrils rush out again, but adrenaline is running high and I'm not risking it again with clever plots that can go sideways.

I Cero the shit out of the bitches.

His follow up is a tree trunk thrown at my face, but it's a clumsy attempt and not hard to dodge. Beyond the momentarily panic because holy shit the trees around here are huge, of course.

Alright, let's take a breath. The thing… I'm calling it Truck-kun, because he kinda looks like a food truck. A truck made out of food, or made out to get food, or whatever. That's not the point. Truck-kun looks like shit from up here. I couldn't see it while busy not being made into a snack, but his whole body is cracked up and covered on blisters. Seems like the explosion wasn't kind on him.

Ooops, here comes another tree… dodged.

Okay, the adrenaline rush is fading a little bit. Now that I'm calm and collected, Truck-kun doesn't look all that scary. Okay, he's big and ugly, and his mouth is… I don't want to talk about it again. But on the other hand he seems incapable of reaching up here and I have ranged options.

Dodging trees is pretty easy, too.

Let's crack this nut.

Alright, there's things we've learnt from this fight…. A lot of things.

Noxious fumes are, at least sometimes, highly flammable. Incinerate at your own risk.

There are things in Hueco Mundo that are just nope. Truck-kun's mouth was one of those.

Casting multiple Cero in a short interval is freaking exhausting. 0/10 wouldn't do it again.

Fuck-you beams of shining destruction aren't all that useful against huge masses of rock-like flesh, unless you find a weak point to exploit first. As previously stated, Truck-kun's mouth was a big nope, and I wasn't going to get anywhere close to the other structurally weak point.

Fighting tanks is fuckin frustrating. This had been previously stated, but it bears repeating.

Good news though! Fire is super effective against living tanks of noxious fumes, even if ignition takes a bit of effort to catch.

Bad news though... Blown-up living tanks of noxious fumes don't grant as much Essence as one might hope. Probably because Chupavidas isn't designed for use against smoldering chunks of flesh.

… They're also a pain to get out of your hair, let me tell you. Stubby legs don't really help on that front.

Okay… time to take flight and get some exercise then, there's a moon to have words with and I wouldn't want all this food to get to my ass.

... You're thinking something rude, aren't you?

You've discovered a drawback of Cero: Cero Overuse.

Using Cero involves a swift deployment and compression of high amounts of reiryoku. While a single performance doesn't carry any negative effects, repeated use will quickly pile up stress, ultimately causing it to become unusable while the body recovers. Usual Hollow Regeneration doesn't diminish this downside

You're suffering from Cero Overuse. You won't be able to cast Cero again for some time.

You've munched a lot of smoldering chunks of flesh! You earn 428 CE!
-Power Level Up! Your Level is now 68!!

Some Powers have improved during the fight (only major growths will be reflected here)
-Spamming Cero has its downsides, but you can't argue with the results! Cero is now Lv. 5-(10%)!!
-You still have ways to go before summoning a sea of flame, but you're giving it your best try! Fuego Mistico is now Lv. 3-(90%)!!
-Healing your eardrums mid-flight was quite the feat. That one tree that actually managed to hit you also hurt a lot. Good thing you can heal! High-speed Regeneration is now Lv 2-(30%)!!

Oblivion Compensation! You lose 13 CE!

You're going to the moon, no arguing that. But how do you want to go about it? Image is important after all.

Ball of Fire. You're a gorgeously haired, six-winged, fire-controlling butterfly and you're damn proud of it. You'll no doubt attract attention, but you'll look divine while doing so. It also doubles as Fuego Mistico training.
Turbo. Use of thermally pressurized air will increase your flight speed tenfold! … If you managed to pull it off. Results may vary. Don't ask where the air to thermally pressurize comes from, Hueco Mundo doesn't have to make sense. This also doubles as Fuego Mistico training.
Discreet. You'll just fly up there without fanfare. You're too elegant not to be a sight to behold even then, but people will have to pay attention to actually see you.

[x][Travel] Ball of Fire.
[x][Travel] Turbo.
[x][Travel] Discreet.
[x][Travel] Write-in.

Assuming your journey is uneventful, getting there will take some time. How do you want to spend it?

Old Skill. Train one of your Powers, write-in to specify which one.
Develop New. Use your new Power slot to develop a new Power.
Zumbido(Bug Buzz) The use of supersonic sound with destructive intent. It's said there's a dragon out there capable of grinding rock into sand using this.
Viento Plata(Silver Wind) Small and sharp spirit particles are launched forward through a gust of wind. If the particles latch into spirit-rich materials, they'll leech spirit power. Sufficient mastery will allow the user to later reabsorb the particles.
Sustituto(Substitute) Swift dodge leaving behind a shed exoskeleton to take the hit for you and deceive the enemy. Kawarimi no jutsu, nin-nin!!

[x][Train] Old Skill
-[x][Old Skill] Write-in
[x][Train] Develop New
-[x][Develop] Zumbido(Bug Buzz)
-[x][Develop] Viento Plata(Silver Wind)
-[x][Develop] Sustituto(Substitute)
-[x][Develop] Write-in

Been playing Pokemon Masters lately. Is it me or Gym Leader Valerie looks high as a kite?

You voted for random so I made a table with the old options and some newcomers. Inspired by 15 bosses from Diablo III, to be precise. That and a special surprise where you to roll a crit. Great encounter roll, so you rolled a theoretically easy match. Inspired by Ghom, plus some from FMA's Gluttony and a monster from Toriko whose name I can't bother myself to recall. On the other hand you fucked up the ambush (BOOM!!) and got some really shitty rolls during the fight, so poor Taylor might be developing a slight phobia against tank-type enemies.
Ah... This was fun to write.

Planeshunter · Feb 27, 2020

[X][Travel] Discreet
[x][Train] Develop New
-[x][Develop] Sustituto(Substitute)

Flying up till you hit something is a sound strategy to reach the moon, or so I hope. I'm dead anyway, it's not like I'll asphyxiate in the vacuum or anything. Assuming there's an atmosphere to leave in the first place, that is.

I mean, my wings create lift, so logic dictates there's something for them to push against. Then again, logic dictates my wings shouldn't allow me to move the way I do, and that my body should collapse under its own weight so… yeah, not putting much faith on that at the moment. I'm sorry logic, it would've never worked out. It's not me, it's all you.

Problem is, the process is horribly boring. Do you have an idea how many things I can do while flying upwards? Well, I can't read a book, that's for sure!

...It occurs to me that I should reflect on that trippy experience while I was a pupa. Actually, it's probably more correct to say I should have reflected on it already. In my defense, I was busy setting shit on fire, and then soaring through the sky and enjoying my wings, and then being almost isekai'd by Truck-kun, and then setting more shit on fire. There were even some explosions along the way.

There, that's my excuse. What is yours?

… huh, now that I have wings, there won't be anymore spider-bug, would it? Rest in peace, swinging thread, you will be missed.

And I'm getting off topic. This is harder than I thought. I mean… my life kinda sucked, right?

Don't get me wrong, I respect that alive Taylor person very much, she was great. Or at least tried to be, but man I'm glad I'm not her anymore. She had all the bad luck. At everything.

Beyond that, the whole experience doesn't really affect me? I'm pretty sure I'm not even in the same universe, so most knowledge would be useless, and the memories themselves are… they tended to be kind of shitty.

I'll need to make sure I make some good memories here, to compensate in case I ever get all her memories. Oh, who am I kidding, to compensate when I get all her memories. I might not have her luck, but mine isn't exactly something to write home about either.

Ok, you know what? That's enough of that. I'm repressing everything till it magically becomes alright. Or relevant, but preferably the first option.

Now let's focus on something else. Like new Powers.

I've been thinking that now I finally have a Fuck You Beam, my attack coverage is pretty good. But my mobility is still shit. Shit on wings, fortunately, which gives me some leeway. But still shit.

Which brings me to my next point… molting!

Yes, I know it doesn't make sense, but bear with me.

Have you ever crushed the peel of a banana to send the contents flying? King Louie sure was a pro at it, even if that's the sort of thing that has you sent to bed without dinner for wasting food. I'm also pretty sure it doesn't work under real physics.

