#ai@ba replies!

[cyber-sleuth-paldea]

What's going on?

I'm like 90% sure my friend Keisuke is in this universe and has been since I got here, I just have. No idea where he is.

Anyone recognize the lake in that video?

[cyber-sleuth-paldea]

Some of my classmates at Naranja have grandchildren! I think you'll be fine.

(Granted, they technically have their own class, we just share Art sometimes. But my point stands!)

We have arrived in Jubilife City. I have heard that there is a school here for trainers. However... I have heard it is mostly for children. Would I still be allowed to attend classes?

[littlelovelunette]

Can you write a story where Vi got reader pregnant and but before they find out she is pregnant she thinks she just had the flu (this is how I found out… but I’m not talented enough to project it in writing and I don’t wanna use AI so could you please!)

Not Flu, Is It?

Vi x Pregnant!Reader

It's been a few days you were woken early in the mornings with a wave of nausea.

You shrugged it off, it was flu season and given your terribe and weak immune system, you were sure you'd just caught flu.

And so was Vi, she was helping you through it with flu treatments and medication too.

Goodness, was Vi so worried for you.

Ome of those days, you were laid next to Vi who was stroking your hair lovingly before suddenly, her expression changed, one of confusion, "Baby, did you get your period this month?"

"No," you looked up, your voice weak from the constant throwing up and sickness, "I think not, everything's been so hectic I just lost track of it."

"Throwing up, missed period, tummy ache," Vi listed off all your symptoms, hands running down your back in a soothing manner, "Even an idiot could've reasoned you might just be pregnant."

"I am?" You mumbled, burying your face in the crook of her neck.

"We can't be so sure like that, I'll go run down to the store and get you some tests, okay?" Vi tilted your head up so you could meet her gaze, you gave her a small smile and a nod.

"Mm..." You stared at her as if waiting for her to add something to her last words, puppy eyed gaze lingering on Vi.

"... And some chocolates, I got you," Vi gave you a reassuring squeeze before she got up, keys jingling and jacket rustling as she quickly got herself ready.

Once Vi was decently dressed she gave your a forehead kiss, "Call me if you need anything, I won't be gone long."

You grinned weakly and nodded, "Ba-bye."

A little while later, Vi returned with the pregnancy tests and the door clicked open, "Hey, babe, I'm back," she said, her voice wavering from nervousness as she walked inside the shared apartment.

She set the tests down, "So," she looked at you, "Do you wanna just take them now? Or..."

You got up, grabbing one test up, "Should I take two at once? It would be safer in case I get a false," you said, reading the instructions on the box.

"Sounds 'bout right, just— I never had to do I don't know," Vi said awkwardly scratching the back of her neck.

You giggled before picking up two tests and disappearing in the bathroom.

"I'll still be here if you need me," Vi quickly added, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door.

"Peeing on a stick shouldn't be that hard, right?" You called from the bathroom. Vi would've replied before she heard you do exactly what you said. That knocked the words down her throat.

"Y—...eah," Vi managed.

A little bit later, you put the tests on the bathroom counter waiting according to what the box said, "After 15 minutes it'll show," you told Vi.

Vi nodded and held your hand, "You nervous?"

"Of course I am, I never thought of being a mother until now and suddenly now that I think about it— you're gonna call me crazy but— I'm sorta' praying I am pregnant," you looked up at her, "Does that make me crazy?"

"No, of course not," Vi said reassuringly, rubbing circles on the back of your hand, "I respect whatever choice you make, it's your body," she smiled, "But of course I am happier that you choose to keep the child if you are pregnant."

You giggled and leaned against her body, "Because I'll finally be able to hold something over your head—"

"How? You're short as fuck," Vi looked down at you as if to exaggerate her point.

"Not that, you idiot!" You shoved her playfully, "I meant, I'll be able to say 'I gave birth to your child' whenever we fight and I get to use the labour hours to my advantage," you smirked, glancing at the test.

"Oh, you are evil," Vi said, also averting her gaze to the test.

"Only the finest."

The moment 15 minutes were over, you checked the tests and sure enough, it read positive.

You looked at Vi, who was already teary eyed, she picked you up bridal style and just squeezed you close like she'd merge herself with you.

"Oh my goodness," Vi whispered staring at the tests, "We're gonna be parents."

"Mhm," you giggled, leaning your head against Vi's chest, "Meaning you're gonna be doing whatever I tell you to because I call the shots."

"Got it, ma'am," Vi said with mock obedience making you roll your eyes.

