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patchwork-crow-writes · 3 hours ago

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Ralsei is the Literal Personification of Abandonment And Self-Esteem Issues - and it's all because Kris threw him away in their childhood.

Been a while since I've done a long-form essay on Ralsei Deltarune! Chapter 3 and 4 really blew the doors wide open on this guy - how he sees himself, how he relates to other darkners, his place in the prophecy (and his attempts to subvert it), how he echoes the goatlike Dreemurrs but isn't a carbon copy of them, and his relationship with Kris Dreemurr particularly, entirely divorced from the SOUL/player possessing them. I've been swirling it all in my head over the past two weeks, trying to figure out what it all says about him, alongside what scant knowledge was established in prior chapters.

This is the result: a thesis that will lay out my vision on who and what Ralsei truly is, why he's manifested in this way, why he dotes on Kris specifically, and how everything ties together to explain some of his more... questionable actions in the chapters we have so far. Altogether, I want to provide context for his actions in previous chapters, his beliefs about himself and darkner-kind in present chapters, and where the future chapters might take his character.

Buckle in, this is going to be a LONG one.

Part 1: "I just wonder what... being "Ralsei-like" even is...?"

Before Chapters 3 and 4 came out, the question of "Who or what is Ralsei" was a rather open-ended one. Concrete evidence was scant, and what little could be gleaned from optional dialogue or careful observation didn't shed much light on anything. For every point that indicated Ralsei was Kris's horned headband, another would refute that and suggest he was created whole cloth as a character for the player's enjoyment. Was he a naive, inexperienced youth struggling to deal with his friends' big emotions, or an uncaring gamemaster who was determined to keep events on the rails? Perhaps he was a creation of Gaster - a Goner, like those transient souls we sometimes see in Undertale if we're lucky. Or maybe he was a Titan Spawn, rebelling against his ordained purpose and using his knowledge for the forces of light.

With the new chapters, what we got instead was far more interesting and compelling than any of us could have possibly imagined. What we got... was a scared, lonely, sad boy, burdened with knowledge he didn't ask for, raised in isolation from anything approaching care or compassion, desperate for love and camaraderie but never feeling like he truly deserved it. Alone so long he doesn't know who or what he is, so conditioned by prophecy that he sees himself as little more than a playing piece on a board much grander and more important than himself.

Yet, for the sake of his friends and their happiness... he tries to defy the fate set out before him. Write a happier ending for them... but not for himself. Never for himself.

Because he's a darkner. And darkners don't matter.

Part 2: "Just forget about us and make some real friends."

You do not have to play Deltarune long to get a sense of how Ralsei sees himself in relation to lightners (See: literally anything he says to Kris - we'll visit this later on)... or, for that matter, how he sees darkners as a whole in relation to lightners. Everything is framed through this lens for him, even all the way back in chapter 1:

And chapter 2:

All of which culminates in the bombshell revelation at the beginning of Chapter 3 - Darkners are nothing more than inanimate objects given life by some sort of "meta-darkness", permitted to exist only in a liminal, "indistinct" state of being. For all intents and purposes, darkners are entirely imaginary... and Ralsei is entirely, painfully aware of that fact, even as he's explaining it to Kris and Susie.

Astute players will have noticed clues indicating this truth, and even that Ralsei himself has known about it this whole time - particularly when it comes to getting Kris to gather up all the objects in the Abandoned Classroom to bring back to his Castle Town.

However, the implications of this knowledge that Ralsei possessed, or whether it affected him in any capacity, weren't fully apparent until he tried to "console" Tenna at the end of chapter 3:

"Mr. Tenna… I… understand how you feel. To want to be… important. To be… useful. Perhaps… you might not be watched much anymore… But… that doesn't make you a failure, Tenna! You've brought smiles, light into Lightner's lives… to Kris's family and friends, for so long. So, there's nothing to be ashamed of.If… that ever comes to an end. Darkners.. all become obsolete eventually. But we aren't "real", Tenna. We shouldn't make Lightners worry about what happens to us. It'd just… make them unhappy, wouldn't it?"

This speech is, for want of a better term, a trainwreck. If it was intended to provide comfort and solace, it did the total opposite, and it was only thanks to Susie's timely intervention that Tenna was able to rally. But what it says about how Ralsei feels about his station as a darkner - as the Prince of the Dark, no less - speaks volumes. Stated plainly, he sees the relationship between lightners and darkners as a purely functional, transactional one, where darkners are destined to amuse, entertain and bring happiness to their lightner betters. Once they can no longer sustain that function, for whatever reason... it is then their destiny to be cast out, disposed of, left behind and forgotten. In fact, he goes further than this, implying that darkners as a whole should be GRATEFUL to have been useful in any capacity, and that they should not lament their fate, in case they upset the lightners they are supposed to serve.

To most anyone else, this would be a horrifying portrayal of existence - but to Ralsei, it is his lodestone, the guiding principle that informs his every action. A true darkner would be happy to have served so faithfully, so he thinks... it's not as if he or any of the others are real, in any case, so what they think doesn't even matter in the first place. He will be useful to his friends - his masters - for as long as he can serve, in whatever capacity he can serve.

And Ralsei will condemn himself to abject misery in order to do it.

Part 3: "If anyone's going to hurt... let it... just be me."

To call Ralsei "self-sacrificing" is a level of understatement that borders on the tragically comic. He constantly falls over himself offering his services to Kris and Susie, ensuring they are happy, trying to protect them from things that might make them sad. He sees Lancer "transform" into a stool ONCE, then takes that transformation for himself so he can be a literal object for his friends to use at their convenience - even when there's an actual perfectly usable stool nearby.

(For the record, I don't kinkshame. Go off prince!)

Want more? Okay - Ralsei is so preoccupied with making cakes for Kris and Susie, but has never even attempted to try one for himself - and is then ashamed at how much he enjoys it.

Still not convinced? Okay - Ralsei goes to all the trouble to create bespoke rooms for Kris and Susie in his castle, AND all the major chapter antagonists (except King lol), decorates them all to their occupants' liking... and then we stumble across his room in chapter 4 and it's completely empty. Not even a chair to sit on - Nothing except a small window looking out into the world.

Ah, but luckily, there IS something he feels like he deserves: pain. Physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain... he's such a glutton for punishment that he won't settle for his own pain, but put himself in ever-greater anguish for the sake of his friends... and smile while doing it.

He'll suffer the crushing burden of knowledge, the tragedy of the final prophecy, Kris and Susie thinking he's weird, the PLAYER thinking he's suspicious, being belittled, demeaned, looked down upon and ignored... he'll take it all upon his own shoulders, and not once dare to complain about it.

And for what? To risk alienating the very people he cares so much for? To risk Susie's anger and frustration at his constant pussyfooting around difficult subjects? To one day take on too much, to watch as his careful facade shatters and crumbles around him, to burn himself out so utterly that he ceases to be of any use to anyone?

Good thing he's friends with Susie, right?

...right?

Part 4: "How can she be so kind...? How...?"

Susie sets herself in opposition to Ralsei's worldview from the very start of their adventure, rejecting her status as a hero and walking off to do her own thing. She rebuffs his lofty speeches about "prophecies" and "purpose", choosing instead to trust in what her senses are telling her in the present moment.

And she has very little patience for his more... self-denying tendencies. She'll insist he's real to her and Kris at every turn, she'll pledge to get him furniture for his room and make it the most "bad-ass room in the castle". She'll cut over his "motivational" speech to Tenna and replace it with her own, insisting that "someone wants you" and "no-one's getting thrown away".

Even when faced with the inevitability of the Final Prophecy - the tragic ending that Ralsei has tried so hard to stop her from learning about - she refuses to bow to it, shattering it into a million pieces and reassuring him it won't ever come to pass - because they won't let it.

So it is that Susie's example sets a fire in Ralsei's heart. He finds himself endlessly inspired by her, not in spite of her crass, irreverent manner, but because of it. Everything she does, she does because she WANTS to, not because anyone told her to. And that fills Ralsei with hope - hope, however dim, that perhaps they can defy the cruel fate set out for them.

But hope alone isn't enough.

Part 5: "Darkners... all become obsolete eventually."

This line, taken from the aforementioned trainwreck of a rousing speech to Tenna, perfectly encapsulates everything that Ralsei believes about himself, about darkners in general, and about the way things must be. And it stabs right at the heart of his trauma.

Because he has already experienced it firsthand.

This is the point where we must venture into conjecture - everything I've established over the past few minutes has laid the groundwork for my theory on what Ralsei is, why he's the way he is, and how we might predict how he'll behave in future chapters.

Remember Toriel talking about Kris's old horned headband back in chapter 1? How they asked her when their horns would grow in? How they wore it for months, before it suddenly, mysteriously disappeared? Those horns played a role in Kris's life, and an important one at that - they helped to validate their feelings around their identity, allowed them to feel more akin to their adoptive family, more like a monster and less like... an outsider. To have lost or otherwise misplaced such a treasured object would be unthinkable.

Now... have you noticed the way that Ralsei will fawn over Kris specifically throughout their adventures together? How he'll doggedly follow in Kris's shadow no matter what they do or how they act? How he'll excuse them any behaviour, no matter if he'd rebuke another for that same behaviour? How he'll go out of his way to reassure them, console them? Validate their identity, their talents, their choices - to an almost obsessive degree?

Put these points side-by-side, and you start to see how they correlate with each other - how Ralsei's behavior in the present follows on from the headband's role in Kris's past. It is the strongest indication we have that Ralsei's light world object is more likely than not to be that very same horned headband. Indeed, the parallels between them are so strong that once you see them, it's almost impossible to believe otherwise. It neatly explains Ralsei's almost crush-like obsession with Kris, his need to validate their identity at all costs, and his acute embarrassment and joy at being seen as their equal.

But my assertion goes further than this anodyne observation: I assert that, at some point after wearing the headband for months, Kris realised that they were NEVER going to be a true monster, a true Dreemurr... that they'd always be shackled to their humanity, no matter what. And so, far from accidentally losing the headband, they made the conscious decision to throw it away once they realised the lie it represented. It had served its purpose, brought joy to a child who felt like they didn't belong... and then its purpose was used up, and it was discarded.

Abandoned.

At a stroke, this explains all of Ralsei's strange behaviours - his obsessive need to be useful, his almost-slavish devotion to the happiness of his lightner friends, his twisted and utilitarian views on darkner-kind, and his own catastrophic lack of self esteem. He is TERRIFIED of being abandoned again, and will do anything in his power to remain useful, to not become obsolete and unwanted... and yet at exactly the same time, he sees it as his inevitable fate. One day, his use will run out, and without warning he'll be cast back into obscurity. And try as he might, there is nothing Ralsei can do about it.

He failed in his purpose once before... and he could just as easily fail it again.

Part 6: "Hearing that from you... I might just..."

I've mentioned before that Susie attempts to counteract Ralsei's narrative that neither he nor the other darkners are "real", and that none of them really matter in the grand scheme of things. She loudly proclaims the opposite, any chance she gets, asserts her profound believe that Ralsei IS real, and that they ARE friends. And not just Ralsei - her concern and compassion extends to ALL darkners. It's sweet and touching, and brings the two of them closer together.

And none of it has any effect on Ralsei's view of the world whatsoever. To him, Susie's grand platitudes are just that - they can enkindle hope in his heart that their grim future can be averted, and they can bring comfort in a moment of insecurity... but they alone cannot heal his trauma. Because while he DOES desperately want to hear those words spoken to him, it's not Susie he wants to hear them from.

It's Kris.

And we know this because there are two instances where Kris CAN say something approaching those words to him - once in chapter 2's Acid Tunnel, where they can say "It's nice that Ralsei is Ralsei", and again in Chapter 4, upon discovering Ralsei's unfurnished room, they can say "Please be yourself". And the way he reacts in both instances is telling:

The takeaway here is that, no matter how ardently Susie proclaims and validates Ralsei's fundamental identity and existence, it won't be until Kris echoes that sentiment, freely and of their own volition, that he'll begin to truly believe it for himself. It has to come from Kris - the one who had once needed him to validate their own identity, before they unknowingly consigned him to loneliness and bereavement.

Perhaps at that point, Ralsei's trauma can finally begin to heal from the damage that was done to him.

Part 7: "My own desires. My own... fears."

So. Now that we've reached this point... where does Ralsei's character arc go from here? How can we use what we've built up here to try and anticipate where Chapter 5 might take him, and how his relationships with Kris, Susie, and everyone else will change as a result?

We see glimmers of what it could look like in his talk with Kris, discussing him coming to discover his own likes and dislikes, his own selfish desires... contrasted with the "hobbies" he took up just as a way to further serve his lightner friends, and the internal conflict he feels at such:

I don't really have any hobbies, or interests. Baking, sewing, singing... those are all just... things I thought to do... for you two. But recently... I'm starting to feel like... like I'm developing my own opinions. My own likes. My own dislikes. My own desires. My own... fears. ...please... tell me... should I... Should a... Darkner... be feeling like this?

