[CW: TTG] The Dishonesty of Human Eyes

[Shamitako]

*Doot* Been wanting to cover Blink's backstory for a while now, and I have the motivation to do so now. This will be harder to understand without knowledge of TTG. Here's a link to the main RP if you're interested and want to try to sort through this mess

 

 

~Chapter 1: Ten~

 

"Let me go you jerks!" A young girl of about ten years struggled against a pair of older boys that had captured her. "Let me go right now or I'll make you regret it!" The boys laughed at the tiny blind girl with tomboyish dirty blonde hair. Not once had she made good on her threats, they had no reason to fear this one. "This is what you get for stealing." One of the boys, a burly kid by the name of Thomas, jeered.

"Thieves deserve a lot worse, we're actually letting you off easy." His accomplice, Sanders, added.

"I told you, I didn't steal it, I bought it fair." The girl insisted.

"Yeah right." Thomas said, "As if a useless blind girl could earn any money. Everyone knows you're a thief, Mel."

"Your parents aren't even on the council." Sanders added, he did a lot of adding to Thomas's ideas.

That was Amelia's cue to shut up. As much as she hated it, once the council came up she'd automatically lost the argument. Sanders's mother was the council head, she basically wrote the law. Amelia's parents were too poor to afford the council's membership fees. If Amelia continued struggling, it would make things even harder on her parents. So she swallowed what little pride she had and stayed quiet. All she'd wanted was a chocolate bar, but that was apparently too great a luxury for someone who didn't contribute to this screwed up society and its greedy council. One day Amelia was going to become strong enough to destroy it all. For now she had no choice but to endure as Thomas and Sanders beat her and laughed at their helpless victim.

 

Amelia arrived home a few hours later. She was bleeding and bruised, and her clothes were torn to bits. That last bit was the worst, wounds healed for free, but clothes were expensive. There was a clatter as her father rushed over to tend to her. "Mel!" He called her name worriedly, "Did you get in another fight?"

"No." Amelia mumbled, a bit of rage sneaking into her voice, "I tried to buy chocolate with the money I saved up helping take care of Mr. Seedler's mother. Thomas and Sanders beat me up and took it."

Her father hugged her tightly, planting a kiss in her bloodied hair. "Be more careful." He said, "You know luxuries are reserved for the productive. You're just a poor blind girl, tending to a dying woman doesn't suddenly change the rules."

Amelia knew her father was trying to protect her, but she couldn't help but resent how unwilling he was to fight the status quo. She loved him dearly, which was why more than anyone else, she had to prove to him that she could be more than "just a poor blind girl."

 

It was several days before Amelia would go out again. As nobody wanted to associate with the useless blind girl, she spent most of her days at home practicing her violin. She knew she wasn't very good yet, but she cherished the instrument regardless. It had belonged to her late grandmother and was the one nice thing she was allowed. she wished she could share its music with everyone else, but knew that if she took it outside then one of the council boys would smash it. So today she stayed inside and practiced. She pushed out more and more music, each note increasingly emotional. The sensation of the strings drew out her most powerful emotions. The rage she felt about her situation rose to the top. Her playing became more erratic and angry, pushing towards an unbridled screech. Just before she unleashed that screech, she stopped. She set aside the violin and in her rage headed for the door. She wasn't staying inside today.

 

Before Amelia could leave, her father returned home. He took one look at her and locked the door. He knew she was going out to pick a fight with the council boys again. It scared him to death. At first it had just been minor injuries but the violence had been escalating, now they were stealing her things, beating her unconscious, and tearing up her clothes. As her father, he didn't want to think about their likely next step. And so he made a decision right there. "You can't go outside Mel." He said firmly.

"What?" Amelia asked. She was not at all prepared for that reaction.

"From now on you are to stay in this house and you will not leave unless your mother or I are with you."

"No way. I have to go out there. I can't stand cowering in here."

"And I can't stand to see you hurt. This decision is final, you're staying in here where it's safe."