"Y'know what— p-put me down, I think I'm feeling super pukey," you said and Vi quickly let you down, you opened your mouth to say something but shook your head, turning back to the toilet and retching.

"Well, you can start being a diva maybe after the morning sickness is over," Vi held your hair back, a small smile on her lips.

[captainsophiestark]

A Notable Introduction

Tristan Flynn x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for day five of the @sjmxreaderweek event!

Fandom: Crescent City

Day Five Prompt: Heirs/Lords & Ladies

Summary: Most fae lords and their sons are snooty, superior, and absolutely terrible to spend time with, which makes being a fae lady whose parents are trying to get her married off pretty tough. But things might turn out a little differently when Tristan Flynn is the fae lord's son in question.

Word Count: 3,296

Category: Fluff, maybe a tiny bit of angst

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Don't take too long! You don't want to keep Lord Hawthorne or his son waiting!"

I gave a noncommittal hum, hoping it would be enough to keep my mother at bay for a few more minutes, at least. I almost had this window latch undone, if I could just get it to shift a little more...

Click. It gave way, and the hinges squealed as I lifted the window up. I grimaced, hoping against hope no one inside the house had heard the noise, but it's not like I could really turn back now. I propped the window open, threw one leg over the sill, and jumped down before anyone could come knocking at the door again.

My parents, both from renowned and prestigious fae lineages, had shifted and redoubled their efforts to get me married off to some fae lord for prestige and alliances. I'd been able to duck them so far, mostly by horrifying whatever eligible bachelor they were trying to push on me by doing things like leaping out second-story bathroom windows. Lord Hawthorne and his son were going to be no exception to that if I had anything to say about it.

I rolled as soon as I hit the ground, not giving two shits about the dirt and thorns probably tearing into my dress as I rolled. It was the best way to dissipate the force from the drop, and the state of my dress could only work in my favor to further scare off any fae nobility in the house behind me.

I popped up from where I'd landed in the bushes, intending to just take off for a little while and do whatever I wanted before I eventually had to return and deal with the mess I'd made. Instead, I froze in my tracks. A fae male was staring me down, looking just as much like a deer in headlights as I felt, a stray twig caught in his hair.

This couldn't have been my parents' doing, could it? They'd gotten much, much better at defeating my escape attempts after the first few, but this guy did not look like an effective guard or whatever they could've hired him to do. Besides, if that was some new strategy my parents were trying, shouldn't the guy have kept me from jumping out of the window in the first place?

"...Who are you?" the guy and I asked at the same time, looking equally wary and stunned. I glanced back at the house, and he copied my move. The last thing I needed was someone catching me out here while I was talking to this guy.

Before I could lie about my name and take off in the opposite direction, he narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down. I saw his expression change as the puzzle pieces of my dress and where I'd come from must have fallen into place, and I mentally grimaced.

"Are you the female that's here to meet Lord Hawthorne's son?"

"And what if I am?" I replied, my chin held high and my muscles tensed to run. To my surprised, the guy visibly relaxed and let out a breathy laugh. He held his hand out to me for a shake.

"Tristan Flynn. Also running away from meeting you."

My brain short-circuited. I blinked a few times, then looked the guy up and down. Lo and behold, although the stray twigs and dirt had initially distracted me, he was wearing fine clothes like my own with apparent disregard for their wellbeing. If I really squinted, I could even see the resemblance to Lord Hawthorne, who'd greeted my parents and looked at me like a prize cow. The son standing before me, however, looked significantly more chill as he dropped his unshaken hand back to his side.

"...You aren't interested in a political alliance betrothal or whatever?" I asked, still not completely relaxing. Looks could be deceiving, especially among fae lords and their sons.

"Fuck no. No offense."

I straightened up a little, then gestured to my dirty dress and the fact that I was standing in the bushes, too.

"Do I look like I'm offended?"

Flynn grinned, and I was surprised to find a little spike of something in my heart at the sight.

"You look relieved. Which is a nice change of pace from what my parents have been putting me through recently."

I snorted. "No shit. I've been stalling and ducking my parents for months now, they just won't give up."

Flynn let out a low whistle. "Months, huh? It's only been a few weeks for me. Months sounds miserable."

"Yes. It is."

"Hm. Well, this is my first time trying the 'sneak out and escape the meeting all together' method. You mind if I tag along to wherever you're headed?"

I narrowed my eyes and sized Flynn up again. He seemed earnest, and I knew my family was far too traditional and uppity to try to manipulate me into a meeting like this. If they'd thought for two seconds that the Flynn family heir would be up for something like this, they would've crossed him off the list of potential suitors immediately.

