△The New Fate of Paradise, my JSaB AU/Fanfic, is now finally POSTED! ♫
Okay, this is extremely exciting news. I have worked on this fanfiction for nearly a month (which is too long for me already lol) and it is finally done, with chapter 1 uploaded and chapter 2 nearly finished! You can read it here on AO3. I might post it on Wattpad, but the cover for it is still being worked on for now, so that will have to wait. Please enjoy, though! And reblogs are GREATLY appreciated.
And yes, this is the project I had planned that was inspired by one of the coolest people in the JSaB fandom: @pinktrashgoblin !!
The New Fate of Paradise - GDDanceFloor
(read more for a small sample of it 👀)
Paradise was that one place shapes of many sizes and colors from far away wished to belong to one day.
From the rolling hills, to the trees that stuck up from the ground, the sun that blessed the inhabitants with the beauty of its rays, it was truly fitting to its name. Nowadays, after an unfortunate event harmed Paradise and there was no choice but to rebuild after such, there were large, sky-high skyscrapers, some hosting homes for all sorts of families of Shapes, some for business, and some for stores. Music was always playing regardless of the location, and even if the urban area was constantly bustling with population, most residents of Paradise City loved being part of it.
The city surrounded one park that hosted a tree — a holy tree, as some would say, that shimmered a blue color brightly night and day and was believed to be the life force of Paradise as a whole, as well as the source of sheer ultimate power that had to be protected, which, in the event a Shape went rogue and decided to consume all the power for its own, it would create mass anguish for all of Shapekind and lead to utter annihilation of Purity, making it impossible to stop the evil. This beautiful thing was the Tree of Life. It bore many different kinds of properties that affected a Shape's body or mind, whether for purity or corruption, depending on their heart's truth.
Well, if regular Shapes were powerless against such perpetrators, who were the ones behind guarding the Tree, you may ask?
Four guardians, created by the Tree of Life after the devastation, were responsible and destined for keeping such a land safe from the evils that, to legend and rumor, roamed the outskirts of it, alert as ever from dawn to dusk to ward off threats. Though nothing ever happened, and they wished it'd stay that way forever, they continued to stay on guard regardless.
It'd only been a decade and two years since they'd been born, still growing and learning about the world around them, but even if their existence was still new, the fact that the legend of the Guardians born ready to defend even came true was considered a miracle by all Shapes, regardless of opinion or belief.
The young aforementioned heroes were known as followed:
Cyan, a tomboyish girl with light blue wavy hair to her shoulders and a cyan hue to her eyes, the very way she got her name, Tria, an adventurous boy with shaggy blonde hair and golden eyes, Penta, the straightforward and introverted one of the four who bore deep pine green hair twirled into two pentagon-shaped braids at the back of her head, and finally, Orange, though more on the dorkier side, he still was a sweetheart with his bright orange eyes and curly peach-tinted hair. These four were awfully powerful despite their smaller size, considerably much smaller than any Shape for that matter, but being blessed by the Tree at birth was nothing more than beautiful and lovely, as being chosen by something so important to protect it was nothing shy of special.
Now, an ordinary owner of a small cafe (which also happened to be her home) near the center of their land was Cube, a sweet, kind girl with a bit of a slouch to her posture and a bit wider at her sides, with eyes that probably needed some kind of glasses since she’d bump into things or knock stuff over frequently. Her hair was cut into a short neck-length bob, it being a pale pastel blue color, and her dark eyes often were low-lidded, only adding to her peaceful disposition. Around her neck was a light blue scarf, underneath that would be a dull slate tinted coat covering a minty teal dress and black leggings.
She was a close friend of the beloved Guardians, spending countless mornings and evenings with them with breakfasts and teas prepared by her. They'd known Cube since the festival years ago that celebrated their birth, when Cyan took note of a child that was her age and was the only one there without a parent or caretaker, and since then, the Guardians had kept watch over her and the Tree until Cube was old enough to be by herself. It was truly an unbreakable friendship, that’s why neither one of them took it for granted. Even if training had begun to double down with the team and they recently had less time together, the moments they shared were valued more than the quantity of them.
(OK THATS JUST THE INTRO BUT THANKS FOR EVEN CHECKING IT OUT ANYWAY I APPRECIATE IT AAAAAAAAAHGHGHG)
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I. — Cognac.
