This is going to be the last AIC of 2021, and the last chapter of AIC part one. Where do you think it’s going to go?
Sunlight was painful. Kakashi grimaced. He ignored the shakiness in his arms and hefted himself up to a seated position. He surveyed the room.
“Well, well.” His voice was raspy and low with disuse. “I appear to be in a medical treatment facility.”
“You remember what they look like, then.” Tsunade, the long-gone heroine o...
2021-12-31 02:44:55 +0000 UTC View PostThey gave up on sleep after that. It was not going to happen, even in shifts.
“Whoever has been killing people definitely knows we are here,” Benk said.
Lilli tucked her chin further into her knees.
“I want to know how,” Benk continued. “There are pragmatic possibilities: they could simply have seen us from the high ground. But what are the chances? Could they be watching the mountain path, all the time?”
“That would require a lot of manpower,” Ser Alcu...
2021-12-30 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHer voice carried and echoed around the open mountain air. For a long moment, no one moved or spoke.
Then there was a clatter. Lilli turned to the sound and gritted her teeth against the horror that wanted to spill out.
“Who are you?” Igni asked loudly. “You are extraordinarily ugly.”
The skeleton, held together with black tendrils and spite, did not answer. It was coming directly at her. In an eerily spindly, fragile-looking hand, it had a rusted and dented sword. T...
2021-12-01 02:13:25 +0000 UTC View PostIt was a hard two days’ march. At least the air along the coastline was cooler and less punishing than they’d suffered inside the desert. By morning on the second day, they were heading gradually uphill. Around noon, it was rocky steppes. Lilli had to work hard not to lose footing on the crumbly grey stone, oddly porous and light.
‘I don’t like this. It feels like it could all shatter.’
That impression didn’t make sense, so she kept it to herself. 2021-12-01 02:06:32 +0000 UTC View Post
It took two days to find Elathor, by which time they were distressingly low on funds. Lilli begrudgingly gave a whole gold coin as a bribe to the prison guard, making intense eye contact the whole time. Only 3 of them were allowed in. The rest of the party waited outside in the wind when Lilli, Igni, and Ser Alcuin trudged into the darkness below the keep.
The guard gave her a weird look as she passed. Maybe she’d held onto the coin a little too forcefully.
Elathor was draped on...
2021-12-01 02:05:35 +0000 UTC View PostThe market of Ulante was a gleaming jewel that made Lilli’s hands itch. The air was richly scented with spices and the scent of hot bread. Occasional pieces of floating sand caught the light and glittered, where they had been blown away from merchant displays.
“Any place will do,” Elathor said to themself, squinting around the bustling market.
Despite saying that, the groups followed for a good twenty minutes as Elathor searched for the correct place to replenish their funds...
2021-12-01 02:04:51 +0000 UTC View PostShe sneered, openly annoyed by how shocked the gate guards were. “Well?” Tsunade said irritably. She put a hand on her hip. “Do you recognize us? Do you need my identification number? Did you simply forget how to open a door?”
“Tsunade hime,” Jiraiya said, quietly and pained. She ignored him.
The chuunin at the gate exchanged panicked glances. Then one of them cleared his throat. “You are not expected to arrive today, Senju-sama, so there is some paperwork.”
...
2021-11-30 13:41:59 +0000 UTC View PostPart 2
“Yes, yes, I can handle that,” Carol agreed. She switched the phone to her other ear. “You do the financial stuff, and I’ll deal with Donna’s relatives.” She paused. “Well. I told her- it doesn’t matter if she’s ready to have a funeral or not, her mom is 95 years old!” She let out a fairly wild cackle. “If you aren’t satisfied with that, there’s no pleasing you.” She listened for a moment. “Well, not quite like that. But she has to deal with the situ...
2021-11-01 01:56:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe dead came out of the waves in eerie synchronicity.
Her first impulse was to reach for the power from the death god and order them to leave their bodies. It made no difference. She reached and reached and couldn’t touch the power. Scowling, Aiko lifted her katana in front of her and confronted the closest body. It crashed into her with frenzied strength.
It was hellishly strong. She nearly lost her footing in the sand. Her opponent grinned at her.
“I don’t t...