Do I think this means he'll one day abandon the persona he's so carefully curated up to this point? No - rather, I believe he will iterate and build upon it. His edges may become a little coarser, but fundamentally he'll still be the same caring, considerate fluffy boy we all know and love.

But that isn't to say there won't be bumps in the road along the way.

I brought up Chapter 5 specifically because of a few interesting hints about what it will entail. In Susie's trial against Gerson, he mentions the events of each chapter we've run into up to this point, and also this hint for Chapter 5's content:

Now, most people will see this and infer that this "jealousy" will be from Asgore, upon discovering that Toriel has shacked up with Sans. And while I do believe he will have his part to play, allow me to add another potential point to consider: I think RALSEI will be the one to experience this burning jealousy for the first time - and in its newfound intensity, make a crucial mistake that could wind up making things worse down the line.

Jealousy that he cannot be at peace with his purpose like the other darkners seem to be.

Jealousy that it took him so long to realise he could start to be his own person, independent of the lightners.

Jealousy that Susie's healing capabilities are beginning to eclipse his own, his "unique talent".

Jealousy that he cannot have what everyone else takes for granted - a normal, carefree life.

Jealousy that Kris seems to prefer Susie over him.

I believe that chapter 5 will be the point in the story where Ralsei's sense of purpose and obligation crashes headlong into his new, burgeoning wants as his own person, and he'll finally begin to reckon with the events of his past... how he was loved and cherished only to be thrown away without warning. The sadness and the bewilderment of such a traumatic event... but also, the resentment, the bitterness.

What had I done wrong to deserve such treatment? Why did I have to suffer like this? Why couldn't I have been kept, even if just as a memento?

Why won't Kris look at me the way they look at Susie...?

How can I get them to see me the way they used to?

Why can't we go back to the way things were before?

And where else would such an epiphany take place but the very space where another person struggles with their own questions about the past, and where every flower is seemingly grown for the sole purpose of proving his undying love to his former partner, in the hope that things may one day go back to the way they were before...?

Indeed, once you see the parallels between Ralsei and Asgore, they're almost impossible to unsee. And the more I think about it, the more certain I become that this is where Ralsei's character arc is progressing towards - a reckoning with the past, a lamentation at the present... and a resentment that threatens to burn down the very future he's fought for so valiantly up to this point.

And oh, what an inferno it will create.

Closing Thoughts: "I want to believe... it can change!"

Ralsei is a character who has been largely misunderstood by the fandom at large for a long time. Part of my motivation for writing this essay was to help steer people towards a more nuanced understanding of his behaviours, his role in the story, his potential past and future, and his strange, almost limerent connection with Kris. The scenario I outlined in the previous part was an attempt to show what I believe would be the most interesting and compelling direction for his character to go in, based on everything that had been established in both the game and my speculation up to that point. I hope that I have succeeded on this point.

I should say right now, for the purposes of clearing up any potential misunderstandings: I don't believe this potential is in any way indicative that Ralsei's gonna turn "evil" - just that he's a young person suffering a great deal from immense trauma and crushing responsibility, who doesn't have much experience with people, or even his own feelings, and who has the potential to lose control at a crucial moment. That doesn't make him evil - it makes him a person.

Likewise with Kris "abandoning" Ralsei - that act doesn't make them evil. Indeed, how could they have possibly known the significance of that action prior to reuniting with him years later? How many precious toys have you thrown away in your lifetime, and does the act of doing so make you some kind of villain? Perhaps in a world where darkners have the potential to exist... but otherwise, the question is ridiculous and doesn't merit discussion.

I suppose what I wanted to achieve by writing this essay is to allow people to see in Ralsei what I see in him - a flawed, tragic character, struggling to make sense of himself and his place in the world; to love and trust people as he finds them, not as he wishes them to be; to have the courage and belief to let go of the injustices of the past, and to face the uncertain future without fear... wherever it may take him.

I see a great deal of my own prior struggles in Ralsei. It's why I strongly believe that, if not actually autistic, he has been written with autistic coding in mind - the masking, the people-pleasing, the lack of finer social mores... but those same traits that endear him to me seemed to repel a great many others. I don't want a repeat of the chapter 2 times, I don't want his character to be defined by a misunderstanding like it has been up to this point. I hope that, after reading this, you all feel the same way.

Thank you so much for reading <3

special thanks to @dawnthefluffyduck and @bleakoutlo for their input and suggestions! :D

#long post #deltarune #deltarune spoilers #deltarune chapter 3 #deltarune chapter 4 #deltarune chapter 5 #essay #ralsei #ralsei deltarune #deltarune ralsei #deltarune essay #deltarune analysis #deltarune theory #deltarune speculation #character study #deltarune predictions #patchworkthinks

69 notes · View notes

yushi-ni · 21 hours ago

Note

I actually want a reaction to you dodging their kisses with the wishies now that you said it

ෆ NCT WISH ෆ 𝖽𝗈𝖽𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌𝖾𝗌

꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱ masterlist

summary; wish as your bf (𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇) to you dodging - avoiding - wiping off their kisses. you saw a trend on tiktok and decided to try it out on your bf;

genre; established relationship, fluff, maybe a teeny tiny little angst (if you squint your eyes)

warnings; obviously kissing, mentions of jealousy, a little playful pettiness, pda. !!!!! contains mentions of quick, innocent, kisses - pecks on the cheek for sakuryo but nothing more than that !!!!!

notes; ok so to make it a little more fun and diverse i tried to do different scenarios and locations for each member. so it’s not just all the exact same context yk, i hope you like it!!! lmk what you think!!!

──୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ──

oh sion (𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾)

absolutely flabbergasted, won’t immediately show it on his face but he definitely noticed how you turned your head away from him as he leaned in to place a kiss on your lips. silently scoffs to himself, out of disbelief, needs a few seconds to collect himself but will just continue on like you didn’t just leave him hanging. i mean, you didn’t do it on purpose. right?

the 2nd time he tried to kiss you, he was 100% sure you intentionally avoided him, nudging your face the other way, not even looking up from your phone. you were sitting next to each other on the couch, just doom scrolling, enjoying doing nothing after a long day. you noticed the way he kinda freezes on the spot, staring at the side of your face, looking for any signs of discomfort. were you mad? did he forget something important? what day is it? did he smell bad?

he sat back, still eyeing you from the side, why do you look so relaxed? was he imagining things? no he definitely saw you shift your position a little. his mind was racing, but sion being sion he was trying his hardest to keep his cool, at least from the outside perspective. with emphasis on trying because you had to swallow a giggle when you looked at him, question marks literally dancing over his head. visibly fighting inner demons. he tried so hard to maintain a calm demeanour but he’s literally made out of glass. his face quite literally has subtitles

by the 3rd time he already forgot about his previous missed tackles, “baby” he walks into the kitchen where you’re busy attempting a new smoothie recipe, you only hum in response. you can see him walk up to you in the corner of your eyes, coming to a halt when his chest comes in touch with the side of your body. one of his hands on your lower back, he looks over your shoulder to see what you were up to “that looks.. uh.. healthy” - “10/10 observation sir” you mix the whole bunch together, ending with an interesting colored drink. “you wanna try?” you looked at him, he shakes his head, watching your every move. you turned around, leaning against the counter, holding the glass in one hand and the other bringing the straw to your mouth. your face scrunched up immediately, sion can’t help but laugh at your expression; “eww who even comes up with this” more laughing as he moves over to stand infront of you, both hands leaning behind you, strapping you in between the counter and him. “i guess that’s what healthy tastes like, ugh” he snickers at your words, clearly amused. his face lit up by his usual bright smile and sparkling eyes, his previous worries long forgotten.

naturally he grabs you by the chin, leaning down to place a kiss on your lips, giggling in the process. you moved your head to the side as soon as his lips were almost on yours. he was quickly pulled out of his loved trance. you didn’t just dodge him. again. “wha- ya! baby!?” his mouth was hung open, eyes widened as he looked at you. scanning your face. thoughts racing through his head, some worse than others. then he saw a little glimmer of joy on your face, he knows this look in your eyes. you can’t suppress the little smirk, tilting your head to the side, batting your eyelashes up; “what?” you said, clearly teasing. he scoffed in absolute disbelief, betrayal if one could, “what’s wrong with you!?” he tackled you in a bear hug. you yelped, amusingly laughing. “i thought you were mad at me” he whined, leaning his head on your shoulders. “maybe i am, how’d you know?” his head shot back up, you sounded serious but the same grin was still plastered on your face. “oh fuck off stop playing with me, i’ve had enough” he cupped your face, almost aggressively, not letting you move this time, lips pressed on yours as he couldn’t help but giggle in the kiss

maeda riku (𝗌𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗒 𝗍𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀)

many emotions; offended, hurt, somehow also unbothered, surprised. he’s going through 10 different stages of grief as he’s processing what’s happening. he was tired, eyes heavy, fighting to stay awake as he was doing his nightly skincare routine, you were brushing your teeth next to him. he was looking at you, admiring what he’s able to call his, you leaned down at the exact same moment as he leaned forward to kiss you on the head. he stopped in his tracks, slightly taken aback by your sudden movement but not even thinking twice. you were brushing your teeth, ofc you had to wash your mouth. he just continued on with his own things

you were laying in bed, scrolling through your phone, catching up on some last updates you missed. riku was laying next to you, body turned towards yours as he was staring at you. half asleep, his eyes heavy as he sighed out. he had a habit of boring his eyes into you, he doesn’t even realise it sometimes. you put down your phone, swaying your body around, laying on your side, facing your bf. “you look pretty” his hand cupped your face, brushing your hair behind your ear. you only hum, closing your eyes for a second, feeling his fingers brush over your skin. his are focused on you, a combination of sleepiness and adoration. his hand on your cheek, thumb softly brushing over your skin. he leans forward, slightly hovering over you, hand more firm to keep your head still, leaning down, closing his eyes in the process;

“can you turn the lights off please” you said what? did you not read the room or was he the one misinterpreting the mood he was trying to set? “y-yeah ofc, baby” he stuttered, scooting over to reach for the night stand. “m so sleepy” you yawned, a mischievous smile plastered on your face that he didn’t notice. “goodnight riku” you yawned again; “mhmh goodnight baby” goodnight? where’s his gn kiss? is he hallucinating? he looked at you, eyes closed, peaceful as your soft breathing filled the room. no. no he was not making this up.

you woke up before him, reading your book when you felt the mattress move with your bf waking up. he turned around to you, arms up in a much needed stretch as he hums satisfied. he slept so well, last nights worries long forgotten. “g’morning baby” his hand rests on your thigh, softly massaging your skin. “morning” you smiled at the sight of your boyfriends cute morning look. puffy eyes, messy hair, lips slightly swollen and glossy. you brushed a hand through his hair, he opens one eye to look at you, adjusting to the bright light shining through the blinds. you put your book aside, laying down completely, nestling yourself into riku’s chest, arms around his waist. you can feel the warmth coming from his body. his arms pulling you impossibly closer by the waist. holding you close, his head resting on top of yours.

he feels your head coming out from under his. your eyes still a little drowsy, he smiles softly; “you look so cute right now” he brushed another strand of hair out of your face; “just right now?” you said sarcastically. riku softly laughed, “no, you’re always cute” you hum, earning another laugh from your bf. he looks down at you, his eyes sparkling even at this early hour. you can feel his body shifting as he stretches his neck down more, eyes slowly closing as he leans down. “woman! really!? are you still at it?!” he whined, throwing himself on his back. hands dramatically covering his face as he groans. you can only laugh, laying on his chest as you pull his hands away. “i’m joking, ‘m sorry” you lean your head on his chest, not able to hold your laughter. “i thought i was going crazy yesterday” he whined, laughing in utter disbelief. you giggled into his chest. “don’t do that again, idc about your jokes, put salt in my drinks or whatever but don’t pull this on me again” he pulled you up so you’re hovering over him. “i’m deadass, pinky promise to me” you laugh, earning a death stare from your bf; “ok, ok! i promise!” a deep sigh coming from him; “mygod woman, you’re actually worse than sionnie-hyung and his stupid pranks sometimes-“ he mumbles more to himself than to you; “can i get a kiss now or are you not done finished yet? i missed out on some because of your stupid jokes” you laugh, pressing your lips on his. both smiling into the kiss as you move together in a soft, almost perfect rhythm.

tokuno yushi (𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 ��𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌)

shock, betrayal, fear, sadness, surprise and anxiety is literally rushing through his body when you move your head away. did you mean to do that? did you not see him? he was literally next to you. 10 different emotions written all over his face, eyes boring into you. you were hanging out with sion, riku and your best friend. you were all seated on the floor around the table, playing card games with some snacks and lots of laughs. yushi was next to you, he sat sideways, leaning back against the couch, his legs open with you settled in between. your side to his chest.

maybe you just didn’t notice? he thought to himself. you looked very immersed in the game but he swore you moved an inch when he leaned down to kiss your cheek. his eyes shut up into the room, catching sion’s already focused on him, having witnessed the moment he couldn’t help but laugh to himself as he saw the expression on your boyfriends face, so you did dodge him!? the night went on, ditching the game as soon as the food arrived. pizza’s being passed around along with drinks and sides. you were joyfully munching on some pizza, yushi took a napkin and brought it up to your face to wipe away some sauce. smiling to himself seeing you so happy eating; “thwanwk wyou” you said, nodding your head satisfied. he could only giggle, pulling your face closer pressing a kiss on your cheek.

