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202. Resistance is Fruitful
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2021-09-13 17:13:36Related chapters
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 203. Sonny Days, Laney Nights
Powerful people adamantly believe two things. First, that they deserve more power. Second, other people want to take their power away.If you claim not to be interested being the boss, they won’t believe you. “Ah,” they’ll think, “the old ‘I don’t want power’ power play.”It’s difficult for them to consider a world where the things they prize above all else are treated as worthless. Not because of a difference in how those things are valued, but simply because of the inferred insult. I don’t want what you want because you like things that are shit. Hard not to take that personally.“You want me to help you remove my wife from the Requbar throne?” asked the Rat King. He had obviously heard what I’d said, but repeating it helped underline the inherent stupidity of my request.“Yes,” I said.“And you’ll take care of the infestation of humans in the Ancestor’s tomb?”“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Having a bunch of trolls would help. Hard to barricade y
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 204. A Bone to Pick
The bones skittered along the floor of the cavern, gathering together as they came towards the raised area where we were standing. By the time they reached the base, two arms had formed and began crawling up the rock.The wind picked up, whistling and moaning eerily. Maurice and Claire were clinging to each other (any excuse), and everyone was cowering. As the only person standing by the edge, I saw what was coming, but I wasn’t really worried.The bones formed a skeletal body, but the body was not particularly intimidating. Mainly because of its size.The skeleton reached the top and climbed over the edge to stand in front of me.“So, you’re an elf?” I asked him. It wasn’t the tall and willowy type Peter Jackson would have you believe. More like the ones who sneak into your house and do some cobbling while you sleep.“I am Evand, last of the first.” His voice sounded a lot less intimidating rattling around his small, empty skull.“Forgive us,
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 205. Gathering of the Clouds/Frenemy of My Frenemy
Evand turned on me, baring his teeth, clearly pissed off. “Give that back.”I tossed the gem to Maurice. It would have been cool if he’d caught it one-handed and put it in his pocket all slick, but it was Maurice. He juggled it like a spaz and nearly dropped it, but managed to knock it into Claire’s hands. She passed it back to him, and he gave me a thumbs up. Dudley politely applauded. One of these days, Jenny would kill me, and I wouldn’t find a way back. It would probably come as a great relief.“So, you don’t get on, then?” I said to Raviva.“The Ancestors were a plague on this world,” said Raviva. “The day they left, there was much rejoicing. But we haven’t forgotten what they did.”The trolls were closing in on Evand again.“So you didn’t know the Queen of Requbar was one of them?”Raviva looked shocked. “That cannot be. She has been on the throne for many years. The Ancestors were never content to settle for a single city when they could
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 206. Diamond in the Rough
Sonny and his ragtag band of lost boys emerged from the tunnel. When we had dug our way to the surface, they had nervously followed, not really sure they wanted to return to the real world and their responsibilities. I certainly didn’t blame them.Now they faced the sight of their city in ruins.They said nothing while I ran around trying to make sense of what had happened and what to do next. They made no sound at all. The palace was a smoking crater, surrounding it were heaps of rubble, and standing over the remains was a creature no one could quite make out, but that everyone could sense. Its presence was that split-second when you open a closet door and realise the contents are about to fall on top of you. A fleeting moment turned into a being a mile tall.By the time I noticed them, they had begun staggering down the hill towards Requbar. I couldn’t tell what they planned to do once they got there — look for survivors, bury the dead, point fingers — but their
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 207. Dargot After Dark
“Okay, so it’s off to Dargot, is it?” Biadet didn’t say anything. “We can’t get there if you don’t give us directions.”“Yes,” said Biadet. “Dargot. You will find help there.” She walked off towards the dragon.Laney walked past her as she came towards me. “You are going to Dargot and then Fengarad?”“I don’t know. Depends what happens in Dargot.”“This is your moment, Colin.” Her dander was up again. The whirlpool of madness was back in her eyes. Crazy people often have a lucid moment, but then it’s right back to Looney Town, express train, no stops. “Today, you find out if you’re a real man. I can help you check.”I wasn’t sure if she was offering me support on the field of battle or a medical examination. Neither was very appealing. A hand on her collar pulled her away.“We should get going,” said Jenny. “It’ll be getting dark soon.”“You realise we’ll probably die doing this,” I told her.“Then we’ll die together,” said Jenny.
