The Initiator (A Lookism Fanfic)

Tetris Lacrimis

You shouldn't have gone to work today.

The day was unforgiving, with thick clouds brooding over the coastal town where I had lived most of my life. Rain pelted the streets, discouraging most from venturing out. But I couldn't afford to stay home-not today.

Working in a modest fish butchery shop barely kept food on the table, let alone enough to cover the mounting medical bills for my mother. Her battle with a brain tumor had left her tormented by voices, trapped in a reality that warped between lucidity and delusion. I'd do anything to ease her suffering, even if it meant sacrificing my own comfort.

So, when the opportunity for extra work arose, I seized it without hesitation. Joining the fishermen aboard "The Tetris Lacrimis," I ventured into the tempestuous waters, hoping for another meager paycheck to ease our financial strain.

The storm raged around us, waves crashing against the hull with relentless fury. Amidst the chaos, I labored to secure the cargo, my hands trembling as I fought to maintain my grip on reality. But as fate would have it, a violent swell sent me careening into the iron shelves, leaving me battered and disoriented. I don't know when, but I ended up fainting. It might've been the hits against the ship or the blood I had lost.

When my consciousness returned, it was accompanied by a sickening stench that wafted through the air. Disoriented and nauseous, I struggled to make sense of my surroundings. Once bustling with activity, the boat now lay eerily silent, cloaked in an unsettling stillness.

I Crawled through the suffocating haze of decay, trying not to breathe as much of it as I could. I searched desperately for signs of life, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and disbelief. But the only companions I found were the rotting fish, their grotesque odor a grim reminder of my isolation.

"Hello?" I called out, "Is anyone here?"

As panic threatened to consume me, I staggered towards the deck, each step a testament to my dwindling resolve. But even as I reached the top, I was met with a horrifying disappointment. It wasn't that the ship was disorganized, destroyed, or even had people on it. The boat looked completely abandoned. No signs of life or that anyone had touched the boat in over a decade. It was abandoned, and it didn't make sense. Rust and mold forming in areas with a slick slime coat around. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of a harrowing ordeal for me.

You needed to find something-something that made sense, something you recognized but couldn't. It appears the boat was wrecked or at least stalled between rocks. You couldn't think straight, but you pulled yourself to the deck and hobbled to the side. As you made it to the side, you ended up slipping due to the greased, slimy surface of the boat. You felt hurt, tired, and hopeless on the ground. What had you done to deserve this?

In that moment of profound darkness, as bitter tears mingled with the relentless rain, I couldn't help but wonder-what had I done to deserve such a cruel twist of fate, and is this how I die?

AN: Hi all, I think the first few chapters of this will feature Diandra's adapting to her surroundings and into the Lookism universe. I think by the third chapter we should be getting to the main setting of the story. Or at least to a part that some might recognize form Lookism. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to let me know, and I'll see what I can do. Without further ado, please enjoy, "The Initiator!"