Parents lie to their children. They tell them that Santa Claus is real, that their father still loves them even though he had to leave, or that their mother will be just fine as soon as she finishes therapy. They tell them that the family dog goes to a better place when he doesn't come back from the vet and that the family cat who ran away will ( Read more... )

Voice Post (via phone)

Five times. Five that I've broken my promise and lost him. We never speak of it. There are too many literal monsters pounding at the door. Our conversations may skirt the edge of the topic, but it's our Medusa. Don't look at it directly. In our home, if you can help it, don't look in the mirror at all ( Read more... )

Apartment Action (first half)/Accidental Video (second half)[Niko's sleep becomes restless after midnight. A light sheen of sweat gilds his olive-dark skin and dampens the strands of hair that fall against his cheek. His hand tightens convulsively around the hilt of the knife he keeps beneath his pillow. Fine tremors of tension ripple through ( Read more... )

[New York City rarely lies in true darkness, and this is true of the city as Niko dreams it. The lights of Manhattan shine below him by the thousands. Millions more are aglow beyond the portion of the island visible through the tinted penthouse windows. Artificial illumination inverts the night sky, blocking the natural stars from view and ( Read more... )

"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future." - Fulton Oursler
It's easy to condition someone to live in expectation of pain. Basic survival instincts predispose most life to anticipate harm once it's been experienced. At the simplest level, future injury is mitigated by tactics of avoidance. In ( Read more... )

Voice Post (Accidental)

[Recording begins mid-clatter as the microphone and the PDA it's part of strike the floor. After the device has come to rest, there's only the sound of harsh, rapid breathing for several seconds. Then, uncharacteristically, a shaken but sincere, "Damn it," pitched for Niko's ears only (thank you so much, City and ( Read more... )

[Filtered to Cal//Unhackable]

You shouldn't play games you're going to lose, little brother. Why don't you come back to the apartment? We can discuss your plans for world domination over tea and a nice sedative.

[Filtered to Friends and Employees//Locked from Cal//Unhackable]I'm taking leave. Family emergency. If you know Cal, if you've ( Read more... )

My brother and I are half Rom. Our mother came from the Vayash clan, a family that had lived in Greece for several generations, intermarried with the local people, and incorporated some of the local customs. She severed ties with them of her own choosing when she was young. Over the years, she made her way as a fortune teller. People would come ( Read more... )

My mother wasn't much of a mother. Sophia. She was beautiful. Tired. Bitter. Alcoholic. She slept with a monster for money. It was always money with her. Which carnival, which trailer park, which desperate little hole in the wall could she go to next, where no one knew her and where she could hypnotize them into believing? She was a gypsy ( Read more... )

I'm certain I'll regret this, but I will keep in mind one small mercy. Goodfellow isn't here to seize the opportunity.

Truth.