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boneapplet · 10 days ago

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A Love Born in Blood pt.17

Relationship: Angron x oc/afab!reader

Warnings: minor descriptions of a difficult pregnancy

Word Count: 1780

Requested Tags for All Works: @beckyninja @runin64 @ilovewolvezz

Masterlist

pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | pt 4 | pt 5 | pt 6 | pt 7 | pt 8 | pt 9 | pt 10 | pt 11 | pt 12 | pt 13 | pt 14 | pt 15 | pt 16 | pt 17 | pt 18

Engines howling like the damned, the ship trembles in the grip of the warp. Inside its war-hardened frame, the World Eaters keep to themselves, sharpening blades and tempering fury, but their master doesn’t rest. His Legion, blood-drenched and glory-hungry, doesn’t understand what he’s doing. They whisper behind vox-helms, uncertain why their master diverts their fury toward an obscure mining world. It isn't conquest. It isn’t retribution. It’s personal.

Standing alone in the strategium, Angron paces—each step loud, thunderous, uneven. Before him, the hololith loops over and over again, showing the red-ringed designation: Subject A-19234R. Designation: Concubine-class Asset. Location: Gheltor Secundus.

No name. No image. Just the designation. Just the echo of a life. The vitals hadn’t updated. The file hadn’t grown. Every moment that passed, she might be dying. His lips don’t form her name. They haven’t since the night they tore her from him—since he picked up her torn shawl with his blood-slicked fingers, when he broke in the sand of a dying camp. But he knows. The Butcher’s Nails scream. They always do. But for once, it is not only rage they feed. Beneath the boiling tide, another fire simmers. Older. Deeper. Hotter.

“Evara,” the word escapes, barely audible.

Khrivan, the tech-adept, watches from the perimeter. The last datafeed left nothing clear. No status. No exit log. Just a record expunged too neatly, scrubbed by someone with authority. Someone who thought Angron would never come looking. They were wrong. Khrivan tries again to speak—mentioning atmospheric density reports, obfuscated orbital traffic, the need for stealth.

Angron’s fist slams into a support strut, denting the adamantium. He turns toward the projection, eyes glowing like dying stars.

“I want Gheltor’s planetary logs cracked. Civilian manifests. Dockyard exports. Labor shifts. Even their sewage cycles, tear it apart. If a single scrap of her passed through that world, I’ll find it. They tried to bury her in silence.” He says.

Then, softer—dangerously calm. “They will tell me why.”

Khrivan nods quickly, fleeing to carry out the order.

Left alone once more, Angron approaches the hololith. With unexpected gentleness, he presses his armored hand to the flickering projection. For a moment, his shadow swallows it whole. He remembers her touch. Her breath against his shoulder. The way she had never flinched—not from his temper, not from the implants, not from the pain. In her presence, the monster had been just a man. She had seen what the Emperor hadn’t. There’s something else gnawing at him. Not the Nails. Not the fury. Fear. Not for himself, but that he might be too late. That whatever remained of that night, that woman, that hope, might already be ash.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The freighter lurches as it breaks the upper thermosphere. Evara braces herself on the crate wall, her breath ragged, sweat slicking her hairline. Every jolt of the vessel is a new assault on her exhausted body. Her body aches in places words don’t reach. But she’s off-world, she made it.

The cabin is dark, shielded against tracking arrays, reeking of rust, coolant, and fuel. The crew keeps their distance. They don’t ask her name. All they know is she paid in secrets, not thrones, and that someone wanted her caged badly enough to raise a planetary alert once she vanished.

Tucked in the inner lining of her coat, the shawl fragment still lives. Pressed sometimes to her lips. Other times, her belly. The child stirs inside her again. Too early for motion, the data she read had told her. Every shift, every flutter, feels like being punched from the inside. She exhales through her teeth and rubs her lower abdomen, whispering nonsense words of comfort, half to herself, half to the life she carries.

“We’re not safe yet.” She whispers it like a lullaby.

Across the bay, Larn watches her. He doesn’t ask questions. They struck a deal, favors for freedom. Still, something in his scarred face suggests he knows more than he admits. He’s seen desperation like hers before, but never quite like this.

“You’ll make it off,” he says quietly, more assurance than promise. “The crew doesn’t talk. They’re ghosts, same as you.”

She nods. Each breath burns. The stimulant is wearing off, leaving her shaking. There’s a sharp ache down her spine and a pressure beneath her ribs. She knows this pregnancy is not normal. She feels it in her bones. The child is growing too fast. Her body is breaking to house it. Still, she won’t stop. The freighter’s nav-officer, a woman with augmented eyes and a voice like gravel, ducks into the hold.

“Next stop is Shalritha, neutral space. Rotworld, mostly independent. Not safe, but unaligned still. You’ll disappear there, if you’re smart.”

Evara nods faintly.

As the woman leaves, Evara exhales and closes her eyes. The freighter shudders again, cutting into realspace. Somewhere out there, she knows, Angron is still alive. Something deep in her blood, whispers that he is coming. But she cannot rely on hope. She is alone and must ensure their child won’t be born in chains.

Tightening the coat around herself, leaning her head back against the vibrating wall.

“Just a little further,” she murmurs. “Just a little longer. I’ll keep you safe. Even if I have to crawl through the dark to do it.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The freighter shudders as it punches through the atmosphere of Shalritha, a world cloaked in volcanic ash and storm-born shadows. Evara clutches the edge of the cargo hold, the metal cold beneath her sweat-slicked hands. Her breath comes in short, ragged gasps. Each jolt of turbulence is agony, her spine aflame, her abdomen a storm of pressure and swelling pain.

Shalritha rises beneath them, a soot-swept ruin of steel canopies and slag towers veiled in permanent dusk. The entire planet groans under industrial overuse—a haven for exiles, dissidents, and traders who ask no questions.

Larn appears at her side, jaw tight. “We’ve only got minutes. The port logs are already flagged. You’ll disappear faster if we split now.”

Evara doesn’t respond at first. Her fingers drift to her coat, brushing the shawl fragment hidden in the inner lining. The warmth there feels almost imagined, almost memory. The pain in her belly spikes again—sharp, unnatural. She winces, a tremor of weakness nearly buckling her knees.

“I need a medicae,” she breathes, voice shaking. “One that doesn’t ask.”

“I know someone,” Larn says. “Midhive, sector six. Augmetic surgeon. Fallen off the books. Keeps old secrets for pay.”

“Then take me.”

Rain pours in streaks of acidic gray as they cross the cracked ferrocrete causeways, weaving through forgotten alleyways and vent-hung bridges slick with rust and dripping coolant. The sky above is a fractured dome of faint electric storms, painting everything in stark, stuttering light. Cloaked in a smuggler’s garb, staggers out onto a platform swamped in rain and soot. Shalritha smells of oil, old blood, and damp metal. She nearly collapses as her foot touches the cracked ferrocrete. Larn steadies her.

“We need to get you off the main port grid,” he says.

Evara leans heavily on Larn now, every step harder than the last. Her body has begun to rebel against her. Her temperature surges and drops. Her joints ache with pressure. Something is growing too quickly inside her, a life not quite like others. They descend through a hatch behind a collapsed transport hub, entering a maze of service tunnels nicknamed the “Undercrawl,” where Shalritha’s ghosts barter silence in blood. Larn knocks on a warped metal door carved with archaic symbols.

“Old friend,” he calls. “We’ve brought coin. And something rarer.”

With a hiss the door opens. Beyond it stands a woman with half a skull replaced by an augmetic frame, one eye a hollow lens, the other gleaming with sharp intelligence.

“She’s breaking,” Larn says simply, nodding toward Evara.

“Come,” the surgeon replies, voice distorted through a speaker embedded in her throat. “Before she tears apart.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Khrivan returns, this time pale, breathless, data-scrolls in hand.

“My lord,” he stammers. “We decrypted an outbound freighter manifest from Gheltor’s unregistered dockyards. One departure… matching an unsanctioned biometrics flag. Female. No name. Code-red exit protocol triggered post-launch. Destination: Shalritha.”

Angron's knuckles whiten as he grips the data-table. His teeth grind.

“Course change,” he growls. “We follow.”

The helmsman protests, only barely “Lord, Shalritha is under sigil-sanction by the Mechanicus. Navigating it—”

“We follow,” Angron repeats, voice like a landslide. The Nails shriek approval.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laying still on a rusted medical slab, her eyes half-lidded. Cold light pools over her face as the surgeon’s drones buzz low, scanning her trembling form.

“You’re lucky you made it this far,” the woman murmurs, studying the readouts. “This isn’t a normal gestation.”

Evara says nothing.

“The fetus is accelerating cellular division. Hyper-dense muscle growth. Neural spikes off the chart. Your body’s fighting it, losing. But it’s alive. Strong. Whatever it is… it wants to live.”

Evara’s eyes blur with tears she doesn’t let fall.

“I want it to live,” she says. “Can you help me carry it to term?”

The surgeon doesn’t respond right away.

“Maybe. With augmentic support. Blood infusions. You’ll be half machine by the end.”

“Fine,” Evara says through clenched teeth. “Just… get me that far.”

