Chapter 17: A New Hope

Author's Note(s):

We are officially at or past the halfway point in the story! To Celebrate, I'm opening a Q&A! If you have any questions for me, you can comment, leave a review, or head over to my Tumblr and send an ask or message. I will try to compile them together and put them in a chapter, though, forgive me if it takes a while. ASK ME QUESTIONS I DEMAND IT!

VikTheViking1 on Tumblr

The door opened to Blitz's apartment and he stood outside, looking in on the place he had lived for who knows how long, ". . . Man, what a dump."

"Are you going to go in?" Loona asked, waiting behind him.

He thought about it, he could turn right around and go to a bar, but then the only tv he could watch would be sports. Why couldn't bars play something interesting, like a kdrama, or my little pony?

"Yeah," he resigned himself, "I'm going in."

The pillows barely cushioned his fall as he landed face down on the couch. His hand searched blindly for the tv remote in vain. Loona placed it in his hand.

"You, uh, want to talk about it? Or just . . . Sit together?" Loona had never been taught how to be sensitive to other people's feelings, but she tried her best.

He turned his head just enough for her to hear him, "I'm sorry, Loony, I wanted to spend time with you today, I really did, but now I just want to be alone."

"It's fine, really. Just, let me know if you need anything, okay?" She swallowed her worry and guilt down, and went to her bedroom.

Blitz's mind immediately went back to all the things Stolas had said, so he turned on a rerun of an old Hell-a-Novela episode. He liked this one, the daughter's ex-boyfriend came back from prison but has amnesia from a gang-fight and doesn't remember her. A classic. Still, it wasn't loud enough a distraction, so he scrolled on his phone at the same time. His mind kept breaking free of his grasp and began racing through all the things he should've done and should've said, but it was too late. Nothing was working, so it was time to pull out the big guns.

Hay

He sent the text to a bunch of people on dating and social media apps, thinking that at least one person would want to hookup. That's what he told himself anyway, although he was really waiting on one message in particular.

Hello, how are you this evening?

Trent responded surprisingly quickly, as per usual. They had been chatting a little on Succuchat for awhile. Blitz had asked if he wanted to exchange selfies now, but Trent had said it might be fun to keep things mysterious, so they kept with the rules of Faceless Love; no pictures with people, or anything identifying for that matter. Blitz thought it was kind of hot to keep up the ambiguity, and was mildly concerned that he was talking to a registered s*x offender or something, but he had more than enough experience with weaponry to feel secure he could kill one guy if he did try something. And that was all assuming they would meet up someday, which he considered to be still up in the air. Blitz considered sending him something flirtatious, sarcastic, or dodging the question entirely. But he really did want to talk to someone, just not his daughter. Trent seemed like a very genuine guy, the kind of genuine that wrapped you up until you were tangled in it, too. The kind that made you slip up and tell the truth when you didn't mean, too. The kind that made you want to spill your secrets to an utter stranger, and watch him somehow make them float away, making the weight on your shoulders just a little bit lighter.

Blitz hated those types of people, all mushy, gushy and sensitive. He had too many secrets to protect to let them slip out.

Kimd of sh*t tbh

Well, f**k, he hit send. Too late now.

Trent sent back his custom succu-moji character, hugging Blitz's.

What happened, if you don't

mind, of course.

Just gut a not so frendily remimdr

from some1 of y I'm

the *ss crak of hell

I bet you have a wonderful *ss crack.

Blitz smiled to himself.

Obviosly

If the person doesn't know you

that well, you don't need to put much

stock into what they say. They probably

were just lashing out from a bad day.

No evrythin thay sed was

acurite I thimk I mae hav

hurt thwm by hrtin me

What do you mean?

I had alwyz asoomed that

I waznt wurth luvingg, espeshialy

not by some1 lik then, so

I didnt wunt to admit to mysef

tht I kinda likd them

But n0w Im thiking mabe I

realy did meen somting to them,

amd by pretedding I didt, I hrt

them And now thay wunt nothung

to do wit me

I meen they prbably just likd the

vershion of me they imagend but still

i didnt wunt this

Are you sure they don't just need some space?

