#I just need to get it out of my system every now and then

[wosospacegirl]

dinosaurs and...sex? - Alexia Putellas

Summary: Alexia's girlfriend is way too stressed out for her own good, so she puts matter into her own hands (fingers)

Word count: 2.2k

Warning: (+18) fingering and oral (r receiving) and at the end suggestive to oral (r giving) because we are all switches here at wosospacegirl

A/n: I think I've found my niche in fanfic and it's writing nerdy lesbian sex...sorry it's repetitive but it's just so fun to write them...

this is a scheduled post because I *actually* have a dinosaur test to study to and I don't have alexia to eat me out so--

..

"Can I come in, or are you still acting like a monster?" Alexia said from the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. She was holding something, but you couldn't quite see what, mostly because your eyes had stopped functioning after reading the word Mesozoic for the ninth time.

You had decided to go to university.

 And now you carry that burden every day. Every. Single. Day.

It was finals week, and you were an absolute wreck. You were so stressed that you had caught the worst cold ever known to humankind. Why your immune system gave up on you at the slightest sign of stress, you didn't know.

Alexia had taken care of you and made sure you rested. But of course, that meant you hadn't been able to study for three whole days.

And now here you were, at Alexi's house, sprawled across her bed, surrounded by books that were open at completely random pages, with class notes you didn't even remember taking.

Your eyes hurt. Your head hurts. Everything hurt. But mostly your soul, because you felt like you barely had one. Surely you had long lost it between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous period.

And when everything hurt, it made you angry, because you couldn't study the way you wanted to. And when you were angry, you were rude.

Alexia had shown up (to her room, in her house) and asked if the two of you shouldn't take a walk or do something relaxing. AKA: She was getting stressed from watching you mumble like a maniac about something called…Coelurosauria?

You, ever the sweet and understanding girlfriend, had snapped at her, questioning why the hell she was bothering you while you were studying.

It wasn't a "Hi, Alexia, I'm sorry, I can't talk right now."

It was a "Oh my fucking God, Alexia, can't you leave me alone for two whole minutes?"

Alexia–who was actually sweet and understanding– didn't say anything. She just stepped closer to where you were sitting, kissed the top of your head, and left a protein bar beside you before quietly walking away, probably heading for a lonely walk around Barcelona.

You cried while studying the skeleton of the Brachiosaurus because you felt guilty afterwards.

You didn't want to be mean, but finals brought out the worst in you. Still, Alexia wasn't the one to blame.

You knew Alexia was back when you heard the front door on the first floor opening and then closing. You heard her taking off her shoes and making her way upstairs.

You felt the mattress dip beside you, and when you turned around, Alexia was sitting there. You gave her your biggest, most apologetic eyes. 

"I'm sorry," you said, genuinely.

Alexia looked at you, cupped your jaw, and brought your mouth to hers. She kissed you sweetly. "It's okay," she murmured against your lips as you closed your eyes. 

"I know you get grumpy when you're overwhelmed with school. No need to say sorry."

"Yes, I do," you said, breaking the kiss and flopping back onto the bed, almost like a starfish. Your book was lying open beside you as you stared at the ceiling. "I was rude, that's not okay."

"It is okay," Alexia said, as she hovered above you, her hair tickling your cheek. "Because you sound hot when you're mad."

You rolled your eyes and pecked her lips. "Okay, now you're stretching."

"I'm serious," she said, getting off of you and sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed. "You pout and your brows furrow…It's like  exactly the face you make when you're about to cum–"

"Okay!" you interrupted, throwing your book at her, your face burning. Alexia could be so crude when she wanted to.  "No talking about sex, or–"

"--you cumming?" Alexia teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," you groaned. "This is literally the most boring subject ever. It doesn't pair well with dirty talk."

Alexia stayed quiet for a few seconds, and you took that as a sign to return to your notes and re-read them. You were lying on your stomach now,  your paper was spread out in front of you, when you felt Alexia climb on top of you and drop all of her weight onto your back.

Out of the sudden, you had a book to your face as well–your zoology and evolution of dinosaur book.

Alexia cheekily snatched your notes, and before you could complain, her voice filled the room as she read the book.

"Thyreophora, often known as armoured dinosaurs, were a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that lived from the Early Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous…"

You listened as Alexia spoke, and you couldn't help but feel as if she was… reading it erotically?

You felt her weight on your back, the way she held your book right in front of you, holding it with one hand while her other hand stayed pressed to your ribcage.

"Primitive forms had simple, low, keeled scutes or osteoderms," she continued, her voice low as she pressed more fully into your body like she was getting cosy, relaxing. "Oh, those are cool, right, bebé?" she said against your ear, and you couldn't help the shiver that ran through you.

You had known Alexia long enough to recognise when she was doing this on purpose.

Sometimes, you had the willpower to push her away and to fight back. You had to study, your exam was tomorrow!! But right now?

Right now, you wanted to be pliant.

"Most thyreophorans were herbivorous and had small brains for their size," she said, her hand slipping under your shirt, her cold fingertips grazing your skin just above your ribs. 

"Oh, does that mean they were dumb?"Alexia asked innocently, placing a kiss on the back of your neck.

"N-no," you stammered as you tried to move, but her body was still pinning you down. "Brain size doesn't really determine intelligence…"

Alexia hummed against your skin, letting the book fall onto the bed with a soft thud. 

Now her full attention was on your neck, she was licking your skin before sucking the it into her mouth.

"I thought the bigger the brain, the smarter?" she murmured.

She sat up from behind you and turned you over, leaving you flat on your back. Then she kissed you deep and slow, biting your lip.

"No, it doesn't mean that," you mumbled, lifting your arms as Alexia pulled off your shirt, leaving your torso bare. "W-what is intelligence, after all, right? It's a very human construct and we…."

Your breath hitched as Alexia kissed your stomach, slowly making her way down to your navel, then she gently tugged at the waistband of your pants.

You lifted your hips, helping her in the process of getting you naked.

"Keep going, amor, "Alexia said, kissing you just above your underwear. "I don't want to distract you from your studies."

Her fingers slid down to your centre, where the wet spot of your underwear was. Your eyes were closed now, but you knew Alexia was smirking.

"What were you saying about intelligence?"Alexia coaxed, her voice innocent, as if she wasn't doing anything wrong, as if she really was helping you study.

But thinking about dinosaurs or intelligence or anything was nearly impossible as she hooked her fingers into the sides of your underwear and pulled them aside, exposing you completely. She slid her fingers just above your cunt, spreading your weteness slowly around your folds, teasing you.

You moaned as Alexia pressed just the tip of your finger inside of your cunt, your hips moving, begging for more contact, but Alexia didn't give in. She wanted to make you work for it for a bit.

"If you don't talk," Alexia said sternly, kissing the inside of your thigh, "I'll stop. Keep going. Tell me about the subject."

You were in silence, your brain mush. It was like you forgot you even knew any words, let alone the evolution of ornithischian dinosaurs.

Although you were quick to remember it when Alexia took her mouth away from your body.

You clutched at her head, pressing her against your cunt. 

"Please, keep going–"you whined. "I-I was saying that intelligence is a human parameter, and we shouldn't judge other species based on it because it's honestly a very anthropocentric concept…"

"There she is, my smart girl, "Alexia purred. And just like magic, she slid her index finger inside of you, and your body welcomed it immediately. "What else can you tell me about those Thy… Thry…"

"Thyreophora," You breathed as Alexia slid another finger in, thrusting into you so slowly it made you want to cry. "There are two major groups, th-" 

You didn't even get to finish, because you felt alexia's hot breath against your cunt, her mouth touching your clit, wrapping her lips aorund itand sucking gently. "Fuck–more." 

Alexia slapped your thigh; it didn't sting, but it was a warning.

"Keep talking." 

So you did.

Alexia ate you out slowly as if she was savouring every single drop of your wetness. You were very aware she was enjoying herself way too much; you also knew she was doing it as a form of revenge, too.

But you didn't mind for her motives, not when she kept fucking you like that. She only stopped when you stopped talking. 

She really was taking your studies very seriously.

Alexia's tongue was thrusting inside of you. You didn't know how she had mastered the ability to penetrate you so deeply with her tongue, but you (once again) didn't care.

