#system cheats

[mejjy]

hot people fw with spideypool AND poolverine btwbtw

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

so: masking: good, unequivocally. please mask and please educate others on why they should mask to make the world safer for immune compromised people to participate in.

however: masking is not my policy focus and it shouldn't be yours, either. masking is a very good mitigation against droplet-born illnesses and a slightly less effective (but still very good) mitigation against airborne illnesses, but its place in the pyramid of mitigation demands is pretty low, for several reasons:

it's an individual mitigation, not a systemic one. the best mitigations to make public life more accessible affect everyone without distributing the majority of the effort among individuals (who may not be able to comply, may not have access to education on how to comply, or may be actively malicious).

it's a post-hoc mitigation, or to put it another way, it's a band-aid over the underlying problem. even if it was possible to enforce, universal masking still wouldn't address the underlying problem that it is dangerous for sick people and immune compromised people to be in the same public locations to begin with. this is a solvable problem! we have created the societal conditions for this problem!

here are my policy focuses:

upgraded air filtration and ventilation systems for all public buildings. appropriate ventilation should be just as bog-standard as appropriately clean running water. an indoor venue without a ventilation system capable of performing 5 complete air changes per hour should be like encountering a public restroom without any sinks or hand sanitizer stations whatsoever.

enforced paid sick leave for all employees until 3-5 days without symptoms. the vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through industry sectors where employees come into work while experiencing symptoms. a taco bell worker should never be making food while experiencing strep throat symptoms, even without a strep diagnosis.

enforced virtual schooling options for sick students. the other vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through schools. the proximity of so many kids and teenagers together indoors (with little to no proper ventilation and high levels of physical activity) means that if even one person comes to school sick, hundreds will be infected in the following few days. those students will most likely infect their parents as well. allowing students to complete all readings and coursework through sites like blackboard or compass while sick will cut down massively on disease transmission.

accessible testing for everyone. not just for COVID; if there's a test for any contagious illness capable of being performed outside of lab conditions, there should be a regulated option for performing that test at home (similar to COVID rapid tests). if a test can only be performed under lab conditions, there should be a government-subsidized program to provide free of charge testing to anyone who needs it, through urgent cares and pharmacies.

the last thing to note is that these things stack; upgraded ventilation systems in all public buildings mean that students and employees get sick less often to begin with, making it less burdensome for students and employees to be absent due to sickness, and making it more likely that sick individuals will choose to stay home themselves (since it's not so costly for them).

masking is great! keep masking! please use masking as a rhetorical "this is what we can do as individuals to make public life safer while we're pushing for drastic policy changes," and don't get complacent in either direction--don't assume that masking is all you need to do or an acceptable forever-solution, and equally, don't fall prey to thinking that pushing for policy change "makes up" for not masking in public. it's not a game with scores and sides; masking is a material thing you can do to help the individual people you interact with one by one, and policy changes are what's going to make the entirety of public life safer for all immune compromised people.

[methoughtsphantom]

Jason “my family doesn’t know im alive” Todd and Danny “my family doesn’t know I’m dead” Fenton going alongside each of their plans my beloved. like Danny will absolutely go head-to-head with all of Gotham to support his new best friend on all his crime lord endeavors while he drags Jason to also attend collage with him. They are roommates and there never seems to a mention of family from either side. It’s an unspoken understanding they have. They met because Crime alley as a ghost lair thrummed with so much loneliness, it was at first the perfect place for Danny to hide his ecto signature in. But then he saw the dumbass whose lair it was lean his motorcycle just a tad too much when making a sharp turn to an alley, he sweeped the floor through a lifted chain link that passed his body but not his helmet. Yep that’s right the red thing got stuck. Danny who at the moment happened to be watching through his window snorted. Much to his horror because if not a ghost that dude could’ve gotten his head flung off.

Still, the scene was ridiculous.

