readnovel

Fred Ribeaut is just a guy. A chubby, introverted, sarcastic Haitian-American guy who wants to go about his life in peace, enjoy time with his boyfriend, and maybe, just maybe, learn how to code. Unfortunately for Fred, the universe has other plans. Specifically, The Vague—an entity so incomprehensible that it makes Lovecraftian horrors look like cartoon mascots—once bestowed upon him an exceptionally small (by its standards) amount of Cosmic Knowledge when Fred was just six years old. Turns out, even a fraction of a fraction of cosmic understanding is an absolute nightmare to live with. Now, Fred exists in an altered state of being, which means: 1. He knows things. Random, often disturbing things. Enough to make people question reality… and his sanity. 2. He can see the eldritch horrors that lurk just beyond the veil. The problem? They can see him too. 3. He has limited access to "Localized Cosmic Events" (a.k.a. "magic") that he can use sparingly—unless he wants to be knocked out for two weeks. 4. His social life is complicated, seeing as he’s constantly dealing with existential monstrosities like KALARGH, THE ETERNAL SCOURGE OF WORLDS (yes, it must always be written like that), a giant, toothy eyeball named Feye-Do that follows him like a lost puppy, and of course, The Vague itself, which… well, exists. Somewhere. Maybe. Despite all this, Fred does his best to live a normal life, balancing eldritch nonsense, cosmic weirdness, and his loving relationship with his partner, Ben. Unfortunately, "normal" is a relative term when your reality involves casually chatting with the literal embodiment of universal entropy while grabbing coffee. Welcome to Existential Fred—where the horrors beyond space and time are mostly just kinda annoying. ***DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SHORT STORY WRITTEN IN AN EPISODIC FORMAT. DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROLOGUE''''S SIX EPISODES, AND ASSUMING I EVER GET OVER MY ANXIETY LONG ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY RELEASE THEM ALL, I MAY START WORKING ON THE NEXT SEASON, WHICH WOULD BE THE FULL DEBUT WITH PROPER BACKSTORY, LONGER CHAPTERS, AND A PROPER PLOT.***