huh? another wave of surprise rushing through him. he looked at you. taken aback at the sight of you wiping your sleeve over the exact spot he just touched. did you just wipe his kiss off? stunned is an understatement to the way this man was now questioning every single thing that was on his mind. he scanned your face, desperately looking for some sort of explanation or sedating sign. nothing. you continued eating, focused on the conversation happening infront of you. not looking back at your bf for even a second.

you were all seated comfortably on the couch this time. drinks and snacks on the table, excitedly talking and laughing in a loud conversation. yushi was more quiet than usual, his fingers fidgeting with yours as he listened to the joyful laughter from his hyungs, talking about recent events that happened at their dorm. he wasn’t really interested in what they had to say tbh. his mind wandering elsewhere. he looks up every now and then, sighing, hands brushing through his hair or clearing his throat in an almost awkward way. you looked to the side, catching your bf already staring at you. you could clearly see the pleading look in his eyes, his eyes flickering from left to right, trying to read your thoughts. you smiled, your hand squeezing his, a quick wave of relief visibly seen on his face as he smiled back. ok maybe he was actually just imagining things? you wouldn’t smile if you were mad at him right? i mean, you’re holding his hand now? so you can’t be upset with him.. right?

you were on refill duty, busy filling up the tray with more chips, cookies and anything else you could find. your bf followed behind you, pretending to be helpful. you opened a new bag of sour gummy worms, taking one yourself as you held another one out for yushi to eat. you felt a bit playful, slightly grinned to yourself; “are you having fun, baby?” you eyed your bf, who was nodding his head only humming in response; “mhuh” you held out another gummy worm, but as he tried to take it from you, you pulled it back, his eyes following the candy like it was his prey. “what’s wrong?” you ask, an innocent tone in your voice. “nothings wrong” he shot back. he followed your every move as you scooted closer to him. “what” he asked, your eyes burning on his face, his hands naturally rest on your hips, yours draped around his neck. “nothing” you said this time. he sighs, a breath he wasn’t even aware that he was holding. you pulled him down, slightly, almost unnoticeable but he leaned down, eyes still on yours, lips slightly puckered when you swung your head to the side again. “ehhhhh!?” (yk the ‘eh’ habit yushi has, pls he’s so cute) you burst out laughing, “i’m joking, i’m joking!” he throws his head back, letting out a mix between a whine and cry. you pull his head back, still laughing, your hands cupping his cheeks, pulling him down, pressing repetitive kisses all over his face. “i was just joking, i would never avoid your kisses” you said in between kisses. yushi let out a soft chuckle, relieved, he looks at you, rolling his eyes at your amused look; “that was not funny” he whined. now both giggling, relaxing in your hold as he finally pressed his lips on yours, letting out all the build up tension in his body.

kim jaehee (𝗌𝗍𝗎𝖽𝗒 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌)

he’s a little hurt. sadness rushing through him, brain working overhours as he tries to figure out why you avoid his kisses. at first he thought you unintentionally moved your head away, so focused on your notes infront of you. you sat at your desk, one knee up the chair, your head resting on top, eyes drowsy as your pen is ticking against the desk. jaehee was sitting next to you, watching a video on his phone, airpods in his ears so he won’t distract you. a smile on his face, literally from ear to ear, eyes glittering with adoration as he pats your head, not being able to hold back his cuteness aggression. you slightly lean into his touch, a sigh slipping past your lips, jaehee chuckled to himself, leaning forward to give you a kiss on your temple. stopped in his tracks when you move away. what? did you not see him? did you do see him but intentionally moved forward? he leaned back, his hand resting on the backrest of your chair, looking at you. an uneasy feeling rushing through his chest. he doesn’t move, staring at you, deep in his thoughts. you can feel his eyes boring holes in you. you feel bad immediately, your lips pouting as you fight back the urge to throw your arms around him a bear hug, right here and now.

you don’t know how much time passed. you sigh out, throwing your head back, hands covering your face, you cry out dramatically; “i can’t do it,” your bf takes out one of his airpods, his attention back on you, his hand comes up naturally, wanting to pat your back in an encouraging way, but he stops midway, hesitant to touch you. your previous action still fresh on his mind. he softly chuckles, unsure what to say next. you turn your head towards him, lips in a pout, eyes pleading at him. he opens his mouth, rethinking his words before he smiles his infamous smile; “you got this, i believe in you” a smile with his mouth, but it’s not reaching his eyes like it usually does.

you finished studying, well no in all honesty; it finished you. you push your chair back, getting up from the spot you’ve been sitting in for the past 3-4 hours. your bf got cozy on your bed a little while ago, eyes glued to his screen, super focused on whatever is playing. you throw yourself on the bed, face down. you groan into the pillow. jaehee looks up from his spot next to you, giggle at the sight of you. his hand softly stroking your back. after a moment you sat up straight, your attention on your bf who eyes you from the corner of his eyes. “i think i’m going to drop out, i’m so done” he laughs, a genuine laugh; “it’s not funny” you whine. “i know, i’m not laughing at you, you’re just cute” his hand finds yours, intertwining your fingers. “i’m not cute” - “ok princess” he laughs. he looks at you like you’re his whole world, nothing can ever make him feel the way you do. he pulls you closer by your hand, faces inches apart as his eyes flicker from your eyes to your mouth. his hand cups your face as he leans in, until there’s nothing. his hand is empty, the heat of your body left as his eyes open wide. his heart sank to his feet, what did you? why did you pull away, suddenly the thought of your previous move playing over in his head. he swallows loudly, lowering his hand, he’s searching for your eyes, you lift your head, eyes locking with his; “b-baby, what’s wrong?” you stutter, guilt rushing through your body seeing the tears form in his eyes. you scoot forward, throwing your arms around his neck, pulling him down as you hold him close to you. “i’m sorry baby, i didn’t mean it, i was just joking, i’m sorry, p-please, i’m so sorry” you stutter as you mentally slap yourself in the face; you kiss the side of his head, repeatedly, pulling his face back so he’s infront of you. his eyes are confused, relieved, processing. “i thought you were mad at me” voice trembling; “noo ‘m so sorry, i was joking ‘m not mad, i promise” he sighs out in relief, you pull his face closer. pressing kisses on his lips. again and again and again and again. kissing away his tears, until you hear a little giggle coming from him. “don’t do this again, i don’t think i can handle it” he chuckles, “never again, i promise” he laughs, his lips finding yours again. a quick peck, pulling away, dropping his head in the crook of your neck, squeezing your body in a tight hug; “you and your stupid tiktok pranks”

hiroshe ryo (𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗀𝖾)

he’s quick to catch up on your little jokes, used to your pranks and teasing by now. he was on tour, selling out concerts with his members (hehe). you came to support the boys, bags full with snacks. he noticed, immediately. he always greets you with a kiss, it’s not a new sudden thing that you weren’t aware of, there wasn’t even anyone around other than sakuya. he lets out a little “eh?” when you tilt your head away from his. he pulled back, unsure of what was going on, a quick wave of fear going through him. that was until he saw your face. eyes glistening, lips widely smiling, a hint of a little teasing falling on your face. he nods, grinning to himself, already seeing where this is going. he leaned down again, but you were still faster, head swung to the side before he could press his lips on yours. “agh, girl stop playing” he whined, pulling you back in a bear hug, holding you in place as he kissed your cheek. again. and again. you laugh, trying to free yourself from his grip; “nooo,” you giggled. “you and your stupid jokes all the time” he lets go of you, satisfied; “you should stop scrolling on tiktok so much”

the rest of your night it was ryo avoiding your kisses, you whined as he stops your face midway, lips puckered to give him a peck; “nuh uh, go kiss someone else” you hit his arm playfully; “what! ryo! why would i kiss someone else!” he laughed, taking your hands in his as he was holding you back from hitting his shoulder again (playfully!!!!) “idk, you didn’t seem to want my kisses earlier” he was clearly enjoying this. saved by one of his hyungs calling out for him to join a tiktok challenge.

you were all chilling together in the little lounge zone. saku and yushi busy with a new game on their phones, jaehee fully invested in a video he was watching while sion and riku were just chatting. you and your bf were sitting next to each other. he was monitoring the video his manager made of their performance. “you did well today,” your hand came up to brush through his hair. a satisfied hum coming from ryo., too focused on his phone to form a proper sentence. you looked at him, an idea popping up in your mind, you smirked as you took his face in your hands, pressing kisses all over his face, from his cheeks to his forehead to his nose and to his lips, only letting go after multiple yelps came from his lips. he whined, pushing your hands away as a red blush flushed over his face. “ok i get it, i get it” he whines, his members now laughing at the flustered look on his face. “you win, okay” you laughed, satisfied with his reaction. “i always win, baby” you scoffed sarcastically; “i aaalwaaays winnnn” dragging out your words as you hugged your bf, “stop now everyone’s looking” he hid his face in your neck, already preparing for the endless teasing from his members later.

fujinaga sakuya (𝖺𝗋𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾)

girl, just punch him in the face right there and then. he’ll rather throw away all his keychains (poor little babies) and go through the heart break of saying goodbye to all his bagcharms than having to feel the peng in his chest when he realised you repeatedly avoided his (attempts) on kissing you. his heart instantly drops to his feet, he didn’t notice at first, he genuinely thought you were just so into the game you didn’t see him and the way he reached for you. but this time you did, he won a cute plushie for you, winning the battle with the claw machine, you joyfully jumped up, so excited and happy with your new plushie. sakuya looked at you, love and adoration filling his sparkling eyes. he smiled, you smiled, eye contact was definitely there but when he leaned forward, you already spun around, leaving a confused and visibly hurt sakuya behind as you hopped to the next machine. it took a few seconds before he followed, collecting himself and joining you in whatever game you picked out this time

you immediately noticed the change in his behaviour. feeling bad for even pulling this prank on him. ofc you’d never intentionally dodge his kisses, but you can see the look on his face and he’s clearly doubting and second guessing that same thing. his mind is racing; why did you dodge? why would you avoid his touch, did you not like him anymore? did you not feel the same about him anymore? did he upset you? the boy was clearly upset and unable to focus on the game. he swallowed deeply, eyes flickering from you to the machine and back to you. his eyes looked so sad, you could tell by the way he was fidgeting with his hands and feet that he was going through it. you initially thought you could drag this out longer but your heart broke at the sight of your bf (almost as hard as his broke a few moments ago) you dropped the grabber back on the machine, you turned your body towards your bf, pulling him towards you by his arms, his eyes looking everywhere but at you. “sakuuu” you pout, shaking his arms lightly; “don’t be sad. i’m sorry. i was just joking, i saw this trend on tiktok and i wanted to try it out,-“ you let out; “i would never avoid your kisses, ‘m so sorry saku, pls don’t be sad”

you could literally see the relief in his eyes, 7 different emotions rushing over his face, sadness, confusion, realisation, relief, happiness, his eyes were flickering in between yours. desperately trying to see if you were being fr. his face softened, a deep sigh leaving his lips as he threw his head back slightly. “agh” he groaned in a mumbling way; “why do you have to do this to me” it’s his turn to shake you this time, “out of all the pranks you have to pick this one? in public!?” playfully whisper screaming. you laugh, so does he, “i’m sowrry!!! i thought it would be fun” you pouted. “fun!?-“ mouth open in disbelief; “is this your definition of fun? yk what’s fun? playing mermaids in the pool. this is not fun, i thought i was going to die” you laughed at his dramatic face. “i don’t think you’ll die from a lack of kisses saku” - “that’s easy to say for someone who’s kisses never gets dodged” he pointed his finger at you. you giggled, grabbing the hand of his stringent finger; “ohkay ok!! i promise i’ll never ever ever avoid any of your kisses ever again!!!!” you intertwined your fingers, squeezing his hand with yours. “next time you want to pull a prank, please discuss it first, at least let me mentally prepare for it” you giggled; “that’s not how pranks work saku, how would i be able to pull a prank when you know it’s coming?” he shoke his head in absolute seriousness, only the mischievous look in his eyes giving away the playful tone of his words; “exactly my point, no more pranks, let’s live in peace” you both laughed, he took your other hand in his free one, swinging them infront of your bodies, “i’m serious, no more pranks or i’ll tell sion-hyung” - you only laughed at his words; “ok, ok, ok!!! no more pranks, just peace” he nodded his head in approval. a quick peck on the cheek before he spun around on his feet, excitedly looking for a next game to play. you let him drag you around, only the sound of laughter and some cute little stolen pecks on his cheek filled up the rest of your day

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fameandfiction · 3 days ago

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IMAGINE PART I: “Tweeted From the Lap of the Woman I Fear” — Reneé Rapp x Reader

— Everyone Ships It Except Them (Allegedly).

You weren’t trying to start discourse.

You weren’t trying to come out.

You were literally just sitting in Reneé Rapp’s lap, trying to find the charger under the couch without dislocating a rib, when your thumb slipped, and you sent the tweet.