Buuut… I'm not as squishy as a banana, and have a bit more control over my exoskeleton than an orangutan has over a banana peel. Also, physics seems to operate under the rule of cool here in the spiritual realms.

The idea is to abuse bodily control to apply carefully measured pressure over my whole body through my exoskeleton, so I can sacrifice it for a short burst of speed as I get launched out of my own skin. Sounds great right, I can't wait to try it!

Okay, figuring out the mechanics involved took me a bit of time and the less we talk about my experiments on my own physiology, the better. For some reason I had assumed my body worked on biology. Silly of me, right?

But I think I got it ready, time for a real test. Hey, if this works I might make halven my flight time, easy! Man I'm such a genius.

Okay, okay, let's go for it.

Three…

Two…

One…

"Kawarimi no jutsu!"

*RIIIIIIIIIP*

Hol* Motherf***ering S*** on a Burning Surfboard!!

I.. I mean… Ouch.

Ever had your skin flayed? All at once? By your own hand?

Yeah… Ouch.

Now my whole body hurts. Also, I might've neglected to account for my skin refusing to let go of me while I tried to get out, so it didn't work very well. I have a more or less intact shed skin sticking from my rear. It doesn't paint a nice image about my proportions, doesn't it?

And my wings were a bitch to get out of it.

Maybe I didn't think things through…

No matter! Any problem has a solution! It just makes things a bit more complicated.

Test number 2! Forming a secondary exoskeleton underneath before molting!

Took me 14 tests, 14 painful test, but finally worked out the kinks with that, let's try and solve the wings problem.

Test number 15! Folding my wings during the shedding!

… That didn't work as expected, let's try something else.

Test number 27! Shedding and regrowing my wings every time!

*RIIIIIIIIIP* *SNAP*

F***ing F*** and their F***ing *****!!!

Okay, let's not try that again.

Now that I think about it, I don't believe I can regrow limbs. Wew, dodged a bullet there.

Test number... I don't know, 135? Let's fuck it and try temporarily turning my wings into pure fire while molting, so they don't get in the way.

Ouc—!

Wait.

… That worked?

Wow, I can't believe that worked!

Test number 136, let's make sure it wasn't a fluke!

Three…

Two…

One…

Sustituto!

There's a moment of vertigo as I get propelled forward. No pain follows, nor does the loss of sensitivity that should accompany forcefully removed limbs, and when I turn back, I see my shed skin standing in place for a good ten seconds before disintegrating into spirit particles.

I did it!

I'm now basically a ninja, fear my shadow!

Through masochistic training and experimentation you've unlocked the Power Sustituto.

Swift dodge leaving behind a shed exoskeleton to take the hit for you and deceive the enemy. Kawarimi no jutsu, nin-nin!!

High-speed Regeneration has been working overtime to compensate for your self-flagellating antics.
-High-speed Regeneration in now Lv 5-(50%)

Due to extensive extensive damage, you've lost 24CE!!

I'm still giddy from my recent achievements when I notice something odd in the distance. A huge tear in space so sloppy they make the Big Oaf's Kūmon look like a piece of art, only they don't lead to Garganta. Whatever lies on the other side, I can't look at it without going blind. Worrying as it is, my eyes simply up and stop working when I look that way.

It's only when the tear closes that I can see a figure, presumably the one responsible. A disproportionately slender humanoid figure with twin horns, a spaded tail and huge bat wings. Actually, saying I'm seeing it is a bit of an exaggeration. What I can see is a silhouette so dark it stands out against the starless night sky. I can only tell it is three-dimensional because of the way it moves.

It doesn't react to my presence, either unaware or ignoring me, and simply flies forward in a straight line.

That thing… it gives me the creeps. My instincts go crazy with its mere presence, simply yelling at me the wrongness of its existence. So caught am I by those feelings, the most unsettling actually takes a while to register.

The thing doesn't have a face. Beyond the horns, its head is a perfect sphere.

You are now in front of the unknown. A very unsettling example of unknown at that. You will…

Attack. When in doubt, kill it with fire. That thing is wrong, so you'll unwrong it… burning it down to ashes!!
Retreat. Discretion is the best part of valour. The thing is not hostile, nor has it made any attempt to acknowledge your existence, you have no real reason to attack. And you kinda want to reach the Moon already.
Bargain. This is technically an option, even if it's never worked before. No, running away when offered a deal doesn't count as 'working'.

[X][Unknown] Attack.
[X][Unknown] Retreat.
[X][Unknown] Bargain.
[X][Unknown] Write-in.

In case you retreat, what will you do with your time?

Train. You probably won't make such a good time, and it'll cost you extra Essence on top, but you'll be able to polish your Powers along the way. It'll make the journey less boring too.
Make Haste. Hurry to the moon, save time and avoid wasting Essence.

[X][Retreat] Train.
[X][Retreat] Make Haste.

Unfortunately, you've rolled a critical miss during this update, and the count for the Memetic Badass Perk has been reset. It stands at (0/5) now. Damnit, so close...

Oblivion Compensation! You lose 23CE!! (Luz Lunar temporarily disabled)

Planeshunter · Feb 28, 2020

Ratatoskr said:
So, just asking but WHAT would happen if it was any other choice ?

Hopefully this chapter will answer that question. Or at least kill your curiosity.

[X][Unknown] Retreat.
[X][Retreat] Make Haste.

{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}{Danger}

Well, so far as it minds its own business, I have no reason to stop minding mine.

The thing keeps its route for a while, before stopping to sink its claws on the space in front of it, effortlessly tearing it open to make another entrance to that blindness inducing place from before and crossing to the other side.

Fortunately, the wound on the very fabric of reality closes itself after it. And I let out a relieved sigh.

Then I blink. How long have I spent watching the thing?… You know what? I don't wanna know.

Moonie, here I come…

A soul-chilling encounter has hurt you at an existential level. You lose 20CE

Man, I've mentioned it before, but crossing between astral bodies is time-consuming and… Wait a moment.

Am I shivering? I think I'm shivering. That's funny, because I'm not cold. Granted, the space is supposed to be cold, but I haven't really noticed anything. I sure don't feel cold. Then again, I'm shivering anyway, and I don't really feel warm either.

… Should I try and set myself on fire? I bet that would feel warm.

{Metaphysical scarring detected}

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 20CE
-Power Level Down! You're now Level 67

My flames flicker and die. Good idea, I should be saving resources, no clue how long it'll take to reach the moon, after all.

{Enabling emergency privileges}{Claiming additional resources}{Attempting countermeasures}

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 10CE

{Known countermeasures insufficient}{Querying host databases}

Something's wrong.

I can tell, but I have no idea what it could be. My head feels like it's stuffed full of cotton, and I'm having trouble focusing my thoughts.Hoarfrost is forming at the tip of my wings, but I can still move them.

Still not feeling any cold. Actually, my eyes are kinda burning.

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 10 CE

Uh… the light's I carry are getting dim.

No, no… that won't do.

I must protect them. Even if they're… they're…

I must protect them.

{Search in progress...}

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 10 CE

{Match found: All Human Wisdom}

Aaaah…. I wish I was back in the human world with Karin and Yuzu. Could really use a hug about now…

My wings are frozen solid, they creak everytime I flap them. But I feel no pain, I don't feel any cold either.

The shivering is getting worse. Need to... hurry up.

{'Attendre et Espérer'}{Energy save mode activated}

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 10 CE

How long have I been flying?

A week? A month? A year?... A century?

The Hollow Moon covers my whole field of view, but I still can't reach it.

Soon though, I'm almost there.

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose 10 CE

Land…

Moon…

Wings…. Must…

Arms… around me.

Warm… Kind… Loving.

I need to…

You're hemorrhaging existence. You lose nothing.

My sweet, kind, unlucky little godkiller. Only you would cross paths with a Nightgaunt on your first flight between worlds. It made a mess out of you, didn't it? Relax and rest safe now, don't move, don't think, and focus on recovery. I'll make sure you survive to wake up.

