Before she knew it, she’d been pushed. Before she knew it, she was falling. A wave of gravity crashed into her as she flailed in the air and wind screamed in her ears. Then she hit the surface. Two years before her first death, Phoebe was plunged into darkness.

The moonlight did nothing to orient her under the waves. Her eyes immediately stung with saline. Thick, black water surrounded the child, filling the spaces left by her body as she sunk into the sea. A part of her brain was telling her to kick! but Phoebe was still; consumed.

Image: A view of the sea. The top half of the image is above the water, showing the moon and the night sky. The bottom half is below the water, showing moonlight streaming towards the depths. End description.

Image: A continuation of the last image. Moonlight continues to fade into the water, and at the bottom is Phoebe rendered in black and white. She is in the fetal position, with her arms and legs stretched towards the surface. A few bubbles rise above her face. End description.

A distant crashing noise snapped her out of her daze, and she realized that Nicole must have jumped as well. She wiggled, and then moved with more fervor, attempting to find the surface. Soon her sense of direction reached her as she felt her pained breath move up past her face. Phoebe followed suit with a few strong kicks, feeling as though the sea itself was desperately lifting her upwards. When her head broke into the warm night air she gasped and sputtered.

Rubbing her eyes, Phoebe turned to see Nicole watching her. The young girls were silent for a moment before breaking into a fit of nervous laughter.





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08.08.20
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I wanted to try writing little comments and blogs under these updates; sometimes I feel so distant and quiet on the web. Especially since I don't really use Twitter anymore.

I still need to make formal announcements about this, but I'm going to be an artist at Othercon! I've already started preparing graphics for my "table" and I'm excited. I still have one more piece to finish before I submit my art to the art show, lol. I plan on having a little section at my "table" (or in my table? Since tables are Discord channels) about Katabasis, so that will be interesting.

Also, I started my M.S. research up again recently... it's tough work! I have to leave my apartment tomorrow morning at 6:30 to meet my colleagues. Not too fond of that, but I enjoy what I do for the most part.

Last night I had a semi-lucid dream and I started flying. It felt amazing; more like swimming/floating in the air than actually flying though. I've had lucid dreams before but I've never flown in then and I wish I could do it more often.