#paradigmopen

sonny’s legs ached, staying in this form was painful for too long, but he felt he didn’t have a choice. god forbid someone were to see him, god he hated living in fear constantly. half a century ago, he was free, he was open to be himself and swim. he missed swimming, but all it did was give his mind flashbacks to the tank, that small, horrid tank that felt as if it was suffocating him with every second he spent in it. sonny didn’t want to think of the past, no matter how recent it felt. for merfolk, time passed like molasses; they live for so long its no point in rushing, that’s what his mother said and believed. sonny sighed, looking down at his warm coffee, his single pointer finger circling over the liquid, watching as a small whirlpool of caffeine form. he hated feeling helpless, hated feeling weak. he used to be strong, powerful, the best merman in the entire pacific. now, he’s nobody. a startling sound woke sonny from his self pitying thoughts, noticing that it was table being bumped by some person. he was quick to bark back at the other, eyes flashing bright blue before calming slightly. “what was that for, you dick?”

As she was walking down the street, lost in her thoughts, Achlys stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and, scuffing her knees against the hard surface of the concrete, cursed, wincing. “Damn it. Not again,” she muttered, eyeing the long, jagged tear in her black stockings. This was the fifth pair she’d torn just this week.

   SITTING at the counter, gaze fixated on the small screen of her cell phone, Hera shook her head at the utter disregard so many mortals had for their own life. Surely the fool who allegedly overdosed on this mysterious drug was mortal; they were just about the only creatures lacking in intelligence and common sense —  although some of the deities from her own pantheon came pretty close. “What a dolt,” she sighed, thinking it a shame that there didn’t seem to be a cure for asininity.

“   —— yes, this is fantastic pizza ... ”

“What,” Ki-Woong started to say, fingers clenching around the brochure some human had randomly decided to hand him - something to do with faith. “Hey - you,” he called after the quickly retreating back of the man who’d made haste for the opposite side of the street as soon as he’d delivered to him this rather thin pack of laminated papers - and frowned. “I don’t want this. Take it back ... hey!”

  ▎camera at the ready, jin-woon peered through the viewfinder, one eye closed as he brought the picture into focus; with a small smile, he watched the woman spoon applesauce into her child’s waiting mouth, then proceed to wipe his chin clean. “cute,” he murmured, quickly but skillfully snapping a shot of the scene before another variable, unknown or not, had the chance to ruin it. while photography was something he did to pay the bills, he also found that he enjoyed it, especially during impulsive sessions such as this one — when it was done for fun rather than for work.

❛   THIS IS RIDICULOUS,  ❜   Aphrodite harrumphs, the brown of her gaze scanning the flier as though in search of the fine print that would mark it as a hoax — Looking for love lost or never found? Then look no further, for the Love Guru is on the case. Let your journey to love begin!   ❛   AS IF THIS IMBECILE KNOWS THE FIRST THING ABOUT FINDING LOVE. ❜  If love is meant to be easily found, then what reason would there be for her existence?