"...You know what? Sure. Why not. But I feel like I should warn you, my number one goal whenever I sneak away from these things is to end up looking like an absolute mess when I eventually return to the house. If the fae family I'm meeting doesn't recoil in disgust at my unladylike ways, it's a failure."

Flynn grinned again, and my heart repeated its backflip.

"Sounds like my kind of escape plan."

"Alright. Then let's get the fuck out of here before anybody notices we're gone."

I followed Flynn's lead out of the massive stretch of gardens surrounding the house, since he knew the place best. Once we'd cleared the property, though, Flynn's steps stuttered until he eventually came to a stop, looking around with uncertainty. I raised an eyebrow as he turned to me with a slightly sheepish expression, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I... don't actually spend a lot of time in this area," he admitted. I laughed.

"Seriously? The area around your house?"

Flynn shrugged. "I don't actually live here. I moved out almost as soon as I could. I live with some Aux buddies in the Old Square."

"Hm. That sounds nice."

"Better than being at home. I'm a little surprised you're still there, since you don't seem like you're into all this shit."

I cut my eyes in his direction, radiating judgement and not bothering to try and hide it.

"Fae males are afforded a whole Hel of a lot more freedom than fae females, Flynn. If I tried to move out, my parents would just drag me back, and it'd be perfectly legal."

Flynn's expression dropped as he frowned.

"Shit. I'm sorry, I do know that, I just... forgot."

I shrugged. "It's stupid, and it needs to change, but it hasn't yet. I'd forget about it too, if I could."

Flynn let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair. Finally, he met my eyes again, a little bit of the mischief replaced with understanding.

"Well, I'm happy to do my best to help you forget it until we have to go back."

I grinned. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright, well... shit, we might have to do some brainstorming of things to do, I really don't know this area that well."

"Well, Flynn, I have some good news for you." He turned to me, and I gave him another grin. "I never go to these things without researching activities in the area that will make the Fae Lord I'm meeting run for the hills by the time I finally go back to the house. I've got tons of ideas prepared, assuming you're not the kind of Fae Lord to get scared off by any of them."

Now it was Flynn's turn to give me a grin.

"Well then, lead the way sweetheart. I'm much harder to scare than those other stuffy blowhards."

I huffed a laugh, then turned to lead Flynn through the winding streets of FiRo in the heart of fae territory. He followed without complaint, although he looked a little skeptical when I turned to head deeper into the territory instead of back towards literally any other part of the city.

His skepticism was understandable. FiRo was tightly controlled by the fae lords who lived there, and those same fae lords hated most things I would consider fun. But FiRo was a large part of the city, and not everyone who lived there was quite as uptight as Flynn and I's parents. It had taken a lot of online investigating and a fair amount of trial and error whenever I snuck away from my family, but I'd developed a strong list of places to go for fun here.

I ducked down a smaller street with far less foot traffic, Flynn right behind me. We were in the heart of the city, but thanks to a little magic, we slipped through the door into one of my favorite places in FiRo.

"I'm trying not to let it get to me that you just brought me to a fancy tea shop that my sister would probably love," Flynn said, skepticism dripping from his words behind me. I turned to find his shoulders up by his ears, looking tensed and ready to run. I just smirked.

"In FiRo, the kind of places I'd like to hang out have to at least also do 'respectable' business lest people start trying to chase them out. But don't worry, we're not here for tea."

Flynn looked significantly more interested at my words, and significantly less ready to run. I nodded to the barista, who for better or worse recognized me, and led Flynn into a room towards the back.

"You said you were Aux?" I asked as we reached a door disguised as a bookshelf, and I moved a book to open it. Flynn's grin was practically feral when I glanced back at him, and he nodded.

"Yup."

"Good. Then maybe I've finally found a worthy opponent."

He raised an eyebrow, but excitedly followed me through the door and down the stairs. He stopped right on my heels as we found ourselves before another counter, facing down FiRo's only paintball arena. Complete with tactical hiding spots and a muddy, dirty floor.

I could practically see the horrified looks my parents would give me if they ever saw this place, and it instantly brought a smile to my face.

"Hey!" called the desk attendant as soon as they saw me. "The usual?"

I shot them a wink. "You know it."

They moved to get Flynn and I the gear we'd need to participate in a few rounds of paintball, joining in once the current one in progress got wrapped up. When I turned back to Flynn, I found him absolutely gawking at me.

"This is what you do when you sneak out of fae arranged marriage meetings?" he asked. I grinned.

"One of a few different options, yeah. The goal is always something that I'll have fun doing, but that will also make me look like a wild, unmarriageable disaster when I finally go back."