“And then what?”

Evara’s voice lowers. Her hand finds the shawl fragment again, clutched like a vow.

“Then I disappear. With him.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the void’s hungry mouth, the Conqueror cleaves through reality like a spear. Its hull groans with the fury of chained gods. Angron stands in the forward observatory chamber, silent amid the data-streaming hololiths and burning incense of blood rites.

Tech-Adept Khrivan kneels beside the relay node, his hands trembling as a scrambled data feed begins to resolve. “Coordinates align. One freighter. Unflagged registry. Illegal flight path. Landed on Shalritha… forty-two hours ago.”

The hololith flickers. No names. No faces. But Angron sees the trail. He feels it, chest tightening at this. The Nails throb, but it isn’t rage that moves him now. It is something else—quieter, more dangerous. A certainty. She is there. Lifting the torn shawl from beneath his vambrace, pressed close to his skin for months now, forgotten by all but him. Its fibers are brittle, scorched with dried blood, but still red. Still hers.

“She didn’t vanish,” he mutters. “They took her. And she survived.”

The void responds with silence, broken only by the growl of engines and the hum of war.

“Deploy two gunships when we breach orbit,” he growls. “Sweep the hive. Civilian sectors first. No fire unless I command it.”

Khrivan’s eyes widen. “Lord… you mean to land?”

Angron turns, eyes glowing like a furnace behind his helm. “I mean to find her.”

#warhammer 40k #wh40k #warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k oc #warhammer oc #wh40k oc #primarch x oc #warhammer x oc #angron x oc #angron #wh40k fic #warhammer fic

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tiyawnyana · 2 years ago

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Kinktober: Day 13

In Public

A/N: i would do anything for this man

Pairing: Neteyam x (Fem) Human character

(Can be seen as a standalone or as a continuation of the characters from day 1 and 2)

Warnings: slight jealousy, teasing, in Public, handjob, cumming on chest, cum eating

¤¤¤

He was so tense, so wound up these last few days. You knew he wouldn't crack, though; he was always so careful to not do so, he needed to remain that headstrong child in his parents eyes.

Everytime that you and Neteyam had tried to spend time together there last few weeks, whether or not it was intimate, you kept getting interrupted.

It was so annoying; you two had just started to experiment with your intimacy! Finding out what you can do, what got you both going; and quite frankly you missed feeling his big hands on your body.

You decided then that if he wasn't able to come to you, always been called off, then you'd go to him.

Kiri helped you get ready for that nights ceremony. It was yet another celebration for Neteyam; he was climbing the ranks quicker than any other Omiticaya, coming to no surprise to you. He has always been so incredible.

Your friend cooed in delight, clapping in excitement as she fixes your outfit; she had specifically made this lovely top that creatively covered your breasts while also making them look great, and the tewng she made covers your bum with intricate beads and feathers coiling together. You felt.. pretty. Prettier than any of those hand me downs or sewn up outfits from everyone at the labs ever made you feel. You stifle a grin, blush on your cheeks before you and Kiri hurry to the celebration.

After an hour of Neteyam going around, helping more people as always and slicing the meet he had caught, he finally is able to break off and take a breather. He settles down a bit by the fires and sips on a waterskin before he gazes out of his peripheral, ears perking and brow bone shooting up when he spots you. He quickly wipes his mouth, grinning at you while doing a once over.

"Hello, tiyawn," he smiles all soft and sweet as you approach,"I did not expect to see you all dressed up, you look.." He softly grabs your hip, tugging you closer,"Narlor."

You chuckle, a warm blush taking over your features as you thumb over his hand,"Wanted to dress nicely for your celebration.."

"I am guessing that Kiri made this for you? She has been focusing hard on that project, I am glad it fits you so well. Come, sit with me?" He scoots over on the log, patting beside himself,"Would you like some fruits? Meat?"

You shake your head, smiling fondly up at him through your mask,"I'll grab something before I leave, still a little nervous so I'm not too hungry just yet, but thank you."

"Why are you nervous?"

Just as you are about to explain- or brush it off, one of the weavers, a sweet girl by the name of Aneya approaches the two of you, grinning softly at you and waving before redirecting her attention to Neteyam.

"Hello, sorry, may I have a word with you, Neteyam?" She fidgets with her fingers as a deep color covers over her cheeks in a blush.

He nods, gently gazing at you,"I'll be right back," with a soft tone and smile before standing and walking off with her.

You kind of slouch after that, you truly don't mean to watch but find yourself doing so.

Aneya fiddles with her fingers, batting her eyes up at Neteyam and smiling that soft coy smile, and you can't stop the pit of frustration growing in your belly. Now Aneya was always kind, truly a good and sweet Na'vi girl growing up; she would often play with you and Kiri as children before finding her calling in the form of weaving beautiful and intricate beaded tops, tewngs, necklaces, shawls and even blankets for new families. She was truly a blessing from Eywa. But embarrassment grew in you as you grew angrier at seeing her gently taking Neteyams hands in her own.

But Neteyam, being ever the gentlemen, gently pulled away, bowing and bidding a good night and celebration before heading off towards you with his ears pinned to his skull. He doesn't get very far, is pulled back by his wrist by Aneya and something is said to him with a firm look on her face. You don't miss the side eye from her and your spine straightens in surprise.

He pulls back from her, lips pursed in masked annoyance as he walks back to you. He finally manages to sit besides you, once more, and chats with you about some things.

You can't help but want to ask- but you don't. So you stifle it, laughing with him and leaning against his side. Tuk comes by, nearly toppling you over and thankfully dragged off by Kiri before she can smother you.

Neteyam finishes his water skin, getting up to refill before you quickly stand after him.

"Hey, I am going to start heading back.." You speak softly and he leans down to hear you better before nodding.

"I can walk you back?"

"No, it's okay, don't want to steal the guy everyone's fawning over," you chuckle, but he gently touches your arm.

"I'm walking you back, I need to get away for a bit, anyways." He decides, grinning,"I'll meet you back here."

And he walks off, leaving you with your thoughts. A shiver rolls down your spine, you can't stop those impure thoughts from darting in.

He's back just as quick, gently guiding you through Na'vi congratulating him and you bid a Goodnight to the other sully kids. You two start to leave, walking away from the party, but you're too impatient by this point and grip his arm, tugging him behind one of the thick trees. The party is still visible, drums still loud and bustling navi as they head back home. Neteyam jolts in surprise, and you push him by his hips to press against the tree.

You grin up at him, a certain glint in your eyes that is caught by the flickering flames behind the tree, and he sinks against the tree at feeling your fingers toying with the cords of his tewng.

"Hi, baby," you grin teasingly.

"H-hello, hi, what is going on?" He stutters momentarily, eyes fluttering when your hands drift upwards to pet over his abs.

"Missed you," you coo, reaching high to his neck to weakly cup there,"Too much."

His eyes soften and he cups the side of your neck, thumbing at the edge of your mask.

"Deep breath," he instructs, you listen, and he peals the mask up to tenderly kiss you deeply.

He tilts your head, licking into your mouth and you groan, grabbing onto his forearms desperately. You gasp, panting and he quickly pulls back, fixing your mask over your face. You reset the oxygen, breathing deeply and the lightheadedness fades away. You grin lopsided at him as he worriedly strokes up and down your arms.

"Let's- let's head to the labs," he whispers, moving to lead you there but you grip his hips and move him back to the tree.

"Let's stay here?" You lift your mask after taking another deep breath, kissing over his abs and trailing down to his navel before mouthing over the skin right above his tewng, then quickly tug it back on,"Just stay quiet for me, baby.."

He shudders, nodding quickly and biting his lower lip hard.

You untie his tewng almost expertly by this point and it drops to the forest floor. You freeze for a moment when a navi couple can be heard behind the tree, heading to their hut.

You grin, eyeing his cock that gradually unsheathes itself. He pants, chest already heaving for breath when you thumb over the skin of his sheath.

"Ah- oh," he hisses between his teeth, a full body shiver rolling through him.

You feel arousal dripping between your thighs when you teasingly touch at the base of his hardening length. He huffs hard through his nose.

You then lift your hand, tapping his thigh,"Can you lick my hand?"

He nods too quick before leaning down to take your wrist, licking your hand while keeping eye contact. He leaves your hand wet enough for you to quickly wrap firmly around his cock, jerking lazily at first just to see him release a strangled gasp with a cocky grin on your lips. You gaze at his length, biting your lip to stifle a groan as you realize, again, how fucking big he is. Your hand doesn't even come close to wrapping around him completely, if anything it only wraps about halfway around his girth. And you really have to jerk him off, hand and entire arm moving to get him off.

"Oh, great mother," his hips buck into your hold,"Tiyawn- oh!"

His grimaces in stifled pleasure, hands gripping the bark of the tree in a poor attempt to stable himself.

You both freeze when footsteps are heard, soft giggling as a Na'vi couple wall past you. A soft,'did you hear something' is heard, and your stomach drops when they stop for a moment. You peak up at Neteyam and grin at seeing his face; eyes and jaw clenched shut, lower lip bitten hard on as he inhales sharply.

