justanotherblogger
Hyperfixations grab me by the neck and don't let go.
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A World Without Him
Chapter 23
Tang doesn't know how long he was trapped for, but he knows it's been long enough, and he wants out. Turns out being stuck with only your own annoying, crazy, and self deprecating thoughts starts to grate on your nerves after a couple hours(?) of nothing but earworms and existential dread coming in regularly.
He would actually prefer some of those voices that were usually here by now, even the hands around his ankles, maybe even the stupid buzzing if it could drown out his own inner voice and get him to wake up. He just couldn't stand all these thoughts and he was just so tired of this place-
A sudden burst shut him up. It was back. The energy from before had come back, zipping around, almost frantically, around him. His eyes shot open, the whiplash from nothingness to something causing his heart rate and breathing to kick into high gear.
Tang had expected the energy to disappear, to slow its pace and fall back into obscurity like before.
This was nothing like that.
The sheer presence it held took his breath away; he could barely keep himself from shaking at the image in front of him. Lights and colors he'd never seen before danced around him, combining and dividing infinity in front of his eyes. Among them, he swore he could see shapes and images flash for a moment inside the swirling cacophony; faces, places, even still frames of what he assumed were major battles were conjured then consumed by the ever-shifting mass.
It was beautiful. It was dangerous. It was powerful. He didn't know what it was. It seemed ethereal. He didn't know what it could do.
His body moved on its own, an arm reaching out towards the mass unconsciously. A small voice in his head screamed at him to stop, to back away, but his body wouldn't listen. Everything fell into the background, his eyes focussed on his hand slowly approaching disaster.
Dread filled his gut, heavy along with anticipation. When the distance finally closed, though, his hand went right through the colorful light, a warm sensation covering his palm.
He watched, transfixed, as a bright orange came from his palm, tinting the surrounding light. It started to spread, staining more and more of the mass a glittery, shimmering orange as the energy was lulled and slowed from the shift.
When he tried to pull his hand away, a sudden weight washed over his body, something similar to a weighted blanket thrown over him, slowly dragging him down in the low gravity.
It was almost unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention, but after feeling absolutely nothing for too much time, you start to notice the little things that change.
He was shocked at the feeling, how the weight seemed to increase slowly but surely. The hand touching the colorful mass was hung above his head as he descended, stuck to the orange lightshow as he seemed to drag it down with him. Another new thing. He didn't like how many were happening at once.
He tried to lift his other hand to move, his legs to kick, to move anything, but they were once again numb to his pleas. The only thing he could feel from his limbs was the warmth on his suspended hand.
The weight on his body only continued to increase as he fell, similar to the feeling of being covered in a bucket of tar, not that he would know anything about that personally…
The heavy pressure enveloped him entirely as he sunk further and further into the void's depths. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, succumbing to the ever-present weight over them as they slowly closed.
His limbs slowly started to become responsive again, similar to when they fell asleep when he passed out at the library too many times and woke up to his head on his bicep, cutting off circulation.
The tingly feeling only grew as the weight became more intense. He felt like pins and needles were constantly stuck into his skin, like a very morbid human porcupine or pin cushion.
Tang couldn't even huff at the image he’d created in his head as everything felt too heavy to move, too uncomfortable to even try.
After a while, he could feel the mass start to glow brighter, muted orange hues shining through his eyelids. To his surprise, he could feel the sparks of energy start up again, quickly detaching from his palm and swirling through the void as it circled his body.
Because of this, he almost didn't notice when he could completely feel his limbs again, how the weight over his body stopped increasing, and when his body finally collapsed onto a hard, solid, surface. He did, though, and he jolted violently at the sudden sensation, his lethargic limbs twinging at the sharp tingling feeling when his body made contact.
He was hit with an odd sense of deja vu as he tried to pull himself up from the cold, hard surface. As soon as he started to move, however, the energy circling his presence violently dispersed, the concentrated form it held earlier fracturing and scattering into specs across the void.
Tang opened his eyes in confusion, blinking away the haze that covered them. When it cleared, the smell of smoke and ash suddenly assaulted his senses. He coughed violently into his elbow, gasping for air as the surface under him seemed to… warp.
Gone was the cool, smooth surface, replaced by rough wooden planks. He could feel ash start to pile up on his skin, the course texture shifting as he tried to sit up. A harsh bump from below jostled him back onto his elbows, sending stray ash flying into the air.
He let out a frustrated huff, coughing once again as the ash burned into his throat. Back on the floor, he could feel the vibrations of motion under his legs and palms, wooden wheels traversing uneven dirt roads. The feeling was oddly familiar, making his brows crease in confusion.
Slowly rising to his knees, he settled into muscle memory, adjusting his position while he leaned on the side of the… wooden cart. Huh. I haven't been on one of these in a while.
Looking around, Tang saw what looked like a nightmare-ish version of the Bellfield square. The buildings were all wrong, starkly different from the tents, stands, and warehouses of the current bellfield. What he remembered to be well built houses and storefronts lined the square instead, either on fire or having taken significant damage as the flames roared on.
Ashes and debris lined the road, oddly far enough away for the cart to pass on by. Holes and craters lined the ground as well, pieces of the earth jutting unnaturally towards the sky.
No…
Tang knows what this place is. He knows what's happened, and has enough common sense to know that he's most likely dreaming. But everything still seems too real.
The familiar way the buildings collapsed from the inside, the way everything from the ground, walls, people had just dented and splintered apart from something no one could register. Everything was the same, down to the minute details of where the fires burned to how the breeze blew the remnants away in sweeps of ash.
Except for something.
There wasn't any blood.
He knew that people had gotten hurt that day, back when he was a boy and was… something. Whatever. It didn't matter why he was there, because what happened regardless is something he knows all too well.
He can almost imagine the mixed smell of blood, burning flesh, and smoke all too well. He gripped the side of the cart harshly, the rough wood digging into his hand. That was another thing he noticed. Why wasn't there any smoke-
*COUGH*
*COUGH COUGH*
A cloud of darkness and heat suddenly covered the cart, blanketing the entire thing, including Tang. He ducked his head as he coughed violently, the smoke worming its way into his lungs. It was overwhelming, making his eyes water as he tried to breathe despite the black cloud of crap and the… smell of blood and burning flesh.
He covers his mouth with his scarf (which seemed bigger than usual) and shudders in a breath, his body shaking at the sudden onslaught as he quickly looks out to the square, paling at what he found. Smoke now covered the area in a thick smog, enveloping everything in its path. From what he could see through the cloud, the pure destruction had turned to a massacre.
Bodies littered the area, some caught under rubble while others bled out on the street. The smell was all too like the one he remembered, scarily so. He was glad the smoke only allowed him to see their silhouettes; he didn't know what he'd do if he recognized the tatters of clothing on the most likely charred remains.
A sudden bump in the cart made him jump and shook him back to the present. It was almost like the cart sunk into the thing blocking the road, a wet squelch sounding as they passed… I don't want to think about what that was.
He breathed slowly through his scarf, trying to reason with himself. It's not real. He thinks. I know that. It's just another one of my horrible, stress induced nightmares due to the stupid military, this stupid town, and it's STUPID WAR with whatever attacked us on the road.
But the smell of rot, burnt flesh, and blood still invaded his senses. He screamed into his scarf.
Readjusting, by then he had realized the cart was going in circles around the oddly-intact fountain in the center covered in blood and ash. Looking ahead, pulling the cart was a seemingly normal brown horse, weirdly unaffected compared to its surroundings.
Looking closer while leaning over the cart to put a hand on its back, he noticed that it wasn't blinking, and he couldn't feel it breathing, either-
A strong gust of wind pushed him back onto the cart, the smoke coalescing around him in a whirlwind of black. His scarf was blown askew as he coughed violently on the floor, eyes watering as he struggled against the wind's current.
