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I'm sorry the next chapter of A World Without Him will be a bit late. I do have half the chapter done already and will try my best to publish it tomorrow.
Hello! I'm sorry for not posting this week. I've had so many ideas just no motivation to go with it. I'll try to post next week or earlier if I can.
Also, I found this amazing Cicada charm yesterday, and I now feel compelled to add it to my Tang designs.
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,
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A World Without Him
Chapter 15
The ground was covered in dust and dead grass; it scratched against Tang's face as he tried to block everything out. I just had to get attacked back there. Just had to be the only one conscious. I just had to stumble back to this place after all of my efforts.
His hair had been released from the hair tie for a while now, which made his hair cascade in front of his face and back. It worked like a buffer from him and the crowd, but it was uncomfortable to have it get tangled with the dead brush beneath him. He groaned as he banged his head into the ground with what little strength he had left, causing guns to clink together as the crowd flinched.
After a few seconds, the whispers and steps of the crowd suddenly started to get louder, like they were parting for something to get through. Although, Tang could care less at the moment as he was completely exhausted from basically everything. The blood on his arms and upper lip have dried to a point where it started to flake and crack on his skin. He really didn't like the feeling.
He couldn't even lift his head as heavy footsteps approached him and Zach’s bodies, the crowd of people around them quieting down as they grew closer to them. A large, calloused hand hauled him off the ground by his left arm, forcing Tang onto his wobbly feet.
His legs almost immediately gave out from beneath him, but the guy who picked him up quickly caught him by the shoulders. With his head falling forward, Tang’s hair fell in front of his face, full of dust and dead grass as it obscured his vision along with his cracked lense. It seemed longer than he remembered…
“This is gonna cause something awful…” The guy holding him up grumbled to himself before carefully grabbing Tang’s wrists and tying a long piece of rough rope around them. He left a long piece of rope between Tang’s wrists, maybe for better mobility or something to grab onto if he tried to run (he doubted he would get even 2 feet in his current state, even without the rope). It scratched against the dried blood uncomfortably.
Tang almost collapsed again after the ordeal was over, but he was caught yet again and had his right arm thrown over the guy’s back as they started to move. Tang's feet dragged across the ground as the guy walked slowly to somewhere he couldn't guess. He heard someone else walk over and presumably grab Zach as he heard the dead grass rustle and more heavy steps join and start to walk beside them.
Looking out of the small slivers of light between his hair, he could see Zach's head facing the sky as he was held princess style by a built soldier, if he were to guess by the heavily defined arms and uniform the person was wearing. However, he couldn't look long as the campfires around them died down and left most of the area in darkness.
Tang closed his eyes, letting his head drop fully, hoping that wherever these people were taking him would be far, far away from that demon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orange filled his vision; a familiar color from his last dream. But now he no longer floated, laying face first on a cold hard floor similar to concrete. He sighed heavily.
‘What have you gotten yourself into already, little cicada?’
Tang didn't bother looking up. “Cian…” He mumbled with distaste. Silence overcame the void. Then, a small hum was all he heard before soft footsteps approached him. A thin hand soon grabbed his shirt and lifted him up with ease, making them face to face. It held a cocky grin as it looked down on him.
‘Now what’s with that tone? I think I deserve some recognition for getting you out safe and sound.’ It said as its grin grew wider.
It seemed taller than him now, at least a good couple of inches. Tang ignored this and pushed its hand away, stumbling only slightly as he landed. “W-What's happening? Why am I here again? Why did you save us? Probably to get something from me. What did you do while I was out?” He rambled on accusingly, pointing his index finger into its chest.
Its expression never wavered. ‘And to think I thought you would have been thankful, groveling at my feet for saving your cowardly self and the dead weight you brought along.’ It sarcastically replied, grabbing Tang's hand off its chest and pulling him closer by the wrist with the bell.
A cold sweat went down Tang’s neck. “I-I know you have ulterior motives! Just w-what do you want with me to make a deal for? And how did we even get away from that demon in the first place?” He lost a bit of steam as he continued, pushing himself away from Cian as he grit his teeth nervously.
This got a reaction, with Cian's eye twitching in annoyance. ‘Don't worry about the semantics. All that matters is that this deal we made has me protecting your feeble body to the best of my ability.’
This didn't comfort him one bit. Tang nervously picked at the end of his stained scarf. “And what does that exactly entail? I've read enough stories with the warnings and consequences of taking those types of vague deals at face value. N-Now I ask again, what do you want with me, really?” He asked, a bit unsure of himself.