Her hands were pinning you down on the mattress, clutching your hip bones, not letting you move an inch as she continued to thoroughly pleasure (or maybe torture) you.

It took you a while to cum, but not because Alexia wasn't giving you what you needed, but because your body had trouble switching from stressed, anxious and overstimulated to relaxed.

Alexia didn't say a word about it. She didn't make you feel bad that it was taking longer than usual. She just kept her mouth on your cunt, as if she had all the time in the word.

And when you finally came, it felt like your body had truly relaxed for the first time in days. 

You felt as if all of your muscles relaxed all at once. Your eyes rolled back, and you yanked at Alexia's hair with a little more force than you were intending to, but she didn't complain. 

You were trying to catch your breath when alexia finally lifted her face from your cunt. 

She made her way up your body, kissing your stomach and your breasts before (finally) kissing you, and sliding her tongue in to let you taste yourself.

"See," Alexia whispered as she broke the kiss. She lay her head on your chest, her finger gently tracing your face. "I was right."

"Rigth about what?" You barely manage to say. 

"Your face when you cum," She said against your sking, kissing your collarbone. "The pout, the furrowed eyebrows."

You blink, still pretty much dizzy. "Did you make all of this... too prove a point?"

"Maybe," she said, smiling. 

"I hate you," you murmured, closing your eyes and letting your hands run through her hair.

"You don't," Alexia said. "You just came in my mouth, I think that was a love confession, actually."

You chucked at Alexia's words. 

Maybe it was the oxytocin running through your body stream, or maybe it was the quiet realisation that this was the first time you and Alexia were properly intimate in days, mostly because of your schedule at uni and her schedule at Barcelona.

You surprised yourself by lowering your head and kissing her again, your hands slipping under her shirt to trace the back tattoos you knew by heart.

Alexia kissed you back–and what was a sweet kiss–turned into something urgent.

"I want you," you breathed against her mouth, your hand curling around the back of her neck. "Now."

"Yeah?" Alexia smirked. "How?"

"On your back, legs spread open," you said.

"Okay," she simply said.

She did what you asked of her. 

She lay down, but she winced slightly when one of your pens dug into her back.

You watched her for a moment, admiring her, and then you undressed her completely. You took her shirt off, and then her training bra.

You wrapped your lips around her nipples, sucking them until Alexia was gasping, asking for more.

Without wasting another second, you pulled down her shorts and underwear in one go. 

You spread her legs apart with each of your hands and began kissing the inside of her thighs, biting them softly,  leaving teeth marks where no one would see them.

You were in your moment now.  Feeling hot and heavy, watching Alexia's cunt dripping right in forn of your face, how pretty her cunt looked, how ready she was for you.

But just as you were ready to taste her, Alexia said.

"Do you want me to read your notes out loud while you do it?"

You paused, your mouth still slightly open, looking up at her. You truly had a problem reading her facial expression.

At the same time that it looked like she was teasing you, it also seemed like the proposal was sincere, like she might actually do it if you said yes.

You glared at her, your eyes narrowing, trying to make your point across without having to use any words.

"Okay," she said quickly. "I guess that's a no."

..

A/n: Got the dino infos on Wikipedia!

Tag list: @footy-lover264 , @fortifyde, @naomigirmadefender , @neutraiise , @milkveed, @browercc , @ace-of-baked , @ikzzzya , @sky-the-trans-guy00 , @knight-16 , @wosohk04 , @evaissleepy13 , @papimapileon , @unpoppablebubbles @whiskeredshrimp-blog @goodloe-e @liloandstitchstan @s0ciety-cxv @dfwspky @karmajn @awosofavs @wosofavfanfics

[kxsagi]

Bllk boys with an s/o who somehow manages to make them fall asleep just by blasting sleepy phonk like they'd be wide awake and then sleepy phonk and they're knocked out cold and they question why every time ( kaiser, rin, shidou and anyone else you wanna add )

“𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐤 𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐥”

a/n: I THOUGHT THIS REQ WAS FUNNY

but i’m not really sure what sleepy phonk counts as, is it like the instrumental of roi by videoclub or the lost soul down by NBSPLV??? 

ft. kaiser michael, itoshi rin, shidou ryusei, itoshi sae, karasu tabito, isagi yoichi, nagi seishiro, bachira meguru

kaiser michael

you play one of those slow, mellow phonk songs with the deep bass and hazy loops, and he doesn’t think anything of it. he’s literally in the middle of dramatically trash-talking isagi when his body just… starts betraying him. 

his voice fades. eyelids droop. his upper body sways. 

“what the f– … why am i…” BONK. slumped sideways on the couch, dead asleep. 

you didn’t even notice, you were too busy wiping crumbs off your shirt. when you turn around he looks like someone hit him with a dart tranquilizer. 

wakes up four hours later like “who drugged me?” and you’re like “uh. the speaker?” 

absolutely refuses to believe it's the music. keeps blaming it on bad sleep or low blood sugar. 

tries to fight it like it’s a challenge. he’ll stare at you dead in the eye and go, “i won’t fall asleep this time.” cue you playing it again. three minutes later he’s dozing off mid-smirk. 

one time he got so mad he threatened to destroy your speaker. (he tripped over his own feet on the way and knocked himself out before he could.) 

itoshi rin

rin is fully convinced this is psychological warfare. 

he’ll be standing, talking to you normally, then you press play and suddenly he’s blinking slow as hell like he got rebooted. 

“wait. no. you’re doing it again.” 

tries to leave the room. doesn’t make it past the hallway. collapses dramatically like a fainting goat. 

once fell asleep in the middle of washing dishes. the faucet was still on. 

absolutely hates it. thinks it’s “unnatural.” starts researching “subliminal music control” and asks if you’re brainwashing him with some kind of audio hypnosis. 

he once accused you of trying to assassinate him with music. 

“turn that off. turn it off. my nervous system is shutting down.” 

refuses to let you have aux ever again in the car because last time he woke up in a parking lot two hours from home with a blanket on him and no memory of how he got there. 

shidou ryusei

cackles the first time it happened, he thought you laced his food. 

“you’re telling me you just played this… and my brain factory reset?” 

every single time he hears that beat drop, he immediately yells “NOPE NOPE NOPE. NOT THIS DRUGGED UP COWBOY MUSIC AGAIN–” then collapses mid-sentence like a tranquilized bear. 

literally wakes up mad. throws your speaker across the room while still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes like a grumpy toddler. 

tries to act like he’s too wild to be affected, then you catch him sleeping with the same sleepy phonk playlist under his pillow like it’s a bedtime lullaby. 

“listen i don’t need it, it’s just a vibe. you wouldn’t get it.” 

will absolutely start calling it your "sleepy black magic tape" and pretends he's scared of you. fake shivers and all. 

“my body associates your music taste with comas now. thanks, babe.” 

itoshi sae

you start playing it during a late-night drive, and within five minutes he’s gone. head slumped against the window. breathing soft. soul left his body. 

wakes up all confused like he just took a power nap in another dimension. 

“how long was i out? …why do i feel like i’ve been asleep for twelve years?” 

every time you play it again he tries to stay awake out of pure ego, but he gets so annoyed at how heavy his limbs feel. 

mutters a whole paragraph of insults under his breath before slipping into REM. 

eventually starts using it intentionally but won’t admit it. like he’ll go “i guess it wouldn’t kill me if you played that stupid zombie song again” right before bed. 

“i’m not addicted. i’m just being efficient.” 

pretends it’s annoying but secretly has the playlist saved on his phone under the name "🤨" 

karasu tabito

BRO STARTS DANCING TO IT AT FIRST. 

you’re like “karasu no” and he’s like “karasu YES.” 

and then two mins later he’s laying face-down on the floor like a body outline at a crime scene. 

wakes up, rolls over, and goes “yo did i die for a second orrrr…?” 

loves it though. finds it hilarious. he’ll literally set it as his own alarm so he wakes up and falls back asleep in a loop. 

“you don’t get it, babe. this music is laced. this is phonk fentanyl.” 

sometimes just asks you to play it to prove to people that it works. like he’ll invite bachira over and go, “watch this,” then collapse 60 seconds in like it’s a magic trick. 

he becomes the #1 believer that you’re a sleep witch. 