That was the last straw for Amelia. She knew her father was worried about her, but she was tired of even him treating her like she was some fragile glass statue. Her fist moved on its own, lashing out and slamming into his gut. Nothing happened, he didn't even flinch. This was the obvious way for this to go. After all, how could a poor, little, useless blind girl ever hope to harm an adult man? She couldn't even fight off boys only a couple years older than herself.

 

After that there was no more arguing. Amelia stayed inside and practiced violin. When she wasn't doing that, she could be found crying alone in her room. Every once in a while her father would save up some spending money and buy her a little chocolate. It always tasted bitter. The violin no longer had any restraint, it played every broken note and unleashed every screech in a fruitless attempt to release Amelia's rage into the aether. The long days began to flow together in a river of violin and tears. Amelia feared her life would go on like this for eternity, until one day her father didn't return home.

 

~Chapter 2: Thirteen~

 

Amelia’s lips parted from Sanders’ and she smiled. Sanders’ friends all congratulated him on such a score. Though she still looked quite young, Amelia had developed clear beauty that even the council children couldn’t deny. On top of her natural attractiveness, Sanders had spent a good bit of money bringing her up to standard. She now wore makeup and jewelry, her clothes were fashionable instead of rags, and she had deep red highlights in her hair. There was also the sense of mystery to her, she’d spent the past three years locked in her home, very rarely coming out. Her transformation from “poor blind girl” to “mysterious young beauty” had come as quite the surprise to her when she had finally been set free.

 

Her father had died the week prior. He received no service, he wasn’t productive enough for that, so Amelia had buried him herself. Immediately after, she had left the house to go confront some of the council boys. As she was searching for them, she ran into Sanders. She had fully expected him to spit in her face and laugh at her over the loss of her father, but he did something entirely different. He offered her a deal: Amelia would date him, and he would find a good job for Amelia’s mother. It was clear he was being self-serving, he didn’t actually value Amelia, he justed wanted to be able to show her off to all his friends. But with Amelia’s father gone, the chance of her and her mother making it on their own were slim, so she agreed.

 

Today, Sanders announced that he had officially caught the illusive beauty. Amelia wished she could actually be happy, but the past week had been hell. Sanders had been extremely controlling, forcing her to change how she looked and acted before he showed her to his friends. Whenever she had tried to protest, he’d pulled her hair and reminded her, “Who is it that’s generously employing your widowed mother?” And so yet again she found herself at the mercy of this cruel boy. At least he didn’t follow Thomas around and actually thought for himself now, it made him marginally more bearable to be around constantly. Still, sher hated every moment of it, and the physical displays she hated the most. She wasn’t a fool, she could tell he’d take them further soon. And what was she to do? Her life was in his hands.

 

One of the girls that Sanders had invited to meet Amelia touched her on the shoulder. Amelia recognized her voice immediately. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and motioned for the girl to follow her. When they arrived, Amelia turned and hugged her tightly. “Faerie, I missed you.” she said happily.

“I missed you too Mel.” Faerie replied,“hey, so what’s the actual story behind you and Sanders? I highly doubt he’s your type.”

“He got my mom a job, there’s not much I can do.”

“Oh.” Faerie said dejectedly, “I’d probably do the same thing. I mean I already suck up to him all the time.”

“It can’t be helped, his mom is the council head after all.”

“It still leaves a poor taste in my mouth.” Faerie spat a bit to emphasize the point, “Enough of that, have you heard about what’s happening in the Plane of Pride?”

“No. What is it?” Amelia asked.

“It’s crazy Mel, some girl our age apparently took over!” Faerie said, “I’ve heard people saying she’s a lord or even, get this, a god.”

“A god? Please. There’s no way a girl our age could be a god.” amelia scoffed.

“It’s just a rumor. But she really is in charge now. Can you imagine it, Mel?”

Amelia certainly imagined it. “Amelia Tolvaj, God of Envy.” She mumbled.

Faerie laughed, “You should totally become a god, it’d be so cool! And then not even the council could tell you what to do!”