It only sighed, letting its grin finally fall as its voice started to grate. ‘Why are you still questioning me? I explained our deal. It's not like I can hurt you in any meaningful way.’ It started to walk closer, the color underneath them rippling from its steps.
‘I know you need me. You know you need me. And now that you've been dragged back into this place? You'll need my assistance now more than ever.’ Now it's only a foot away from him, yet it didn't feel overwhelming. Like it was purposely keeping itself in check.
Tang's brow creased in thought, thinking over what he should say next. “Well, y-your right. I do need your help here, especially since I don't have my friends around to protect me anymore… Maybe that's a good thing. Uh… hey wait!” He suddenly shouted, stars appearing in his eyes as he tried to push down his dread.
“Can't you teach me how to harness my powers like what you did back in the forest? I don't exactly know what you did in the first place, but some protection while your not around would be-”
‘NO.' It growled immediately, squinting its eyes as the ground shook and its clothes and hair flew in all sorts of directions. 'The pure power that's inside you would tear your body to shreds before you could even try to cast anything useful. Even if you now possess my abilities like they're your own, you’d have to face over 15 years of body conditioning to harness even a tenth of it effectively.’
It spoke with wavering conviction, turning its head to the side as if to avoid Tang's gaze. The sudden reaction from Cian shook him up a bit, but he couldn't even reply before Cian decided to speak up again.
‘Our deal is set. I'll do everything I can to protect your body, so I'll try my best to strengthen myself now that we're bound. I will be there to protect you from anything coming your way, so you don't need to give away years of your life for something as simple as glamor or similar cowardly tricks.’ It leaned down over him as it spoke, making sure Tang couldn't ignore what it said.
He could only nod quickly at Cian's words, letting it lean away from him once more. Tang let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then looked back to Cian, too tired for anymore banter. “Can you at least tell me when you're going to show up, or basically do whatever you did back at the road? I would just like some clarification-”
All of a sudden, the air felt like it was knocked out of his lungs. He clutched his stomach as he dropped to his knees, trying to gulp for air as Cian gasped at his display. He coughed as slivers of air were finally gifted to him before being drawn back out by an unknown force, his vision blinking in and out from his dream.
‘What the hell are those mortals doing!? Th__ m__t be g__ng ___!’ He could barely hear Cian's shocked remarks as the cycle continued. Bits of air entered his lungs before they were taken away violently, taking longer and longer in giving him release. He could barely hold himself up before he fell to the ground with Cian standing over him as the last thing he saw before blacking out… weird that this could happen in a dream…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His eyes shot open. Gray walls, metal table and chair with his wrists tied to a ring on the table, a hand holding his head harshly. Those were the things he could make out before starting to violently cough over everything, heaving as he bent over his stomach and gasped in all the air he could.
His top half was soaked with what he hoped was water and his face and arms felt sore as he continued to cough; the hand on his head never moved, as to make sure he couldn't even move on his own. After what seemed like hours, Tang could finally breathe again, his body shaking as he tried to make sure he didn't hyperventilate or throw up.
“Good. You're finally awake filth.” A harsh voice sounded from behind him, most likely male from how deep it was. His hair was soaked as it hung over his eyes and obscured his vision, so he couldn't look at the guy as he let go of his head and walked to the other side of the table.
After another moment to catch his breath, Tang slowly brought his hands to his face, parting the hair and throwing it over his shoulders. A dim room met him, with two people sitting in front of him across the table. He couldn't Make much out of them, but he could see a bucket of water on the table. He's interrupted before he could see any more.
“Now, let's let go of the pleasantries. You are in Human territory, and we don't know how our blind spots have been leaked to someone like you. If you tell us your source, we will keep you prisoner and won't execute you after this interrogation.” A different voice, one more feminine but holds more authority and wrath than the other.
“W… what?” Tang asked slowly, tilting his head to one side to make sure it didn't fall forward from his exhaustion. A very bright light suddenly shot into his eyes, causing him to flinch back.
“We know this place is secure on all sides. How did you enter camp without our scouts detecting you? Tell us how your side got this information and we won't put your head on a spike out in town square. Those demon bastards really thought they could send a spy into our camp? HA! Do they really think that low of the Bellfield troop!?” The guy cackles out, clearly not in the best head space if Tang had to guess.