When it finally dissipated away from the cart, Tang shoved his scarf back into his face and gulped in giant breaths of (slightly) cleaner air as he sat up.
The cart jolting to a stop brought him back to the moment as he stumbled forward, the horse coughing something horrible as it tried to keep walking, stumbling over every piece of… debris thrown into the road. The sounds of it heaving and coughing were deeply disturbing as it basically echoed through the still, gorey setting.
Tang rushed to set it free of the restraints, struggling against the thick clouds of smoke even with his scarf over his face again. He tried to find a latch, knot, anything to undo the reins trapping the poor creature here, but he couldn't find anything before the horse collapsed onto the ground.
The cart toppled with it, leaning dangerously to one side as he let out a muffled yelp in surprise, gripping the sides of the cart for dear life. He was thrown onto the road, landing on top of stray pieces of wood and stone that dug into his side.
He groaned painfully as he got to his feet. Standing on solid ground again, he noticed how his sleeves seemed longer than usual and how baggy his pants and robe had become, bunching near his loose shoes. He tripped over the fabric more than once as he dragged himself back to where the horse played on the ground, motionless.
He grimaced at the sight as he crouched down next to its head. One hand held his scarf to his face while the other hand reached out to its face, closing its eyes to offer some sort of peace. “I’m sorry.” he mumbled, the odd sense of deja vu he got slipping away as he noticed how scratchy his voice had become from the smoke and how it sounded oddly squeaky.
His eyes scrunched together in confusion, a hand reaching towards his throat. “What was that?” His voice stayed weird, still high, still younger sounding than what it should be.
He stood up, away from where the horse now lied. He walked and walked, ignoring the scent of ash, smoke, and blood as he tried to find a building with at least half of its walls and windows still intact, preferably vacant of any… former inhabitants.
Gravel and chunks of wood caved under his feet, the black flats he usually wore not doing him any favors in terms of padding, especially now that they were a size too big. The warmth of the fires around him licked at his heels and bare skin, similar to holding a fresh bowl of noodles at Pigsy's with your bare hands; nothing too bad, but you know it could become worse if you slipped up.
He's only done it once, spill a bowl of noodles, but the skin on his hand was raw for weeks, leaving him unable to write for the entire duration it was healing. This was incredibly inconvenient as this was when he had started college in Megatropolis, and Pigsy had scoffed every time he came in after class and whined about the injury, calling him a clumsy fool with his head stuck in the clouds.
Pigsy did end up leaving him some fresh bandages and burn cream one night, when the pain started to worsen along with the swelling. He had teased the chef for it, obviously, but he doesn't remember exactly what he said. All he does remember is how red in the face Pigsy had gotten, embarrassed out of his mind as he grumbled all the way back to the kitchen.
The pain didn't seem so bad with him around.
However, this warmth around him now wasn't as comforting.
A small glint of light drew his attention. Tilting his head, he could see it was a shattered mirror lying on the floor. It was inside of a collapsed bakery, counters, chairs, and ovens crumbled and covered in ash. The sight of it sent a pang of hurt to his chest, but he ignored it in favor of getting closer.
Stepping over crumbling bricks and splintered planks, he slowly approached the smoldering shell of the building, making sure he didn't stumble over the debris or his own clothing. As he got up to what used to be the doorway, he silently peered inside, making sure that there wasn't anything lingering in there.
He let out a sigh of relief when he saw nothing moving, carefully stepping in through the rough entrance. The edges of his robe caught onto some bent supports stuck into the ground, not letting him get even a step into the place before he fell forward onto his left shoulder.
Tang sighed heavily into the floor. This is starting to get old. Fast. He thought, rolling to his back onto a decently clear area of the ground. He absently looked through the non-existent ceiling as he rubbed his shoulder, seeing how smoke and ash rose into the air and disappeared into the clouds, fire glowing through the gray in hues of orange and yellow.
Tilting his head to the right, he saw what he had come in here for. It was a long, oval-shaped mirror lying directly under the center of the hole in the roof, probably falling from the bakery's second floor. It was cracked and shattered in many places, covered in large amounts of ash; however, the beautiful frame remained intact.
Before getting up and getting closer, Tang sat up and looked around the bakery more thoroughly. It had only taken one blow, the giant hole above and the small crater in the floor being the only evidence of violence proving it. He saw other items in the crater as well, peering into its depths.
A broken plant vase with burnt flowers, some trophies melted and mangled beyond recognition, pieces of clothing that might have been matching aprons at some point, and some picture frames that weren't so lucky as the mirror, with most of the frames, glass, and pictures themselves being shattered or ripped to shreds.
He slowly dragged himself over to the crater, lowering himself about a foot as he carefully avoided broken glass and the like. Despite how careful he was, however, he still managed to accidentally knee one of the broken picture frames, letting out a hiss. The glass and splinters thankfully didn't cut through the fabric, though.
Sitting back and dusting off his knee of stray grime, he looked down at what he had hit. It was a family photo, parents standing behind the kids where everyone was smiling at the camera wearing matching uniforms that seemed familiar.
He picked the photo up, brushing away the layers of ash that covered it. The old couple seemed distant, eyes clouded with other worries and thoughts with polite smiles gracing their faces. Their hair had Grey streaks, yet was well handled with a bun or a ponytail.
The eldest child, or just the tallest one, stood next to the father; a small turn of the lips is all that's given to the camera, sharp eyes crinkled, annoyed with the activity perhaps. His hair was neat, almost too neat for a child his age, probably around 16 if he had to guess.
The kid standing in front of him was most likely the youngest due to how he stood a foot shorter than any of the other people in the picture. His smile was wide and unwavering towards the camera, some missing teeth becoming noticeable.
Then the kid on the left, the only girl, stood next to the mother, no more than 15. He noticed her eyes first, hazel irises glinting with mirth at the camera as long black hair framed her face-
*CRUNCH*
The photo was crushed in his hands. He balled it up violently, throwing it towards whoever knows where. I got distracted. This is just a dream.
He sighed heavily, focussing back on what he came here for. The mirror was propped up on the crater's slope, covered in ash that he quickly swiped off, slanted not enough for a full body view but enough to see his top half when he stood up.
What he noticed first was how skinny he looked, like he was drowning in his own clothes. That wasn't surprising, but what was was that all his wrinkles were now replaced with baby fat, his hair now infinitely shorter as well.
He raised a hand to his face in shock, feeling to see if that was what he really looked like. He was a teenager again. His age back when this all happened. Back when he couldn't fight back. Back when he wasn't strong enough to protect his friends.
He didn't like that he looked like this again.
Leaning closer, he saw the bags under his eyes he still had today. That never changed, he supposed. The cracks distorted the image, though, with parts of him in all different sections of the broken mirror. He remembered when he broke his own mirror in a fit of frustration, back when he was still in Megatropolis.
That time seemed forever ago, when he sat still and carefully plucked all those shards from his knuckles. He had hit it square in the center, cracks forming and crumbling outward from his weak punch, but this mirror seemed to have a different start.
Trailing the lines of the mirror with his eyes to look for the source, he saw that the cracks led to a small hole in the mirror made by blunt force, maybe from a piece of wood or brick, making a focal point that landed perfectly on Tang’s reflection, right above his heart.
He supposed it was poetic in some way he couldn't think of, mind hazy from the carnage and smoke surrounding everything around him.
However, the little introspection didn't last long. He heard the walls creak eerily before he even knew what was going on, ash displacing from the remains of the higher floor as it started to tilt inwards. His breath caught in his throat as he slowly looked up at what could only be described as something utterly, completely, horrifying.
A figure was suspended in the air, obscured by clouds and clouds of smoke and fire that seemed to wrap around its very being. The only thing visible through the whirling grey and orange was its piercing white eyes as it stared him down through the rubble.