On a whim he irrationally sees the police closing in on the guy and panicked at the thought of the guy using intangibility to free himself so Danny phased them both through his apartment wall and left the guy sprawled in his couch. Jason didn’t freak out but that’s normal when one’s got a concussion, one the guy immediately denied having as Danny laid out the medical supplies. The idiot proceeded to almost flatten four steps to the door with his stubbornness. He also said “I’m asexual” in the most deadpan voice as Danny dropped him back in the couch.

Danny sighed. Clearly though, he’d done so too early in the night because the guy kept trying to go, kept trying to knock Danny out, kept trying to slash him with knifes Danny didn’t know he had stashed. He’d only disarmed the guy from his guns. The visible ones apparently, cause at one point the guy did take out a gun and shoot until the ammo ran out and then teetered the thing like it was an art prop and hit his moon lamp.

Danny "yeah you aren’t officially my friend until you’ve tried to kill me" fenton my guys.

Anyways both keep having the same argument over if Danny technically kidnapped Jason or not. Danny holds the fact that the police at least didn’t see the guy make the ridicule. Jason argued that happened cause he was sporting a concussion. Danny argued he got that after.

Jason at first thinks the guy's a meta, but no. Danny introduces himself, sheepily now that he recognizes this is who the lair he invaded is from. He bandages him and tries to cook for him. If Danny didn’t have ice powers he most certainly would’ve burned the apartment. Jason then proceeds to kick him out of his own kitchen and make them both enchiladas. It’s the most normal both had in a while with another person and the air seems oddly settled. From then on, Jason constantly invited himself over, under the pretense that this was his territory and therefore he could drop in unannounced. Danny who has actual powers says he only allows this because Jason cooks very well.

Danny stays away from the crime fighting business unless his buddy is in deep shit he can’t get himself out. Also it’s Danny’s turn to cover for his vigilante friend which Sam and Tucker give him so much shit for. (but also advice)

And they were roommates. (omg) Danny effectively derails Jason’s big comeback plans by casually dropping ghost lore every two days. Like,

Jason, talking about how he doesn’t want Bats snooping on his territory:

Danny: Just don’t let them in

Jason: ??

Danny: yeah!! Hasn’t Batman died and got revived??? You can totally kick out death touched people you don’t want entering on your lair.

Jason: …I can?

Danny: Yep dude, your lair’s supposed to feel safe.

Jason: wait does that mean I can kick you out?

Danny: First this is my apartment. Second, im dead, not dead touched. Third, it’s too late to get rid of me. bitch.

Anyways Jason is super excited. You mean to tell him he can actually deny people over to his territory haunt?? (Yes it’s only to people who have died and came back but still!! The sample size is exactly the type of people he doesn’t want to see—!)

Joker my beloathed can’t step foot in Crime Alley.

(Jason’d feel a lot safer if the clown was dead but the possibility of his murderer turning into a ghost and their little loophole not applying on the clown is too scary to contemplate.)

Anyways, Jason loves experimenting with the power. It can go from simply making people shudder and not want to enter crime Alley to straight up not letting them enter like there’s an invisible wall blocking the way.

Jason because he’s hurt that Bruce never even patrols Crime Alley and also because he’s petty put B under the category of “invisible wall” blacklist. His reasoning is that the man doesn’t even attempt to enter Crime Alley. To him it’s surely just a place shadowed in tragedy. (anyways that’s it’s the place he met Jason)

Ironically, Jason totally forgets that Batman does venture into Crime Alley one day in the whole year. The day he met Jason.

Okay. He didn’t forget at first. The first year Jason remembers cause it was only a few months till then but then the next— Jason forgets that today’s the anniversary of the day’s Bruce’s parents died. He forgets to allow B in when he feels a slight tug and dismiss the feeling that prompts Bruce to investigate because he literally can’t enter Crime Alley. He starts the trialsTM, he scouts on the very edge and sees people the whole day enter and get out and cross with no problem but Bruce can’t.

It’s literally just Bruce.

Time to call Constantine, i guess.

[voidwelt]

Every time Welt side-steps answering a question, a chill runs down the Void Archives' spine.

