First and foremost let me state it here, so it's seen before anything else. I do not care about kinks, or preferences regarding them. If you play dom, sub, switch, other, or have a preference towards bdsm or anything else, keep that a part of a potential character. If your first thought is to state that youre specifically wanting smut, I could care less. Its not my Cup O' Tea
---Included at the end of this thread is a brief writing example
---PLEASE do NOT reply here. Simply PM me if intereste
== I write in order to develop organic and realistic characters: Be that through solo writing, or with another person, or multiple, it matters not. This truth will always be a constant. If you are simply looking for kink or smut, this is not the request thread for you.
== I am a long time writer and rp'er, and thus I prefer to write with people who have the capability to keep up. Be it in post length, or post quality, I am a picky bastard, and I wont apologize for it. If you cant maintain at least three paragraphs, or two with adequate dialogue, then again, this request thread is not for you
(Exceptions can be made for reasons of Real Life, a lack of time, or not enough room in the current writing to expand upon: IE, if there's a lot of dialogue, then the requirement can be dropped down)
== If you are unable to maintain a cohesive plot, story, or character development and require constant hand holding to get from point A, to point B, see the paragraphs above
== For those of you who maintain the requirements I seek, understand that Im not being rude/mean/elitist at all, but that I have actual interest in (well, my interests) or havent yet decided against further reading, then here is what I am looking for, and what Im hoping to find in time.
1. I have no interest in story starter, cookie cutter, cliche'd plots with the typical romantic or intimate relationship being slammed into view. There is only so much reality in meeting someone and then being "interested" no matter the appearance. Only so many times can a good looking man, meet a good looking woman, who just happen to click, and have a star-crossed perfect situation unfold around them. So, I will not abide those situations or those plot lines at all.
2. I am seeking partners who are capable of writing organic and realistic characters beyond anything else. A drive to flesh out personality, backstory and make them believable or plausable is a must
3. I am interested almost entirely in open ended stories that follow along a path built by MC and YC. Plots can grow from nothing with effort from all parties involved, or through PMs during the writing process. I dont hate the idea of planning ahead, but prefer an open style so that at most, the start, backstory, and potential end, are what's marked in stone.
4. Definition will be given to the world over time, as partners are given free reign to add to their character and the world they are writing about. If you want to live in an apartment in uptown New York, you had better have the address and know the location. If you want that building to suddenly burn down, then be capable of writing the consequences and situation out. This doesnt mean the world is barren, blank, and boring. It means that characters only know what they've learned about, or experienced. So it can grow and be compiled over time, with some of it being setup beforehand for a better introduction and understanding.
5. I seek not just Oc's that will meet each other and interact, but I also prefer some form of protagonist and antagonist approach. Whether it is behind the scenes and subtle, or in your face obvious, it all depends on the plot being created. A character doesnt have to love another, just to interact with them. A love-hate friendship, a partnership under an organization, two sides to one coin, it's all preferred over the typical MC and YC are a couple, who is perfect BS.
6. I will not make amends to my own opinions or choices of action, and therefore I seek people who do not ask permission or forgiveness themselves. If your character believes an action is relevant or necessary, then by all means follow through with it. We build together, we watch it burn together. You can ask me any questions OOC, bounce any ideas you need to, and clarify any potential problems you may see, and I will attempt to do the same. If it sounds good, explains the mood properly, and keeps you interested, then more power to you for thinking of it and putting it into the growing story.
7. Sex and intimacy are a possibility in the long run, but none of my writing will be based around it. If characters grow attached, are in a situation where its relevant, or in some other way are made/required to do so, then I am not against it. As stated before, I wont simplistically create an rp, just to have it based around that interaction though. There is a vast difference between a hate-bang to relieve stress, or a one night stand between acquaintances that leads to further drama or actions, and the typical love interest pairing.