You move your hand, jerking him quickly and he jolts, eyes shooting open and hands coming to grip over your shoulders as he keens hard.

Thankfully, the couple leaves, but unfortunately they're not the only ones leaving the celebration.

You gaze up at him,"Just a little bit longer, my love," you whisper sweetly,"just gotta stay quiet.."

He nods, a low whine tumbling from his lips as you speed up your hand, his pre now aiding as a lube over his cock.

His hand gently cups your neck, nearly wrapping around your throat completely while thumbing over your pulse point. He breathes heavily and can't seem to cover his mouth, so in a daze, you lift your hand up to his slouching form and touch his lips gingerly. His eyes droop open, gazing down at you with lust.

"Suck," is all you say, and god is he a good listener.

It's almost a show; the way he grasps your wrist while slouching a bit more, sucking your over pointer finger before quickly sucking your middle finger into his mouth. His moans are stifled thanks to his, hips rolling into your hand, fucking it at the point. His tongue sucks the underside of your fingers, fangs knicking the skin and you grin breathlessly.

"Good boy," you test out the words on your tongue and his reaction is immediate; he chokes out a groan, eyes rolling back and his hips buck hard, stuttering.

When you twist your palm over his tip, he whines low and long around your fingers, and ends up tossing his head back when you sloppily twist your hand down the rest of his length. Your fingers leave his mouth, but you use that to tease over his nipples.

"Ah? Oh- wait, f-fuck," the English swear from his mouth sounds so hot, your thighs clench to help ease the ache between them.

His nipples are surprisingly sensitive, and you grin. The coolness of the drying saliva on your fingers has them hardening up quick, so you pinch them lazily and he accidentally moans too loud.

Again, footsteps are heard, but they freeze. So you stop, too, and he tries to silence his harsh breathing. You peak around the tree and jump at seeing Aneya looking around in confusion, ears perked.

You feel a malicious feeling stir, and decide on the spot; quickly jerking him hard and fast, teasing his nipples simultaneously as he wheezes, lifting one of his hands to cover his mouth as he gazes down at you, an embarrassed but desperate look in his eyes. The distinct sound of your wet palm gliding up and down his cock is loud.

"Hello? Neteyam, was that you?" Aneya questions softly, concern in her tone,"I thought I heard him.."

You can't take your eyes off him now, so pleased with his breathy whines being muffled by his own hand. His hips buck into your hand hard now, other hand gripping you closer so now all you can do is short jerks around his base up to the middle of his cock.

You manage to make eye contact with him and you peel down the front of your top, exposing your tits. He oggles them in surprise before looking back at your face.

You mouth,'Cum for me', and he jolts, hips speeding up enough so that you just let him fuck into your hand. He clenches his eyes shut, huffing hard and moaning low behind his hand when finally, his cock pulses hard in your hold. He cums, a lot unsurprisingly, and it splatters across your neck, chest and tits. Drips down into the valley between them and down over your nipples.

"Good boy," you whisper in a sweet voice.

He groans, hand disconnecting from his mouth as he drops to the forest floor, back pressing to the tree again; you swear you see shiny spit around his lips and god, he looks so good like that. So debauched.

You peak around the tree again to see no one, thankfully, but you idly wonder if Aneya had heard anything else..

You return your attention to Neteyam, grinning over him as he huffs for breath. He blinks at you, then reaches out and takes your hand, tugging you forward to grip your hips and darting his face to your tits and licking up the mess he left. His tongue is sloppy, but teasing as he sucks over your nipples, pinching them as his tongue leaves.

"Deep breath," he instructs, again, then tugs up your mask to dart his tongue into your mouth. His cum still tingles on his tongue, invading your taste buds but you whine needily. He then cups between your thighs, feeling your arousal clear as day. You tug yourself back and choke out a breathless moan and quickly tug down your mask, whining and dropping against him as his fingers rub, targeting your pulsing clit.

"Wait- need your mouth, lets- ah!" You roll your hips down against his fingers,"go- let's go back to the labs-"

"Ok- ok, let me catch my breath.." He grins, leaning his head back against the tree.then teases,"Jealous of Aneya, huh?"

"No idea what you're talking about," you sigh, rolling your eyes playfully.

He tugs you close, hands going to your hips and thumbs dipping into your navel to gently pet the skin there.

"You know I am yours, always," he softly speaks.

You nod gently, gazing at him longingly,"And I am yours, always."

¤¤¤

A/N: i want him

Taglist

@akoyaxs

(Lmk if you want to be added!)

#avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar imagine #avatar smut #neteyam #avatar kinktober #avatar way of water #kinktober #jake sully #neteyam smut

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fashion-foxy · 4 months ago

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Going Foward With The EAH Server Based Mobile Game - My thoughts as of 24/2/25

This post will highlight my current thoughts and what I plan to do regarding this game, as well as that it most likely will not be playable ever unless some mericle happens. This is a very long update and is the first one in a while, so I have a very short recap under the cut.

INTRODUCTION/RECAP (Feel free to skip if you are familiar with my GMGA posts/updates):

Hi, I'm Foxy, I run @girlymobilegamearchive

I use the #GMGA updates and #Ever After High game tags for talking about my project of making now defunct stereotypically feminine mobile games easily accessible. I use the ever after high game tag for anything regarding this game. Recap is I found a game just titled Ever After High and went on a long journey trying to get it in a working state. Eventually, I gave up. I have since Un given up.

Actual Update:

I have recently found the versions 2.3.1 2.3.2 and 2.2. I use version and build interchangeably. I know their different. What you basically need to know is that these are just different updates to the game. Previously, I only had versions 2.4 and 1.10. What these new versions have confirmed is that:

There was a major update to the game with every new Netflix special that was released. (I already suspected it but it's nice to confirm it.

This game was not only being maintained (i.e. servers still kept up and on the appstore) but actively getting updated with new content from 2015 - 2022. (This is similar to the timelines of the other 3 EAH games, most of which did not have the same development teams)

This game, IF I find a functional version, will not be compatible with modern android (about android 13 to 15, which is what I consider modern. If you have an android device, i can almost guarantee this means you.) The version I can confirm will it will work if it ever does is Android 7.

Let's break down all of these discoveries.

1. Confirmation of all specials having a themed version:

Originally, I thought 2.4 was the epic winter build because Apple was the school winter shawl. However, both 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 feature her in the EW outfit, this with the DG outfits featured on the Amazon Appstore page and footage I found of the WTW build confirms this. I will try to find as many builds as I can.

2. Why were most EAH games made in 2015 and updated until 2022?

So, admittedly, it seems odd that the EAH mobile games were made in 2015 and continued to be updated years after the franchise was cancelled. But here's my theory. So, these games are pretty simple and could be made in about 6 months to a year. EAH and MH were doing pretty well, so naturally, they expanded into multimedia, more specifically games, around this time. They contracted Animoca to make Charmed Style and Tea Party Dash, worked internationally on Baby Dragons, and contracted [X]cubegames to make this game, Ever After High. [X]cubegames then worked with RedHat Inc for server maintenance. I don't what exactly happened in Mattel but either they just kinda forgot the games existed, or they were actually making enough money to beat maintenance costs. Then I think Mattel looked back into their MH and EAH games around 2022. Why did they decide to look into the MH and EAH properties in 2022? Well, that's when the MH reboot came out! So, in 2022, they were like, OK, let's go talk to Animoca and our home development team and whoever the hell else we contracted to make MH games. So, they went to talk to them and were like, hey, its not very profitable for these games to still be active, and we're rebooting the brand. And the companies said cool, but what about EAH. Mattel had forgotten EAH games existed and could really like to not make disney upset since they had just gotten the disney doll license back and got all EAH games shut down.

3. The EAH app will not be functional on modern android:

The EAH app was built for Android 5 to 7 and uses storage permissions for those versions. In the more than 7 android versions that have been released since then, the storage permissions have changed completely, and the game won't even recognize it. This is one of the many many reasons why we should just rebuild the game instead of trying to resurrect its long dead corspe, but I don't feel especially qualified for that. Maybe in the future, that'll change, but for now, I'm just going to work on archiving what the game was.

(BTW, sorry if the talking about the games in the main tag is annoying)

#ever after high #ever after high game #gmga updates

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annestie · 1 year ago

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Like It Will Ever Happen

Summary: Lo’ak makes a seemingly impossible bet with some rather unfortunate consequences, thinking it would never happen. Poor Lo’ak’s never had that good of luck

Pairing: Ao'nung x Neteyam

Word Count: 640

Notes: For Day 13: Joke of @bellakotzent on Tumblr Avatar Valentine's Week.

Kind of late but I've blistered my finger and so I've been fighting through the pain to write lmao. Also my sleep schedule is fucked and I'm literally running on pure will power and monsters though that's kind of typical for me.

It starts as a joke. Betting the strangest bets they can with some odd consequences. They’re bored and its entertainment. Really there’s no need for more explanation.

“I bet mom and the Tsahìk will become best friends in the next year,” Spider says, laughing. “I will do everyone’s chores for a week if that happens,” he adds as a consequence.