[fairsweetlonging]

it's so funny and meta to me that shen yuan keeps scolding himself for saving luo binghe because binghe has the "protagonist halo" and thus can never die, while being the exact plot convenience that saves the protagonist from dying

shen yuan keeps expecting another beam to fall down not realizing that he himself is the beam that falls down to save luo binghe

[disgracefulthings]

Dumb fucking SVSSS AU where due to some plot device, Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua become pregnant... with each other's child

And then they have to try to explain the situation to their husbands and the sect

[taxinealkaloids]

kill your darling, it's just that easy!

[cursed-angelic-art]

Shen Qingqiu, guy of all time

[Image ID: "'Every Friend Group has the' meme template with Shen Qingqiu defending Luo Binghe from Without a Cure as 'Active Suicide Risk', Shen Qingqiu from Volume 1 cover as '10/10', Shen Qingqiu with Liu Qingge as 'needs to retake the "am I gay quiz"', Shen Jiu as 'cannibalized first in plane crash scenario', Shen Qingqiu as 'XANAX PRESCRIPTION ASAP', and Shen Qingqiu with a full beard as 'missing person'." /.End ID]

[sarafangirlart]

The fact that Hephaestus isn’t allowed to be angry or cruel or even cunning and ppl prefer to portray him as a soft boy who doesn’t think he deserves love or respect and needs the able bodied beautiful woman to assure him he deserves better is hella ableist.

[clairewritesfanfics]

Villain Creation System Chapter 4

Pairing/s: Invincible x Reader x Invincible Variants

CHAPTER 3: When In Doubt, Do Your Research Series Masterlist <<read the synopsis and trigger warnings first>>

In the Chinese webnovels you liked to read between classes and study sessions, male leads were given “sword-like eyebrows.” These fan-translated novels never came with pictures, and you were left wondering what they actually looked like. According to the netizens you asked, for brows to be “sword-like” meant they were handsome or ideal. 

Handsome eyebrows.

Oh-kay ? 

You didn’t get it, not until you got to examine Mark Grayson up close. He had thick, handsome, black eyebrows that tapered cleanly to the sides, as though done by a professional makeup artist, but the system told you that this was his face au naturel. 

It was unfair. 

Even his eyelashes were prettier than yours, downcast as he read something on his tablet. He’s been reading quietly since he arrived fifteen minutes ago, slid his pandesal and coffee on the empty space of your table, folded his leather jacket on the back of the chair, and took a seat without ceremony. 

You tapped harder on the keyboard. 

“You’re going to destroy your laptop if you don’t lighten up,” he said, not even sparing you a glance.

“I don’t remember inviting you over.”

“My roommate’s being a pain and I needed someplace quiet to study.”

“There’s a library.”

“It’s too quiet.”

“Then go sit somewhere else.”

“But I like doing things while being watched, makes the task more exciting .”

You stopped typing and gave him a look.

“C’mon, I’ve been a good study buddy, haven’t I? No scribbling, no rustling of paper or loud typing–no offense–”

You felt a vein thump at your temple. 

“–and besides,” he purred, bending his elbow over the table and leaning into his palm, “weren’t you enjoying the view just now?”

Blood rushed to your cheeks and you reached for your frappe, taking small sips to cool down.

Were you really that obvious? 

[Yes, you were.]

You ignored the system and replied to Mark, “I was glaring at an unwanted visitor.”

He said nothing but that arrogant smirk told you everything you needed to know. 

Okay, so you were sneaking a few glimpses. Actually, now that you think about it, you were outright gawking for at least a minute. 

You didn’t mean to. It was just that… how could you not look?

Sure, you’ve seen pictures, watched videos of various actors and singers in your reality. Teen heartthrobs and K-pop idols who were considered national treasures were objectively gorgeous men, but looking at a screen is a very different experience from sitting across a living, breathing organism. 

Stray raven locks touched his sword-like brows and framed the chocolatest pair of eyes you’ve ever seen. High cheekbones and sharp jawline. His smirk showed off slightly crooked teeth and a fuller lower lip. He wore a navy blue Henley shirt that hugged him in all the right places–

[You’re staring again, Host.]