== I prefer to write third person omniscient, but that doesnt mean you have to. If a working combination can be found between my writing and yours, I am happy no matter the perspective
== I usually stick to my chosen genres and styles (Medievil, Modern, Fantasy, Supernatural, Dystopian, Post Apoc, Dark, and combinations of them) But that doesnt mean something else cant be fun to write at times. Please dont shy away from telling me what you like, or expressing interest in what you might want to plot out. I'm always interested in attempting something that has a different aesthetic, so long as it's not so absolutely rigid that I am required to read a full book just to describe one room in a building.
== With development in mind, I will not post starter plots with pairings, as I see no need to do so. Instead I prefer to create scenes, environments, or worlds, where the genre can be shifted, and a plot can be set into place. Some in a city, some in the entire universe, others in a single house depending on the rp my partners and I come to an agreement on. There are some listed in my scene catalogue, but anything you think will work, or any plot ideas you have, Im more than happy to discuss and craft with you. The only plots that will be listed, will not require any given pairing, nor any particular type of character to play opposite mine. Instead they will be a description of MC, the world, and the general premise of what I would like to see happen.
If you are interested in a particular genre and style, you need only message me and we can work from there. The plots will be organic and what suits us both. No generic boy meets girl, or zombie apocalypse here.
If a medievil knight and princess meeting just to fall in love or bang is your thing, you might want to think again. If a retired knight trying to reclaim his glory days by saving a princess from some unspeakable evil and deliver her back to the safety of the kingdom sounds good...
...we might have a something to talk about.
---If you wish to read some of what I've written, outside of what's already on this site---
---Included at the end of this thread is a brief writing example
---PLEASE do NOT reply here. Simply PM me if intereste
== I write in order to develop organic and realistic characters: Be that through solo writing, or with another person, or multiple, it matters not. This truth will always be a constant. If you are simply looking for kink or smut, this is not the request thread for you.
== I am a long time writer and rp'er, and thus I prefer to write with people who have the capability to keep up. Be it in post length, or post quality, I am a picky bastard, and I wont apologize for it. If you cant maintain at least three paragraphs, or two with adequate dialogue, then again, this request thread is not for you
(Exceptions can be made for reasons of Real Life, a lack of time, or not enough room in the current writing to expand upon: IE, if there's a lot of dialogue, then the requirement can be dropped down)
== If you are unable to maintain a cohesive plot, story, or character development and require constant hand holding to get from point A, to point B, see the paragraphs above
== For those of you who maintain the requirements I seek, understand that Im not being rude/mean/elitist at all, but that I have actual interest in (well, my interests) or havent yet decided against further reading, then here is what I am looking for, and what Im hoping to find in time.
1. I have no interest in story starter, cookie cutter, cliche'd plots with the typical romantic or intimate relationship being slammed into view. There is only so much reality in meeting someone and then being "interested" no matter the appearance. Only so many times can a good looking man, meet a good looking woman, who just happen to click, and have a star-crossed perfect situation unfold around them. So, I will not abide those situations or those plot lines at all.
2. I am seeking partners who are capable of writing organic and realistic characters beyond anything else. A drive to flesh out personality, backstory and make them believable or plausable is a must
3. I am interested almost entirely in open ended stories that follow along a path built by MC and YC. Plots can grow from nothing with effort from all parties involved, or through PMs during the writing process. I dont hate the idea of planning ahead, but prefer an open style so that at most, the start, backstory, and potential end, are what's marked in stone.
4. Definition will be given to the world over time, as partners are given free reign to add to their character and the world they are writing about. If you want to live in an apartment in uptown New York, you had better have the address and know the location. If you want that building to suddenly burn down, then be capable of writing the consequences and situation out. This doesnt mean the world is barren, blank, and boring. It means that characters only know what they've learned about, or experienced. So it can grow and be compiled over time, with some of it being setup beforehand for a better introduction and understanding.
5. I seek not just Oc's that will meet each other and interact, but I also prefer some form of protagonist and antagonist approach. Whether it is behind the scenes and subtle, or in your face obvious, it all depends on the plot being created. A character doesnt have to love another, just to interact with them. A love-hate friendship, a partnership under an organization, two sides to one coin, it's all preferred over the typical MC and YC are a couple, who is perfect BS.