[@/you] PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE

No context. No thread. Just… vibes.

And it would’ve been fine.

A normal tweet. Maybe even brave. Maybe people would think you were finally stepping into your truth—after years of dodgeballing the question with ironic astrology memes and chaotic fanfiction—and they’d clap, send flags, drop the gay-flag-heart emojis like it was digital confetti.

Except.

You weren’t done.

You just typed too fast.

[@/you, reply] SORRY I TYPED TOO FAST I MEANT PROTECT ME FROM GAY MARRIAGE 🚫🏳️‍🌈

Silence.

Then: the internet explodes.

You don’t even notice the chaos at first because Reneé is literally under you, laughing so hard she chokes on the cinnamon popcorn she just tried to sneak from your bowl.

“There’s something so psychotic about tweeting that while sitting in my lap,” she wheezes.

“I was unwell,” you mutter, scrolling with your other hand. “And also, your thighs are not structurally made for tweeting.”

“Excuse me—”

“You jiggle. My accuracy was compromised.”

Reneé tries to toss a kernel at your head but misses and hits her own knee. You ignore her.

Instead, you glance at the tweet again and that’s when you see it.

Over 1,500 likes in under ten minutes. Quote tweets rolling in like a tide of unhinged sapphics and confused allies.

“The bisexual urge to fear both commitment and women.” “no bc what does she MEAN by this 😭” “why is she literally sitting in Reneé’s lap in the tagged pic while tweeting this 😭😭😭” “girl WHAT” “this is what compulsory heterosexuality looks like y’all” “someone check on Reneé.”

You lower the phone slowly.

“I fear I may have tweeted a little too strongly.”

Reneé snorts. “You sound like a southern grandmother.”

“I have scandalized the timeline. They think I’m either a raging internalized homophobe or someone who wants a gay wedding with you but not too soon.”

“They’re not wrong.”

You side-eye her. “Which part.”

She shrugs. Grins like a gremlin.

“The wedding. I’d let you fake-cancel on me three times before we get married in a lesbian Home Depot.”

“That is oddly specific.”

“I’ve thought about it.”

You blink. Her hand is still on your hip.

You shift slightly on her lap, definitely not because your heart did something stupid and fluttery. Definitely not.

“I’m not gay,” you say flatly.

“You’re literally wearing my shirt.”

“This is just laundry efficiency.”

“You’re straddling me.”

“Because the remote is right there and I didn’t feel like moving around you.”

“And you tweeted about gay marriage while seated on me like a throne.”

“…It’s called nuance, Rapp.”

Your phone dings again.

Another quote tweet.

“not her sitting in Reneé Rapp’s lap typing ‘protect me from gay marriage’ like she hasn’t already emotionally married that woman four times and divorced her six”

You show it to Reneé.

She howls.

“No because that’s SO true,” she gasps, tears in her eyes. “You literally filed emotional divorce papers after I didn’t watch your favorite movie on your birthday.”

“Because it was Jennifer’s Body and you aggressively said Megan Fox was mid—”

“I was trolling! I love hot women!”

“So love me properly, coward!”

You’re yelling now. Over popcorn. From her lap. Your legs are tangled with hers. Your phone’s somewhere in the cushions, buzzing like a broken bee.

The timeline is full-on spiral mode now.

People are making memes. Screenshots. Threads dissecting your dynamic like it's queer theory in real time.

One of them posts a screenshot of your tweet with the caption:

“can’t decide if she’s closeted or just mentally unwell in a gay little way”

And honestly?

You retweet it.

Because yes.

It’s not like you’ve ever said the words. Not to your family. Not to the public. Not even to Reneé. You just kind of... existed. Drifted into her life like a post-credit scene. Fell into routines, jokes, glances that lingered. You don’t know when she became a constant. You just know she is.

You don’t need to define it.

Not when you’re like this.

On her lap, in her hoodie, screaming at your own tweet while she wipes popcorn grease from your cheek.

She leans in eventually.

When you’ve both stopped laughing.

When the room has settled.

When the sun’s nearly gone and your phone’s face-down.

“You scared of gay marriage?” she asks softly.

You smirk. “Only if it’s not you.”

Her mouth twitches. “So you admit it?”

“I admit nothing.”

She nods. “Okay.”

Then:

“But you do realize that typing ‘protect me from gay marriage’ while my hands were literally on your waist is kind of the funniest way to not come out.”

“You say that like I’m hiding something.”

“I say that like I know something.”

You look down at her. She looks up at you.

She doesn’t kiss you.

But her hand does slide up your thigh, warm and steady.

And you don’t stop her.

#fanfic #fanfiction #imagine #imagines #x reader #Reneé Rapp #Renee Rapp #Reneé Rapp x reader #Renee Rapp x reader #RPF #Real People #Real Person Fiction #Real Person Fanfic

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soluversworld · 1 day ago

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About that one post

In the tags of TKATB post, I saw a post and before things go too far, I would like to address about it.

post https://www.tumblr.com/tenderlyfracturedscheme/787382689005240320/exposing-a-racist-and-predator-artist-in-tkatb?source=share

Before anything else, please note: The person being discussed is an artist in the (TKATB) fandom who goes by the username kazueisaloser. (Please make sure to read the Twitter post in question first—but also be aware that the post is entirely fake and misleading.)

In short, the person behind the post is accusing Kazue of racism and other serious STUFF. I want to clarify that, based on my personal interactions with Kazue, these claims are false. From what I’ve seen, Kazue has always come across as a kind, funny, and respectful person.

To be direct: the screenshots being circulated are fabricated/faked. This appears to be a group of minors attempting to “cancel” Kazue simply because she reminded them that they shouldn't be engaging with 18+ content or spaces.

This is well informed in X/twitter than here. So I'll link the people who spoke about it This post is just making people aware about the post before People go crazy.

IVE 🎀 on X: "I don’t usually address things like this publicly, but for the sake of clarity — we have confirmation of her actual Discord account. This impersonation is false. Please stop spreading misinformation." / X

Lalaluna on X: "We have plenty of evidence of you people making channels just to hate on Kazue, even if you’ve already deleted the server. It’s clearly one of you staging it because why is the conversation at the start different? And fyi Kazue’s actual discord has a toilet pfp frame btw. https://t.co/nvroF2SH94" / X

emi🩶 semi-hiatus! on X: "Kazue NEVER behaves like this. We are friends with her in discord and all her socials are linked in her profile. I hope you know this is literally a cybercrime because this is already too much." / X

Lalaluna on X: "Please explain how she’s the horrible one when you are saying all this about her including wishing physical harm and death upon her and now impersonating her too. All because she rightfully scolded a minor for being in a 18+ space. https://t.co/sKQq95AVGp" / X

Kazue responded to these allegations too. With evidence.

Miss KAZUE! on X: "I refuse to take this poor impersonation attempt lightly. The first ss shows the fake account falsely claiming to be me, even copying my Tiktok profile description. The second ss displays my actual discord acc. I'll also show further evidence of this situation. (1/5) https://t.co/9ML0zjZbne" / X

More posts might come, exposing them as the time of posting this.

Please, for the love of god—don’t jump to conclusions based on so-called “evidence” without knowing the full context.

This is social media. Things can be faked. Screenshots can be edited. Narratives can be twisted. What looks like proof isn’t always the truth.

But the truth does come to light—eventually. So before you choose sides or spread accusations, take a step back. Ask questions. Look deeper.

Because once someone’s reputation is ruined, you don’t get to undo that damage just because you didn’t wait for the full story.

Let’s be clear: minors should not be in 18+ communities. Those spaces are labeled that way for a reason—because the content, discussions, and themes are not appropriate or safe for underage individuals.

And now, instead of respecting those boundaries, some of these same minors are creating fake screenshots and trying to cancel an someone—all because she gave a reasonable and necessary warning about staying out of adult spaces.

That is not okay. Minors are still responsible for their actions. Falsely accusing someone and faking evidence is serious, harmful behavior—no matter your age. Being young is not a free pass to lie or ruin someone's reputation.

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nagichi-boop · 2 days ago

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I was thinking about Jevil and how he had a lot of lore in chapter 1 and then became seemingly irrelevant after defeating him. And as I was thinking, I started to realise that there may be some parallels between him and Kris’s SOUL. I am terrible at theory crafting, so I’ll use this post to share everything I noticed so that someone smarter than me might be able to make something of it.

(This post will contain spoilers for chapters 1-4.)

Cage/Imprisonment

While there are questions and theories regarding the meaning of parts of prophecy, it’s implied (unless something wild happens later) that Kris and their SOUL represent the part of the prophecy that says: “THE CAGE, WITH HUMAN SOUL AND PARTS.” The cage seems to refer to Kris, while the SOUL is…well, the SOUL.

Now to compare it to Jevil. I specifically want to focus on this part of his dialogue: “THEY LOST THE CHASE, AND LOCKED UP THEIR ENTIRE RACE. BUILDING A PRISON AROUND THE WHOLE WORLD. NOW I’M THE ONLY FREE ONE.” Susie and Ralsei remark how Jevil is the one who is locked up, but he doesn’t see it that way.

Kris is our cage. We are only ‘free’ when we are in them. Jevil says he’s free when he is seemingly locked away. I don’t know what the significance of this is (if there is any), but it’s just something I noticed.

Personality Changes

When you talk to Seam, he says the following about Jevil: “One day, he met a strange someone… and since then, he began to change. He started saying bizarre things that didn’t completely make since — but didn’t completely not make sense, either. Soon, he began to see the world as a game, and everyone as its participants.”

Something similar can be said of Kris’s relationship to their SOUL. For the most part, Kris recognises the need to have their SOUL in them and only sometimes protests against our actions as the player (eg seeming confused if we say we’ll take Berdly to the festival, biting their hand if we say we won’t ever play the piano in a dialogue to Susie, etc). Then of course we get the scenes where Kris removes their heart, either to stop us interfering with their actions or to stop us hearing certain information, depending on the context. The relationship between Kris and their SOUL is probably its own post, but I just wanted to establish that while Kris allows the SOUL to influence a lot of their actions, it’s clear that some of our choices conflict with their own morals.

Anyways, for my actual comparison now. There’s a scene in chapter 4 during the weird/Snowgrave route where Noelle asks to speak to Kris privately in her room. She talks about how she couldn’t sleep last night and that when she went out to catch her breath, she felt a hand on her wrist. She then says, “And then I heard your voice. Kris’s voice. You said, sorry for taking your watch, Noelle. You said, it was all a stupid prank.” She says a few more things, but then she says, “Kris, your voice, your deadpan, mumbly voice… even if you sounded kind of weak and shaky… I don’t know why, but it felt so long since I heard it. I even started sniffling! Haha! Kris, Kris you’re back…!”

It’s implied, then, that the SOUL’s morals and motivations are different to Kris’s. Sometimes they align, but clearly in the weird route, Kris doesn’t want to hurt Noelle. They specifically try to smooth things over with her while they aren’t under our influence. The rest of the scene only plays out as it does because we manage to escape and get back to them so we can dictate their actions. Anyways, the point is that even Noelle acknowledges that Kris has had a personality shift. I don’t know specifically what caused it (I did see a theory that the SOUL we control isn’t actually Kris’s but idk), but something caused Kris’s personality to shift. And when we aren’t in control of them, the ‘normal’ Kris returns.

We don’t yet know who the ‘someone’ is that Seam says made Jevil change, but perhaps that someone is actually the same as whoever caused Kris/their SOUL to change? Perhaps the Roaring Knight, but it’s hard to say if anyone else is involved yet. It seems at least that Jevil is aware of its existence because he mentions “THE HAND OF THE KNIGHT.”

Miscellaneous Points From Jevil’s Dialogue

These points are weaker than the other stuff I’ve mentioned, but I’ll include them anyways.

“THIS BODY CANNOT BE KILLED” — The SOUL persists, no matter how many times we lose.

“I CAN DO ANYTHING” — Similar to how we can do almost anything we want to when controlling Kris, even when it conflicts with their wishes (again, with one or two exceptions).

“CHAOS, CHAOS, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!” — Kris’s struggle to contain the SOUL, especially when we aren’t in their body.

———

Anyways, please feel free to add your own thoughts or theories to this! As I said, I’m not really good at theory-crafting, but I figured I’d put my thoughts down somewhere. Maybe none of this means anything, but it was fun to spot some parallels regardless!

#deltarune #kris dreemurr #kris deltarune #jevil #jevil the jester #jevil deltarune #soul deltarune #player deltarune #deltarune theory #deltarune thoughts #deltarune spoilers #deltarune chapter 1 #deltarune chapter 3 #deltarune chapter 3 spoilers #Deltarune chapter 4 #deltarune chapter 4 spoilers #nagichi talks

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lilyw0lf · 2 days ago

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I think I'm missing some context, but I've been seeing a bit of controversy about the LU and LoZ fandom this past couple of days and I'm pretty sure that this issue comes from way back.