The supports around him creaked in displeasure as the whirlwind around it kicked up, consuming more and more smoke, ash, and blood from the surrounding area. Dust, grime, anything light enough was picked up soon enough, either crumbled or burnt to complete ashes as it joined the tornado above.
The smell of burnt flesh and blood had gotten so much worse, causing him to gag and cough even through the scarf. It got so bad that he had to fall to his knees, letting go of his scarf as he kept dry heaving into the crater now empty of any personal belongings. Only the ashes remained constant, whirling around him with the smoke only making his coughing worse.
The wind howled in his ears, thrashing his loose clothes every which way and deafening his senses. His throat felt like it was on fire, ashes and particles tearing the soft tissue apart in every breath. He had started to choke at one point, his hands clawing at his throat in a pathetic display of helplessness.
Those eyes never left him once. Staring and staring and staring and staring as he faded more and more. Never moving, never talking, never blinking. Tears fell from his eyes in waves, the droplets barely making it an inch before the winds took it away as well.
He was dying. This is what dying felt like. A slow, painful way to go in his memories. He didn't remember this. He was never near the demon who did it. This never happened.
That’s what he thought.
The pain was too real, too specific to be something his brain made up for no purpose, the feeling too familiar to discard as just another part of a wacky nightmare. The surrounding building cracking and crumbling to the clouds of smoke becoming a fixture in his brain as he trembled on the floor barely conscious as the last bit of restraint was pulled away.
Pieces of drywall, brick, and ash came down all at once. Tang closed his eyes as he trembled on the floor. The first time this happened, dread, fear, and helplessness had engulfed him, Allan’s determination being the only thing pulling him through that mess. The second time, he had Cian for support, a voice grounding him to the situation at hand so he could get his ass out of it in one piece with Zach.
Now, though, he only had himself: his weak, cowardly, pathetic self, and wasn't that just a terrifying, dreadful thought to have? That without anyone else to lean on, to rely on, to leech off of, he'd be left for dead even in his own head?
The building collapsed inward over its own weight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang woke up with a start, an awful crick in his neck making itself known as well. He gulped in the air greedily as he reached a hand up to his throat on instinct. His throat was completely fine, no burning sensations to be felt as he kept breathing heavily.
However, he did feel stretches of raw, tender skin over his neck. Feeling a hand over his neck, it was most likely scratch marks from how thin the marks were, how they slightly burned, and how he could see some redness under his own fingernails, too. Did I do that in my sleep? That seems a bit concerning…
A smack on the side of the truck spooked him out of his stupor, making him jump in surprise and turn towards the noise. “Heya, sleeping beauty! Finally awake?” Rick jokes, leaning on the side of the truck with a piece of rope hanging over his shoulder.
Tang just blinked slowly in response, unsure of what to say. Before he could reply, however, Harrison came up to the other side of the truck with a clipboard, glaring across the vehicle towards the other.
“Step away from my assignment, Rick. I need to give instructions and you can socialize all you like after your head dismisses you back to your tent. Glasses, come with me.” He said curtly, turning away from the truck and starting towards a small tent on the outskirts of what used to be a city if Tang had to guess.
All that was left was scorch marks and rubble, he's guessing something caused by explosives based on the earlier conversation in the medical tent.
Rick rolled his eyes dramatically before walking off with a wave in Tang's general direction. Tang could only huff at the antics before scrambling to get out of the truck and running as fast as he could to catch up with Harrison.
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A World Without Him
Chapter 22
His dream held nothing memorable. The black void had apparently lost its novelty after being dragged into its depths so many times before. Tang's expression held only annoyance as his body spinned and glided through the never-ending darkness.
He didn't want to deal with what he knew would come next. The hands, the voices, the damned buzzing that came in recently.
What he wanted right now was one of those phantom things to appear in front of him, actually consider him a person worth talking to, and answer his questions.
To tell him what this void was even for, how they had access to his head since he knows the reoccurring nightmares and chatter wasn't formed from his mind alone, no matter how those things try to gaslight him into convincing himself overwise.
However, he also knew nothing would come from screaming at the void or cursing these stupid voices out in every curse word he knew, dead languages included. Maybe some of them would understand; he saw the old style of clothing the two spirits had when they showed up at the infirmary.
But it's not like they would talk to him of their own accord (besides Cian, but that thing comes and goes as it pleases and only talks to him when it's amused or wants something. It's a wildcard he doesn't want to think of the implications of), those two he saw were freaking out when he just looked at them.
From the urgency in their voices, Tang doesn't think he has a good chance at a one on one like that again, especially not here.
So, he chose to do the only thing he could: wait, like almost every time before. He crossed his arms, folded his legs, and sat still, eyes closed as the void suddenly reacted to his choice.
It seemed to come alive as he relaxed into its atmosphere, accepting him into its domain. He swore he could feel tendrils of unseen energy suddenly coil and bend around him, letting themselves be seen for the first time. He could sense it slow and accelerate based on unknown variables, how it had potential, how it could be something more if someone just gave its power shape.
It was overwhelming, yet not unfamiliar, like an overenthusiastic relative hugging you a bit too tight. But when he opened his eyes again, everything suddenly stilled, only pitch black as far as he could see.
It was silent, empty, yet again. Tang didn't know what that could mean, or even what that rush before was, but he wanted to figure at least one thing about this place out.
And because of that, he closed his eyes, ignored the warning signs, and tried to coax the energy back out. He sat in silence for a good while, waiting for the familiar energy to return.
Nothing happened for a good while. No spikes in the atmosphere, no familiar feelings, and there weren't even the usual voices or hands crowding his space. It was just quiet. He didn't move to open his eyes, though, as he liked the peace and wanted to stay a bit longer, even with a small bit of paranoia in the back of his mind saying the nightmare would begin sooner or later.
So, he focussed on what he could feel. His hair swayed behind him in the low gravity, stray wisps tickling his neck as the strands went every-which-way. He could feel his clothes do the same, the soft fabric of his sleeves and the ends of his robe billowing away from him…
...My robe?
He slowly opened his eyes once again, looking down at his body. He was no longer in the drab uniform he was given at the sleeping quarters, but instead he was back in his old red, white, and gold outfit.
The fabric seemed brand new as he took a piece between his fingers, nothing like the worn threads of his actual outfit. His shoes, scarf, and gloves were absent, though, while he still had long white socks under his maroon pants.
He calmly unwound his legs, letting them dangle in front of him. Looking closely at the fabric, he could see a small, almost unnoticeable orange sheen over the clothing. Frowning, he lifted his hands to his face seeing the same sheen over his hands, sleeves, and… the bell.
It seems like this piece of shit followed me in here. He thought bitterly, scowling at the bracelet hanging off his wrist. He raised a hand to his hair, running his fingers through the strands.
He still wasn't exactly used to the length, having had short hair for a good decade before it started growing dramatically after LBD. His hand kept trailing through the strands, ending at the middle of his back. And even before then, he'd never had it this long.
He fidgeted with the ends of his hair, lost in thought. He noticed some pieces had become lighter than the others, similar to the highlights he'd seen in Mei's signature hairstyle. However, his were closer to ashy blond than neon green.
Tang wonders if the color was natural. It fits her family’s theme, the whole white, green, and gold palette, so maybe she did it as some self expression while also sticking to her family's rules. She’s also a descendant of the Dragon of the West, so he supposes it's possible to get it naturally from those mythical being genes.
If… when he goes back to Megatropolis, he'll have to ask her himself.
He let go of the strands he was fidgeting with, letting them float in place as he sighed into his palms. Taking his head out of his hands, he glanced around the void once more, trying to see if anything changed while he was stuck in his head. The scholar couldn't see anything different, so he sunk back into himself and crossed his arms with a huff.
