#Elex 2

[galasgamingcorner]

Elex 2 Scenery | Ignadon

[esorydoolb]

fox/jax

there is zero fanfiction for them, but at least now there's not zero fanart, amiright

[stephdragonness]

elex 2

have say the sequel of elex is... rather bad. (tho its funny bad and playable still)

not like first game, graphics looks awful on jax, i cant stop laughing how bad he looked in this (his teeth so white!), lack of expression from characters compared first game are nil (no texture and too smooth, hairs clipping through npcs.... bloody white eyes/teeth ) i'll keep playing cause im more interested in creatures.. least the monsters have texture!

[rpgchoices]

Sometimes I really want to read a short summary of what to expect from a game… and thankfully people can also submit their summaries of games they played and help me (and others) find games that cater to their interests!

submitted by @lairofsentinel

(click here for other videogames)

what to expect from ELEX 2

Sand-box “ARPG” set in a world with magic and post-apocalyptic components. It continues the story of Elex 1.

Despite being called a RPG, I see nothing of role play in terms of how you affect the development of the story, which factions you want to help or wipe-out, what NPCs you want to kill or befriend, etc. At the end of the day, the game forces you to make decisions you don’t want to, and stick with companions you don’t want to recruit, and deal with resolutions you never had a choice to pick. 

There is no customisation of the main char. You play as Jax, an ex Alb commander, main char of Elex 1.

The game is aesthetically astounding; graphically speaking, it looks alike Skyrim, with a complete redesign of the places we visited in Elex 1. 

You have companions that you can talk to in the main fort where you are going to establish your HQ or during exploration while walking around [banter]. You can only have one companion at a time. They have personal loyalty quests that, at the end of the game, doesn’t matter. Even if you completely ignored the forced companions, they will join the final battle and remain loyal to you. 

You can romance only female companions: Caja, Nasty, and Nyra.

You can meet again some of the companions of Elex 1 such as Falk, the droid C.R.O.N.Y. U4, Caja, and Nasty. However some of the old companions like Duras or Ray are not present in the game, as if the game is assuming they were killed in your previous game.

Characters and NPCs are stiff from an animated point of view. they stare at you like ghouls most of the time, but one can forgive that. However, what breaks immersion most of the time is their conversations, which can be suddenly interrupted by local events or simply your companion triggers their loyal personal quest while you are talking to a Chief of a faction. This is laughable at best. The conversation, when it is not broken in this way, sometimes has a lack of cohesion: you can be asking for the location of your son, and in the same conversation, when nobody informs you where he is, you suddenly claim to know where he is.  This happens with NPCs too: they claim not to know something, and then, later in the same conversation, they end up knowing what they claimed not to know, lol. Conversation feels very disconnected at times: it seems to be a lot of isolated chunks of text and voice acting that were smashed together.

The world and the map are beautifully enormous, but there is a considerable lack of teleportation devices spread all over it. Since the game is filled with annoying, endless errant-boy quests and “talk to X and bring me back his answer” kind of quests, this makes you waste a lot of minutes running between two NPCs to complete a silly task. Things get a bit better when you can improve your jet-system and you can have nice speed boosts, but still a lot of wasted time in repetitive runs. 

The 90% of quests in this game are boring kill-different-types-of-monsters which are re-spawned over and over and over. 

For some reason, a lot of NPCs provoke you. Many npcs are trying to make you fight them. You also find a lot of repeated situations where wankers are pestering women to sleep with them, while they are telling them to stop bothering them, and you see these situations over and over in all factions. 

All female companions end up “in love” with the main char, and give him a lot of cringing compliments. When you pick one of them to properly romance, the other two have resentment/jealousy talks to some degree.

There are some situations in which npcs or the main character describe women as "twisted as computers" or "no creature is more mysterious than a woman" and similar kinds of ancient crap. A lot of weird stuff proper of a game of the 80’s, not one of 2020.

NPC models are very limited. You feel you are talking to the same random npc in all places, with just a change in the colour of their hair.  Random NPCs can have the same design as your companions’. This breaks the interest you can have with different npcs. The same guy appears everywhere and it’s your companion as well, lol.

Unlike Elex 1, there are no multiple endings [as you notice later in game, there is little change in the world made by your own choices]. The only change is the kind of final battle you have, but the ending is just the same for everyone. 

Despite having a sophisticated system of factions, joining one or another doesn’t matter in the end.  

You know all of them are at war with one another but you never see them fighting.

The game starts with a context that it's probably not the one you played in Elex 1, meaning, this game assumes a canon ending for elex 1, and they don't care about your choices previously. It does not only assume you romanced Caja in Elex 1, but also had some romantic involvement with Nasty. Since Duras and Ray don’t appear in this game I suppose the game also assumes that you killed them in Elex 1? It’s unbelievable how little it cares about your previous game.

Elex 2 is incredibly slow paced considering the constant repetitive things it offers. The first 20 hours are painful. The main plot seems to never advance, and a lot of quests associated with the factions are so mundane and trivial that it makes no sense for someone who is fighting an alien invasion to deal with them. And like I said before, you feel that you have no control about what factions to help more, or even if you want to betray a faction due to its chaotic nature.  It was so slow and frustrating that at some point I started to speed-run and care little about this game.

You are building up a force that tries to combine the power of all the factions in this world, which ironically, it only kills a dozen of enemies in the final battle. Meanwhile you killed hundreds of them along the infinite, repetitive quests, all by yourself. Lol. This is such a failure to me. Building up a powerful force to repel aliens has no effect in the end. There are more plot-related nonsense situations but they all fall into the spoiler category, especially related to Jax’s son.

The game can be finished in around 30 or 40 hours; but completing all the repetitive side quests and senseless tasks can increase your time to +100 hours. But I feel it’s just a trap; quests are incredibly boring, in addition with really few teleport devices that make you run a lot, wasting more minutes of your gameplay. 

Loot is everywhere, pretty much like games such as Fallout, although I felt it was not rewarding to explore: you find the same loot everywhere. 

For an ARPG, the combat feels very, very bland. 

Elex 1 is not a mind-blowing game, but it did a lot of things better than this one. 

 ——- Plot? ——-

You play as Jax, who has been living in a hut for the last 10 years after the end of Elex 1. Jax went to live isolated, for a decade, despite having a son, simply because he could not deal with humanity ignoring his warning about in-coming alien dangers (?). Anyways, in the beginning of the game, he is attacked by these alien creatures and is bitten by one of them, getting infected with something that strips him from his powers [this is how the game explains why he returned to lvl 1 after the whole gameplay of Elex 1]. Now he needs to gather all the factions of this world to face this alien invasion that can’t be ignored any longer.

——- Gameplay? ——- 

A typical arpg gameplay: you level up by killing targets and making quests, and increase your skills and talents with the extra points you earn in each level. In the beginning, you can pick to use melee weapons or ranged ones. By the middle of the game, you can join a faction that uses magic, so then you can learn to cast spells of fire [Bersekers] or ice [Albs], depending on the faction you picked. 

——- Characters? ——- 

The main char, Jax, and your companions and quest givers. 

 ——- LGBT? ——-

None so far I played. But it seems natural not to find any considering how hetero-male-gaze focused the whole game is. 

——- Sadness level? ——- 

None. 

——- Happy ending? Deaths? ——-

This “rpg” has only one ending. It’s “happy” and pretends to be hopeful and a bit of a cliffhanger to an Elex 3. 