Failure knows no bounds
and makes its home here
within me
They Grieve — Wither
Martyrous
In a trans
Nero di Marte — Sisyphos
A dark evening in Port Nömbug. Wet concrete underfoot. Puddles, many puddles – thousands of puddles, as if it were meant to be. A population of fourteen thousand. Small four-story houses with families and singles living in separate huge apartments. The main contingent of the town is made up of paradisians. A few craft beer bars behind the back.
Three men are arguing with each other. One has clearly been drinking, big bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and working late. He is dressed in an unbuttoned, hobbled coat down to his ankles, with a knitted sweater underneath, black pants and shoes. He tries to keep his composure as a cultured intoxicated man might. The light of the streetlamps surrounds him and his two friends.
And the great northern sky stretches overhead.
Heated like a tungsten thread, the argument turns from the usual emotional dialog to a long great shout. One shout is layered on top of another. One of the trio, dressed in a sailor's uniform, hopes that people won't see it, that they won't call the police. The drunk one doesn't care about that – his soul has unfolded to the point of unbearability.
His scream pours into a fist connecting with the face of the sailor who tried to quiet him. A third man – a girl in a knit sweater and jeans – dodges his punch, goes behind his back, takes him under his arms. In an unspeakable floating frenzy, the drunken man begins screaming exhaustedly. Rising from the ground, the sailor punches the drunk in the face with all his might, knocking him unconscious.
The moon shows its pale face.
«Every morning is a new opportunity. Sometimes I don't think that's true, because I don't have any more opportunities. Unless I put a bullet in my head.»
Diary of Newt Garfield, dated October 8, 2026.
Newt came to my shop about the first hour of the day, when the clientele is nowhere to be seen. He is a frequent visitor to my establishment, and I am always glad to meet him, though he said he was afraid he was annoying me with his frequent appearances. We shook hands, and he asked the familiar question:
— What's up with the car?
My face changed threefold – the smile came off it. Newt noticed this and became slightly concerned.
— Something very serious, wasn't it?
I just nodded and told him to follow me. Soon we were standing in front of his car, a reliable BMW from the nineties. Nice interior, powerful engine, the works. The hood was open, the center of attention was the unfinished cylinder block. There were strange marks inside each cylinder where the piston went.
I simply told him:
— Run your hand over it.
He looked at me first, then reached his hand inside one of the cylinders and felt the walls.
— How does it feel? – I asked him.
— Like… sandpaper.
— And it's like that all over the block.
He looked back at me sharply, his face a look of confusion and concern.
— You realize it can't be like that. We're gonna have to take the engine off and rebuild it. Not just the block, but the pistons as well.
— So what you’re trying to say is that the engine completely fucked?
— It is.
— That kills my plans, – Newt said with a sigh, tucking his hand into the pocket of his long coat.
— Why's that?
— You said you were going up north with your family for a couple weeks, – Newt said. – Maybe even a month.
— Yes, – I answered, – but not today!
Newt looked at me with a strange look of surprise.
— I'm leaving on Friday, – I explained. – Today is only Tuesday. I'll get my brother and my son to help me – we'll fix your car and only then go up north to visit our loved ones.
— I see. – He held out his hand to me. – Thank you very much.
I shook his hand. He waved goodbye and then disappeared from my sight. Soon, when the rhythm of my heart matched the pulsation of the returning silence, I went outside, lit a cigarette, and looked up at the sky. It was gray and breezy.
«And whenever the wish appears, the will disappears.»
Diary of Newt Garfield, dated October 8, 2026.
He met me around two o'clock in the afternoon.
The place where my place is located doesn't get many visitors (unless it's on holidays, and even then it's not a sure thing – a lot of people just forget they exist), and sometimes I think about just shutting down the business, ditching my newfound friends, and going back to my country.
And that's what I would have done if it weren't for him.
Even though we haven't known each other that long (only a year), we're already thick as thieves. Once we were glued together, we'll never be unglued again. And he came to me one rainy evening – drenched, he asked for a cup of coffee, loudly placing two jsabs on the counter – loudly, almost with a slap, to hide the fact that his hands were shaking from the cold. I ordered and just watched: he gulped down the hot, scalding strong black coffee without sugar, left two more jsabs on the table, and disappeared out of the establishment back into the rain, turning into droplets.
And I figured that was the only time I would ever get to meet a rain man. But I was wrong.
He showed up at my place with weekly regularity, asked for the same thing – a cup of strong black coffee without sugar, always left a tip and disappeared. Between us there was not a single word, and we do not need words – we communicate and understand each other through looks, which could not but please (for several years of existence of my business, with any of the rare clients I have not had to reach such closeness).