He wonders if the voices are gone now, stuck somewhere, unable to interact with him anymore. He saw how panicked they were in the medical tent, and he hasn't been able to hear from any other voices like them afterwards. He wonders if Cian was the person they were talking about, how someone should have blocked the connections from them? The details were fuzzy.
Still, he remembered the clear fear on their faces, how they couldn't let him die just yet. He's supposed to stay away from Cian and the monastery apparently, and Tang is more than happy to avoid both if he could. He could feel it in his gut that interacting with either of those options would not result in something good.
It's not like he can do much else at this point. His bag had most likely been confiscated by those military officials while he was unconscious, so most of that supplies is stuff he's never getting back. He groaned at the thought. All of that work is just gone in the wind now.
He misses his journal the most. All the little notes and scribbles he makes help him to focus, and reading back on them helps keep the memories fresh. Most of the stuff he writes is just about the legends and Monkie Kid's adventures, though, as he likes to portray them on paper the most.
Speaking of the legends, he wonders what is exactly going on with these spirits. The scholar doesn't remember hearing of ghosts matching the descriptions of the spirits he'd seen in any of the myths he's read, and since he is a Certified Scholar Spectacular (name given to him from a 9 year old Mk with a paper badge to match. He kept it in his journal as a bookmark. He really wants that journal back now), he knows that they've never shown up in one.
He thinks they're somehow related to the Golden Cicada and the Great Monk, with the obvious gold and orange colors along with the multiple cicadas popping up in most of his dreams. He just doesn't know how that connects with the rest of the information he’s gotten.
Flickers of memories play in his head as he tries to think of anything tying these things together. Cian had called his visions flares, and that it had his powers before him. If Cian was anything like the other voices, did that mean those two spirits also had powers like his before, too?
How do his powers work in the first place, anyways? How can they be passed down from (most likely) the Great Monk if he had already ascended like in JTTW, and had no possibility of reincarnation?
He rubs the back of his neck, lost in thought. Maybe Cian had lied to him at some point, about anything really, but then how were those voices from the medical tent related?
The truth is, Tang doesn't know.
The declaration hurts his soul, but it's true. He can't link these things to anything he's seen before. Everything is too foreign, too unpredictable where he can't wrap his head around all the stuff piling over one another.
He hates the feeling: being in the dark, not knowing what he's really dealing with. He prides himself on his knowledge, his ingenuity, as it's the only thing that really sets him apart from his friends.
So when that gets taken away from him, he's left scrambling, making situations worse than they already were in an attempt to make them better.
His teeth grind together as his hands grow tight on his arms, the unpleasant thought wriggling under his skin. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed here for so long. Nothing good has come out of this place so far, anyways. He thinks, looking out into the unchanging darkness; it's still empty.
He didn't know what he was expecting.
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A World Without Him
Chapter 21
Tang only got a few seconds to process what exactly he was stuck with before he was hauled up by the back of his uniform shirt and onto his feet. He stumbled forward at the sudden force, broken glass crunching beneath his feet.
The scholar blinked indignantly at the rough handling, but he couldn't even get a huff of displeasure in before the soldier was already walking out of the curtained area and gunning for the front exit. Tang couldn't hide his annoyance as he groaned loudly into his hands and started to go after the guy, wiping his face with his sleeve while he tried to follow.
Every one of his steps crunched on the stone floor, somehow powering over all the other noises in the medical tent as he tried to pursue the guy, glass shards almost definitely embedded into the soles of his boots now.
It was uncomfortable, but the growing sense of exhaustion quickly drew more attention. He’d already been drained from that ghost intervention, but he didn't realize how badly he was affected until he couldn’t even take two steps without his lungs burning up. Tang knew that this was a losing battle.
He leaned on one of the empty beds when his head started pounding and looked ahead with bleary eyes. Squinting, he only saw a glimpse of how the soldier seamlessly passed by the staff and wandering patients, seemingly dead focussed on getting out as fast as possible with practiced ease.
The scholar could only grit his teeth as he pushed himself back onto his feet as the body's silhouette got smaller and smaller. As he tried to move forward, his body became more slow and lethargic; he felt disconnected to his limbs, almost numb.
I guess there just had to be side effects for anything giving me a boon here. He thought bitterly, pushing himself forward. He could barely keep the guy in focus as he was already so far ahead while he tried to dodge and swerve to get to the exit himself, noticing the feeling was achingly similar to the streets back in Megatropolis.
Pushing the small feeling to the back of his mind, Tang saw that the soldier was no longer in his line of sight, most likely frolicking outside in the grass while getting further and further away from his tag-along.
Tang clenched his fists at the thought and if you were to ask anyone in the vicinity, they would have said that smoke was billowing out of his ears. Tang silently prayed that he would make the trip to wherever he's being forced without his legs giving up and moving to the Bahamas because of unsafe working conditions.
He huffed a bit at the thought as his legs started to twinge even worse, almost as if they were dignifying his thoughts with a response. Tang just frowned, pushing himself past one more staff member before he was finally in front of the exit. He took no hesitation in pushing the tent flap open and stepping outside, the dirt cushioning the glass in his soles.
A breeze kicked up at his exit, blowing wisps of hair behind him as he quickly walked a few feet before plopping himself down onto the ground, relishing in the feeling of his legs not giving in their two weeks notice. This, along with the nostalgic feeling of grass swaying in the wind, helped him relax.
He squinted up at the darkening sky af6er a moment, seeing how rish blue started to fade into vibrant hues of magenta and navy. As the sun was no longer visible beyond the treeline, electric torches started being lit all across the clearing pathways, giving everything a soft yellow glow as the area began to darken.
Tang just sat still at the view, taking in the scenery as fragments of memories flooded into his mind. A glance at the willow tree showed its hanging branches swaying in the wind, a single torch laying under it for some light amongst the grass. He put his elbow onto his knee and leaned into his hand for a better position, even if he knew there was nothing stopping the pain he would feel from his hunched position.
Behind him, a surprisingly soft voice knocked him out of his trance. “It's almost beautiful by itself, isn't it? If you can ignore the lake filled with mush and the tents covering every inch of solid ground with patrolling officers.”
Tang sucked in a breath and snapped his head to the voice, half-expecting it to have come from his own head and for nothing to be behind him. Instead, he saw Harrison leaning against the monastery wall, a blank look in his eyes as he looked over the clearing.
Tang didn't know how to react, giving the guy a blank stare as he tried reasoning in his head. Did he wait for me here? I thought he really didn't like me. That’s surprisingly nice considering he looked seconds away from maiming someone a couple of minutes ago…
He didn't know what to respond with, only opening and closing his mouth as no words actually came out. He eventually decided not to say anything and looked back towards the clearing, his eyes trailing back to the willow tree. He heard footsteps approaching after a minute, stopping right next to him as Harrison spoke up yet again.
“We need to get moving. Make sure to keep up this time.” He mumbled, reaching a hand down for Tang to grab. The scholar hesitated for a moment before grabbing the offered hand and being hoisted up again, much more smooth and comfortable than the first time.
Harrison quickly let go as Tang got to his feet, brushing past him and heading towards the dirt stairs now illuminated with torch light. The scholar blew a piece of hair out of his face before following right behind, his hands unconsciously starting to fidget with the bell on his wrist.
He tried his best to keep close behind this time, never letting the guy more than 2 feet away from him lest he lose his next guide and get lost in the labyrinth of white fabric. He did trip more than once on the uneven ground trying to keep up, but if Harrison noticed it, he didn't care to mention it as he only kept his head forward.
As the walk went on, the talk with those voices(? Spirits? Ghosts? He didn't exactly know what they were still) pushed to the front of his mind as he got more used to the white noise of the camp, replaying the conversation over and over as he tried to find anything useful he didn't already know.
All he could remember in detail was not to go to the Monastery, avoid Cian as much as he could, and basically nothing else. He frowns at the memory, millions of questions flying through his mind at what was going on.