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 208. Head Counsel
I didn’t trust Peter, and I didn’t trust Queen Zarigold. Peter was a slippery slimeball, and what kind of a nonsense name was Zarigold?Being told they were working together wasn’t all that surprising. I imagined it was one of those partnerships where you combine your resources to attain a common goal, and as soon as that goal is achieved, you both run around in circles to see who can stab the other in the back first.The bigger question was how did they plan to shaft me?Peter had his hand held out.“You want this?” I asked him.Peter smiled, his teeth all perfect white and his slicked-back hair glistening with oil or wax or whatever old men used to mould their hair into shape like a Lego hairpiece.“It isn’t a matter of want, kiddo. I need it to make sure we don’t lose our lives to the elf threat.”The elf threat. He made it sound like they were creeping across the border to steal our jobs and women.“What kind of threat?” I ask
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 209. Blow by Blow
I was confused. Not about my sudden introduction to man-dwarf love — that I could deal with the old-fashioned way of pretending it never happened — but by Biadet’s revelation.She said I had a special ability and that it was being untouchable. What the hell did that mean?I could be touched in the physical sense. I could be hurt and killed. If she didn’t mean it literally, then what?You also had to take into consideration that she could be wrong. Or lying. Or just messing with me. Or it could be one of those situations where I had to figure it out for myself, because reasons. I really had no idea.“Do you want to get off me?” asked Jenny, still upset.I was sitting on her with my hands under her shirt. Her wound was healed and overall things had turned out okay for everyone involved (as long as you didn’t look too closely at the sexual ramifications).“I think you’re being unfair,” I said as I got up.“Thanks for the feedback.” Ice cold
Last Updated : 2021-09-13How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 210. Hanging by A Thread
I will admit I hadn’t thought things through. The Intui grabbed my spike and the first thing that jumped into my mind was Perfect! Suddenly, the ideal situation had presented itself for testing. Science demanded action.If I could get the belligerent lizardman to stab me (yes, this is how retarded my plan was) then it would reveal, possibly in a beam of light from the heavens with angelic choir backing singers, the true nature of my special power.Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.My healing ability had made me somewhat gung-ho when it came to getting hurt, and pain is one of those things you get less scared of the more you experience it. I could handle a couple of sharp stabs to the stomach, I had somehow convinced myself.The gem tasted tangy as it went down. I probably should have washed it first. I didn’t worry about what the dwarf inside the stone would do to me once it was inside my body because of what Peter said. He had told me it was imp
Last Updated : 2021-09-13
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How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 244. Don’t Forget to Breathe
Claire stabbed me. She didn’t know I was in here, but would that have made a difference?The moment the blade entered my chest, I felt a rush of cold go through me like smoke through a keyhole. Everything began shaking. I was falling apart.“What are yo’ doing?” screamed Flossie.“It’s not him,” said Maurice. “Colin’s safe. This is just his body. We have to stop them now, or we’ll never get another chance.”It had never been a great body, but ‘just his body’ seemed a little harsh.Was this part of some big plan? Maurice had always been good at seeing patterns and drawing conclusions. He wasn’t always right, but he was starting to have faith in himself. They all were. Dangerous times.If you joined up the dots and they formed a picture, it would make sense to assume that’s the picture you were meant to find. Maurice had decided this was the picture he had seen. Kill Peter, kill Wesley. Leave no one powerful enough to threaten the rest of us.
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 243. The Older Woman
By this point, I considered darkness to be an old friend. Considering how my friends had been treating me of late, my buddy darkness was probably hiding monsters that would eat my face.The voice I’d heard had sounded feminine, although I wasn’t about to assume gender. These days, that sort of thinking can get you in all sorts of trouble. If it was a woman, my track record with females in dark places wasn’t good, but I wasn’t about to generalise about that either.Yes, women had treated me poorly, often trying to kill me, torture me and nag me to death. I didn’t hold a grudge. Women aren’t all the same. I never think, Oh, yes, she’s just like all the others. They’re all individuals. They each have their own preferred method for ruining your life. Some of them even do it by ignoring you. They’re my favourite.I listened for any follow-up threats. There were always follow-up threats. Everyone had too much fun arranging my demise to not announce their plans.No
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 242. Further Beyond
It wasn’t like Claire suddenly transforming was a bad thing. When the Fire Nation attacks, you want someone to change into their Avatar state. She was more Korra than Aang, but who knew what she was capable of now?I suddenly felt a sense of loss at not having Maurice around to swap pop culture analogies with. It’s all very well having people standing beside you in times of trouble, but it leaves an unsatisfactory feeling when they don’t understand your references.We had a giant Elf with a handful of twats coming at us, so Claire going blue-eyes white dragon was a good thing, even if she had no idea what a blue-eyes white dragon was. Whatever had been behind the wall in the crypt, it had presumably exited via Claire and taken up residence.Normally, that would be a cause for concern. How often has the thing bricked up inside a church been a chill dude who got trapped by accident? No, it was always some abused child whose vengeful spirit was now going to wreak havo