“Calm down, lieutenant. We still need what it has to offer. Now, who gave you the information on how to sneak in here? Even if you did a rather shoddy job at the stuff after the infiltration, you must be pretty high up the food chain if you got delivered this kind of info.”
Tang suddenly shot up in his chair. “Wait what?! Who do you think I am!? Me and Zach got attacked on the way here by a demon with red eyes a-and this was the closest place I could remember to go!”
The light tilted away from his eyes, letting him see the faces of his captors. One had long, straight red hair tied in a ponytail and sat right across from Tang. She had sharp eyes and was probably the one who’s in charge. The other was a guy with short loss and a big snarl on his face. He seemed aggressive towards Tang for whatever they think he is and stood next to Red Hair, leaning on one hand over the table.
“And why do you think we'll believe you? You showed up out of nowhere, got past all of our defenses, have an unconscious body over you and are covered in demon blood.” Red Hair said in a cool tone, staring into Tang's eyes as he shrunk back.
“Then why would I put in all that work just to get captured?! That’s not even my blood anyways! I don't know who you people are, but if I really was whatever you say I am, why would I let myself be taken? That would just be a big waste of time and energy on your part. I couldn't even stand!” Tang was starting to get annoyed at how little they seemed to trust him. He leaned back in his chair and started looking away from those people to steel his nerves and control how much he was already shaking.
They shared a look before Aggressive Guy stood up straight and took a pocket knife out of his uniform pocket. Tang paled at the notion as the guy walked towards him. “WAIT! Hey, I'm innocent! Just check my story with Zach’s and it'll all make sense since I don't have anything on me and Zach is just a guy I met today on complete accident! Please you gotta believe me I'm not who you think I am and OW!”
The guy aggressively took Tang’s arm, rolled up the sleeve and sliced just above the elbow. Tang screamed at the attack, seeing the blood drip out and onto the floor. Red Hair brought over a cup of something to gather the blood, shining UV light over the mix before sitting back down with Aggressive Guy following.
“You're not a demon.” She said matter-of-factly.
“Yes?! I told you we got attacked on the back road by a demon!” He answered incredulously.
The two across from shared another look. “We will have to talk with the other person you brought here to confirm. We have had human spies before, and it's a bit too convenient for you to have wandered in here effortlessly like that, especially covered in demon blood.” Aggressive Guy spoke up, walking up next to Tang again, making the scholar brace for whatever the guy would do next.
“But, you don't seem to be a threat at the moment, given you are unarmed, dehydrated, and sleep deprived. You probably couldn't lift a water bottle if we asked you to right now. So, we'll have to keep an eye on you.” Aggressive Guy leaned down and untied the rope against his wrists, letting them fall to Tang's sides.
Red Hair spoke up after the guy finished and went back to her side. “We will put you with the cleaners near the river. You will work in the laundry tent for the food and bed that we will assign you. You aren't allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone, and we will summon you whenever we need your presence and after your friend wakes up. Remember that if you are lying about anything, you will have your cold body be thrown to the livestock. We have eyes everywhere.”
Tang felt as if he was drowning in the tension; he nodded quickly after Red Hair finished talking. She gestured for him to stand, and after he did, Aggressive Guy harshly grabbed his shoulder and led him out of the interrogation room behind Red Hair.
Outside, it was early dawn as the sun started to rise over the trees, giving Tang a better view than when he was dragged through here before. The houses all seemed rough on the outside, with big vehicles and tents scattered around every corner.
Red Hair led them through the main road they were on, going towards what seemed to be the heart of the town as they passed more and more people whispering as they got close. Looking closer, she and Aggressive Guy both wore the same brown and green uniforms, along with combat boots and guns plus knives strapped all over their bodies.
He was glad they didn't resort to using those on him, even if the place above his elbow still hurt and he could feel it start to scab.
They stopped in front of an empty fountain surrounded by supply stands, greenhouses and other buildings with people setting up for the new day. Red Hair turned to him. “Your sleeping quarters will be right behind me in tent 12. This is where we keep low level safety hazards or misbehaving soldiers. It is guarded 24/7, so don't try to think you can get out of this like how you got in. Wake up at the bell and head to building 6 beside greenhouse 2. This is where you'll work while we investigate your claims. You’ll be given a longer briefing tomorrow, as I have better things to do than list everything off to a prisoner.”