Oh, boy.

You cleared your throat and forced your gaze back to your monitor, ignoring Mark’s haughty grin, looking more amused than ever. 

“Admit it, princess, you think I’m hot.”

“Objectively, you have ideal features.” You resumed typing, refusing to meet his eyes. “And don’t call me ‘princess.’”

“So you agree?”

“It would be pointless to say that I don’t.”

“Which part of me is ideal?”

You shrugged, focus wavering from the conversation as you slowly fell into the rhythm of work. Your embarrassment from getting caught vanishes with each tap on the keyboard. “Your face is symmetrical with good bone structure. That’s always been an important factor in determining attractiveness. You’re at a reasonable height with a good build, again, a ubiquitous criterion for determining the visual appeal of males. Surely, you’re familiar with the old cliche: ‘tall, dark and handsome’? You check all the boxes.” 

When you noticed that he wasn’t talking, you finally raised your head.

He was looking at you, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. 

“What now?”

He covered his mouth and turned to the window. “I didn’t expect you to actually answer me.”

“I obviously can’t get rid of you, I can barely focus with you right there. Might as well make small talk while I do less taxing work.”

“I thought you were the type who hates small talk.”

“It’s not something I particularly enjoy, but I can do it to be polite, even when someone can’t take a hint.”

He was silent again. 

An jazz instrumental of Fly Me to the Moon drowned out the sound of your typing. 

He then asked, “Do I really bother you?”

You arched an imperfect brow at him. “Right now you’re not exactly helping me, are you?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, do you really not like me?”

“I don’t hate you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“... I know.”

“Look.” His hand went to the back of his neck. “I know I’ve been ass to you, but if you really don’t want me here, I’ll leave.”

His perpetual bedroom eyes suddenly looked like the eyes of a kicked dog. Geez, no wonder his exes still liked him. 

You sighed. “It’s fine. You can stay here, just be quiet while I do my work.”

“Before you start, can I ask you something?”

“Not like I can stop you.”

“What exactly are you working on?”

“Annotating handouts,” you lied. “Planning out my weekly schedules, that kind of stuff.”

“Schedules? Like for arranging your dates?”

“I don’t date.”

“I figured.” He turned to his tablet, then back at you. “How come?”

“Never had the time.”

“And if you had the time?”

“I don’t, which renders your question and my answer moot.”

“Are you not into the whole romance stuff?”

You could tell he wanted to ask more than just romance. Regardless, you responded with a “No comment.”

He hummed and then finally returned to his reading. 

[ Ding . Affection: 18%. Darkening: 3%.]

Seriously?

[It would seem that Mark Grayson is very fond of compliments.]

No kidding. He was popular, shouldn’t he be used to this type of stuff right now?

The system could only shrug. 

This thing was capricious in what kind of information it was willing to share. 

Deeming it useless once more, you switched tabs from the campus’ anonymous forums to Amber’s many, many posts. You skimmed her socials before, but with no news about Debbie, Nolan or Mark, she was your only lead. You knew very little about Invincible the animation, much less the comic book. You’ve seen promotional materials in passing. All you can remember is Mark and his dad, his mom (from your blurry recollection, she’s the most beloved character), that pink girl–

Wait.

You massaged your head, thinking.

Yes, a pink suit and long red hair. 

Red hair. 

You searched Amber’s photos. There was one taken during a party this semester. Amber was holding out a peace sign next to a young woman with carrot colored hair and jade green eyes. You missed the picture because Mark wasn’t in it. 

The redhead was tagged Sam E. Wilkins.

[That’s Samantha Eve Wilkins, her superhero identity is Atom Eve. She is an enhanced human with the ability to manipulate matter.]

Judging from the name, I’m assuming she can manipulate matter at an atomic level?

[Subatomic level.] 

That seems a bit OP. 

[Is it?]

