#TimeTravelingGhost Part 42f: EP 3: 2025 Miskatonic University

#Wss366 #MastoPrompt #TimeTravelAuthors 9/19. Any references to other time travel works in your story? — No

Still puzzled, Skully opened the drawer and pulled out a local newspaper. The front cover announced, “The Pendulum Murder,” and underneath, “Another Spooky U Mystery.”

He rapidly closed the drawer. “From the day after you were discovered. Nothing futuristic about it.”

“About time-travel?” I nudged.

“Right, let’s see. You said, ‘Most people picture time as a single immutable line. My theory—and by that I mean your theory—is that time is closer to a high-pressure stream of water. All of time exists at once, and time-pressure keeps each contemporary timeparticle identical.’”

He took a breath, and I thought, “He has an excellent memory.”

He continued quoting me verbatim. “A small deviation in a timeline is easily corrected. For example, the rat I brought you. When I put it back into its cage, our timeline will be virtually identical to one where the rat wasn’t sent back in time. Even major changes may be smoothed over. If a large change remains uncorrected, that timeparticle flies out of the timestream, like a water droplet or minor spray.”

“Frankly,” he finished. “I thought all your drinking had #fried your brains.”

Emily called from the door, “Someone is coming.”

“Thank you, Professor Skully,” I said. “I suggest you forget this conversation, or you may wind up dead. There appear to be other time-travelers, and they don’t want to share their secret. Oh, and also, I was just a confused student and have left.”

“Wait,” he began, but I had already taken Emily’s hand.

“Best if I’m not seen here.” I didn’t add, “Especially if they’re #enamored with our rabbits.”

Judging by the loud voices down the hall, we would soon have visitors. We had to go now, and Amelia Earhart was who I thought of first.

… of driftwood floating further out caught the old man’s eye. Curious, he thought, that he should not have noticed it sooner. He waded out toward it. The piece was rather large, and looked to have words painted upon it.

“Siren’s Quest”.

Was this, by chance, the name of a sailing ship? Did he now hold in his hand a piece of some unfortunate vessel? And did anyone even still construct boats out of wood these days? Just how long had this plank been adrift? …

10/13
#wss366 #MastoPrompt #Writing

… whatever path remained, he would be unable to follow. The proper passage through this section of the woods was now known only to those who had come this way before, and an unguided newcomer such as he would surely lose their way in no time.

A lamentable outcome, but perhaps for the best. No doubt a young woman such as her would find it uncomfortable to discover herself being followed by an unknown old man as he.

Upon his return to the water, a piece …

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… sandals he had been carrying back upon his feet, and made his way over to the treeline. After a moment’s pacing, he finally noticed the remnants of what had once been a footpath. How long ago had it fallen out of use, that the flora should almost entirely reclaim it? Yet, despite all appearances of abandonment, this must be the route by which the woman had come to the beach.

Though his curiosity had been piqued, the old man quickly concluded that …

8/13
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… downcast, make her way back to the woods, where she would almost appear to melt away among the trees.

Now alone, the old man resumed his walk. Before long, he reached the point where he imagined the young woman must have entered the water. It was difficult to ascertain the exactly location, as whatever footprints she may have left behind had somehow already vanished.

He peered toward the woods. By now the woman was long gone. And yet...

He placed the …

7/13
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… the hem of her sundress. The straw hat upon her head was wholly insufficient to guard her pale skin from the intense sunlight, yet she remained curiously resistant to tanning.

On more than one occasion the old man thought to call out to the woman, to speak with her, and learn what it was that drew her to this very place day after day. And yet, he did not. He could not say what stayed him; it was as though some mysterious force compelled him not to …

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… but he quickly became #enamoured with her; as much by her mystery as her beauty. Every day she appeared out of the woods at the end of the beach, and made her way to the water with such a stride that she almost seemed to drift across the shore. He wondered that, barefoot as she was, she nevertheless looked to be unbothered by the desert-like heat of the sand. She would then proceed into the ocean, stopping just at the point where the waves might kiss …

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… soothing sensation, perfect for keeping the mind focused and contemplative.

Ah, she was here again today. Further down the beach, a young woman also waded into the water, as she had done every day previous about this time. Or, at the very least, she had been here every time the old man had been around to observe her. He did not come out on stormy days, yet he wondered that he might still find her here if he had.