Amelia laughed too, then became deadly serious. “Whether a god or not.” She said, “I’m going to get back at the council one day.”

Faerie’s tone seemed worried when she responded, “You can’t do that Mel. You’ll just get yourself hurt.”

Amelia smiled, a hint of pain behind it. “You’re right, it was silly of me to even mention it. Tell me more about the god.”

“Well, you know that mech suit thing people have been talking about the past couple years?”

“The Divination System?”

“Yeah. Apparently fighting with those is a sort of martial art on Pride, and this girl is a master martial artist. She’s apparently never lost a single fight.”

“Wow, she sounds awesome. But hey, we should be getting back before Sanders sends someone to look for us.”

“Oh yeah, we should do that.”

“Thanks for talking with me, Faerie.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

 

The two of them returned to the party. Amelia had managed to convince Sanders to let her play the violin for everyone. She went all out, three years of nothing but violin and raw emotion unleashed from the strings. It was imprecise and violent, brash notes strung together in an angry procession that somehow formed into a cohesive unit. The entire group was stunned into silence. Save for one. The sound of clapping resounded from the doorway. Amelia knew instantly who it was, his presence was unmistakable. “Such beautiful music, Mel.” Thomas praised. Amelia put all of her willpower into not lashing out at the snake applauding her. After what felt like an eternity, the other began to clap as well, praising Amelia for her performance. But Amelia wasn’t thinking about that, she was thinking about how she would master using a “mech suit” and become a god. She didn’t know how she would do it, in fact she was certain it was impossible, but Amelia swore to herself that she would find a way. And when she did, she would make Thomas regret ever hearing her violin.

 

~Chapter 3: Fifteen~

 

Amelia lay on her back. It hurt a lot, but other things had hurt a lot worse. “You wanna have another go?” Her opponent, a man she often sparred with who went by the alias Hardball, asked, “Your mech design this month is totally crazy. I have no idea how you control it.”

“I can’t, that’s why I lost.” Amelia said, laughing, “And no thanks, I’ve had enough for now.” Her mech, a simple metal ring, vanished and she accepted the hand the offered to help her up.

“How do you do that anyways?” Hardball asked.

“Do what? Pilot a ring of metal?”

“No, figure out where my hand is. You can’t see it, but you always grab it on the first try.”

“You always put it in the same place.”

“Oh, huh, I hadn’t noticed.”

 

Hardball always asked little questions like that. He seemed genuinely interested in how Amelia coped with her blindness. He was a good friend, the first Amelia had made since leaving Envy. The Plane of Lust was totally different. For one, there was no council to hold people down. Everyone was free to do as they pleased and succeeded or failed based on their own merits. There was a police force that kept the peace, and the woman that ran it was more or less in charge of the plane. But unlike in Envy, the laws here were fair and helped people. Future Seeker, the current head of the police, was known to be very fair, if a bit strict. Amelia was extremely grateful to her mother for saving up to buy her the expensive train ticket out of Envy’s hell, she just wished mom had been able to come along as well.

 

“So have you come up with a name yet?” Hardball asked, interrupting Amelia’s thoughts.

“I’ve got an idea, let me show you something.” She said, calling her mech again. She started it rotating and spun a few circles to gain speed. She then vanished, reappearing a short instant later next to Hardball and stopping.

“Whoa, how’d you do that?” Hardball asked, clearly impressed.

“I think it’s a glitch. If I stop and start again just right, I go into some kind of other dimension.”

“Don’t say it so casually, that’s crazy.”

“I’ve seen some others teleport short distances by doing it, but I think I figured out how to stay in there and move around. I’ve been practicing and can come back out pretty much wherever I want now.”

“So what does that have to do with your alias?”

“I was thinking of calling myself Blink. It’s pretty fitting, don’t you think?”

Hardball laughed, “Do I detect some sarcastic humor in that name?”

Amelia joined in laughing, “Maybe just a little.”

“One thing I don’t get, Blink, is how you intend to actually win with that nutty thing.”