[Spoiler]

Despite Jax’s son dies at the end due to Jax own command/choices [that you have no way to change in order to obtain another outcome] there is no real impact in the sadness of the narrative. The kid dies and his parents are just “meh”. Jax shows a cinematic with “sad eyebrows” and that’s all. It’s so bland that inspires laughter more than sadness. 

[dawormgawd]

?

[blog-news-de-sophie]

Fuze Forge comprend des jeux PC comme God of War, Elex II et NBA 2K22

Dirigez vous sans plus tarder vers Fuze Forge dans le but de vous approprier divers jeux PC, à l'instar de God of War, Elex II et NBA 2K22, parmi tant d'autres encore. https://www.referencement-internet-web.com/46101-les-jeux-pc-de-fuze-forge-sont-a-telecharger-legalement.html 

[patricksteel]

Rat Kick Montage (Rattenfreistoß) Montage Part 2, 30% more english

[thg-rcg-simps]

Somebody saw Mithra from Xenoblade and thought "Let's copy paste that into my game! But make her have dark hair otherwise it would be too obvious. Also keep the name. Nobody will notice!"

(Art doesn't belong to me)

Also no, I don't get Food Fantasy one bit, I'm simply clicking buttons and am massively overwhelmed with pretty much everything, but the art looks super pretty, so I keep going lol

-RikkaCatGirl (Okami Imōto-chan)

[skanless1]

[kerlonwallstreet]

Elex 2 gog

#Elex 2 gog how to#

#Elex 2 gog full version#

#Elex 2 gog Pc#

Don’t forget to run the game as administrator.

#Elex 2 gog full version#

ELEX II freeloadĬlick the below button to start downloading the ELEX II full version game. Note: we highly encourage you to purchase it on the official store. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically.

Graphics: Radeon RX 5700 XT / Geforce RTX 2060 Also check out our videogame piracy guide and the list of Common Q&A part 1 and part 2.

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.

Company: Piranha Bytes / THQ Nordic GmbH.

#Elex 2 gog Pc#

You can also FREE download Warriors of the Nile GOG Game For PC Windows. In order to defend the peace on Magalan and the safety of his own family, Jax has to go on a mission to convince the factions to unite against the invaders and find his own son, Dex, who got separated from him …ĭive into a huge, hand-crafted, completely unique world with multiple factions and diverse environments set in a post-apocalyptic science fantasy universe. Several years after Jax defeated the Hybrid, a new threat arrives from the sky, unleashing the dangerous powers of dark Elex and endangering all life on the planet. ELEX II returns to the post-apocalyptic Science Fantasy world of Magalan – with massive environments that can be explored with unrivaled freedom via jetpack, you will be able to move through the epic story any way you want. ELEX II OverviewĮLEX II is the sequel to ELEX, the vintage open-world role-playing experience from the award-winning creators of the Gothic and Risen series, Piranha Bytes. Once you complete this quest, you’ll receive the next one called “In Training,” and there are only three more main quests left to complete the game.freeload ELEX II GOG game full version setup for pc windows in single direct link. Elex 2 Trainer 04-10-2022 RGB MOBILE-READY PREMIUM DOWNLOAD TRAINER DOWNLOAD AURORA HAVE AURORA OPEN NOW INDIVIDUAL PURCHASE AVAILABLE. These Elex 2 cheats are designed to enhance your experience with the game. Then all that remains is to go there, talk to Dawkins and complete the quest. Our Elex 2 +22 trainer is now available for version 04-10-2022 and supports STEAM, GOG. Then, select the first conversation option that says “Where’s the old man? Where’s Dawkins” and simply continue the conversation to learn more details.Īt first, he won’t be able to tell you about Adam’s location, but then he will give you some clues, and you’ll get Adam’s location marked on the map, specifically, in the northern part of the map near the Depot. You’ll find him standing by the training dummies. Activate the trainer options by checking boxes or setting values from 0 to 1. Elex 2 | Sense Of Duty Quest Guide & Dawkins Locationįirst, you’ll need to head out to Bastion and speak to Thialg. Click the PC icon in Cheat Engine in order to select the game process. To do that, you must find Adam Dawkins and complete The Lost Father quest first. This trainer may not necessarily work with your copy of the game.

#Elex 2 gog how to#

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you how to finish the Sense of Duty quest. Gameplay-facilitating trainer for Elex 2. Sense Of Duty is one of the main quests from Chapter 3 that occurs near the game’s ending. Or, if you are a console player, you can get it for your Playstation or Xbox. all NPCs and Enemies pickpocketed (only kept Companions Weapons) - 0 NPC interactions. Elex II is finally here, and you can get it on Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, and Epic Games. - all items and plants in the game world picked up.

[polhcommunications]

Are there plans for elex 2

#Are there plans for elex 2 code#

#Are there plans for elex 2 Pc#

#Are there plans for elex 2 series#

#Are there plans for elex 2 series#

We would prefer to put our creative energy in another project very soon.”ĮLEX 2 will launch on March 1st 2022 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. Of course, we will closely watch how the game is being received by the audience and will support it. Therefore there is no paid new content planned for ELEX 2 after the launch. We think, if people buy our game, they should get everything that we’ve planned to put into it. However, they did leave the possibility open, saying they would monitor the its success and how fan’s responded for potential additional support. As such, they said there is no paid content planned post-launch. There they gave a pretty solid answer, saying that they weren’t fans of DLC and prefer for people to feel as if the game they get when they buy the main game is fully content complete. In an interview with Twinifinite, developer Piranha Bytes was asked about potential DLC for the game. It also will have another thing similar to the first title, seemingly no post-launch content planned. The first game was also filled to the brim with content, as is generally the style with RPGs, and it seems the second game will be similar. The sequel will once again bring us to the sci-fi/fantasy hybrid world with a much bigger story and threat about to be unleashed. The game was tested on an Xbox Series X.Early next year, we will once again revisit the world of ELEX.

#Are there plans for elex 2 code#

Let's hope there are similar fixes for current-generation consoles.Ī review code for Elex II was provided by the publisher. Elex suffered from the same fate, but eventually, Piranha Bytes fixed it and it ran really well on Xbox One X. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t have enough polish on Xbox Series X at the moment. It’s clear that developer Piranha Bytes has amazing ideas and put a lot of effort into the project.

#Are there plans for elex 2 Pc#

I wasn ’t given access to the PC and PlayStation versions, so can ’t comment on their current state.ĭespite its problems, Elex was a surprise hit and I hope Elex II follows the same path. In its current state, the Elex II is severely lacking in quality. Elex II costs $59.99 on the Xbox Store – $53.99 if you pre-ordered the game – so it’s competing against titles like Elden Ring. The animations are also wooden and aren’t what gamers expect from a modern AAA title. Combat and item pickup are still clunky, and that detracts from the experience as a whole. Many other problems from the original Elex are back too. The game looks like an early Xbox One title, it just renders at 4K resolution. Unfortunately, the lighting has to be the biggest letdown. I would guess that the title fluctuates between 40 to 50 FPS at any given time. However, it doesn’t approach the smoothness offered by a 60 FPS presentation. Socketing different parts into weapons grant them added bonuses.Įlex II looks crisp on Xbox Series X and appears to be running at a frame rate above 30 frames per second (FPS). The game also allows you to eventually customize items. You’ll need this because the more you explore, the tougher the enemies become. You can apply points toward regular traits like Constitution or Dexterity. Just like other role-playing games out there, Elex II grants you experience that can make your character stronger. While I haven’t reached the end of Elex II yet, I imagine it changes that up a little bit too. This influences how the game plays out because it shifts how certain characters respond to your presence. Depending on who you side with and who you talk to, you either gain Creation or Destruction points. Sound familiar?Įlex II features a morality system that’s somewhat unique to that franchise. You have to meet with various factions and convince them to fight on your side against an alien threat. The game takes a lot of inspiration from titles like Mass Effect that feature similar goals. Not only do you have to vanquish these space invaders, but you also have to form alliances with warring factions. It starts off in a rather spectacular fashion where a foreign object falls on his house and creatures tainted with a substance known as Dark Elex infect you. Initially, you can only use it to jump small distances, but eventually, you’ll be flying like Iron Man across vast distances.Įlex II continues Jax’s journey. The best part about Elex II has to be its jet pack. There are robust crafting and foraging systems that require you to pick up materials such as herbs and ore, that can later be created into various items like healing tonics. Elex II features a massive open world filled with varying enemies – from humans to monsters – and items scattered everywhere.