Come on, with that ability she can perform simultaneous transmutation, that’s mega OP. Why is she not the main character? Her power is more interesting than just flying and punching stuff.

[Host is so cute.]

The muscles in your jaw ticked.

[In this world, much like in yours, everything comes with a price.]

Enough with the riddles. What are you trying to tell me?

[This system is politely informing you not to deify the people here. Subatomic manipulation is something even a newborn system can do when given enough authorization.]

[<(˘ ˘ ˘)>]

Annoyed, you changed the topic. 

What is her importance to the plot?

[She is a supporting character.]

To what degree?

[In the main timeline, she is Mark Grayson’s wife.]

You blinked once.

Twice.

WHAT?

To be honest you were surprised that the system gave you that information. 

[I received authorization to share that tiny detail with you.]

“Tiny”? Tiny! 

Your eye twitched as you scrutinized Samantha’s photo. 

There’s nothing tiny about Mark Grayson having someone who was literally made for him. You even gave me that ridiculous affection meter, but what can I do against destiny?

[Host, the fact that you managed to even raise the meter is proof enough that you can do it.]

So what? Even if I get that to a 100%, that won’t stop him from falling for her eventually.

[Host–]

This is insane!

This was too much. Some part of you, deep inside your subconscious probably thought that this was just one nasty dream. One long, vivid, goofy dream. But one picture–one ridiculous line about soulmates broke through that part of you.

This was wrong.

This wasn’t fair.

You slammed your hands on the table, knocking your frappe to the floor.

Mark glanced up from his tablet. Concern flashed his face as his arm moved towards you–

[ Ding .]

You were floating. Mark, the cafe–everything was gone. You were submerged in neverending darkness. Not even the tiniest flicker of light was to be seen. You couldn’t hear anything, not until the system spoke to you directly.

[Host, have you calmed down yet?]

“What is this place?”

[This is Nothing. This is your fate if you fail to convert Mark Grayson. Perpetual nothingness. You can scream and cry and pray until you get bored of your own noise and still, no one will hear you. No one will come. You will be left in this Void all alone until the end of time.]

This was your future? This was your afterlife?

[I took you here to remind you of your goal. It matters not who or what is in your way, you must overcome them, use them to your benefit.]

“Why!? Why does it have to be me? Why couldn’t you just let me go to Heaven or reincarnate? I didn’t want this! I’m not cut out for this!”

[You may protest to your heart’s content, but there is no running away from this. You must continue forward regardless of the cost. There is no undoing what has been done. You agreed to our terms–

“You forced me!”

The system shut up.

“You forced me…” You repeated.

You wanted to cry but you couldn’t. You weren’t sure how you were talking because you had no mouth. You had nothing. 

[Host, this system is here to assist you. Rest assured, I exist to ensure your victory. But first, calm down.]

You didn’t say anything.

[I told Host about Eve because I did not think that such information was so important.]

“They’re basically soulmates.”

The system let out a mechanical chuckle. 

[There is a joke popular among my kind when it comes to soulmates: If God can split the Red Sea, then how about two lovers at the park?]

You replied with unimpressed silence.

[...ahem. Perhaps you would appreciate the words of a fellow human.]

That caught your attention. “Human?”

[You are my first Host and agent, but you are not the only contractor in history. An exceptional agent for the Secondary Character Grievance Delivery System once posed this question: “If the red string of fate were real, do you think it can be cut?”]

“I’m guessing the answer is yes.”

The system played out a bell sound, indicating that you were correct. [That host cut enough threads of fate to make a kimono. I’m sure my Host will become an even more amazing homewrecker!]

“Gee, thanks . But–” You didn’t appreciate being compared to a homewrecker, but you could tell it was doing its best to help you “–thanks.”

[˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶]

“Okay,” you said. “I think I’m ready.”

[Are you sure?]

“Yes. Send me back. Please.”

[All right. Preparing for transfer…rewinding–]

[ Ding .]

You were back at The Mug.

You glanced at the table. The frappe was still there, and Mark was still reading peacefully.

