Insinq Datum
Bio
I'm an aspiring poet, author and philosopher. I run a 5000+ debating community on Discord and a couple of Youtube channels, one related to the Discord server and one related to my work as a philosopher. I am also the author of DMTheory.
Stories (107/0)
Twin Souls
Chapter One: A Thorny Truth The enormous ruby dragon peered down at the altar, seeing to his surprise a human child, no older than two or three of their years, sitting by a crude fire. The child was staring into the flames as if in a trance, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was strangely alone on this old afternoon, with neither care nor caretaker in sight. The boy suddenly hiccupped and the dragon gave a nervous start, adjusting his weight slightly on the cliff overlooking the forest as he considered his options.
By Insinq Datumabout a year ago in Fiction
Warmth Without Fire
Argan the dragon was snoozing on his favourite cliff above the forest, where he sometimes caught the stray sheep which the fleshlings had grazing for a snack, one afternoon well into the summer. He loved this rock especially when it was summertime, as it was one of the few that caught the sun all the way through the sky rather than suffering from a late sunrise or an early sunset. Such were the woes of a lizard living in a valley. Why in the valley, I hear you asking? It's true that dragons are typically found inhabiting mountains, but I wonder if you knew that dragons are notoriously social creatures, and they make a great deal of their draconic abilities. A major feature of the dragon patriarchy is the ability to breathe fire, and Argan hadn't been able to do that for at least two summers.
By Insinq Datumabout a year ago in Fiction
- Top Story - October 2022
Inhabitation
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A new family was beginning to make the spacious cabin a home, and that started with their attempts to clean out the clutter and force the dust to depart. The candle that was burning in the window was one among many positioned variously around the house, light which added to that which emanated, along with warmth, from the fire burning in the hearth. These were a temporary necessary compromise with the brute reality of a winter night, because the power wouldn't be connected to the cabin for around a week. They'd moved to this cabin because they couldn't afford their family house anymore; all three members of this family have their own demons. This move is a way for them to try to get away from their past: to get a fresh start, and build a new life. The night is dark and long.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in Horror
Knock Knock
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Silas and his sister, Lucy, were walking their dog up the dirt path that wound its way around the ancient oaks when they noticed the light burning in the window. They both stopped still, staring silently at the cabin in an open question, and Hunter took his opportunity and pulled free of Lucy's grip, running over to sniff around at the rusting water tank that stood across from the dilapidated shack. Silas caught Lucy's eye, and shrugged towards the cabin, but she glared at him and, with a roll of her eyes, sighed, "This better not be like last time dude. Let me tie Hunter up." Without response, Silas turned back towards the cabin to stare again at the candle burning in the window, and suddenly he found his feet tracing their way towards the door.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in Horror
The Child Within
I've always had a complicated relationship with my father. When I was quite young, he used to play chess with me in the evenings sometimes, and I would cry when he would somehow always beat me ruthlessly, even when I thought I'd won myself some small advantage. Then, there was a certain point where it felt that he just gave up on me, and no longer had any time for me - he was too busy for me, that's all I knew. The worst thing was, I had three siblings, and he still seemed to have plenty of time for them... so maybe there was something wrong with me? As I grew older, I registered on some level his lack of interest in me, but I didn't really consciously recognize it for what it was, much less understand how I felt about it or the impact those feelings would have on my life.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in Families
Imposter
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Inside, Dantae and Sophia were busy getting the place ready for habitation, as it had grown dusty and fallen into disrepair over the years that it had been empty. They would have to stay in the cabin for at least a week, maybe two, while they waited for the lower floor of their house to be remodelled. The cozy little cabin was owned by Dantae's uncle for years before he died but for some reason he never used it, even though it was in a prime location for hunting and camping.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in Horror
Mind Goblins
What is a mind goblin? It is some entity, idea or phenomenon which is greedy for your attention and drinks it in, and which consequently occupies as large a space in your mind as you will allow it - a resource hogging program but for your brain, except that the program in question has no practical implications for the workload of the machine - malware, or a virus, basically. The way this can work is through a self-feeding loop of attention-grabbing behaviour, or through a near-instantaneous trance effect where the entity in question consumes countless seconds, minutes or hours up until the point that you realize you got got, at which point it is too late. It is, in other words, the imp of the perverse.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in FYI
A World Asleep
There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In fact, most of my tribe believes that there never were, and that the dragons from the old stories were just make-believe dreamt up by drunken bards who had too much time on their hands. I know different though. I've seen one - I think. I was out fetching fire-food one day with my kindred spirit when I glimpsed a gigantic, smouldering eye fixed on me through the gnarled trunks of those ancient trees near the entrance to the cave. Startled, I called out for my kin, but by the time I turned back, it had vanished.
By Insinq Datum2 years ago in Fiction