Pacifism ain't gonna get anyone anywhere. Become a gunslinger.
ā¹ ļø¶āā ā¹ āāļø¶ ā¹
Die of Death ask and roleplay blog; NOT affiliated with Saucify.
You know what? Fuck it. I'll reach out.
[ Introductory Post ]
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Hello, hi and howdy, names are not important. You can call me Gunslinger, Sling, that cowboy guy...whatever. I don't give a darn, just refer to me without foul language.
I'm just out here, doin' nothin'. It'd be real nice to talk with someone, considering I've been alone without anybody I've known for like a month now. It's boring as hell, and I want company.
Keep my real name outta this. I'll speak up on that whenever I want, which won't be soon. You'll be ignored if you bring it up.
I'm open to socializin'. Just reach out or let me do it for ya. I don't really care how it'll go. I just want it to go, y'know. As long as you ain't got no bad intentions, this gun's not firin' and these hands ain't hittin' anytime soon.
Take care, y'all. Hats off to ya.
[[ Information and rules for this blog are under the cut. ]]
Hi! Mod here, remaining anonymous until further notice. I don't have any aliases, so you can just refer to me as Mod or the mod, a bit more info about me is at the bottom. You can find resources for this blog inbetween.
ā¹ ļø¶āā ā¹ āāļø¶ ā¹
RULES
1 ā "Keep it classy."
Keep anything blatantly NSFW out of here. Suggestive asks are tolerable, but may not be answered. Romance is fine, just don't go overboard and preferably directly message this blog about it beforehand. Also keep slurs and discourse out of the askbox.
2 ā "Don't purposefully jam me with speech."
Spamming asks isn't allowed. Whether they're the same thing or just slightly varied, I don't care. I will not be answering your asks, and will most likely block you.
3 ā "Magic? Okay I guess. Unless you're Artful."
Magic anons are totally fine with me. Nothing too overpowered, but you can give him things, push and shove him around a little, do funky stuff, etcetera. Just don't cross boundaries.
4 ā "I may be a bit rude at times, but I got standards."
Anyone who is on a basic DNI is not invited to interact with this blog. Please go away, thank you.
5 ā "Who would ban someone from talking to them?"
Roleplay is totally allowed on this blog; it's one of the main purposes of creating it, after all. Just follow through with the other rules and we're all good.
6 ā Immersion stuff.
Please do not break immersion. Don't say my main account or anything that you may or may not know about this guy until it is revealed. Things will go out as they go out.
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THE MUSE
Real name is unknown, goes by almost anything but prefers Gunslinger or Sling. He/him pronouns, but they/them is okay too.
Used to be affiliated with a lot of other people when this all started, but ended up getting separated quickly due to how deadly some forces used were, then split off from his last hope during a sudden attack. He wishes that person well, but assumes they're alive to tell the tale.
Riddled with scarring and injuries, some from years back and others more recent. The most notable one is a rather long cut from his nose to near the ending of his left eye that he wears off with an odd amount of pride. Unfortunately, some scars aren't as proudly shown off for their own respective reasons.
Looks pretty much like the in-game gunslinger, just with an actual cowboy outfit, belt and boots. Just ignore the damages and ash.
Here's a small drawn reference made by me if you need one! Nothing much, but it can work.
He's a bit more on the cocky side, sometimes being rude to get a point across. He also may swear quite a bit. Sorry bout that.
Will speak in a bold orange, sometimes with quotes and sometimes without. Depends on the type of post. Actions will be italicized, and mod notes will either be within the tags or without any effects, signed off with -mod. I the mod also go by any/all except she/her, if you need that info!
EXAMPLES:
Don't worry about the trouble, pal. // "Ey, the gun's loaded. Careful."
Sling reloads his gun without much issue, spinning it in his hand before placing it back in its holster.
#throwing rocks at them // yooo it's meeee da devil /ref -mod
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TAGGING SYSTEM
Though there are tags tagged on this post, some aren't listed. Here are the tags that will be used here and how they'll be used.
General Tags:
ā³ "Shots fired!" ;; Asks
Used for any kind of response to asks, including ones directed to I the moderator. Simple enough.
ā³ "Reloading..." ;; Miscellaneous Posts
Used on any kind of post that's either filler, in-character updates or just other random stuff that's an in-character post
ā³ "Suit yourself!" ;; RP Thread Finished
Used at the official end of any roleplay threads. Mainly for easy navigation.
ā³ "Wait a damn minute." ;; Mod Appearances
Used anytime I show up in a post, not including in the tags. Hi!
ā³ "THE GUN'S JAMMED." ;; Joke Post
Used for any response that is not canon to the blog. Most of the time that also means that the post was meant to be perceived as silly or goofy.
.
Character Tags:
"Basically me but recolored." ;; LOVESHOT
Too Much Noise. ;; HARKEN
"Does your name's meaning really apply to you?" ;; ARTFUL
Affection Coated Bandages ;; LOVEWARE / CARETAKER
"What happens tomorrow?" ;; PARANOY
More tags may be added as I see fit.
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AFFILIATED BLOGS
1 ā "Nothin's here."
No one is officially affiliated with this blog yet. If you'd like to be, simply ask! I wouldnt mind adding a name here.
ā¹ ļø¶āā ā¹ āāļø¶ ā¹
FINAL NOTES
I am not associated with the Die of Death team or Saucify. Just is just a blog used for a little gunslinger OC of mine. I also kind of just really like DOD.
You can also refer to I the moderator as Mod or the moderator guy. I go by primarily it/its, but he/him is alright too.
Now, please enjoy interacting (only if you'd like to, of course!) and have a good day!
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
āno#t a lo#t. Noth#ing actu#ally. The#se ar#e al#l se#lf impo#sed an#d mo#re fo#r yo#ur saf#ety. Exam#ple: if I sa#y anyt#hing th#at mig#ht gi#ve aw#ay th#e tr#ue nat#ure of tomo#rrow, Iāl#l cen#sor mys#elf fo#r YO#UR saf#ety. Itā#s th#e ty#pe of infor#mation th#at dri#ves peo#ple to insa#nity and a de#ep deep hopelessness.ā
*it leaned a little closer to you saying this next thing, its voice sounded that of amusement*
āanot#her on#e wou#ld be th#at I ca#n on#ly unle#ash my tr#ue nat#ure AFT#ER I ge#t dama#ged. O#nly TH#EN wi#ll I be an act#ual āweird goddamn rust clock thingā. In th#e mo#st lite#ral sen#se.ā
*it managed to mimic your voice almost flawlessly, there was a bit of static in it. her head seems to fall to the floor, before itās entire body rotates and now itās levitating upside down. It looked like it was in a comfortable position, as it was kicking its legs in the air, head turning 180Ā° to look at you properly and not seeing you of your head.*
āNo#w aga#in: wh#y ar#e yo#u he#re al#l alo#ne? Do#nāt yo#u tru#st your#self aft#er betra#ying tho#se tw#o inno#cent bystan#ders? Iād tota#lly under#stand, betr#ayals ar#e a diff#icult thi#ng to pu#ll of#f. Wh#at we#re th#ey aga#inā¦? A bonu#spad an#d a pun#ch? Or ar#e yo#u searc#hing fo#r a cu#re to loneli#ness? Yo#u wo#nāt fi#nd it he#reā¦exc#ept if yo#u ar#e ins#ane eno#ugh to willi#ngly rea#ch ou#t to me. I do#nāt bla#me yo#u, Iām th#e be#st comp#anion the#re is.~ā
*that last one was obviously a joke. Clearly it was enjoying this conversation, as it was giggling to itself. Though what that entails for you is uncertain.*
(āHehe, yea. Iāll keep ya around for a bit longerā)
He rolled his eyes once more (I think). Could this guy just get on with it or go away?
Internally, he mocked the thing. Looked at it dead in whatever eyes it had and wondered when the hell it was gonna shut up. Why hasn't he woken up yet?