“this woman is dangerous. protect her. or let her drop a mixtape. either way we all win.” 

isagi yoichi 

isagi thought it was a coincidence the first time. “oh maybe i was just tired.” 

second time? “okay maybe i’m still tired.” 

third time? “wait a damn minute.” 

he gets so serious about it. starts journaling his sleep patterns. literally charts the timestamps of when the music plays and when he loses consciousness. 

“this is a phenomenon. i need answers.” 

he keeps trying to test it under different conditions like it’s a science project. “okay play it while i’m exercising.” falls asleep doing jumping jacks. 

one time he tried to fight it by drinking three energy drinks beforehand. the music still knocked him out. woke up with a headache and heartburn. 

“what is this sorcery?? this is stronger than melatonin AND ASMR combined.” 

eventually surrenders and asks you to play it when he has trouble sleeping. but only if you’re there. otherwise he gets paranoid and thinks he’ll wake up in an alternate timeline. 

nagi seishiro

honestly? he was already halfway to unconsciousness when it first happened. 

but the moment you played that dreamy, floaty phonk beat? instant deep slumber. like you enhanced his default settings. 

he didn’t even say anything. no reaction. he blinked slowly like a sleepy cat and just laid down right where he was standing. 

you were like “bro you good?” and he mumbled “yeh…” then snored 0.5 seconds later. 

he now refers to your playlist as the “ultimate sleep cheat code.” 

uses it on nights when even he feels too lazy to fall asleep naturally. 

“just play the thing. the lo-fi cowboy drug one.” 

weirdly enough, he becomes your personal sleep ambassador. 

you bring it up once around the blue lock team and he goes “it’s like being gently sedated by cloud ninjas. 10/10 experience. would die again.” 

if you’re gone and he can’t sleep, he’ll text: nagi: can you send the playlist nagi: the one that knocks me out nagi: i’m twitching like a windows xp shutdown screen over here 

has lowkey gotten emotionally attached to it. if someone else tries to play sleepy phonk, he gets offended. “no. only she can do that. it’s different.” 

bachira meguru

bachira thinks it’s funny as hell. 

“i’m like a dog with a whistle. only this one is a sleepy cowboy beat.” 

the first time he heard it, he got weirdly invested. like “oohh this is a vibe! what’s it called?” proceeds to pass out mid-groove like a light. 

you turn around and he’s in the fetal position under the table. 

he wakes up grinning like “that was so fun!! what happened?? do it again!!” 

he starts treating it like a carnival ride. asks you to “put him to sleep” like it’s a magic trick. 

“close the curtains, bring me a snack, and hit me with that sleep sauce 🛌🧃✨” 

you accidentally make him fall asleep in public once (you were just playing it on your phone during a train ride) and he collapses onto a stranger’s shoulder. 

you’re mortified. he wakes up three stops later, bows and goes “thank you for being my pillow today :)” 

he names the playlist. something like: “cowboy dream juice vol. 1 💀🐴✨” 

sometimes tries to rap over it and see how long he can stay awake. his record is one minute and 14 seconds. 

“this music is like a lullaby made by sleepy ghosts on synths. i love it.” 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[nerdyscouttribute]

First Look (Modern Au Smoke x Annie)

Summary:Smoke see's Annie for the first time at the club

Warning: none ,just something cute and short

An: I might come back and add more to this ,but I just wanted to get it out my mind, so it's a little rushed. I got the idea from @partylikemajima

“Man, why you brought me here?”Smoke said. Irritation was written all over his face,as Stack was dragging him through the loud club. Lights flashing everywhere, people skin to skin dancing, drinks in hand. Music blasting through the speakers.

We said now drop it like a thottie, pop it like a thottie

Church girls acting loose, bad girls acting snotty

Let it go, girl-let it out, girl

“You too damn stuck up,need to get you a girl to dance with”, Stack said , a wide smile on his face.

Before Smoke could say anything back Stack said"I'm about to talk with a few people I see, I'll be back”. Walking off leaving an irritated Smoke standing in the middle of the club.

If he was going to make it through the night, he needed some liquor in his system. Fighting through the crowd to get to the bar. “Aye get me old fashioned”, Smoke said to the bartender.

He hated environments like this. Too loud , and too musty. Seeing the bartender set his drink down , he passed her the money ,and turned to look over the club.

Surveying the area, looking for exits -incase shit popped off. That's when his eyes froze on her . She was in a white corset that put her breast in the perfect view. A brown skirt that hugged her in all the right places.

She was dancing in the middle of her friends. Bending over as they hyped her up. Smoke was too caught up in staring at her that he didn't notice Stack standing next to him.

“Damn, you staring hard nigga”, Stack said laughing , snapping Smoke out of his trance.

“Nah just looking”, Smoke said , but it wasn't true. He wanted to know more about her , what her name is , maybe if it sounded good with his last name.

“ oh so you wouldn't mind if I went to talk to her”, A sly smirk set on Stacks face. Smoke shot a glare towards Stack,” Nah, don't go bothering her”.

But that went to deaf ears ,as Stack still made his way towards her.

———————————

Annie was having fun for the first time in a while. She was stressed with running her restaurant, she hadn't taken time to hang out with her friends. So when they called ,she answered,no questions asked.

She had few drinks in her , cause that was the only way her friends were going to get her to dance like this. Her hips moving wild , ass moving right along with every movement.

Until , he walked up trying to get her attention. She was trying to ignore him , but her friends weren't trying to do the same. “ What you want”, Grace said ,raising her eyebrow at Stack. “I wanted to know if your friend right there wanted to dance with my brother “, Stack said as he pointed at Annie. She didn't even get a chance to answer for herself when Pearline spoke up,”what does he look like”? “ Just like me ,but I'm cuter” , Stack said with a smirk on his face.

“ Mmm-go get him”, Mary said, eyeing Stack up and down. Stack said he'll be back , before running off. Annie spoke, reminding them she had a voice, “ how y'all gonna decide for me “.

“Girl you need to get you some ,and he might just be right for the job”, Pearline said.

—————————————

Smoke watched the whole thing. How she didn't speak ,but observed. Stack ran back over to him , once again a big smile set on his face. “If she says no you got three other girls to choose from”, Stack said trying to convince Smoke to follow him. Smoke didn't agree with that statement ,but he followed anyway .

Making it to where the girls were standing ,he kept his eyes zoned in on her , the one whose hair was pulled out her face. Letting him get a view of her big brown eyes, pouty lips,as she stared back at him.

Stack talked first as always, “ This my brother Smoke”. All the girls introduced themselves to him , saying their name . That's when she walked up. Gold heels adorning her feet. Making her eye level with him. When she spoke Elijah thought the time froze. “ I'm Annie , what's your name”, she said in a soft voice. It sounded so sultry to Smoke.

He didn't know how she did it ,but she got him to reveal his birth name with only one sentence. “Elijah”, he said almost breathless.

“We'll you wanna dance Elijah, this my favorite song”, Annie said head tilted to the side. He didn't respond, just held his hand out for her to take.

He forgot about everyone else, just wanted to have her near him.

So this must be something special

'Cause you could be anywhere you wanted

But you decided to be here with me

No coincidence, it was meant to be

Don't be shy, come let your boy get in

So you can tell all of your friends

Annie turned around in his arms. Swaying back and forth. His arms gripping around her waist, a bit tighter. Moving side to side with her.

Annie tilted her head back on his shoulder, breath hitting his neck. It made Elijah shudder, grabbing her hip bringing them even closer.

She knew what she was doing, and she wanted him to loosen up. Grinding back on him harder, left arm reaching back to grip the back of his neck to lean down. He allowed her to bring his head down into her neck.

Lips hitting her soft brown skin. Leaving soft kisses until he got near her ear. “You know you can capture someone's attention in a crowded room”?. A smile appeared on her face. Lifting her head up to turn around in his arms.

Arms now resting on his shoulders, his arms resting around her waist. “No I didn't know that, I just came to have fun with my girlfriends”.

“Well I'm sorry for my brother, for interrupting yall night”, Smoke said. He wasn't really sorry, he was glad his brother had the courage to do what he couldn't . “It's alright I want to get to know you more Elijah”.