[forallpiner]

Elex 2 caja

Elex 2 caja mod#

Elex 2 caja update#

Elex 2 caja manual#

Elex 2 caja mods#

Elex 2 caja plus#

You can keep all of the experience points you receive. In der Community gibts dafür gemischte Reaktionen.

Elex 2 caja update#

And best of all: Your escort costs you nothing. Ein kleines Update für Elex 2 geht ein großes Problem für Spieler an: Die Kamera. Companions Crony Caja Nasty Fox Falk Nyra Bully Romances. Map for ELEX II with location of Companions. All followers can. You can find her on the map by looking for a person looking icon. This way you can experiment to see which fighting style works best with yours and how you can make a perfect team. There are 7 potential Companions in ELEX 2: Crony U4, Caja, Nasty, Fox, Falk, Nyra and Bully, ELEX II Maps & Walkthrough. She usually walks around near the upper floor of your house. In battle, each companion has their own weapon and preferred fighting style. This makes them an invaluable help: Especially at the beginning, when many opponents are vastly superior to you, your equipment and skills are still weak and you don’t know what’s over the next hill – then it’s important to have someone at your side, who helps you. You can find more tips and tricks in the special issue for Elex 2: The companions bring you thatĬompanions have one obvious advantage: they fight at your side for you.

Elex 2 caja plus#

In addition to build guides, tips on companions and factions, and a comprehensive walkthrough, GameStar Plus also includes an exclusive interactive map with all the important items, chests, teachers, and much more! Question Drabak (easily the most suspicious), Sirik, and Finley in the ruins, then Caja in the same area. They will still be angry if you are caught Pickpocketing.Our guides, which have been put together by our special issue team, will help you prepare perfectly for Elex 2. Caja suspects a traitor is spying on your people for the Outlaws.

Once you are the leader of Origin the inhabitants consider your will near absolute you can take anything you want off of any shelf, surface or house and it will not be considered stealing.

It's marked by Origin - The Power of the Center. Caja is located in the domed city, specifically at the north side of the city. The possibility of Romance opens up as the Companions loyalty grows. There are 3 possible Companion Romance options in Elex 2. Caja is one of the two romance options available in Elex. Companions Crony Caja Nasty Fox Falk Nyra Bully Romances. Her connection to Elex is so strong, that she can sense it and claims to be able to communicate with it.

Ray will tell you the location after done with the mission A Crafty Crook. Caja is a Berserker with extremely powerful magical abilities.

Above all, Nasty is anything but benevolent towards you at the beginning. In order for the sparks to really fly, however, you must first increase the affection. In conversations, he then also can send his companions back to Origin. Of the seven companions you can find in Elex 2, three characters can be romanced: Caja, Nasty, and Nyra. Completely ruining the relationship with a given companion will make them leave you, and you will not be able to travel with them again. Nasty and Bully accept violence, deception and quarrels during dialogues. Once Jax has found the camp and solved a few missions, he'll receive a key to his room. Caja, Fox, Nyra and Falk prefer peaceful conflict resolution and non-ironic, friendly responses. Alle diese 3 Frauen sind gleichzeitig Begleiterinnen und das bedeutet, dass sie zuerst rekrutiert werden müssen wir haben diesen Prozess ausführlich auf den Seiten beschrieben, die ihnen im Kapitel Begleiterinnen gewidmet sind.

Elex 2 caja mod#

The powerful open-source mod manager from Nexus Mods. Ignore it (its part of my unreleased Dynamic Teleport mod). she's not there during not there after nowhere on map and not at camp. Die Kandidaten für Romanzen sind Caja, Nasty und Nyra. credits: Baltram and George (author and co-author of the elex(2)resman) btw: Caja and Nyra are having Zariks 'I synchronize the coordinates with my adjutor.' dialog line.

Elex 2 caja manual#

Download: Manual 0 of 0 File information. Unique DLs- Total DLs- Total views- Version.

Elex 2 caja mods#

This settlement becomes Jax's base of operations. caja disappears (wtf) maybe it's just my playthrough but does caja tend to disappear after cutscenes originally i thought she just turned neutral by dialog and quit but it happens so even after big bang fight. ELEX II Mods ELEX 2 Miscellaneous Cajas Facelift Cajas Facelift.

[iced-souls]

Artfight Week 4! (And Parte 2)

More revenges haha—!

Credits:

Gears = Salvage

Charlotte = Katabatic

Melinda Nilem = @dwaginator

Flare! = @hazyerrors

The criptyd that lives on the swamp = Catgitarius

Quinn = @shimmershy

Iris = @lunar-eclipse

Veratus = @petra-creat0r

Ghost = wolfie7x3

Elex = ZAVIXEL

Jaro = Marv

Iris = MarineLaChatto

Ivy = K1tsune-Art

Klous = wolfie7x3

Oneiros = @wishingstarinajar

[aller-geez]

Blood Isn’t Always Thicker

written & illustrated by: allergeez 🖤

Hello yes this is my first Svelex fic, so hopefully I wrote them to @thekinkyleopard ‘s vision! A little bit over 8k words, lore heavy allergy snz Sven. Just a warning, there’s no snz until around 3K words, but I swear he makes up for it! Strong Language, snz obviously, allergies, family drama, etc.

Sven's gentle, purr-like laughter rumbled through the spare bedroom, the walls now adorned with posters of his favorite games and technology. The badger and himself had spent countless hours renovating the room, transforming it into a cozy "game room" where the Cheshire could stream to his heart's content.

“Alright guys, it is getting late here… I think I’m gonna end this stream for tonight and go bother Elex to go pick up some Taco Truck.. I’m starving!” The cat laughed again, a warm, charismatic sound that was accompanied by a slightly toothy grin as he placed the PlayStation controller onto the desk sitting in front of him, which was lit up with bright orange LED lights underneath it.

The choir of friendly insults that were thrown in the cats direction from others in the stream made him grin even wider, a wholehearted laugh rumbling from his lips.

“Hey! Shut the fuck up!” Sven adjusted himself in his— admittedly a little too expensive —gaming chair with a wave of his hand towards the camera, planting his feet firmly on the hardwood floor so the chair didn’t start to roll away.

“I told you, I’ll start streaming Red Dead Redemption 2 tomorrow! You’ll just have to wait…” The feline snickered, lifting his hands to adjust the custom headset sitting on his head, cleverly tucked away behind his thick teal fringe. Elex had surprised Sven with a custom headset that allowed him to wear it while his cat ears were still out, and it had been such a confidence boost for the Cheshire, although he wouldn’t admit it if you asked him.