“How do we make that happen? I need to see you try and complete that,” Kiri tells him. She laughs but Lo’ak can tell she’s entirely serious.

“I bet your parents will have another child within the year,” Rotxo says. Lo’ak cringes at the thought, their marui is already so full, though Spider, him and Kiri are on the verge of moving out. “I would repair all the nets in the village for a month.” Rotxo chuckles.

“No, we just got more room with Neteyam moving out,” Spider complains.

Finally thinking of a good bet, Lo’ak joins with, “I bet Ao’nung and Neteyam will get together in the next month. I’ll allow Tuk to finally give me that makeover if I’m right!” He couldn’t imagine them ever getting their feelings in order quick enough for that.

“Do you promise?” Tuk asks, excitedly. She’s practically jumping from where’s she seated.

“Yeah sure,” Lo’ak tells. “Like it ever will happen,” he then says to Spider quietly as they both snicker.

A few weeks go by and suddenly Lo’ak notices something strange. It’s a normal day in the village, another boring one, but normal, nonetheless. He’s hanging around the rock with the group as they usually do after their morning duties are complete. Talking, chatting, nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, Neteyam walks by and stands beside them, leaning against one of the rocks. It’s his outfit that has Lo’ak taken aback. Neteyam wears a shawl covering his shoulders and upper chest made from a tawtsngal. A tawtsngal.

People only wore such clothing back in the forest on special occasions. Specifically, on dates with people they hoped to be mated with.

Kiri’s the first to say anything about it. “Brother, what is the occasions?” she asks.

“Does it matter?” Neteyam counters, crossing his arms.

Kiri raises an eyebrow. “It does when you’ve let your hair down and are wearing a tawtsngal.”

Lo’ak hadn’t even noticed that. Neteyam’s hair is loose, out of the braids he normally has, and two strands in the front are pulled back for a half up half down kind of look.

“What is a tawtsngal?” Tsireya curiously questions them.

Lo’ak explains to her, “A plant in the forest. Clothing is made from it for things like dates.”

“Fine. I do have a date tonight,” Neteyam finally confesses.

“Really?” Lo’ak says without really thinking. In the few years they’ve lived on Awa’atlu, Lo’ak has never seen Neteyam accept any confessions.

Neteyam sheepishly lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, this is actually our third date.”

“Where are you two going?” Lo’ak asks.

“Around. I’m taking my ikran and he is taking his tsurak.”

“Around to the spirit tree?” Spider teasingly asks him.

“Shut up and no, mom and dad would kill me, and his parents would probably as well.”

“So, who is this date with?” Kiri looks for him expectantly awaiting answer.

Neteyam opens his mouth to say when Ao’nung walks by. “Hey, Neteyam, are we still good for this evening?” Ao’nung asks, leaning on the same rock Neteyam’s on.

“Of course,” Neteyam responds.

“No!” Lo’ak yells.

“Yes!” Tuk yells at the same time.

The couple stare at them confused. “Do I want to know?” Ao’nung asks Neteyam, looking bemused as Tuk celebrates and Lo’ak wallows in whatever is causing his misery.

“I am not sure either,” Neteyam responds, looking the situation the same.

“I’m going to get the paint!” Tuk yells before standing and running off.

“No!” Lo’ak dramatically shouts.

Tawtsngal: A plant that grows in the forest, sometimes worn by young na'vi looking for a mate (More Info! There's actually a lot of cool info about a lot of different plants here. Check it out if you can, it's really interesting)

#aonunete #neteyam x aonung #avatar the way of water #atwow #fanfic #funny #bad luck #bets #poor Lo'ak #at least Tuk will have fun :)

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omnipotentauthor · 6 months ago

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this was the year of crafting for me! got into crochet and cross stitch

started a crochet fox from a woobles kit november of 2023, but didn't finish until march 13

made a rainbow penguin, also a woobles kit, for my mom's birthday, finished march 21

made a bunch of coasters for myself, and my mom and grandma for mother's day, finished may 10

was given a cross stitch pattern and supplies by my sister for hannukah of 2023, started march 14 and finished may 13

made a granny square for my grandpa's birthday, finished june 5

made a set of placemats for my grandma's birthday, finished august 4

made a shawl for my mom for hannukah, started august 17 and finished september 15

(then my brain turned off and i didn't do shit for four months)

made a hat for my sister for hannukah, finished december 24 (yes, the day before i gave it, had to do it in three days, don't look at me)

i do have another cross stitch in the works, but it's not very far along bc i've only worked on it a couple hours a month for a few months. it's a bigger one, so it might take me a bit even once i start working on it more regularly, but finishing it is one of my goals for 2025, along with other projects

#my crochet #my cross stitch #adding in dates just for myself #the lighting in my room is kinda shit but most of these pics are ok

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sirotras · 1 year ago

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2023 crochet round up!

i mentioned making a post like this a few days ago, and true to my nature, i waited until the last minute to get pictures

so here we are, in no particular order, various projects i finished in 2023

1.) this was technically crocheted last year (i think) but this year i finally assembled and lined it, making it finished! its not quite the size to be a purse, but its perfect for carrying my phone and keys while dog walking

i followed this pattern, and im really happy with the results!

2.) some little zipper bags. like the bag above, the purple one was crocheted last year, but i finally added the lining and zipper this year (i also used the same pattern as the above bag to make the purple one)

the grey one doesnt have a lining and zipper yet, but since the crochet is finished, it still makes the list

3.) little squares from this pattern, to have something to clip my stitch markers to, very helpful for travel

4.) a few of the chokers i made during the summer, there are a bunch more, but you get the idea, a couple were made based on this pattern

4.) this one was hard to get a good shot of, but it's a cat blanket i made for my sister's cats

the pattern was a free one i got from michael's in store, which doesnt seem to be on their site? however its a pretty simple pattern, im pretty sure you could find something nearly identical by searching "star baby blanket" or something like that

5.) for ages now i've been meaning to make something to keep my tablet pens in, because having them loose in my bag is begging for disaster

i actually had to make this little case twice, the first one was too long and the proportions looked weird, so it isnt pictured here

i hand finished all the seams for the lining, there was no practical need to do this

6.) pouch to carry headphones i got for my birthday

7.) pouch to carry Cool Rocks

the bottom of the bag comes from these doily patterns, and the ends of the ties are from this pattern

8.) a mini dice bag, made to hold a couple sets of mini dice my sister made for me!

9.) several cord ties made from this pattern, the flower was my own addition (only two ties are pictured because i didnt feel like tracking down the third)

10.) a flower vine to decorate my desk, no actually on my desk because i still need to sort out how i want to attach it

11.) speaking of flowers, ive probably made dozens of these little guys, they're very quick to make, and a good way to give my hands something to do while watching something

12.) little succulents from this pattern

13.) oops! another pouch to hold even more Cool Rocks

14.) while technically i still need to to line these bags, i still wanted to include them, i made them from this pattern, and im very excited for when theyre actually finished so i can use them

next we're getting into some shawls i made, and unfortunately i just dont have a good set up for getting pics of them

15.) this one was made by doing a little variation from this pattern

16.) this was made from the all shawl pattern by doris chan, its a really great pattern for beginner's, the first shawl i made was from that pattern!

17.) this was made from a variation on the same pattern i used for the cat blanket, i made a couple others from the same sort of pattern late last year, but i decided i needed one in black in october, because it looks just a bit like bat wings

18.) i made a cowl from this pattern, and i really love the texture of it! i also made one for my mom in a different color, which is not pictured here because i took these picture last minute

other things not pictured include: a dice bag for my sister, flowers for my mom, and a sack for the cats to curl up in (since they love making nests out of my projects)

#long post #sirotras speaks #i had that cowl finished for all of 1 minute before sy crawled in it like it was made for her

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topazadine · 1 year ago

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Because it's my birthday I am going to share 23 random facts about me (that no one cares about except me, I care very much)

1. I was born in Okinawa, Japan. No I'm not Japanese, my mom was an accountant for the Air Force. And no, I don't remember anything about Japan; we moved back when I was six months old. The military broke into our apartment and forced us to leave the country because my mom criticized the Air Force for having religious programming on the government-funded radio station. She wrote a screenplay about it which has sadly never been sold :(

2. I've written over 2 million words of fiction, most of which you can read over on Archive of Our Own.

3. I was named for two typhoons that hit Japan around when I was born (first and middle name). Every year, we used to get horrible insane bad weather around my birthday. After I changed my birth name and kept only one of the typhoon names, we don't get bad weather anymore :)

4. I've lived in 10 different houses and three different time zones over my lifetime.

5. I won a Gilman Scholarship for the most competitive country in the program and got to study abroad in Stirling, Scotland, during undergrad. I got all As in my classes while there, despite the fact that I was dealing with repeated bouts of antispychotic-induced trismus where my jaw would lock open for up to six hours. It was ouchie.

6. Over my lifetime, I have kept dogs, cats, betta fish, koi fish, zebra finches, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, and chickens.

7. My favorite time of year is autumn.

8. Back in the early 2010s, I anonymously pretended to be Darren Criss (from Glee) in random peoples' inboxes, and I was so good at it that there was a theory that I was, indeed, Darren Criss. I eventually had to come clean about it because other people tried to copy me.