Flynn huffed a laugh and shook his head, but he was smiling, too.

"That's... incredible."

The fae at the counter returned with our gear as I shot Flynn a wink.

"Maybe wait to make the final judgement until we're out of the ring, Aux boy."

Flynn and I played a few rounds of no-holds-barred paintball, where we were as competitive with each other as the handful of other players in the arena. Flynn was a high-ranking member of the Fae Aux, so he was pretty damn good at the game. But I'd spent a lot of my free time getting good at paintball, specifically, and especially in the first few rounds, I think Flynn underestimated just what a formidable opponent I could be.

As a result, I kicked his ass in our first two rounds, and we ended the third in a draw through shooting each other at the same time. We wandered off the underground field, sweating and dirty, but with matching grins on our faces.

"You are... insane," laughed Flynn, the bright smile on his face telling me it was definitely a compliment. "I don't think I've ever met another fae lady like you."

I shrugged. "I'm lucky enough to have parents that'll just get fed up with me and try to keep me from leaving the house if I do stuff like this. A lot of fae girls would end up in a Lunathion urgent care, instead. Makes it easier to be a rebel for me."

Flynn sobered again in an instant, but his gaze shifted away from me to stare off into space. I gave him a minute, not saying anything, leaving room for him to share whatever thoughts were flashing across his mind if he wanted to.

"...I never thought it'd be possible to say this, but you're making me feel bad for my sister."

I huffed a laugh. "Eh, you can be annoyed as hell by a sibling while still trying to make sure they're not treated like shit for their gender. Thinking what she has to go through is bullshit and thinking she's irritating and you don't want to spend time with her can coexist."

Flynn snorted, and the little smile he gave me this time was the most subdued yet genuine one I'd seen yet.

"You might be the first person I've met who's actually managed to put that into words."

"Don't your Aux friends have siblings?"

"One of 'em, but their relationship's a little more... complicated."

I raised an eyebrow, but when Flynn didn't elaborate, I just shrugged.

"Alright, well, glad I could help illuminate it for you. Ready to get your ass kicked in another round of paintball?"

Flynn grinned. "Actually... I was thinking it might be time for a team-up. What do you say we show these other fae how it's really done?"

"...Kinda feel like I've been doing that already, without your help," I said, giving Flynn a look. He just grinned wider, and my heart skipped another few beats.

"I know you have, sweetheart, it's been incredible to watch. But I think it'd be more fun to work together for a round or two and really show these wannabes what good paintball looks like."

I huffed a little laugh and shook my head. If I'd told myself a few hours ago that I'd even be considering teaming up with a future fae lord instead of against him with everyone else at the arena, I never would've believed it. But despite his family and the status he'd grown up with, I actually found myself really liking Flynn.

"Alright," I finally said, turning to him with a grin. "Let's do it."

He grinned right back, and once the next round started, we absolutely dominated. We'd been each other's biggest competition, so once we'd officially formed a team, we were unstoppable. No one even came close to touching us, not even the other regulars I saw here all the time.

We played a few rounds like that, and when we finally stepped off the field for the last time, the smile we shared was almost feral.

"That... was fun," I declared. Flynn nodded immediately.

"If my parents had told me you were somebody who could do that, I might not have snuck out the window to avoid meeting you."

I snorted. "If my parents knew I could do that, they'd probably never let me out of the house again."

Flynn hummed, slightly more serious as the two of us turned in our gear. Unfortunately, it was getting late enough in the day that we needed to think about returning to our families. Although, unlike the other times I'd done this, the prospect of spending the rest of the evening with Flynn wasn't quite so daunting as the other fae lords.

The two of us chatted as we put our gear away and checked out of the paintball place, falling into the easy rhythm that we'd first found almost immediately. I noticed Flynn fighting to hold back a laugh every time he caught sight of the state of my dress, and it always made me smile. I knew he was imaging the looks on our families' faces when they saw me, and I liked that he seemed as excited as me for their shock and outrage.

Conversation stayed easy between the two of us as we took our time walking back to his house. For the first time I could remember, I was completely relaxed in the company of a fae peer, which was no small feat. As we finally reached the Flynn villa, for the first time in my entire life, the thought of spending the rest of the evening with whoever my parents were trying to set me up with didn't make me want to turn back around and run.

Flynn opened the door for me, and I shot him a grin before heading through myself. My parents came rushing into the foyer as soon as they heard the door open, and Flynn's parents came strolling in behind them, noses still in the air.

A little high and mighty for people whose son had run out the backdoor, but they were fae nobility, so I really don't know what I was expecting.