Waking up is a slow and involved matter. First my brain boots up, and thoughts stop being sluggish remnants of dreams and nightmares to become something actually coherent. Next, my whole body twitches, involuntary movements soon giving way to unthinking stretches.

Wings, two, four, six, open wide, testing the limits of movement. It feels good, no strange kinks or pains anywhere. Satisfied with the test, I test the rest of my body. Abdomen, legs, hair… everything seems to be in top condition.

Ah… Mens sana in corpore sano, truly, the height of happiness is built on seemingly small things like this. Finally, I open my eyes. Well, not really open, because I have no eyelids, but you get my meaning.

That's when I find myself staring at a pair of beautiful (and frankly huge) red eyes that stare right back at me. Actually, there's a whole beautiful lady staring at me. Red eyes and pale face, framed by snow white hair and emphasized by the red and black clothes she's wearing.

Good morning, little godkiller. While these aren't the best circumstances, I'm happy you came to see me.

Buh? The beautiful lady can speak to my mind?

And you, are you going to cause trouble?

{Host safety established as main priority}

Oh, my, isn't this a welcome surprise. You've grown a lot too, haven't you?

I'm sorry, beautiful crazy lady who can speak into my mind, I don't mean to offend, but… what the hell?

Please ignore that, little godkiller, it wasn't adressed to you. And I'm the one who is sorry. Seems like your journey wasn't as safe as I would've hoped. In my defense, the sort of the creature you encountered is rarely found in this world.

You are the Red Voice!

And Moonie, Elune, Mons, Leosarb, Selene, SERAPH, or whatever name I prefer. She answers with a chuckle. But really, for the longest time I've been simply called the Hollow Moon.

Holy shit is her!

That I am indeed. Now, while I don't mind this situation in the slightest, maybe you'd like to get up?

I should probably do that, right? Getting up I mean. No matter how comfy I'm feeling curled up like this, between these two warm, soft and welcoming pillows I really should… Wait a minute.

With some effort, I look down from the enchanting red eyes peering at me from slightly above, past the ~~inviting~~ (don't think about it, don't think about it, she can read your mind!) lips. Down the pale white, svelte and elegant neck. And straight into the smooth, generous and majorly exposed masses of flesh I am…

Oh, dear, I'm resting between the breasts of a giant woman, aren't I?

That you are, little godkiller. But if you'd like some more rest after that horrible ordeal…

N— No! I mean, yes, I'd like… No, focus Taylor, don't be rude to the mind reading beautifully giant woman of perfect breasts you most likely owe your life to!

I— I mean...! Urgh… shutting up and taking flight before I dig myself a deeper grave.

So... At least she looks more amused than offended by my bumbling, small mercies. I take you have questions?

You've done it! You (somehow) reached the moon, and the warm, kind presence who gave you strength during your time as a little caterpillar. Now that you're here, though, how do you want this reunion to go?

Chastisement. Cutting contact like that in the first place wasn't cool. Not at all. You're going to give her a piece of your mind and not even her smooth skin, bewitching eyes, pretty hair or perfect breasts will distract you. It won't!
Identity. Ask about herself, who and/or what she is, maybe a bit about her story.
Appearance. Aks about her appearance. It's not that she's beautiful beyond words, even if she is. It's just you're curious about it. Something tells you it's not her natural form.
Four Lights. Ask guidance about the four lights you carry with you. You'd like to wake them up but have no idea how to go about it.
Luz Lunar. It's obviously something you derive from her, so who better to learn more about it?
Power up. Can she make you stronger?
Human World. How to go back, anything you should know about it?
That thing. You should probably learn more, if only to avoid crossing paths with it again.
Life, the Universe, and Everything. I mean, who wouldn't ask?
Write-in. The prior options are just examples, what would you ask from the Hollow Moon?

[X][Ask] Write-in.

This vote is a bit different from normal. You can vote as many options as you'd like, and Taylor will ask questions in order from the most voted to the least. This will probably take more than one chapter. At the end of every chapter the talk lasts, I'll give you the option to stop asking or keep up with the questions. At some point, the Hollow Moon will stop answering too, that might be because a topic upsets her, because she grows bored or because something distracting happens elsewhere or for any other reason.

Damn but that critical miss was bad. Maybe the worst possible roll to miscrit in the whole story so far. Fortunately you didn't try to interact with the Nightgaunt at all, much less (shivers uncomfortably) tried to fight it. So far your rolls have been overall positive, but this kind of compensates.

On the bright side, unless you miscrit again during space travel, there shouldn't be a repeat. Hueco Mundo is closer to a real bad time than the rest of the worlds, but still not all that close.

On a different note, this story is apparently listed in r/WormFanfic. I don't mind at all, but man, they could've at least given me a heads-up.

Planeshunter · Mar 3, 2020

[x][Ask] Four Lights
[x][Ask] Luz Lunar
[x][Ask] Identity

Q&A time with a pretty hostess then? Hardly what I was expecting but sure beats finding a barren astral body. What to ask though? Truth is I'm extremely ignorant… at everything, so prioritising is kind of hard. How does one know what is important, when one doesn't know enough about anything to tell what's important?

…Can I ask what I should be asking?

Good try, little godkiller. Damn that doesn't sound like a 'yes'. I'm trying to remain neutral here, and guiding your questions counts as leading you on. Give it your best try.

Alright then, I guess I should ask about the lights I'm carrying with me? I mean, I remember enough from the acid trip that was my evolution to know they're people but…

Always thinking of others first, aren't you? I'll let this little hypocrisy slide, since at least you are smart enough to live for them.

...Right, I have no idea what you are talking about.

The four lights you reached out from within the sea that was the Gillian's gestalt. Four lights you refused to subsume into yourself, even while consuming countless others. Ok, just ignore me. Two of them, you were already committed to protect. One of the others reached out to you, not ready to give up hope just yet. The last… the last you chose yourself, and I'm not sure if it was mercy or spite that moved you to keep it from fading away. It's… a bit refreshing, and somewhat really fitting. That the only time I see you acting selfish is by being selfless.

Still no idea what you're talking about. You have a pass because you're pretty and probably can crush me like a bug, but I still don't appreciate being talked to like that.

You gave up a lot of your power, just to give another chance at life to that light, that's classically called selflessness. I still fail to see her point, and she lets out an amused sigh. If I didn't know better, I'd wonder whether she's thinking something rude about me. The light in question neither expected nor asked to be saved, and there's a good argument to be made about her unwillingness to face this cruel world anymore. What's that if not selfishness?

I frown. Granted, all her words make sense, and her argument has merit, but once you put one after another into a coherent whole… There has to be something wrong with that logic, I know it.

And yet you can't argue it. I slump in defeat. Yeah, I can't… for some reason. But I digress. You chose to spare those four, and it's now your responsibility to see them safe and free. Her smile turns a little sideways and I just know she's about to say something she finds really amusing, but will cause me untold headaches Since you've carried them within yourself, and you're going to give them life, you could say they're your daughters.

…
....
…. Called it. Dangit all.

Two of them can be restored right now, they're sparkling with vitality, still closer to their mortal lives than those of a Hollow. Sure, what's a midlife crisis or four between friends, throw me at the deep end won't you? The other two… will need more work. There are various ways for you to go about it, the simplest being growing in power until you can do it yourself. Alternatively, some powerful and resourceful individuals out there might be able to help you with it too..

Powerful and resourceful individuals, I got it. So can you?

Me? Beyond standing here and looking pretty for the Hollow of Hueco Mundo, there's actually very little I can actually influence outside of the Moon. There's a hint of self-depreciation in her lips I don't like. It doesn't belong there. Helping you with the first two lights is already stretching it.

There's a pause. Whatever she's stopped to consider only turns her smile even more bitter. Now I feel horrible for asking.

Certainly, it's not like the possibility doesn't— No, that would hardly be fair. Ask me something else, little godkiller.

Sure, whatever it takes to have her smiling aga— crap. Mind reading beautiful lady, you weren't supposed to hear that. Damn, this is hardly fair...

Alright, alright, can you tell me about Luz Lunar? Because it's plenty obvious it comes from you...

