Fantasy 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔

[Aileas]

The Writer block

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A Peppermint Patty and Aileas writing collaboration​

It is the writer's biggest fear. The frightening writer's block. Suddenly, no more ideas come into mind, no more words. It is dreadful.

Unfortunately, Isaac McLean is no exception. After writing a dozen of books, he has no idea for his next novel. His publisher grows impatient but nothing comes. He feels like he has already tried everything in his capacity.

That was before a new meeting was going to change his life and to give a new birth to his imagination...

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

6:58 am​

He woke up. He could not sleep again anymore. He looked at the clock and sighed. 6:59. It was very early and he was still tired. He didn't sleep very well this night. Like all the other nights. His mind was always into reflection, preventing him from sleeping properly.

7:04 am​

He finally got out bed. His eyes were still half-closed while he was going to the bathroom to prepare himself.

7:38 am​

Dressed, he went to the kitchen where he took a cup of coffee. Nothing better than a cup of coffee to provide energy in the morning! He also ate some fruits and hot toasts covered of butter.

8:02 am​

He looked at the window. People were already in streets, walking on sidewalks, going to work. Cars circulated on roads too. The city was well animated from a Tuesday morning.

8:06 am​

He returned to the kitchen and prepared another cup of coffee.

8:12 am​

He sat down at his desk and sighed. The long and tiring day was about to begin. He opened his computer and turned it on. A white single page appeared on the screen. A white page... Not a sentence had been written. Not even a word!

It was the case since a few days. Isaac had to write a new novel, his publisher often sent him messages about it. He knew he had to write it, to write something... The problem was, he had no inspiration. He was out of imagination. His previous stories were successes, but he had no more ideas. He felt like he explored all his imagination. Like if he would never create something new. Each time he had an idea, he said: "No, it was already made by this author, it's not enough original", etc. People were looking for something new!

Everything had been already imagined.

That was a torture for the 32-year-old writer. Looking at his screen without being able to write even a word! It was a shame! He felt useless, as he never felt before. Something like that never happened to him before. He always had a new idea, an original way to get around the déjà-vu. But not this time. Nothing original came to his mind within the last ten days.

8:55 am​

He wrote ideas, sentences, but erased all of them. He wasn't satisfy at all. Far was the time when he wrote many pages within an hour.

9:00 am​

He stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare another cup of coffee, once again. He lived in a small apartment, he didn't have to walk a lot to join the kitchen. It would take few minutes. Only few minutes...

But he had not expected what he would find out on his way to the kitchen.....

 

[Peppermint Patty]

Nothing.
Nothing.
Then something.

The creature awoke from seemingly nonexistence quite quickly, considering how long he'd been gone. But though he'd been gone, he felt he knew why he was here. He knew everything about Issac- from his upbringing to his present. As if they'd shared the same brain all his life. It'd been extremely long since he'd last thought of Issac- or at least, since Issac had thought about him, and yet, here he was- right in the middle of his apartment, vaguely being able to hear the author from a couple rooms over sigh in disappointment. But it'd be best for him to wait to reveal himself to his old friend- so he bent and contorted his body in strange, impossible ways to fit himself between the top of the fridge and the ceiling, and craned his neck around.

The author simply sat there in front of his keyboard, starting from a blank computer screen, to scribbling this way and that across loose notebook papers. Every bout of frustration, anger and disappointment that the author had to give was felt by the creature himself as well. He knew all too well this sort of frustration- the same sort he'd felt from Issac when he was a child and had trouble completing an essay, or equation. The most gifted in writing, indeed, also had the hardest odds to overcome- their predecessors and themselves. And that seemed to fit right into Issac's issues. Though unsure how he was to help, the creature knew he'd been returned to Issac's life, unknowingly, to help patch up these literary issues and spark new ideas in the writer.

Suddenly, however, after nearly an hour, the author stood back up, stretched, and headed for the kitchen. Now would be a good time to reveal himself, yes? The creature waited for the man to near the room's entrance, and interrupted his progress in by stretching his neck farther to face Issac eye-to-eye. Then, once he'd made the man stop in his tracks, the rest of his body contorted and stretched to sit on the floor in front of him. First, there was nothing- and then, the creature's drawn-on eyes formed a slightly sneering expression. And lastly, without his mouth moving at all (not that it could), a low, growling voice emitted from him.

"McLean. Issac."

​

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

His little interruption to the kitchen was supposed to last only a few minutes, right? Only the time to get a new cup of coffee. Well... It didn't happen like he expected. Not at all.