He did know they had some sort of master, though, maybe a higher up who also put them in charge of watching over him. But why did he need watching over in the first place? (The job itself seemed like a punishment, though, considering those voices were obviously displeased with the work.) What deities are they most likely working with, and who exactly is the master they were referring to?
He doesn't have much to go on. Maybe that's the point, though, as those beings seemed shocked that he could hear and see them while all the info they did reveal was mostly slipped out by the younger looking one in a panic.
The more he tries to think about those things, his powers, Cian’s whole deal, and the apparent upcoming demonic war going on at his hometown if the vague (and straight up) threats from human military with whole towns being blown up are anything to go by… he really just wants to go back to Megatropolis, sit down at Pigsy’s and talk that grumpy cook’s ear off with Sandy, Mei, and Mk while scarfing as many noodles as he can down his throat.
However, he knows he needed to go somewhere other than there; that staying any longer would either break him, or cause trouble to the people around him. He knows what's been going on is most likely highly dangerous with the burn marks, strange dreams, and magic voices floating around his head among other (terrible) things giving some indicators.
He really wishes that it could all go away, that one morning the voices, dreams, and stupid bell would all just disappear. But it can't, not really, unless Mk's mentor has been storing up some magical cure or curse that could cancel out the presumed magic in that cave somewhere.
He wishes that he could go straight to his friends, ask for help, get all the support he could ever want, and end up ok. But it's not like that would happen. They would definitely try to help, of course, they're his friends. However, what could they really do for this? What could they do for the voices? The outbursts? He doesn't even recognize what's happening himself, and he's the certified scholar of the group who's read every legend and story he could get his hands on!
Another problem is that he still doesn't know the extent of how bad his magical episodes can get, if he can even control them, if he could stop them from happening, if he could actually hurt his friends during one of them.
Mk would probably be alright, he's got a good amount of Monkey King's powers with decent durability and is on an all time high right now after LBD got put into the ground. But he can't exactly be that sure for the others, or the city, for that matter.
He remembered what happened during one of his episodes, the foggy memory bubbling to the surface; glass scattered all over the streets and sidewalks. The shards silently crashed onto the unforgiving floor. Did anyone get hurt from that? Did that actually happen?
Tang couldn't remember. No faces came to mind, no news report on the TV or gossip overheard on the street were talking about it. But he can't be too sure, as almost everything after the Megatropolis Library fell was shaky at best and he wasn't exactly focussing on his surroundings.
The Library still hangs heavy in his mind. The screams, the crumbling ceiling, Allan, the poor kid, Mk… he still doesn't know exactly how to feel about that, either. He's seen Mk be reckless before. Hell, he's seen entire buildings go up in smoke trying to destroy one villain, but he never batted an eye. Never really thought about the “collateral damage”.
Until he experienced it. The fear, not even from the fight itself, but from the careless swings that could send tons of rubble towards them at any moment. The fighting style solely focussed on the opponent, uncaring if the missed shots or flying bodies caused damage to the city as long as the enemy stayed down.
That was something so different from the fear he's experienced before. Something so different compared to facing a common foe. Those are straight up. You know what you're getting into, that these guys will try and take you down however they see fit. You know they're trying to stop you, that you have to stop them in turn. You can run, hide, fight, do whatever in combat, adrenaline keeping you standing until you can get away or win at least.
But that moment in the library was something so raw, from not knowing what could happen next, that powers beyond your control could send something crashing down at you at any second, and you couldn't do anything to stop it. That powerlessness, that feeling of dread growing bigger and bigger every time a piece of the ceiling or wall crashed to the ground, was eating him alive from the inside out.
Tang wouldn't want that to happen again, especially not because of him. That was a big factor in why he left, the faint feeling of hopelessness eating at his insides when he's alone with his thoughts for too long.
He frowns at the depressing thoughts, feeling his eyes start to burn again. He knows he should take more time to take these thoughts in, to take them seriously and pick them apart, but he's not exactly in the right environment to do so at the moment as he looks up and notices they’re nearing the edge of the clearing.
He rubs his eyes before focussing back into his surroundings. The glass in his soles still grate onto the floor uncomfortably, but it's lessened by the softer dirt path he's currently walking on. Looking past Harrison, Tang can make out a few vehicles lined up next to each other, most likely trucks based on the cargo beds full of people in each of them.
When they finally get close enough, Harrison leads him to a half empty truck and gestures half-heartedly for him to get in. He walks away quickly after and starts to talk with a different soldier in the driver's seat of the first truck, leaving Tang to awkwardly hoist himself up and onto the cargo bed.
He doesn't recognize anyone in the truck, and he’s silently grateful for that as he doesn't think he can take any social interaction at this point in time. He sits down a decent amount away from the other passengers as he sags in relief at finally getting a longer break.
He does jump slightly as the tailgate of his truck gets slammed shut almost immediately after he gets comfortable, but he quickly relaxes again from the utter exhaustion creeping back into his body.
As the trucks get started and slowly start moving forward, Tang can barely keep his eyes open any longer as he starts to succumb to his fatigue. His eyelids droop as he lazily watches the trees swish by and the torches from the clearing get duller and duller until they're fully covered by the foliage.
He wraps his arms around himself as the breeze comes by again, causing a chill to run up his spine. But that's not enough to stop his eyelids from closing completely and his mind to finally take a rest from the day's events, drawing him into a deep, deep slumber as more trees roll on by, branches and leaves shaking in the wind almost like a lullaby.
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Hello 🤗 ❤️
hope you are well 🌹
Can you help me get my voice heard, and share my family's story? 🙏🏻 Im Father/•• 35 ••/ 2Kids / Survival in GAZA Need help 🙏🏻
Can you Donate to me or Reblog my post from my blog?
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Hello, I am Nour from Gaza, Palestine 🇵🇸🍉 A mother of three children, Abdullah, Salma, and Saleh. My fourth daughter was due to come, but because of the siege, when I gave birth to her, she died and I was very tired. I now have severe anemia. My husband, Hani, has an injured foot.A very serious injury. The simple necessities of life have become unable to provide for my children due to the Israeli siege on Gaza. Please save us to protect me and protect my husband and my young children 🙏 To reach safety and achieve the goal, please.Share the link and I pray for a beautiful life for you and your family ☘️Your donation saves an entire family from hunger, cold and the horrors of war 😭🙏💔
Hello dear friends, 🌟
I'm Mahmoud Jihad from Gaza. My family and I have lost everything—our home, my university, all of it. Now, we find ourselves living in a flimsy tent after losing everything. I was studying Information Technology and supporting my family, but now we are left with nothing. 😔
We are enduring unimaginable destruction and desperately need your help to survive. 😭 Even a small donation can make a huge difference. Every single contribution is a spark of hope in this dark time. ✨
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Thank you so much for your generosity and support!
Your donations will directly help us in rebuilding our lives. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity! 🌹
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Hello🤗❤️
I hope you are well🌹
Can you help me get my voice heard
and share my family's story?🙏🏻
Can you Reblog my post from my blog?
By helping to reblog my story, you could
save a family from death and war.🌹
Thank you very much🌸
🕊️❤️🌹🙏🏻
Hello, I am Tareq from Gaza Iam trying save my family from the genocide happening here. I ask for your help in spreading my story and donating if you can contribute anything, no matter how small.Please don,t forget to sharethe latest post from my page and follow my account to help spread the story to the world. Thank you.
A World Without Him
Chapter 20
They stared. Stared and stared and stared and stared. They seemed frozen in shock, almost as if they had finally succumbed to the surrounding area's influence.
Tang didn't know what to do. Should he run? Shout? Try to blink this place away like it came to him in the first place? He didn't know. He couldn't figure out what to do. He should know what to do. But he didn't know anything.
