The TV Works, but the Clicker is Broken - Chapter 5

 FIVE

“Every action has a consequence”

Sussy looked through every book and paper she could find about humans to learn more about hers. She knew he was male, that was obvious, human anatomy wasn't all that different from demons. The same basics are there. 

They eat pretty much everything, though they prefer cooked foods, and it looks like they need clothes.

Sussy found an old cage in her storage space, and placed a small dish with water and some heated up leftovers in it. There she found an old cloth from her cupboard. She cut some holes in it and dressed the lost soul in it. He looked confused at first, but after a few minutes he started to look relaxed.

While he was getting his rest Sussy searched for videos and step by step instructions on properly dealing with a lost soul. She found a good written blog by a demon who has housed over 30 lost souls. 

Lost souls don't thrive well in Hell, so no matter what you do, sometimes they just don't make it. But it depends on the kind of lost soul you have. You can take your lost soul to Doctor Buer Raymond he will assess it as a level 1, 2, 3 or 4 soul.

Level 1. Full soul human. They can learn tricks and you can train them to behave. Typical behaviour of a level 1 lost soul include excessive sleeping, crying, skating and occasional bouts of anger. Until a relationship is formed with you and your lost soul, they may be difficult to deal with. If you can enter their dreams to communicate with them I suggest trying that, (he posted a link to a How to Dreamwalk video tutorial.) Luckily Sussy, as a half succubus can already naturally dream walk into dreams of humans. Walking through the dreams of a lost soul would be no different. This level lost soul needs to have their soul extracted at the Crimson Bridge.

Level 2. No memories, soul to speak of, just a lump of flesh and nerve, runs on instinct. These souls typically lounge around, they don't like to do much, they are very subservient and move slowly. They can sometimes start eating themselves if they get too bored. Keep them busy with a toy, or get 2 of them so it can have a friend to play with.

Level 3. A soul with no body, mostly transparent, but still able to interact with the world. The typical behavior of a level 3 is spastic and quick. They have no body, so they can fly, which sometimes allows them to escape. Be sure to leave them inside if this is your fear. Be sure their house has a cage on it that they can't get through. A human soul can't travel through these rebind nettles as well as pass any salt lines. (He wrote a long list of different kinds of material that souls can't go through, and where to get them. As well as hand designed cages for your level 3 pet).

Level 4. The kind of souls you see floating in the river. No life, no personality. These do not do much, they are best left alone in a jar, or glass of water. They glow in the dark, but typically only when accompanied by other souls. If you find one, feel free to throw it into the river, eventually they make their way to the Pitt, but they glow lovely until they get there.

As a demon, your skin may be used to the strange change in temperature, and you will definitely be used to the smells and sounds of our great cities. But a lost soul is a sensitive soul. They require more silence, or delicate music. Most lost souls prefer the sounds from the era of 1900's. Be sure to play plenty of 70's disco, 80's funk, or any polka music. 

To make them feel more at home, get your lost soul their very own house. Even if you live in an apartment, buy a dollhouse for your lost soul to explore. They are relatively easy to find at a second hand store, or you could even make one yourself.

Be sure to feed your lost soul!Remember, lost souls lack the ability to know when they are full, so they will eat anything that's in front of them. Restrict it's eating habits to 4 times a day, and maybe a treat if it's been good. They will eat literally anything you give them, but they prefer green and orange things. Green things can be hard to come by in certain regions, so we suggest finding anything orange to feed them. Nutrition is not important to lost souls, so you don't have to worry about that.

You're going to have to put in a lot of effort when it comes to taking care of them, but it's worth it.

The article ended with a photo of the demon author and a tiny lost soul sittin on his shoulder. She looked terrified and confused, but she was smiling.

The TV Works, but the Clicker is Broken - Chapter 4

 FOUR

“It’s all relative"

Sussy had him sitting in a hat she'd found on her desk, while she fixed up an old shoe box as a quick area for him.

She lined it with sawdust, and made sure there were holes in the top so he wouldn't suffocate.

"There you are, little fella." Sussy placed him in the box. He slid out of the hat and sat in the middle of the box shivering.

"Poor little guy." She placed the box on her desk and looked in the drawers. She finally found a snack bar and broke off a piece for him. Then she put some water in a small dish in the box.

"Sussy, did you finish filing that paperwork for that showcase?" her boss called from the other room. 

"Yes ma'am." Sussy picked up the files and hurried into the other room.

Matt sat there shivering. He thought back. He'd been walking down a dried river, then suddenly the river flooded and he woke up in the hands of a giant monster. He hugged his knees to his chest. 

"o...k" He shivered and spoke out loud to himself. "I don't think this thing is going to eat me. It gave me water, and at least it didn't set me on fire." Matt stood up slowly and walked over to the water. It looked clean. He took a few sips and didn't realise how thirsty he was until he finished the whole thing.

Then he noticed the chunk of snack bar she'd left for him. It smelled salty, but it didn't look like an appetising colour. Matt nibbled at it, but decided he wasn't hungry enough for that yet. What water he didn't drink he used to splash on his face and gave himself a bird bath. Then he curled up in a ball in the corner and started to cry again

"Oh look! He drank all his water." Sussy said checking on her new pet. 