"You know why I'm here alone, literally just brought it up both now and at the start of the conversation. Because of Harken and whoever those two idiots who stole her camera were." It took a lot of willpower to not make his next comment about hurrying up all the monologues. "I also fear you'd be one of, if not the worst companion to have, but whatever." Seems he somehow managed to still take it as a joke... hm. "Now, enlighten me; why are you here? You have motives, I know it."
*it chuckled, kicking its legs in the air, as its head spun in place*
āPu#re, sim#ple, bore#dom. Hav#ing to com#mit th#e co#me monot#onous, than#kless ta#sk fo#r thous#ands of thous#ands of yea#rs ge#ts bor#ing, ev#en if it is th#e apoca#lypse. So Iām doi#ng what#ever I plea#se. Anyt#hing to spi#ce up my mis#sion.ā
*when you blinked, it was gone. Not actually gone, but it had moved. It was sitting on a nearby rock*
ābu#t origi#nally I wa#s he#re to ki#ll yo#u. Sin#ce yo#u prov#ed your#self as enterta#ining so Iāl#l sa#ve yo#u fr#om tomo#rrowās gra#sp ano#ther ti#me. Wh#o kno#ws, may#be y#ou will me#et Har#ken again. Yo#u tw#o cou#ld ha#ve a ni#ce ch#at abo#ut me. Iām su#re sh#eād LO##E to te#ll yo#u he#r expe#rience~ā
*it giggled at this thought, grinning widely. Her face distorting, as if it was melting. she sounded incredibly cheerful but some about this made your skin crawl. This thing definitely did something to harken, probably negative. While it shouldnāt concern you, the way it said itā¦it mustāve been incredibly cruel*
Boredom. He's being bothered because of boredom. It's better than the motive being maliciOh nevermind. Never fucking mind I guess.
He stared at #######'s new location, eyes wide and clearly in a state of discomfort. His thoughts froze for a good moment, and her words really absorbed themself into his head. He was entertaining, and that was the only reason he was still alive.
...coward.
It was a coward. If it hadn't killed him now, he doubted it'd kill him ever considering that he was almost always like this. It was sparing him on purpose at this point, just to watch his reactions of despair or anger or fear or whatever it fed off of at this point. Yeah it wasn't afraid, but he couldn't help but think of all of the vulgar things he could call this thing in the moment for not killing him where he stood with all that power it had.
Gutless, stupid, cowardly.
You should have just killed me, I'm not worth it in the long run.
Dumb move.
Bold to kill another man begging for their life and yet keep me here.
All I do is yell. What's the point of keeping me here?
And I thought you fed off of fear.
Killing me would have sufficed more than thWhy am I thinking this
It got out of hand quick. Even if it was just a normal civilian standing in front of him, an overflow of emotions was obvious. His gaze shifted to his collar, hand previously on his gun holster now limp to the side. Why was he thinking this? It was unlike him.
...but was it? Was it really unlike him to let things get so out of hand to the point where they boil over?
No. No it wasn't.
He dragged his hand back to his holster. Nope. Not doing that. Speaking, he forced all other thoughts away from his mouth and made sure his eyes were on #######'s. He tried and failed to seem unfazed. He was taking this a little more seriously, and suddenly at that. Damn his thoughts.
"...I guess my anger could be interesting to watch."
*it looked at you, a mix of surprise and amusement on its face. Something different, if it could be called that. It tilts its head, the ticking of her tail picking up in volume.*
āHan#ds sha#king, unce#rtain move#mentsā¦thou#ghts rac#ing uncont#rollably thro#ugh yo#ur he#ad, mak#ing yo#u reg#ret no#t say#ing wh#at nee#ds to be sa#id? Par#don me, I do te#nd to cau#se oth#ers to rea#ct in wa#ys th#ey woul#dnāt norm#ally, be it mo#re extr#eme or compl#etely diffe#rent beha#vior. It is some#thing I can#not con#trol bu#t I do no#t mi#nd it, altho#ugh yo#u se#em to certa#inly do.ā
*it leaned back a bit, bringing her head back into position. A grin formed on her face again, though it was like the previous one. A more devious and sinister grin, disguised as something genuine*
āyo#u ang#er is ind#eed inter#esting, gunsl#inger. Mix#ing ve#ry we#ll wi#th your fe#ar an#d wor#ries. It com#es of#f as ru#de an#d aggre#ssive, ye#t yo#u ar#e despe#rately try#ing to bui#ld a def#ense. May#be sw#ap th#at gu#n fo#r a wand, I he#ard th#ey ar#e gre#at at buil#ding wal#ls an#d he#lp reli#eve anx#iety an#d str#ess via swin#ging aro#und. I do#nāt mi#nd hav#ing ano#ther hel#per in my mis#sion.ā
*its voice got sweeter at the end but it was damn obvious it was taunting you. while it was staring at you intently, you couldnt help but feel watched from multiple sides at once. The clicking of the tail never changing volume*
This thing needed to shut up, but it was right at first. To him it truly did need to be said, though in reality? Not so much. Someone would miss him if he let himself go like that. Wouldn't know what happened even if he saw the body.
The second half just made everything a bit worse though. He gripped his gun a bit tighter.
"...are you implying somethin', or am I lookin' between the lines too hard?" He switched his topic and essentially canceled out the question. He doesn't need anything answered by the likes of her. "I'm not helpin' you. I've already been forced to help someone else, I'm not gonna go and sacrifice my life once more for some stupid tomorrow cause. If it'll come eventually, and I'll probably be dead before anythin' else happens to me." He couldn't walk away, but if it was an option he would do it, and quick.
āI ma#y, I ma#y no#t. Iām ju#st say#ing I ha#ve perso#nally se#en th#at hitt#ing thi#ngs or ot#her bei#ngs is a go#od wa#y to tempo#rarily redu#ces str#ess an#d rele#ase ang#er. Tho#ugh th#e down#side of th#is is mas#sive gui#lt an#d an ev#en stro#nger sou#rce of pa#in. It wou#ld be ve#ry fu#n to se#e you lo#ad yo#ur āsixsh#ooterā wi#th si#x sh#ots an#d wre#ak hav#oc up#on for#mer team#mates. Th#e gover#nment woul#dnāt ca#re, wh#y sho#uld yo#u?ā
*even though the Attempted topic change, she didnāt let go of that first question. It lined that question.*
āBu#t yo#u ar#e cor#rect. Yo#ur salva#tion wi#ll co#me bef#ore tomo#rrow. Iām gues#sing it wonāt even be by my hand, rat#her Flats#creen wi#ll ge#t to yo#u fir#st. Th#at wou#ld be hilar#iously embarr#assing.ā
*it giggled. What it wanted to do next was incredibly difficult to hold back but it kept its composure just a bit longer. Its body softly swayed side to side in sync with its tail as its voice was as gleeful as ever*
āI se#e yo#ur frustr#ation abo#ut yo#ur inability to do anyt#hing grow#ing.~ Yo#u ca#n eit#her ma#ke th#is a lo#t mo#re intere#sting or be li#ke ever#yone el#se an#d ru#n aw#ay. Iām hig#hly hop#ing th#at gr#ip on yo#ur gu#n wi#ll actu#ally do somet#hing inst#ead of bei#ng a usel#ess expre#ssion of ang#er bu#t runn#ing aw#ay do#es fe#ed my eg#o a lo#t. Whi#ch of tho#se sha#ll it be? Tim#es tick#ing.ā
Sling rolled his eyes. That first part wasn't even meant to be answered. Damn her yapping, it was unbearable to sit though.
He sighed as it finished however, a bit surprised about how... *passive* #######'s answer was. He expected aggression, a 'sure sure, believe in that lie' esque answer. Not that. He didn't like that comment about Badware though. His friend would be more likely to get hit in the face with that guy first, to be honest...