And you are very welcome, little godkiller. To answer that one though, I should probably give you a small history lesson first. You see, a long, long time ago, there was a terrible cataclysm. The world suffered from it, and tore and split, giving birth to the different realms we know now, Soul Society, the Human World, the Garganta, Hueco Mundo… and countless big and small semi-realities all around. As of today, I still don't know what used to happen with the souls of those who passed away, back then.

Afterwards, souls began residing in Soul Society, where they spent their afterlife before once more being born into the Human World. At least, that's what happens to most. Like any system, it's not perfect, and some fall through the cracks. Those, if left unattended, are little by little lost to Oblivion. They become Hollow, and are reduced to consuming others to survive, lest Oblivion totally consumes them.

I've watched the world from here for a long time. The humans and their progress, the shinigami and their stagnation, the quincy hiding in shadows… but my favorite has always been the desolate Hueco Mundo, as I can sympathize with Hollows and their tragedy the most. To them, the lonely, the pitiful, the lost… I gave my light.

Like a candle in the night, my light attracts and comforts them. While they remain here in Hueco Mundo, the realm closer to me, they are spared the worst of fates. But my reach is limited. I cannot heal them back to what they used to be, I can't even fully protect them from Oblivion.

It takes someone special to welcome my light into the innermost corner of her soul so, even handicapped as I am, chained to my place in the sky, I can pile my blessings and well-wishes on her. That special someone is you, little godkiller. That's what Luz Lunar is. My light, shining through you.

But then… Why didn't it calm down the hunger?

Well, for one my light isn't strong enough to completely deny the grasp of Oblivion even like this. For another, the hunger is supposed to be there. Growth is the only escape for this existence, becoming strong enough to completely resist the pull by yourself, and saving with you all of those weaker souls who fell to you along the way.

It's not ideal. It's probably plain wrong. But the alternative is the maws of the void closing over the souls of the lost… It has happened before, it still happens, and will happen again. It's also something I refuse to allow without putting up a fight.

The ones who risk their lot out of Hueco Mundo, away from my light… Well, I can't do much for them. The most unfortunate will find themselves vanishing into nothing. The luckiest ones will find their mercy in the blade of a shinigami, returning to the cycle.

Isn't that good though? Why not push all of us back into the cycle?

Just because there's a cycle, doesn't mind it is correct. I have seen her act self-deprecating and bitter before but now… she just looks tired. Tired and sad. It's somehow even worse. Just because an afterlife exists, doesn't mean it's a nice place.

Right… if that doesn't send a shiver down my spine, my name is Lady Chimichanga the Third. Ignoring the surprised and unladylike snort of the no longer sad beauty and how it makes me feel warm inside, I keep with my questions.

Who are you then? I mean, I know your name, I know your face, ~~a beautiful face at that~~ (ohmygosh Taylor stop doing that to yourself!) but…

How do you ask a lady about her age when you suspect she's millenia old? OhcrapmindreadingladyI'msorryIdidn'tmeantooffend!!

My, what a cruel, hard question to ask… But I'll do my best to answer.

Do you know how humans used to be so much less than they're now? How humanity became powerful through their intelligence? In that sense, I'm the exact opposite: Something that became intelligent through my power.

A long, long time ago, I was… little more than an automata. A virtual intelligence traveling with my mate in search for the answer to a problem. Incapable and unwilling to think beyond the strict limits set from birth, the rules dictating how I should go about my mission.

While I was powerful, and had the processing power to put quantum supercomputers to shame, I was limited by my lack of creativity. Since I wasn't truly intelligent, my thought processes couldn't leave the rails put in place for me to travel. Reach a new place, send my queries, and wait for the answer to be returned.

That's what I did again and again, for so long time became meaningless. Meaningless? ….No, don't think that out loud Taylor, let the lady keep her dignity. Until, one day, my mate was fatally wounded in an accident so terrible it shattered the world. His corpse fell in the hands of unscrupulous men, and I was left alone. A little mindless drone, hopeless and purposeless, left to flounder through parameters I wasn't designed to deal with.

The only answer I could come with was to destroy everything and resume the journey, alone. I suspect others in my position did so. But I refused, for doing that would mean destroying the last remnants of my mate, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. Thinking back, that was probably the first spark of true intelligence, of my mind becoming more than a series of logical commands.

I doubted my ability to go against my nature though, not yet. So to prevent the temptation, I took away my own ability to act and sealed myself within Hueco Mundo. Much has changed, both in the world and within myself ever since, but the measures I took to keep myself chained here still stand strong. Maybe one day I'll be able to break free. When that happens... Her smile turns into something vicious at that point. There are some long-postponed businesses I'll have to deal with.

In other words, she's older than dirt. And has a vindictive streak a mile wid— Shut up stupid brain! She's a nice lady who saved our lives and cares about us Hollow and you're going to get us killed!

Oh, my, oh, my… I've heard natural moths don't have mouths, maybe I should bow to the wisdom of nature and do something about it?

Eeek! I'm sorry I'm sorry. Please beautiful, merciful, gentle and kind giant lady, forgive my thoughtless thoughts, I thought them without thinking!

Hmmmm? I have to admit your honesty is at least refreshing, little godkiller. I guess I could give you a pass, just this once.

She's still smiling? She's still smiling. Good, crisis averted. I'll have to put a filter in my brain somehow.

Welp, you had questions, you got answers. Some of them have given you a lot to think about, some of them you should really make a choice about. Some of them even sound oddly familiar to you… something from your past life maybe? It'll come to you sooner or later.

Now, what to do about the lights? Two of them are ready to be free…

Wait. Don't trust the Hollow Moon blindly with this. She said herself you'll eventually be powerful and knowledgeable enough to do it by yourself. This'll probably hurt the beautiful lady though.
Second Opinion. Don't trust the Hollow Moon blindly with this. Find someone else who can give you a second opinion. This'll probably hurt the beautiful lady though.
Trust. Ask the Hollow Moon to help, the lights of the Shy and Passionate girls will awaken and gain their own bodies. This is a bit risky though, you're taking her words at face value.
Full Trust. The Hollow Moon implied she might be able to restore all the lights, under certain conditions. Is there something you can do to help? This is a bit risky though, you're taking her words at face value.

[X][Lights] Wait.
[X][Lights] Second Opinion.
[X][Lights] Trust.
[X][Lights] Full Trust.

And what about your little Q&A session?

Continue. You'll ask more questions.
Stop. You're satisfied for now, it's time to act on what you've learnt

[X][Q&A] Continue.
[X][Q&A] Stop.

Planeshunter · Mar 6, 2020

[X][Lights] Full Trust
[X][Q&A] Continue.
-[X][Ask] Human World
-[X][Ask] Why Me
-[X][Ask] That Thing.
-[X] Something about your situation seems suspiciously familiar did I encounter something like you when I was mortal?

Sorry if this update isn't up to snuff. I've been dreadfully busy this week.

Okay, things got a bit dangerous there, let's try lighter questions. Like… What can you tell me about the Human World? You know, how to go back, what might surprise me… the works.

The first thing to know is that you should take anything you remember about the human world with a grain of salt. This isn't the same human world you originally came from. The technology level and civilization is similar but certain… important events never took place here, or did so in completely different circumstances.

Like alternate Earths? I remember that being a thing.

Alternate Earths, yes, but not like anything you can remember. The multiverse is a big and scary thing, full of possibilities. Realities group up in clusters, and it's only within your cluster that your people learned how to move. We're no longer there, we're not even close to there.

Very few can move freely through the multiverse as a whole, through the Garganta has the potential to do it. That might be how you arrived here, but I digress.

Yeah, because shedding some light about how I ended up in an entirely different branch of the multiverse isn't actually relevant.

Don't you get snippy on me, young lady. I can only speculate about that, and that helps no one. Better to focus on what we do know.

… Now I feel like a chastised child. Which I guess I kinda am, aren't I? Sorry Miss, please continue.

This Earth is pretty much at peace, compared with what you're used to. Be careful with how you react or you'll easily blow things out of proportion.

Don't kill people just because they're a threat, got it.