[fennecfoxfavouritefox]

I hast been summoned from the depths of my Tumblr Pit! @runestonefox

Favourite Color: So many good colours to pick from, I would have to say pink

Last Song: 學貓叫 - 群星 I've been subjected to it for the last few weeks and I want you all to hear it too

Last Read: A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. All the way back in Winter. I need to read more books Aaa

Last Watched: How to Train Your Dragon Live Action

Currently Craving: The end of the current social-economic system that is leading to the sixth mass extinction, climate change, and untold suffering. But fried rice would work too.

Coffee vs Tea: Tea. I don't vibe with coffee. Every time I'm tired, I'm like maybe I should try coffee, it works for everyone else, right, right, RIGHT? Instant regret. My hands start hard shaking, I'm just as tired, if not more. My thoughts race just as hard as before. And I still cannot focus, and now cannot rest. And I spend the next few hours in absolute agony.

I have relatively few mutuals so I'll boop the few I do have @gbfmi1 @prairie-chimera ^w^ (Darn I should talk to you three [including runestonefox] more but I've been busy freaking out over nothing)

Pride Month is almost over and I haven't even wished you all a Happy Pride Month yet. So Happy Pride Month, in case I don't get around to a more direct wish. I am proud of you all ^w^.

Get to know your mutuals!

Coping with some shit rn and being tagged by @atlasspade honestly helps! Thank you very much!

Favorite Color: Yellow and periwinkle blue and do not make me choose between the two

Last Song You Listened To: I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) by The 1975

Currently Reading: The Odyssey. I know, I mentioned reading it like two months ago, it's going slow.

Currently Watching: Another comfort piece... Ugly Betty

Currently Craving: hugs and reassurance

Coffee or Tea: Black tea

Don't be a stranger <3 @lilsnatch @pinkberrytea @mercymaker @steel-valiant @not-those-kids and @song-writer-melo-wrath (even though I have a feeling I know answers lmao)

[linkenthusiast]

Hello!!!!!! So I had this idea a couple of days ago, and I can’t get it out of my head, so here it is: the Chain reacting to Guide! Reader cry. I’d love to see this in your works, but please don’t feel any pressure. Have a fabulous day!!

No pressure at all!! Always up for brain storming these days <333

Splitting this to 3 parts cuz I can’t keep up with all 9 at once.

I cried just writing about this y’all I need some comfort.

This part contains Time, Twilight and Warrior.

Guide!Reader tears

Pt 1

Time

- Time wouldn’t really call himself much of a comforter— he’d be at a total loss when someone breaks down crying in front of him.

-he’s not completely helpless though! When he manages to find his words, he can offer solid words of wisdom from his experience.

- however, when he found you —his guide— crying softly in a quiet area in the woods, he helplessly watched.

- he didn’t know what to do— you’re his guide! You know his adventures more than he does, how does he expect to have wisdom that tops that??

- However, now that he’s seen you, he can’t leave you alone.

Your sniffling can be heard in the rustling leaves, the tears continuously falling down your face with each time you try to wipe it off. You’re sat beside a tree, hugging your knees tightly.

Time had found you not too long ago, but it seems you have yet to notice him.

He’s at a loss. You, his guide and support system through his adventures—broken in sobs.

His next step created a loud rustle, jumping you out of your trance. You looked in the direction of the sound and was greeted with a slightly awkward Time.

“Hi…sorry, didn’t want to scare you…” he softly spoke. You aggressively wiped the rest of your tears as a response to his appearance. “It- it’s fine. Uhm… did you need something?” Your voice was quiet, slightly cracking. You even avoided looking at him.

He simply just shook his head, “I was just walking around…do you…need some company?” They were really simple words, respectful to you even if you had rejected it. Fortunately, to his pleasure, he received a nod.

He went to sit beside you, leaning on the same tree you did. “Do you want to talk about it?” He hesitatingly questioned. He looked over, feeling and seeing a shake in your head. No? Okay, that’s fine, he can work with that.

The silence picked back up once again, your occasional sniffles breaking it.

“Y’know…it’s nice to cry. I myself find it hard to do but…it always feels like a rain shower, like the world is going to end…” he spoke softly.

“But, if you take a second to look at the sky, you’d always find a rainbow when the clouds disperse.” He continued.

“It’s okay to cry, it will always be a better tomorrow.” A sob broke from you. You leaned onto Time’s armoured shoulder, letting more held back tears spill. Soon enough, you found the pain numbed and your eyes tired, and Time still there with you. Silent but observant, and always there for you.

Twilight

- designated big brother.

- knows how to calm plenty of children down— who’s to say those tricks wouldn’t work on anyone older?

- he becomes really concerned whenever you seemed down.

- he’s always seen you as the singular optimistic hope in a rather dark and horrifying world that he lived in.

- he’d always want to see you smiling. He’d pull every trick in the book to cheer you up.

No good. Nothing was working.

He’d noticed the loom and gloom that followed you the whole day. The silence that was carried by you and the way you always seemed to look at the ground. You followed whoever’s shadow was in front of you in a trance. He tried asking you what was wrong before, but your response was a simple “I’m fine” and moved on.

He had tried a couple things that would usually work with the kids in his village. Any sweets? No, trying to get you to talk about your interests, you just shut him down instantly. He would’ve tried giving you a little gift to get your mind off of things to help improve your mood even a little.

Nothing worked, to his luck. The rest had noticed your mood and didn’t ask too many questions when you went out.

Twilight decided that there’s one thing he’s yet to try—Wolfie. Then he slapped himself, instantly forgetting that you already know that it’s him, you were his guide for goodness sake!

“Hey Rancher? Mind taking these for a good wash?” Wild spoke up from behind him. A ton of time had passed and Twilight didn’t hesitate to agree, wanting to at least check on you. He can’t help it, he’s worried.

He showed up near the river, surprised to spot you crouched down and sobbing. You used the water to try and calm your puffy eyes and covered your face a little.

Twilight stepped out to approach you. His steps were heard by you, pausing for a minute, you looked up at him.

Your eyes were puffy, feeling both your warm tears and the cold river water littering your face. “Oh…Hi Twi…” you looked over at the basket of clothes, realizing what he was there for.

“Do you…uhm…need some help with that…?” You asked, wanting to avoid talking about your tears altogether. Twilight couldn’t buy that.

He set the basket down and knelt right in front of you. “Can I hug ya?” He asked simply. Shocked, you kind of looked at him. The request itself broke you to tears again. You softly nodded, trying to wipe your tears away again as you felt his arms wrap around you like a warm blanket.

The water works wouldn’t stop, your own arms wrapped around Twilight and clutched him tightly. Your sobs muffled into his shoulder and your tears coating his tunic.

He stays there until your tears died down and you fell asleep on him. He laid you down and wrapped you with his wolf pelt until he had finished his chores, to which he then carried you back to camp.

Warrior

- him living in war gives him a very different experience compared to the rest of the Links.

- most of their tears came from the urge to survive, to live, and to mourn the loss of loved ones.

- so when he catches you crying, he’s kind of coded to think the worst.

- someone’s dying or you’re in danger, just to the very extreme.

The chain was in town, restocking and getting ready to depart once again. Wars went ahead to try and remind you of their soon departure.

Coming to your room’s door, he knocks on it. Staying put for a minute for any response. He invited himself in, thinking that you had maybe fallen back asleep, only to hear sniffling.

Instantly alert, he sees you at the table in front of the mirror— you looked horrible. Your eyes are puffy, you kept wiping the tears from them. Your hair was an absolute disaster, a bird’s nest if you will.

“Hey— hey hey, what’s—what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Wars rushed to your side, trying to lift your face up to look at him. Questions spilled from him, looking around to see if you were hurt in any way and such. You looked almost silly, your cheeks were squished because of his hold and your eyes were tightly closed, your brows frowned. Wars wiped your tears carefully with his thumb.

You hiccuped out—“N-nothing— nothing is— working with me.” Breaking every now and then.