Space iz somethin they hav

plunty of amd no. This was

vry…final.

I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know

if this helps, but I know the feeling.

u? arnt u a little 2 well

rownded to hav a tramatic bakstory

Even the people who seem the most

level headed have their problems. And

I assure you, I am a lot more disorganized in

my mind than I portray myself to be.

So who waz it?

Who what?

who made u feel

u kno

Unlovable? I suppose it started

with my father.

.Lol every1 i meet seems 2

hav daddy issuez and hear I

was pictering u to hav

decent parents 4 how caring

and trusting u r of strangers

onlin

You think I'm caring?

Blitz blushed to himself in the dark, and was about to uselessly try to gaslight him on having ever said so, when another reply came in.

Thank you. That means a lot.

He felt his heart do a little flip in his chest. Here Trent was, tricking him into being genuine again, the sneaky devil. Blitz grinned a wobbly smile.

Anyway ur Dad?

Oh, right! Yes, I couldn't live up to

his expectations, no matter how

hard I tried, and he had so many

children, gaining his attention

was difficult.

Same didnt hav alot of siblins, but

nothing I evr did waz gud enogh.

An he waz constanly guilt tripping me into his schemes, lik i

owed him ush*t for just

bein aliv

That's terrible! A child should never

be made to feel that way! It was his

choice to have children, and it was

your right to be looked after!

i know! the narsisitic

peace of sh*t hhahaha

"Like you owed him something"

honestly! Dad's are the worst!

Lol arnt u a dad 2

I know what I said, and I stand by it.

hhahaha

Blitz sighed into the pillow and kicked his legs a little.

u kno, I cant remember thu last time

i takd about my dad 2 some1

I'm glad you trusted me with that

knowledge. I'm sure it hasn't been

easy for you.

Or u I can't imagin livin in a howse

full of kidz all beging 4 affection

from a distant dad

Oh, I grew up alone for the most part.

I don't know my siblings that well. He

used to say there were so many of

us, he had to visit all of them before getting

back to me, but later I learned he was

actually just drinking mojitos enjoying

the 'single life'.

It was quite lonely in that house, like

I was on my own little boat, lost at sea.

Most of Blitz felt for Trent, but a small part of his brain was just curious how many kids this guy had and how much he had to pay in child support. Surely, the cost of a c*ndom, financially and comfort wise, would've been less than that of court ordered funds.

Sorry, I sometimes type or say something,

and only realize after how pretentious

it sounds.

Lol ur fine what did we say abowt

apollogizing so much

You're right, let me try again:

Did I sound pretentious just now?

thats better uve gotta ask

people who asume the worst r

d**ks, evn if itz about themselfs

Amd yes Yes u did

(Author's Note: What he means to say is that you can ask instead of assuming the worst. Assuming the worst does not actually make you a d**k.)

Gee, tell me in a harsher way why

don't you.

I'm kidding! I'm kiddin lol

Good because I was about to come

to wherever you are and slap you.

Slap me whear? Need me

2 bend over

Only if you beg.

Blitz laughed to himself, and his tail swooshed happily. He turned over on the couch and held the phone above his face. Just as he was about to send another flirtatious message, he saw that Trent was typing again.

Are you feeling any better?

Ya I guess I am Thx

No, thank you! I actually had a bad

day myself, after running into an ex.

Oh ya? waz it the same 1

u where tellin me abowt before

Yes, and sadly it seems there won't

be any reconciliation for us.

Well, aren't we too breasts in

a bra

I believe the phrase is two peas in a pod.

Minez better.

Iz it rong that Im kind of happy

it didn go well 4 u

A little wrong, but also a little right.

u wouldnt…happen 2 want

2 meet up or somethin wood u?

Blitz stared at his phone intensely, watching as the little dots on the screen danced, went away, and came to dance again. Never a good sign to see someone hesitate while typing. There was nothing he could do but wait, so he went to playing Flappy Queef on his phone. Finally, he got a reply.

I would love to! But unfortunately it

seems I'm booked out for some

time. Would the 17th work?

Blitz let out a sigh of relief.