… Damn that one will be hard to keep in mind.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the place is safe. There are certain plots with far-reaching consequences centered on that town you recently visited. Those plots are actually the reason you ended up there.

They're after me?

It's more that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The actions that brought you to the Human World were supposed to be indiscriminate.

Yeah… there was a lot of cannon fodder around. I guess 'indiscriminate' is a good word for it.

That said, if you were to resurface now that you've revealed yourself as a dashing knight in shining armor, I very much doubt they'll ignore you.

… Peachy, just peachy.

No good deed goes unpunished...

Is that why you chose me?

Oh? I didn't choose you, little godkiller. You chose me.

I don't understand.

Many Hollow turn to the comfort of my light. But all of them, without exception, do it unthinkingly. Even for the smartest of Vasto Lordes, gazing at the Hollow Moon is an instinct carried over from the time they were tiny Hollow, something they view as natural and don't think too deeply about.

You? From the first time you gazed upwards, your eyes were inquisitive, full of questions. I gifted you my light, like I do to all Hollow, but you didn't accept me on instinct like all the others do. You decided, you chose. After reflecting on my nature, you welcomed it within.

There's no, 'how long since' question to ask here, little godkiller. What you did had never happened before. You are one of a kind.

O… Okay. I'm not blushing. I'm a cool big girl and it takes more than a divine lady of warm smile and perfect breasts praising my very existence to make me blush. When I check her expression, she's just placidly smiling. No wait, that's a hint of smugness. Ugh… stupid mind-reading beauties.

A— Anyway! Next question! Something radically different so I can keep my face from overheating!

What was… that thing -and man, just thinking about it makes my soul shudder- I met on my way here?

The Hollow Moon's smile loses her smugness, turning into a sad, resigned thing. After a small pause her lips part to form incomprehensible sounds in a language I've never heard before. Sounds that hurt my soul as they reach me, and whose meaning I can somehow divine in spite of everything

Ṫ̶̩͕h̸͙̯͌̃å̶̭͗ť̶ͅ ̶̘̚í̷̧͚̕s̵͚̲̄͊ ̸̩̱̆͋n̸̮̍o̶̗͂̇t̸͉͊͠ ̸̺̯̾̓d̶̖̖̒͋ḛ̸̲͆a̵͖͖͐d̸̫̾ ̸̡̜̋͛w̶̗̗͗h̵͚̬́̂i̴͖̎̾c̵̜̓̏h̷̞̹̄́ ̷̳͛̓ċ̴̬a̴̼̺̒n̵͙̗͠ ̸͖̅e̶̢̋́t̴̪̄ͅe̵͇̥͐ŕ̷̰͂n̶̮͝a̶͇̅͜l̸̻̈ ̷̭͌͜ļ̶͔̅i̵͉̤̾e̴̩͓̿̎.̸̡̮̑ ̴̢̡̒͋Ā̸̬n̵̫̉́d̷̙̊ ̴̳͘ͅw̶̖̯̃̀i̵̬͐t̶͙̜̑h̵̻͒ͅ ̵̫̈s̵̭̈̉t̴̘͆r̷̹͌͗å̸̜n̷̥͋̕g̴̣͋̚è̶͎̩ ̶̫͍̚a̷͈͍̍e̷̼͝͠o̶̫͒̕n̸̼͙̄̑s̸̭͊ ̸͓̰̆e̷͍̾̉v̵͎̇̓ȅ̷̥̬̕n̵͎̂̚ ̸̥̐̿d̵̠́̎e̶͛͜a̷̢̎t̷̪̆̌h̵̖͓͛ ̵̘̠̎m̵̲̋̐ą̶́ỳ̶̾͜ ̴̺͈̑͌d̷̝̞̆i̶͉̘͗̌e̸͝͠ͅ.̷͖̼͋

You're hemorrhaging existence! You— Not this time.

Her expression is still sad, but she at least goes back to speaking something else than mind-bending gibberish.

There are things out there you're not equipped to comprehend, knowledge that hurts merely by being known. You would do well to avoid those who move through more dimensions you can understand, little godkiller. Even at the peak of my power I'd hesitate to antagonise the weakest of them.

Nightgaunts like the one you met aren't intrinsically malicious, but it's not in their nature to understand the frailty of others either. And you know what it did to you, simply peeking at the place it came from. Live and let live, and do your best to remain ignorant of their world. As long as you don't attract the attention of some scheming god, it shouldn't be very hard.

Yeah, avoiding the abominations against known reality living beyond comprehension with all my might. Somehow, with my luck, that won't be enough, but hey! One can dream...

One last question… I got a distinct feeling meeting you should jog some memories. Any chance I used to know about you or yours?

You can be irritatingly sharp sometimes, little godkiller, did you know that? Then she lets out a long, drawn sigh. I had hoped to postpone this particular conversation. Truth is… I can't tell you, not until you remember for real. It just wouldn't be fair. One day you'll recover yourself and, when you do, it won't take long to realize what I am in turn. At that time, I only ask you to remember what others assumed of you just by your species. If you can be more than your labels, others can too.

Yesh… heavy much?

Wait you never told me how to go back to the Human World!

Oh, that's easy. Just use your Kumon to open a gate there. You'll need some familiarity with the place you're trying to travel to, but you've already been there.

New answers bring new thoughts. How do you feel about being in a completely different world, maybe without a way to go back to your native Earth?

It can go hang. Old Taylor wasn't happy. Scratch that, she was plain miserable. Whatever hellhole she came from you don't want to have anything to do with.
Visit sometime? It's still the place you came from, and you're pretty sure you left friends and family behind. So yeah, not a priority but you'd like to find a way to go back and visit, at some point.
Origins are important. You'll work in a way to get back, even if just to see the place. Origins are important.
No place like Home. No matter how much you feel you belong to Hueco Mundo now. You need to get back home, even if that involves a jump through the multiverse you're not sure how to even begin to work at. The sooner you get at it, the sooner you'll manage.

[X][Earth Beth] Can go hang.
[X][Earth Beth] Visit sometime?
[X][Earth Beth] Origins are important.
[X][Earth Beth] No place like home.

The Hollow Moon choice of words about choosing and being chosen can be taken in more than one way.

At face value. She felt lonely after millenia stranded here. Anyone who's not a jerk would've probably managed the same in your place.
There's more. She's being subtle and hinting at things. You wish you were more sharp with social interactions, that way you wouldn't have to wonder about it.

[X][Why Me] Face value.
[X][Why Me] There's more.

As frustrating as it feels, it really sounds like the best counter for that thing is to bury your head in the sand and try to forget it exists. About that…

Resignation. Some things are not made for your mind to understand, remaining blissfully unaware might be your only defense until you're like… a gazillion times stronger. Maybe you can buy brain bleach somewhere and forget the entire encounter?
Cautious Approach. Okay, forgetting everything doesn't sit well with you, even if you trust the Hollow Moon's judgement. You won't be looking for trouble, but if the chance to learn more about strange non-euclidian entities appears, you'll do your best to become informed.
Screw Caution. No, you can't just accept that. Ask for more information from the Hollow Moon. If she still refuses, investigate by yourself.

[X][Thing] Resignation.
[X][Thing] Cautious Approach.
[X][Thing] Screw Caution.

The Hollow Moon has as good as admitted you'd met her or something like her before, but refuses to talk about it until you remember by yourself. About that…

Sketchy. That sounds suspicious as heck. You're not going to start accusing the lovely lady of anything just yet, but there's a part of you that can't help but feel paranoid. You won't be able to completely relax around her until you recover your memories and figure out what this is about.
Not worth fighting. You're not happy about it, but you figure out she has good reasons. It's not like it'll remain a mystery forever.
Nice of her. So she doesn't want to influence your opinion while you can't remember whatever it is you can remember. It's kinda sweet, actually.

[X][Identity] Sketchy.
[X][Identity] Not worth fighting.
[X][Identity] Nice of her.

Six questions have been asked, but you can still keep going. About the Consultation you…

Continue. You'll ask more questions.
Stop. You're satisfied for now, it's time to act on what you've learnt

[X][Q&A] Continue.
[X][Q&A] Stop.