“What? What’s not working?” Wars urges you to continue. “A-all week, nothing was okay— stupid wild shoved me i-in the river! My clothes kept g-getting cuaght and— the needle kept—poking and and…” you took a breath, “I got a bug b-bite and— I just— my hair doesn’t want to work—” Wars shushed you softly, finally understanding that your frustrations throughout the week had got to you.

He kept holding your face and shushing you, trying to lessen your tears. A couple minutes later only sniffles can be heard from you. Wars took a breath, relieved that you were getting a little better. “Do you…want me to help you with your hair?” He quietly asked you. You, tired from crying, softly nodded and turned to face the mirror and Wars went to behind you to brush your hair out piece by piece. He’d take his time to try and make it look the way you wanted.

[sidedorian]

Parker getting competitive for your attention

Might actually have to write this one out sometime in more detail, because I am weak and cannot limit my wip list.

cw: Just the tiniest little bit of jealousy on Parker's part

By his very nature Parker is competitive. He has to win, and he has to know how to win in everything he tries.

You however are a new type of battle. Something totally new and unexplored when it comes to the rules. Which means he just has to figure that out. Even if there aren't any clear cut rules when it comes to people really.

What throws a wrench in all of that is that your attention is divided between so many personalities and different asks and needs in the house alone. The fact that there is a whole world out there beyond the house is even more daunting.

But the man loves nothing more than a good challenge.

He certainly doesn't get jealous when you get sucked into a G&G game with Chance or spend hours catching up on shows or get lost in your newest book.

What Parker does do is start almost challenging you to games that take hours to get through a round. The sort of stagey game that has you sitting there for what seems like hours while he explains set up meticulously.

If you just happen to need to come back every night for a week to finally finish the stupid thing well that's just how it goes sometimes with these complex systems.

He does beat you in a crushing victory, though that is because he has all day to scheme up the best strategy to counter every outcome to counter his next move.

You also have a hard time keeping the same level of focus as he does having to break the game up into so many different chunks. You feel like half the round is getting your focus back on the game plan and remembering how the rules work.

Once he has swept the floor with you he is more than happy to tempt you with another session to help you learn the ropes, he won't even add this one into your ongoing score of wins and losses.

If he does eventually ware you down into actually letting him get you into these complex games with him it is a perfect victory in the race for you affection and attention

Even if nobody else knew they were really competing for you, Parker is certain that he has won now.

And once he wins he is a little more insufferable about everything. He is especially always a little more smug when you show up for your regularly scheduled games nights.

None of this means that he tolerates you trying to pull one over on him if you do actually try it. Or adds any extra favor outside of your actual wins or losses

Parker just couldn't have you losing interest in the attic and your wonderful collection of boardgames again.

Especially before he worked out his feelings for you in their totally randomly determined entirety

[fafodill]

Heyyy how are you doing?? How are you feeling??? I hope good :3 yu need love too

*Kisses hugs 👽👅*

And I just gonna leave this here for you to squeeze 👽

You're so sweet, thank you for the little Sneep.💚I'm honestly not doing good but I'll put it under there so TW everyone, sickness, old age, family and death of a parent. I will share some difficult stuff so please, take care of yourselves and scroll away if you need.

My dad is not doing good. And I mean he's not going to get better. He's 82 and they found cancer in his head and his health is dwindling rapidly. I had to fly back home last week to see him and support my mom through everything. Every day has been so packed with bad news or stuff to deal with that I feel like I've been there almost a month already.

We also found out he had other health issues he kept from us for years. As of now he still recognises us but yeah, the person he was is pretty much gone. A month ago he wasn't doing good (we saw some things were wrong) but he still had autonomy. Now he can't even eat by himself, make a sentence or even understand what's happening to him. Right now the idea is to make him as comfortable as possible, which isn't easy since he's very confused. A week ago they tried a treatment that was helping him and we saw him Sunday and he was doing pretty good! Two days later it's a catastrophe. He has no balance anymore and is hurting himself when he falls so, yeah, yesterday when we went to see him it was extremely rough.

He recognises me when I smile at him and smiles back. So I keep smiling and try not to tear up. But he's mostly gone. I just want him to stop being scared. Fortunately he doesn't realise much anything anymore it seems...

But yeah, no idea how this is gonna go, we're pretty much living from day to day.

Also money is tight and working right now is quite the struggle. I have barely energy to process everything that's happening and staying afloat.

On good notes, my mom and I are strong and pushing through this together. Also I was super anxious about my cat being all alone at home (except from my neighbor feeding him and a friend coming by from time to time) and my drummer 🥁 (yes I'm dating a drummer) is going to take care of him starting next week. I have a good support system even though most of them are far away. My best friend is in Switzerland tho and I see her on Friday, it's going to be nice. But yeah, my drummer and my cat are far away and I really need a hug.

So yeah, things are rough.

But I'm thankful to this sweet community.

Thank you. 💕

[icarianlibrary]

Oh yeah, some more for y'all (QUICK TW!! Literally all of these quotes are said by 12-17 year olds. They're gonna be unhinged, and some of them may be a bit offensive if you squint. There are also mentions of suicide, WW2, domestic abuse, & homophobia. None of it is meant in malicious intent, middle/highschoolers just don't have a filter)

Nico: "You aren't invited to my Serbia themed birthday party"

Will: "His weakness is being a liberal"

Nico: "They need to raise the price of monsters dawg I’m buying it every minor inconvenient assignment"

Leo: "It's okay, I can say that, my cousin's autistic"

Leo: "Yaoi is magic"

Piper: "I submitted five page Genshin smut to my creative writing teacher, got an A+, and said "I can imagine the characters saying this"

Leo: "I love Batman, he's my baby girl"

Percy: "Batman would adopt spiderman the MINUTE he found out he's an orphan with superpowers"

(The next three are from the same convo)

Leo: "God is always with us" 

Annabeth: "I thought you were a scientologist"

Leo: "Oh- Uh I mean our glorious diety, he is always with us. I mean- Uh They- They/Them is always with us"

Magnus (I know he isn't, but I feel like he would say this) "Oh yeah!! You thought, you thought you could discriminate against me because I'm straight"

IDK HELP??: "The people who weren't Nazis in Germany were the minority, and were they wrong??"

Random Hermes Kid: "I wrote the poem 'The Raven', and cut out the last two lines because my dad died, Edgar literally copied me"

Percy (Before his amnesia wearied off): "Who's Leo, who's Annabeth??? I'm a Gemini??"

Will: "That's like colonization, and that's kinda wrong" - *This was said in an actual PF debate in Speech & Debate)

Alex: "We'll like cut open their brains and go "Why is it rainbow in there??" - My friend watching me read Webtoon

Leo: "I am Kanye West's campaign president"

Leo: "What's it called? PRIDE and prejudice?" - My friend after asking what my book was about and I said "Gay people"

Alex: "I need her to get diagnosed with seasonal depression, it's BAD"

Lester: "There's no way anyone in this story is straight" - My friend talking about Jackson's Diary

*The next three are in the same convo)

Annabeth: "Nevertheless is a conjunctive adverb-"

Percy: "THAT'S SO GAY."

Leo: "Do you want to know the three most prideful words in the English language? Gay, Homosexual, Nevertheless."

Any demigod coming from a house with a different belief system: "I'm like a bisexual when it comes to religion"

Piper: "I was having social anxiety over Ao3"

Percy: "Burning question: do bi ppl exist irl?😭💀 or is it just me💀"

Leo: "And on the 3rd day, God created homosexuals"

Percy: "If I took AP or IB, which one would colleges think are more sexy?" - (I have to emphasize that this was TO A TEACHER.)