He was entering the kitchen when his eyes were attracted by something on the corner. He turned his head a little and... He startled and nearly screamed. Actually, he screamed. An only red eye was looking at him. A shining red eye. He stepped back when this thing came closer. The front was red, with two little horns, and the back was black. It sat down on the floor in front of Isaac. Its... face began to move?! But the most surprising was when he spoke. Or at least he pronounced Isaac's name. It was a growling voice... just like a monster in children's books?

He was not able to pronounce a word or to move. He stayed still, looking at this creature that had just appeared in front of his eyes. A mix of fear and repulsion took hold of him.

He was becoming crazy. That was the most rational explanation. Thinking too hard about his new novel leaded him to imagine this weird creature. His mind was out of control. He began to fear himself. He was able to imagine such a thing?! And how did it know his name? Well, if it came from his head, that was obvious... Nevertheless, it was not for Isaac at that time.

After a few minutes, he finally recovered his voice. "What the Hell are you?" he asked.

He didn't remember he had known it a long time ago. For now, he was still under the shock of its apparition...

 

[Peppermint Patty]

The creature gave a gruff chuckle with its eyes closed, and then proceeded to trot his way slowly around the side of, and eventually behind Issac. As it passed, its long tail brushed by Issac's neck, and once behind him, he sat back down once more, nearly a foot taller than the human. His eyes closed, yet his smile remained, as if to give off a slightly smug, playful air to himself. He craned his neck around Issac's shoulder so he wouldn't have to turn around to see his face and spoke again-

"Come now, don't tell me you've forgotten. I can't well tell you want I am. I'm a who, created by a young you. Perhaps you don't recall immediately, or perhaps you are in shock. But I can guarantee I am not here to hurt you, we are on friendly terms. It will come to you sooner or later, possibly."

Then, the rest of his body stretched around to join where the head was, as he began to walk up the side of the fridge, onto the walls of the kitchen. One paw extended to the coffee maker, and he fiddled with it haphazardly, as he pulled the pot of it out and took it to his own head. He seemed to sniff the aroma from it as if he had a nose, and he shuddered a bit. He placed it back, spilling a bit on his hand, and then grabbed the powdered creamer container, rotating and eyeing it next.

"What is this drink? You didn't used to drink this. Do you have it often? What a pungent smell it has... Do you have any green tea I can make myself? I much prefer that."

​

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

That was weird. Extremely weird. If someone knew he had seen, no, imagined such a thing, his next place to go would be a mental institution for sure! It was of course not in his interest to speak about it.

He stepped back and stopped when the creature went behind him. Shivers went all over his body when it brushed his neck. Despite this he tried to move as less as possible. This thing was probably dangerous. He didn't know what it was capable.

In addition, it spoke. Forgotten what exactly? Had he ever seen this in his life? He didn't think so. Otherwise he would remember. Was he in shock? It was a certainty! Who would not be? Try to imagine yourself finding in your house, your apartment, where you are supposed to live peacefully. Just try to imagine a black and red creature with only one red eye staring at you, just in front of you. How would you react?

It said it was not here to hurt him, but it was still to be proved...

After that, the creature moved, walking onto the walls of the kitchen. It found out the coffee maker and began to touch it. That disgusted Isaac. He who wanted to prepare a new coffee... This plan had been changed. He didn't know what this thing was made of, and he didn't want to know actually. He would have to clean the kitchen, he thought.

It dared to ask for a drink?! Isaac sighed and was still disgusted of what he had in front of him. Would he have to live with that for a long time? He hoped he would not have to.

"It's coffee, and yes I very often drink this. It gives me energy" he answered without taking his eyes off the creature. "And I'm sorry but I don't have green tea. I don't drink tea. But I have water, or a little orange juice if you want."

Did he really propose some drink to this thing? Isaac didn't want to think about it. He hoped it would not attack him because it didn't get what it wanted. He glanced the drawers where knives were stored. At any moment he would be ready to protect himself. He hoped so. Those kinds of creatures had no pity nor empathy... that was what he thought for now.

 

[Peppermint Patty]

"Blech, what a strange taste you humans have. And that's a shame. We'll have to pick some up sometime. Perhaps we can go to the market later."

The creature clenched its eyes tightly, then sighed a creaky sigh. Then, he proceeded to peruse the cabinets without permission, grabbing a large mug and setting it on the counter. Then, he started pouring some coffee, mixed in some creamer with a sharp claw, and extended his paw to hand it to the man. He gestured to the mug with his head, a neutral expression returning.

"Go on. You have permission to move. You always have had it, but I feel it may be beneficial for me to clarify that to you."