"Funny." Sarcasm laced through his tone. "So funny..." His tone was dead as it giggled. He listened and didn't dare weigh his options. He didn't have a viable ones.
"I'd rather not die today, thanks. God forbid I ground myself in a possibly life-altering-slash-life-ending experience by holding the thing that can protect me. I know better than to shoot immediately and run off, I'm not dumb nor blind." Let time tick, he thought. You'll get bored and kill me or wander off.
āYo#u ar#e corr#ect. I wi#ll ge#t bor#ed an#d lo#ok fo#r somet#hing mo#re entert#aining. Wh#at yo#u fa#il to real#ize is th#at Iāl#l nev#er lea#ve. Ev#er. No#t unt#il li#fe as yo#u kn#ow it cea#ses to ex#ist. Ye#s, I wi#ll fol#low yo#u. Ev#ery st#ep yo#u ta##. I fol#low eve##one, h#he###he####eee~ā
*it voice became less coherent. Ugly metallic squealing come out of its mouth, as the sound of something moving inside it sounded up. You could see somethingā¦trying to force its way out of this vessel.*
āOh ye#s I am get##ng q#ite bo##dā¦oh s# s} bor#ed. Ho# ##ll yo#u #eact? Fi##t? R#n? Or l#t yo## min# be br##en?~ā
*the grin on her face grew wider and wider as her eyes slowly unified into a square. Out of the square, a clock replaced itās former face, ticking from 11:58 toward 12:00. its voice sounding more horrid and distorted, as it got mixed with so many others. Screaming and yelling, crying and laughing. Even your own was heard in the mix*
āy####s ye#### ###ss ###r ti#e is ticki#####gghheheheheh######eā
*eternity isnāt something easily comprehended, or god forbid even endured. Not even this vessel could do it for much longer. It grabbed its own head, slamming it against a wallā¦everything stopped. Its face was still a black square but everything else stopped.*
āā¦par#don me. It see#ms I requ#ire a ne#w ves#sel. Yo#ur bra#ins do#nāt se#em th#e be#st at conta#ining impo#rtant knowl#edge. I ca#nāt spoil this surprise yet. Iāl#l sa#ve it fo#r wh#en yo#u ar#e ba#ck toge#ther wi#th yo#ur gro#up.ā
*a # was now inside the black squareā¦as your voice rang out to you*
āWhat do you think it will be? Only way to find out is to survive until tomorrowā
*you blink. Itās gone. All traces of itā¦never were there to begin with. You are alone. That scar it gave you flared up, as it closes itself completely, leaving behind something that looked like a small pair of arrowsā¦or clock arms if you will*
Once more, Sling just rolled his eyes. He stepped away when prompted, but immediately felt stricken with an unexplainable fear. He wasn't scared... or, well, he shouldn't be. He very much was now.
Then, it gave him a reason to be. He took a step back as the noise began, visibly becoming more tense as he saw what he felt shouldn't have been seen.
Her face changed. His heart pounded in his chest. Laughing, screaming, yelling, crying, an amalgamation of several cacophonies at once. He heard his own voice and shuttered against his will.
One step back, two steps back, three then four. He pulled out his gun, for real this time. His finger press gently on the trigger, not yet firing. He stopped with hesitation. This wasn't real, he didn't need to.
Slam. Everything stopped. It left a painful ringing in the wannabe sheriff's ears. His grip on the gun faltered, holding it carelessly in one hand as the other went to cover his ear in a pitiful attempt to stop the pain. It didn't work.
He barely registered #######'s words until almost right after they were said. With fear thinking for him, he brought back up his gun and suddenly fired with a large BANG echoing throughout the mall.
Only to see that he had shot nothing. The wall was now punctured with a bullet. His own voice rang through his head, and then it was gone, all traces of it.
Except for one.
His shoulder screamed with a gentle, numbing static, and there was a clear distress as Sling went to look at the scratch only to see it as something different. Arrows connected at the base, clock hands close together.
...he wondered, what really was tomorrow? And how permanent would it and the scar be?
He didn't have time to think about that for long though. He recuperated and did the only logical thing of booking it the fuck out of that mall, stumbling into the city streets with one less bullet and a lot of new mental baggage.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
āno#t a lo#t. Noth#ing actu#ally. The#se ar#e al#l se#lf impo#sed an#d mo#re fo#r yo#ur saf#ety. Exam#ple: if I sa#y anyt#hing th#at mig#ht gi#ve aw#ay th#e tr#ue nat#ure of tomo#rrow, Iāl#l cen#sor mys#elf fo#r YO#UR saf#ety. Itā#s th#e ty#pe of infor#mation th#at dri#ves peo#ple to insa#nity and a de#ep deep hopelessness.ā
*it leaned a little closer to you saying this next thing, its voice sounded that of amusement*
āanot#her on#e wou#ld be th#at I ca#n on#ly unle#ash my tr#ue nat#ure AFT#ER I ge#t dama#ged. O#nly TH#EN wi#ll I be an act#ual āweird goddamn rust clock thingā. In th#e mo#st lite#ral sen#se.ā
*it managed to mimic your voice almost flawlessly, there was a bit of static in it. her head seems to fall to the floor, before itās entire body rotates and now itās levitating upside down. It looked like it was in a comfortable position, as it was kicking its legs in the air, head turning 180Ā° to look at you properly and not seeing you of your head.*
āNo#w aga#in: wh#y ar#e yo#u he#re al#l alo#ne? Do#nāt yo#u tru#st your#self aft#er betra#ying tho#se tw#o inno#cent bystan#ders? Iād tota#lly under#stand, betr#ayals ar#e a diff#icult thi#ng to pu#ll of#f. Wh#at we#re th#ey aga#inā¦? A bonu#spad an#d a pun#ch? Or ar#e yo#u searc#hing fo#r a cu#re to loneli#ness? Yo#u wo#nāt fi#nd it he#reā¦exc#ept if yo#u ar#e ins#ane eno#ugh to willi#ngly rea#ch ou#t to me. I do#nāt bla#me yo#u, Iām th#e be#st comp#anion the#re is.~ā
*that last one was obviously a joke. Clearly it was enjoying this conversation, as it was giggling to itself. Though what that entails for you is uncertain.*
(āHehe, yea. Iāll keep ya around for a bit longerā)
He rolled his eyes once more (I think). Could this guy just get on with it or go away?
Internally, he mocked the thing. Looked at it dead in whatever eyes it had and wondered when the hell it was gonna shut up. Why hasn't he woken up yet?
"You know why I'm here alone, literally just brought it up both now and at the start of the conversation. Because of Harken and whoever those two idiots who stole her camera were." It took a lot of willpower to not make his next comment about hurrying up all the monologues. "I also fear you'd be one of, if not the worst companion to have, but whatever." Seems he somehow managed to still take it as a joke... hm. "Now, enlighten me; why are you here? You have motives, I know it."
*it chuckled, kicking its legs in the air, as its head spun in place*
āPu#re, sim#ple, bore#dom. Hav#ing to com#mit th#e co#me monot#onous, than#kless ta#sk fo#r thous#ands of thous#ands of yea#rs ge#ts bor#ing, ev#en if it is th#e apoca#lypse. So Iām doi#ng what#ever I plea#se. Anyt#hing to spi#ce up my mis#sion.ā
*when you blinked, it was gone. Not actually gone, but it had moved. It was sitting on a nearby rock*
ābu#t origi#nally I wa#s he#re to ki#ll yo#u. Sin#ce yo#u prov#ed your#self as enterta#ining so Iāl#l sa#ve yo#u fr#om tomo#rrowās gra#sp ano#ther ti#me. Wh#o kno#ws, may#be y#ou will me#et Har#ken again. Yo#u tw#o cou#ld ha#ve a ni#ce ch#at abo#ut me. Iām su#re sh#eād LO##E to te#ll yo#u he#r expe#rience~ā
*it giggled at this thought, grinning widely. Her face distorting, as if it was melting. she sounded incredibly cheerful but some about this made your skin crawl. This thing definitely did something to harken, probably negative. While it shouldnāt concern you, the way it said itā¦it mustāve been incredibly cruel*
Boredom. He's being bothered because of boredom. It's better than the motive being maliciOh nevermind. Never fucking mind I guess.