Your laptop was showing the anonymous discussion forum.

[I switched the tabs in case Host needed time to recover.]

You smiled.

You then clicked on Eve’s photo. 

She could be useful. 

[Maybe. It certainly will not hurt to have options.]

As you pondered over what to do next, Mark yawned. 

You checked the time, it was barely past ten. “Tired this early in the morning?”

“I work late.”

“Modeling?”

He gave you a look.

“What?”

“Did you just make a joke?”

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“I knew you thought I was sexy.”

“ Enough . We had this song and dance just twenty minutes ago.” You sipped on your frappe.

“What can I say, I like to boogie.”

You coughed out whipped cream. “I can’t believe you just said ‘boogie.’”

His grin deepened and he leaned forward. “What kind of music do you like to dance to?”

“Not much of a dancer.”

“Then what kind of music do you like?”

“Anything that’s good.”

He pouted. 

“It’s the truth. As long as the beat is fun I don't care about the genre.”

His finger trails the screen of his tablet absentmindedly. “You listen to rock bands?”

“Sure.”

The finger stopped.

“I wouldn’t call myself an outright fan, I don’t go out of my way to attend concerts or anything.”

“You’ve never been to a concert?”

“No, I’ve been to one with some friends. I found the ride home more enjoyable.” Concerts were expensive. They were also loud, packed and too much trouble than they’re worth. The body odor clung to you for days. You shivered at the memory.

Mark snapped his fingers. “Just one? You’re basically a virgin.” He said the last part a little too loudly.

Your shoulders tensed. Several students turned their faces to look at your table.

Mark flinched under your glare.

“Don’t be crude,” you reprimanded.

“Sorry–but hey, if you’re interested, there’s this…” He trailed off.

“There’s this what?”

He grabbed his chin, thinking. Then he shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.”

“If you say so.”

You both did your own thing until Mark’s watch beeped.

He cringed as he read whatever message was sent to him.

You peered over your monitor. “Your girlfriend looking for you?”

He gave you a weak smile. “No, it’s my boss. I gotta go.”

“What kind of part-time job just calls you out of the blue?” 

“A very sucky one.” He put his tablet back inside his bag and grabbed his jacket. “A sucky, sucky one who doesn’t believe in a work-life balance.”

“Sounds like a real buttmunch.”

He snorted. “Buttmunch?”

“You disagree?”

He shook his head, still smiling. “You’re right, he’s a gargantuan buttmunch.” 

He started walking but stopped before he passed your seat. His arm slid over the back of your chair and he leaned close enough for you to see his collar bones peeking under his shirt. He smelled like soap. 

“And by the way,” he whispered, “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

He held your stare with those umber eyes.

He smirked, pulled back and left.

You heard a ding from the system, followed by a congratulations, but you ignored it.

[Host, are you all right? Your temperature suddenly spiked, and why are you covering your mouth?]

“Just–” the hand on your mouth moved to your eyes “–just let me be for a moment.”

[Affection: 24%]

***

You finished today’s to-do list by saying goodbye to Amber after another tutoring session. She was so stressed for the upcoming exam that all the two of you talked about was academics, no gossip or unnecessary chatting. Normally, you would have preferred that type of interaction, but there was no window to ask about Eve. 

Left with nothing else to do, you returned to your dorm and headed straight for the shower. 

According to the system, the World Consciousness ensured that you wouldn’t get a roommate. A small boon in the grand scheme of things, but one you appreciated. 

You starfished on your bed, the mild smell of soap enveloped you and you fell asleep. 

You dreamt of relaxing in a swimming pool-sized mug, the hot coffee eased your joints. A giant flying pandesal hovered around you, calling you princess before diving in the middle of the mug. 

[Host.]

You startled awake. “Huh?”

[Host, get up.]

You felt around the bed for your phone. Squinting, you checked the time: 23:22. 

[Something is wrong. Get up.]

Before you could tell it to blow itself, it flashed you Mark’s corruption status.

[Darkening: 6%]

That got you up. 