As he sat back on all fours with his arm still outstretched with the mug, he looked the man up and down. It really had been a while since they'd last met, he was so much older. And judging from the place he was in, he figured this was his very own home. Perfect, there'd not be anyone else to deal with. Everything, on top of that, seemed to be well-kept, which was nice, as it meant he'd not have to do any cleanup. Issac sure was much tidier nowadays, that's for sure. He tilted his head to the side.

"So, any ideas come back to you yet? Are the memories of me returning? We used to be so close, last I visited, but friends can become so distant over the years, even the closest of them. I'll give you one hint, nobody else will be able to remind you of who I am. I appear only to those I choose to, and it was only you that I chose to last I'd been in your life."

​

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

A weird creature that drank green tea? Who could imagine that? Isaac, apparently.

Going to the market? What a crazy idea! Would other people be able to see the thing too? How would they react? It would be panic on board, that was sure. And if they could not see it... Well, Isaac didn't want to consider this option. Because that would mean he indeed became crazy or something like that. He didn't want to live with that the rest of his life! In addition, how could he manage the thing without speaking to it and going crazy in others' eyes? That seemed impossible. He was trapped into a deadlock.

The creature sighed a creaky sigh that made Isaac startle a little. For now he had to deal with this, he would think about others later on.
Then it... it... Isaac frowned. This thing was really giving him a cup of coffee it prepared?! It began with a good intention but...

Isaac still thought he had to do what the creature wanted him to do if he didn't want troubles. With precautions and no without disgust he took the cup. "Thank... Thank you..." he simply said with a low voice yet terrified.

The creature was staring at him and he tried to ignore it. But he didn't want to deal with this cup of coffee... After all he preferred to listen to the thing. He raised his head and looked at it.

Memories of it... It really thought they have known each other before. What made it think of that? We used to be so close it said. If Isaac wanted to deal with it he had to solve this mystery first. He looked more attentively at the creature. Four paws, black and red, an only eye, two little horns...

No, it wasn't.. it couldn't...

An old memory recovered in his mind. An old story that a man used to tell him. The man's name was Jason, to be exact. It was his mother's cousin who often took care of him when he was young. Isaac considered him as a father, as he never knew his biological paternal.

Jason told him a story about a little creature who was feared and hated by most of population. It was scary and everybody chased him away each time he came to the village. One day it met an old man who was blind. This man welcomed the little creature, fed it and considered it as a friend. He didn't see how weird it was, but he knew it was not dangerous at all. It was only looking for attention and love.
"Why did people fear it if it's not dangerous" the five-year-old child asked.
"Because you know, Isaac, people fear the unknown, they fear what they don't understand. And they judge according to appearance. That's it" Jason answered softly.
"It's weird, I feel so sad for the creature...." he said with little tears beginning to appear on his eyes.
"Don't be sad Isaac. If you want you can be like the old man. You can accept others for what they are and not what they look like. You should accept them like this, you understand?" Jason wanted the young child to have such values. He wanted him to be kind towards others.
"I will!" he joyfully exclaimed. "I'm going to be friend with this creature!"

After that he drew it. It wasn't very sophisticated as he was still a child and didn't know how to draw with details. Nevertheless it was enough precise in his mind to imagine it. The young Isaac used to feed him, talk to him, to give him all love it deserved; just like the old man did in the story. It was his best friend.

His best friend...

"I... I remember..." The 32-year-old writer finally said after a few minutes of silence. "I remember..." he repeated.

 

[Peppermint Patty]

The creature stopped what he was currently doing- which was now absentmindedly shifting through the shelves, and gave a low, brooding laugh. Then, he dropped what he was doing and made his way back over to the human, and pulled him into a one-armed hug, patting his back a bit. Finally, that was quicker than he'd thought. He thought it'd take an hour at least at that rate, but it seemed as if everything was fine now. Though he couldn't access his current memories like he could the past ones when he woke up, he could feel the familiarity between the two returning. He let Issac out of the embrace and patted his shoulders.

"There you go, there you go. That didn't take too awful long. Now you know I'll of be no trouble. At least, I'll try not to..."

Then, he stepped out of the way so Issac could have his way with the kitchen, sitting back on all fours near the entrance, as out-of-his-way as possible. He stretched both of his arms into the other room, weaving around the bed, and to the desk, and grasped for the papers Issac had been writing on, and reeled his arms back in. He took a few seconds to scan them over, then looked up at his friend.

"So, this is why I've been returned to your life, yes? You must be at a crossroads with your imagination. What are these for, exactly? Are you having trouble with a project I don't yet know of?"