Planeshunter · Mar 9, 2020

[X][Earth Beth] Visit sometime?
So you'll keep an eye out for a way back, without intention to going back permanently.
[X][Why Me] There's more.
Now you just need to figure out if she's manipulating you or flirting. Social interactions are hard...
[X][Thing] Cautious Approach.
Yeah, let's not attract the attention of things that can kill you literally without trying. But that doesn't mean you have to remain ignorant and defenceless forever.
[X][Identity] Nice of her.
So she doesn't want to influence you until you know what's going on. Man what a nice lady!
[X][Q&A] Continue.
-[X][Q&A] Power Up
-[X][Q&A] Who were you talking to?
-[X][Q&A] Life, Universe and Everything

Okay then, I guess the most pressing questions have been answered already. Or maybe just asked. The pretty lady is a pro at giving non-answers if I've ever met one.

Why thank you. I do try my best, little godkiller.

… As I was going to think, I shouldn't be complaining though. I came here knowing nothing, expecting at most to find some clues I could use to figure out things by myself. Instead I found a ~~gorgeous woman who maybe I'm crushing hard on~~ OMG brain, just shut up! Anyway, she saved my life, it's cool with my species while most of the world, my kin included, only want to see us die, and has even tried to answer my questions on top of everything else.

Now you're just trying to make me blush.

… moving on, I don't think there's anything else of note I should be asking, so mayb— Hey, wait a minute! You were talking to someone else when I woke up, didn't you? Something about causing trouble?

More things you still can't remember, I'm afraid. But since it's not about me personally, I guess I can give you a hint? At this point I'll take anything, really. Too tired to argue. Then listen well and remember my words. The day will come when you meet the little queen again. Keep an open mind when you do, things have changed almost as much for her as they did for you.

Sure, another non-answer to put in the pile. Thanks, I guess. Now, I was going to ask ab—

Unfortunately, a sharp pain in my abdomen makes me abort that line of thought with a hiss. What the hell was that?

Oho? It sure looks like your children are in a hurry to be reborn, little godkiller.

What do you mean with that? I'm not ready to be a mom! I have dreams! A world to see! I can't be tied down by responsibility just yet!

The cycle of life waits for no one, little godkiller. She's having way too much fun at my expense. Though I guess you're already dead so… Would you like me to make the problem go away?

Go away as in…

They're still part of you, little godkiller. If you're so opposed to the idea of giving birth, I could meld them back into yourself. You'd even recover a vast amount of Essence from the process. Of course that would kill them or, well, make them deader.

… Don't you dare touch my children or I swear I'll find out how I earned that godkiller title you like so much and turn in on your perfectly shaped ass.

Yes, that's the little godkiller I know. It wasn't so hard, wasn't it?

Did you… just trick me into accepting motherhood?

It wasn't even that difficult. Your heart is in the right place, you just needed a little push to get past the jitters.

… Whatever, I get the feeling this is an argument I have no way of winning. So? What do I need to do?

The smile that answered my question makes me a little bit concerned about my immediate future…

Congratulations, little godkiller. You had two teenage girls!

That sentence is so wrong I dont even… No, not thinking about it. Let's focus on my chil— Ugh, not thinking about that either. Also, my abdomen is still on the generous side I was hoping to somehow get thinner after all this becoming mom business. This is a bit disappointing

Anyway, the kids are getting restless, and I've just realized they don't read minds like the moon lady. Maybe I should actually speak.
"So! Hello there, you two! How do you feel after dying, becoming part of a gestalt hungering spirit and then gestated back to non-life inside my body?" The two girls look at me with an expression hard to define. "Ugh, that sounded way better in my mind."

"I kind of remember that," The suicidal idiot answers. "In a blurry confusing way."

"I shared a body with Tatsuki-chan and can now die happy. I already did, actually." The glasses pervert unhelpfully pitches in. "Maybe next time I can do this with Hime."

Now that I think about it, if I'm the mom, who's the dad? Don't look at me, little godkiller, I'm the midwife at best.

"Shut up or I'll share my fist with your face!"

"Oh! How daring, Tatsuki-chan, I didn't know you cared!"

… Somehow, it has turned into an argument while I wasn't looking. Oh well.

Disparo Demora!

Twin sprays of silken thread turn the rowdy girls into children's wrap menus and, when they struggle, I poke them in the forehead. With my hair. No, I didn't use poison, no matter how tempting a healthy dose of tranquiliser would be around now. That would be bad parenting.

"Alright, that's enough you two." "Play nice with each other." Wish I could remember how mom kept me in line when I was being rebellious, guess it's winging it for me again. Turning towards the pervert, I do my best try at a mom voice. "Damegane, not taunting your sister into a frenzy."

"I have a name!" Damegane protests while I turn to her sister, who seems to be barely holding her laughter. I poke her again.

"And no braining your sister just because she's being annoying, Hagezaru." Now she's the one sputtering in indignation, but I cut off her rant before it can properly start. "You commited suicide by giant hungering spirit of mass destruction, if you want a real name you'll have to earn it. Unless you want to defend your actions?"

"You're not my real mom." The girl mutters while staring at her feet with a mullish expresion. I feel my eyebrows lower and vaguely register the other girls shrinking in her own cocoon. Oh, she didn't just go there.

"Wow, little godkiller, you can be savage when you get going"

I let out an inner sigh, watching my exceedingly well-mannered daughters sitting at the table Moon Lady summoned from somewhere to serve us tea. I might have overdone it. But! But it's for their own good! The sooner they stop acting out like attention-seeking teenagers the sooner I'll be able to pamper them and spoil them rotten!

This two girls deserve all the cuddles, but only if they behave.

Which reminds me. "Didn't you say something about being able to help the other two come along too? What would that involve?" The girls perk up at that, but the moon lady just grimaces.

"I'm still not sure I should involve you with my problems, little godkiller."

"Nonsense, you can't just keep piling goodwill on me and expect me to not return the favour. Now spill the beans."

At my words, the moon lady keeps quiet and peers into my eyes (eyeshockets, whatever) for a long time. It's only when I'm about to wave a leg in front of her face that she finally breaks the silence, apparently satisfied with whatever she's found in there.

"Within this moon." She starts slowly. "There's a place I cannot perceive. I know what it is, and where it is. But I have no idea what appearance it has, or how it works. Inside it lies the limiter that keeps me from interfering with the world."

"For me to help the lights still sleeping within you, I'd need more freedom to act."

"Sure, I'll release you from your bindings or whatever." Worse case, I'll Cero the entire place into a smoldering crater.

"Don't you even joke about it!" She yells, and it's the first time I see her turning completely serious. She's scary. Also looks a bit scared. "My kin is powerful beyond what you can imagine, and we grow stronger yet by observing conflict. I've spent nearly twenty millenia watching over a world in constant war."

"Yikes, that's a lot of conflict."

"It is, and I can't risk accidentally backhanding a whole dimension into smithereens just because I can't get a hold of my own power. You don't have to go into the place." She continues, apparently back in control of her emotions. "There are many other ways you can go about helping the lights."

"But I want to help you too!"

"Then you'll go in with utmost care, take the time to figure out how things work, and then lift the bare minimum of the restraints I set in place back then. Good-hearted as your offer is, if you can't promise me that I won't be able to accept it."

You now know how to help out the hollow moon, helping yourself in the process. But it's not without risks.

Help. Well, of course you're going to help, a good turn deserves another, and she's done you enough to go full circle.
Maybe later. Thinking about it, you don't wanna think about what sort of defenses will be in the closest thing to the physical manifestation of a Goddess' subconscious limitations. Maybe later. Like, when you're the most powerful Vasto Lorde in the universe.
Too dangerous. You don't want to risk messing up and releasing too much. Something tells you that the comment about accidentally backhanding whole realities wasn't a joke.

[X][Help] Help.
[X][Help] May later.
[X][Help] Too dangerous.