And I just want to say that most of the people that I've met in this fandom are so sweet and welcoming. Maybe I was just fortunate to interact with the right people, but I know for sure that those little interactions have been what makes me love this fandom so much. I think a healthy community is even more important than the source material when it comes to shape one's vision of a fandom, at least for me.

I must confess that I've been a lurker for most of the time that I've been here, mostly because my own fear of giving my opinion or asking questions that could seem dumb and not wanting to go out of my confort zone. That said, I couldn't have been more wrong.

If you are new to a fandom, and not just LU or LoZ, any fandom, or even if you've been here for a while and you are just a fellow lurker I want to tell you:

Don't be afraid of interacting with other people

Don't be afraid of giving your opinion

Don't be afraid to create

Don't be afraid to share

And don't be afraid of asking questions

I can't promise you that you won't encounter a jerk sometimes, but mostly you will find great people willing to share their own opinions and knowledge with you. Who knows, you might meet some of your greatest friends that way.

The interactions between people are what define the hearth of a comunity. And that's why I want you to always try to be polite and treat everyone with kindness first.

Don't impose your own headcanons to anyone, hell don't even impose canon, people love to create and go wild with their own imagination and if that makes them happy let them be happy.

You can always share your knowledge about the games, LU or whatever you want, but please do it politely. The other person might not realise that their take on a character or story is not canon or they might know and just want to ignore it. And that's alright too, at the end of the day we are here to have fun. You can share your own headcanons if you want.

If you don't like something or a person is just being straight rude, then you can always block them, you have all the right to do it. But please try to make sure you don't become the one that's rude with others without reason.

Also about the games, you don't have to have played to every game to interact with the fandom, you don't have to have played to any of them if you want. You can just have read the comic and that's totally fine, like I said earlier if you want to know about something just ask politely, really don't be afraid to ask. And to the people that answers please don't be rude about it. Most people don't have the money or the time to play every game, but that doesn't mean that they can't learn about them if they are interested.

Don't assume anything about anyone, for all you know you could be talking with a literal child that just found something that seems cool and is so excited to learn more about it or to share their own stuff with others. And how would they feel if the first reaction they got to their question or opinion was a negative one? And not just children, anyone who wanted to interact with a fandom and just got rude reactions would probably just want to go away and not even want to keep learning about the thing that had them so excited. So please, please always try to be mindful with others, you don't know their circunstances, kindness shoud always be tried first.

And mostly to new users but this goes to everyone, about taging no LU stuff as LU, please if you are not sure try to check the original tags before reblogging. It takes just a few seconds and is the best way to avoid confussion and innecesary arguments. On the other side, if you see someone misstaging let them know, but please do it politely, they might be new and not understand how the tagging works.

What I want to say with all of this is please always try to be kind, everyone has their own circunstances. Don't let issues like these that can be easily avoided rot the core of a beautiful comunity. You'll find some people that are just jerks, is unavoidable on any group of people, but don't let them make you become one of them, just block and keep living your life. Most people are sweet and great and it's a pity if you miss out on everything good just because a few idiots.

#fuck it I'm maintagging both fandoms because I think that everyone needs a reminder that their experiences aren't universal #linked universe #linkeduniverse #loz #I think those are the tags? maybe?#anyway this is about the lu fandom because it's the one I'm in here #but most of it is aplyable to any fandom really #Damn this got long #I didn't think that I had that much to say lol

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radioactive-yuri · 2 days ago

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Tell me ur thoughts about the papas being subs bcuz ur cooking with that

i'm VERY glad you asked

primo - i honestly think sometimes he just doesn't have the energy to dom. or the physical functions necessary to top. just jerk him off from behind and tell him he's been doing such a good job. just simple, vanilla stuff; he's not kinky at all, and potentially on the ace spectrum, so all he really wants is to be treated to a nice physical sensation from his partner.

secondo - he wants sub so badly, but just. won't let himself. he'd have to be talked into it in the form of "if you want to have sex with me, this is the only way it's going to happen", and then end up enjoying it way too much. he's so bad at asking for what he wants, but really, what he wants is the hard, cruel side of things. he's definitely into cnc, he wants to fight the submission the whole way to it: he wants a partner that'll force him into it, and humiliate him for giving in. it's honestly difficult to parse where the line is drawn with him, because he's so easily overwhelmed like this, but that's exactly what he wants to be. just fucked into mercilessly as he blushes and cries silently and insists that he's not into this.

terzo - i mean, come on. if there ever was a vocal, needy, desperate slut. unlike secondo, he'll tell you exactly what he wants. in fact, he'll beg for it. very easily. i think his favourite is a good even mixture of degradation and praise: tell him how fucking hot he is like this, and then call him pathetic when his dick starts twitching. he's so loud, just constant moaning and whining.

copia - number one praise enjoyer. he's not even really into penetrative sex; his absolute favourite thing in the world is eating out/sucking off his partner while they tell him what a good job he's doing, what a good boy he is. also a big fan of being made to hump furniture while his partner(s) watch him. has a bit of an issue about premature ejaculation, which he's beyond embarrassed about, but the right kind of dom could do a lot with that in any potential scene. he'll need a lot of aftercare, though, and goes so incredibly soft afterwards. just be gentle with him. he's your sweet little good boy.

perpetua - actually super duper playful. loves to get his partner(s) all riled up, teasing them by constantly posing seductively and "accidentally" showing more skin. he's definitely an exhibitionist, and in the right context, will let you take control in this foreplay stage: remove more of his clothes, pull his pants down, unbutton his shirt, really show him off to whoever else is present; guaranteed to have him blushing and squirming in your grasp as his dick gets harder and harder from the feeling of being so exposed and helpless. however, if you let the foreplay go on without that kind of interruption, he'll eventually want his partner(s) to punish him for all the teasing. he has a thing for almost slasher movie esque scenes, where you chase him down and pin him to the floor. he wants to get scared.

nihil - has never once dommed imperator in his entire, absurdly long life, and i stand by that. back in the day, when both of them had more energy and more active sex drives (although let's be real, did they ever really lose that?), he was like. dangerously submissive to her. would do literally anything she told him to, no questions asked, no complaints raised. with his other partners, he was at least a bit more coy, but even then, he was always just a bit too eager. which meant that he definitely attracted a certain kind of partner, who'd take him to all sorts of extremes just to see if he'd do it (he would). he'd be a bit more shy with the others, have to be eased into that headspace, but with imperator, he literally would not hesitate to beg without her even asking him to.

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rdthoughtdaughter · 2 days ago

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Hello! I am basically asking here what YouTubers or female created media is out there that you recommend? I am tired of media just being pain/death/torture of a female character or like with popular female/youtubers streamers having constant sexual and pornified jokes or even having to deal with misogyny or the same issues in female written books. Is there any way to avoid it/do you have recs? Sorry if my question is convoluted I have headache at the moment

Hello! Do not apologise for your question, I found it delightful. That’s actually a great topic to speak on. Ok, so I will share my media consumption, but to all fellow radfems watching, please share yours as well! I would love recommendations.

Starting with YouTube. Can’t say that I’m an avid watcher, but there are some female channels that I follow & watch:

1) Emmy’s Existential Zone. It’s a ‘renowned philosopher and psychologist who has worked as an existential therapist since 1973’. What I like about her videos is that they are always colourful, often with natural setting. She talks about life in a very simple yet striking language. Also, it’s just great to see women aging naturally and gracefully ;)

2) Leah’s Fieldnotes. A little bit of everything, vlogs, ramblings, skincare, art. Love Leah 🫶🏼🙌🏼

3) The CottageFairy. I’m very passionate about nature, so I found the content of this lovely woman immersive. To live so in tune with nature is my goal in life.

4) Dr Octavia Cox. An educational content, literature related. Found her when I was preparing to A Levels, she is great. Dr Cox makes her videos on some specific topics from a particular book. I love the category of videos where she explores the riddles from the books. For example, I was always curious on why did Mr Wickham elope with Lydia, when she was penniless, he always had grand ambitions of becoming an Alfons. She explored it in detail with quotes, in a very engaging manner. Look her up!

5) maleeka, is my guardian angel. She shares her life lessons, I suppose it’s a philosophy type of content. She has a very pleasing storytelling skills and she is a talented editor, or to be honest, she’s just talented period. I find it more befitting for me, than say wizardliz. Because of her I have a favourite quote :«You are the sky. Everything else- it’s just the weather” -Peña Chiödrön

6) Inayah. An endearing woman, who speaks about most poignant of the matters. Always a fascinating setting, love when she talks while working on flowers. She’s very outspoken and has a great vocabulary. Love her.

7)LabrysArchive. Made by a legendary radfem, it’s a project where you can see the most different archive videos on radical feminism. Doing the goddesses’ work.

I was also a huge fan of Sophia Esperanza, she was sharing spiritual videos about self acceptance and living with nature. Unfortunately, she deleted her videos for some reason :(

Regarding books, I personally love everything made by Jane Austen. Besides her books being absolutely brilliantly written, I’m also always amazed by the context of her books as well. To write so many interesting, free thinking women at that time? In 18th-19th century? A role model.

If you want to find a pool of feminist literature, or just female literature I recommend ladielabrys2’ linktree, she has a radical feminist library, with all kinds of topics. <3

#radblr #radical feminism #radical feminist community #radical feminist safe #radical feminists do interact #radical feminists please interact #radical feminst #radical feminists do touch #feminism #radical feminists please touch

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mellozine · 1 day ago

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Scrapbook

I don't normally write fanfic, but I have a bunch of vague ideas that I really gotta get out.

ReaderxJerry, Gender Neutral reader, past male love interest briefly mentioned. Fluff. The scrapbook can't be dateviated, don't worry about it. Not beta read, we die like Hank no. 6

“Whatcha’ got there, friend-o?”

You jump, startled to find Jerry peering over your shoulder, looking with interest at the old composition book sitting on your desk. It has a tattered cover, littered with peeling stickers with miscellaneous things sticking out all over. It hardly even closes.

“Just something I found in the attic,” you reply. “Lady Memoria really wants me to get on cleaning it out. I knew I had a lot of stuff up there, but I never realized how much.”

“A lot of stuff, huh…?”

“Jerry, we talked about this.”

“No, no, you’re right, the attic wouldn't be a…healthy environment for me,” he says, with a bit of a frown. “But, if you ever decide you needed a little assistance with curating-”

“Jerry.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Anyway, to answer your question…it's my old scrapbook.” You hope that if you sate his curiosity, it will distract him from the idea of all the potential lost items in the attic. “I used to paste everything and anything in here for years.”

“Cheese n’ crackers…! Uh, may I?” he asks, gesturing toward the well worn book.

“Sure. Actually…” you rise from your office chair and gesture for him to sit.

As Jerry thumbs through the well worn pages, you point out photographs and little notes, explaining the context behind each one. Jerry, however, is less interested in the photographs than he is the various bits and bobs taped and glued to the pages.

“Oh, that?” you ask, referring to a chunky star shaped button. “I grew out of my favorite coat that year. One of the buttons fell off before my mom donated it, so I decided to keep it. It's really kinda cute, isn't it?”

“And what about these?” Jerry asks, pointing out a series of candy wrappers adorned with cute cartoon characters, lined up neatly, each adhered to the page with decorative tape.

“Oh, a candy company did a promo for a show my friends and I liked! Each wrapper had a different character on it! We spent the whole summer trying to get a full set,” you laugh. “I was the only one of us who managed it. We were so sick of that stuff by the end of it. I haven't eaten any since.”

He turned the page, revealing a photograph of a young man right in the center, the entire rest of the page adorned in heart shaped glittery stickers.

“Oh-ho, and who is-”

“You don't need to see that right now,” you say, turning the page.

“But-”

“You don't. Need to see it.”

“I uh, guess I don't need to see it. Hey, look, a four leaf clover! And so well preserved!”

“Oh, yeah! Some friends and I went on a hike during spring break that year! I found that while we were having lunch!” you smile, as the memory of that day comes flooding back. “I was nearly dead by the time we got to the end of the trail, but I was so excited to find that. Like that made the sweat and hard work of getting there all worth it.”

Your eyes light up at the next page and you point out an old concert ticket, covered with a large piece of clear packing tape.

“That was my first concert!” you exclaim loudly, causing Jerry to startle as a broad smile grows across your face. “I saved my money for months to afford tickets to see Warp live! I still remember feeling the bass all the way in my chest! It was amazing!”

Jerry looks at you. He's not sure he's ever seen you quite so excited, even among the beauty of his various exhibits in the junk drawer. Not even the spare change exhibit has ever caught your interest this way and that was always a crowd pleaser. The crowd was usually just him, but still.

“Bedknobs and broomsticks, it certainly seems that way. I guess those were pretty good times!”

“They really were,” you say softly. Your expression dims, as sadness starts to creep over you. “It's weird, suddenly being reminded of people I don't talk to anymore and stuff I used to like doing. Maybe I should just throw this out…”

You reach towards the book, but Jerry snatches it away, jumping to his feet. For a moment, he splutters in disbelief, holding it to his chest, almost protectively.

“Wh- How…How could you ever consider throwing this away?! All these stories, these memories…?!”

“Jerry, it's not even a proper scrapbook. It's a composition book with crap glued in it.”