6. I will not make amends to my own opinions or choices of action, and therefore I seek people who do not ask permission or forgiveness themselves. If your character believes an action is relevant or necessary, then by all means follow through with it. We build together, we watch it burn together. You can ask me any questions OOC, bounce any ideas you need to, and clarify any potential problems you may see, and I will attempt to do the same. If it sounds good, explains the mood properly, and keeps you interested, then more power to you for thinking of it and putting it into the growing story.
7. Sex and intimacy are a possibility in the long run, but none of my writing will be based around it. If characters grow attached, are in a situation where its relevant, or in some other way are made/required to do so, then I am not against it. As stated before, I wont simplistically create an rp, just to have it based around that interaction though. There is a vast difference between a hate-bang to relieve stress, or a one night stand between acquaintances that leads to further drama or actions, and the typical love interest pairing.
== I prefer to write third person omniscient, but that doesnt mean you have to. If a working combination can be found between my writing and yours, I am happy no matter the perspective
== I usually stick to my chosen genres and styles (Medievil, Modern, Fantasy, Supernatural, Dystopian, Post Apoc, Dark, and combinations of them) But that doesnt mean something else cant be fun to write at times. Please dont shy away from telling me what you like, or expressing interest in what you might want to plot out. I'm always interested in attempting something that has a different aesthetic, so long as it's not so absolutely rigid that I am required to read a full book just to describe one room in a building.
== With development in mind, I will not post starter plots with pairings, as I see no need to do so. Instead I prefer to create scenes, environments, or worlds, where the genre can be shifted, and a plot can be set into place. Some in a city, some in the entire universe, others in a single house depending on the rp my partners and I come to an agreement on. There are some listed in my scene catalogue, but anything you think will work, or any plot ideas you have, Im more than happy to discuss and craft with you. The only plots that will be listed, will not require any given pairing, nor any particular type of character to play opposite mine. Instead they will be a description of MC, the world, and the general premise of what I would like to see happen.
If you are interested in a particular genre and style, you need only message me and we can work from there. The plots will be organic and what suits us both. No generic boy meets girl, or zombie apocalypse here.
If a medievil knight and princess meeting just to fall in love or bang is your thing, you might want to think again. If a retired knight trying to reclaim his glory days by saving a princess from some unspeakable evil and deliver her back to the safety of the kingdom sounds good...
...we might have a something to talk about.
---If you wish to read some of what I've written, outside of what's already on this site---
The walk home was both lonely and long. A trip of only seven miles, and yet seemingly endless in its hills, valleys and barren plateus. Darkness stretched the landscape: Trees bordering the moonlit black asphalt in a terrifying embrace, that squeezed the path forward into a mere tunnel. The only reprieve from the shadows and the tortured silence was a faint glow in the distance. A street light: Alone and lost amidst the sea of shadows that were woven around it. Yet the light seemed an eternity away. An impossible task to reach it, as James kept counting his steps in order to brace against the wilting of his thoughts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He had left a house party --- not by choice --- and his only option was to take the long and winding road all the way back to town. His so-called friends were all idiots after all, and had decided it was a better option to drive home in the morning. He was not going to risk it. Although after leaving, and heading into the darkness that expanded in all directions from the lone house atop the hill, he had second thoughts. ---Perhaps I can just sneak back in... or wait in the car--- He fiddled with the ideas as he kept walking: Using any and everything possible to distract himself from the bleak and silent roadway before him. That too was a failure almost immediately, as he reached a small incline and looked down upon a gaping maw of blackness.
The road peeked, and then dipped down into a large valley, before rising up even higher hill on the opposite side. The base of the valley: Drenched in shadows and watched by deadened groves of trees on either side, was a pit from whence the worst nightmares crept up, and the bravest souls were tortured into a state of terror. Or so James felt: His writer's instinct and creativity lending every patch of shadow and curve a much more sinister design in his head. ---Get through the valley and climb the hill--- He thought to himself as he began to descend. Gritting his teeth as counting steps and mindlessly thinking about going back were utterly failing to maintain his composure.