"Wow, where did you get a lost soul?" Bertha asked.

"I just found him by the river on my lunch break." Sussy covered the box so that the soul could have some peace and quiet. As cute as she thought it was, it probably needs to adjust to being here.

"He looks kind of heavy. I think he's a new arrival." Bertha sat down across from Sussy. Sussy sat at her desk typing something and making notations in a calendar. "That's rare."

"I know." Sussy looked excited. "He's so solid, you can't even see through him like the lost souls in the river."

"Do you know how to take care of one of those things?" Bertha looked over at the closed box. "They can be pretty high maintenance, and they don't thrive well in our environment."

"I'll take him to a specialist tomorrow, tonight I'll do some of my own research on how to care for a lost soul." Sussy remembered seeing a few how to videos and blogs for a while now. Maybe it had all been a sign she was meant to find this little guy. She peeked on him in the box, he looked cute when he was asleep. all curled up in the corner. Making cute little whimpering noises.

The TV Works, but the Clicker is Broken - Chapter 3

 THREE

“Energy is always moving and always changing”

After running for what seemed like hours he finally came across a river and a dock. The river got more and more shallow as he walked closer to the dock. There was a slender cloaked black figure by the boat. A thick mist started to grow closer to the docks as he walked closer to the boat. There was less and less water in the river with each step.

"Coin?" Said the man with a shadowed figure next to the boat. 

"Must be in my other pants." Matt looked down and sarcastically pointed to his pantsless hips.

"With no coin, I can not take you across the water." The boat man said. He looked at the water. It didn't look very deep. He could probably just walk.

"Most people have to swim, but it looks like no one mourns your loss." The boat man chuckled to himself. "What's your name, lost soul?"

"Me?" Suddenly he heard every angry teacher, parent or boss that he'd ever dealt with in his entire life all screaming the same name "Matthew." he said confidently.

"Well, Matthew. Good luck on your walk, I hope you make it to the Crimson Bridge before the Hellhounds find you." Matthew wanted to ask what a Hellhound was but he turned around to find the boat man, and his boat had disappeared into thin air. Matt walked off the dock and started to cross the shallow river.

The fog was so thick he could only see a few steps in front of him. He hoped he was walking in the right direction. If he'd been in a boat, at least he would have a guide.

The man at the docks had mentioned a bridge. Maybe he was supposed to find a bridge, all he needed to do was find the other side of this dried up river. He looked at a firm step in front of him before the fog suddenly fell.

There was rubble on the ground and water started to flow in from the side knocking him down and into the now fast running river.

Matt was swept under the water and then spat out on top somewhere further down the river bend than before. Trees and stones on the side of the river flew past him. He must have been going very fast, but where had this water come from all of a sudden? The water around him was very bright, and it had a different viscosity than usual river water. He wondered why. His wandering was cut short when he accidentally hit his head on a low hanging branch and he passed out and sunk into the river.

The TV Works, but the Clicker is Broken - Chapter 2

 TWO

“As above, so below “

He opened his eyes, slowly. He knew he had to run. He wasn't sure why or even where he was, but he somehow knew he needed to get moving. He sat up and looked around. He was in a pile of dirt, in some kind of strange dark forest.

The trees were far enough apart to walk comfortably, plenty of grass in between them , but the trees were old, tall and not maintained. It was an untouched forest, but where was he? Why would he be in a forest? How did he get here? He tried to think back but he couldn't remember anything. He couldn't remember who he was, let alone, why he was there. But he knew he had to get moving. 

"Maybe moving will restore my memory?" He said in a raspy voice to no one. Clearly he hadn't spoken in a while. He felt so thirsty. As he walked in the woods, not knowing where he was going, or in which direction he was walking he eventually came to a small clearing where he saw a small group of people.

The group had maybe 20 people standing in a circle around 2 very tall figures. He looked around to find any sign of sun, or moon, or even star to get a sense of direction. But he found nothing but the tree tops and the tall figures. Perhaps they would help them? Maybe these creatures knew something he didn't. The tall figures made a low humming noise that was very inviting. But he was still unsure about them so he kept his distance. As he stood near and listened, the humming changed to a message in his mind. He still heard only humming but somehow he knew the tall figures were chanting for everyone to come to them.

"You will be loved,

Fire will cleanse you,

You must be pure to feel his presents."

This felt suspicious to him. Two people in the group stepped forward and one of the tall figures morphed in shape. He became a large binding of circles, like five crowns of gold circling within themselves. Each crown was encrusted with gemstones of all different colours and it shone so bright it was hard to look at. More people came closer to the figure now. It hummed some more explaining that it was an angel and was sent down to make us pure enough to go to heaven. He walked closer and memories started to come back to him

He remembered being a young boy, causing trouble. He didn't remember the specific memories, only the heavy emotions that came with the memories.