“It's not crap! It's a rich history! It's incredible! It's beautiful! It's…it's you!”

The two of you stare at each other for a moment, silence hanging heavy in the air. After a few moments, Jerry laughs nervously.

“I…I meant that…you, you don't…haha, listen to me, going on! That's uh, that's ol’ Jerry for you, huh? Just, uh…oh boy…”

You're quiet for a moment more, as your eyes settle on the ragged notebook in Jerry's hands. He notices you staring and his own gaze flits around the room anxiously, feeling as if your eyes could bore holes into his chest.

“I guess keeping it a little while longer might not be such a bad idea. Actually, why don't you hold on to it for me?”

His face lights up and he holds the scrapbook to his chest, a little tighter, as if it were some precious treasure.

“Really?!”

“Sure. …Just don't take anything out of it.”

“I-I wasn't going to!”

Later, in the cramped confines of the junk drawer, Jerry wanders, looking for the perfect place to place…the Tome of Memories. But nothing seems quite right. It's not a Lost Item, after all. It's a Found Item with no mysteries held within. He already knows all of its secrets. Well, most of them. He thumbs through it again, smiling fondly at the memory of you, radiating joy as you told him all of your stories. Carefully, he tucks it into a pocket inside his overstuffed jacket. Perhaps this treasure will be part of his private collection for now.

#date everything #jerry date everything #jerry the junk drawer #Date everything fanfic

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nefelegies · 3 days ago

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IMPORTANT ROUNDUP: asks, statistics, "good science", and "the follow up video". i would really appreciate if you gave me your attention span for this one.

an update i gave on youtube that i don't know if people here saw: i may be doing a follow up after all now that i'm slightly less freaked, because my data was way too much of a mess and i would feel guilty if people began taking it and running with it while unaware of the informality and weakness of my study. i am potentially working with some people on discord to do a pedantically objective demographic study that will help clear the air but it will take some time to come out. the sampling methods and the questions being asked are very different, but/as such, the percentages that are coming out of that one are admittedly less bleak; this is of course a good thing! i am not a defeatist i am not blackpill or whatever i WANT things to not suck. i very badly want them to not suck. this new study (at least in its current stage) is more about objective demographic measures and not necessarily the far more subjective or qualitative or "investment gauging" measures i considered in my original; although i believe strongly that these measures matter, i don't know if any metrics i originally considered can give an accurate picture. i guess in a way i wish i had either taken way more time on the data gathered, engaged with it differently, or presented the video solely as a matter of opinion, but i felt that no amount of talk piece would get me taken seriously. to be clear: all the data presented is the data i collected. the data i collected was collected in the exact way described by the video. i just am not sure that my methods produced results i may "responsibly" draw conclusions about, especially when people start taking them as gospel (guys please i tried to disclaimer not to do this....).

regardless of whether you agree with my rhetoric (and i of course agree with my own rhetoric), the truth of science is that research conducted with the intent of proving a truth the author is already convinced of (see: anything published by BYU about you know. lol.) is not good research. again, even if intentions are pure and that truth was held to be objective, setting out to prove it would be contrary to the philosophy of science and "good practice". even if these things are abstract to you, they do matter greatly to me, as this is my career path, and if i knew when i started that i'd hit 100k and not like. 500 people total, i wouldn't have taken the tongue-in-cheek approach i did.

i worried about whether or not it is irresponsible to leave the video up in its current form but i am also worried that with its current spread, any move on my part to take it down would see it reuploaded by someone else, at which point i would be powerless to provide disclaimers such as these. so it remains up, but with some added context like this in the description, and comments are still disabled to try and .... slow down the spread. i guess.

all that being said: as i will likely mention in my follow up, the inability to objectively measure "who cares about what characters" does not change the reality so many people have come to me to talk about. i don't know yet if i'll compile for the video the legitimately HUNDREDS of testimonies of people telling me they've been noticing this attitude in artist circles for years, but it will be trivial to do so if i want. even if these things resist the clear quantification i would like to be able to provide (i've always been a literal thinker), the impact on countless artists' and creatives' lived experiences is undeniable. there is also something ironic about the fact that, in making a video claiming the community secretly harbored misogyny, i have been targeted by all manner of explicitly misogynistic and homophobic harassment. i wonder if the video may have been received differently if i had clarified that i am dysphoric, or that i use any pronouns, or if i had made my cishet brother do my voiceover.

i don't really know where i'm going, this got meandering. i guess what i mean to say with all of this is: i am grateful to everyone who has felt touched or even vindicated by my video; i am grateful to everyone who has approached the topic with deep self reflection; i am grateful to everyone that has reached out with a newfound commitment to be the change. i stand by every opinion presented in my video and maybe one day i will make a pure opinion piece on this same topic where i really try and grapple with "why". i just wish i had been more careful to shove messy numbers into the world i suppose.

also, about asks:

good lord there is Many Asks. um. like Many A Lot. i don't know if i should reply to them individually publicly because this is meant to be an art account and presumably none of you want your dashboards flooded with them but i also don't know if people would be underwhelmed to receive private replies????? i considered grouping at least all the positive asks into one big post but i didn't want that to come off as dismissive(?). i hope everyone knows i have been reading them as they arrive but i just. it's a weird time for me right now mentally and i somehow picked the busiest irl period of my life to instigate all of this and the idea of how long it will take to actually reply to everyone is becoming a looming threat.

thank you to everyone that actually read all this. p.s. someone made a really thoughtful response that you should watch--it's in spanish but has english subs.

youtube

#not art #the video #Youtube

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sttmh · 3 days ago

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Idk why this thought came to my head-

But I am throwing it at you :3

Idk why- but since Papyrus got painkillers for Sans, I was thinking about if Swap and Fell knew about them. Obviously if they did it wouldn’t be lore important.

Now whether they do or don’t know.

How funny would it be for Error to see Sans taking one of these pills when a portal is open, and just being so confused and yelling something like “ARE YOU DOING DRUGS?”

That out of context would be enough for Fell and Swap to be so utterly confused but also concerned bcuz of how idiotically persistent Sans is.

(Error probably knows what painkillers are, but no way someone looks at someone taking a pill and thinks ‘oh it’s probably just painkillers’- especially not that silly dumbass)

Also I am just imagining Sans offering painkillers to Dream because Dream won’t relax for 5 goddamn seconds EVEN AFTER BATTLE.

Hehe silly stuff-

sorry if am bugging u with the silly headcanons/interactions

Oh my gosh-

To answer your question, Swap and Fell do not know that Classic has painkillers on hand, though they have reminded him about their existence multiple times. More than likely, one of them will mention how convenient it would be if Classic had painkillers, and Classic just holds him out all smugly.

Then Swap would ask- "YOUR BROTHER REMINDED YOU, DIDN'T HE?"

Also, allow me to illustrate what would happen if Error did say that:

Error: "... Are you doing drugs?"

Classic: "yes."

Swap: "NO!"

Fell: "i mean, technically?"

#sttmh

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m0r1bund · 23 hours ago

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I know most artists are probably annoyed to hell and back with art advice questions…

No idea on your stance so I’ll ask

How do you do format your backgrounds?? Like the perspective, the empty space versus detail, what shape to make the canvas, all that stuff, idk.

I can imagine detailed stuff in my head but in practice I flounder to even begin to put it to paper so is there some sort of method to the madness?

Lastly, do you think it’s a good idea to start by drawing over real life images as a way to learn?

That’s all, thank you

Hi, sorry this took a while. No worries about asking, I’ve been there and I think we sometimes underestimate how much people like to feel helpful and to talk about their process. I have an awful memory, so it’s hard for me to retrace my steps sometimes, but I’ll try!

I remember being in a similar place where my mind’s eye was far ahead of my technical skill. This still happens, I don’t think it ever really goes away, I just remember it feeling especially pronounced and frustrating when I was younger.

context: I used to be really frustrated with my inability to finish or even start large, meticulously detailed pieces, especially landscapes and environmental pieces. This changed as my technical skill started to catch up with my mind’s eye, and I could execute things faster and faster, before my brain would arbitrarily decide a piece was “done.” I’ve had this lifelong tension between trying to become a faster artist so that I can strike while the iron is hot, while also accepting that my brain is wired a certain way, I don’t have to make myself suffer by working against my own brain, and it’s OK to make slow art. for all the grief it gives me, the ADHD hyperfocus / state of flow is part of the process and I do genuinely love it.

So with that in mind, here’s some pointers that I’ve personally found useful.

done > perfect, started > not started, always and forever. Lower the bar as much as you need to. I think this can be rough for those who are less motivated by the process and more by communicating something as it exists in their head. Unfortunately I am learning this lesson over and over, that a piece simply will not happen unless I make it feasible for myself. Can it be done faster and shittier? Can you settle for getting one or two things “right” and letting the rest turn out how it may?

Taking up photography, studying photographers, and yes, tracing / photobashing / painting over photos (with appropriate permission.) Sometimes it’s more intuitive to find the composition than it is to make it from scratch. I’m lucky to live in the place that I draw, so it takes less guess-work to translate it to my art, but I also just think it’s fun to cultivate an eye for composition using the world around you. I think creating your own references also teaches you things that studying curated art will not. You interacted with the space in-person, so you have valuable insight into how the space feels and the relationship between objects that you can’t glean just from a picture. It’s also got the beauty of the amateur’s eye. Contrast won’t be perfectly balanced, you’ll get to work with weird color combos under weirder lighting, things won’t be massed very intentionally, etc. What’s interesting to you about the subject is ultimately unique to you, and you get to bring that out. Video game photography is another fun way of studying someone else’s work. Virtual landscapes are intentionally composed, down to the massing/lighting/visual clutter, so in a competently-designed environment it’s easier to find picturesque vistas or neat places to stage your subject. More fun, maybe less frustrating than exploring an environment that isn’t similar to one you want to depict. I like sandbox games for DIY scene-setting too. Staging stuff in blender, making rough clay models, whatever you need to do to feel out the space.

Ditto the above for studying other mediums that you enjoy. I feel like it’s glaringly obvious when I want something to be a 10-part animated series or, like, a tapestry, because that’s just where I go to when I’m pulling from my mental library. Maybe part of why I gravitated to film and animation is because you can see changes in composition, focus, perspective, etc. happening in real time, so it’s easier to notice them, and to reflect on how they change the meaning of the scene.

Leveraging your limits. Limited palette, limited time, limited scope, whatever. Easier to play with values when you’re working in black and white than when you add color to the mix. And hey, what can you uniquely do when you’re working under certain limits that you can’t do if you had free reign of a blank canvas? Pixel art, polychrome pottery, noir… The limits of a form make it memorable, or however that saying goes.

Massing detail and polish around the focal point of the piece. I don’t think I’m very intentional about this with my finished work, I usually play with contrast or negative space to bring attention to things. but I often do this with my quick-and-dirty art like Basedt and Threadbare. I polish the bare minimum to communicate what I need to, and then leave the rest to imagination. like anything else it’s just another tool in your toolbox, not as useful to those with very detailed work that choose to guide the eye in other ways.

Thinking of the environment as its own character(s). Some of us get into art because we’re having fun drawing our favorite characters or our OCs, so backgrounds are just that--- backgrounds, scene-setting, all secondary to the main event, not as interesting or exciting to draw. I am personally trying to get rid of the mental boundary between subject and environment, because that’s more in line with how I feel about worldbuilding and life in general. They’re inseparable, they feed into one another, and it does me better to think about them holistically. Corollary to that: Environments can be fun! A lot of people think of them as drudgery, but I don’t think you have to self-flagellate doing a hundred still-life master studies if that’s not the most efficient way for you to learn. We can and should do difficult things, but I don’t know, I think you can trick yourself into getting excited about drawing cars or buildings or rocks. For me, it’s exciting to explore my headworlds through the eyes of the fake people who live in my head. I guess having that touchstone of something that’s familiar alongside something that’s unfamiliar makes it more fun. When the switch finally flipped, it was really rewarding to realize I was scribbling landscapes as the “main event,” and the inclusion of a character was a last-minute thing if it happened at all. It can be fun! It doesn’t have to suck! But it takes time.

OK, I think that’s all I got right now. As usual, glean what’s useful to you and forget the rest. There are others who can speak more competently about technical stuff than I can, and I’m sure I’m overlooking something obvious. this is just what sticks with me, personally.

#process stuff #thank you for reaching out and godspeed #rooting for you. chanting It Can Be Fun! It Can Be Fun!

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amber-aura · 3 days ago

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Let us Live since we must Die: Chapter 4: Happy Birthday?

Summary: In 1932, something happened in Mississippi. Something no one could explain. In 2001, a baby was born under a sky that remembered. In 2025, she’s about to find out why. Breana Rae has the power to tear through space, but what she really wants is to connect the pieces of her past. When a rare celestial event reawakens the ghosts of a buried tragedy, Breana is pulled into a mystery far older and far deeper than she ever imagined.

Pairing: Remmick x black!oc

A/N: This chapter was planned to be edited and released 3-5 days ago, but I fell sick so it's late :( But good news! The story officially begins!