There was something James had always hated about that road. The dead end highway that ended only a few feet past Thomas' house atop the hill. It always drove him to wild fantasies of dark things lurking in wait. It just had that creepy, wrong turn kind of look. Cracked and re-paved asphalt was entrenched by overgrown brush that loomed up on either side of the road, and trees leaned over the highway to blot out even the fiercest rays of daylight. Which made it even worse at night. The all consuming darkness: seperated by patches of open field on either side, left one's heart racing between reprieves. It was as if it was designed with intent to not just drive on, but to drive one mad as well.
James suddenly inhaled at the bottom of the valley: Realizing he had held his breath for several hundred feet, and with the burst of fresh, cold night air into his lungs, spots and dots of light filled his vision. Which shown like stars against the midnight abyss he stood in. So thick was the darkness, that he couldnt even see his shoes touching the ground. As if he was floating in a sea of ink, but could feel nothing. His heart raced in his chest as he began to move again: A thundering drumbeat that matched his increasing pace, and yet there were no other sounds. No birds, no wind, nothing at all. The silence was eerie, and painfully apparent. Drawing long beads of cold sweat down James' face as the climb drew even more out of him.
Halfway up the large hill, and nearly free of the wicked dark embrace of the valley floor and the trees, James' body tensed. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Alarms went off in his head to run: To ignore anything and everything, and to flee. A fight or flight moment, that instincts swore he had no chance of winning. The young man's eyes closed; his teeth gritted against winded breaths, as his entire body shook in anticipation of the unknown.
Yet nothing happened. The silence persisted, and his heartbeat slowed second by second. The hairs fell back in place along the nape of his neck, and carefully he opened his eyes. Still nothing. James' eyes searched in vain, as he looked about in bewildered fear. Wanting now to simply glimpse what had terrified him so. Wanting to prove he wasnt simply a coward, and afraid of the dark. ---At least that was the excuse he told himself--- With his breaths still shallow and forced, and his feet again climbing the hill, he let the anxiety drip off of him and pressed on. Thankful for the darkness, and how well it hid his shaking limbs from his own sight.
When finally his head rose over the crest of the towering hill: Legs weak, sweat now running into his eyes and forcing tears to well up, James sighed in relief. He took a pause and turned on his heels to look back at the impossible monster that had attempted to terrify him. Well, what he really looked at was darkness atop shadows, and midnight sky beyond that. In reality, James couldnt see anything beyond the top of the hill, and the one he had started on. The valley was little more than a void where his imagination and fears ran wild. Luckily for James, he had escaped the tortures of his own mind without too much trouble, and now he had a chance to collect himself.
Turning back, and looking ahead, he was greeted by the familiar stretch of dead and empty land he had feared most of all. Not for his wild imagination's sake. Instead for his body's. A long, straight, flat and barren path of almost three full miles loomed before him. The one beacon, the one speck of hope, a single street light in the distance. A star fallen to earth to guide him. It sat at the one and only crossroad, the full three miles away, and just below the soft golden glow of the light, there stood a single solitary bench. James couldnt see it, but he knew it was there. All he had to do was survive the distance, and he could finally take a break. James knew that he could make it. He just needed time. Time, and to stop thinking about whatever had terrified him before ---This, of course was impossible---
The night sky fell to earth on all sides of the road: There was no definition to the world. No shadows, no lights, no trees or brush, it was simply empty. A vast ocean of nothing. It echoed each step he took as he walked the path of least resistence, and yet it seemed to echo other things as well. Whispered breezes that James couldnt feel. A songbird that had no business singing at night. A hoot of an owl that carried on into what felt like an eternity. Everything stretched in the emptyness around James. Every move he made exaggerated and elongated. His fears were unfolding into the darkness, and shapes loomed up where nothing had been before.