And this day was no exception. It was overcast outside the window, I was smoking behind the counter, gradually losing hope that this day would bring anything at all. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. There was a desire to close prematurely, to return home and report to my father, who will once again tell me: fool, why I did not go to the teacher, as he did. The door opens abruptly, and he walks inside with a quick stride. He walks up to the counter, places the prepared two jsabs (a bill of exchange this time, which can't help but make me happy) on the counter. For a moment our gazes meet. I take the bill, and after a couple of minutes I hand him a cup of coffee. He silently drinks it, puts two more jsab (with the bill) on the table and leaves the place.
When he finally disappeared from sight, I left the place. I wanted to take a drag, but the cigarette in my fingers was already rotten. I threw the cigarette butt away and lit a new one. I looked up at the sky. It was even sadder in the blue haze.
«Dirty engine of thought, clean engine of blood. I'm still young, though I've been standing on the ground for half a century.»
Diary of Newt Garfield dated October 8, 2026.
«I couldn't be happier that you are continuing with this therapy, even though you previously thought it wouldn't help you.
During this session, I saw a change in your behavior – you became calmer and more rational. You seem to have started to go along with the darker thoughts of yours.
Your alcoholism is still seen as a problem. I am trying to develop a method that will benefit both of us in our way. All I can say now is that that matter is all about timing now.
As for me – you can be more independent now. You know the recommendations, so I'll take a back seat. You can still visit me, but now it will be optional.
Keep up the good work!»
— Why I have to lie?..
«Sense is being lost with every passing second.»
Diary of Newt Garfield dated October 8, 2026.
Alex A. wakes up at six o'clock in the morning in his house. He gets dressed and goes for a jog, and when he comes back, he takes a shower. When he comes out of the shower, he goes to the kitchen and eats breakfast. Then he'll go back to his room and start working on his next novel. After work, he'll then go out and then go to bed.
And so it has been for the tenth year.
Alex A. is an innovative writer from the cold Russian countryside. Slowly but surely, in Paradise and on the territory of his vast homeland, he released several books, immediately put in the level of cult writers of the northern lands. What set him apart from other authors was his lack of greed and maximum anonymity – no one from outside his circle of friends and acquaintances could get to him, even if they wanted to.
And in that circle of friends, surprisingly small, but honest with him and with himself, Newt found himself. They'd met at some trade show about four months ago-and they still walked shoulder to shoulder.
Alex A. sat in the kitchen, drinking his bitter herbal tea. The phone was lying next to him, and if Alex A. had been a dozen years younger, he would have had a manic desire to take it in his hand and browse the Internet, in order to somehow spend these quiet minutes. However, Alex A. has grown out of this obsession, and now he wants nothing – only calmness, peace. A chance to leave the world and go to his Nirvana.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Alex A. slowly and quietly put the mug on the table. In confusion, he almost grabbed the gun lying nearby. Who it could be was the main question in his mind.
— It's open! – he shouted.
The door opened. Newt appeared from behind it, reflecting the light from his glass eye into Alex A.'s face.
— Oh, it's you, – Alex A. said, unsurprised. – Come in, no need to fuck around at my porch.
Newt shyly stepped inside, took off his shoes, coat, and hat. Walked into the kitchen, sat down next to him, said hello to the writer by the hand. They started talking.
And they talked for a short time, but it felt like hours. They talked about everything that came under the hand of consciousness. The living room and kitchen became brighter. The tea cooled slightly.
Words were lost, and so was the meaning. An unbearable lightness of being. The cautious hand of consciousness pored over the options for continuation. Neural connections succumbed to the pulsing rhythm of music played through a non-existent turntable. Quietly becoming insane.
Thank goodness it all stopped quickly. Newt, under the pretext «I have to go, I have other things to do», promptly got up from his chair, walked out into the hallway. Alex slowly followed him and noticed him putting on his hat.
— Ah, answer me one last question, – Newt said, with a smug smile. – Your girlfriend's coochie – is it really candy-sweet?
Alex A. stood with a nonchalant expression on his face. It was like he knew Newt was going to say that.
— It's funny, it's really funny, – he said sarcastically and absentmindedly. – You know what's funnier, though?
— What? – Newt asked.
— You're almost half a century old and you can't put your fucking past behind you.
Newt stood up in exasperation. The phrase, said with almost no emotion, echoed inside his skull. Alex A. snapped his fingers and said as he walked away:
— Now that's really funny.