“What happened? I haven’t done anything.”

[I think it would be best if you saw for yourself.]

Your phone suddenly started playing the news, its volume set to maximum. 

“Thousands of dollars worth of property damage, hundreds of civilians injured and dozens are presumed dead in the wake of Invincible’s fight against–”

You put on pants and an Upstate University sweatshirt. “Can you help me find him?”

The system presented a map with a blinking red dot. He was right here, within school grounds. 

[He’s on the rooftop of the main building.]

The main building is off limits this time of night. He must’ve flown there. But how the heck were you supposed to get there?

[Leave it to this system, Host!]

***

Mark Grayson sat on the edge of the roof, reclined over his arms. 

It was almost midnight so the usual hustle-bustle has calmed down. 

His mind wandered over to a certain woman. Did you get home safely? Were you still with Amber?

He glanced over the campus and over the rest of the city. Everything was quiet here. Peaceful. 

If he was this far away, he didn’t have to look at all those people he broke. Their homes were in shambles and they all blamed him–

Huwhahh

A monstrous sound from the stairway had him on his feet immediately. “Who’s there?!”

“Huhuuuuwahhhhuu” 

You pushed against the rooftop door and crawled out of the stairs, wheezing.

Mark stopped himself from stepping forward and speedily threw his civilian clothes over his suit. 

You were on your hands and knees, breathing like you’ve been running. 

“Jesus, are you okay?” He called out your name.

“Hm?” Your head bobbed up. “Mark? Why’re you here?”

“Me? What are you doing? What’s wrong?”

“I–I–” Your nose almost hit the floor but he caught you. 

“Is someone trying to hurt you?”

“No, no.” You closed your eyes and concentrated on breathing first. Once you were back to normal you looked at him properly. “Hi.”

“...hi.”

“I didn’t think anybody would be here.”

“For what, your dying goose roleplaying act?” He helped you sit. “Why’re you here?”

You mumbled something, refusing to make eye contact.

“What?”

“I said–” you appeared just about ready for the Earth to swallow you whole “–I wanted to see if there really is a White Lady here.”

“White Lady?”

Every school has a ghost story, especially universities. Wayne Technical Academy had the giant ghost bat, Metropolitan State had a headless librarian, and Upstate University had the White Lady haunting the main building. 

Mark blinked. “Seriously?”

“Amber told me about it.”

“You believe in ghosts? You ?”

Your recovering cheeks heated up again. “I just wanted to see.”

“Ghosts aren’t real.”

“They’ve never been proven but they’ve not been disproven either–why am I explaining myself to you?”

“Why were you out of breath?”

“I was, uh–” You kept your eyes on the ground. “I was fine walking around the halls when I heard footsteps behind me and I–I bolted up the stairs.” 

He blinked more slowly this time. Then his arms covered his stomach as he cackled. 

“Mark!”

“C’mon, that’s hilarious!”

“It’s not that funny.” You lightly hit his shoulder and he raised his hands up. 

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Now it’s your turn. Why are you here? This place is off-limits.”

He wiped a tear away. “I wanted to be alone, really alone.”

“Oh.”

“Not going to ask why?”

“No.” You looked over his shoulder and at the buildings. “I have days like that, too.”

Mark watched you for a while, then he sat beside you and you admired the lights together.

The speakers scattered across the campus played the sound of a bell, signaling midnight. 

He got up, patted the dust off his rear and wiped his palms over his thighs. He gave you his hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you back.”

***

As expected, there were few people outside during this time. The trip back to your dorm was uneventful, but you appreciated that Mark didn’t try to engage in small talk. 

“This is my building.”

“And?”

“Aaand thanks. You can go now.” That came out colder than you intended. “I’m sure you’re tired so thank you. Again.”

“Don’t you want me to check under your bed for any monsters?”

“There’s no need, I’m sure the demons in my closet scared them off.”

He laughed again. “All right, all right, I know when to take a hint.”

You cocked an eyebrow.

He grinned.