He stared at #######'s new location, eyes wide and clearly in a state of discomfort. His thoughts froze for a good moment, and her words really absorbed themself into his head. He was entertaining, and that was the only reason he was still alive.
...coward.
It was a coward. If it hadn't killed him now, he doubted it'd kill him ever considering that he was almost always like this. It was sparing him on purpose at this point, just to watch his reactions of despair or anger or fear or whatever it fed off of at this point. Yeah it wasn't afraid, but he couldn't help but think of all of the vulgar things he could call this thing in the moment for not killing him where he stood with all that power it had.
Gutless, stupid, cowardly.
You should have just killed me, I'm not worth it in the long run.
Dumb move.
Bold to kill another man begging for their life and yet keep me here.
All I do is yell. What's the point of keeping me here?
And I thought you fed off of fear.
Killing me would have sufficed more than thWhy am I thinking this
It got out of hand quick. Even if it was just a normal civilian standing in front of him, an overflow of emotions was obvious. His gaze shifted to his collar, hand previously on his gun holster now limp to the side. Why was he thinking this? It was unlike him.
...but was it? Was it really unlike him to let things get so out of hand to the point where they boil over?
No. No it wasn't.
He dragged his hand back to his holster. Nope. Not doing that. Speaking, he forced all other thoughts away from his mouth and made sure his eyes were on #######'s. He tried and failed to seem unfazed. He was taking this a little more seriously, and suddenly at that. Damn his thoughts.
"...I guess my anger could be interesting to watch."
*it looked at you, a mix of surprise and amusement on its face. Something different, if it could be called that. It tilts its head, the ticking of her tail picking up in volume.*
āHan#ds sha#king, unce#rtain move#mentsā¦thou#ghts rac#ing uncont#rollably thro#ugh yo#ur he#ad, mak#ing yo#u reg#ret no#t say#ing wh#at nee#ds to be sa#id? Par#don me, I do te#nd to cau#se oth#ers to rea#ct in wa#ys th#ey woul#dnāt norm#ally, be it mo#re extr#eme or compl#etely diffe#rent beha#vior. It is some#thing I can#not con#trol bu#t I do no#t mi#nd it, altho#ugh yo#u se#em to certa#inly do.ā
*it leaned back a bit, bringing her head back into position. A grin formed on her face again, though it was like the previous one. A more devious and sinister grin, disguised as something genuine*
āyo#u ang#er is ind#eed inter#esting, gunsl#inger. Mix#ing ve#ry we#ll wi#th your fe#ar an#d wor#ries. It com#es of#f as ru#de an#d aggre#ssive, ye#t yo#u ar#e despe#rately try#ing to bui#ld a def#ense. May#be sw#ap th#at gu#n fo#r a wand, I he#ard th#ey ar#e gre#at at buil#ding wal#ls an#d he#lp reli#eve anx#iety an#d str#ess via swin#ging aro#und. I do#nāt mi#nd hav#ing ano#ther hel#per in my mis#sion.ā
*its voice got sweeter at the end but it was damn obvious it was taunting you. while it was staring at you intently, you couldnt help but feel watched from multiple sides at once. The clicking of the tail never changing volume*
This thing needed to shut up, but it was right at first. To him it truly did need to be said, though in reality? Not so much. Someone would miss him if he let himself go like that. Wouldn't know what happened even if he saw the body.
The second half just made everything a bit worse though. He gripped his gun a bit tighter.
"...are you implying somethin', or am I lookin' between the lines too hard?" He switched his topic and essentially canceled out the question. He doesn't need anything answered by the likes of her. "I'm not helpin' you. I've already been forced to help someone else, I'm not gonna go and sacrifice my life once more for some stupid tomorrow cause. If it'll come eventually, and I'll probably be dead before anythin' else happens to me." He couldn't walk away, but if it was an option he would do it, and quick.
āI ma#y, I ma#y no#t. Iām ju#st say#ing I ha#ve perso#nally se#en th#at hitt#ing thi#ngs or ot#her bei#ngs is a go#od wa#y to tempo#rarily redu#ces str#ess an#d rele#ase ang#er. Tho#ugh th#e down#side of th#is is mas#sive gui#lt an#d an ev#en stro#nger sou#rce of pa#in. It wou#ld be ve#ry fu#n to se#e you lo#ad yo#ur āsixsh#ooterā wi#th si#x sh#ots an#d wre#ak hav#oc up#on for#mer team#mates. Th#e gover#nment woul#dnāt ca#re, wh#y sho#uld yo#u?ā
*even though the Attempted topic change, she didnāt let go of that first question. It lined that question.*
āBu#t yo#u ar#e cor#rect. Yo#ur salva#tion wi#ll co#me bef#ore tomo#rrow. Iām gues#sing it wonāt even be by my hand, rat#her Flats#creen wi#ll ge#t to yo#u fir#st. Th#at wou#ld be hilar#iously embarr#assing.ā
*it giggled. What it wanted to do next was incredibly difficult to hold back but it kept its composure just a bit longer. Its body softly swayed side to side in sync with its tail as its voice was as gleeful as ever*
āI se#e yo#ur frustr#ation abo#ut yo#ur inability to do anyt#hing grow#ing.~ Yo#u ca#n eit#her ma#ke th#is a lo#t mo#re intere#sting or be li#ke ever#yone el#se an#d ru#n aw#ay. Iām hig#hly hop#ing th#at gr#ip on yo#ur gu#n wi#ll actu#ally do somet#hing inst#ead of bei#ng a usel#ess expre#ssion of ang#er bu#t runn#ing aw#ay do#es fe#ed my eg#o a lo#t. Whi#ch of tho#se sha#ll it be? Tim#es tick#ing.ā
Sling rolled his eyes. That first part wasn't even meant to be answered. Damn her yapping, it was unbearable to sit though.
He sighed as it finished however, a bit surprised about how... *passive* #######'s answer was. He expected aggression, a 'sure sure, believe in that lie' esque answer. Not that. He didn't like that comment about Badware though. His friend would be more likely to get hit in the face with that guy first, to be honest...
"Funny." Sarcasm laced through his tone. "So funny..." His tone was dead as it giggled. He listened and didn't dare weigh his options. He didn't have a viable ones.
"I'd rather not die today, thanks. God forbid I ground myself in a possibly life-altering-slash-life-ending experience by holding the thing that can protect me. I know better than to shoot immediately and run off, I'm not dumb nor blind." Let time tick, he thought. You'll get bored and kill me or wander off.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
āno#t a lo#t. Noth#ing actu#ally. The#se ar#e al#l se#lf impo#sed an#d mo#re fo#r yo#ur saf#ety. Exam#ple: if I sa#y anyt#hing th#at mig#ht gi#ve aw#ay th#e tr#ue nat#ure of tomo#rrow, Iāl#l cen#sor mys#elf fo#r YO#UR saf#ety. Itā#s th#e ty#pe of infor#mation th#at dri#ves peo#ple to insa#nity and a de#ep deep hopelessness.ā
*it leaned a little closer to you saying this next thing, its voice sounded that of amusement*
āanot#her on#e wou#ld be th#at I ca#n on#ly unle#ash my tr#ue nat#ure AFT#ER I ge#t dama#ged. O#nly TH#EN wi#ll I be an act#ual āweird goddamn rust clock thingā. In th#e mo#st lite#ral sen#se.ā
*it managed to mimic your voice almost flawlessly, there was a bit of static in it. her head seems to fall to the floor, before itās entire body rotates and now itās levitating upside down. It looked like it was in a comfortable position, as it was kicking its legs in the air, head turning 180Ā° to look at you properly and not seeing you of your head.*
āNo#w aga#in: wh#y ar#e yo#u he#re al#l alo#ne? Do#nāt yo#u tru#st your#self aft#er betra#ying tho#se tw#o inno#cent bystan#ders? Iād tota#lly under#stand, betr#ayals ar#e a diff#icult thi#ng to pu#ll of#f. Wh#at we#re th#ey aga#inā¦? A bonu#spad an#d a pun#ch? Or ar#e yo#u searc#hing fo#r a cu#re to loneli#ness? Yo#u wo#nāt fi#nd it he#reā¦exc#ept if yo#u ar#e ins#ane eno#ugh to willi#ngly rea#ch ou#t to me. I do#nāt bla#me yo#u, Iām th#e be#st comp#anion the#re is.~ā
*that last one was obviously a joke. Clearly it was enjoying this conversation, as it was giggling to itself. Though what that entails for you is uncertain.*
(āHehe, yea. Iāll keep ya around for a bit longerā)
He rolled his eyes once more (I think). Could this guy just get on with it or go away?