Tang’s eye twitched at that, with Aggressive Guy finally letting go of his shoulder. He was about to walk right into the tent to get away from them, but he hesitated before turning back to Red Hair. “Where is Zach being kept then? I assume he hasn't woken up yet based on what you said. Is he alright?”
Red Hair seemed annoyed at the question. “Yes, yes, your friend is fine. He's in infirmary 3 as he's recovering from some bruised ribs and other stuff. Happy?”
“Yep. Thank you.” Tang replied with a dry tone. He started to walk to his tent after that, lifting the flap and stepping inside and away from those crazies. There were about 10 single beds in there with one table each, and it seemed like no one woke up as he stepped inside. Four beds were empty, but there was one with undone sheets, so he whittled the available beds to 3.
He took the one farthest right in the back and laid down after taking his boots, scarf, and coat off. He tried to scratch the dried blood off his arms, but that only irritated his skin. He sighed quietly, putting his excess clothing and glasses under his bed in case someone tried to take them while he was asleep.
He stiffened when he heard someone sit up in their bed. They continued as they stood up from their bed and seemed to walk over to Tang from what he could hear and barely see. They stopped in front of him, silently handing him what seemed to be… a roll of gauze? Tang took it and rolled it in his hands. Yep. This is definitely gauze.
He mumbled out a thank you to the stranger, and they silently went back to bed and left Tang to his own devices. That was a little weird, but the scholar wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly wrapped a bit of it over his new cut and then thought about what happened to his forearm from that demon.
He ran a hand over his right forearm, but he couldn't feel anything wrong, not even a scab. He grimaced at this. I know the slash was real from the hole in my jacket, so why can't I feel it?
He could only sigh again, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere stewing by himself at dawn. So, he finally laid down on his bed and looked at the tent ceiling. He could hear the snores of his tent-mates and cicadas chirping from the nearby forest. The small talk of people outside and the wind blowing through the branches outside. He let the white noise guide him into sleep and then finally let himself succumb to unconsciousness as all the noise floated away.
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Hello 🕊🙏,
I’m Hani from Gaza 💔, 26 years old. My family and I are living through a humanitarian disaster due to the war 💔😭. We lost our home and all our belongings, and my elderly father 🇵🇸 can no longer support us. My mother is chronically ill and requires constant care 🍉🙏.
Can you reblog my 📌 pinned post on my account?
Every share 🕊❤ helps spread our story and brings us much-needed support 🙏💖. Thank you so much to everyone who helps us by spreading the word.
Tang Drabbles 3
Hello! Here are some random cool things/events I want to add in A World Without Him
I want Tang to have this really traumatic event happen to him that basically "awakens" his monk powers.
This happens at his old Town (aka the one he's gonna pull over into after the wind demon attacks, aka the one I still haven't named yet ;-;) when he sees his only friend die in front of him during a demon attack. This causes multiple emotional break downs at once and he just goes full on God Mode in unleashing all the built up emotions and power until this moment.
He doesn't fight the demon lord in combat, but restrains him with glowing strings, rips out his heart, and has him disintegrate into orange dust.
After this enormous display of power, Wukong senses his masters "magic" and rushes towards the town, not really knowing what he's doing. He starts to have a flurry of thoughts as he rushes from where he was towards that town. When he gets there all he sees is a majorly damaged town, orange dust floating away, and a really beat up teen on the ground in front of him. He starts to unravel, thinking things like, "Where is he!?", "I sensed him!", What happened here?", and "I have to find him!" He uses golden vision to no avail, and leaves as quickly as he entered.
And Tang, in his basically almost unconscious state, and who doesn't remember anything from his power up, thinks that this super powerful looking monkey that just landed in front of him saved the village, which kick starts his obsession with the Monkey King and all those old legends.
More on Tangs transformation: His glasses now enlarge and now have a golden tint to cover his eyes, while his eyes glow bright white, he has big cicada wings, 4 arms now decorated in glowing orange symbols, and orang and white strings/ribbons circling around him as if in a tornado.
Tang does see the ghosts of Tripitaka and Golden cicada, as long as some other incarnations that didn't last as long over the years. He starts to see faint silhouettes after this power up, but always thinks he's either not getting enough sleep or just seeing things. The ghosts get very annoyed until he uses his powers in season 3 to fully make them at least visible to Tang (I know I said he still doesn't know he's magic before, but I'm moving it up to a bit after S3 finale so he can at least know about Tripitaka's existence. He can't hear him though, and he got really freaked out when he first saw him a day after the S3 finale.) (also, I'm making it so the gang still doesn't really know about how they're connected to the original JTTW gang, because plot)
Btw, after Tang at least somewhat comes into his powers at The Town, demons do come and try to eat him / marry him for immortality. It just always has to happen with unlocked Monk magic, unfortunately for Tang.