9. I also caused a controversy in the Sherlock fandom by Photoshopping Sherlock-related graffiti on a photo of the Baker Street Underground station. People literally thought someone was going around spraypainting the London Tube while I was comfortably at home in my apartment in Chicago.

10. While living in Chicago, I once found an iguana in a tree, in the middle of winter. Poor thing would have died if it was left out any longer. I captured it and gave it to my friend who kept reptiles; the original owner never came forward for it.

11. I have dyscalculia, meaning it's nigh-on impossible for me to do anything other than basic math.

12. Because of my dyscalculia, I can't read sheet music. Despite this, I was in choir and musicals because I had a good singing voice. To get around this, my teachers would give me CDs of the music, and I would learn everything by ear.

13. My first ever fannish hyperfixation was The Beatles. I used to roleplay Beatles RPF with my best friend by passing a notebook around between classes. My character had a whole city in North Carolina named after her, plus a lime green Bugatti Veyron and a mansion. Typical middle schooler power fantasy lmao

14. My favorite animal is the unicorn. Barring mythical creatures, my favorite animal is the cow.

15. I collect music boxes, specifically ones with moving parts. My favorite present anyone has ever given me is a singing bird music box with a little canary that dances while it sings.

16. I also collect vintage luggage. Look, it's a cooler storage system than tote boxes, ok??

17. I have been knitting since I was around 9. My favorite thing to make is socks, and the favorite project I've ever done is a seashell-patterned shawl for my mom.

18. In the summer, I love kayaking; in the winter, I love doing nothing whatsoever. Though I'm tempted to try cross-country skiing, ngl.

19. Last year, I made my first roombox; I'm now working on a three-story dollhouse. I also mod Nendoroids.

20. I've had nearly every hair color, which includes blonde, brunet, black, red, purple, teal, blue, green, and pink. My favorite is green.

21. I have seven tattoos, including the term "Mors ad Raptoribus" written across my chest. I got this one after being sexually assaulted; it means "Death to Rapists" in Latin. The other most important one is a portrait of my late dog Luke.

22. I like all sorts of music, including alt, indie, (some) folk, pop, metal, rap, blues, jazz, and classical. The only music I really don't like is gospel. If you ask me my favorite band, rest assured it'll change in about three weeks.

23. I'm a late bloomer horse girl. I rode a little bit as a child but was too broke to afford regular lessons. Now that I'm an Adult, I go riding once a week and wish I could go more!

Happy birthday to me! And yes, I am always this insufferable about myself on my birthday. Look I get one day a year ok

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heavyknitter · 2 years ago

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1 - How it started.

Two weeks ago I walked up 'n over to my aunt, who lives next door to me and asked her if she had some knitting needles and wool to show me how to do it. When I get the urge to do something, I need to do it right now, it can't wait, I need to ride this wave - thankfully my aunt is very much the same so she took one look at me, got up from her seat and started rifling through her stuff to find what I asked for. She used to be an expert knitter, but her eyesight is poor these days so she doesn't bother with that anymore - she is also, as I figured out quickly, not all that good at explaining shit. But eh, we made it work. We are both very kinaesthetic oriented learners and for her this is easy-peasy muscle memory and I had to remind her I have no context no idea how to loop what and where and more importantly, my hands may have a lot of muscle memory on various tasks but not this, none of that. So she manipulated my hand a bit until I got the idea of how and bäm. Suddenly I was knitting.

Well. I tried my best. It was a learning curve, thankfully a steep one. See, she cast on ten loops for me and did the first two rows to get me started and I jumped in and somehow made that 13 loops. That was fun because she of course asked me how the hell and I had no answer because we were at the bare bones, how to increase was not even a topic yet so idk what I did there.

Next issue, which I was not really surprised by if I am honest, was the fact that I was knitting too tightly. See, as artist I have the issue of gripping my pens too tight, so tight in fact that I sometimes cut off the blood circulation in my fingers while I draw detailed linework. I have compression opera gloves to mitigate that issue a bit and keep my hands and arms protected while I try to unlearn this. I also started embroidery in autumn of 2022 and there I like to pull the thread tight to make the embroidery neat and even, so.. both of these things worked against me a wee bit. But I worked on this little test piece for like three days straight to get the movement into my system. To get my grip under control. To get a rhythm going. (To make sure I will not add any more loops to a row than those 13 because seriously where the fuck did they come from.)

I mostly tried to get even rows but in the beginning I made some waves between tight loops and trying to loosen them again but eventually it clicked with my hands what I wanted them to do in terms of pressure and pull. My aunt is a darling you know? She said, those knitting needles are shit for the wool she had at hand but it will do for now, good enough to learn at least. And then she ran an errand the very next day and gave me some bulky as hell soft wool that has like.. the same feels as those soft synthetic cuddly blankets you can buy almost everywhere, so, perfect for me. And my first own knitting needles to go with that. And I showed her my test piece and how I slowly get a hang of it and she nodded in approval and praised how even my rows are getting and that made my brain go brr.

And one day after I did go into the city and hit up the store next to the train station and went a bit wild on buying wool - which is a theme for the next couple of days to be honest. I bought a lot of wool because I really wanted to have everything in house when I go wild. And thus I started on my first real project. A scarf that is more like a shawl because I really really misjudged how broad the bulky soft wool makes the thing. But more on that later I guess <3

#heavyknitter speaks #knitting journal #fuck these 3 extra loops srsly how where and why #I already know how to do increases by the way and I still have no idea what I did on the test piece specifically to make them happen #also maybe worth mentioning. I knit continental style. thats how aunt taught me.#I was not aware that there were different styles until I saw a youtube tutorial that confused the fuck out of me #i was bewildered by looping the thread around the needles by hand #and then i saw another video where a nice old lady said “i'm doing this one in the continental style” and I went ohhhh now I understand #so yah anyway I do contintental #which suits me very well because I knit fast and love it #knitting #fiber arts #fiber crafts #craftblr #knitblr #knitters of tumblr

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jenneferofjengaberg · 2 years ago

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Made a bunch of these cute Christmas wreath ornaments to attach to gifts this holiday season (ignore the bottle of Fray Check I'm using to prop it up lol). Used up some cheap red and green Walmart yarn I had in my stash. Two skeins down only like 30 more to go! (Note to self: STOP. BUYING. YARN.)

My next project is making a shawl for my mom. I'm using a great free pattern from Wilmade.com and some mystery yarn I bought from Temu. It's nice, even though I have no idea what it is.

The label doesn't even have the fiber weight/gauge on it, but I did the "wraps per inch" test and got 13, so I guess that's light Sport weight. The original pattern calls for DK, so I may have to use slightly more yarn to get it the right size. Progress so far:

It is very pretty yarn and very soft. You can't really see it in the pics, but it does have an ever so slight halo (fuzz for the non fiber artists) so I think it's at least partially natural fibers, probably wool. It gives a very nice effect and drape, perfect for a shawl. As the pattern suggests I'm using more than one cake and switching between the colors to get a more gradual color fade, although this yarn might not be best suited for that because the striping is kind of short. As you can see it's kind of doing a grey-white/blue striping thing. If I make this pattern again using this yarn, I'll probably just let the yarn do its thing and crochet without switching until it's time for a new cake.

#crochet #crochet diaries

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things-to-do-in-williamsburg-va · 19 days ago

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Cecelia Campochiaro's Reversible Knitting Event, June 21, 2025 Author and designer Cecelia Campochiaro is coming to Colorful Stitches Fine Yarn in Williamsburg, VA to launch her new book, Reversible Knitting and provide her hands-on experiential day-long workshop. This is the perfect next step to her earlier-released books, Sequence Knitting and Making Marls. Join us for her book signing event and to attend the workshop. Full-day Workshop When: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 9:00am-4:00pm, including a break from 12:00-1:00pm (lunch is on your own; not included in the workshop) Location: Colorful Stitches Fine Yarn store, Merchants Square, 409 W. Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185 (If registrations exceed our in-store space, we will notify registrants of a relocation to the learger nearby site). Workshop Fees:Workshop ONLY (2 classes): $150.00, no taxWorkshop + Reversible Knitting book: $198.15, including tax on book Reservations:Pre-registration and pre-payment are required for attendance. Deadline to register is June 13, 2025. Online reservations: Add your prefered booking item in the drop-down menu to your shopping cart and check out in the normal manner.Offline reservations: Call Toll Free 833-825-1172 or visit the Colorful Stitches Fine Yarn store. Workshop Details: The day-long workshop includes two classes: - Introduction to Reversible Knitting, 9:00am-12:00pm, 3-hour class.This class is about textured stitch patterns where both sides look the same and is also an introduction to the book Reversible Knitting. The class will cover a range of topics including one-row patterns, sequence knitting, how reversible patterns are created,how to use charts for flat knitting or knitting in the round. As a bonus, we will also discuss some reversible selvedges that make nice finished edges. You will have a chance to swatch a couple of stitch patterns to get a feel for two different approaches to creating reversible textures. These patterns can be used for scarves, shawls, blankets or anything where you want both sides to look the same. - Making a Winterview Scarf, 1:00pm - 4:00pm, 3-hour class. This is a project-based class about how to make a Winterview Scarf. Winterview uses sequence knitting to create a beautiful textured triangle, and woven slip-stitch pattern to create the decorative edging. Each student will receive the pattern as a part of the workshop and will make a swatch of the shawl pattern. A scarf-sized yarn kit is available to purchase in-store. During class, we'll discuss how to work the pattern, what yarns are best suited to the pattern and quantities and ideal yarn characteristics so you will be ready to cast on right after the class. The pattern is very flexible and can be worked as a small neckerchief up to a big shawl. Skill Level: Advanced beginner knitters and beyond. Prerequisites: Students must be able to cast one, bind off, knit, purl, increase and decrease without assistance, and should be able to read their knitting. If you can make a 4x4" ribbed swatch without laddering, you will be fine. Homework: None Materials Fee: None.The Reversible Knitting book is available as an optional add-on to the workshop fee. The Winterview Scarf yarn kit, based upon your personal yarn andcolor choices, will be available to purchase in-store. Bring to Class: Students should bring their basic knitting kit including notions, scissors, notepaper, pen/pencil, small ruler, etc.For the morning class, bring 2 balls of solid-color yarn of any weight with appropriately-sized needles for swatching.For the afternoon class, bring 2 balls of fingering or sport yarn: one ball for the main color of the scarf and the other ball for the contrasting color. For the contrast color, only a few yards are needed. It can be the same weight or a lighter weight than the main color yarn. Needles appropriately-sized to the yarn for swatching. Read the full article