Internally, he mocked the thing. Looked at it dead in whatever eyes it had and wondered when the hell it was gonna shut up. Why hasn't he woken up yet?
"You know why I'm here alone, literally just brought it up both now and at the start of the conversation. Because of Harken and whoever those two idiots who stole her camera were." It took a lot of willpower to not make his next comment about hurrying up all the monologues. "I also fear you'd be one of, if not the worst companion to have, but whatever." Seems he somehow managed to still take it as a joke... hm. "Now, enlighten me; why are you here? You have motives, I know it."
*it chuckled, kicking its legs in the air, as its head spun in place*
āPu#re, sim#ple, bore#dom. Hav#ing to com#mit th#e co#me monot#onous, than#kless ta#sk fo#r thous#ands of thous#ands of yea#rs ge#ts bor#ing, ev#en if it is th#e apoca#lypse. So Iām doi#ng what#ever I plea#se. Anyt#hing to spi#ce up my mis#sion.ā
*when you blinked, it was gone. Not actually gone, but it had moved. It was sitting on a nearby rock*
ābu#t origi#nally I wa#s he#re to ki#ll yo#u. Sin#ce yo#u prov#ed your#self as enterta#ining so Iāl#l sa#ve yo#u fr#om tomo#rrowās gra#sp ano#ther ti#me. Wh#o kno#ws, may#be y#ou will me#et Har#ken again. Yo#u tw#o cou#ld ha#ve a ni#ce ch#at abo#ut me. Iām su#re sh#eād LO##E to te#ll yo#u he#r expe#rience~ā
*it giggled at this thought, grinning widely. Her face distorting, as if it was melting. she sounded incredibly cheerful but some about this made your skin crawl. This thing definitely did something to harken, probably negative. While it shouldnāt concern you, the way it said itā¦it mustāve been incredibly cruel*
Boredom. He's being bothered because of boredom. It's better than the motive being maliciOh nevermind. Never fucking mind I guess.
He stared at #######'s new location, eyes wide and clearly in a state of discomfort. His thoughts froze for a good moment, and her words really absorbed themself into his head. He was entertaining, and that was the only reason he was still alive.
...coward.
It was a coward. If it hadn't killed him now, he doubted it'd kill him ever considering that he was almost always like this. It was sparing him on purpose at this point, just to watch his reactions of despair or anger or fear or whatever it fed off of at this point. Yeah it wasn't afraid, but he couldn't help but think of all of the vulgar things he could call this thing in the moment for not killing him where he stood with all that power it had.
Gutless, stupid, cowardly.
You should have just killed me, I'm not worth it in the long run.
Dumb move.
Bold to kill another man begging for their life and yet keep me here.
All I do is yell. What's the point of keeping me here?
And I thought you fed off of fear.
Killing me would have sufficed more than thWhy am I thinking this
It got out of hand quick. Even if it was just a normal civilian standing in front of him, an overflow of emotions was obvious. His gaze shifted to his collar, hand previously on his gun holster now limp to the side. Why was he thinking this? It was unlike him.
...but was it? Was it really unlike him to let things get so out of hand to the point where they boil over?
No. No it wasn't.
He dragged his hand back to his holster. Nope. Not doing that. Speaking, he forced all other thoughts away from his mouth and made sure his eyes were on #######'s. He tried and failed to seem unfazed. He was taking this a little more seriously, and suddenly at that. Damn his thoughts.
"...I guess my anger could be interesting to watch."
*it looked at you, a mix of surprise and amusement on its face. Something different, if it could be called that. It tilts its head, the ticking of her tail picking up in volume.*
āHan#ds sha#king, unce#rtain move#mentsā¦thou#ghts rac#ing uncont#rollably thro#ugh yo#ur he#ad, mak#ing yo#u reg#ret no#t say#ing wh#at nee#ds to be sa#id? Par#don me, I do te#nd to cau#se oth#ers to rea#ct in wa#ys th#ey woul#dnāt norm#ally, be it mo#re extr#eme or compl#etely diffe#rent beha#vior. It is some#thing I can#not con#trol bu#t I do no#t mi#nd it, altho#ugh yo#u se#em to certa#inly do.ā
*it leaned back a bit, bringing her head back into position. A grin formed on her face again, though it was like the previous one. A more devious and sinister grin, disguised as something genuine*
āyo#u ang#er is ind#eed inter#esting, gunsl#inger. Mix#ing ve#ry we#ll wi#th your fe#ar an#d wor#ries. It com#es of#f as ru#de an#d aggre#ssive, ye#t yo#u ar#e despe#rately try#ing to bui#ld a def#ense. May#be sw#ap th#at gu#n fo#r a wand, I he#ard th#ey ar#e gre#at at buil#ding wal#ls an#d he#lp reli#eve anx#iety an#d str#ess via swin#ging aro#und. I do#nāt mi#nd hav#ing ano#ther hel#per in my mis#sion.ā
*its voice got sweeter at the end but it was damn obvious it was taunting you. while it was staring at you intently, you couldnt help but feel watched from multiple sides at once. The clicking of the tail never changing volume*
This thing needed to shut up, but it was right at first. To him it truly did need to be said, though in reality? Not so much. Someone would miss him if he let himself go like that. Wouldn't know what happened even if he saw the body.
The second half just made everything a bit worse though. He gripped his gun a bit tighter.
"...are you implying somethin', or am I lookin' between the lines too hard?" He switched his topic and essentially canceled out the question. He doesn't need anything answered by the likes of her. "I'm not helpin' you. I've already been forced to help someone else, I'm not gonna go and sacrifice my life once more for some stupid tomorrow cause. If it'll come eventually, and I'll probably be dead before anythin' else happens to me." He couldn't walk away, but if it was an option he would do it, and quick.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
āno#t a lo#t. Noth#ing actu#ally. The#se ar#e al#l se#lf impo#sed an#d mo#re fo#r yo#ur saf#ety. Exam#ple: if I sa#y anyt#hing th#at mig#ht gi#ve aw#ay th#e tr#ue nat#ure of tomo#rrow, Iāl#l cen#sor mys#elf fo#r YO#UR saf#ety. Itā#s th#e ty#pe of infor#mation th#at dri#ves peo#ple to insa#nity and a de#ep deep hopelessness.ā
*it leaned a little closer to you saying this next thing, its voice sounded that of amusement*
āanot#her on#e wou#ld be th#at I ca#n on#ly unle#ash my tr#ue nat#ure AFT#ER I ge#t dama#ged. O#nly TH#EN wi#ll I be an act#ual āweird goddamn rust clock thingā. In th#e mo#st lite#ral sen#se.ā
*it managed to mimic your voice almost flawlessly, there was a bit of static in it. her head seems to fall to the floor, before itās entire body rotates and now itās levitating upside down. It looked like it was in a comfortable position, as it was kicking its legs in the air, head turning 180Ā° to look at you properly and not seeing you of your head.*
āNo#w aga#in: wh#y ar#e yo#u he#re al#l alo#ne? Do#nāt yo#u tru#st your#self aft#er betra#ying tho#se tw#o inno#cent bystan#ders? Iād tota#lly under#stand, betr#ayals ar#e a diff#icult thi#ng to pu#ll of#f. Wh#at we#re th#ey aga#inā¦? A bonu#spad an#d a pun#ch? Or ar#e yo#u searc#hing fo#r a cu#re to loneli#ness? Yo#u wo#nāt fi#nd it he#reā¦exc#ept if yo#u ar#e ins#ane eno#ugh to willi#ngly rea#ch ou#t to me. I do#nāt bla#me yo#u, Iām th#e be#st comp#anion the#re is.~ā
*that last one was obviously a joke. Clearly it was enjoying this conversation, as it was giggling to itself. Though what that entails for you is uncertain.*
(āHehe, yea. Iāll keep ya around for a bit longerā)
He rolled his eyes once more (I think). Could this guy just get on with it or go away?