Sownds perfect.

— — —

Loona had been very worried about Blitz, but she wanted to give him the space he asked for. She closed her bedroom door behind her and pulled a secret shoebox out from under her bed that she used whenever she was stressed and was sure Blitz wouldn't be barging into her room anytime soon. Out of it she pulled some blue yarn and a crochet hook, and sat on her bed with them.

Not long ago, she would've never dreamed of having a room all to herself, or being able to buy her own items. When she got her first paycheck, she wanted to buy so many things, and yet a part of her just wanted to hoard it all and never let it go. In the end, she settled on crochet materials, figuring that if Blitz decided to kick her out and she needed to make it on her own, she could use some skills and it seemed like a simple way to make something for quick cash. She had been wrong, of course. Depending on what she had been making, it could be incredibly difficult, but she enjoyed the process and focusing in to one space helped her calm down.

She had made a few things for Blitz. A sock puppet, a lopsided horse, a sweater that he couldn't wear because of the spines on his back that she forgot to account for, but he kept anyway. Each one, she had simply left somewhere for him to find, and later seen him playing with or admiring. He'd often show them to her, excited like a toddler. She had once asked where he thought they came from, and he had said some sh*t about fairies of evil karma that give you gifts for all the bad things you do. Whether he actually knew it was her leaving them around and was just playing along, or if he really believed that, she could never tell. He was just that type of stupid that he could make up terrible lie that bad, or believe that with all his being without batting an eye. Either way, it made her happy to see him happy, though she would never admit it.

Loona felt more at ease about Blitz once she heard him laughing in the living room. She could hear Hell-a-Novela playing on the TV, and she would have been outraged at him for watching the next episode without her, no matter how depressed he was, had she not heard the first season intro song play, when they were on the second.

Her phone buzzed on the bed next to her. She ignored it, figuring it to be just another notification, but it kept vibrating and it became clear someone was calling her, not texting. A spike of anxiety rushed in her veins at the thought of talking to another person on the phone, and she almost automatically pressed decline call, but she saw Octavia's name on the screen. She took a long inhale, then answered.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hey Loona. Is now a good time? Is Blitz with you?" Via sounded like she was whispering.

"Uh . . . As good a time as any, I guess. Blitz is in the living room. Did you want me to-" Loona started asking, confused.

"No, don't! I want to talk to you, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't listening in." Via corrected.

"Ah, got it. So, what's up, Princess hooty." Loona began calming down.

"Well, I was wondering what you were thinking about our dating profile plan . . .?" it was a vague question, but she didn't need to specify, Loona understood.

"Yeah, we should delete it. Clearly, they aren't going to communicate with each other unless they decide to." Loona paused, picking at her claws, " . . . I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Via was speaking louder now, it sounded like she moved to another room.

Loona fidgeted with her blankets, "Well, the whole fake dating profile thing was my idea, and I got you involved in the whole fake date set up, and I prevented you from preventing the fake date, and I don't know how things with you and your dad turned out after but I'm sure it wasn't great and-"

"It's fine! Don't worry about it. I thought it was a good idea, but we were both wrong, and neither of us could've known just how badly the date would turn out. I don't know what I would've done to prevent it from happening anyway. They were both already in there, talking. I think my dad would've been even more annoyed if I had decided for him that he needed saving. I mean, he could've made a portal at any time. He clearly wanted the chance to talk to him." Via paused, getting comfortable on her bed, "As for the thing with my Dad, he actually hasn't talked to me about what happened, like at all. It's kind of freaky, actually. He just sat down and started watching Hell-a-Novela while playing on his phone."

"Ha! That's what Blitz started watching too." Loona grinned.

"Of course, he did." Via laughed.

"By the way, why did you call me?" Loona asked.

"I told you, because of the big fight Blitz and my dad had?" She said it like a question.

"No, I know, but why not just text me?" Loona rephrased.

"Oh, well, I was taught that texting was very informal, and to always call if it was something serious." She paused, "Is. . . is that weird?"

Loona considered her words carefully, "Mm, not weird, just . . . not the rules of my . . . social class?"