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grumpygreenwitch · 6 months ago

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Machina Ex Machina 4-5

I'm not entirely sure if I can update links before the posts are actually, er, posted. So if there's holes in the link collection below, give me a few days. I usually update them all in a lump.

As always, if you enjoy the writing, please like and reblog. There's no algorithms here; my publicity is you. And if you'd like to buy me a Ko-fi, I certainly won't complain.

1+2 - 3+3.5 - 4+5 - 6+.6.5 - 7+8 - 8.5+9 - 10+11 - 12+13 - 13.5+14 - 15+16 - 17+17.5 - 18+18.5 - 19+20 - 21+22 - 22.5+23+24 - 25+26 - 27-28 - 29.29.5 - 30+31 - 32+33 - 34+35 - 36+37 - 38+39 - 40+41 - 42+ AO3 Link

FOUR

Ilo City rested on a narrow strip of land that left it surrounded by the Sea of Simulation on three sides. It had long grown used to being flooded by the whims of the tide, and no new Sector could be laid out without a requisite number of tidal shelters, meant to accommodate the entire population if need be. Even if only a single sector of Ilo survived, the city’s population would remain standing.

No one had foreseen those shelters having to fend off an entire city falling from the sky. During the first Spirestorm, Halcyon had lost nearly a third of its population. Ilo was counting more than half gone. The Island had been completely obliterated.

The Grid felt a ripple of panic go through its entirety. No one, not even the oldest programs, had ever seen the Spires active in such a fashion; they’d only ever gone live to bring about each generation of programs. Obviously no one believed the unseen, unknown, nonexistent so-called ‘Users’ were suddenly going to show up just to erase all that they had (supposedly) created, but again…

The attacks, if that’s what they were, had happened almost exactly a millicycle apart. The Grid’s entire population held their breaths as another millicycle came and went without a Spire having a genocidal tantrum, and an all-cities meeting was called. Normally the cities of the Grid ran their own matters without interference or input from anyone else but, given the circumstances, even Om’s SysAdmin had showed up, inasmuch as he could.

Adas was standing a step beside and behind Endos, who was himself standing a few paces to the left of PEN, Halcyon’s own SysAdmin. Once a simple first-gen, PEN was one of the few programs of that generation that had naturally upgraded. It was a tall, stately presence in robes of purest violet accented with blue and indigo circuitry. Over it all it wore a darker shawl that shimmered, its weave constantly in motion; Adas had seen a few as they’d come into the city; it was a perma-Cosmetic rotating through the names of all the programs that had been lost in Halcyon.

“I’m glad to see all of us present, in one way or another,” PEN declared to the eight or so projections standing in a circle on the Halcyon CommCon’s main floor. “I ask only that we mourn Aeolus’ absence as the loss it is.”

“So there are no survivors from the Island at all?” one of the other SysAdmins asked, her tone wounded and full of shock.

“None,” Endos replied. “I have also commanded Ilo to be evacuated, at least until we find answers.” He shrugged eloquently. “We’re just too close to the Spire to allow for appropriate advance warning.”

Gungnir scoffed. “What would you consider enough distance for advance warning, Endos?” The SysAdmin for Pevir countered. “You can barely see Halcyon’s Spire from the Souk, and yet here we are.”

“We’re not attacking the Spires,” Endos gritted out. “This isn’t the time to bring up that dead pixel yet again.”

His fellow SysAdmin, a last-gen with a long, blood-colored mohawk and armor that rippled with red and orange circuitry, put his hands up. “Then I won’t suggest common sense,” he declared. “But I will offer all of Pevir’s fleets if someone should want to have them at hand.”

“You want us to invite your battleships into our space?” Glim exclaimed. “Should we also swear allegiance preemptively?”

“That is a very short-sighted response to a very generous offer,” a calm, roughly electronic voice declared, and every SysAdmin turned to the screen in question. Om was the smallest of the cities, the most remote. The city dwelt on the Spire itself, and it was inhabited by programs that most everyone considered… weird, to begin with, interested in matters of abstraction, rather than reality. But OM had been SysAdmin of the city since its inception; he’d been around nearly since the inception of the Grid. He was one of the oldest programs still in existence, if not the oldest, and no one could tell if he’d founded the city, or if he’d renamed himself after it. Though the connection was so bad that his image was full of static and his voice full of noise, his presence still carried the weight of a program who had borne witness to Grid events most there couldn’t even fathom. The unfortunately poor projection made it impossible to guess at his height, which kept on jumping, or his build, which seemed to be fairly solid most of the time. He spoke with a seasoned, calm male voice, and the pale blue of his circuitry was so hard to render that he looked like the most basic of first-gens. Whenever he showed up to a meeting, which was exceedingly rare, he made it a point to speak in a clipped, formal fashion just so the commline wouldn’t make a hash of his words. “I for one would welcome one of Pevir’s ships, if he can spare it for Om. His fastest.”

The meeting went silent as they all realized what Gungnir had actually offered, an offer which only OM had readily understood. Pevir wasn’t offering its battleships to fend off an attack; they were being offered to evacuate the cities.

Gungnir turned to someone not shown on his projection, then back to the meeting. “It will be sent at once. It’s… It’s a long way to Om from here, old friend.”

OM gestured lightly, his mostly featureless face nonetheless showing a grin. “Then we will hope that there is no need for it to make haste.”

“We can’t just… abandon our cities, can we?” Another SysAdmin hesitated.

“Gungnir, you don’t have enough ships to evacuate us all,” Endos pointed out.

“I do.” The SysAdmin’s smile was fierce and humorless.

“Have you built yet more useless -” Glim began.

“He does,” PEN interrupted her, eyes on Pevir’s projection, “if he sends the entire fleet out. All of Pevir’s ships.”

Glim gaped in disbelief. Gungnir shrugged, looking deeply amused. “I don’t imagine any of you are going to attack Pevir at this time. So optimistic of me, I know.”

“We weren’t going to attack you at all to begin with,” ACM, Flow’s SysAdmin and Pevir’s crankiest neighbor, muttered.

Privately, Adas thought that perhaps Pevir had a point: without a Spire to defend against, they didn’t have to worry about getting derezzed into a crater. For that matter, Pevir had destroyed its Spire and nothing had happened to the city. Why were the Spires important enough to preserve?

Almost immediately, her instincts recoiled from the question. Of course they were important. It didn’t even bear thinking about it. She shook her head minutely and focused on the meeting.

“Halcyon is the largest, not the oldest. Om is,” OM was saying. “We are also the smallest, though.”

“Is is a population factor, then? Ilo might have been the second largest -”

“Pevir is the second largest city on the Grid,” Gungnir interrupted. “First now, I guess.” He grimaced.

“Pevir is not at risk, and thank goodness for that,” PEN declared mildly. “I’m not sure your people would be willing to evacuate if they were.”

Gungnir grinned. “Every enemy can be beat. It just takes enough tries to figure out how.”

PEN just rubbed at its forehead. Glim rolled her eyes.

“Where did the Island and Ilo rank?” Endos turned to Adas.

“Third and fourth, in that order.”

The meeting was silent. “Who’s the fifth?” Gungnir asked.

“We are,” Glim breathed out in a frightened little whisper. “Ark.”

“The fleet is on its way.”

“Every sensor on your Spire, Glim,” Endos suggested.

“There’s not even a storm around it right now,” she protested breathlessly, even as she turned away to give directions to her staff.

“We cannot all move to Pevir,” OM reminded everyone. “Choice aside, the area around Pevir is not energy-rich. She does not have the resources to support much more in the matter of population than she already does.”