What are they gonna do to me!? Oh my god oh my god oh mY GOD OH MY GOD- Can they touch me, take over me, KILL me?! AUUUUGH, I DON'T KNOW!
Cold sweat dripped down his neck, seemingly unaffected by the area as Tang took in short, raspy breaths. His throat felt as if it were on fire, and his eyelids begged him to shut, but he couldn't risk moving. He didn't want to trigger a response from whatever these things were. He didn't know what they could do.
This silent stand-off only continued. No one moved for what seemed like an eternity, the surroundings actually showing change from how long this had gone on for. The curtains parting behind the figures as a small syringe fell through a gap, slowly falling towards the hard, unforgiving floor.
Yet Tang stayed still, meeting the harsh gazes as if he was worried they would disappear out of view with the slightest coverage. His body started to shake as his hands gripped together so tight he would have been worried for blocked blood flow if not for this staring contest. The pain kept him focussed.
The syringe continued its descent as Tang started to waver. His jaw clenched as he tried to stay focussed, keeping him from changing the scene once again. His eyelids still started to fall, though, slowly encompassing more and more of his vision until he could no longer hold out. He was only human, after all.
As soon as he closed his eyes he shot them open once again, scared out of his mind now that the figures were out of his sight. The figures were gone, leaving empty air in their wake. His eyes immediately locked onto the syringe that kept its descent, still falling ever so slowly.
He wasn't out of the clear yet.
His breathing became more exasperated and frustrated as his eyes scoured the room, trying to find where those bastards hid now. He started standing up when his eyes failed him, his eyebrows pinching together in stressed concentration.
This finally brought them back out. Orange suddenly filled his vision as he tried to stand up, causing him to yelp and fall back into his chair. His limbs felt heavier than before, but he was too focussed on the blaring face of fear in front of him as the syringe continued to fall indoors the commotion.
“Oh fuck, he can definitely see us. Do you know what this means!? HE, CAN, SEE, US. That means our predictions all came to shit, and we wasted our time out here for all those years we could've been- UGHHHHH, we are so FUCKED when the Master hears of this!”
The face turned back and forth from focussing on Tang to focussing on the other figure, getting more hysterical as its mouth kept pouring out nonsense.
What are they going on about!? Masters, predictions, what even are these guys!?
However, through the sporadic jumble coming from the first one to the concerned expression on the other, they didn't seem hostile. They brought an odd sense of warmth now that they're closer to him. Tang was still weary, though, so he continued to stay put on his chair and tried to make out what this thing was saying. The syringe spun and flipped through the air, now only a foot above the ground as it seemed to fall faster.
“... and we thought the first time he was taken over that he had no aptitude! Master had to guide this doormat himself to even defeat that ice queen bitch, and even then it was just a combination circle! Is this why that bastard in the Between wanted this guy so badly!? What should we even do-”
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH. He isn't deaf, you know!” The older one shouted suddenly as he gestured to Tang, causing them both to look back at him while the poor scholar froze on the spot. “Now stop that running river of a mouth, and let's fix our mistakes. It clearly doesn't have a strong hold over him yet since he can see us now. You.” He suddenly addressed, looking at Tang with conviction as he pointed a finger straight to his face.
The scholar’s brows pinched together in worry. “Me???” He answered hysterically. The older figure moved quickly to crouch face to face with Tang. “We don't have much time here. I can't explain everything going on inside your head,” He started, quickly pointing at Tang’s forehead with a bony finger.
In the scholar’s peripheral vision, the blacks and whites started to fade, leaving small amounts of color. That can't be good. “But you must know that Thing that you're bound with cannot be trusted. It takes, it harms, it consumes everything it can get ahold of. We've had many like you before, trying to harness its power for mortal gain, but it never ends well.”
The tattered clothing of the older figure suddenly rammed into Tang's mind again, how this figure seemed to have almost been torn completely apart, similar to the cracks throughout the skin of the other figure.
“You must stay awake for all of our sakes. Don't let that menace back into your body, no matter what hellscape you might find yourself in.” It had a look of pure rage as it spat the warnings out, this emotion being the most prominent that Tang’s seen of it this entire time. The syringe is only a few inches off the ground, the blue liquid contained within it gaining back its hue.
“Don't let that thing manipulate you, control you, TALK TO YOU.” The other interjected, pushing the older one aside as the surroundings started to gain color rapidly.
“You need to make sure that it doesn't sink its teeth into you further.”
Indignation filled Tang as these warnings only gave more questions, more of the unknown that he couldn't predict. “THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?! YOU SAID I'M STUCK WITH IT BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? HOW DO I GET IT TO GO AWAY!? IS IT THIS STUPID SCRAP OF METAL?!” He stands up harshly, waving the wrist with the bell in front of the figure's faces. The syringe falls and falls and falls as Tang’s legs refuse to cooperate, buckling underneath him.
“No, no, NO. We need more time-”
“Stay in the village and avoid the monastery at all costs! WE NEED YOU ALIVE-”
*CRASH*
The syringe connects with the floor as Tang hits the ground, pieces of glass quickly covering the ground. He looks up wildly, seeing all the eyes look towards his hunched figure. Red Hair is back in her seat, her clipboard nowhere in sight as Manex hovers over his form from behind.
His eyes water so much that streaks flow down his face in waves, his knees aching from the collapse as his ears ring from the sudden influx of sounds. Through blurry vision, Tang sees Zach asleep in the bed. A voice knocks him back into this reality.
“Why is the staff rushing outside?” The old man asks, slowly standing up and pushing the glass shards away with his cane without a care as he looks outside. Manex quickly walks up to join him, having to dodge another staff member when he barreled out of the tent with numbers of supplies in his arms.
Now that Tang is focussing again, he hears shouting all across the tent from medical staff, heavy footsteps drowning out most of the current patients groans or cries. Aggressive Guy shoots his head up with a concerned look, a hand hovering over his M17 pistol cautiously while Red Hair does the same.
One staff member slowed down in front of the tent after a few more ran out in a panic, focussing only on the old man. Fear was clearly painted on her face. “A second surprise attack was issued after the initial attack on the Waning District which took out most of the cleaners and remaining soldiers on site. We need all hands on deck as there may be even more casualties under the rubble that the cleaners hadn't gotten to yet.”
She gave a slight bow of her head before she rushed off with the others. Manex bit her lip as the old man sighed. “Why can't they just let us have this? What more can they take from me?” He leans on his cane and rubs his nose bridge in frustration.
Red Hair and Aggressive Guy both stand up quickly, their stature secure and ready for orders. “Harrison and Smith, you both go and survey the damage while protecting the medical staff and remaining cleaners from anymore attacks. Manex, you come with me to the HHC.”
The old man then looks down at Tang’s pitiful form, a cold and curious look crossing over his face as he narrows his eyes. “And you, lucky prisoner, will join the cleanup mission. They may need someone to look out for triggers, be an extra pair of hands, or scream when the next attack might come. Now go along with Harrison. I promise he doesn't bite. Much.”
The old man then exited the tent with Manex following close behind and Smith along with them. Now it was only Tang and Harrison still in the room, and this guy's face is the complete opposite of happy. A single tear ran down the scholar’s face. I’m so screwed.
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My account was banned by tumblr policy and I created a new account and my account is very weak
I have about 10 accounts suspended because Israeli groups have cancelled my campaign. Please donate and help me complete my campaign.