He felt only the pain that came from growing up, learning, and life. He remembered all the bad things he'd ever said. All the horrible things he had experienced. He dropped to his knees at the edge of the forest. His pain was too great, he started to cry, he felt so confused and scared. 

Why would they return these memories to him? Why show him his name, but not show him his loved one's? Did he even have any loved one's? He remembered very little from his life, but surely it wasn't all pain and despair. Was this angel real? Was any of this real? Was he really dead? Then before any of his questions could be answered the angel shot a beam of light at one of the people in the small crowd and they burst into flames.

"Fuck this shit!" He quickly sprang up and turned in the opposit direction. Whether that was an angel or not, he was not going to go with it.

As he ran through the forest he remembered more things about his life, all the times he'd been scared, It was as if every emotion he felt he unlocked all the memories associated with that emotion. He remembered every time he was hurt, physically and mentally. Something told him that he had died a lonely old man. Now he was a young version of himself and running naked through the woods. Was this what happened to everyone when they died?

The TV Works, but the Clicker is Broken - Chapter 1

                                                                          ONE

“Everything has a unique vibrational frequency”

Sussy was sitting on the river bank enjoying her lunch break. It was nice to get some fresh air after being stuck in a dusty old building all day. The sky was a misty purple and the dark sky twinkled the way it always did. The river has a blue glow as a large chunk of human souls slithered by. She sometimes wondered if those souls could communicate with each other and have races. Or if they really were just voidless blobs that they looked like. The souls in the river didn't even have any features normal lost souls have. Just figures of their old self with a dull blue light.

Humans looked nothing like most demons. Though all demons looked different, some looked more like animals than people. Sussy was one of those demons who was half human looking, but most demons are too terrifying to really see any humanity in them. Sussy was a tall slender demon. Her lower half was a goat body, but her upper torso and arms were human, although she was very thin. She was basically a skeleton. Her face was not human looking. She had no nose, two large horns, a small sliver for a mouth and 4 large black eyes. She was always told she looked just like her mother, but she didn't know that for sure. Sussy had been abandoned at a young age, and had lived her whole life without any real family. But demons only live for thousands of decades, so what was a few million years of loneliness to a demon.

Sussy was about to pack up her things and head back to work when something caught her eye. It was something small, but it had a strange white glow, that contrasted against the dark green of the grass next to the river. As she got closer she realised what it was. It was a human. She'd never seen one in person. A lost human soul. 

She picked it up carefully in her hand. It was still and lifeless, but had a very light heartbeat. 

"It must be sleeping, It's quite a long way from the River Armstead." That was the main river lost souls would take to get to their afterlife. She covered him from the wind and blew lightly into her hands to help keep him warm. His eyes popped open and he immediately flipped onto his back. 

He was a buff triangle shape of a person. Sussy knew from experience it was impossible to tell the age of a human without cutting them in half, so she'd have to guess. He was heavy for a lost soul, but he was covered in hair and strange symbols and dark marks. Sussy wondered if it was natural or if he'd permanently scared himself on purpose. Perhaps it was a part of a new ritual the humans are doing. They were always doing new and strange things with their dead.

He started barking and growling in some unknown language. Sussy braugh her finger down slowly to place on his head. Once he fell silent she patted the top of his head and stroked his hair back. His face grew confused. She pulled her finger back and he continued shouting in his language. No doubt confused as to why he is here, or wondering what I'll do with him.

"I'm not sure what people usually do with lost souls when they keep them as pets. But I guess I can't leave you here." Sussy cupped him in her hands and headed back to the office.

I've got Creativity out the wazoo

I've got the itch. I want to let out my creativity. But I can't think of what to do or where to start. 

Maybe it's just that I have so many ideas I don't know where to start. Sure... Let's go with that.

I've still got my fan fiction. Kind of on hold because I don't want to kill anyone, so I have to back up and start writing again from a new point. I might not be able to stop everyone.

Problem-solving - Calming Techniques - Activity schedule

Problem-solving is a useful strategy to assist in controlling life's stressful moments.

1. Identify and define the problem area. Make it as clear as possible and objective as possible.

2. Generate potential solutions. Try making a list, include anything and everything you can think of. even the silly things.

3. Evaluate alternatives. Go over the list you just made and take out the unrealistic answers. eliminate any bad ideas, weight the pros and cons of the situation.

4. Decide on a solution. Be as specific as you can and give yourself a deadline.

5. Evaluate the outcome.


Calming techniques to use include... breathing slowly. in 4 seconds out 3 seconds ext.

Mindful meditation is always a good way to calm your mind.

In a situation where you can't get away to find a quiet place try tracing a box on your hand or leg. as you draw the first line breath in, and as you draw the next line breath out. ty and sink your breathing to your hand movements. it might help you stay more focused.


Keeping an Activity Schedule can help completing even the most daily routine with the feeling of accomplishment.
Try marking down what you plan on doing for the week, make a note during the day on whether you did them. It will give you a good feeling of accomplishment and give you a sense of what you can handle.
be sure to re-evaluate every week, if it seemed too hard, give yourself a break and maybe share the work if you can. work at your own pace, life isn't a race.