“You could try sleeping, yknow…. Isn’t it like 4 am there? Don’t you have work in the morning?” Sven asked toward the camera, obviously getting another snarky reply that caused the cat to shake his head with another wide grin. “Well that’s on you, man. Personally, I’m gonna con the badger out of a super burrito so—“

A sharp, distinct cough from the doorway behind him ripped Sven from his playful banter to see the annoyed scowl on his boyfriend’s otherwise beautiful face.

The feline flashed the green haired man a sheepish smile before hurriedly facing the camera again, moving the cursor to hover over the ‘end stream’ button. “Okay, gotta go! Join tomorrow for some Red Dead, I promise~” Sven winked at the camera with a small wave, before ending the stream and quickly snatching off his headset.

“……how much of that did you hear?” The feline’s orange ears flattened to his head as he looked over at Elex again.

The badger had his muscular arms crossed over his chest with an increasingly disapproving scowl tugging down on the corners of his mouth around the sharp canines that jutted out from his lips just slightly.

“Enough……” The man stood silent in the doorway a second, and a tinge of anxiety flooded the cat’s chest. After an uncomfortably long few moments, finally the badger snorted a laugh, unfolding his arms from his chest and burying his hands into the pockets of his torn jeans. “okay but let’s get one thing straight, you aren’t CONNING a badger out of a super burrito, okay? I’ll go pick ‘em up, but that’s because you’re gonna be paying for both of us, AND calling in the order, alright, you little shit?”

The corners of Sven’s mouth instantly pulled up into a coy grin, and he raised his palms in front of him in defense. “Alright, alright, I suppose that’s fair~” The cat purred another laugh with a quick flick of his large orange tail, dropping his gaze to locate his cell phone among the massive amount of electronics around him.

“Call it in, I’ll go pick it up right now. I still have your card from earlier and I’ll use it to pay. You know what I like… and I swear to fucking god if they fuck it up again I’m going to swing on someone…” Elex tossed over his shoulder as Sven fumbled to unlock his phone.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call it in. Be safe!” He replied rather quickly as his boyfriend closed the front door behind him. When the feline finally got his phone unlocked, the notification of a new text message from an unsaved number instantly caught his attention. As quickly as he could, the cat opened it, his slitted eyes widening as he read the full message.

??? — Hello Sven, I hope this message finds you well… This is your Father. I know you’ve tried to keep this number from me, and I’ve been told that trying to contact you was a bad idea but I couldn’t help but try.

??? — I was wrong about you, Sven. I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel alienated from the family. That was never my intention. But honestly, everything I want to say to you couldn’t be fully conveyed to you through a text message…

??? — That’s why I want to invite you to dinner at the house on Saturday, if you’d be willing to come. You may read these texts and laugh and not even reply and I’d understand if that was your choice. But if you would be willing to hear me out and hopefully at least be on speaking terms, I would love to hear back from you.

Sven's heart raced as he struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. How had his father gotten his new number? He had made it very clear that he didn't want any contact with him...but then why did the message say "I was wrong"? Sven squinted at the words, his eyesight possibly failing him once again. But there it was, unmistakable. His mind swirled with conflicting emotions as he tried to make sense of the unexpected message. Was this a trap? Or was his father truly admitting fault? Sven didn't know what to believe anymore, and it terrified him.

The text took him so off guard that he had to lock his phone again and place it facedown on his lap, his orange slitted eyes drifting off as his thoughts raced through his head.

What was he going to do? Would he really be able to go back to /that/ place and eat a whole meal while being face to face with his dad and be patronized for god knows how long, just to MAYBE get a half assed apology from the man?

However desperately the cat wanted to gain a shred of acknowledgement from his father after he became invisible behind Draeko’s shadow, he had no idea if his psyche could handle the man that made him run as far away from the circus as possible and get a place in secret with Elex in the first place.

Suddenly, his phone that still lay face down on his lap began to vibrate wildly, jerking Sven from his thoughts and back to reality.

Lifting the phone to his face, Elex’s contact photo plastered itself across his screen, which made the feline curse under his breath, preparing himself for an angry badger on the other end when he answered.

A dull clawed finger answered the call, lifting the phone a good foot out from his ear, and before Sven could even say “Hello.”, Elex’s angry voice poured through the phone, causing the cat’s ears to fold flat on his head sheepishly.

“SVEN WHAT THE FUCK? DID YOU NOT CALL IN THE ORDER? CAUSE ITS GONNA BE A PROBLEM IF THIS FUCKING DICK IS LYING TO ME RIGHT NOW…”

“Lex! Sorry, sorry! I got distracted and forgot to call, my bad!” The feline cried out frantically, and the frustrated grit of the badgers teeth was audible through the phone, making Sven want to be as small as possible.

“There better be a good fucking reason, Sven..” Elex mumbled, and the sound of a car door slamming shut could be heard on the other end as the badger got back out of his car.

“There is, I promise I’ll tell you when you get here— you won’t fucking believe this shit…” Sven snorted, trying his best to sound nonchalant and mask the fact that he was honestly scared shitless over the entire situation.

— but Elex could sense something was off by the tone of his boyfriends voice, and decided to let up on the cat. Whatever the distraction was, it was clearly heavy and weighing on him.

“Just — fuckin’ A, you’re annoying..” Elex sighed dramatically, seemingly put out that he had to place the order himself.

“You love me~” Sven replied with that same faux nonchalance, making Elex silently cringe.

“Yeah, yeah.” Click — the line went dead.

Sven hung his head low, swiping up his phone and hiding it under the couch cushion as if that would make the situation any better. The silence of the house was almost deafening as he thought about how to tell the badger about the texts...

He needed to clean something. Anything.

A loud sigh escaped him as he got up from the couch, making his way to the kitchen. In all honesty, the kitchen was already almost spotless, but there was plenty of stuff that could use a wipe down. His heart raced anxiously as he grabbed a dishtowel and started on the counters.

Tap, splash, scrub, tap, splash. The sounds echoed through the otherwise quiet house as he went about cleaning up any and all messes he could find. The sink faucet squeaked with every turn of the handle, the dish soap smelled strongly of lemon, and the warmth of it against his palms felt comforting.

The humming of Elex's car in the driveway snapped him out of his thoughts once again, reminding him that the badger would be home soon. A cold shiver ran down his spine at the thought of seeing his face when he walked in, and having to open up to his boyfriend on that level... Being vulnerable was kind of a hit or miss with the green haired man.

He quickly rinsed off the sponge and threw it into the sink before taking a moment to straighten up around him; even standing on his tiptoes to wipe down the very top of the fridge.

Suddenly, the front door flung open, and Elex came charging through with both of his hands full of large styrofoam cups full of soda, and a white plastic bag full of various foods hanging from his arm, an annoyed scowl across his face. Although, instantly upon making eye contact with Sven, seeing the stress weighing heavy on his features and the wad of paper towels he used to wipe down the fridge clutched tightly in his hand, the badger gave a knowing sigh as he slammed the door behind him with his foot.

“I’m so sorry, Lex, I didn’t mean to—“ Sven started to explain himself but was quickly cut off as Elex set down the drinks and the bag of food on the counter in front of him with a loud thump.

“Nah, I don’t care about that shit. What I do care about is what the fuck distracted you so much. You’re obviously stress cleaning, so it has to be something.” Elex quickly snatched the paper towels from Sven’s hand, throwing them in the trash. “Now spill it before the food gets cold.” He demanded, eliciting a cautious breath from the feline, his bright orange eyes locked on the floor.

Well, here goes nothing…

“Well… you know how I got my number changed so my dad didn’t have it anymore, when I moved, right?” Sven asked quietly, pulling on a loose string on his jeans as he spoke.