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 241. Sister of No Mercy
“But why?” asked Claire, her hands shaking by her side.Maurice had a ferocious grin on his face, the kind only severe embarrassment can produce. Despite any reasons and justifications he might have, when you get caught doing something you know you shouldn’t do — because all the Pixar movies you’ve ever seen have clearly identified it for you — there’s no way to stop your body from producing all the ‘oh fuck’ hormones it contains, and sending them to your face.“You went inside my mind and took my memories from me.” This was what Claire was really upset about. Not that Maurice had betrayed us and aligned himself with the enemy, but that he had crossed her personal boundaries.“It wasn’t like that,” whispered Maurice. He was keeping his words quiet as though they would hurt less that way, but they filled the silent crypt we were standing in. “I did what I thought was best.”“Best?! You thought lying to me was best?” The surprise of it was wearing off now, and
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 240. Cockblocula
It might have seemed a bit risky to call out Joshaya. He was the person I’d been trying to avoid, after all. If him catching up with me unravelled Maurice’s power, meeting him could kill me. But that was also why it was safe to do so.If this version of Arthur was really Joshaya, then I’d already been in his presence, even told him I was dead, and was still alive.If I was wrong, it wouldn’t change anything, and if I was right, I should already be dead. Unless there was more to this whole being dead business than first appeared.I didn’t need to understand exactly how all this mumbo jumbo worked to realise whoever was holding death over my head as a threat, was also making sure I didn’t die.Not to blow my own horn (every boy’s dream), but I was important enough to keep alive. They needed me. Which gave me some leverage. Until I became so irritating that they gave up on their plans and killed me anyway.Joshaya rose to a vertical position like some un
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 239. Planning for the Future
We headed out of the temple with two of our members in wheelbarrows. Normally this would require some explaining. People don’t just push around unconscious bodies in gardening equipment, unless it’s a stag do that’s going very well.In this case, however, we were aided by the presence of druids, the local religious weirdos who everyone did their best to ignore.Coupled with the fact we were coming out of the temple everyone believed could do no wrong (never fails to amaze me how ready the faithful are to confuse turn the other cheek with turn a blind eye) and they assumed we must have had a good reason to use this particular form of public transportation.The crowds in the square simply parted for us as they went about their business. My own thoughts were preoccupied with the strong suspicion that Arthur, the one in the crypt, was another manifestation of Joshaya. The roleplaying was of a very high standard, and the cosmetic touches were really well done, but there
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 238. Lead Me Not into Temptation
“Destroy? You mean as in kill? You want to kill Peter.” The voice, for all its unsettling menace — hard to come across as anything else when you’re emanating from a stone coffin — had a tinge of genuine shock to it. He was horrified by the prospect of what I’d suggested. “Oh, I couldn’t do that. Absolutely not.”Disappointing.“You don’t control dead people, then? You aren’t a necromancer?”“I told you, I’m a vivimancer.”“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of that before. What does it mean?”“It means I can heal, I can prolong life. Other people’s and my own. It’s the reason I’m in here. My body was starved of food and air, but my life force abides.”“You aren’t dead?”“I am and I am not.”“And Peter put you here, but you still don’t want to get him back?”“Not by robbing him of life. I mean, I wouldn’t like it if someone did that to me, so why would I do it to someone else?”Someone had done it to him. I didn’t point this
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 237. Hold the Moan
There were four lights in all. Three smaller one, and the big one that seemed to do all the talking. The red balls hanging in the air suggested eyes, but not in a Sauron ‘I see everything’ kind of way, more a HAL ‘Hello, Dave’ kind of way. A harmonised version of Daisy, Daisy could break out at any moment.There’s a rumour, strongly denied, that HAL, in the movie 2001, was meant to represent the firm IBM. If you take a letter away from each of the letters in I-B-M you get H-A-L.But it was never the hardware that was going to be the problem for the future of mankind. If you made the same kind of movie today, the insane AI watching your every move would be something more like Facebook, but you’d face the same problem. You couldn’t use the name without getting sued. You’d have to take a letter away from each of its initials to make up a completely fictitious evil company. FB would become... Oh, wait.“You have returned to set us free,” said the big light. There was a
How to Avoid Death on a Daily Basis 236. Freedom for All
Jenny was not happy. She was the sort of person who prided herself on not being a nag. She presented herself as a supportive partner willing to back me up in whatever retarded idea I came up with. She’d tell me it was retarded, but that wouldn’t stop her having my back.Which is cool. People should only tell you not to do something if they have a better option. One they know works due to experience and wisdom, not because they think it will help them whore karma on Reddit.Under those conditions, hardly anyone would get to tell anyone else what to do. People would make mistakes, of course, but they would be valuable mistakes that would help the person grow and improve.This time, however, Jenny was not in the mood to stand by and allow me to go skipping off into the jaws of danger. Not without her mooring line firmly attached.“If he disconnects himself from me,” said Jenny, “won’t he die? I thought I was the only thing keeping him alive.”“Yes. Techn