Leo: "Math is like a dystopian society"

Piper: "boys are supposed to ruin your lipstick, not you mascara”

Leo: *Touches his friend* "Now you have an STD"

Gabe: "I downloaded an AI girlfriend app and started beating women"

(The next two are in the same convo)

Leo: "Brodie, let's makeout together under the sunset"

Jason: "Stfu gay boy"

Piper talking about Percy: "Saw a guy earlier go to serve in volleyball and yell out to his girlfriend "this one's for you!" then proceed to serve the ball straight into the net"

Leo (Ifykyk): "He's in LOVE with superman?!? And I'm not judging, I am too"

(The next two are in the same convo)

Frank: "What's your 6th & 7th period?" 

leo: "Beatboxing" *Proceeds to beatbox so horriblly, eminem could make a distract to it*

Nico: "Never thought they could make suicide hot, but here we are"

Frank: "My birthday wish is being Amish"

(The next two are in the same convo)

Percy: "And you have crendle disorder" (Talking about the character from clarence)

Nico: "You're not allowed to say that word Infront of me anymore :("

Piper: "Literally every man in a 200 mile radius is the reason I'm not bisexual"

Some hermes camper probably: "Spider-Man makes me jerk"

PJO characters as stuff me & my friends have said

Piper: "I'd marry canes if they were a person"

Leo: "Dang it! I was crossing my d-"

Percy: "For the longest time I thought British people were a ploy to get us to be grateful for our seasoned food"

Jason: "Leo, we're not that stupid" Leo: "Well I am! I am stupidity!"

Reyna: "I am going to commit an Achilles." Nico: "Date Patroclus?" Reyna: "I was more thinking killing ten thousand Greeks, but that works too"

Leo: "Jason is alpha"

Piper: "LEO SUPPORTING WOMEN IS NOT OKAY"

Will: "Mr bean is a slay queen"

Piper: "Don't worry, Jason, I accept you and how gay you are for literally everyone in the MCU" [OG quote was about me w/ PJO…]

Annabeth: "Well in that case I love being manipulative?"

Hazel: "Henry Cavil is like 45 but I'd get on my knees"

Will: "Every fine guy is old"

Octavian: "How tf are you bi and aroace??" Leo: "With gods, everything is possible"

Piper: "Now I'm a homewrecker slut"

[tiredwishes]

CARCAR MISSION IMPOSSIBLE AU snippet bc i saw final reckoning a week ago and now i'm watching re-runs of the others and simply cannot get the idea of carcar being literally ethan and benji out of my head. so yeah, fuck it, carcar mission impossible au

The prison's security system is shit. Like, it's really that terrible that Oscar won't even pretend that hacking it is a reflection of his talent because a fifth grader could've done the same.

He lets a couple of inmates out, as per the mission plan, and watches with a minorly guilty wince as they turn to face a guard. But then he doesn't have time to linger on that, because he needs to get Agent Sainz, Carlos, out.

It all works swimmingly, obviously. Oscar's cultivated the perfect division for Carlos to simply waltz out the exit door he's activated to swing open right in his face.

Except, of course, Carlos walks the other way.

Oscar stares at him through the screen, watches as he reaches the wrong door, the very one separating him and the chaos meant to aid his escape.

Then Carlos looks up, waves, and points at that door.

"Does he want me to—" Oscar says, as if there's anyone else around, as if Carlos can hear the incredulous disapproval in his voice. "I'm not opening that!"

On-screen Carlos points again, more insistently this time.

"Oh nuh uh, this is not in the mission brief. All of this isn't in the mission brief. Just go to the extraction point!"

Then, Carlos, the little fucking shit, stares straight into the camera and blinks once, twice. Oscar can feel his resolve breaking with every bat of those eyes.

"Don't fucking do that," Oscar hisses.

Bringing his hands up to his chest, Carlos clasps them together.

"Oh, now you're begging? Un-fucking-believable."

Pretty please, Carlos mouths with a pout, which should be illegal for a man responsible for an indefinite amount of national warfare. Oscar lets out a long-suffering sigh.

"Okay, fine. Fine! There. We'll just screw the whole thing up on purpose." Oscar hits a key, and the door unlocks with a loud buzz.

And Carlos looks up at Oscar, no, the camera, he looks up at the camera with an unfairly happy grin. Then he blows a kiss at the camera, before he's off, sauntering into the next block of cells.

Oscar feels the tips of his ears burn.

Damn it, Carlos.

[falmerbrook]

Western Solstice/Season of the Worm Cult 1 Thoughts

TLDR: Liked the zone, liked the side quests, liked the basic narrative of the main quest but wasn't happy with its execution/dialogue.

So you know that thing I’ve brought up before about how the writing in this game tries to have its cake and eat it too? Where they want every zone story to be accessible to new players (and players who forgot anything or don’t pay attention to what’s going on) while still having reoccurring characters and plot threads? And how in the end it does a disservice to both; to the story as its own thing and as a continuation of things? Yeah, well I think I reached the end of my patience in this zone with that problem. I like the story itself, but am frustrated with its execution.

Major spoilers under the cut (also sorry this is so long)

Ok, first of all, things I liked:

Skordo my beloved <3. Always a king. His voice is back to normal. I cherish him.

I liked the zone itself! I was kinda expecting it to be small and empty, and while it was empty in the same way a lot of the more recent zones have been, I was pleasantly surprised by how big and like a real island it felt. Sunport and the Writhing Wall are such good set pieces and are gorgeous at sunrise and sunset, and I thought the sight lines everywhere were really good and helped it feel like an expansive place. I also liked the aesthetics of the tropical setting, the Argonians, and the mix of Argonian and Altmer architecture in Sunport. Just a cool place overall.

I also liked the worldbuilding and side quests! The history and culture and religion of the Corelanyans and Tide Born was very cool and imo a good addition to the world. I always love seeing cultures that are shaped by their environment and having the Tide Born be a hist-less Argonian culture whose way of life and beliefs have adapted to island living was super awesome. The history and development of both cultures just felt very natural to me (e.g. the Corelanyans going from necromancers who made deals with daedric princes to worshipping some of the more morally acceptable princes). I'm excited to hopefully learn more about the Stone Nest in Eastern Solstice since it sounds like they are Argonians still following the older ways with Xanmeers and the lot. The Nords felt kinda out of place, but were interesting enough to get a pass from me (and that quest with them was cute).

On the note of quests, I like the side quests! I had a good time with them! I particularly liked the Meridia temple one (always cool to get more Meridia lore and seeing characters have crises of faith imo), the ghost hunting one, and the Tide Born village one.

My feelings about the main quest are more mixed, but on the positive side I thought the narrative itself (ignoring execution) had enough compelling and interesting point to keep me invested in what was happening next or where things were going. I already like the set up of this storyline being split in two this year because it gives us opportunities to have hints and implication dropped now that we can muse over that will be resolved in the next part (e.g. what's going on with Vanus, who his ally is, etc.).

Also I fucking love angst. Thank you Gabrielle Benele for fulfilling my angsty needs. I am almost certainly not going to be satisfied with the pay off of it but for now I can revel in the heartbreak. Love you Gabby <3

EDIT: forgot to mention but I also liked the roleplaying options. I know some were dissatisfied with the them not having huge effect, but dialogue options that continue the story in the same direction but just elicit a different response from the other characters is pretty much exactly what I wanted.

On the note of dissatisfaction though...

On to my concerns and issues.

Just let me get it off my chest one more time. If I have to here "Gah-bri-elle" or "Gaudy-er" one more time I'm skinning myself. Ok, ok, it's out of my system now.

So I really think the main story here is the most egregious example of the issues I brought up at the beginning so far. This expansion was literally marketed as a sequel to the base game's main quest, yet the characters (almost all of whom are characters we got close to in the base game) barely acknowledge any relationship we may have with them, nor the information we'd likely already know. The Vestige is really at their most moronic here and it was getting to the point it frustrated me. The characters kept explaining things to me that happened in the base game and prologue like our character wasn't there, and the dialogue prompts for the Vestige that were need to progress conversations also assumed we had no idea what was going on. Like I've said before, this is a writing problem that permeates the whole game, but it felt really absurd here given the marketing for this story and the characters present. Especially because, I feel like if I was a new player, I would get, like, nothing out of this story. Outside of a few moments (namely Gabrielle's confession at Li-Xal or optional dialogue with Raz) we don't really get any moments to connect with the characters (and the intention with that Gabrielle moment is probably more to foreshadow her actions later than have a moment to get to know a character tbh, as much as I loved it). I feel like all of my investment in them is based on past adventures with them, so if I was a player who didn't remember them or hadn't met them before, all of the emotional beats at the end of this story would've had no weight I think. Acknowledging that, why is the dialogue written for those players first, and the players who are keeping up with these things are just given a few optional dialogue options at the ends of conversations sometimes? I've had random ass side characters from delve quests I didn't remember have more personal dialogue with the Vestige than these reoccurring characters we've literally been to hell with.