James twitched and jerked his gaze left and right as he walked. A cracking of brush that he couldnt see, a set of eyes that seemed to vanish when he looked upon them. Everything was playing tricks on him. He hated the darkness. He didnt fear it. He simply hated that he had no control over what he imagined in it. ---Or what was actually in it--- His brow furrowed, and his eyes opened wide, in a tried and failed attempt at seeing further into the vast emptiness to either side. His futile efforts drew his feet off course, and when toes touched down in sand instead of atop solid pavement, James jumped back in shock.
The sound of gravel kicked into unseen grass; followed by his shoes landing hard atop the pavement, had the young man's heart pounding in his chest. His breaths came in great heaving inhales as the vivid delusions of death and horror that peered from the darkness, pulled him into a shaking kneel. He clutched at the sides of his head and focused intently on each breath he took: His head felt damp from the sweat that had collected at the edge of his baseball cap, and his eyes fought back tears of frustration. He had come such a short ways, and there was still so far to go. So much dark road to still walk.
Clearing his mind of his berating frustration, and his vicious fears, James got to his feet and let his eyes wander to the sky above. There in the sky he beheld the only other things he could see outside of his own body. There the stars shone brilliant against the backdrop of black. The sight wrapped him in a sense of calm, as his eyes fell back to the roadway, and again his feet began making headway towards his destination. Again the silence was grew unbearable, and the heat of a summer's night drew beads of sweat down James' face. His eyes watered when the sting of salt assaulted one, but still he kept moving forward. Feet following the dotted yellow line that was to be his only visible companion.
Another hoot: Much closer than before, broke James' concentration as the vicious machinations of his mind came to life, and his eyes tore away from the road below to try and see where it came from. The effort was fruitless, as the nightscape was impossible to see across. Yet he didnt quit trying, for the creeping fear the single noise had created stirred in him even further ideas. Further thoughts of what watched him, and waited for him. Of things that teased at the edge of his vision and danced beyond the veil of darkness. James' mouth opened in voiceless whispers as he told himself to calm down, and physically shook his head to escape the growing anxiousness. ---He was alone, he was safe--- He told himself.
"Its just my imagination"
He spoke the words into the treacherous silence, and was betrayed by the echo that followed. A voice on the wind that was not his own answered his fearful call. Words without context, without definition, without language fell upon him, and again his hackles raised in alarm. His body stiffened; eyes wide and darting all over in the sockets, as the wind picked up and a breeze brought about a riotous applause from the landscape. Bushes cracked and grass swayed. All made nightmarishly loud in comparison to the silence that had so recently been there.
James was frozen in place, and the alarms wouldnt stop ringing in his head. A light breeze, or a breath, drew unseen nails across the back of his neck, and with a frightened stiffness, he turned around. Nothing. Nothing at all. Simply more darkness greeted his watchful and weary eyes. The breeze died, and the distorted laughter of mocking brush and flora faded once more into an uneasy quiet. ---Was he losing his mind, or did he hear a voice?--- James twitched and once more shook his head against the trying thoughts that invaded every corner of his mind.
---He was alone, he was safe--- Again he recited the words to himself, but this time he dared not give voice to them. He dared not breath too loud lest the shadows hear it and find him. His body slouched slightly as he began to walk once more: Succumbing to the struggles against fear and imagined destruction. His feet dragged ever so slightly with each step, and the yellow line seemed now no more than another jester there to taunt him. There one instant, and then gone the next: Replaced by sheer darkness. When his gaze did rise from the asphalt below, he could still see the light in the distance. Still there, still waiting, yet seeming to never draw closer.
Another mile walked in silence, and then another, brought James to the last stretch before salvation. Before the glorious rest he so desperately needed. Yet again the young man was besieged on all sides by fear and ever haunting darkness. The last bastion lay ahead, but before the bench he could almost see with a strained glare, there lay yet another trap of twisting branches and creaking hell. Trees rose up alongside either shoulder of the road: Stretching into the darkness above with fingers and arms of pitch that blotted out the stars. A tunnel of oak and ash. Once silent fields now replaced by tormented moans from branches and leaves.