2021-11-01 01:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAilee walked quickly, trying to stay in the glow of the streetlights. It would be pitch black before she got home, if she wasn’t careful.
She definitely didn’t want that to happen.
The breeze whispered softly around her, causing the leaves in the trees to rustle.
(releasing late Halloween night)
2021-11-01 01:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Shit.” Lilli said blandly, watching the sand rise up to swallow the city whole, circling like a whirlpool. She barely closed her eyes before whipping sand flew into her face and swept up a scorchingly hot wind. A rumbling sound grew louder and louder as the earth twisted underneath her feet. It built and built, rising to a howl that struck at the forefront of her mind and left her ears popping from pressure and pain.
The sand rose and fell like a tide, filling buildings and buildin...
2021-10-31 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few hours felt very long. The second ship didn’t return at all. No attack was launched. Most of her people returned from searching without anything to report.
“Everyone who is left…” Nishikawa flipped the paper up on his clipboard. “Mizukage sama. We have reports for the forests, and most of the city. However, we have disproportionate amounts of late reports from people who went to search either the sewers or the coastline.”
“The sewers?” Aiko repeated, le...
2021-10-31 11:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAn older woman who is not plagued by self awareness fails to notice that she had joined a gardening class with an ancient cannibalistic horror. The important question is whether or not she will edge out her rival and inspire filial piety in her two unreliable children.
-“we heard back from those guys, and I think they might invest. If they do-“
“You should just come home,” Coral said, struggling to make the messaging window come back. It still showed the photo of her son a...
2021-10-31 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe princess looked out of the open fusuma over her vast domain. Her people were out harvesting in rice fields, burning old grass, and carefully trimming the gardens of the castle. The scent of burning yomogi wafted through the air, bringing with it a sense of peace and relaxation.
The peacefulness of the moment only served to underscore her loneliness.
Rejina of the Jiraiya clan looked toward the rooms that had been- or still were- her father’s. They were almost as quiet as her...
2021-10-31 07:13:05 +0000 UTC View PostSpecial Aiko Halloween story, part one.
Everyone gasped at the same time. Aiko stopped mid stride to put her hand on her chest, disbelieving the sudden change.
“I cannot feel my chakra,” Gaara said numbly. He turned in a slow circle, as if it might be behind him. “What is this?”
Karin was fighting for air, eyes wide behind her glasses. “I can’t see,” she said, bewildered. “It’s- I can see… is this how you see?” She grabbed at Aiko’s sleeve ...
2021-10-31 05:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostEveryone gasped at the same time. Aiko stopped mid stride to put her hand on her chest, disbelieving the sudden change.
“I cannot feel my chakra,” Gaara said numbly. He turned in a slow circle, as if it might be behind him. “What is this?”
Karin was fighting for air, eyes wide behind her glasses. “I can’t see,” she said, bewildered. “It’s- I can see… is this how you see?” She grabbed at Aiko’s sleeve and clung on.
Aiko let her, despite her instincts b...
2021-10-30 18:04:56 +0000 UTC View PostWho is Aiko taking with her?
2021-10-06 14:38:44 +0000 UTC View PostThis one will be set in the Regina verse. Please vote for the MC and a trope or two.
2021-10-03 11:26:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe voting for the first drabble is officially closed! With 7 votes, “locked in” was a clear winner, and “vampire“ was tied at 6 votes with “there was only one bed.” I decided vampire fit better.
Halloween Drabble 1
“You went to bury it, and it was gone?”
Aiko felt her eyebrows shoot up.
The innkeeper gave her conversation partner a despairing look. “Someone took it,” she said. “It’s terrible, but ther...
2021-10-03 11:19:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe two most popular categories will wind up as a short story on October 3. The MC for this one will be Aiko. Feel free to add your additional opinions (especially for supporting characters) in the comments and they may be taken into account.
2021-09-30 10:54:00 +0000 UTC View PostDespair warred with fury. Her mind felt a lot clearer now, and she could see what had happened. This fucker had just been playing with its food. It had been toying with her for days.
Vanna felt her jaw clench, in a very literal sense, because the cheek and muscle that should have been protecting it was gone. The bone clattered oddly loudly to her intact ear.
It didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt.
“Fuck you,” she bit out. Vanna sat up. She got to her feet with what her hindbrain...
2021-09-30 10:45:19 +0000 UTC View Post3
Vanna didn’t get 20 miles before she had to stop to put gas in. She stopped her car as close to the building as possible and paused. She had a sick feeling in her stomach. She clenched her jaw.
‘Just go. Hesitating won’t help. Yeah, they’re probably following me. They might be watching me now. But they might be behind, too. I have to keep moving and keep around people.’
She filled her tank all the way and then paid inside, grabbing bottles of water and a...
2021-09-30 10:41:54 +0000 UTC View PostIt took a long time to leave the house because she was paralyzed with fear. She all but ran to her car, checking through the window that the back was empty before rushing inside and locking the door.
‘They’re probably watching. They’re watching me right now.’
Wildly she swiveled her head, trying to spot someone out of place. She was shuddering as she pulled out of the driveway.
She had never driven there before, but the police station felt a lot f...
2021-09-30 10:40:51 +0000 UTC View PostA Girl Has To Eat
Part 1
The letters started the same day that her cubicle neighbor didn’t come in to work. At first, Vanna didn’t notice it in the pile she brought in from her mailbox. It wasn’t until the sun was slowly rising while she tapped her spoon against her mostly empty yogurt that she started to look through the mail.
A phone bill, for the same company she worked for. She found a useless letter telling her that water prices would rise but not by how much. And...
2021-09-30 10:38:44 +0000 UTC View PostHappy almost Halloween!
We are excited to get to October and want to share the hopes for this month. There is definitely a theme to honor all things creepy and upsetting, so I hope everyone gets their fix. All original fiction (aka paid content) this month (counting posts for September so we can have more spooky posts overall) are going to be on the scary side.
Be on the lookout for the first, which is a mid length horror story called “A Girl Has To Eat,”...
2021-09-30 10:35:09 +0000 UTC View PostHello, everybody! Keep on the lookout for more AIC and Great Lakes content this week, and we have a few surprises for you! <3
“Shit.” Lilli said blandly, watching the sand rise up to swallow the city whole, circling like a whirlpool. She barely closed her eyes before whipping sand flew into her face and swept up a scorchingly hot wind. A rumbling sound grew louder and louder as the earth twisted underneath her feet. It built and built, rising to a howl that ...
2021-08-31 21:32:01 +0000 UTC View PostShe fell for what felt like forever, but felt something soft and grainy around her body as she descended further and further into darkness.
Eventually Lilli felt herself slow to a stop. When she reached out, she could feel sand falling on her hands. She looked around.
It was dark. So dark. But off to the left, there was a tiny source of light.
‘Guess I’ll go that way…?’ Lilli resigned herself to trudging through the darkness and sand, feeling grains slip int...
2021-08-31 20:56:50 +0000 UTC View Post“I, for one, am very interested in an explanation of that ominous and informative statement.” Elathor called, obviously attempting to wriggle out of captivity. “Would you care to clarify…” they looked at the monster “my friend???”
The monster looked at Elathor, and then shifted to sit down. The clacking sound of its interlocking scales echoed around the room, and something about the sound made Lilli not want to move.
An instinctual freeze response had seized all of h...
2021-08-31 18:35:49 +0000 UTC View PostChapter One
Grey Skies and Ill Tidings: A Welcome Invitation
A crow cawed somewhere outside, but it sounded wrong.
Aver used her green skirts to hide the motion when she crossed her legs at the ankle. It wasn’t correct, strictly speaking, but she had never gotten in trouble for things she didn’t get seen doing.
‘Is it inside?’ She wondered.
No one else reacted to the discomfiting sound. It was as if they didn...
2021-08-30 12:16:48 +0000 UTC View PostIt was very quiet inside the shrine. She sat down at a long table in a stiff silence. The younger priest left through a door to the left and came back with a bleak-smelling tea balanced on a humble tray. She took a cup and wondered if shrines were on the list of things she was meant to be funding.
“You seem to have a particular connection to death,” the senior priest said. There were stress lines pressed into his forehead that didn’t ease up when he looked at her. “Seeing ...
2021-08-19 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post