“Err… yeah? Of course. It was a pretty fuckin big ordeal if you remember….” The badger replied, one eyebrow cocked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Well…” the Cheshire swallowed before continuing. “I got a text from him…. A few actually..”

“Oh, this aught to be good… what the fuck did that prick have to say?” Elex scoffed bluntly, leaning his back against the wall with a snort.

The cat’s heart was pounding in his chest as he spoke, "He invited me to dinner. Saturday evening, at his house," Sven mumbled, looking down at his feet. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I know I shouldn't go... but it's been so long since we've spoken... and I just want to see him... and maybe make things right..." He trailed off, biting his lower lip as his ears flattened against his head.

Elex rolled his dual colored eyes, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Fuckin A, Sven. You're an adult now, you don't have to go crawling back to that asshole just because you feel bad. It's not like he'll actually apologize or anything," he scoffed again. The badger shook his head, disgusted with the idea of Sven even considering going through with this. "You know what he put you through."

"But it's not just that," Sven mumbled, looking up at Elex with pleading eyes. "I miss him... I miss— the circus, a bit…"

Elex huffed, leaning against the counter. "Well then," he started, "honestly, it sounds like you already made up your mind… But I don’t think it’s a good idea at all.”

Sven’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, although he knew from the beginning that Elex wouldn’t support him going either way.

“I mean, I haven’t replied to him yet, but… after really thinking about it… I can handle just one dinner on the very slim chance it’s not bullshit this time... And if he starts being his same ol self, I’ll just leave.” The feline shrugged, trying to put up the same faux nonchalant facade that he had tried earlier on the phone.

“I mean whatever, Sven. But don’t fucking hold your breath for that fucker to suddenly stop being an asshat to you out of no where. It’s been 26 years and he hasn’t gotten it together.” Elex shook his head with a sigh as he pulled a travel sized bottle of hand sanitizer from his pockets and squirted a small amount onto his palm before holding it out to Sven, who offered his hand. “You’re just going to get fucked over like always and he’s going to treat you like you wear a fucking helmet or some shit, and it’s going to be a disaster like it always fucking is.”

The cat’s tail twitched in annoyance at his boyfriend’s negativity, but he didn’t push the issue any further to avoid any arguments; instead he simply rubbed his palms together to sanitize his hands before silently removing his burrito from the bag on the counter.

“Thanks for this by the way.” He gestured to Elex with his unwrapped burrito before taking a large bite, to which the badger simply nodded as he removed his own food from the bag. “You’re fucking lucky I’m feeling generous today. Don’t let it happen again though.” The green haired man snorted, shaking his head back and forth as he sipped on the straw to his beverage.

As the two sat and munched silently on their food, Sven quickly typed out a reply to his father.

Sven - Hey, Dad. I just got your texts… uh, yeah… I’ll be there for dinner on Saturday night so maybe we can get shit off our chest and catch up.

Instantly the little blip in the corner began to show that his father was typing a reply. Typical.

??? — I’m so happy to hear that, Sven. Thank you for giving me a chance. I’m excited to hear how you’ve been. Dinner will be at 6 on Saturday. See you then.

Sven let out a deep breath as he finished his text to his father and looked up at Elex, who was already digging into his burrito as if nothing had happened. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, occasionally glancing at each other as they enjoyed the warmth of their food. Once they were done, they cleaned up the kitchen and headed to their room to unwind for the night. They both changed into their pjs, Sven donning a small tank top and shorts while Elex wore boxers and an oversized t-shirt. The room was cool despite the air conditioner running, but it made for comfortable sleeping conditions. They turned off the lights and crawled into bed together, cuddling close as they always did when it was time for sleep. Their bodies molded together like two puzzle pieces, two halves of one whole. For now, there was peace.

The room was dimly lit by the glow from the city outside their window, casting a soft blue hue over everything. The sound of cars honking floated in through the open window, mingling with the low hum of conversation from people walking by on the sidewalks below. It made Sven feel connected to something larger than himself—something grounding. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but found himself unable to stop thinking about this decision he'd made that could potentially shake up his life in ways he couldn't predict; he tossed and turned throughout most of the night, trying not to wake Elex up, but he couldn’t stop his mind from racing.

The days leading up to the dinner were filled with countless arguments between the two. It was as if the tension in the air had a physical presence, making it difficult to breathe and impossible to ignore. They would start off fine in the morning, exchanging gentle nuzzles and soft whispers while they got ready for the day. But by the time they would end their days, tired and drained, their tempers would often flare up over minor things like leaving shoes in the wrong spot or forgetting to buy milk.

The cat, usually so patient and understanding, found himself snapping at Elex for no reason at all, and of course the badger would fire back. Sven was usually so level-headed and considerate, but instead he would lash out in anger over trivial matters that would normally be brushed aside. Their nighttime routine remained unchanged; they would cook dinner together, watch TV, and cuddle in bed before sleeping. But now it felt forced, like two strangers going through the motions instead of lovers sharing their space. The food they cooked together lacked flavor and sparked more arguments about whose turn it was to cook or who forgot an ingredient. The TV shows they watched would always be interrupted by sarcastic commentary or change of channel without notice. Their warm embrace before sleep turned into cold shoulders as they tried to find solace in their own thoughts instead of each other's touch.

Sven couldn't help but feel a knot forming in his stomach every time he thought about facing his father again after all these years. The last time they had seen each other had been tumultuous, to say the least. He just hoped that this dinner could be a fresh start for them both. However, part of him feared that it would only lead to more arguments and hurt feelings. As Saturday drew closer, so did their anxiety levels, making them both irritable and snappish towards one another.

That is— until Saturday morning (or, more accurately, 2 pm… but to Sven, it was morning..) finally rolled around…

It was his phone buzzing on the nightstand that finally woke the cat from his deep slumber. Opening one of his golden eyes groggily, Sven snatched it from the nightstand in annoyance and sat up, his teal hair splayed wildly in every direction. Still half awake, he squinted at the text message on his screen before clearing his throat to try and rid himself of the sudden itchy feeling that snaked down his esophagus. It was from his dad.

Dad — Hello Sven, just checking to be sure you’re still going to be here for dinner tonight? Looking forward to seeing you.

Clearing his throat again, Sven sniffled absentmindedly, rubbing the sleep from his eye with one balled up fist, using the other hand to tap out a reply. God, was he thankful for autocorrect.

Sven — Yeah, Dad, I’ll be there.

The cat left it at that, locking his phone with a loud yawn, his large orange ears flattening to his head as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and plopped his feet onto the floor with a heavy thud. Guess it was as good of a time as any to get up…

The night before had ended in another heated argument with Elex, and the badger had slept on the couch in the living room, allowing the feline to not have to be as worried of how loud he was being to avoid waking him.

Instinctively, Sven sniffled again before reaching up to scrub small circles into his nose with his palm. So itchyyyyy…

With a disapproving grunt, the cat pulled open the drawer to the nightstand shoved up against one side of the bed and fished out a blister pack of Claritin, half of the pack already punched out and foil hanging loosely from the back. He’d be damned if his allergies were going to choose today of all days to be a problem…

With a soft sniffle, Sven positioned the pack over his other hand, but before he managed to remove one of the small round pills from the pack, his breath snagged suddenly in his throat, a desperate gasp parting his lips before his head snapped downward with a soft, “Hehh.. n’gtx!”

The sudden, unexpected sneeze caused one of the cat’s nails to puncture the foil on the blister pack, one of the small round pills clattering against the hardwood floor beneath his feet before quickly rolling out of sight under the bed. But with the intensity of the buzzing within his nose, the Cheshire knew better than to assume the single sneeze was the end of it.