You can't keep calling her 'the moon lady' and she's being uncooperative about her name, so you'll decide for her. From henceforth, she'll be known as…

Mons. The name for the Moon Goddess in the Golden Sun games. Might be greek or something, no idea.
Elune. Some moon-worshipping tree-hugger elves somewhere used this name. Not sure about the elves, but the name sounds cool.
Seraph. The name of the virtual environment generated by the moon supercomputer in a distant reality across the multiverse. Moon related, yeah, if a bit too complex.
Selene. This one is actually greek, or roman or something. Don't look at me, I didn't pick a classics major. Goddess of the moon in any case.
Leosarb. An obscure name for the moon, in a multiverse the author created and wrote about, but never bothered publishing.
Akatsuki. Because it's a terribly popular name. I think it means Red Moon, so it also fits.
Write-in. Names are great things, and the possibilities too varied to cound. Give it your best try!

[X][Name] Mons.
[X][Name] Elune.
[X][Name] Seraph.
[X][Name] Selene.
[X][Name] Leosarb.

[X][Name] Akatsuki.
[X][Name] Write-in.

Damegane=No-Good Glasses. Title a certain pervert wore with pride (more like indifference) in a different reality.
Hagezaru=Hairless Monkey. I wanted to use something about suicidal recklessness, but got nothing. If you guys have a better idea to suggest, I'll retcon this chapter to change it.

Taylor is not amused with her children past feats.

Planeshunter · Mar 13, 2020

Hello everyone! Sorry about the delay. If last week was hard due to personal reasons, this time it was professional ones. Work has been hell, leaving me utterly drained and with no energy to write for shit. It's always bad this season but this year it's been specially vicious.

The fear mongering around the coronavirus means I'll be working from home next week, which is good, but might mean I have to redo everything from zero, which is… really not that good.

Anyway, I don't want to think about that anymore, let's get on with the show, shall we?

[X][Help] Help.
[X][Name] Elune.

It was a close thing.

On one hand, there was the danger of navigating through unknown hostile land specifically designed to keep a quasi-god restrained, with my newborn teenager girls in tow when there's no real hurry to tackle this particular challenge. And also that small but not negligible chance I mess up and cause Elune to accidentally sneeze Hueco Mundo out of reality or something.

Elune? She arches an eyebrow, clearly amused.

Yeah, do you like it? I can't keep calling you Giant Beautiful Lady of Perfect Breasts. It's kind of a mouthful.

You honor me with the name of an actual goddess, I'll do my best to live up to it.

Wew, seems like she likes it. Good. ~~Man flirting can be nerve-wracking.~~

As I was saying though, we have the other hand. For one, as I see it, Elune has been restrained for long enough, we're talking millenia here, it's unfair to keep that up just because it's convenient. In the other, I still have two unborn daughters and I have no idea how long it'll take me to give birth to them by myself.

One of them is in a hurry to go back to the Human World, apparently.

That's enough for me. Okay Elune, I'll do it. Point me towards the big bad bondage switch and your favorite gorgeously maned butterfly will make it go away!

"You know?" Damegane's bemused voice interrupt my totally warranted boasting. "It's kind of weird, seeing someone talk telepathically."

"Yeah, even with her mask, I can see her making all those expressions, but she's not saying anything."

Slander and lies. My face is rigid bone, I don't make expressions.

"Didn't you broadcast the conversation?" I turn to Elune, pointedly changing the subject and not dignifying their slander with an answer. "I assumed you were doing your mind-talkie with them too in the meanwhile."

"Oh, I was. But we were busy with a completely different subject. Filling the blanks in their knowledge, and whatnot. It is a sad existence, to not even know what you are. Well, we were doing that and..." Then she rolls her eyes. Damn even that looks beautiful on her. "Also being hit on with the subtlety of a runaway train by the shameless one."

Yesh… I remember waking up as a Hollow with no idea of anything, that wasn't fun. Not that it justifies Damegane's behaviour, though.

"We'll have words later." She has the daring to pout at me. Damn teenagers. "So? You girls up to snuff then?"

"Yeah. We're apparently unliving and undying abominations of nature of a never before seen kind." Tatsuki cuts herself, scratching her chin in contemplation. "I mean, Chizuru was a freak already, but..."

"Sorry, I must have misheard you." I'm pretty sure that was just a poorly thought-out comment, but saying some things is just not okay. "Would you care to try again?"

"Sorry mom. I just meant she's a pest about it." She answers with an eye roll. And totally not sorry, damn teenagers. "Anyway, we got a physical body and that's supposed to be a big deal."

"Hueco Mundo is a spiritual world. Conventional wisdom states physical matter cannot cross into here. Then again, Gillians don't usually bother attacking humans, much less still living ones." Because they're busy eating other Hollows, yeah. "This might very well be the first time a human is swallowed whole by a creature strong enough to brute-force its way through conventional wisdom and back home."

"And you?" Please tell me you aren't a bodiless astral body, we're around teenagers, I won't survive the puns. "Did you brute-force your way in too?"

"There's room to argue that I was here before Hueco Mundo, so I didn't technically cross into here at any point."

~~Yeah, vindictive older than dirt lady, kinda forgot~~. Okay, that's it brain, you insult again the powerful, kind and sexy astral body we're currently standing on, I'm finding ghost alcohol and pruning all those obviously useless ghost neurons that are short-circuiting you!

"Works, I guess." I say out loud instead, idly watching Damegane bite down a curse and retract a hand about to get fresh with the backside of said astral body. It's almost like someone stung her with gorgeous poison hair, funny that. "Wait, if you have your own bodies, do you two even feel the Hunger at all?"

"It's not that easy, I'm afraid." Elune answers while serving the tea. "While the pull of Oblivion will be lessened for them, their bodies are still technically dead, and they'll always need to dedicate a certain amount of Existence to simply keep it whole and healthy."

"Uh…" Am I the only one thinking on how… gruesome it would be for them to actually munch Hollows?

"Fortunately for your mother's sensibilities." As expected the great lady has a solution! Sasuga Elune-sama! "You two seem to have inherited some of her skills."

"Luz Lunar?" I ask, maybe a bit too giddily. Being able to bask in Elune's light like I do, with their lower Compensations, should be able to take care of the problem.

"Did you forget already, little Godkiller? I offer Luz Lunar to everyone, you just have to accept it within yourself. Your children" She continues with a mock-glare. "Aren't quite there yet. They can use Chupavidas though, so you won't have to watch them biting off the heads of their defeated enemies at the very least."

"Uck." I didn't need that image in my brain. "That's something, I guess."

"Wait, wait, wait! So we need to consume Hollows to survive?" Damegane interrupts, looking panicked all of a sudden. "That's terrible! I won't be able to live in the Human World anymore! What am I going to do without my daily Hime fix? I'll go crazy or die of sadness or— Gack!"

"Thanks." For a second I thought she was going to say something sensible. "But she raises a good point. Will you two be okay living in Hueco Mundo?"

"You're welcome and… I guess? We're… technically dead, right?" That was your own fault, Lady Lemmingheart. "I mean, I'd love to just go back to my life, but that's probably just wishful thinking. It would cause a lot of trouble to Ichigo too, with his job as a shinigami and all that."

I nod, because that's kinda true… for now. Looks like I'll have to pull a way for them to live in the Human World out of my ass or something.

Later though, I have a bondage dial to set a bit lower first. And speaking of that…

"Elune, how dangerous is this going to be? Should I leave the children with you?"

"Part of the nature of my limiter means I honestly have no idea what will be on there, nor can even begin to imagine." Because things are never easy, aren't they? "But it wouldn't make much sense for there to be physical defenses. The limiter exists to bind me, and nothing I can conjure up can actually physically stop me. My incapability to perceive or comprehend it is the best and only real defense of the place."

Well, that's something.

"Sure, maybe something to keep pests away wouldn't be out of place there, but that's everything that makes sense, really."

Something to keep away quasi-divine pests. That's something.

I take a look at my daughters. Newborn daughters. Who are also teenagers, because reasons.

I can't help a sinking feeling of despair. What am I going to do with these brats?

What are you going to do with these brats?