"What are your rules then?" Via asked.

"I guess just not calling someone. Like ever. Unless you can't text them, or it's an emergency. Talking over the phone is just unnecessary and a little nerve-wracking." She paused, and brushed her hand through her hair, blushing, "Though maybe that's just me."

"Hang on, aren't you, like, a receptionist? Isn't answering phones literally your job." Via asked.

"First of all, I am very bad at my job, and second, it's different if it's a business, and it's also not my phone, so people aren't calling to talk to me, just to whoever works at IMP. And Third, I'm very, very, bad at my job." Loona repeated.

Via laughed, "You say that like it's something to be proud of."

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." Loona said, and they both laughed.

"Okay, so should I just delete the profile, and end it?" Loona tucked her legs into the blanket, since she was getting cold.

"Hmm, it would be weird for Blitz to up and disappear, wouldn't it?" Via asked.

"No, he absolutely would just straight up ghost someone he wasn't interested in anymore." Loona replied.

"Yeah, but even if that's true, my dad would probably still have questions and would try to find out what happened." Via said.

"Oooh, yeah, and the last thing we want to do is make him poke around more because of something we did." Loona layed on her side, "Okay, what's something that Blitz would say, that Stolas would accept, no questions asked?"

Via smiled to herself, "I'm sure we can work something out."

Author's Note(s):

We are officially at or past the halfway point in the story! To Celebrate, I'm opening a Q&A! If you have any questions for me, you can comment, leave a review, or head over to my Tumblr and send an ask or message. I will try to compile them together and put them in a chapter, though, forgive me if it takes a while. ASK ME QUESTIONS I DEMAND IT!

For those who don't know, the little dog/fly things that Fizzarolli has as pets and we see a picture of Stella as a child attacking, are called quieves when plural and a queef when singular. The Flappy Queef was a joke on Flappy Bird, which if you're old enough to watch the show, you probably understand the reference.

I actually downloaded Snapchat so I could have a frame of reference for making Succuchat, the hell succubus version. I used to have it some years ago, but I forgot most every part of the interface so I checked it out again. First of all, you can name yourself whatever you want on there, so Blitz obviously named himself something ridiculous which I will reveal in the next chapter. And Trent went with Trent because Trent is Trent and no one else, obviously. I decided that the little characters you make on it have to be succubi. It's part of the app's gimic. If you're not a succubus already, then you get to make a succu-sona. Like how many of the creators of the show have imp-sonas and hellhound-sonas. And those video posts aren't a thing in this version. Other than that, just about everything is the same as the real app.

My biggest supporter talked about my fanfic and called the characters "Blaze and Stoic" which was very funny. They don't know the show so they gave it their best guess lol

I struggled a little this time to switch between the character voices. Trent may either be Stolas or at least sounds a lot like Stolas, (I ain't revealing which) so my real dear editor helped me think of how a normal person would reply, and then "Stolas-ify it" as they said. Which is now one of my favorite verbs.

I also struggled with remembering Loona's and Via's voices, and I was going to go back and edit it, but Wednesday arrived, and I want to keep to my word, (plus I'm tired of editing this d*mn chapter) so we're just going to move on.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough. Chapters that include Blitz texting, since I have to write it normally, mess it up, and often have to correct it again, because I will have forgotten to copy and paste the original form, so sorry about that. Here is the translation of Blitz's texts as per usual:

Hey.

Hello, how are you this evening?

Kind of sh*t tbh

What happened? If you don't

mind, of course.

Just got a not so friendly

reminder from someone of

why I'm the *ss crack of hell

I bet you have a wonderful *ss crack.

Obviously

If the person doesn't know you that well,

you don't need to put much stock

into what they say. They probably were

just lashing out from a bad day.

No, everything they said was

accurate. I think I may have hurt

them by hurting me

What do you mean?

I had always assumed that I wasn't

worth loving, especially not by someone

like them, so I didn't want to admit to

myself that I kinda liked them.

But now I'm thinking maybe I really

did mean something to them, and by

pretending I didn't, I hurt them. And

now they want nothing to do with me.