My Au's that I -might- eventually turn into longfics
I've had so many ideas spinning in my head about all my hyperfixations and I'm gonna spew all of them out in this post.
A spiderman x Hazbin hotel au. Basically while in the soul stone for 5 years, Peter Parker gets transported to Hell either by divine intervention or by being summoned from hell itself. This is one of my favorites and even have some low quality art of what he would look like in hell.
My second big hyperfixation is a sans au. I know these aren't very popular anymore without art or an already huge fan base, but I can't get this idea to go away. The gist of it is if only one multiverse has a "god" of Time, like Fate or Karma, but was locked away in the back of The Archives so resets, timeliness, and multiversal connection could happen. Time would obviously be mad and would use some of their power to get a system of low-level/unimportant code users from overlooked or un-unique aus to help them unknowingly through manipulation of their au to get them out into their multiverse, or by taking them from broken aus. My main character would be a sans from one of the broken aus and their journey through figuring everything out. I also have a lot of details on this au because it's also one of my favorites that I can't stop thinking about.
My last big hyperfixation is a LMK au centering around Tang and his feeling of being unimportant /powerless to the gang. He would say goodbye one last time and hitch a taxi to the airport to go across the country. The reason being to pursue his fascination with legends and myths by digging up old stories or sharing them to students at a university. However, on the way there, the taxi gets attacked by a tornado demon and sets him of course towards an unfamiliar nobody town between his original home and the airport. The story would focus on tang getting stronger, more confident, and comfortable with the circumstances thrown at him.
You all can ask me anything about these aus in the comments because I've already developed whole arcs, characters, and designs for all three of these ideas. I just want to know if anyone's interested in these aus and if they want me to make an ask blog, fan-fic, or more posts about them. Also, I acnt draw that well so any ask blog or post will just be text. Be warned.
Just some Tang doodles for my au from class today.
Btw, there's some blood and dead bodies and spoilers for a future scene after the cut.
These are just some practice expressions for Tang to get the eye shape with the glasses right.
This is what's underneath the jacket he usually wears out in New Town TM.
This is when Tang snaps on the battlefield after the Medic Tent gets attacked a 3rd time with no reinforcements to help.
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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A World Without Him
Chapter 5
Light shines onto Tangs' face after a couple of hours; he had shut his eyes and tried to rest at least a bit before going out. But that didn't really work, as he felt like he was a living zombie.
He sighed to himself before rolling onto his side, looking out the uncovered window. The sun was shining directly onto his face through it, making the window almost impossible to see.
Finally, he clumsily reached over to the bedside table to grab his glasses, grabbing at air a few times before standing and walking over to the bathroom.
In the mirror, his hair stuck up in every direction, having a soft halo of orange, probably from the overwhelming sunlight. He went through the motions of brushing and putting his medium-length hair up into a low ponytail.
Tang eventually walked back out freshened up and went straight to the "groceries" he got last night from the convenience store.
He looked at all the things that were just sitting in plastic bags all night before groaning and actually putting everything away. Y'know, like a respectable adult. Shut up already.
He took a little longer than usual, accidently putting the milk in the cabinets and the ramen boxes in the freezer in his drowsiness.
When he was finally done, he took a random box of off-brand cereal and started to eat the small things of carbs like chips out of the box. Just to get some food in him before lunch.
He sat onto his couch, snuggling up with two different blankets. He seemed colder than usual, feeling like he wasn't producing heat at all, like he was basically hollow. He didn't like the feeling.
Tang didn't want to move at all, but sitting in one place wasn't doing much help. So after he munched a bit more on the cereal, he violently threw the blanket onto the floor and set the box back on the counter.
He walked to the entrance of his apartment and put his shoes on before opening the door. The silence was deafening as he walked down the stairwell.
When he reached the door to the outside, he slumped in relief; hearing muffled voices and speeding cars, as well as feeling the beaming sun on his face.
He felt like just staring at the sun until the rays blinded him even more. But he knew that would be counterproductive to his singular hobby of reading, so he quickly looked away.
He ended up looking in front of him to the street. He saw a few teens walk along the sidewalks, store owners opening up shops, and fliers flying in the breeze that always went through this part of town.