James' posture was strained, and his body was already sore from fighting back numbing fear for so long. He hardly resisted each spasm, or instinctual fleeting glance anymore. Simply allowing each twitch, and each heart-racing moment to come and go without a struggle. He had lost to the darkness so many times already. What was the point in him fighting in vain anymore? He continued onward; breaching the gateway into absolute darkness, as his eyes held the light ahead in focus. It was all he could do to keep going, and keep from collapsing on the spot. That single bead of light in the darkness was all he sought: All he wanted for.
The moaning of the trees grew louder as he dove into the depths of the 'tunnel', and the snapping of branches beyond his sight had him jittery and anxious every step. One moment was filled with an overwhelming silence, and the next was filled with the crashing of oaken arms to the ground nearby. The clawing of one limb on another, a scream against the silence of the windless night, and James was almost pushed to a run. He wanted to escape the tortured hallway, and yet his body would not listen.
He tried to urge himself onward, faster, but his feet felt far too heavy. The soles of his shoes dragged across the pavement, and his hands grew clammy with sweat. His eyes reddened and tortured by the strain he placed on them, now began to water, and his ragged breaths only barely escaped the gritting of his teeth. The tears that stained his vision, also decided to join the constant nightmare plaguing him, as each new droplet brought about more and more ripples of darkness and bright distorted spots. Twisting and folding reality before him again and again, into a kaleidoscope of dancing dark forms.
------------TO BE FINISHED---------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He had left a house party --- not by choice --- and his only option was to take the long and winding road all the way back to town. His so-called friends were all idiots after all, and had decided it was a better option to drive home in the morning. He was not going to risk it. Although after leaving, and heading into the darkness that expanded in all directions from the lone house atop the hill, he had second thoughts. ---Perhaps I can just sneak back in... or wait in the car--- He fiddled with the ideas as he kept walking: Using any and everything possible to distract himself from the bleak and silent roadway before him. That too was a failure almost immediately, as he reached a small incline and looked down upon a gaping maw of blackness.
The road peeked, and then dipped down into a large valley, before rising up even higher hill on the opposite side. The base of the valley: Drenched in shadows and watched by deadened groves of trees on either side, was a pit from whence the worst nightmares crept up, and the bravest souls were tortured into a state of terror. Or so James felt: His writer's instinct and creativity lending every patch of shadow and curve a much more sinister design in his head. ---Get through the valley and climb the hill--- He thought to himself as he began to descend. Gritting his teeth as counting steps and mindlessly thinking about going back were utterly failing to maintain his composure.
There was something James had always hated about that road. The dead end highway that ended only a few feet past Thomas' house atop the hill. It always drove him to wild fantasies of dark things lurking in wait. It just had that creepy, wrong turn kind of look. Cracked and re-paved asphalt was entrenched by overgrown brush that loomed up on either side of the road, and trees leaned over the highway to blot out even the fiercest rays of daylight. Which made it even worse at night. The all consuming darkness: seperated by patches of open field on either side, left one's heart racing between reprieves. It was as if it was designed with intent to not just drive on, but to drive one mad as well.
James suddenly inhaled at the bottom of the valley: Realizing he had held his breath for several hundred feet, and with the burst of fresh, cold night air into his lungs, spots and dots of light filled his vision. Which shown like stars against the midnight abyss he stood in. So thick was the darkness, that he couldnt even see his shoes touching the ground. As if he was floating in a sea of ink, but could feel nothing. His heart raced in his chest as he began to move again: A thundering drumbeat that matched his increasing pace, and yet there were no other sounds. No birds, no wind, nothing at all. The silence was eerie, and painfully apparent. Drawing long beads of cold sweat down James' face as the climb drew even more out of him.
Halfway up the large hill, and nearly free of the wicked dark embrace of the valley floor and the trees, James' body tensed. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Alarms went off in his head to run: To ignore anything and everything, and to flee. A fight or flight moment, that instincts swore he had no chance of winning. The young man's eyes closed; his teeth gritted against winded breaths, as his entire body shook in anticipation of the unknown.