I don't know what kind of player this is meant to appeal to. is it new players? Is it players returning for the first time in awhile who forgot? Is it player who don't pay attention to the stories of quests? I don't know, and to be honest, I feel like they shouldn't be the ones being catered to primarily for a story like this one. Rather than starting out dialogue/conversations assuming we don't know what's going on and then throwing us bones later in the conversation, start out dialogue (if we've completed the requisite quests) assuming we know what's going on and then later throw a bone to the folks who don't. Just accept that people who are going into this without having played a single other story in this game or who mash through the dialogue are going to be confused. Maybe I'm being callous, but I feel like that's on them. I feel a little ridiculous feeling this way, but it was genuinely starting to piss me off in this story that it felt like the stuff I'd done in the past had no impact on what was happening there. No game, I know who Darien and Vanus are. Why are you assuming I don't? I know you can tell I've completed the quests with them before! I'd rather you develop the story or characters more than waste more time reiterating what I already know.

I get that having options to recap who's who and what's going on is helpful because obviously not everyone is going to remember anything, but I was rereading some dialogue from Elsweyr and I feel like that storyline handled balancing that so much better (Elsewyr is honestly peak character writing in general).

The main quest was also weirdly short, which didn't help this issue. Each individual quest in it was a lot shorter than I think they've been in pretty much every expansion, and there weren't many of them either (and the side quests felt longer than usual I think too?). Like, I didn't think it was paced badly, it just didn't have a lot of the waffling around trying to figure out some mystery that other stories have had. Which sounds like it would be a good thing when I type it out like this, but in hindsight I think that length is good for helping us get to know and get invested in the characters, and I just felt like we didn't have almost any of those moments here. It was like the bare minimum was a satisfyingly structured story. There weren't many slower times to get to know the characters or get a vibe on what they are thinking or feeling about current situations. For exmaple with Wormblood, it felt like he barely existed as a person and not a vessel for Mannimarco to possess at the end. While the drama of Gabrielle's sacrifice was *chefs kiss* and I liked the foreshadowing up to it, I am pretty sad she's gone since I wish we had more time with her in this story (I'm huffing copium rn that she ends up coming back somehow, extra permanent death be damned!!). Anyway, I'm hoping part 2 is longer (and doesn't get bogged down trying to explain to me who's who), and I'm choosing to remain optimistic about it.

Any finally, I'm a little worried about Darien. Idk it's hard to explain but also everything at the end happens so fast that I'm still trying to mull over it in my head (and UESP hasn't put up the dialogue yet waaaahhhhhhh). But basically, between Gabrielle and Skordo talking about Darien as if he's been dead since the assaults on Coldharbour (and them not mentioning at all how every other time we've seen Gabrielle she's basically been dedicating her life to finding Darien and insisting he's not dead), the way he's brought back implying he was dead, and Darien's dialogue once he's back, I have this nagging feeling in my head that they're overlooking or ignoring what happened in Summerset?? Maybe?? I might be dumb but I was under the impression he wasn't actually dead. I'm sorry idk how to explain it but the vibes are off and Darien's dialogue was confusing to me. Maybe I'm just being stupid.

idk I think a lot of this is just on me. Maybe I had my expectations too high. Which is a little odd for me because they weren't very high after seeing the reactions from PTS folks. I was thinking I'll try to lower them for part 2 but I also like being excited for things so knowing me I probably won't.

Anyway, hopes and predictions for part 2 to end on a higher note:

I'm hoping (coping) that when the story got split up it got split unevenly and this is more like 1/3 of the story rather than 1/2, so there will be more main story in the next part. I'm also hoping that this will truly be a part 2 of the same story, rather than a wishy-washy kinda part 2 like the DLCs used to be like.

I'm hoping my issues with the dialogue will be at least partly alleviated in part 2 because it’ll be a part 2 (like the epilogues in the yearly storylines)

I'm not at all worried about the side quests really. Looking forward to them.

I'm very excited (and very very nervous) to have Darien back. I don't really have any predictions I just really really hope they don't fuck it up and whatever they do with him feels satisfying.

I'm looking forward to seeing what ends up happenings to Mannimarco/Wormblood and Vanus. Is Wormblood still in there too or are we just facing Mannimarco from here on out? If Wormblood is still present in his body somehow, will there be conflict between him and Mannimarco? hmmmmmm

I wonder who Vanus's ally is? He kept mentioning having one and that didn't get resolved to I bet it will be addressed in part 2.

I'm curious if Gabrielle is truly dead-dead or if they're gonna pull something off with her. Everyone is talking about her like she's dead-dead so I guess that's the case, but also we don't truly know how the Gift of Death/Light of Meridia works. I'll be fine with either I think. If she stays dead, I hope they keep some weight to it instead of just moving on and never bringing it up again (not optimistic about that one), and if she comes back I hope there are still some consequences to her sacrifice rather than it being a return to the status quo. Whatever happens, I just hope it’s narratively satisfying.

[cafedragons]

Thoughts on Previous "Final Fusion"

Heads up at a brief sui mention, nothing graphic nor detailed.

Hi, sysblr! I've had a lot of these thoughts for a while. I fully fused in sometime around May-August of 2024.

It fell apart around February-March 2025 after a series of unexpected life events and the unfortunate beginning of post-viral trigeminal neuralgia.

Literally, it peeled apart. Dissociative barriers between parts increased a little bit, and we split three new alters. Overall, we mainly have four: Theo, Sunburst, Relic, and a half-fragment guy who we're trying to elaborate a little more for stability.

Theo is the closest to our "fused whole" self, made up of Max, Mocha, Toby, Virtue, Jukebox, and Cirrus. Sometimes, they function as "multiple", but they're mostly fully integrated.

Sunburst, Relic, and the fragment guy were all new. Sunburst and Relic split as compliments or foils, while the fragment is still just kind of hanging out. There's not severe blackout amnesia like there was before recovery, even between them and Theo. It's mostly greyout and emotional amnesia, and it's not hugely distressing 99% of the time.

The main difference in our system now as opposed to before "final fusion" is that we actually function quite a bit better this way than as one whole. As I mentioned before, I recently developed trigeminal neuralgia. I already had chronic pain that was tough to manage due to a condition since birth, but I'd had that for so long it mostly didn't bother me. TN is a whole different beast. It is the worst pain I have ever experienced, second to nothing, and it incapacitates me entirely when it flares. I cannot move, speak, or eat when it's at its worst. I can only lay down and sob until I eventually am too exhausted to be awake.

We all need breaks to handle it. Without that level of dissociation, I don't think I'd be alive (genuinely, the pain is bad enough that I've made an attempt on my life). No medications I can have are very helpful, and I can't take the ones that might be helpful without aggravating my other conditions and risking a sharp decline in usable vision (of which I have very little), so dissociating into the void is... kind of the best I have. I can handle the pain in short bursts since I'm slowly sort of getting used to it, but I need to tap out every once in a while because it really starts weighing on my mental state. (This doesn't apply when it's in full swing. At that point, consider me dead to the world because even painkillers at the hospital do absolutely nothing. Those points are somewhat uncommon as long as I'm careful not to touch my face too much or get too stressed.)

Finding this point in my life was a fine balancing act. I don't want to suffer from my pre-recovered DID like I did in the past. (Thankfully, I don't! None of my parts are scary to me anymore since... all of us have been all of them and I don't have the awful night terrors or flashbacks I used to deal with.) At the same time, I don't want to be fully fused again. It quite literally hurt too bad to be alive and I doubt I'll seek FF again unless some sort of breakthrough treatment gets inserted directly into my body.

All this to say... final fusion isn't always final, nor is it the best path for everyone. There are a lot of factors to consider. Your recovery is your own, and nobody else's business.

(At the same time, if you start demonizing final fusion in my notes, I will block you and also kick you into orbit. Final fusion is beautiful and valid even if it's not for you.)

[phaeton-flier]

I am playing through Blue Prince, which I wouldn't do if I didn't on some level enjoy it, but I am quickly running into a common problem with these unlock-based roguelikes: It feels like I'm ending each run not because of any dearth of skill but because the game is balanced around stuff I didn't get to unlock.