I mean they probably just liked the

version of me they've imagined, but still,

I didn't want this

Are you sure they don't just

need some space?

Space is something they have

plenty of, and no. This was

very . . . final.

I'm sorry to hear that. I don't know

if this helps, but I know the feeling.

You? aren't you a little too well

rounded to have a traumatic backstory?

Even the people who seem the most

level headed have their problems. And

I assure you, I am a lot more disorganized in

my mind than I portray myself to be.

So, who was it?

Who what?

Who made you feel . . .

you know

Unlovable? I suppose it started

with my father?

Lol everyone I meet seems to

have daddy issues and here I

was picturing you to have

decent parents for how caring

and trusting you are of strangers

online

You think I'm caring?

Blitz blushed to himself in the dark, and was about to uselessly try to gaslight him on having ever said so, when another reply came in.

Thank you. That means a lot.

He felt his heart do a little flip in his chest. Here Trent was, tricking him into being genuine again, the sneaky devil. Blitz grinned a wobbly smile.

Anyway, your Dad?

Oh, right! Yes, I couldn't live up to

his expectations, no matter how

hard I tried, and he had so many

children, gaining his attention

was difficult.

Same. I didn't have a lot of siblings, but

nothing I ever did was good enough.

And he was constantly guilt

tripping me into things, like I

owed him something for just

being alive.

That's terrible! A child should never

be made to feel that way! It was his

choice to have children, and it was

your right to be looked after.

I know! the narcissistic

piece of sh*t hahaha

"Like you owed him something"

honestly! Dad's are the worst!

Lol Aren't you a dad, too?

I know what I said, and I stand by it.

hahahaha

Blitz sighed into the pillow and kicked his legs a little.

u kno, I can't remember the last time

i talked about my dad to someone

I'm glad you trusted me with that

knowledge. I'm sure it hasn't been

easy for you.

Or u I can't imagine living in a house

full of kids, all begging for affection

from a distant dad

Oh, I grew up alone for the most part.

I don't know my siblings that well. He

used to say there were so many of

us, he had to visit all of them before getting

back to me, but later I learned he was

actually just drinking mojitos enjoying

the 'single life'.

It was quite lonely in that house, like

I was on my own little boat, lost at sea.

Most of Blitz felt for Trent, but a small part of his brain was just curious how many kids this guy had and how much he had to pay in child support. Surely, the cost of a c*ndom, financially and comfort wise, would've been less than that of court ordered funds.

Sorry, I sometimes type or say something,

and only realize after how pretentious

it sounds.

Lol You're fine what did we say about

apologizing so much?

You're right, let me try again:

Did I sound pretentious just now?

That's better, you've gotta ask

people who assume the worst are

d**ks, even if it's about themselves

And yes. Yes you did.

Gee, tell me in a harsher way why

don't you.

I'm kidding! I'm kidding! lol

Good because I was about to come

to wherever you are and slap you.

Slap me where? Do you need me

to bend over?

Only if you beg.

Blitz laughed to himself, and his tail swooshed happily. He turned over on the couch and held the phone above his face. Just as he was about to send another flirtatious message, he saw that Trent was typing again.

Are you feeling any better?

Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks.

No, thank you! I actually had a bad

day myself, after running into an ex.

Oh, yeah? Was it the same one

you were telling me about before?

Yes, and sadly it seems there won't

be any reconciliation for us.

Well, aren't we two breasts in

a bra?

I believe the phrase is two peas in a pod.

Mine is better.

Is it wrong that I'm kind of happy

it didn't go well for you?

A little wrong, but also a little right.

you wouldn't . . . happen to want

To meetup or something would you?

Blitz stared at his phone intensely, watching as the little dots on the screen danced, went away, and came to dance again. Never a good sign to see someone hesitate while typing. There was nothing he could do but wait, so he went to playing Flappy Queef on his phone. Finally, he got a reply.

I would love to! But unfortunately it

seems I'm booked out for some

time. Would the 17th work?

Blitz let out a sigh of relief.

Sounds perfect.

— — —

VikTheViking on AO3 and Quotev

VikTheViking1 on Tumblr and Wattpad

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