He knew not the identity of the woman, …

3/13
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The old beachcomber shuffled leisurely along the shoreline. The water here was barely deep enough to cover his ankles. The perfect depth, he felt. For though the ocean tides were freezing cold on their way in, by the time they made their return trip, the sun-baked sand of the beach—by this time of day hot enough on which to #fry an egg—had rapidly heated the water to a rather pleasant temperature. The alternating coolness and warmth made for an altogether …

#wss366 #MastoPrompt #Writing
2/13

Confession of a Yandere (ヤンデレ彼女の 白状)

Love’s Paper Crane 愛の折り鶴

#RegardingSaekiSayaka #FanFiction (#BloomIntoYou)

#Wss366 #MastoPrompt

The four women sat in silence, pondering what had happened. Arisu and Touko seemed to have finally found a place of mutual acceptance, while Yuu and Saeki were trying to follow their logic. Even if the encounter between Arisu and Touko had been #unplanned, it had been an unforeseen boon.

Sarasa-san arrived with their order. “I hope it’s not cold,” she said, setting the tray down. “You were all having such an intense conversation, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“You see those two girls over there?” Arisu nodded toward Haru and her date. “Take this,” she said, handing Sarasa-san some money. “Bring them a pastry and cover their bill. If they ask who it’s from, say, ‘Someone who wishes to make amends quietly.’” She thought for a moment and then #called after Sarasa. “Oh, and give the athletic one this.” Arisu handed her a paper crane. “Tell her it's for luck in love.”

“I can do that. Enjoy your tea. And if you’re planning on watching the fireworks, there’s a little shrine at the end of the mall. Not many people know about it, but the view’s amazing.”

Conclusion

#TimeTravelingGhost Part 41e: EP 3: 2025 Miskatonic University

#Wss366 #MastoPrompt #TimeTravelAuthors 9/17. Wednesday snippet (optional word: strange)

Skully gave me a dubious look. I supposed the situation was #uncanny, but I had nailed it when I said this was the Metaphysical Research Building. One should expect the #bizarre.

Clearing his throat, he began. “You were studying parallel universes and time-travel. All semester, you’ve been saying you were on the verge of a breakthrough.”

“Three weeks ago, you showed up with a rat dyed pink, claiming it was from the future. I was skeptical, so you promised to deliver next week’s newspaper. I joked, ‘Next week’s laundry #list would do.’”

“The following day, you took a vacation. Events #crowded in after that. The day after you left, someone ransacked your lab and burned your notes. That evening, police found your body cut in half in two different cemeteries. It was quite the scandal.”

“Did you find the newspaper?” I asked.

He reached for a desk drawer. “It was rather gruesome…” He stopped, his eyebrows knit in puzzlement. “No, I don’t remember any newspaper.”

“Time-pressure,” I thought. The paper or the memory of it would destabilize this timeline. That I knew about time-pressure, AKA time-stability, showed that I understood more about time-travel than I realized. From what the professor had said, that made sense. Time-travel had been my area of research. It was just a matter of stimulating that knowledge to resurface.

“There must be time-wardens or something that disposed of me,” I said, swallowing the word “rabbits.” I sounded #crazy enough already.

“Go on, tell me about time-travel itself,” I said.

#ReturnToTheFateGear

16: Carson Napier

#FanFiction #OthersidePicnic #FateGear #EdgarRiceBurroughs
#wss366 #MastoPrompt

The trireme was now so close that the Otherside pair could read the name on the prow, Venus Falcon. The biremes had fanned out, threatening to flank the Fate Gear from the starboard and port. Meanwhile, the swift galleys marshaled to sweep in once the behemoth ex-prison ship was brought to heel.

“Hold your fire,” Mina bellowed. The order was as sudden as it was unexpected.

“Navigator, I wish to hail them,” the captain said.

Yuri flipped on the amplifiers.

"Hail, Captain Napier! You imperialist dog! Was Venus too hot a berth?" Mina’s voice boomed out.

The man at the prow of the Venus Falcon signaled, and a white flag swept aside the black. The thunder of a single cannon #report drew all eyes to the trireme.

Captain Carson Napier [Note 1] sheathed his sword before making a gesture not found in any book of signals.

“Fly the countersign,” Mina said into the hush that had fallen.

[Note 1] Captain Carson Napier: #Origin: The Venus series (also known as the “Amtor series”) written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Continued next week in Burning Down the Heavens.

#MicroFiction #TootFic #Serial #NMPrompts #NMV366 #NMMP #NMRTTFG
#UraPi #Steampunk #Pirates #Metal #JMetal #Satire #PoliticalSatire