Half of these questions he already knew the answers to, but it was polite to ask. After all, it wasn't his house he was staying in- politeness gets you a long way.

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

Isaac was still dumfounded. He had in front his eyes a creature that he considered as his friend when he was a child. He had 5 when their friendship began, and 11 when it stopped. It lasted many years, and he forgot it for awhile when he had just seen the creature again, at the age of 32. Why did it come back now whereas it seemed it had disappeared for years? Was there a reason?

Did everything happen in his mind? Or was it real? According to young Isaac, everything was real. He really saw the creature, he played with him and took care of him. It was real... for awhile. His mother had never entered in his game. Actually she had never been very close to her son. Jason used to let him do, he was only a child after all. However his classmates find Isaac weird. He was always speaking to himself and used to be alone.
"It doesn't want to play with you" he usually said when a classmate proposed him to come with them.
"Who are you talking about?" other boys asked.
"About him. About my friend!" he joyfully answered while pointing to an empty seat next to him.
They looked at him with wide eyes. They didn't understand. He is weird... they thought.

The young Isaac was wondering why others could not see his friend. Why others didn't understand. And one day, he stopped talking to the creature. "It has gone" he simply said when we asked him about it. And he never spoke about it again. For an unknown reason.

And now it came back.

Isaac was lost in thoughts, in his memories. He didn't see that the creature had moved to another room. It was now in front of the desk and seemed to look at what he wrote. "Don't pay attention to that" he said with an embarrassed voice. It was a bad work according to him. Only scattered words, without link one to another. The writer was indeed in a desperate case.

"I don't know why you've been returned to my life" he answered softly. "Anyway... I have to write a new novel. I'm working on it for awhile but..." He nervously moved his head. "... I will succeed it, I have to" he finished with an optimistic tone. He had to stay confident.

 

[Peppermint Patty]

"Oooh, do I really need a reason to visit my old friend? I'm sure you won't mind me here, I'm only here for a visit, not a home."

Against Issac's wishes, he kept reading the paper. It wasn't too bad, Issac was just being hard on himself, as usual. Some of these ideas could be used in his story- whatever it was. But there were other things he needed to do alongside what was written down to set it apart. He pulled Issac in with one arm and gave him the paper, then tapped the human's chest.

"It's a start. Ideas are fickle, they won't always be good, but you have things you can work with as far as these here go right now. You just need something to fill in the between parts of this novel you're working on. I suggest taking a break, if your imagination is burnt out it won't come back by forcing yourself to work without break. What do you do in your spare time? Perhaps something will come to you as you do that."

​

 

[Aileas]

Faceclaim: Jude Law

Isaac McLean
American - 32 - Writer​

The writer looked at the creature that was his friend years ago. It didn't change at all since the last time he saw it. It had the same horns, the same red eye. However Isaac was not any longer the child he was. He became taller, had slight wrinkles on the face. Many years had passed.

He was a little unbalanced when the creature pulled him with its arm. By the past it would have not bothered him, but now if he didn't find it disgusting anymore, he still found it weird. Why did he appear to him again? He still didn't know.

Isaac took the paper and looked at it with a desperate air. At this rate he would not satisfy his publisher for a long time. Even worst, he would not earn enough money to keep living thanks to his writing. If he was usually optimistic he began to doubt about his capacities. Was he not able to create an original story any longer?

"Unfortunately, a start is not sufficient. It has been days it's only at a start state" he said with a disappointed voice. He brutally posed the paper on the desk. "It's the first time I'm such embarrassed! The first time I'm out of imagination. Can you imagine?!" He became out of nerves. Even though he was pretty calm he could be irritated if something got wrong, didn't go as he intended.

A break? He considered he had enough lost time, though he had indeed not enjoyed break since he began working on his novel. From morning to night he was at his desk, thinking about ideas. From time to time he went to the kitchen to drink another cup of coffee that helped him staying focused. Sometimes he didn't eat lunch or dinner. His work was haunting him days and nights. His desire to complete it well.

He looked at the creature again. "Actually writing is all I do during my time" he answered softly. He thought deeper. Except from writing, what did he enjoy to do? As long as he remembered he had always a pen in the hand. Or if he had not a pen, his imagination was endless. He loved creating stories and characters. He was a quite lonely boy and didn't have many friends. Only one actually; this creature. He spent his time thinking about imaginary adventures. He was content of that.

"However... " he finally added after a moment of reflection. "I also enjoy walking." It might help him thinking about new ideas. Anyways it would be better than staying sitting down behind his desk where he only looked at his computer. At least if he went outside, his eyes would appreciate other landscapes.