Yet nothing happened. The silence persisted, and his heartbeat slowed second by second. The hairs fell back in place along the nape of his neck, and carefully he opened his eyes. Still nothing. James' eyes searched in vain, as he looked about in bewildered fear. Wanting now to simply glimpse what had terrified him so. Wanting to prove he wasnt simply a coward, and afraid of the dark. ---At least that was the excuse he told himself--- With his breaths still shallow and forced, and his feet again climbing the hill, he let the anxiety drip off of him and pressed on. Thankful for the darkness, and how well it hid his shaking limbs from his own sight.
When finally his head rose over the crest of the towering hill: Legs weak, sweat now running into his eyes and forcing tears to well up, James sighed in relief. He took a pause and turned on his heels to look back at the impossible monster that had attempted to terrify him. Well, what he really looked at was darkness atop shadows, and midnight sky beyond that. In reality, James couldnt see anything beyond the top of the hill, and the one he had started on. The valley was little more than a void where his imagination and fears ran wild. Luckily for James, he had escaped the tortures of his own mind without too much trouble, and now he had a chance to collect himself.
Turning back, and looking ahead, he was greeted by the familiar stretch of dead and empty land he had feared most of all. Not for his wild imagination's sake. Instead for his body's. A long, straight, flat and barren path of almost three full miles loomed before him. The one beacon, the one speck of hope, a single street light in the distance. A star fallen to earth to guide him. It sat at the one and only crossroad, the full three miles away, and just below the soft golden glow of the light, there stood a single solitary bench. James couldnt see it, but he knew it was there. All he had to do was survive the distance, and he could finally take a break. James knew that he could make it. He just needed time. Time, and to stop thinking about whatever had terrified him before ---This, of course was impossible---
The night sky fell to earth on all sides of the road: There was no definition to the world. No shadows, no lights, no trees or brush, it was simply empty. A vast ocean of nothing. It echoed each step he took as he walked the path of least resistence, and yet it seemed to echo other things as well. Whispered breezes that James couldnt feel. A songbird that had no business singing at night. A hoot of an owl that carried on into what felt like an eternity. Everything stretched in the emptyness around James. Every move he made exaggerated and elongated. His fears were unfolding into the darkness, and shapes loomed up where nothing had been before.
James twitched and jerked his gaze left and right as he walked. A cracking of brush that he couldnt see, a set of eyes that seemed to vanish when he looked upon them. Everything was playing tricks on him. He hated the darkness. He didnt fear it. He simply hated that he had no control over what he imagined in it. ---Or what was actually in it--- His brow furrowed, and his eyes opened wide, in a tried and failed attempt at seeing further into the vast emptiness to either side. His futile efforts drew his feet off course, and when toes touched down in sand instead of atop solid pavement, James jumped back in shock.
The sound of gravel kicked into unseen grass; followed by his shoes landing hard atop the pavement, had the young man's heart pounding in his chest. His breaths came in great heaving inhales as the vivid delusions of death and horror that peered from the darkness, pulled him into a shaking kneel. He clutched at the sides of his head and focused intently on each breath he took: His head felt damp from the sweat that had collected at the edge of his baseball cap, and his eyes fought back tears of frustration. He had come such a short ways, and there was still so far to go. So much dark road to still walk.
Clearing his mind of his berating frustration, and his vicious fears, James got to his feet and let his eyes wander to the sky above. There in the sky he beheld the only other things he could see outside of his own body. There the stars shone brilliant against the backdrop of black. The sight wrapped him in a sense of calm, as his eyes fell back to the roadway, and again his feet began making headway towards his destination. Again the silence was grew unbearable, and the heat of a summer's night drew beads of sweat down James' face. His eyes watered when the sting of salt assaulted one, but still he kept moving forward. Feet following the dotted yellow line that was to be his only visible companion.