“K’tchh! Nnch! Nkch! — Hhh—! Ktch! Nkcht! Hh‘gsch!! Nngch!”

Wave after wave of sneezes overtook Sven as he tried to catch his breath, each one more intense than the last. "Ngt’chh! hptt’CH! h’gTShhHh! hiIh’nGkt!!" He couldn't seem to stop; his nostrils quivered maddeningly and his eyes pooled with allergic tears before they streamed down his face. Desperate to calm his overly sensitive nasal passages of the all encompassing sensation licking down the bridge of his nose, the cat frantically knuckled at his septum, but it didn't stop there; his nose still tickled mercilessly, demanding release.

“Hh—… H-Hhh—! H’NgXt! Hh‘gsch! God damnd it!” The cat hissed angrily once finally able to, quickly getting up off of the bed and darting into the bathroom with one hand cupped over his nose and mouth. He slammed the door behind him as hot tears of frustration began to stream down his cheeks, his head feeling like it was about to split apart from all of the sudden, intense sneezing.

Sven hated this feeling. The uncontrollable urge to sneeze; the intense tickling sensation in his nose that demanded his full attention and refused to go away no matter how many times he was caught up in an endless, desperate fit. It was enough to drive anyone mad.

“N’gxt—! Heh’n’gtx—!” The feline couldn’t even catch a break in the safety of the bathroom as another round of sneezes overtook him. He snatched a handful of tissues from the box on the sink counter and furiously blew his nose, trying to clear out the allergen that was causing this hellish reaction.

But no matter how much he blew his nose, it just seemed to make things worse. And with every forceful exhale, more tears leaked out of his eyes until he could barely see clearly anymore.

Fuming with frustration, Sven reached for a glass on the counter and filled it with water before yanking open the medicine cabinet and swiping yet another pack of Claritin from the shelf. He popped two of the pills from the foil package and threw them into his open mouth, chasing it all down in one gulp.

Even after multiple rounds of blowing his nose and sniffling desperately into tissues, the Cheshire could still feel that annoying tickle in his nose. It felt like there was something lodged deep within his sinuses that just wouldn’t budge.

Feeling utterly defeated, Sven slumped down onto the edge of the bathtub and rested his head in hands.

Why did he have to be such a fucking mess? Why couldn’t he have normal allergies like normal people, like dust or pollen? The cat honestly felt like the butt end of some sick joke from the universe to have such debilitating allergies to his own body.

With a suddenly very waterlogged sniffle, more hot tears began to sting at his eyes before spilling over his cheeks and splashing against the tile floor below him. How was he supposed to show up at his dads like this? It would be like asking for it at this point…

Suddenly, a sharp knock at the bathroom door ripped the cat from his thoughts.

“Sven?” Elex’s voice poured out from behind the thin, wooden door, followed by a few seconds of silence. When he was met with no response, the badger tried again. “—Sven?”

“Ghhh— go away..” Sven muttered softly, still sitting on the edge of the tub with his chin resting on his palms, followed by an almost inaudible gasp as his breathing shuttered. “Nnch! Nkch! Ktch! Nkcht!”

“You okay in there?” Elex’s concern was evident in his voice as he pressed for a response. The worry in his tone was enough to make the cat’s heart ache with guilt from the way he had acted towards the other the night before.

“—I’mb fide,” Sven managed to say, his voice muffled by the tissues he pressed against his face. “J-just dealigg with... allergies.” He let out another stifled sneeze, followed by a defeated sigh.

Elex’s gentle exhale was barely audible over the sound of Sven blowing his nose. “I’m coming in.” He stated simply despite the cat’s previous objections.

When he pushed open the door to the bathroom, he was met with the sad sight of his boyfriend huddled up on the edge of the bathtub, a wad of tissues tented over his nose and mouth and tears staining his pink cheeks. Any argument between the two the night before was easily forgotten.

“Geez, kid… One of those days?” Elex asked with a tilt of his head, a sympathetic expression on his face as he came to sit on the tub next to Sven. He couldn’t say he was jealous of the Cheshire’s plight, that’s for damn sure.

“Obviously…” The cat sniffled miserably, clearly getting lost in the sensation as he scrubbed at his sensitive nose, his large orange ears pinned back against his head in embarrassment. “Of course it w-would be— thhh— today—! Hh‘gsch! ngsh!” Growling in frustration, he blew his nose again, to which the badger offered a soft smile.

“At least that gives you a reason to cancel on your dad, yeah?”

Sven rolled his orange eyes. “Ndo, El. Cadcelligg dow would just prove himb right..”

Elex scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest. “Well, what the fuck are you going to do then? Going like this is definitely going to make you a target.”

The look that the cat shot his mate was like daggers, despite the red rimmed appearance. “See, I was hhh— hopigg it would b-be differedt thhh— H’NgXt! Hh‘gsch! k’gnsh! SNNRRFF!! —guh…”

Without even finishing his sentence, Sven yanked more toilet paper from the roll and blew his nose yet again, still to no avail, his expression getting more and more frustrated and hopeless as his fit continued.

This time, it was Elex’s turn to roll his eyes. As utterly adorable as his boyfriend was currently, he was also utterly stupid to think his dad was ever going to change.

Sven sniffled and wiped his nose again. His eyes were watering prefusely, his face red and splotchy from all the rubbing. He looked at Elex in frustration before slowly shaking his head. "I dod't dow, El. I guess I'll have to sugg it up add go."

Elex sighed heavily, beginning to get slightly annoyed at his stubborn boyfriend. He reached out to gently pat Sven's back comfortingly as he watched him struggle with his allergies. "If you say so," he muttered under his breath, knowing full well that it wasn't going to be an easy task for Sven. "You sure you don't want me to come with you? You know, for moral support?"

Sven shook his head again, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth despite his discomfort. “I'b sure it’ll be fide…," he replied between sniffles. “I thought you diddt wadt himb to dnow that were together, adyway.”

The badger’s expression turned up in amusement as he shook his head. “People live together without being in a relationship, Sven… Just tell him your room mate is coming with you, and the old man’ll be none the wiser.”

Sven’s shoulders slumped a little as he let an exasperated, defeated sigh escape his lips. “Fide… but if these Claritid kick id before I have to leave, imb goigg alode, alright?”

The badger raised his palms in front of him defensively, grinning as he rose to his feet. “Okay, okay. Just hurry up and get ready.”

Despite the embarrassment and discomfort, Sven managed to step into the shower and rinse off, letting the steaming hot water run over his body. The warmth felt nice against his skin, but it did nothing to alleviate the itching in his nose or the burning behind his eyes. He threw his head back and closed them tight, trying not to make too much noise as he gently washed himself. His allergies were relentless and already taking their toll on him, leaving him feeling weaker by the minute. Every few minutes he was forced to stop and endure yet another itchy “Nkch! Ktch! Nkcht!” before he could continue.

After rinsing off and patting himself dry with a towel, the cat emerged from the bathroom and into their shared bedroom. His large, fluffy orange ears hung low as he shuffled through his closet, trying to decide on an outfit that wouldn't make him stick out too much. The last thing he needed was for his father to make some snide comment about his choices or the way he dressed.

Sven finally settled on a simple pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt that would hopefully hide the fact that he was having an allergic attack. As he pulled them on, his movements were slow and clumsy; with every breath, he winced slightly from the sting in his nose.

His nose was still running slightly as he sat down on a stool at his vanity, reaching for a bottle of nasal spray. He squirted some into each nostril before inhaling deeply; the cool mist offered some relief from the fire burning within him. He took a deep breath and reached for a hairbrush, running it through his thick teal hair until it shone softly under the dim light of the bathroom.