«White king, black queen. The illusory utopia of our lives.»
Diary of Newt Garfield dated October 8, 2026.
After watching the play, the Captain said goodbye to Helinia and went home. He didn't feel bad, but he didn't feel good either. It wasn't that the actors, the sets, the soundtrack, or the whole show in general had failed his expectations – he was just tired, and so he couldn't react normally to this theatrical beauty that Helinia had encouraged him to see.
Looking around, he saw nothing but buildings, as if fluorescent-lit, and street lamps that scared him away with their light. The captain wrapped himself in his uniform and quickened his step. He was uncomfortable with the light of these lamps and even more so with the fluorescent lights that surrounded the buildings as if they were divine beings.
It reminded him of a fairy tale he had heard a long time ago. The tale of the sailor who met the sea serpent. The tale of the sailor who went mad in the lonely and identical sea. A tale that hid a creepiness under the cover of simple words and wrong truths. I was a sailor for nothing, the Captain sometimes thought, inside the walls of his apartment.
Suddenly, stopping, he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Where the houses were taller than anything else in the world. Where there wasn't even a moon, and where the clouds pressed down on consciousness with a rabid, armed hammer. Consciousness, like the Captain, began to get lost among these high-rises, began to imagine some creatures existing beyond the boundaries of vision. Turn around and there stands Death, faithful to us all.
But suddenly he noticed a dim luminescent glow in the sky, which surrounded one of the black buildings with a halo. With shaky hands he pulled out his phone and turned on his flashlight, the Captain moved quickly, almost running, toward the building. The cars around seemed to be deformed creatures of metallic flesh and mechanical existence. When he reached the heavy metal door of this high-rise, the Captain noticed the sign: 14/2 Manserrate St. Right now he was standing at the foot of the high-rise where his alcoholic friend lived.
With ease in mind and body, the captain opened the heavy door, stepped inside. The stomp of his boots echoed throughout the stairwell. Climbing the three steps up, he walked to the elevator. There was duct tape on the doors and a sign that said: «NON-FUNCTIONAL». Disappointed by this fact, the Captain sighed and began to climb up the stairs.
Soon, Captain made his way up to the seventh floor, where Newt's apartment was located. He rested his hand on the railing, exhaled, and looked through the gap between the flights. The distance was vast. The captain, removing his hand from the railing to his coat pocket, looked around the doors, searching for the right one. Finding one, he approached, knocked politely. Silence – drinking, Captain thought, and glanced at the knob, which meant the door was not closed. He pushed the doorknob and stepped inside.
The apartment was quiet and dark. As his vision slowly adjusted to the darkness, Captain took off his shoes and carefully left them right by the door. He looked into the living room – no one was there, only the unshaded windows allowed him to see the deep dark blue color of the evening sky. He went into the kitchen and found Newt staring dumbly at his kitchen table, where there was an empty glass and a bottle of brandy. The captain sat down beside him, put his hand on the table and, looking at his drunken friend for a moment, said:
— This is the tenth year we have lived here. It's been about fourteen since her death and his disappearance. You've grown up, found a decent hobby that can pay for your needs, are among good and loyal friends. Yet you continue to brood over the past.
The captain took the bottle of cognac, examined the labels on both sides, stood up and put it back in the refrigerator.
— And we, – Captain continued, sighing, – are trying to get you out of this… self-assembled hell.
Captain returned to his seat. He moved closer to Newt, placing his one hand on the other.
— We don't care that you don't think anything will work. We don't care about your pleas to leave you alone. You're in a big delusion if you think alcoholism will solve your problems. Even if there is the tiniest chance of freedom, we will go after it. We'll try, we'll make mistakes and start over, but we'll fight to the end.
Newt continued to stare dumbly into his desk. He wasn't listening. He couldn't listen. All sound was drowned out by the churning of blood and the sounds of electrons transferring across neural connections. Captain lowered his gaze for a moment, thinking about what to say next, but soon came to the conclusion that everything necessary had been said. He stood up, and before he left, he reached into his pocket and said:
— Some stranger handed me this letter. – Captain took out a sealed flat envelope. Says it's addressed to you. Read it tomorrow and tell me what's in it.
Captain left the letter on the table, rubbed Newt's shoulder, and, after glancing at him for the last time today, left the apartment.
«Newt.
I don't know if this letter will get to you or not, and I don't know if you'll read it….
…But if it does, if you're reading it, know that your son is alive…»
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