“I’ve got a trick up my sleeve, I just have to get good enough at controlling it at full speed to make it work.”

“Well then I guess we should get back to sparring so you can show me.”

The newly christened Blink nodded, “Let’s do it.”

 

After sparring with Hardball for another few hours, Amelia headed back to her apartment. She still marveled at how tall the buildings in Lust’s city were, they far rivaled even the most expensive mansions in Envy and were packed into a much smaller space. She was about to teleport up to her room when a breeze came through, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. It wasn’t unusual to have wind fly between the buildings here, but this was different. This breeze had carried a message, it was not spoken in words, it was simply a powerful idea that she somehow understood. “Future Seeker, the God of Lust, has Ascended.” Amelia listened to see if anyone else had noticed, and she heard several others talking in surprise. It had actually happened. For real, a new God appeared. Amelia remembered back to the vow she made back in Envy. She would become its god, and she would change it for the better. And now she finally knew it could be done.

 

A few days later she was back sparring with Hardball again. Filled with determination by Seeker becoming a God, she had fought to master controlling her mech. Hardball was using an SMO mech that swung around and threw a pair of heavy metal spheres as its primary weapons. He tried his hardest, but he couldn’t pin down the illusive Blink. The one time he nearly hit her, she ducked out of reality for a moment to avoid the attack. Her plan was working perfectly, she’d already executed the laughing part of her condition and Hardball had tried and thus far always failed to hit. There was only one thing left, she pushed her movement into a perfect circle and attempted to speed up to max. She was sure she could do it, but maintaining a perfect circle at such high speeds was a lot harder than it might seem. But she refused to give in. If she could just make this one thing work, she could win. Even through the inertial dampeners in her mech, the massive G-forces threatened to tear her apart, but she endured. She pushed up to max speed and maintained her circular trajectory. And then she activated it. The signature she had carefully crafted to allow her to win against any opponent. Hardball’s failed attacks ceased and she brought herself to a stop.

 

“How’d you do that?” Her friend asked in astonishment.

“It’s my signature, once I fulfill enough conditions I turn your mech off for a bit.” Amelia answered.

“That can’t be, that sounds like cheating.”

“I have to maintain control of a metal ring moving just above the speed of sound while avoiding enemy attacks. I think instantly defeating my opponent after that is pretty fair.” To punctuate her point, Amelia stopped holding down the stream of vomit that had been welling up inside her.

Hardball was momentarily stunned, more by the vomiting than the fact that Amelia could perform such an insane task. “You, “he said, “are the most batshit insane person I have ever met. Are you sure you’re actually blind and not just so crazy that your eyes are scared to look?”

Amelia laughed at the joke, causing her stomach to turn and vomit again. As miserable as she felt now, she was proud--proud of the fact that she had finally found a way to win and proud that she, poor, little, blind Mel, was going to be a god.

 

~Chapter 4: Eighteen (Part One)~

 

Whispers followed in her wake as Blink walked through Envy’s capital. She had become a folk hero here. The girl with the silver ring, a long-lost daughter of Envy who had returned to tear down corruption. She took every challenge and came out of top. She stormed through tournament after tournament, winning each and every one with her blinding speed. Rumors had begun to spread that she would surely become the God of Envy and end the tyranny of the council. Blink wanted more than anything to make those rumors reality. She was on her way now to meet another challenger who would help her further that goal.

 

Not to much later, Blink screeched to her stop a ways off from her defeated opponent. “Cheating bitch!” he yelled. She didn’t bother to respond to that, she was used to the accusation by now. She simply held out her hand and said, “The money?”

Reluctantly, he handed it over. “Only because I have some sense of honor.” He said.

Blink shrugged it off and headed towards the teleporter that would take her back to town.