Walking out of the bedroom, he grabbed his wallet and phone from the coffee table where Elex was sitting on the couch flipping through the TV channels with an absentminded air. Sven looked slightly better than when he'd gone in but the badger could still tell that something wasn't right.

"Well?" Elex asked without looking up at him. "Got everything you need?"

Sven nodded, rubbing at his nose as he walked over to stand by Elex on the couch.

The cat suffered through another itchy, sniffly “H’KngxsstSH! nXGtCHhh!” before responding, "Think I'm good to go. My nose is still pretty hhh— messed up though. Hopefully Dad will just keep his fucking mouth shut.." He sniffled sharply before standing up straighter, adjusting the neck of his shirt to make sure there weren't any wrinkles as he looked down at Elex.

“Sounds like that Claritin didn’t do shit, huh?” The badger asked knowingly.

“No, I just love sneezing my ass off...” The feline shook his head with a scowl, and the badger chuckled under his breath, shoveling his own belongings into his pockets and rising to his feet.

As they walked out of the apartment, Sven could feel every muscle protest as they navigated through the hallway and down the stairs. The scent of fresh paint filled his nose, making him want to sneeze even more but he managed to contain it with a few quick sniffs. The outside air was cool and crisp against his flushed cheeks while Elex held open the door for him - a small gust blowing by carrying with it the scent of autumn leaves burning somewhere off in the distance. The sun was low in the sky painting hues of orange and pink across the horizon; it felt like they were driving into a painting.

The ride was quiet save for the sound of tires against wet pavement and occasional gusts of wind that caused their car to rock ever so slightly. Sven sat rigidly next to Elex, his heart racing with anticipation as he wondered how his father would react to him bringing home the badger as his "roommate". He'd never mentioned anything about having one before—would he be angry? Disapproving? Or would he simply shrug it off like everything else and pretend like he didn't care?

They pulled into the driveway and killed the engine, stepping out into the cool evening air. A sudden rush of moisture hit Sven's skin as he shut his door behind him; he shivered slightly despite the warmth lingering beneath his clothes. His ears perched on the top of his head took turns swiveling to each side, taking in his surroundings. Suddenly, the Cheshire pitched forward into his shoulder. “N’gxt! Heh’n’gtx! Hehh—! n’gtx!”

Elex tossed him a glance. “Bless you.” But Sven simply waved him off.

After a few minutes, the front door flew open and a tall, slender man with a thick pair of feline like ears between his black curls and a large fluffy tail behind him began to jog down the driveway towards the men, and Sven’s ears and tail both sagged in embarrassment. His father’s expression held a broad smile, but there was an emptiness in those eyes that didn't match the joy on his face. He rushed towards them with open arms, engulfing Sven in a tight hug before looking past him to Elex with raised eyebrows.

"Oh! Hello there! I wasn't expecting a guest," he said cheerfully, even though it was obvious from the way he said it that he was anything but pleased about having visitors.

"This is my... room mate, Elex," Sven said awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as they walked inside together. His father led them through a maze of familiar hallways until they reached the living room where they sat down on a plush couch covered in worn fabric from years of use.

His father's tail swished back and forth behind him in a playful manner, his ears twitching with curiosity.

"Oh? A room mate, you say?" He smirked, setting two mugs of beer on the table in front of them.

"Well," he chuckled lightly, leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, "I hope you two aren't planning on getting any funny ideas." His eyes darted towards Elex suggestively as he winked. He loved playing games like this; it was just one more way he could belittle Sven and make him feel small. He knew how much his son hated it when people thought he was 'different' or 'weird'.

The tension in the air hung palpably as Sven's father's words made their way through the room, causing the cat’s tail to stiffen and his ears to lay back flat against his skull. The badger crossed his arms over his chest defensively, glaring at the man who seemed so nonchalant about everything.

"Excuse me?" he snapped, a low growl in his tone as he shifted from foot to foot under the table. "I assure you, we're not planning anything “funny”. We're simply roommates—and very happy ones at that." He gave Sven a quick sideways glance before looking back at the elder man. "Your son has shown me nothing but kindness and respect, which is more than I can say for your treatment of him." His voice was icy but controlled, his fangs thinly hidden behind pursed lips.

Sven squirmed in his seat, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment and shame. He hated it when Elex stood up for him like this; it only made things worse.

His father's eyes narrowed at the comment, flashing with anger for a moment before he forced a laugh. "Oh ho," he chuckled darkly, "you think you know me so well, don't you?" He stepped forward, leaning down close to Elex's face so their noses nearly touched. The scent of his breath was sour from the alcohol he'd been drinking earlier.

"You think I don't care about my son? Well," he growled lowly, "you're wrong. I just want what's best for him — and what's best for him is to be strong."

He straightened up again and took a swig of his beer.

Sven winced, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while glancing away from both men. He couldn't believe this was happening again. Why did everything have to be so hard with his dad?

Elex sat up straighter, eyeing the man warily but not backing down.

"I didn't say you didn't care about Sven," he replied coldly, "but your method of toughening him up leaves something to be desired." He gestured at Sven's flinching form. "Constant belittlement and humiliation isn't going to fucking make him strong; it'll just make him bitter and mistrustful."

The room fell silent as they all sat there staring at each other across the table.

“Ooooohkay, that’s enough of that…” Sven finally chimed in, punctuating his statement with a clearly forced, awkward laugh.

His father continued as nothing happened, leaving the room to serve dinner.

"Who's hungry?" he asked cheerfully, carrying over a large pot of steaming soup to the table. He ladled out bowls for each of them, the savory aroma filling the room. Sven glanced nervously at Elex, but his father hummed a tune, seemingly oblivious to the tension still hanging in the air.

The three ate in relative silence, slurping spoonfuls of the hearty vegetable stew. Sven's father made idle small talk between bites, asking about their work and interests. He seemed genuinely interested in getting to know his son's new roommate, though the lingering awkwardness made the conversation stilted.

As Sven sipped his hot soup, he could feel that familiar tickle begin to dislodge itself from deep within his sinuses and his eyes began water. “God fucking damn it..” he thought, “not now...”

The car tried to subtly wipe his running nose and blink back the tears, but it was no use. Despite his objections, his eyebrows knit together before he ducked to the side, away from the table. “Hh‘gsch!! Nngch! H’tshhkt!! ngsh! H’NgXt! Hh—! HeHh—! Hh‘gsch! k’gnsh! Ngt’chh! hptt’CH!!”

He started sneezing violently, nearly upending his bowl of soup. His father glared at him from across the table.

"Ugh, here we go again with the sneezing and sniveling," his father grumbled. "It happens all the time, Sven. When are you going to grow out of it?"

Sven flushed with embarrassment, hastily grabbing a napkin to blow his nose. "S-sorry," he stammered. "I can't really hhh—help it—! K’tchh! Nnch! Nkch!"

His father rolled his eyes. "It's those weak genes from your mother's side of the family. I keep telling you to toughen up, but you just keep sniffling and wheezing at every little thing."

Sven sank deeper into his chair, mortified by his father's harsh words. He wanted to disappear completely. Elex shot Sven's father an icy glare.

"Allergies are not a fucking sign of weakness," The badger barked sharply. "They're the result of an overactive immune system, not some kind of character flaw."

Sven's father snorted derisively. "Spare me the science lesson. The boy just needs to learn some self-control, that's all."

Sven stared down at his bowl, pushing his carrots around listlessly. He had lost his appetite, the soup now just a swirling reminder of his failure to meet his father's impossible standards. How could he have really thought this dinner would be any different? He still hadn’t even heard an apology from the man.

