Okay, if anyones played the new 4.3 quest, you'll know what I'm talking about;
Have we ever thought about Yandere Asat Pramad?
Imagine you're a traveler; or the like. You live your life as you please. Perhaps you travel a lot, and find yourself in any ordinary situations like that of a nomadic lifestyle – problems with transport, your luggage weighing you down, currency (especially funds!) And so on. But you make it work. You live your life freely and wholly, make various friends across the universe wherever you can.
Eventually, all good things come to an end.
You have to settle down somewhere, right?
The end of your pen suffers the blunt pressure of your teeth as you think, think and think. The paper on the table remains blank for the most part – how could you think when there's so much yet to be done? After all, who thinks post-ending besides those who have a reason to mourn the present? Certainly not you! Not when you still have a handful of destinations to visit before the end of your bucket list!
A stranger sits down across you; an amicable chuckle that draws your attention. "Mind if I sit here?" He asks. An ordinary planarcadia citizen; nothing out of the blue, except a small pin on his shirt – likely Sparxie's merchandise. You sweat, not just from the heat of the Sun on your back, but quickly nod.
Conversation starts polite. Your face was so scrunched up. He drinks coffee this black? Training, he responds. Whys the paper blank? Well, your bucket lists are double sided, and never an end to them. Always stuck with tape together, haphazardly drawn star maps where you'd stick pictures of all the places you went to. He talks about his colleagues – gosh, can someone be that antisocial? It's a pity no one likes tea parties. But it doesn't matter, what are you doing?
Things tumble from there. Escalate, even. Long after you've left Planarcadia do you still stay in touch. Texts and audio messages exchanged between weary journeys to places he recommended to you. Some of them.. were strange, of course, but he quickly brushes it off as a joke, and continues with more 'normal' destinations. Long distance is difficult, but considering just how well you two get along.. it was worth a shot. If you could ignore the long absences sometimes.
Years after, you find yourself settling down. A vision you couldn't have imagined without this man who came into your life out of sheer coincidence. A shoulder on your hand when you set your suitcase down on the floor of the house, 'this is it' he says.
Youd be stupid to say it wasn't wrong a long time ago.
Of course, absences were sometimes just common between you two. Work, travelling and the whole shebang making it slightly difficult to sync up your timings. It became odd when the differences of hours became days. Once it became a month. You remember it vividly – almost on the verge of breaking up when he called you. It took a long time, but things smoothed over.
You shift under the covers at night, looking to your side at your – now fiance's – back, thumbing the engagement ring that sat a little heavy on your finger. He never did tell you what he did for work, did he? You stare up at the ceiling, thoughts aimless yet plentiful.
"What is it?" He whispers, hand reaching for your shoulder. "Restless?"
You nod. "Maybe just the change of place."
Ironic; you both chuckle.
The laughter dies down as soon as it starts, but he stays smiling. Maybe a little too wide. Have his eyes always been that color?
"You know that surprise I've been meaning to show you for our engagement?"
You blink. His hand moves from your shoulder to your eyes.
His fingers gently feel the ridges where your brow ends. He counts every possibility of your reaction when the reveal happens.
"You know that little vacation I had?"
You feel strange. Something in your stomach is slowly dropping. Your eyelashes flutter under his palm, sending a shudder down his body. You hear– then feel the heat of his body when he shifts closer.
"I thought it would be funny," he whispers, "replacing your lover. It was so easy, too."
His voice changes. Your whole body breaks out in a sweat, but you don't move. As if the very mattress is slowly swallowing you whole, like quicksand.
"I enjoyed it thoroughly, though. It would be a pity to get rid of you, especially now.."
His hand moves, down to your neck, where it slides up to cup the side of your face. You don't know if you want to look– but he takes the decision for you, firmly guiding you to look at him.
"I think we'll have longer years in front of us," he says, "together, now that we can truly get married."
The man's face is gone. Your lover has been dead for a long, long time.
Asat Pramad has strange taste. But stranger yet, is how welcoming he is.