 

After walking for some time longer than should have been necessary, Blink began to panic. Had she wandered into the Wilds by mistake? Was this of all things going to be her end? Forgetting where a teleporter was? She stopped walking and listened, trying to discern if she was still nearby her opponent’s homestead. But something was off. It was completely and utterly silent. She clapped her hands together but no sound emerged. She began to panic further, the main way she navigated was by ear, losing her hearing would be utterly devastating. She frantically reached up to touch her ears, trying to discern what was wrong. But not only could she not touch her ears, her entire head seemed to be missing. She clapped her hands again and realized with horror that not only was there no sound, but there was no sensation of clapping at all. The only explanation she could think of was that this was her death.

 

Just as she resigned herself to an eternity of nothingness, she felt a cool breeze that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. She recognized this breeze. It whispered to her just as when Seeker had ascended. It didn’t carry words, but spoke to her in ideas. It had a question for her. It asked if she wanted to be a god. So many emotions tore through her in that moment. She had finally done it. Little blind Mel had finally become the God of Envy, Blink. “Yes! Yes! That’s all I’ve ever wanted!” She called out, he voice ringing clear in her otherwise deafened ears. The breeze intensified and Blink saw a golden light. At first she didn’t realize what was happening. She had been blind from birth, her brain could barely process this new sensation. Tendrils of light faded in and out, winding and unwinding in a gorgeous display. Blink was mesmerized. The light moved closer, illuminating Blink’s body against the nothingness she had always known. She stared down at herself. She had a general idea of what she looked like from touch, but to actually know what she looked like was beyond words. As she stared down, a lock of hair flopped into her view. She reached up to grab it, stretching it as far as it would go. She didn’t really understand colors, but she’d been told her hair was dirty blonde, so she assumed that this was what dirty blonde looked like.

 

After she’d memorized every inch of her body she could see (she was disappointed she couldn’t see her own face, as it was supposedly quite pretty), Blink returned her attention to the light. The breeze instructed her to reach out and take it. She held out her hand and it floated into her palm. A comforting warmth washed over her, emanating from the light. She didn’t need further instruction. Carefully, she brought the light to her chest. It’s warmth grew more intense as it touched her skin, but she didn’t feel like she was burning. She pushed it through her tiny bosom into her heart. The warmth spread throughout her body and her vision faded back into emptiness.

 

Blink awoke to the sound of her alarm. She was back home in her bed. She wondered for a moment if it had been nothing but a dream, but the image of her dirty blonde hair burned in her mind told her that it wasn’t. She touched her hand to her chest and breathed deeply, feeling the light’s warmth inside her. It was real, her own broken eyes had confirmed it. She was now the God of Envy.

 

She got out of bed and took a quick shower, preparing to go to the capital. While the common people had come to see her as a hero, the council and its lackeys hated her and the threat to their authority she posed. Well, now they were a threat to her authority. Finally, it was time to tear those greedy bastards down a peg. And even more than that, she had a personal score to settle with the new council head. He had stolen everything from her, there was nothing he had left untainted. But now she was going to make him pay for the pain he caused her.

 

~Chapter 5: Eighteen (Part Two)~

 

The council was in a state of panic. They had put so much into maintaining their power across the years. Now some nobody (by their standards) had come out of nowhere and stolen it from them. Worse still were the fliers that had been scattered about the city. An announcement, supposedly from Blink herself, declaring that there would no longer be any law in Envy and that if anyone had a problem with that she would be meeting challengers this afternoon. If the council could find some way to defeat her, then they might stand a chance of not being torn to shreds by a mob of angry commoners.

 

Their chaotic arguing amused Blink as she listened from the doorway. It took some time before one of them noticed her and called out. “You there! What are you doing here?”

“I came to introduce myself.” Blink replied, “I’m Blink.”

There was a massive uproar in response to this claim. Various cries ranging from, “You’re just some girl!” To, “Bitch!” To, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Blink waited patiently for the council to quiet down before speaking again, it took a while. “I just wanted to inform you all that those fliers are the real deal.” She said, “Send your best to face me at the appointed time, I’ll take them all on at once.”

“Wait a second.” It was the voice of a young man, the very one who had hurt her the most. “Mel, is that you?” Shock, disbelief, even a little awe. It felt so perfect, finally she stood above him.