Internally, he mocked the thing. Looked at it dead in whatever eyes it had and wondered when the hell it was gonna shut up. Why hasn't he woken up yet?
"You know why I'm here alone, literally just brought it up both now and at the start of the conversation. Because of Harken and whoever those two idiots who stole her camera were." It took a lot of willpower to not make his next comment about hurrying up all the monologues. "I also fear you'd be one of, if not the worst companion to have, but whatever." Seems he somehow managed to still take it as a joke... hm. "Now, enlighten me; why are you here? You have motives, I know it."
*it chuckled, kicking its legs in the air, as its head spun in place*
āPu#re, sim#ple, bore#dom. Hav#ing to com#mit th#e co#me monot#onous, than#kless ta#sk fo#r thous#ands of thous#ands of yea#rs ge#ts bor#ing, ev#en if it is th#e apoca#lypse. So Iām doi#ng what#ever I plea#se. Anyt#hing to spi#ce up my mis#sion.ā
*when you blinked, it was gone. Not actually gone, but it had moved. It was sitting on a nearby rock*
ābu#t origi#nally I wa#s he#re to ki#ll yo#u. Sin#ce yo#u prov#ed your#self as enterta#ining so Iāl#l sa#ve yo#u fr#om tomo#rrowās gra#sp ano#ther ti#me. Wh#o kno#ws, may#be y#ou will me#et Har#ken again. Yo#u tw#o cou#ld ha#ve a ni#ce ch#at abo#ut me. Iām su#re sh#eād LO##E to te#ll yo#u he#r expe#rience~ā
*it giggled at this thought, grinning widely. Her face distorting, as if it was melting. she sounded incredibly cheerful but some about this made your skin crawl. This thing definitely did something to harken, probably negative. While it shouldnāt concern you, the way it said itā¦it mustāve been incredibly cruel*
Boredom. He's being bothered because of boredom. It's better than the motive being maliciOh nevermind. Never fucking mind I guess.
He stared at #######'s new location, eyes wide and clearly in a state of discomfort. His thoughts froze for a good moment, and her words really absorbed themself into his head. He was entertaining, and that was the only reason he was still alive.
...coward.
It was a coward. If it hadn't killed him now, he doubted it'd kill him ever considering that he was almost always like this. It was sparing him on purpose at this point, just to watch his reactions of despair or anger or fear or whatever it fed off of at this point. Yeah it wasn't afraid, but he couldn't help but think of all of the vulgar things he could call this thing in the moment for not killing him where he stood with all that power it had.
Gutless, stupid, cowardly.
You should have just killed me, I'm not worth it in the long run.
Dumb move.
Bold to kill another man begging for their life and yet keep me here.
All I do is yell. What's the point of keeping me here?
And I thought you fed off of fear.
Killing me would have sufficed more than thWhy am I thinking this
It got out of hand quick. Even if it was just a normal civilian standing in front of him, an overflow of emotions was obvious. His gaze shifted to his collar, hand previously on his gun holster now limp to the side. Why was he thinking this? It was unlike him.
...but was it? Was it really unlike him to let things get so out of hand to the point where they boil over?
No. No it wasn't.
He dragged his hand back to his holster. Nope. Not doing that. Speaking, he forced all other thoughts away from his mouth and made sure his eyes were on #######'s. He tried and failed to seem unfazed. He was taking this a little more seriously, and suddenly at that. Damn his thoughts.
"...I guess my anger could be interesting to watch."
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
āno#t a lo#t. Noth#ing actu#ally. The#se ar#e al#l se#lf impo#sed an#d mo#re fo#r yo#ur saf#ety. Exam#ple: if I sa#y anyt#hing th#at mig#ht gi#ve aw#ay th#e tr#ue nat#ure of tomo#rrow, Iāl#l cen#sor mys#elf fo#r YO#UR saf#ety. Itā#s th#e ty#pe of infor#mation th#at dri#ves peo#ple to insa#nity and a de#ep deep hopelessness.ā
*it leaned a little closer to you saying this next thing, its voice sounded that of amusement*
āanot#her on#e wou#ld be th#at I ca#n on#ly unle#ash my tr#ue nat#ure AFT#ER I ge#t dama#ged. O#nly TH#EN wi#ll I be an act#ual āweird goddamn rust clock thingā. In th#e mo#st lite#ral sen#se.ā
*it managed to mimic your voice almost flawlessly, there was a bit of static in it. her head seems to fall to the floor, before itās entire body rotates and now itās levitating upside down. It looked like it was in a comfortable position, as it was kicking its legs in the air, head turning 180Ā° to look at you properly and not seeing you of your head.*
āNo#w aga#in: wh#y ar#e yo#u he#re al#l alo#ne? Do#nāt yo#u tru#st your#self aft#er betra#ying tho#se tw#o inno#cent bystan#ders? Iād tota#lly under#stand, betr#ayals ar#e a diff#icult thi#ng to pu#ll of#f. Wh#at we#re th#ey aga#inā¦? A bonu#spad an#d a pun#ch? Or ar#e yo#u searc#hing fo#r a cu#re to loneli#ness? Yo#u wo#nāt fi#nd it he#reā¦exc#ept if yo#u ar#e ins#ane eno#ugh to willi#ngly rea#ch ou#t to me. I do#nāt bla#me yo#u, Iām th#e be#st comp#anion the#re is.~ā
*that last one was obviously a joke. Clearly it was enjoying this conversation, as it was giggling to itself. Though what that entails for you is uncertain.*
(āHehe, yea. Iāll keep ya around for a bit longerā)
He rolled his eyes once more (I think). Could this guy just get on with it or go away?
Internally, he mocked the thing. Looked at it dead in whatever eyes it had and wondered when the hell it was gonna shut up. Why hasn't he woken up yet?
"You know why I'm here alone, literally just brought it up both now and at the start of the conversation. Because of Harken and whoever those two idiots who stole her camera were." It took a lot of willpower to not make his next comment about hurrying up all the monologues. "I also fear you'd be one of, if not the worst companion to have, but whatever." Seems he somehow managed to still take it as a joke... hm. "Now, enlighten me; why are you here? You have motives, I know it."