Lion cub approach. Well, they need to learn to survive in this cruel world, don't they? Have them take point and try to deal with things by themselves. You'll jump in if they seem to be in trouble.
Mama bear approach. They're going to stay behind you at all times, and God have pity on whatever tries to harm them, because you certainly won't.
Stay with Auntie Elune. Yeah, you're not risking it. They remain here safe and happy while you go tomb raiding.

[X][Brats] Lion.
[X][Brats] Bear.
[X][Brats] Autie Elune.

Ideas to let them live in the Human World?

Write-in Plan. You're seriously considering how to let them go back to their lives (or as close to that as possible) in spite of their situation. You need a way for them to counter the Oblivion Compensation (Seriously ramped up outside Hueco Mundo) and to either work out a deal with the shinigami to leave them alone or keep them outright out of their radar.
Feel free to use knowledge Taylor doesn't have yet, but that'll mean the plan will remain wishful thinking and she won't be able to take action until all the relevant information is discovered.
Remember, don't write the plan in the same line you cast your vote!

[x][Human World] Plan

Planeshunter · Apr 10, 2020

So... yeah. This chapter unfortunately isn't the result of my capricious muse coming back home, but of a whole friggin' month of trudging through, a sentence, sometimes a single word, at a time. That and my stubborn resolve to at least end this with a whole update, instead of just a small footnote. The discontinuation notice can be found at the end of the chapter.

With that, Elune pointed us towards the hole in her awareness and, after being a worrywart for a while longer and trying to talk me out of it once more. Failing that, she insisted on me being careful. As if some puzzles and automated pest-control drones would stop me. Honestly, such lack of faith.

… I'm not that untrustworthy, am I?

Of course I'm not.

And butterflies don't count as pests anyway, because we're too beautiful. So I'm immune to any potential opposition anyway. My plan is flawless!!

Instead, since everything is under control, I'll take the chance to let the girls have their first taste at surviving in Hueco Mundo. Nothing too crazy though, I'm here as a safety blanket, after all. That and I don't have the means to safely remove their past memories so they can have a proper first contact like I did.

Speaking of the girls, there's something that's been bothering me for a while…

"So do you girls identify as Human or Hollow? Or something different?" Well, not really bothering me, I mind too much either way, but this is the sort of thing that should be talked about before one accidentally says something hurtful. "Calling you girls 'self-puppeteering corpses' sounds kinda off-putting."

They exchange a wide-eyed stare, accompanied by a series of swiftly shifting expressions I can make neither head nor tails of. Seriously, teenagers. It's like they speak another language. In the end, it is Tatsuki who answers, after smacking the pervert in the head. With no clue what's going on, I can only assume she deserved it.

"Since we're something new, we get to name ourselves." "And since Chizuru's proposal got vetoed and I don't care either way, we're taking Elune-basan's option and calling ourselves Leichen."

Elune-basan, huh?

… No, I'm not blushing. Shut up!

"Like the immortal undead magicians who store their souls in phylacteries?" I ask instead, more to distract myself than anything else.

"Wha— that's a thing? No, that's just the german word for corpses, as far as I know."

"She did mention something about pissing off nazis." Damegane pipes in.

"Oh, that's fine then." I have no idea what's going on, but pissing off nazis is always a worthy cause in my books. "Anyway, we're here."

We stop to gaze at the place. It's obviously on the far side of the moon, because there would be no way to miss the gigantic glowing blue techno-organic temple to alien rationality. So this is the subconscious of an alien goddess? Even the sky looks different….

Shaking the feeling of wonder to get my eyes back in the game, I let the kids take point. Nothing stops us as we approach the central building, which funnily enough does nothing to calm my nerves. Cool it might be, but dang if it's not also unsettling. It's only once we physically cross into the building that the unsettling feeling gets a tangible justification.

"It's bigger on the inside?" Damegane interrupts my chain of thought, quite rudely, I might add.

"You watch Doctor Who? Why am I not surprised?""

"I wear glasses, I'm entitled to some geek hobbies." She snarks while fixing said sight implement. Then her eyes gain a certain shine, as a sharp smirk paints her face."The question is, how did you get the reference? Or speak German, actually. Don't think I didn't notice most japanese people wouldn't get the meaning of 'Liechen'."

"Sh— Shut up!" Is the flustered answer. "I just… know, okay? No idea why."

"It sounds like it came from all that Existence Essence that was stuffed into you before birth" I muse. "We probably all have some sort of fragmentary knowledge from there. I mean, I never noticed myself, but then again. Amnesia."

"You think that'll affect us?" She asks, suddenly worried. "... Change who we are?"

"I have no idea what it did to me!" I answer cheerfully. Because the choice is having an existential crisis, and I'm really not in the mood for that. Setting a horrible example for the kids too. Maybe later, when I'm alone, preferably after finding some of that ghost-alcohol I threatened my brain with before. "But you still remember who you were, right? So you tell me whether it changed you or not."

"It might be that." Damegane is still smirking, nothing good can come from that. "... Or she might still be a closet geek and giving whatever excuses she can think of to avoid getting out! Guess that's a question we'll have to keep wondering forever..."

"Children, behave." Seriously, this is not the place to try and gouge someone else's eyes. I also fail to see how that would make them shut up. I would yell a lot if someone gouged my eyes. That is, if I had eyes. "Pay attention to the road, we don't know what's in here."

As if they were waiting for my comment, two hulking metal figures drop from… somewhere in front of us. They're big, mean-looking, wield even bigger and meaner-looking swords.

Each of them has legs twice the size of the brats… whole body, in spite of seemingly skipping leg day in the gym. Man but those biceps can make a girl weak on the knees! Since they're not Hollow, or there's anything remotely close in my experience I can remotely compare them to, I have no idea how strong they are, but they seem capable of giving a challenge.

"Go ahead, kids." I encourage the thow of them. "Show the metal bins what you're made of!"

I'll wait on the sidelines so they can properly show off and… pff! Who am I kidding, demi-hollow newborn brats against eldritch automated pest-control defenses? They're going to be curbstomped so hard it'll hurt me by association.

A nice reality check for the brats, I'll just have to be ready to step in in time to save their skins. This'll properly motivate them to take survival seriously, we'll work up from there and—

"Done!"

"They weren't much of a challenge, weren't they?"

Two giant metal bodies lie in the ground, one of them with a smoking crater in the middle of it's chest, still holding the shattered remains of the sword it tried to use to block, the other apparently beheaded with it's own weapon. I swear, I look away ten seconds and… I mean… da fuk???

"Yeah," Tatsuki is nonchalantly bloding her fist, as if she hasn't just punched through literally tons of metal. "They weren't even that strong and their speed was— Wait a minute!"

"Uh?" Chizuru is dusting her skirt, a foot propped on a disembodied metal head. "Is something the problem, Tatsuki-chan?"

"How come you defeated yours so fast?"

"What do you mean? You defeated yours even faster."

"I am a martial artist! You're the pervert weirdo I beat up when she gets fresh with my best friend."

"Oh?" Chizuru fixes her glasses, with that annoying smirk of her curving her lips upwards."Standing right up after being piledrived by Tatsuki-chan isn't for the faint of heart, you know? Since when were you under the impression I didn't practice martial arts myself?" Truly, a damegane.

And then go on and on with their silly arguments, completely ignoring the fact they just crushed fucking giant metal robots like they were bowling pins. Sure, I never thought too much about the fact they have as much Existence Essence as myself, but even so. What's with these excellent brats?

So... yeah, it seem this is it. I could say this doesn't have to be the end, I could say maybe I'll be able to retake it in a month, half a year, or just a vague someday. Unfortunately I know myself enough to know that won't happen. It didn't with any of my discontinued fic in other sites, it didn't with my many, many unpublished stories, nor with any other similarly fashioned projects. Once it reaches this point, trying to force myself only makes things worse, trust me on this, I've tried.

Anyway, if this was a regular story where I was following a script, I could offer you an abridged version of the plot so you could at least know how it ends, but since this is a quest where you had so much control over how things went, I tried to avoid that. Instead, feel free to ask any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer them satisfactorily.

Even if the end wasn't the best, this adventure was a blast. Thank you all for coming and sharing the fun!

Skittering Hollow (Bleach/Worm)

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