 

There was a rush of air through the room. Blink vanished from the doorway and reappeared perched on the council head’s chest. One hand balanced against his shoulder, the other was pressed against his face, her thumb occupying his eye socket. Blink’s face held no hint of the calm and collected goddess she was mere moments before. Now it was contorted with rage as all the pain she had held inside her for so many years spilled forth as an unrelenting fury. Her tormentor made no sound or movement, his mind had yet to process what was happening. “Thomas.” Blink whispered to him, “This is half the pain I was born with, and barely a fraction of the pain you inflicted on me.” She pushed off him, causing him to fall backwards. His arms moved to hold his face, a scream of anguish leaping from his throat. His body made no move to break his fall and he fell rather painfully onto his back. Blink flicked the remains of his eye that had stuck to her thumb onto him in a final showing of spite. She couldn’t see the faces of the other council members, but she was certain they were terrified. And well they should be.

 

Thomas, that boy who had shown her so much cruelty through the years. Even when she lived with Sanders, the true source of her pain had always been Thomas. Whenever she gained something for herself he had taken it. And what little she had started with, he’d taken that too. It was no surprise to hear that he’d ruined Sanders family and taken over leadership of the council. He probably would have done it sooner had his favorite toy not been under Sanders’s protection. For so long she had wanted nothing more than to show him the true meaning of suffering.

 

Later, after meeting several solo challengers, Blink faced off against a group of eleven from the council. No one on the council was a skilled fighter, so she expected no trouble. This was little more than a show of force. Final proof that the old ways were going out the door. This was the council’s final chance to save their rule before the masses enacted their revenge. Of course Blink wasn’t going to let that happen. Sure there were a lot of them, her usual strategy of running away until she could pop her signature wouldn’t work here. But that was more than fine. She motioned for them to make the first move.

 

A storm of bullets tore through the air where Blink had been an instant before. The instant her opponents had made a move she’d been off. She spun herself parallel to the ground as she flew through the air, using the silver ring that spun around her like a buzzsaw that aimed to cut down a pair of council members. It was a pitiful attack that wouldn’t do much to even the weakest of combatants. It was too bad her foes were not combatants. The first was unarmored and fell aside quickly. The second was covered in metal plating, so he was merely knocked back and winded. Blink wasted no time as she ricocheted off the armored foe. She launched the whirling ring from her grasp, sending it flying like a deadly frisbee. She heard it bounce around the enemy ranks like a pinball, downing two more of her foes. As it fell to the ground, Blink momentarily dismissed her mech, causing it to vanish. A moment later it reappeared around her again as she shot forward into the group, quickly dispatching the majority of her opponents. Some tried to run from her, she easily outpaced them. Others tried to attack her, she dodged effortlessly. Even those that could defend against her attacks were quickly worn out by Blink’s relentlessness. Soon there was only one left.

 

“You’re certainly an impressive opponent, Mel.” Thomas sneered, “I’m going to pay you back for what you did to my eye this morning.” Blink would have been impressed that he’d made it out to fight after she did that to him, but towards him she could only feel rage.

“Go to hell.” She fired back, “You and your council have lost. Give up and maybe I’ll try to keep those whose lives you’ve destroyed from tearing you limb from fucking limb.”

“You don’t frighten me.” Thomas raised the axe his mech used as its main weapon.

“You terrify me.”

He charged, but Blink was well past gone. A sonic boom knocked Thomas to his knees as she reached full momentum. Laughter spilled from her lips, surrounding him in gleeful cackling. She went on far longer than was required for her to win. This was the end for him. Losing his eye had hurt him, but nothing would crush him more than having his precious council torn down by the blind girl he had so heartlessly tortured and stolen from all those years ago. Finally she would have her revenge for that night. And so she laughed in triumph as Thomas’s mech disabled itself. She didn’t have to see him to know the look on his face. The things he felt now were things she had felt many times over. The feeling of helplessness, anger, and defeat. Knowing that he could do nothing but surrender. Surrender to poor, little, blind Amelia.

 

End