He found the fliers particularly interesting as there was something new on top of the missing cat posters and cleaning service ads.
It was colorful, with no water damage, and seemingly stapled on just this morning. It showed a cartoon library with the title of "NOW HIRING FULL-TIME LIBRARIANS AND ASSISTANTS - No experience required!" shown at the top for the metrapolis library, then the phone number at the bottom in slips.
Tang stopped for a moment, considering the job. He hasn't had a job in over 3 years. He's mostly just relied on the previous funds while wallowing in whatever mood he felt each day in the past years.
He looks back to the colorful paper, knowing how the colors will eventually dull and rot after a single storm. He doesn't know how to feel. So, he tears a slip from the bottom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting the job was... easier, than expected. He walked into the building after calling for an interview at about 2:00 PM, and went to the front desk, asking the person running it about the flier.
The guy looked up at him with tired eyes under a ball cap, seemingly just there for standby, and pointed at the neon arrow poster on one of the bookcases. "Just follow the random arrow posters." He said before laying his head into his arms on the desk.
Tang huffed before following the arrows, leading him into the back of the library, and through a staff only door. He walked past two other doors, then just stared at one door with at least 10 signs pointing at it.
He shook his head before knocking on the door, waiting a moment, and being let inside. What a waste of paper.
The older women interviewing him barely asked any questions, just some "How old are you?" and "Do you have anything we need to accommodate for?" types of questions.
She seemed satisfied with his answers before giving him a lanyard to fill his name into. Tang was set to start tomorrow as a full-time librarian with another guy named Allan as his assistant. The work was supposedly simple, just stuff like rearranging and shelving books while scanning them in and out for the public.
Even though he wouldn't get much out of this job, just $10 an hour, it's nice to have something going on other than staring up at his ceiling every day.
After saying his thanks and goodbyes, he walked home in silence, passing all the lights, getting back, and locking the door at 5:08.
He felt a bit lighter today as he threw his shoes next to the doorway. He sat down on his couch before taking out his phone and seeing it had been blowing up.
The thing blowing up was the group chat with him, Pisgy, Sandy, Mk, and Mei, which was flooding with pictures from Mei during another demon attack, with Mk either in the air or in the mid fighting pose with a giant bug demon.
The final two posted were one with the bug demon face down in the cracked concrete, with Mk smiling up to the camera with a couple of bruises lining his face and arms.
The other was Mk, seemingly unharmed with one thin layer of bandage around his forearm, back at his apartment holding some brown sugar bubble tea, with Mei holding up her matcha bubble tea, taking a selfie together.
Tang sent a thing of congrats along with all the others from Sandy and the one from Pisgy. Everyone then went on about their days, how Sandy had apparently dropped lots of his tea into the water under boat from trying to avoid a cat on deck.
Pisgy barely said anything, but told everyone he was completely swamped at the restaurant with all the new customers, slightly giving Mk the hint that his help in being the delivery boy would be much appreciated by now and something he should've been doing all day.
Tang gave his few cents here and there, asking if Sandy had been trying to recreate the Boston tea party, which no one but him got, and laughing at Pisgy's misfortune, saying things like: "Well, if you have all those undelivered orders, you might aswell give them to me!" and "Don't be 2 hard on Mk he literally just defeated another demon! Let him have at least 10 mins or rest for rn."
Tang then told them about his new job, slipping it in after Pisgy finished his rant about work ethic. Sandy replied excitedly, giving him a smile emoji after some more congrats. Pisgy stated he could finally work to pay his overflowing tab, digging into him that he couldn't stay a freeloader forever. But, he also gave his congrats after another rant of text.
Those were the only responses before they moved onto other topics, like Mk talking excitedly about his new Monkey King video game that he got for a discount after defeating the bug guy for saving a Play Go shop.
Tang didn't really have the energy to reply to everything going on in the chat after a while, with him not being directly called to for over 30 messages. So, he decided to turn notifications off, and finally get some rest.
He sat up as he turned the notifications off, and walked to his bedroom. He threw himself onto the mattress after putting his phone and glasses on his bedside table.
The window in his bedroom was bright with neon lights and the barest hint of moonlight. It comforted him in a way; the natural lighting of the city drowning out any dark corners and such.
He rolled onto his back, pulling up the covers to get into a proper sleeping position. He does have his first day of work since 3 years tomorrow. He might as well have a bit of motivation to get some rest for the first time in a month.
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