I ask this with shame: Please donate a small amount that may save my father's life, he needs daily medication worth 55€ and will undergo surgery worth 250€💔, Please don't ignore my message and don't hesitate to help me 🍉
Please support me I am facing this alone🙏
🫶🏻💝 I world be very grateful
✅verified by: @gaza-evacuation-funds
Hi 👋, My name is Mona, and I’m reaching out to you in a moment of dire need. I’m a mother of two young children living in Gaza, caught in the middle of a catastrophic war. Our home is no longer a safe haven, and the future here looks increasingly uncertain. 💔I launched a fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $20,000 to move my family to a safer place where my children can grow up in peace and have a chance at a brighter future. Unfortunately, my previous fundraising efforts were abruptly halted when my account was closed without explanation. However, I remain determined to continue fighting for the safety and well-being of my family. 🫶If you can take a moment to read our story, consider donating, or simply share our campaign with others, it would make an incredible difference. Every act of kindness, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to safety and a new beginning. 🙏Thank you for your time, compassion, and support. ❤️🩹https://gofund.me/37eaacd6
This is me Aya.. 🇵🇸
suddenly you wake up with nothing left.That's exactly what happened with us .we moved from having everything to having nothing.In a blink of an eye ,we lost everything, our house ,dreams,
memories belongings and our works. We are starting from zero and need your help to climb the leader step by step from scratch.
All the positive words cannot express how generous you are, especially in sharing my posts to inform other donors about the people of Gaza who are still suffering from the terrible conditions caused by the unjust war on Gaza!
Please continue to support us by donating directly or by sharing the link to let others know. Don't hesitate to help people in difficult and miserable times until the dark days are over. 🙏🏻🍉
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Hi lm hamdi lam from Gaza.lam a father for 4 children . our first goal is to reach 1,000€ please donate!! . We are still suffering from the effects of war and the loss of everything, This amount is not just a number, but a real opportunity to rebuild our lives and Help me complete my children's education and put a smile back on my children Thanks 🙏🏻
Dear friends ❤️,
After surviving the devastating war in Gaza, my family and I sought safety in Egypt. While we have moved away from immediate danger, the challenges of life here remain significant. We are struggling to secure rent and daily living expenses.😢
We have decided to open a fundraising link to help secure a safe place for us, a place that will protect us and our children from the harsh conditions. Your donations will serve as a beacon of hope in building a home that provides us with safety and stability.😔🇵🇸
Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a big difference in our lives.🙏🏻
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https://gofund.me/abbc2759
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and generosity.🙌🏼❤️🩹
I am Motaz Mohamed ❤ a palestinian youngman from Gaza🍉🇵🇸, seeking to find safety and peace ☝️for my family if twenty members. We have been ❤🇵🇸🍉passing through all forms of torture and pain for almost ten months because of the war on Gaza.
Life is very miserable and tragic❤🇵🇸 as we are now deprived ❤🇵🇸🍉of all means of living. Drink water, healthy food health care and medicine❤🇵🇸 have become things 🇵🇸🍉❤of the past. We are dying dear friends. That is why I am asking you to help us break through this tough situation.Life in hot tents is incredibly sad and miserable. We are now experiencing the worst circumstances we have ever had in our life. The war has stolen happiness and life from us.
Please don't leave us alone in such dire times. Your kind contribution either through donating whatever you can or sharing my posts will be highly appreciated and valued.❤🇵🇸🍉
Hello, I’m Samar from Gaza, a mother of a young child 🇵🇸❤️. I only have 500 euros left to reach the amount needed to buy a tent that will protect us from the cold and rain 🏕️. I reached out to 25 kind people, and if each person donates just 20 euros, we’ll have the full amount needed.
Your help, no matter how small, means so much to us ❤️🙏.
The campaign is verified by @90-ghost and @gaza-evacuation-funds.
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My heart is tired and exhausted. My child Adam is in urgent need of treatment for muscle spasms. 💔
I am not asking for much, just the price of the treatment, which has become many times its previous price due to the war crisis and the siege. Its price now is 100 euros.
Please help to save my child from his pain that is tearing my heart apart. 🙏💙
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Hello my friends! 👋💓
The situation in Gaza is worsening day by day, and my family is still struggling in very tough conditions. 😔💔
I only have $85 left to reach the $8500 goal, and I hope to achieve it today. 🇵🇸😢
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Hello lm hamdi ,I humbly ask for your support by reblogging this post on your account to help me and my family. As newcomers to Tumblr and GoFundMe, we are in desperate need of your kindness and support. 🙏🇵🇸🍉😔Please donate 🙏🏼Let's reach the goal as soon as possible .
Please support me
, I'm Karam Al Nabih from Gaza. My home, dreams, and university have been destroyed by the war. I'm a software engineer in my final semester, and I'm urgently seeking your support to rebuild my life and help my sick mother.
Please consider donating, even a small amount like 10 or 15 £, as every contribution makes a difference. If you can't donate, please share my story to help me reach my goal. Your support means the world to me.
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Vatted by @nabulsi @90-ghost
A World Without Him
Chapter 19
The air around them stilled, heavy with anticipation. Tang just held his hands together and bowed his head, trying to avoid the stares from everyone around him. When the silence from these people started to go on for a bit too long, he took a chance and glanced up at the bed, seeing Zach staring right back at him. The kid's face was contorted into some sort of grimace.
Aggressive Guy spoke up first. “Are we gonna start this thing, or are we just gonna sit around with our heads up our asses?”
A glare was shot at him from Red Hair, but the old man across from Tang just gave a small chuckle at the outburst. “Alright. I suppose everyone here must have a lot on their mind as we haven't had to do this sort of thing before. Why don't you give us a start, Ms. Manex?” The man asked with a small smile, both his hands settled on the wooden cane in front of him.
The soldier next to Tang stiffened and blinked a few times at the statement. Regaining herself quickly after, she gave a quick nod to the man and gestured to Red Hair. Once Red Hair gave the clipboard away, Manex stepped slowly up to the bed, staring intently at the papers in her hands.
She gave a quick cough before starting her questions. “Ahem. To start off, I want you to confirm the information given to our medical staff to stave off any misunderstandings. Your name is Zach Song, correct?”
The kid answered with what sounded more like a wheeze than anything, his eyes squinting at her as he did so. Manex bit her lip and kept her eyes glued onto the clipboard. “Uhm, I'm sorry, but could you repeat that for me?”
He wheezed again, louder and more scratchy than before as he turned his head to the side to face her, revealing bloody bandages lining his neck and chest. Tang grimaced at the sound, still staring at the floor himself while squeezing his hands tighter together.
Manex, however, seemed to be frozen in place. Her lip was close to bleeding with how much force she was using as she only stared at her clipboard, motionless.
The old man observed as Red Hair carefully stood up and turned Manex away from the bed. She took the clipboard back into her own hands and positioned Manex back at her place next to Tang, turning back to the bed herself as Aggressive Guy scoffed in the background.
Red Hair glanced at the old guy, her silent question acknowledged with a slow nod from him. At the confirmation, she carefully leaned down next to Zach's head and whispered something into his ear. A quieter wheeze was what she got, but she seemed to understand it as she wrote something down onto the clipboard.
‘Oh… oh this is not good.’
‘I think you'll need to specify exactly what fucked up situation you're talking about here big guy.’
The whispered questions and scribbling from Red Hair were immediately turned into background noise as Tang heard the first word from them. Good thing his face was locked towards the stone floor or else he would've probably been jumped for the pure exasperation stuck on his face.
‘What do you think? We're already in some deep trouble for letting that monster make contact with this supposed “waste of time” like you said.’
Tang rubs his eyes under the glasses, content in letting the voices run their course like usual. But still. The buzz of the voices, cries from patients, and the scribbling on that clipboard were all overlapping and starting to become too much for him and his head.
Or at least, that's what he assumed when his hearing started to shorten in and out and when his surroundings started to blur into monochrome blobs. He sighed internally as he continued to rub his eyes, hoping it would anchor his mind.
Blinking once again, he looks ahead at the foot of the bed. Everything has come back into focus now, but it seemed like the colors around them had been dulled, almost into grayscale. His eyes shoot open at the sight. This was all too familiar.