Warnings: 18+ comments only. Minors, you can read but do not interact with any of my works. Angst, graphic mentions of blood and gore, eventual smut, slow burn, slurs, mentions of suicide, emetophobia, sexual assault, murder, etc. Will continue adding more as the story progresses for the sake of any new readers.

Word count: 5k

Typing. Typing. Still typing...

Breana had been glued to her laptop for nearly two hours straight, her fingers a blur across the keyboard as she dove deeper into a rabbit hole of research. The hum of the AC in her loft barely registered anymore, her focus razor-sharp as she scanned through articles, forums, archived records—anything that could shed light on 1930s Mississippi.

Her assistants were mildly baffled. Why the sudden obsession with the early 20th century South? Why Mississippi of all places? But they knew better than to pry. Breana had her moods and her muses. Sometimes it was ancient myths. Other times, avant-garde fashion history. This time, it was Jim Crow-era Mississippi. They didn’t ask questions. They just brought her coffee and kept her schedule clear.

Breana didn’t need to start from scratch. She already knew a decent amount thanks to her parents' love of documentaries and her own curiosity about history. But now? Now she needed clarity. Context. Details. She wasn’t just learning—she was piecing something together.

Even so, just reading about that time made her skin crawl.

“Nope,” she muttered to herself, eyes scanning a headline about the rise of white supremacy groups in the 1930s. “Couldn’t have been me.”

The very idea of living back then was a nightmare. No air conditioning. No decent healthcare. No advanced tech. No women’s rights. No rights for people of color—well, not real ones. It was technically illegal to just exist freely if you were the wrong shade of melanin or had the wrong chromosomes. And sure, America still had its systemic bullshit in the present day, but at least she could talk about it without being shot on sight.

“Fair wages? Nonexistent. Racist police? Oh, they been here. The Klan? Running wild like they were police.”

She shook her head and leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep, tired sigh. “And don’t even get me started on that god-awful Mississippi heat. No thank you.”

Her lips curled in slight amusement as her mind drifted to the everyday inconveniences of life back then. Making food from scratch—every single time. Relying on radios for news. Dresses with petticoats and stockings in the middle of summer, no deodorant worth a damn.

“Oh no, they got me fucked up,” she muttered, scrolling past a sepia-toned photo of women in heavy dresses and lace gloves. “I wouldn't wear a damn velvet corset in July. That’s not elegance. That’s a slow bake.”

Still…not everything about the era was a total bust. She had to admit—1930s fashion? S'alright. The silhouettes were graceful, the fabrics had texture, and those sweetheart necklines? Iconic. If she could snatch some of those designs and remix them for a stage outfit, she just might.

But it wasn’t the style that kept her glued to the screen. It was the people. The culture. The pain, the joy, the survival. She wanted to know what kind of world Mary, Elias, and the others had lived in before everything went to hell. What kind of music floated through their windows at night. What kind of dreams they whispered in the dark, even when the world tried to silence them.

She wasn’t just curious anymore. She felt tethered.

Something about it—about them —was pulling her deeper. And part of her didn’t mind being pulled.

Breana clicked over to her notepad document, eyes scanning the bullet points she’d messily typed out while going down this historical rabbit hole. She read them out loud, more to herself than anyone else.

“Alright…if I were to actually be in 1930s Mississippi—God help me—I’d have to know how to play the part. Let’s see…”

She adjusted in her seat, legs crossed, hair tied up in a scarf now to keep it out of her face. She’d pulled it up in frustration an hour ago, and now it kind of matched the vintage vibe she was reading about. Cute. Maybe unintentionally prophetic.

Always use formal titles when speaking to white people. Even if they’re being disrespectful, which they will be, say “yes ma’am” and “no sir.”

Do not look white men in the eye for too long.

Avoid walking alone at night, especially outside of your own neighborhood.

If someone accuses you of something, don’t argue. Just survive.

Breana blinked. “Jesus…”

That last line stung more than it should’ve. But it was true, wasn’t it? That was the law of survival for Black folk back then. Hell, even now sometimes.

She sighed again and kept reading.

Keep your speech “mild.” Don’t sound too educated around the wrong crowd. Don’t draw attention.

Smile when necessary. Stay polite. But never too friendly.

Segregation is the law. Don’t sit at the front of buses, don’t drink from the wrong fountain, don’t use the wrong entrance.

“Don’t breathe too loud. Don’t exist too much. Got it,” she muttered bitterly, highlighting that line just to remind herself it wasn’t hyperbole.

She scrolled further.

Jobs available to Black women: domestic work, sharecropping, laundry, seamstress, midwife if lucky.

Education limited—especially in the South.

Medical care? Almost nonexistent unless you know someone.

Her lips curled in frustration.

And yet, somehow…Mary, Elias, their community—those people had laughed, loved, danced, lived. All while under a system designed to suffocate them.

She didn’t know whether to feel proud or overwhelmed.

Then there were the notes she wrote specifically for herself:

Learn the lingo.

Clothing: Wear dresses. Loose, breathable. Light cotton or linen. Natural look. Wear your hair "short and kept" like the white women (eye roll)

Keep modern expressions to yourself unless you wanna get side-eyed. No slang from TikTok, dummy.

Learn how to cook something from scratch. You’ll need that to earn trust. Or survive. Or both.

Breana leaned back again, staring at the ceiling now. Her eyes were tired, but her spirit felt wired.

This wasn’t just research anymore.

She was prepping for something. Something she didn’t quite understand yet—but her gut said she’d need all of this. Soon.

And if this strange new path was going to demand she walk into someone else’s century?

She’d be ready...not-

But Lord, it better not be during the peak of summer. She could handle trauma, magic, vampires—but she drew the line at sweating through a cotton petticoat.

“Let me go back with common sense and a heat-resistant body, God,” she muttered, stretching her arms with a dramatic sigh. “Please and thank you.”

Then, she saved the file and titled it simply:

“How to Survive the 1930s"

Just as Breana was about to close her laptop and maybe take a break before her brain melted from history overload, there was a knock on her open studio door.

“Hey, Bree?” one of her assistants, Rayna, peeked her head in, followed by Malik right behind her, holding a smoothie like he knew she hadn’t eaten all day.

“Your birthday’s tomorrow,” Rayna said, walking in like it was breaking news. “You need to decide what you wanna do. Party? Dinner? Photoshoot? Private island escape? Aliens-only rave?”

Breana blinked, still a little mentally stuck in 1932 Mississippi. “Uh…”

Malik handed her the smoothie. “At least drink this before you fry your brain.”

She took it. “Thanks.”

Rayna flopped onto the arm of the nearby couch. “So? What are we doin’? The people are gonna be watchin’. This is the first birthday since your EP release and you’ve got followers foaming at the mouth waiting to see you do something glamorous.”

Breana sipped the smoothie, eyes a little glazed. “Can we just…eat some good food and chill? That’s really all I want.”

Malik raised an eyebrow. “Like…chill-chill or your version of chill, which means binge watching Spongebob and somehow getting drunk on ice cream?"

Breana smirked without answering.

Rayna rolled her eyes playfully. “Alright. But for real, you do need to post tomorrow. Instagram, TikTok, all that. Fans are already making edits with your countdown posts.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Breana waved a lazy hand. “I’ll post somethin’. Y’all can take a picture or whatever.”

Rayna side-eyed her. “We are not just gonna take a picture . You’re a brand. Your whole aesthetic is like…soul-deep goddess trapped in a dreamscape.”

“Okay…” Breana replied dryly, sipping again. “Then let me dreamscape in peace tonight.”

Malik laughed. “We’ll let you rest. Just don’t ghost tomorrow. You gotta give the people something. Even if it’s just a selfie with your cat.”

“I don’t have a cat,” Breana mumbled.

“Well…you seem like you should have one. You give cat girl energy.”

Rayna and Malik left, still teasing as they went. Breana stayed seated, smoothie in hand, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

Her birthday was tomorrow.

And something was coming.

Something…

Breana stared down at her notes again, the pages covered in scribbled questions, bullet points—her own chaotic little web of connections.

Logically, there was only one conclusion to draw from all of it. The kind of conclusion that would’ve made her raise her eyebrows if someone else had said it out loud.

Time travel.

That’s what everything was pointing to.

She blinked slowly at the thought, as if waiting for her own brain to catch up to what she’d just admitted.

“I can’t seriously be entertaining this,” she muttered to herself.

But...wasn’t she?

She could already open rifts. That alone threw the rulebook out the window. That day when her emotions surged and the very fabric of reality tore open in front of her—that was the moment the impossible stopped being “impossible.” It was the moment she learned the world wasn’t just weird—it was malleable .

And now?

She had an alignment happening on her birthday—the same rare celestial alignment that last occurred on the day she was born. She’d just met two vampires from 1932 Mississippi , the exact same era her DNA test pointed to when tracking her ancestral roots. The timing was too perfect, too unnerving.

Like she kept saying, none of this was a coincidence. None of it.

The rational part of her brain begged her to calm down. Breathe. But the deeper part—her intuition, her soul—whispered something else.

“Prepare.”

Breana exhaled sharply and tossed her phone from one hand to the other, thinking.

“Let’s just say I do go back in time…” she whispered, eyes scanning her notes again.

Her thoughts drifted to Mary and Elias—two undead souls tethered to the past but walking quietly through the present. They knew that world, the one she was beginning to suspect she’d soon be entering.

Assuming they weren’t too busy—considering, you know, the whole being-vampires-and-can’t-go-outside-during-the-day thing—maybe she could shoot Mary and Elias a quick text.

Just for comfort to check up on them.

Breana sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at her phone like it might bite her back. Her fingers hovered over the group chat and hesitated.

Then, she just started typing.

Breana: good morningggg. hope y’all aren’t sleeping in too much 😅

Breana: i was thinking about our convo from last night. you free to talk again later?

She stared at it for a second, then hit send. She figured if they were still asleep— actually can they sleep? She doesn’t know. Whatever, they’d just get to it when they could.

To her surprise, the typing bubbles popped up immediately.

Mary Mary: Good mornin’ girl ☀️ we’re always up dw, what’s up?

Breana felt a little relieved at the warm response, then quickly followed up:

Breana: nothing deep just had some more questions and i dunno, y’all are chill to talk to. plus it’s my bday eve lol

Mary Mary: Ohhhh! 👀

Mary Mary: I was just tellin Stack you prob got folks lined up for tomorrow. You got plans yet?

Before Breana could reply, Stack beat her to it.

Stack: i told her you was gon’ be booked n busy

Stack: but if you ain’t, we’ll happily steal a few minutes after sunset 😎

Breana grinned a little at that. She replied:

Breana: yeah it might be a busy day but i don’t got plans set in stone yet.

Breana: might just do something chill

Breana: or disappear and hide from the world for 24 hrs, haven’t decided 💀

Mary’s reply came fast:

Mary Mary: Girl that’s valid tbh

Mary Mary: But if you feel like talkin tonight, we’ll be at the usual spot. Just text

Stack: bring snacks

Mary Mary: 🙄

Breana chuckled and was feeling a weird comfort bloom in her chest. These two were something else. Unusual as hell, literally, but familiar in a way she didn’t expect.

But it was good to know someone was out there who could hold space with her in the meantime.

She stretched her arms over her head, rolled her neck, and whispered to herself:

“Okay. I’m not alone.”

Not yet, anyway.

Breana: btw been doing some research this morning

Breana: about your era...

A pause. She watched the three dots flicker under Mary’s name. Then:

Mary Mary: 👀 Oh really now, why tho?

Breana bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t say “just in case I get yeeted through a tear in space-time.” So instead:

Breana: idk just been thinking more about stuff you two said

Breana: trying to understand the time y’all came from

Breana: it’s wild to think about how different things were back then and how much hasn’t changed too

Stack chimed in, of course.

Stack: girl it was a whole other planet back then

Stack: no AC, no internet, no rights, and bread was a nickel 😭

Stack: mary used to churn her own butter lmao

Mary Mary: STOP LYING TO THIS GIRL I AIN’T NEVER CHURNED NO DAMN BUTTER

Breana laughed aloud, then replied:

Breana: 😭😭 y’all are ridiculous

Breana: but fr, it’s interesting. learning how folks survived, how they dressed, talked…

Breana: even the little stuff like what people cooked or how they dealt with the heat

There was a pause before Mary responded again, this time a bit more sincere:

Mary Mary: Well, if you ever got questions about how life really felt back then you know we got stories for days

Mary Mary: Not just the bad stuff either

Mary Mary: We laughed a lot, we danced, we loved hard…it wasn’t all pain

That hit Breana deep. She stared at the message for a while, then replied:

Breana: yeah. i’d love to hear more of those stories sometime

Breana: i’ll text y’all tonight after i get some stuff done

Stack: we’ll be up. undead and wide awake 😂

Mary Mary: Behave, Stack

Mary Mary: Talk soon, Bree 💙

Breana smiled down at her screen, then tossed the phone on her bed again and leaned back with a soft exhale.

What time was it now? 11:30—late morning bleeding into early afternoon. Still quiet enough for peace, but just loud enough for distractions. With nothing else urgent pulling at her attention, Breana flopped onto her bed and unlocked her phone.