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*it gave itself a hefty smack on its chest. The sounds of multiple gears and other mechanical parts could be heard cluttering, rewinding and clanking. For it, thatās was like clearing its throat*
āTh#is alw#ays happ#ensā¦im not ev#en talk#ing about anyth#ing forbid#denā¦the manifes#tation of para#noia. Hen#ce the na#me.ā
*its mechanical passive noise was quieter. Noticeable. Even the ticking of its tail wasnāt as loud as pre- nevermind. A Click and something seemed to fall out of place inside the rust covered entity and all the previous noises returned to their proper volume*
āSoo#oooo if I ma#y as#k no#w: wh#at bri#ngs yo#u he#re? So fa#r aw#ay fr#om ever#yone? I imag#ine th#is is qui#te th#e unu#sual circum#stance fo#r yo#u.ā
Other than the tiny flinch he had as #######'s systems rather loudly sort themselves out, he savored the moment of silence he got before her internals went right back to ticking and tocking and ticking and tocking and-
...anyways, manifestation of fear and paranoia. He started to doubt that this wasn't real for just a moment, the doubt slowly setting in. His dreams didn't come up with things this complex, characters this complex. Identities that never clashed. No static, no weird continuity errors, no visible changes and realistic movement. He broke eye contact to think, but just couldn't manage as the rust figure spoke. Its voice pierced through his head, stopping any proper thought formation.
He turned back to the question, not thinking about his answer for a moment. "I feel like you should know that considerin' you're fear and paranoia itself." He replied, being snappy and sassy about it. Because of course he is. Even if he isn't entirely aware of it, he was actively challenging death with his attitude. "And, you should know damn well that everythin' is unusual. You're unusual, weird goddamn rust clock thing..." The gunslinger lowered his voice enough to be a little subtle but still be clearly heard.
He changed the topic to his current curiosity while he could. "What did you mean by forbidden? What the hell could possibly be forbidden to somethin' like you?"
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*it took at step closer, before suddenly ending up in front of your face. It stood there for a second, before grabbing your hand and shaking it. It was coldā¦.yet the vibrations of whatever mechanism it houses inside could be felt, shaking you.*
āI am para#noy. Manife#station of Fe#ar an#d ########. Plea#sed to ma#ke yo#ur acquai#ntance.ā
*its entire voice and tone have shifted. It sounded so friendlyā¦and harmless. Soā¦innocent. But you knew better. She was just putting a facade even though she didnāt need to. It was enjoying this. it took a step back, letting go of your hand. Its smile wasā¦not like before. Even though it always looked he same, it didnāt FEEL the same.*
āan#d I wi#ll sta#rt th#is of by say#ing th#is is ve#ry re#al or may#be it is#nāt. It cou#ld be al#l in yo#ur he#ad. I cou#ld be a me#re fabric#ation of yo#ur mi#nd, a halluci#nation or proje#ction. Bu#t i cou#ld al#so be HE#RE, talk#ing to yo#u. I cou#ld be he#re, fina#lly com#ing he#re to sa#ve yo#u fr#om it. Or it cou#ld be a ba#d dre#amā¦a dre#am you#āll ne#ver wa#ke up fr#om.ā
*one of its arms started to float to the side, orbiting its owner as she tilted her head, its voice filled with a playfulness that chills you.*
āYou#āll nev#er kn#ow thou#gh, as th#at is fo#r me to dec#ide.ā
The gunslinger kept a sharp glare on #######, making sure it never left his sight, listening as it spoke. He blinked once or twice as she backtracked, but he felt his soul basically leave his body as she got way too close for comfort and grabbed on his hand, at which he tried to yank away but got nowhere. He forcibly accepted the handshake, disliking the feeling of whirring and clockwork in his arm.
He couldn't help but wonder if he just missed something or if that radio static of an attempted word wasn't in his head. He tried to reel back in his head, but found that he couldn't muster up anything. All he could think of was how bullshit that innocent tone was.
Gaining control of his hand once more, he shook it off, the tingle still remaining. He broke eye contact for just a moment to see that nothing changed. "What the fuck did you just say?-" He tried to ask, but got cut off by the figure in front of him. He rolled his eyes, internally mocking the being made of rust. He waited, being shockingly polite for something this invasive in what he thought were his dreams.
"Okay okay, 'If I'm real or not is for me to decide', whatever. Roll back. Manifestation of what-the-fuck?"
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
āBu#t th#en ho#w wou#ld yo#u commu#nicate wi#th th#e oth#ers? At lea#st yo#u offe#red yo#ur oh so prec#ious ey#es to ga#ze at me. If no#t fo#r talk#ing, th#ey nev#er woul#dāve go#ne in#to th#e tr#ap yo#u oh so graci#ously help#ed se#t up!ā
*it was referring to your time with harken. It smile widened a bit again, taking a step closer. Itās arms dangled off to its sides, its head starting to spin around its own axis, while her face always looked at you with that same wide smile.*
āYo#ur Ha#nd. It#ās shak#ing. Yo#ur thou#ghts. Ar#e mes#sy. Oh ho#w th#e hum#an mi#nd is wond#erful. It doe#snāt not#ice wh#at th#e bo#dy do#es bu#t it refu#ses to le#t go of con#trol. I kn#ow yo#u wa#nt to sho#ot yo#ur gu#n. Yo#u se#em so CLO#SE to grab#bing yo#ur tru#sty wea#pon, ye#t yo#ur mi#nd is preve#nting yo#u. F#or wh#at rea#son? Yo#u sa#w a fel#low civi#lian di#e in fro#nt of yo#u, th#e kil#ler tak#ing th#eir swe#et ti#me talk#ing to you, stan#ding sti#llā¦ā
*it stretched its arms out*
āW I D E O P E Nā
*the laughter it emitted sounded like dozens of voices. Crying, laughing, shouting, yelping. As if hundreds upon hundreds of people were all taunting you. It stopped laughing and the voices fell silent. The clock is ticking.*
āju#st le#t go, ta#ke th#e sh#ot. Fig#ht ba#ck. Ge#t reve#nge. Fo#r eve#ry sec#ond lon#ger yo#u spe#nd he#re, th#e clos#er yo#ur dem#ise by th#e han#ds of tomo#rrow sha#ll co#me. Ju#st le#t go an#d le#t me he#lp yo#u esc#ape itā
"Lord have mercy." ...what the hell was this thing talking about?
The gunslinger had little to no idea as to what the hell half of this meant. If it was going to tease, it'd need to do it rather bluntly. Aside from that, the words still got to him, even if he didn't understand them. His heart raced just a little quicker, and his foot slid back, threatening to move in the opposite direction, to sprint and suffer the consequences.
Speaking of, he couldn't move other than just a gentle step or two. Couldn't bring himself to bring his arm away from the new cut, and he wouldn't dare touch the holster. He didn't know why he was shaking, why he couldn't just leave. Why he hadn't woken up yet. He started to internally debate himself at the matter. What the hell was this?
He snapped out of it for just a second when she... "laughed", however. Immediately, he took two decent strides back and his hand left his wound, startled if not scared at the noise. He tried to be defensive, but the mask of not caring slipped from his face and shattered for just a moment. What the fuck and how the fuck?
He wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been, guided under a self-established false belief that he tried to repeat over and over in his head. He wanted to shoot this thing. He wanted to shoot it and book it the fuck out, but what would that do other than lead him into a dead end?