“And moving programs around will just make someone else a target, if it’s size we’re looking at,” Gungnir added. “For that matter, you said Ilo’s evacuating to Halcyon. What’s that do to your local headcount, PEN?”

PEN turned to Endos, who turned to Adas. Her faceplate flickered momentarily, and her energy levels faltered with an answer she didn’t want to give out loud.

PEN drew itself up very straight. “We will keep an intensive watch on our Spire. Let us go on the belief that if there is to be another event, and if it is indeed targeting cities according to population density, both Ark and Halcyon are first in line. Offense is, at the moment, unlikely. All our efforts must focus on defense and evacuation. Is there any other information we can share?”

There wasn’t, of course. The meeting dissolved into mostly individual conversations as the SysAdmins tried to sort out how to keep themselves from becoming a target.

Endos turned to PEN. “If you wish Ilo to -”

He was interrupted by an upraised hand from the other SysAdmin. “You will be a target wherever you go. We will be a target wherever we stand. Nothing has changed. Continue with the evacuation.”

Endos nodded his gratitude, and as PEN turned its attention back to another matter, Ilo’s SysAdmin turned to Adas. “I’m going back to Ilo to oversee the evacuation. I want you to stay here and oversee this end of it.”

Adas felt her energy bottom out. “What?!”

Endos caught her shoulders. “I need you here, Adas. You have to be Ilo’s voice in Halcyon.”

But… But Ilo was her home, overseeing such things was her job! Why did she have to stay in this unfamiliar, greedy, horrible, no-good -

You’d be angry. You’d be very angry. But you’d be there doing the job.

She drew herself up straight. Angry, yes. But anger didn’t excuse her from doing her duty. “Yes, sir.”

Endos smiled his gratitude at her and then turned to the circle of programs that were working the consoles along the perimeter of the meeting room, out of sight but in charge of all the details that went with such a momentous meeting. “Please inform PEN accordingly. Adas speaks with Ilo’s voice while this situation is ongoing.” He waited for a few nods of acknowledgment before hurrying away.

Adas drew a deep breath. Well, fine. She’d just… She’d make a Little Ilo in Halcyon, away from their weirdness about transactions and whatnot. She turned to the nearest program. “Where’s the sector designated for the Ilo evacuees?”

He handed over a tablet with the information, and she nodded. It looked to be sufficient space, in an older manufacturing area. Nothing that couldn’t be repurposed with the right equipment. “What about security? Supplies? Restructuring crews?” The programs around her gave her blank looks. “Do you expect the incoming programs to sleep on the floor with the gridbugs?”

“Uh…”

She huffed angrily. “Don’t be useless at me, do your job. I need someone in security, supplies and construction to come speak with me. Either that, or tell me where to find them.”

They scrambled to give her the information, which had her going all over a city she didn’t know, with transportation she didn’t understand. What was a ‘spiral’? What were ‘boards’? She stepped out of the meeting room and into a multi-tiered courtyard with elegant light-sculptures scattered throughout, and saw a few groups of programs gathered here and there. A familiar ID pinged her senses. Oh, finally! Someone useful! She made a beeline for the group before she realized what she was doing, and by the time her common sense caught up to her, the six or seven black-masked Sentries had all turned to stare at her. “Um.”

“I know her,” GAM’s voice informed the others. The hyperbolic attention that had slammed into Adas like a wall eased up somewhat, and they turned their attention to one another once again.

“GAM, a word with you, please?” she asked meekly.

He stepped away from the group and closer to her.

“Thank you,” she murmured. It had just come to her that the only reason she was still standing there fretting about her people and her city was him.

He shrugged minutely. “Didn’t do much, did I?”

“A lot of programs are alive because of you,” she told him tartly.

“A lot of them aren’t.”

“Did you expect to save the whole city?”

A sound of amusement came through the black faceplate. “See, logic tells me there was no way. My core? That one wanted me to save two.”

She stared at him.

“What did you want?”

“Oh! Um. Ilo is evacuating, and most of the population is coming here.”

“Aware of that. I think the whole of Sector 42 has been set aside for you.”

“Yes, but that’s all that’s been done.” She gestured at him, suspecting that she wouldn’t have to explain.

She didn’t. “What, no -?” He let out an exasperated sound at her expression, and turned back to the other Sentries. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Janus!”

Another Sentry approached them. Adas could barely tell them apart, if only because the newcomer was a sliver shorter, and perhaps not as broad across the chest. “Problem?”

“No one’s cleared Forty-Two to make sure it’s safe for habitation. Or, you know. Safe, in general.”

Janus groaned. “Why am I not surprised. I’ll get on it.”

“There’s no debris or anything from the… from the event?” she asked GAM as Janus meandered off to speak to another group.

“We didn’t take any damage,” he reminded her. “But Forty-Two’s an old manufacturing Sector, there’s probably junk all over it. Didn’t they assign you some sort of removal crew?”

“No.”

“Do you have any help at all?!”

She stared at him and he sighed, hanging his head.

“I do have the names and coordinates of some programs that might be helpful, but it’s telling me to use this ‘spiral’ thing. I can drive if someone gives me a baton. I’m proficient with both a lightcycle and a crawler.” She offered the tablet.

“The roads are for walking, and batons aren’t cheap,” he replied automatically, taking the tablet. “Come on, I’ll show you how to navigate the Spiral.”

She trotted after him. “But… A baton? You had a baton.”

“Yes, and it’s going to be expensive to replace.”

She huffed in exasperation, and they rode down a lift in silence. “Does everything have a price in Halcyon?”

“Walking in the door doesn’t,” he replied, arms crossed. “Refueling doesn’t. When your people come in, they’re probably going to be given a soukscan.”

“A what?”

He lifted his hand, his armor receding so he could show her the pale white circuit sitting just under the skin of the back of his hand. He curled his fist, and it tightened into a bright glyph, shifting position so it rested across his knuckles. “A soukscan. It’s how you track transactions in Halcyon.”

“We don’t… We don’t do that in Ilo, we don’t do any of your bean-counting thing.”

“No. But here you and your people will have to. Didn’t you get one when you came in?” When she shook her head, he made a little amused sound. “So technically, you’re in Halcyon illegally.”

“What?!” She puffed up in indignation until she realized he was teasing her. “I am here as a representative of my city,” she declared primly. “I’m not joining yours. Wait. Is that how you track the population of the city? With those soukscan things?”

“Yes.”

She hopped on a line immediately, her faceplate bright with calculations.

“What are you doing?”

“Telling your SysAdmin that the Ilo refugees absolutely cannot be given soukscans.”

“Then they won’t be able to get anything for themselves!”

“Do you have to pay for energy?” she demanded.

“No, but -!”

“Population is how the Spires are choosing targets,” she told him. “If Halcyon reads at the same level the last event left it at, there’s a chance there won’t be any more events here, even with all the Ilo refugees on-site.”

He was silent as she sorted through communication channels and messages, getting on top of a pile of issues that was trying to grow before she could do anything about it. She only noticed the silence after the most urgent matters had been dealt with.

“Population. That’s what’s triggering this?”

“It’s the going theory,” she admitted, belatedly realizing that she probably ought not to be blurting out major SysAdmin information in front of just anyone. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.” She glanced up at the black faceplate.

And told him everything that had been said at the meeting. It was impossible to tell what he thought about it all through the black faceplate. “Do you ever take your helm off?”

“Not if I don’t have to,” he replied distractedly. “With it I’m a Sentry. I’m part of the Wall. If you have faith in the Wall, you have faith in me. Without it I’m just GAM. And GAM might not be someone to trust.”

“Well, I trust GAM,” she countered tartly. The lift doors opened and she stepped out on ground level, looking around and seeing nothing but rising buildings and the odd program hurrying this way and that. No vehicles of any kind, she realized for the first time. The last machine she’d seen was the jet that had brought her and Endos from Ilo to Halcyon.

He followed her out of the lift almost belatedly. “This way.”

She trotted after him.

FIVE

GAM rode with Ilo’s GO4 all the way to Sector 42, because after the first meeting he had the nasty suspicion that, if he didn’t, no one was going to want to listen to her until she bit someone’s head off. Which, he’d come to realize, the little actuarial program was entirely willing, ready and able to do.

It was an eye-opening revelation, and it worried him a little how delighted he was to discover it – but he was. The Ilosian had no behavioral filter. She didn’t count her beans before she spoke to someone, just to see what she could get away with. She had zero beans; she had no soukscan. She had nothing to sell, nothing to buy, and nothing to lose.

They watched as the reconstruction crews repurposed all the detritus that cycles of abandonment had left behind, using the mass to turn warehouses into heavily reinforced habitation cubes, clearing out old manufacturing stock and machinery, making room for ETCs, communication points and other general necessities, all the while keeping in mind the wholesale destruction that had just hit Ilo and doing their best with the materials at hand to plan against a potential third onslaught. GAM wasn’t sure who’d be footing the bill for it, but when the first sailer came in and the Ilosians began to flow into the Sector, carrying what little they’d been able to salvage of their lives, he didn’t care. It felt, finally, as if he were doing something to help, when in Ilo itself he’d been able to do nothing except dig through crushed buildings in the hopes of finding something other than disk shards.