The room had turned almost eerily silent; it was especially noticeable with the background noise vanishing along with the scribbling. Everyone around him seemed stuck in slow motion, like Red Hair’s ponytail staying frayed out from a previous swish of her head and some staff running outside that were stuck mid-air through the crack in the curtains.
However, this was also different as there was still one thing he could hear properly. The two voices were still arguing at the same intensity, but now they didn't seem like they were stuck in his head. No, they echoed over the layout, and he could guess where they were as wisps of orange light swayed at the edge of his vision, painfully obvious now that world turned monochrome.
Tang didn't want to look up. He didn't want to see what was lingering in front of him. Do they see me? Do they even notice what's happening? What if they discover I can hear them!? They already seem pretty peeved at each other. Maybe they're too invested in the argument to see anything else. Maybe they wouldn't notice if I took a quick look?...
He was heavily tempted by the idea. Finally being able to see the two voices who were lingering near him since the beginning of his power surges? Now that might finally give him some answers on who these guys were and what they're doing in his head.
Cian itself could only really yank his bracelet really hard physically while keeping most apparent secrets to itself, and he would rather risk just a glance at the two voices for potential information than continue under the pressure of the medical tent for how much longer.
Gaining the courage, Tang steeled himself and slowly lifted his eyes off the floor. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what he saw.
Both voices were seemingly floating in front of Tang, still fighting animatedly floating above the bed while thankfully not paying attention to Tang himself. Their figures seemed very similar to Cian’s, translucent orange skin and white eyes matching its appearance to a tee. There were some stark differences, though.
The one on the left had relatively simple clothing, loose pants and a matching traditional button down shirt with straw sandals as its choice of dress along with medium length messy hair. It seemed to have cracks along its skin like porcelain, almost as if its body had been dropped too hard onto a hard surface. It also raised its voice louder than the other with clear aggression on its face even without irises or pupils.
The one on the right had more elaborate yet messy clothing, with a tattered embroidered robe, ripped silk pants, and dirty cloth black boots along with longer, thinner hair waving behind it freely along with its long beard. It gave a gaze of contempt towards the other, while interjecting snide remarks with its shrill voice.
Tang didn't know how to react other than staring blankly at the two. This is what they looked like all this time? He didn't imagine them to look so… human. Cian had an almost ethereal and familiar atmosphere to it, wavy hair and loose untouched clothing to match the flowey speech it used.
In contrast, these two seemed to have come drunk from some type of costume party. They didn't even seem all that familiar other than the recognition from their voices, the faces unfamiliar to Tang before this moment
Now he really wanted his sketchbook. He wanted to draw them and jot down notes and theories of what they could be and why they're in his head.
He didn't even realize one of the voices had gone silent as he focussed on the other subconsciously and tried to engrave all of these details into his head, occasionally clocking back into the argument they were still having to see if they would give any less vague answers.
“... and now we're stuck HERE. Literally the worst place someone like him could be in when we're trying to- UGH. Nothing even matters anymore! We already failed, do we still need to be stationed here when he can't even connect with us now due to that prick’s influence?” The one on the left was still speaking, seemingly not stopping anytime soon.
“It’s like they're punishing us specifically for not anticipating the break. And we're not even- hey. Hey, why are you ignoring me?! I have some issues I need to vent out right now, and if you're going to give me that stupid self-righteous silent treatment again-”
Then it suddenly fell silent; the absence of the noise made the ringing in Tang’s ears more prominent. Its body immediately tensed when it noticed something to its side. Tang found out why as he focussed back into the full picture.
The one on the right had turned its head, fully making eye contact with Tang with an expression of shock and slight fear frozen on its face. Its colorless eyes bored into him as the other slowly turned its head to do the same.
They became entirely still, almost as if the monochrome world around finally took effect.
Now, Tang had caught their undivided attention.
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To all Palestine supporters 🫂🇵🇸🌧
We need less than 1250€ to reach our short term goal of 29.75k€ which is 85% of the total goal‼️
Your donations are important to us and we appreciate them no matter what🙏
We need you more than ever😭
Please help me reach our goal as soon as possible 🙏
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Hello dear friends, 🌟
I'm Mahmoud Jihad from Gaza. My family and I have lost everything—our home, my university, all of it. Now, we find ourselves living in a flimsy tent after losing everything. I was studying Information Technology and supporting my family, but now we are left with nothing. 😔
We are enduring unimaginable destruction and desperately need your help to survive. 😭 Even a small donation can make a huge difference. Every single contribution is a spark of hope in this dark time. ✨
Our campaign has been verified by: @beesandwatermelons ✅ #190 and @gazavetters ✅ #63.
You can make a difference by supporting us through this GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/463cbf01
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Thank you so much for your generosity and support!
Your donations will directly help us in rebuilding our lives. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity! 🌹
🙏Please donate a small amount that may save my father's life, he needs daily medication worth 55€ and will undergo surgery worth 250€💔, please do not ignore my message and do not hesitate to help me🫂❤️🩹
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Please support me I am facing this alone🙏
🛑Account No. 10 due to repeated deletion
✅My campaign is verified by: @gaza-evacuation-funds
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Hello dear, I am Hala, a mother of four children from Gaza. We live in difficult circumstances in Gaza. Our dreams and future have been shattered. Our home has been destroyed and we have been displaced many times. Please donate participate to evacuate my children to their father in Egypt. Thank you.
Vetted by gaza-evacuation-funds
https://www.gofundme.com/f/pa958-help-me-and-my-family
Hi, my name is Mohammad totah, I am 33 years old, I am from Gaza, married to Aya Abu Kmail who is 26 years old, and I am a mother of two children, My oldest is my daughter, Sana'a, who is five years old, and my youngest is my son , wasfi , who is 3
since October 7 we have been living in fear and hunger, we have lost many things in this war, we have lost our home and we have lost members of our family, we have been displaced from places that are not suitable for living
we are experiencing a real famine in Gaza. I've gone to bed with my children without dinner because there is no food available. we have had to eat animal and bird feed due to the high cost of flour just to fill the hunger of my young children . even after eating it, we all suffered from diarrhea and severe stomach pain. my children developed rashes on their bodies due to the spread of viruses. their is also a severe shortage of water, and even when we find it, it's not safe to drink
My children cry , asking for vegetables, fruit,and eggs, but we can't afford them because we have no income
winter is coming,and we have nothing for it. I need clothes and shoes for my children to keep them warm
therefore,I hope that you will help me in the near future, even if it is just a little, to provide for my children's basic needs
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But a simple donation from you saves the body from death🙏🏻🍉🤍🥺💰🇵🇸
Can you donate for me and my family?🙏🏻🍉
https://gofund.me/abf54bf1
Dear friends ♥️,
In Gaza, we wake up to the sounds of destruction and sleep with the fear of what tomorrow might bring 🌙💥. But even in the darkest times, hope remains ✨. I’ve started a campaign on GoFundMe to provide urgent help to those most affected.
I ask for your support, whether it's a small donation 💸 or simply sharing my campaign with your networks 🌍. Every bit of help matters more than you can imagine. Let’s spread hope together and show that kindness knows no borders 🌈.
Thank you for standing with us 🙏,
Abdul Salam Al-Anqar
Hello from Gaza,
My name is Waleed. I am a husband, father, and respected electrical engineer from the war-torn Gaza. I have never imagined that I will ask people for help, but the safety of my family hangs on the edge. 💔
Worried about the safety of my family, I have decided to create a GFM campaign to raise the necessary funds to safely evacuate Gaza and ensure my family's survival. 😔😔
Every passing day adds new dimensions to our endless agony and dimishes our chances to survival. Please, help me reach my goal. If you cannot donate, please share my story by reblogging the pinned post in my blog and make the world hear our cry. 🙏🙏
Vetted by @gazavetters , my number verified on the list is ( #107 )
Waleed & Family,
Best regards.
https://gofund.me/e85369a1