Elex opened his mouth to retort, but Sven interrupted before an argument could erupt. "It's okay, really," he mumbled. "I'm sorry for the interruption. Let's just enjoy the meal."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the table once more. The only sounds were the clinking of spoons against bowls. Sven's nose still tickled maddeningly, but he resisted the urge to rub or sniffle, not wanting to invite more criticism.

After several tense minutes, Elex could hardly contain his anger as Sven's father continued to belittle his son, just like the badger had predicted when the Cheshire first told him about this shitty dinner. As the cat stared miserably into his bowl, Elex knew he had to take a stand.

"Sven's allergies don't make him weak," Elex snapped firmly. "In fact, I happen to find his sensitivity and kind heart to be his greatest strengths."

Sven's eyes widened in surprise. His father let out an incredulous laugh.

"Oh, is that so?" he jeered. "And just how would you, a room mate, know anything about my son's character?"

The badger met the older cat's gaze steadily. "Because Sven and I have been dating for the past few months. And in that time, I've seen how caring, thoughtful and brave he is every single day."

Sven gasped softly. They had kept their relationship secret until now because Elex wasn’t out of the closet yet…

His father's eyes blazed with anger. "Dating? Don't be ridiculous. I won't have my son gallivanting around with the likes of you!”

"The likes of me?" The green haired man retorted. "What's that supposed to mean? Is it because I'm a badger? Or is it because I actually care about your son's feelings!?”

Feeling the tension in the room grow to a fever pitch, the Cheshire flew to his feet, grabbing Elex by the arm. He could feel the badger’s muscles flexing under his tight grasp, rearing up quickly for a fight.

“L-let’s jhhh— ngsh! Hh‘gsch! Let’s just go, El.” Sven choked out between each itchy sneeze that he tried to muffle into his closed fist.

Elex shot one last glare at Sven's father before following Sven's lead and rising from his seat. He kept a protective hand on the Cheshire's back as they headed for the front door.

"Don't you dare walk out that door!" Sven's father shouted after them. "If you leave now, don't even think about coming back!"

Sven paused with his hand on the doorknob. For a moment, his shoulders slumped dejectedly. Elex gave him an encouraging squeeze.

"It's okay," the badger said gently. "Fuck him, kid. We've got each other. That's all we’ve ever needed."

Sven turned and gave Elex a small, grateful smile. Then he threw open the door, and the two of them stepped out into the cool evening air.

As soon as they were outside, Sven doubled over with a characteristic fit of rapid-fire sneezes. "H’NgXt! Hh‘gsch! k’gnsh! Heh—! Ngt’chh! hptt’CH! h’gTShhHh! hihh’nGkT—!”

The badger sighed with a smile as he shook his head, already sliding into the driver side of his car, anxious to get out of this particular level of hell. “Bless you, kid. Who would have thought those allergies of yours would be so problematic, huh?” The green haired man chuckled softly as Sven slid into the passenger side with a small frown.

“Stop callin’ me kid, I’m older than you.” The cat sniffled, buckling his seatbelt before glancing over at Elex sitting next to him, a glint of admiration in his orange eyes.

After a second of silence, the badger finally cracked.

“What the fuck are you staring at me like that for?” He asked with one eyebrow cocked.

“You didn’t have to come out to my dad like that…. I know that was a touchy subject for you…” Sven replied with a soft smile, reaching out one thin hand to rest on the badger’s thigh and give him a grateful squeeze.

“Yeah, well…. I love you, kid. And I won’t let anyone think they’re going to talk to you like that. Not even your shit eating dad.”

“Thank you, Elex. I— hhh—N’gxt! love you too…“

[white-knight7255]

You ever just think "hey it would be a great idea to expand upon my spider persona's world" then Proceed to choose four random characters and give them redesigns for your world 😊

Agent Venom - Flash Thompson

Scarlet Spider - Ben Reilly

(2) Scarlet Spider - Kaine Parker

Dead Pool - Elex Floyd (yes he is not wade deadpool)

And Black-Web my Spider sona ♡

[theholmwoodfoundation]

THE HOLMWOOD FOUNDATION PILOT EPISODE CAST/CREW - PART TWO

BECKY WRIGHT - THRALLS/PHONE VOICE

Becky voices weird things. Her speciality is small children and demons, make of that what you will... She works across every medium. She played Nic Grundy in ‘The Archers’ for 11 years and continues to appear in regularly in radio dramas on the BBC. Recent credits include: ‘You Must Listen’, ‘Car Crash’, ‘Children of The Stones’, ‘The Battersea Poltergeist’ (Bafflegab/BBC), ‘Lola vs Powerman’, ‘Making Plans with Nigel’, ‘Mythos’ (Sweet Talk/BBC), ‘Barred’ (B7 Media/BBC), ‘Billie Homeless Dies at the End’ (Holy Mountain/BBC) & ‘The Waringham Chronicles’ (Audible Originals). For Big Finish she has appeared in many episodes of ‘Dr Who’, ‘Doom’s Day’, ‘Blake’s 7’, ‘Avalon’, ‘Unit: Nemesis’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘Star Cops’ and ‘Pathfinder’.ops and development sessions for countless new writing initiatives. She has narrated numerous audiobooks and amassed a vast and varied array of weird and wonderful dubbing, animation and computer game credits. On stage she has performed for The Being Human Festival, Nutkhut, The Birmingham Rep, Wolverhampton Arena Theatre, The Bike Shed in Exeter, Hampstead Theatre, The Pleasance and The Tricycle, amongst others. She has toured open air Shakespeare and performed a rep season in a lift shaft! She is very passionate about new work and has been involved in rehearsed readings, workshops and development sessions for countless new writing initiatives.

JESSICA CARROLL - NEWSREADER

Jessica trained at LAMDA. Most recently she played Disciple Z’rell in the multi-award-winning video game Baldur’s Gate 3. Other video games include Divinity: Original Sin 2, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, Elex, Spellforce 3, Dragon Quest XI, Unforeseen Incidents and Code 7. Jessica also voices Darcy the Driller, Riff and Jiff in the UK version of the Thomas & Friends cartoon.  Theatre includes Fence (Finborough); Fishskin Trousers (The Park Theatre, Finborough); The Broken Token (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Lakeside, William Andrews Clark - Los Angeles); Quirks (Southwark Playhouse); Old Bag (Theatre 503); Ghosts (Battersea Arts Centre); Hellcab (Old Red Lion); Last Seen (Almeida); The Woman of No Importance (Assembly Rooms Ludlow); Taking Steps (Assembly Rooms Ludlow); Daisy Pulls It Off (Lyric Hammersmith). Film and TV includes Hotel Inferno, Polar, The Space In-Between, David & Olivia. Radio includes Life Begins at Crawley and The Future of Radio (Radio 4); The British Are Coming and Liberation Is Not A Recognised Protocol (Apple). Jessica has an extensive voiceover career in commercials, dubbing and the TV and film ADR circuit where she can be heard screaming, crying, doing the news and squawking down police radios in everything from Happy Valley to Bridget Jones.

LUKE KONDOR - ROBERT SWALES

Luke Kondor is a writer, creator, and the voice behind The Other Stories podcast, which has amassed over 12 million downloads. He was recently commissioned by the George A. Romero Foundation to write a Night of the Living Dead audio drama. Currently, he lives and works from a dining room table in the middle of Sherwood Forest. For more, visit www.lukekondor.com.

PART ONE: HERE

PART THREE: HERE