And since the speed of unlocking new resources is directly related to how many I start with, it's incredibly frustrating when the various luck-based systems just roll badly. You worked hard to manage dead ends and doors and got the lockpicks but only found one key, so now your run ends here because this door doesn't allow lock picks.

Also fuck the fucking digging minigame having trash. I cannot emphasize enough how fucking irritating it was to get the blessing of the gardener, plot out green rooms, work to unlock items to get the shovel, and then have the majority of my pulls be "LOL GET FUCKED DIRT BOT. WATCH THIS LOADING MOMENT FOR NOTHING" At least give me some metagame resources, something other than a tin can. Your game already has enough juggling of random mechanics, I do not want more!

And the loading, yeah: The game is very clearly going for a tone here, you're meant to enjoy the little moments of walking between places, watching a popup load, etc., but it does take it's toll after awhile. Once I've picked up the wind up key once I do not need a popup telling me what it does again. And all those little moments where you're forced to wait- even for a couple seconds - add up when I want to get to the puzzles and the plot. I don't want to watch the same little nonsense every time!

All of this also grinds on the fact that so much of the game is fucking busywork. The first time I found the security room, it was a cool experience. The tenth time, it's just me mindlessly going through the motions of opening keycard entry system -> set default power loss behavoir -> set to off -> go back -> set secuirty level -> set to high if I've found the the breaker box or low otherwise. All of those steps take a second or two as well, which is exactly enough time to get bored of it while you're doing it.

[amber-aura]

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

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

Pairing: Remmick x black!oc

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

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

Word count: 5k

Typing. Typing. Still typing...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breana blinked. “Jesus…”

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

She sighed again and kept reading.

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

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

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

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

She scrolled further.

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

Education limited—especially in the South.

Medical care? Almost nonexistent unless you know someone.

Her lips curled in frustration.

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

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

Then there were the notes she wrote specifically for herself:

Learn the lingo.

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

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

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

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

This wasn’t just research anymore.

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

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

She’d be ready...not-

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

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

Then, she saved the file and titled it simply:

“How to Survive the 1930s"

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

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

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

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

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

She took it. “Thanks.”

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

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

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

Breana smirked without answering.

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t have a cat,” Breana mumbled.

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

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

Her birthday was tomorrow.

And something was coming.

Something…

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

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

Time travel.

That’s what everything was pointing to.

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

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

But...wasn’t she?

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

And now?

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

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

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

“Prepare.”

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

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

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

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

Just for comfort to check up on them.

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

Then, she just started typing.

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

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

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

To her surprise, the typing bubbles popped up immediately.

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

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

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

Mary Mary: Ohhhh! 👀

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

Before Breana could reply, Stack beat her to it.

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

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

Breana grinned a little at that. She replied:

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

Breana: might just do something chill

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

Mary’s reply came fast:

Mary Mary: Girl that’s valid tbh

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

Stack: bring snacks

Mary Mary: 🙄

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

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

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

“Okay. I’m not alone.”

Not yet, anyway.

Breana: btw been doing some research this morning

Breana: about your era...

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

Mary Mary: 👀 Oh really now, why tho?

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

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

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

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

Stack chimed in, of course.

Stack: girl it was a whole other planet back then

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

Stack: mary used to churn her own butter lmao

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

Breana laughed aloud, then replied:

Breana: 😭😭 y’all are ridiculous

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

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

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

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

Mary Mary: Not just the bad stuff either

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

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

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

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

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

Mary Mary: Behave, Stack

Mary Mary: Talk soon, Bree 💙

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

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

Might as well check in.

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

Tik...

Tok...

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

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

At first, the news unsettled her.

But not anymore.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today had officially become tomorrow.

Breana's birthday had arrived.

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

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

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

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

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

The second she stepped into view—

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”

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

She almost cried.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then came the cakes.

Yes— cakes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Too perfect.

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

She blinked once, twice.

The alignment…

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

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

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

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

Until she checked her phone.

The screen lit up with a burst of notifications.

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

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

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

“Hope this is your best year yet!!”

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

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

Mary Mary & Stack 💙:

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

She smiled. But the warmth didn’t last.

Because that gut feeling returned—stronger now.

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

“Celestial Alignment Time May 7th, 2025”

The top result loaded instantly:

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

Breana glanced at the time on her phone.

1:44 PM.

Her breath caught.

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

“Three minutes… ” she whispered out loud.

Then panic set in.

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

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

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

One minute.

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

Just go back out there.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One minute left…

Breana stared at the flames.

She didn’t make a wish.

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

Then she blew them out.

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

The party pressed on.

The house had gone quiet.

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

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

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

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

Her phone sat quietly beside her.

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

And then she looked out the window.

There they were.

The planets. Aligned.

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

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

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

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

Until—

BrrrrrNNGGG—!!

A shrill, splitting hum cracked through her skull.

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

Her ears rang.

No— screamed.

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

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

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Her knees buckled.

She hit the floor.

Gasping.

Eyes wide and unseeing.

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

“No—no, no, no—” she whispered.

She glanced down, trembling.

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

She needed something to anchor her.

Her phone. Her memories.

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

“C’mon,” she rasped. “Please…”

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

Her fingers brushed the phone.

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

Too far.

No time.

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

Breana staggered to her feet.

Fucking hell, why—

Breana didn’t even get to finish the thought.

Her mind went blank.

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

Above her, the ceiling shimmered. Then— crack.

A rift opened.

Not one of her own.

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

Then, just as suddenly, it snapped shut.

And Breana crashed to the floor.

Hard.

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

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

Then came the knocking.

Knock knock knock.

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

Another knock. Firmer. Sharper.

“Breana?”

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

“BREANA?!”

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

“Ah…”

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

Their voices faded.

Not because they stopped talking.

But because she was slipping.

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

And then…

Silence.

Total, perfect silence.

Breana’s eyes fluttered shut.

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

<Chapter 3 Chapter 5>

[cupcakeslushie]

Slushie are you okay? You posted a drawing that wasn't heartwrenchingly devastating 😟 /pos /j /lh

(Loved the lil fluff drawing!!! It's adorable and your art is always so freaking good ^^)

Alskdkjfjkd guys I’m not that bad……am I?

[emmavakarian-theirin]

alternate bad ending

(inspired drabble under the cut)

Lucanis has been taught to accept death since he was a child. He's trained in it. He's used to it. But that doesn't mean what family he has left isn't important to him. Rather it's what matters to him most.

Then he gets imprisoned and tortured. He watches people die, week after week for a year. He's made to think he's going to die at any moment. Made to think that his family is dead. But he doesn't know.

Then you come along, set him free, return him home to find only one family member left, the other probably dead after all. But he still doesn't know.

Then she's alive, imprisoned by the same person that imprisoned him, the other living relative. But he can't kill him. He won't be the reason to lose what he has left, and there's so little left.

But then there's you, who's shown him compassion he's never known, that there's something more than just family/contracts/enemies. That it's safe to be vulnerable around someone.

But he's scared to get close. Scared he'll hurt you. Scared he'll lose you, to himself, to a god, to something he can't kill.

Then his walls start to break. He doesn't know what he'd do without you. And then you disappear. You might be dead. A day, a week, a month goes by. You're still not back. You're probably dead. He thinks he'll never see you again.

It's weeks of not knowing, and he's wasted all this time fearing he'd only take time away from you, time he could have given you instead of pushing you away, and he's lost you anyway. You could have both been happier, if he wasn't so broken.

Then you're back, and nothing else matters, there's no holding back. He'll do anything to protect you, you are his sole purpose now. This he knows, more than anything.

Then the battle is over, the gods are dead, and so are you in his arms. He couldn't protect you.

He knows death. He knows you're dead.

But only now after decades without, does he remember what it's like to grieve.

[vaguely-concerned]

I stumbled my way through some pseudo-milestone social and personal stuff today and you know what? it was incredibly nice and a good experience and I'm proud of myself, actually. needless to say my nervous system in the immediate aftermath is also humming at at a pitch that could break glass and kill dolphins, and I feel faintly like three day old sunkissed roadkill, but sometimes you just have to tank that shit because that seems to happen whether what's going on is good or bad lmao