Might as well check in.

She opened FaceTime, called a few close friends just to hear their voices, share some quick laughs, and pretend—if only for a minute—that everything was just normal. Then came the scroll. Instagram. TikTok.

Tik...

Tok...

Her thumb stopped on a video with her name in the caption. Birthday posts. A handful of them, actually—fan edits, countdowns, even an astrology TikTok theorizing about what each planet means for your life according to your zodiac for tomorrow’s planetary alignment.

She didn’t even blink. She’d liked so many spiritual and astrology videos that her fyp had flooded.

At first, the news unsettled her.

But not anymore.

No more anxiety, no more questioning. She'd decided: whatever life had planned, it was gonna do it anyway. Might as well face it with her chin up.

A couple of minutes later, her assistants popped in, practically buzzing with excitement.

“Okay, quick reminder,” one of them said, clipboard in hand. “Tommorows your birthday gathering. Just a small thing. Parents, friends, your fave stylists, and us.”

“And yes,” the other chimed in, “we’ll be posting. Everyone’s gonna wanna see what you’re up to tomorrow, so we’re spreading it across Insta and TikTok, don’t fight it.”

Breana just nodded, letting herself smile a little. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

They didn’t need to know what was looming in the back of her mind. They didn’t need to know she was halfway convinced this was her last normal birthday.

Let them have their fun. Let the posts go up.

If tomorrow really changed everything…then tonight? Tonight she’d have her cake. And she was damn sure gonna eat it too.

Today had officially become tomorrow.

Breana's birthday had arrived.

She sat quietly in a velvet-backed chair, legs crossed at the ankles, while her hairstylist gently tugged and twisted her hair into one of her favorite styles—an intricate criss-cross rubber band braid pattern at the crown, with the rest of her hair was loose and full. The stylist’s fingers moved with care and precision, like an artist touching up the final strokes of a masterpiece.

Breana held her phone up and captured a few shots in the mirror—angles, lighting, a little lip gloss pop—before uploading the final look to her Instagram story. She tagged her stylist with a glitter emoji and a heart. Grateful, always.

Once her hair was finished, her assistants ushered her back into her room, chatting excitedly about the day’s schedule and what would be posted when. Together, they helped her slip into her outfit for the party—a dress she had chosen weeks in advance but still gasped at when she saw herself in the mirror.

It was a black and white, off-shoulder bow-tied stunner, perfectly hugging her form while still giving her the freedom to breathe, to move, to feel . She paired the dress with sheer transparent tights and tall, sharp black stilettos.

Then came the descent down the hall to the living room.

The second she stepped into view—

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”

The room erupted with voices, flashes of phone cameras, and a collective energy so warm it made Breana pause for a moment, just to soak it in. For a second, the air felt slower.

She almost cried.

There they were—her parents. Her friends. Her inner circle. All gathered just for her. She hadn’t seen her parents in nearly two months, which made their presence that much more emotional.

“Mom! Dad! ” she beamed, practically running toward them, heels clicking across the hardwood floor with power and precision—because yes, Breana was that girl who could run in stilettos and not fall once.

“Hey, darlin’! Happy 25th birthday!” her dad said with a voice full of pride as he embraced her.

“Hey baby, we haven’t seen you in a minute! Ooooh you look beautiful ,” her mom chimed in, pulling her into a hug like she was still fourteen.

They laid their gifts on the table—among many others from friends and colleagues—wrapped in everything from sleek matte black paper to glittery, rainbow explosion chaos. It was a corner of love and celebration.

The party buzzed around her with the sweet comfort of soul food scents drifting through the air—collard greens, baked mac and cheese, fried chicken, candied yams, cornbread—the works. It had been catered by a high-end Black-owned spot Breana personally requested, and the flavor alone felt like coming home.

Then came the cakes.

Yes— cakes.

The first one? A classic vanilla layered masterpiece, made just for Breana by her parents.

At the top, in blue frosting and yellow letters, it read:

“What’s funnier than 24? 25. Happy birthday!”

Breana burst out laughing. “ Y’all are too much! ” she said through giggles. Spongebob was one of her favorite cartoons of all time, and this was peak humor.

The second cake, much larger and meant for guests to share, was a red velvet cake adorned with edible flowers and gold flakes.

Photos were taken nonstop—candid moments, selfies with her besties, and formal poses with her family. Her assistants worked behind the scenes, uploading clips, tagging everyone, managing posts across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Breana didn’t bother checking her phone. Not yet.

Right now, all she wanted to do was laugh, eat, hug everyone in the room, and hold onto this little oasis of love as tightly as she could.

The laughter in the living room echoed behind her like a sweet chorus, champagne glasses clinking, music humming low beneath the hum of conversation. Someone had just made a joke and everyone erupted, including her parents. It was a perfect moment.

Too perfect.

Breana’s smile faltered just slightly as something pulled at her gut. A tight, cold little thread that hadn’t snapped since the moment she opened her eyes this morning.

She blinked once, twice.

The alignment…

She didn’t say it out loud. She didn’t have to. That thought alone made her mouth go dry.

“Oh crap,” she said softly, just enough for her assistant to hear. “I forgot something—I left it in my room, just give me one sec.”

Before they could even respond or follow up, she turned with a casual wave and headed back down the hallway. Her heels clicked a bit faster this time, but not enough to raise concern. Her heart, however, was pounding.

Once in her bedroom, she shut the door gently—no slam, no theatrics. She was calm… enough.

Until she checked her phone.

The screen lit up with a burst of notifications.

Instagram DMs. Comments. Story tags. TikTok mentions. Duets of fans singing her songs. Edits of her best performance moments. Birthday tributes, fanart, memes—even one dramatic video of someone pretending to faint at the thought of meeting her.

“Happy Birthday, Breana!!! QUEEN ENERGY!!”

“She’s 25 and still not aging?? How??”

“Hope this is your best year yet!!”

Her finger hovered above a video of her laughing earlier at the cake. Her assistants had already edited and posted it. She smiled at her digital self.

Then a new banner appeared at the top of the screen:

Mary Mary & Stack 💙:

Happy birthday, Bree. Don’t get too drunk, see you tonight or tomorrow -Mary Marywhat she said. hope it’s a good one young blood. 🥂 -Stack

She smiled. But the warmth didn’t last.

Because that gut feeling returned—stronger now.

She quickly opened her search bar and typed without fully thinking:

“Celestial Alignment Time May 7th, 2025”

The top result loaded instantly:

“The peak alignment will occur at approximately 1:47 PM PST…”

Breana glanced at the time on her phone.

1:44 PM.

Her breath caught.

She stood there, frozen, as the realization punched through her chest like a bass drop.

“Three minutes… ” she whispered out loud.

Then panic set in.

“Okay—okay okay okay okay okay,” she mumbled, backing up a little, gripping the phone like it was an anchor and she was already being pulled out to sea. Her breathing quickened. She felt a burn behind her eyes. Her hands started to sweat.

Forget her earlier nonchalance. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready.

Breana inhaled deeply—once, then twice—holding the breath in her chest like it might glue all her nerves back in place. She checked the time again. 1:46 PM.

One minute.

She set her phone down on the nightstand. No more looking. No more spiraling.

Just go back out there.

She shook her arms out, forced her best I’m-not-panicking smile, and opened the door.

The second she stepped back into the living room, the atmosphere swallowed her whole again. Jazz music played now, something her stylist picked, smooth and classy. Her parents were dancing together by the windows, her friends chatting by the champagne table. Someone had popped open another bottle.

“There you are!” one of her assistants called out.

“Come on, come on, we’re about to cut the big cake!” another friend shouted, holding up her phone to record.

Breana nodded, moving toward the table, blending back into the birthday rhythm. She accepted hugs, opened a gift or two, and even let one of her friends convince her to take a sip of mimosa (non-alcoholic, thank God—her nerves didn’t need help).

“Alright, make a wish!” her dad announced with a proud grin, already holding up his phone.

The candles flickered, glowing warm and golden against the frosting.

One minute left…

Breana stared at the flames.

She didn’t make a wish.

She just closed her eyes and thought, Please…not yet.

Then she blew them out.

Cheers erupted. Everyone clapped, and someone from the back yelled, “TWENTY-FIIIIIIIVE!” like it was the age of legend.

The party pressed on.

The house had gone quiet.

The party guests were gone. Empty champagne glasses littered the kitchen counter. Wrapping paper lay crumpled in a pile beside the couch. Her parents had already gone to bed in the guest room. Her assistants had gone back to their hotel after helping her change and unwind.

Now it was just Breana. Alone in her room. Back in her pajamas, her makeup wiped clean, her hair in a bonnet.

She sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, staring out the window.

The moon hung heavy and silver above the city skyline. The sky was too still. Like the world was holding its breath again.

Her phone sat quietly beside her.

Breana exhaled, a hand resting on her knee. She hadn’t expected to have time to see Mary and Elias tonight, but it looked like she just might. Her fingers hovered above the screen, ready to text—

And then she looked out the window.

There they were.

The planets. Aligned.

It was stunning in a haunting kind of way. A string of bright pearls suspended in a velvet-black sky. She’d seen the predictions, the mockups, the TikToks claiming this was it —the moment the world would shift. And now…here it was. Real. Tangible. No turning back.

She wasn’t about to check any news headlines about the “effects” either. If she didn’t have powers, she would’ve dismissed all the online panic: memory loss, time displacement, emotional distortion… Like, girl please...

But as she's known ever since she was eighteen, nothing was impossible anymore.

And she was grateful— relieved, even—that the day had gone by without incident.

Until—

BrrrrrNNGGG—!!

A shrill, splitting hum cracked through her skull.

“Ah—!” Breana’s hands flew to her head. Her eyes slammed shut, her chest seized up, and her heartbeat started hammering like a war drum. The air shifted. Thickened. Her whole body trembled as the sky outside took on a strange glow—celestial, yes, but tinged with something uncanny. Ominous.

Her ears rang.

No— screamed.

The sound wasn’t normal. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t here. It was coming from…somewhere else. Inside?

She stumbled back from the window, breath hitching. She needed her intuition to say something , anything. But her mind was static. A broken signal.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Her knees buckled.

She hit the floor.

Gasping.

Eyes wide and unseeing.

Her powers stirred. Not gently. Not the way they usually did. This was violent. Chaotic. She felt her chest thrum like an amplifier as a soft bluish-purple light began to glow from beneath her skin.

“No—no, no, no—” she whispered.

She glanced down, trembling.

Her whole body was glowing now, pulsing brighter and brighter like a living beacon. Her fingers twitched. She couldn’t move her hands from her head. Couldn’t open a rift even if she wanted to. Her powers were acting on their own, building toward something she didn’t understand.

She needed something to anchor her.

Her phone. Her memories.

She forced her eyes open and spotted it—just out of reach, where she’d left it near the window.

“C’mon,” she rasped. “Please…”

She crawled—every muscle heavy, like moving through water. The light around her body swelled, warping the shadows in the room, distorting the walls just slightly like heat haze.

Her fingers brushed the phone.

She snatched it with a shaky hand and shoved it into her pants pocket. Her other hand scraped against the floor, trying to find grip to push herself up. She glanced toward her desk, where her laptop and notebook sat—pages of the notes she had taken earlier.

Too far.

No time.

The glow surged again, and the room vibrated softly like a low hum of thunder before a storm.

Breana staggered to her feet.

Fucking hell, why—

Breana didn’t even get to finish the thought.

Her mind went blank.

Still glowing, still trembling, her body began to lift. Slowly. Unnaturally. Her feet left the ground like she was weightless, suspended in a cocoon of pulsing violet-blue light.

Above her, the ceiling shimmered. Then— crack.

A rift opened.

Not one of her own.

This one wasn’t drawn by her hands, wasn’t triggered by her focus. It opened like it had a will of its own. It pulsed—once, twice—like a heartbeat, warping the ceiling into a glowing spiral of nothingness.

Then, just as suddenly, it snapped shut.

And Breana crashed to the floor.

Hard.

The air left her lungs in a harsh gasp as she landed, light still pouring from her body in surges.

She groaned, barely able to process what had just happened. A rift opened…without her? That wasn’t supposed to happen. Her power always needed her focus, her will. This felt like something—or someone—else had pulled the thread instead.

Then came the knocking.

Knock knock knock.

“Breana?” her mom called out, her voice tinged with concern. “Sweetheart, are you okay in there?”

Another knock. Firmer. Sharper.

“Breana?”

Then her father’s voice joined, worried and commanding.

“BREANA?!”

But Breana couldn’t answer. Her mouth opened, but no words came. Just a pained, breathless sound.

“Ah…”

She clutched her chest, shaking, drenched in sweat as the light from her skin flickered erratically.

Their voices faded.

Not because they stopped talking.

But because she was slipping.

Her eyelids grew heavy. Her limbs went numb. The sounds of her parents shouting became distant—like she was underwater, sinking deeper and deeper.

And then…

Silence.

Total, perfect silence.

Breana’s eyes fluttered shut.

That moment was the curtain call of her time in this chapter.

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