You rolled your eyes. “Good night, Mark.”

“Good night, princess.”

The door clicked behind you and you started walking towards the elevator. 

[Excellent work, Host!]

Pink and black contrasted against each other as Mark Grayson’s current status floated in front of you.

[Affection: 28%. Darkening: 6%.]

“I can’t believe you made me take the stairs.”

[It worked in your favor, didn’t it? You’re a surprisingly good actor when push comes to shove.]

You couldn’t argue with that. It was a good thing you read about the school’s ghost stories from the forum. Otherwise, you didn’t know what lie you could have told him for suddenly appearing. 

The system was too busy celebrating to notice your distress.

[The Host managed to get over a quarter of affection in less than a week. Huzzah!]

Fatigue set in your bones and you leaned against the cool metal wall of the elevator.

“I want something sweet,” you grumbled. 

taglist: @weponxwrites @ratkidcalledallie @qxuanii @lilacoaks

Disclaimer: The images used in this post do not belong to writerclaire. They were lifted from the following sources:

Invincible flying

Alternate Invincibles

CHAPTER 5: This Boy is a Choking Hazard Series Masterlist

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MAIN MASTERLIST

Any questions for the author? Ask here.

[silverwarewolf]

insane to think that the weight of gensokyo, with all its sins and all its goods, lies on the shoulders of reimu hakurei, wonderful shrine maiden of paradise

[qoldenskies]

donnie's "my space needs to be perfectly and traditionally clean and organized and sterile and if anything is out of place i will start tweaking" neurodivergence vs leo's "my space needs to be reflective of me and my organized chaos and it needs to Feel like mine at all times and if someone cleans it without my constant input i will start tweaking" neurodivergence Fight. donnie sprays febreze in leo's room because he thinks it smells bad and leo attacks him

[avephelis]

i was thinking about vampire and the mechanics of emizel's adderall and i'm pretty sure it'd have to work how drugs do. so it'd be ingested via blood (juicin that shit). so do you think if theo took a dose of adderall and emizel took a dose via his blood they could save money on meds. like a two-in-one.

[jat-a-fan-of-stuff]

Did two ouaw quizzes today *sparkle emoji*

Its only fitting bc i think Kremy Lecroux whould also cheat the system just to get the kremy lecroux result

[i-bring-crack]

Spoilers btw*

Something something Transmigration Crossover AU something something Luo Binghe (Bingge) becomes consumed with the idea of looking through all parallel worlds and dimensions for a Shizun that can love him and take care of him but each world's Shizun either rejects him or is already with some other self that he deems far worse than himself. It gets to the point where he is so far gone that the "Forces Above" have to step in or else he might lead many worlds to the brink of destruction. He has become too overpowered, too insane that the only way to stop this madness is to regress his soul and nurture that it with care so that it doesnt go back to its past state. And in order to make this plan work, the "Forces Above" send out the professionals among professionals (really not but they are the only hope for binghe now) to deal with this son of a virus!

Su Luxia, N1 Transmigrator from the Female Lead System; Song Qingshi, Protector of the World Tree; Abyss, up and coming star transmigrator from the World's Conciousness' Survivor Program; And System Y, new Master System. These four.... people (questionable) will have to find a way to restore Binghe's santity while not creating a complete deviancy from the main plot!

Su Luxia, transmigrated as wife #2653 : Seriously?! I'm good at canon divergence, not canon compliant!

System Y, transmigrated as another canon fodder villain: Why do I get to deal with another murder freak protagonist obsessed with someone older than them?! Well at least this one doesn't read minds.

Song Qingshi, transmigrated as the unnamed 12th peak lord: Can we still bring our husbands here? I miss Wuhuan already ):

Abyss, transmigrated as Ming Fan, pointing to Binghe: If I have to deal with this crybaby more than two seconds without seeing Prince, I will kill everyone in this room and then--

[krys-loves-otome]

"If I really have to name the thing I need to do, it's being here with you."

Thanks again @dododrawsstuff, I still think this is the cutest thing ever!