Another hoot: Much closer than before, broke James' concentration as the vicious machinations of his mind came to life, and his eyes tore away from the road below to try and see where it came from. The effort was fruitless, as the nightscape was impossible to see across. Yet he didnt quit trying, for the creeping fear the single noise had created stirred in him even further ideas. Further thoughts of what watched him, and waited for him. Of things that teased at the edge of his vision and danced beyond the veil of darkness. James' mouth opened in voiceless whispers as he told himself to calm down, and physically shook his head to escape the growing anxiousness. ---He was alone, he was safe--- He told himself.
"Its just my imagination"
He spoke the words into the treacherous silence, and was betrayed by the echo that followed. A voice on the wind that was not his own answered his fearful call. Words without context, without definition, without language fell upon him, and again his hackles raised in alarm. His body stiffened; eyes wide and darting all over in the sockets, as the wind picked up and a breeze brought about a riotous applause from the landscape. Bushes cracked and grass swayed. All made nightmarishly loud in comparison to the silence that had so recently been there.
James was frozen in place, and the alarms wouldnt stop ringing in his head. A light breeze, or a breath, drew unseen nails across the back of his neck, and with a frightened stiffness, he turned around. Nothing. Nothing at all. Simply more darkness greeted his watchful and weary eyes. The breeze died, and the distorted laughter of mocking brush and flora faded once more into an uneasy quiet. ---Was he losing his mind, or did he hear a voice?--- James twitched and once more shook his head against the trying thoughts that invaded every corner of his mind.
---He was alone, he was safe--- Again he recited the words to himself, but this time he dared not give voice to them. He dared not breath too loud lest the shadows hear it and find him. His body slouched slightly as he began to walk once more: Succumbing to the struggles against fear and imagined destruction. His feet dragged ever so slightly with each step, and the yellow line seemed now no more than another jester there to taunt him. There one instant, and then gone the next: Replaced by sheer darkness. When his gaze did rise from the asphalt below, he could still see the light in the distance. Still there, still waiting, yet seeming to never draw closer.
Another mile walked in silence, and then another, brought James to the last stretch before salvation. Before the glorious rest he so desperately needed. Yet again the young man was besieged on all sides by fear and ever haunting darkness. The last bastion lay ahead, but before the bench he could almost see with a strained glare, there lay yet another trap of twisting branches and creaking hell. Trees rose up alongside either shoulder of the road: Stretching into the darkness above with fingers and arms of pitch that blotted out the stars. A tunnel of oak and ash. Once silent fields now replaced by tormented moans from branches and leaves.
James' posture was strained, and his body was already sore from fighting back numbing fear for so long. He hardly resisted each spasm, or instinctual fleeting glance anymore. Simply allowing each twitch, and each heart-racing moment to come and go without a struggle. He had lost to the darkness so many times already. What was the point in him fighting in vain anymore? He continued onward; breaching the gateway into absolute darkness, as his eyes held the light ahead in focus. It was all he could do to keep going, and keep from collapsing on the spot. That single bead of light in the darkness was all he sought: All he wanted for.
The moaning of the trees grew louder as he dove into the depths of the 'tunnel', and the snapping of branches beyond his sight had him jittery and anxious every step. One moment was filled with an overwhelming silence, and the next was filled with the crashing of oaken arms to the ground nearby. The clawing of one limb on another, a scream against the silence of the windless night, and James was almost pushed to a run. He wanted to escape the tortured hallway, and yet his body would not listen.
He tried to urge himself onward, faster, but his feet felt far too heavy. The soles of his shoes dragged across the pavement, and his hands grew clammy with sweat. His eyes reddened and tortured by the strain he placed on them, now began to water, and his ragged breaths only barely escaped the gritting of his teeth. The tears that stained his vision, also decided to join the constant nightmare plaguing him, as each new droplet brought about more and more ripples of darkness and bright distorted spots. Twisting and folding reality before him again and again, into a kaleidoscope of dancing dark forms.
------------TO BE FINISHED---------------
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