With Halcyon shifting into its downtime millicycle, an Ilosian program brought Adas and him cups of energy while she spoke to what seemed to be Sector Leads. It caught him off-guard, being given something and not having to pay for it. The Ilosian watched in fascination as he held onto the cup and drained the energy remotely from it.

“Not even for that, huh?” Adas asked, downing half the cup in one go. “You don’t have to stay, you know. You probably have things to do.”

“I did. Until we realized there was no City Security watching after you and your people.”

“‘We’?”

“WallSec.” He pointed to the three black-and-violet figures filtering Ilosians at the ramp coming down from the sailer’s landing port. “We oversee everyone coming into Halcyon. And since City Security hasn’t even shown up, I guess I’m with you until they do.”

She sipped at the cup. “And you’re allowed to do that? Just… decide that we’re your job now?” She squinted at him. “You’re not just a Sentry, are you.”

“I am a Sentry.” There was amusement in his voice. “A Wall Sentry. The safety of everyone inside Halcyon City is my responsibility. The moment your people walked in, they became my job.”

She gave him a very suspicious look, sipping at the energy, but another Ilosian chose that moment to rush up to her and hand her a small bundle. “Oh, thank goodness.” She took it and unwrapped it. “Here. I’m sorry, but your Spiral is horrible. I feel like I’m going to miss a step and fall between the boards just looking at it.”

“It takes…” He lost the thread of his words when he saw what she was offering him. “Some getting used to.”

It was a multi-purpose baton, the activity lines on it gleaming in the white and blue of Ilo.

“Well, take it. It’s the least I can do. I’d forgotten you lost yours in Ilo.” There was a second baton in the bundle, which she secured to herself. “It’s just a crawler, though.”

“You should keep it,” he said slowly. “You could make a small fortune selling it here.”

Adas made a rude sound. “We won’t stay here long enough to need Halcyonite beans,” she told him. “Take it. If…” She faltered, but rallied swiftly. “If something happens, I’d rather know you’re fully upgraded to do your job. Of protecting us, you know.”

GAM took the baton gently. “It doesn’t feel any different.”

“It’s a baton, how different can it be?”

“You’d be surprised.” He examined the glowing lines bisecting the device; at least one of them was active. “Multi-purpose batons are rare here in Halcyon.”

“Well, try not to lose it, then,” she replied cheekily. They both looked up as the sailer on the ground deployed its wings and lifted up until it could hitch itself to the nearest data-line, making room for a smaller sibling that was already on approach. “That should be it,” she informed him.

“HEY!”

The shout made her jump and drop the cup, whirling around, but GAM was already prowling away from her, radiating menace in a way she’d not seen from the Sentry before. He pointed at a knot of Ilosians with the baton. “YOU!”

They stared at him, frozen in uncertainty. “Not you, move!” he barked at them. That, they understood, and scattered away from his path as he stalked closer. “YOU!” he snarled.

The Halcyonite program who’d been hiding behind the Ilosians, and rifling through the boxes of supplies Adas had spent an entire millicycle securing for them, froze for all of a picocycle.

Then it took off like a small skiff on a big line.

GAM was after the rogue in an instant, a runaway freight lift. “WallSec 42!” he called out into a dedicated comm-line. “Janus, there’s a breach somewhere in the Sector, I’m in pursuit of a scavenger.”

“Deploying search Bits,” his fellow Sentry replied at once. “Do you need backup?”

“It’s one scavenger.” The program in question, a low-energy figure ahead of him, twisted around a corner and under a set of massive pipes that had not yet been repurposed. GAM leapt over them and closed the distance. “Find that breach and seal it. These programs have been through enough. CitySec ought to have done that much.”

“Yeah, well, they’re claiming since the Ilosians don’t have soukscans, they’re not CitySec’s problem.” Janus’ tone dripped his opinion on that information, and it wasn’t flattering of their fellow officers.

The rogue leapt with impossible grace up, caught the bottom of an old surveillance platform, and used it to further launch themselves onto a rooftop, racing along. GAM didn’t bother following; he wasn’t sure the old platform would take his weight. He was fairly certain the roof wouldn’t. Instead he threw himself through a window into the low building and ran on, head twisted up to follow the scavenger by the dim glow coming off them and shining through the gaps in the roof.

When the thief leapt down he put on a burst of speed and nearly caught them at the door, but some sort of thin rope leapt at him and slashed for his faceplate, and he had to duck, his grab going wide.

What was that?! In all his cycles of service he’d never seen anything like the weapon the program had just used. Was it even a weapon? An Upgrade? A Cosmetic? A patch? GAM picked up speed again and ran on. The rogue twisted around another corner; the Sentry followed and nearly got himself derezzed when a thin pipe came at him out of nowhere and nearly caught him at throat height. He bent down and slid under it on his knees.

“Now you’re making me angry,” he ground out as he sprang back up and raced through a narrow, debris-filled space between two warehouses.

The rogue ran out into a yard full of broken, rusted containers, and dashed into the maze, seeking freedom, but when GAM came out of the chokepoint he was done with games. He pursued until the edge of the tiny wasteland, picked up a piece of material as big as his chest, and threw it as hard as he could.

He caught the scavenger at the knees. The rogue program went down with a yowl, crashing into crates and reducing them to even more tattered bits and pieces. GAM ran up to them, found them rolled into a disoriented ball. Their hair, which was much brighter than the rest of their circuitry, was twisting this way and that like a bunch of severed live wires.

It wasn’t a weapon, or an upgrade, or a patch. GAM’s senses were telling him that it was part of the rogue, for all that it looked so different from them. He rolled the program over with a foot, grabbed them by the throat, and lifted them up. There was enough of a difference in height between them that the rogue was suddenly nearly two feet off the ground, clawing helplessly at the Sentry’s arm. “The Ilosians don’t have it hard enough, you have to steal from them?” he demanded.

“Hey, man, life’s hard for everyone!” the rogue replied angrily. She was a first-gen, though her face had more definition than most. Her body was all straight, simple lines, and her voice had the soft burr that identified most of them, though softened some by a feminine Cosmetic. Her hair lashed out at him again, but this time he called the bluff and the dreadlocks pummeled weakly against his armor. She tried to kick him, but GAM stretched out his arm and she couldn’t reach him. She barely weighted anything. “Let go!”

“Sure. When you’re in containment.”

“Charge me the stupid fine and let me go!”

“So you don’t need to steal, is what I’m hearing. You were doing it just because, if you can pay the fine.”

She writhed angrily in his grip and he shook her once, sharply. “Cut it out! You’ve got one good thing going for you, and that’s that now we know there’s a breach between Sectors. You want a favor from me, you better be showing me where that breach is.”

“Oh, go lick a power line, CitySec,” she shot back, though she was hanging more or less limp in his grip after the shake.

GAM paused at that. “You might want to take a second look, rogue.”

She did. More startling by far, so did her hair. Every dreadlock came up, and tiny optical interfaces irised open at the tip of each one. “Oh.” Her voice went faint, and even her hair looked taken aback. “Oh, gridbugs, you’re WallSec.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” GAM clipped out. “You just spent the last few picocycles getting firmly on my bad side, rogue. Do you want a moment to re-evaluate your priorities?”

“I mean, is it gonna make a difference?”

GAM couldn’t help but be amused. Scared, but not cowed. “It might. About that breach?”

“It’s not a breach,” she strangled out, and he lowered her to her feet but did not release his grip on her throat. “It’s an old delivery system. The seals degraded a few cycles back.” She eyed him warily. “You wouldn’t fit.”

“Funny. Coordinates, please,” he demanded, all courtesy. “Janus, you still listening?”

“Glorying in your brilliant handling of the matter,” his fellow Sentry confirmed, his amusement obvious. The thief muttered out a set of coordinates. “I’ll handle this one myself, GAM.” The line closed.

GAM eyed the thief. The thief eyed him back, exponentially. “Your name and assigned Sector,” he demanded.

“Ugh.” She rolled her actual eyes. “Look, WallSec, there’s no one t-”

She stopped looking at him. Every single one of her eyes shifted just enough that GAM knew he was no longer the focus of her attention. He also knew it wasn’t an attack, or a cohort of the thief, simply because the angle of her attention was too steep. He knew, in fact, exactly was she was looking at. And he knew, without looking himself, that bypassing the soukscans had not worked.

The Sentry whipped around. He didn’t notice, but the thief did, that he shoved her behind him as if he could shield her from what was coming.

Halcyon’s Spire was activating once again. Electric power lined its circuitry, the storm around it feeding it from a wall of electric bolts that was increasing even as the storm itself expanded monstrously. Like a filling energy pipe, the blinding light was rising toward the top with implacable speed.

GAM yanked the thief forward. “Run.”

“Where?!” she demanded.

“The Ilosian buildings are reinforced. Run!” he shouted at her, and they both did as alarms began to bellow through the city once again.

#fanfiction #my writing #original character #tron 1982 #tron legacy #tron evolution #tron uprising #fantasy #sci fi #fantasy violence

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