He resisted doing what he wanted. Not that he could anyways, he'd probably freeze up from fear when he got the opportunity.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*it patiently waited for a responseā¦yet none came. She sighed*
āTou#gh cro#wd eh? I kn#ow th#ey sa#y ignor#ance is bli#ss bu#tā¦it#ās gon#na ta#ke mo#re to era#se wh#at yo#u ju#st sa#wā
*it was teasing you. Mocking even. It grabbed the poor victim and walked past you, making sure the statue touched you. It was still warm and a Puls could be felt but the outsides was hard and the rough surface left a tiny scratch on your armā¦after just a few seconds, it was in front of you again, the statue nowhere to be found*
āIv#e go#t aaaa#aaalllll of eter#nity, Cow#boy. No#w ar#e yo#u goi#ng to ackno#wledge th#e linge#ring fe#ar in yo#ur he#ad, th#e sl#ow tick#ing of th#e clo#ck coun#ting ea#ch sec#ond yo#u do#nāt lo#ok at me? Or do I ha#ve toā¦ma#ke yo#u lo#ok? I ju#st wa#nt a ch#at, is al#l~ā
*it chuckled. Its tail seemed to get louder in volume, as you can hear gears and mechanical parts clatter inside its body. it stood there, maybe 2 steps away from you yet it felt like it was right in front of you*
āā¦or if yo#u do#nāt wan#na ta#lk, yo#u ca#n fig#ht. yo#u ar#e a figh#ter, arent yo#u? I ho#pe yo#u wi#ll be a lo#t mo#re fei#sty th#an th#e const#ruct. I kn#ow yo#u tw#o ha#d a wond#erful tr#ip. Oh ho#w I enjo#yed watc#hing yo#u bo#th.ā
He kept his eyes off of ####### for as long as he could. Convinced himself that this wasn't real, that he just fell asleep and that he'd get up soon without a care. Go on about his day.
But nope. He diverted his eyes as he saw it pick up the rust 'statue', feeling it scratch his arm. Great, not the other one...
The 'statue' wasn't cold though. It was hard and smooth like metal, sure, but it felt like hardened skin. Didn't feel like rust covered metal, nor many kind of metal at all.
It felt real. And that creeped the gunslinger out just a little more.
He went to go look at the wound, a clean little cut and yet it was mild enough to ignore. There wasn't even any blood. Yet, that is... but even then, there likely won't be much when it inevitably DOES begin to bleed. The pain still felt real, stinging gently. It could be ignored, but it was mildly annoying.
He wondered why it felt so real, but why the metal didn't feel cold. Why did it feel like that? He could only wonder for a few seconds before his thoughts were cut off, however.
Yet again, he yelped. The statue was gone. He looked down at first, but from what could probably be described as some kind of peer pressure, he looked up, not yet directly at the figure looming near. This wasn't real, what was he scared of?
His heart still pounded in his chest though, like his body knew to be scared but he didnt in full. He took a step back, placed a hand on the scratch, and looked up to meet Paranoy's gaze. Or was it a glare?
"I don't need to talk." The gunslinger eventually replied to the endless teasing. He didn't like how that construct was mentioned. Damn it, why didn't he just shoot her!?
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*the statueās arms started being moved. Some invisible force seemed to try and make it look a certain way. Like an artist adding final details to their work. The ticking noise, which at this point didnāt have a place of origin, ended up being very close to you. Specifically next to you on your right. And there it was. An incredibly rust covered robloxian creature, their head was slowly rotating around its own axis. It was inspecting the corpseā¦*
āā¦I thi#nk it wou#ld lo#ok bet#ter with#out th#e hel#met bu#t I ca#nāt ta#ke it of#f no#wā¦I gue#ss th#e hel#met sta#ys. Wh#at do yo#u sa#y, Sher#iff? Is it miss#ing somet#hing?ā
*it turned its head to you, smiling wide. While itās question sounded genuine, it truly was not. Its tail was ticking like a metronome or the pendulum of a clock, never messing up once.*
Sling stiffened as he saw the statue move, taking one more good step back. He felt disgust; what the hell was happening? What type of dream was this?
(Mod note: This response is long as hell. Oops. Maybe that makes up for how long I took though-)
Furthermore, he shifted a bit as he heard that ticking noise, having to let it ring in his ears despite it only being on one side. The moment he looked away was the moment he was startled by... whoever this was.
He audibly reacted, shouting something unintelligible before stumbling back a bit, almost tripping from the shuffling. He needed to keep calm. The calmer he stayed, the faster he'd wake up. That had to be it, this was a dream. Nothing like this would truly happen. No killer could just... do that.
...could they?
Watching the figure inspect the now rusted-over corpse, he took a breath in and fizzled it out with a reluctance he himself didn't notice. He stood up straight, listening to the living metronome as it spoke.
He didn't want to answer that question. He stayed silent, trying not to spark a conversation with something that he viewed as imaginary. He instead stared at the body of a poor soul, though one he didn't think was real. He attempted to look for odd imperfections, to see if his vision was snowy like it was in dreams he had that were even slightly similar to this. Nothing of relevance other than a dead somebody.
For just a moment, he made eye contact. He felt his heart pang in his chest, so he went right on back to looking at the other rusted specimen. It didn't help much, but it was better to look at the damage created rather than the thing that caused it. He'd be fine if he didn't look, didn't speak. He'd wake up.
So, he ignored it. Didn't dare look. He just needed to calm down and keep steady.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*the hurt civilian was a dash block. He seemed to stare atā¦nothing. There was no discernible threat. But he kept looking at something, leaning away, as of something got right in front of his face.*
āFor the last time, I DONT CARE. WHAT THE HELL DOI YOU EVEN MEAN!? What even happens to m o r r o wā¦?ā
*his speech got slower, as his gaze met yours. He wasā¦confusedā¦and afraid. He frantically looked around, his eyes darting from one direction to another, not being able to locate a threat you couldnāt perceive.*
āā¦run. RUN AWAY. JUST GO! THIS- THIS THING ATTACKED ME AND- AND ITS SPOUTING A BUNCH OF BULL####! something abo-ugh it doesnāt matter, JU-*
*he didnāt even get to finish his sentence. His eyes went blank as his body stiffens. Rust started spreading all over them, encasing them. Their face wasnāt recognizable anymore, just replaced by a # where it once was*
*now there was another sound to be heardā¦a ticking noiseā¦like a clock.*
The wannabe sheriff blinked as he saw the civilian. "There's... nothing there?" He questioned, more to himself than anything. The slowed speech lead to him taking a step back, hands raising.
As their gaze met his own, he looked back with an expression of concern. Why were they looking everywhere? Why-
...run? From what, specs of dust? That's what he originally thought, but any thought was cut short as the civilian stiffened, and that bit of rust spread.
He took another two steps back, and good ones at that. He couldn't help but notice the fear quickly bubbling in his chest, nagging at him as he kept his hand on his holster.
What did that clock mean? What type of cruel dream was this?
He tried to keep calm as he looked around. He wasn't doing this.
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
*the voice didnāt answer to your call, but their breathing got quicker and quicker,as if they were crawling, audibly in pain. It made a grunting noise as it probably hit something while crawling. Their voice was shaky, clearly at the end of their energy yet filled with some anger and resentment, as they spoke*
āGet away, I- I donāt want to hear your nonsense. Half theā¦half the things you are saying make no god damn sense or I can hear them. if you want to taunt me, at least make yourself understandableā
*ā¦besides their grunting, nothing else wasā¦seemingly thereā¦but this must be a civilian and clearly they were in active danger.*
The gunslinger blinked. Who...? Who was this? The voice itself wasn't familiar. Nothing was familiar anymore.
"Hello?" He picked up the pace, trying to find the location of the civilian. "Wh-... hey, I'm comin' for ya, hang in there!"
Didn't take him long to find the source of the noise, one hand on the gun in his holster. He was ready to pull a trigger if needed, but he couldn't help but think about how he didn't hear any kind of loud entrance like the usual killer would. Was this a Pursuer case or something?
*a pair of footsteps started echoing through the empty halls of the mall, scraping against the floor and stepping irregular. Somewhat pained huffs could also be discerned, as the footsteps stopped and something slowly dropped to the ground. The huffs became soft breathing, as it slowed down. Someone may be hurt, judging by how they sounded like. Unlucky person*
@paranoyaskblog
The gunslinger flinched as he heard footsteps, the sound of exhaustion coming from a person out of sight ringing in his ears as he stepped out of the little book store he'd wandered into to waste all of the spare time he now had.
He wandered over to the noise naturally, questioning who was around. It felt familiar in an odd way, but this particular gunslinger always found a way to make everything familiar to him...
"Hello?" He called out, slowly following the noises of distress. "You okay? Need help?"