"You..." I fought to hide a smile at my mother's breathy voice, prepared for the usual outrage at the state of my dress. "Were you with the Lord Hawthorne's son?"

I frowned, then glanced sideways at Flynn. He just shrugged, a carefully neutral expression on his own face.

"We ran into each other, both on our way back here," I said. I didn't want to admit that we'd spent the day together, especially unchaperoned, lest my parents freak out and make a bigger deal of things than necessary. My mother narrowed her eyes, and I swear I could see her wrestling with herself over whether to be happy I wasn't immediately trying to chase Flynn off or disappointed that he might be a troublemaker too.

"Well, now that you've finally deigned to grace us with your presence," Flynn's father said to him, voice dripping with sarcasm, "perhaps we can finally sit down for that dinner to discuss the future of our two families."

The parents all shared variations of huffing and as they turned towards the dining room. As soon as the last one had their back to us, I glanced at Flynn.

"...I was expecting more of a lecture," I said. Flynn nodded, looking pleasantly surprised.

"So was I. My father's been known to break records for pontificating when he gets the opportunity."

We looked at each other for another moment, both of us processing. The only difference between every other dinner I'd attended like this and now was Flynn, and the fact that I wasn't being openly hostile towards him.

Before either of us could speak again, our parents called from the other room, snapping at us to hurry up. Flynn shot me a devilish grin, then held his hand out to me.

"Shall we?"

I paused. If I walked in there holding Flynn's hand, I knew I'd almost never hear the end of it or him from my mother. But faced with the choice between that and being thrown at another new potential fae suitor, one who wasn't Flynn...

"Let's do this," I said, grinning back as I took his hand. We strutted towards the dining room together, our heads held high. It was far too early to say anything for certain, and I still had no intention of getting married to a fae lord any time soon. But I couldn't help thinking of how much more fun this whole process was going to be, now that I'd gained Flynn as a partner in crime.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21 @diego42

Maasverse Taglist: @lilah-asteria

[graismil]

[Nuacht ⁊ Plé ] TAOILLE, an ré nua do IMLÉ 3.0 atá beagnach anso

Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuil brón an domhain orm ná rabhas ag scríobh chomh minic agus gur cheart dom a bheith! Faraor do bhíos ró-ghnóthach le rudaí a bhaineann lem shaol féinig chun díriú ar na póstáileacha so, ach, is cosúil go bhfuil (fé láthair ar a laghad) fé dheireadh, thar n-ais! Agus a lucht léite, tá nuacht ollmhór agam daoibh! Dona léitheoirí a bhí ag léamh mo chuid póstáileacha fadó, ba chóir go mbeadh 's agaibh go raibh an banna ceoil IMLÉ tar éis a rá go rabhadar ag súil le halbam nua a chur amach ag pointe éigin. Áfach, nuair a chuireadh muid le fhios go raibh an t-albam so á dhéanamh, ní raibh 's againn an mbeadh sé ag teacht amach i 2024 nó i 2025. Ach anois agus 2024 thart, cinntíodh gurb é an bliain seo a bhí i gceist, agus mar gheall air sin is cosúil gur cheap IMLÉ gur cheart dóibh níos mó nuacht a thabhairt dúinn fé agus a n-albam beagnach réidh le heisiúint. Ach, cad é an nuacht san?

Bhuel, b'fhéidir gur cheart dom tosnú leis an nuacht is mó atá curtha amach acu... beidh an albam nua ag teacht amach sa mhí seo chugainn ar an 14ú Márta. Do léis i gceart é sin, an t-albam féna rabhamar ag déanamh teoiricí go dtí anois, ag teacht an mhí seo chugainn. Agus ní hé sin an t-aon rud bhí curtha in iúl dúinn, ach táid tar éis ainm a thabhairt ar agus a nochta don albam: "TAOILLE". Chomh maith leis, sa fógra céanna ina bhí sé fógartha gurb é sin a bhí in ainm a bheith mar ainm an albaim thaispéanadar cén saghas ealaíne a bheith ann don albam, is féidir é a fheiscint thíos.

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Agus anois, an cheist is mó, cad iad na hamhráin go mbeadh le fheiscint i dTAOILLE? Bhuel, ceapaimse fhéinig ar a laghad go mbeidh; - Cathain (An leagan 2024) - Sláinte - Mise - As Do Cheo ann, ach chomh maith leo sin, ar a hInsta cuireadh muid le fhios go mbeidh amhrán nua IMLÉ darb ainm "Timpeall Arís" (seo é an t-amhrán a bhí san bhlaiseadh beag a thugadar dúinn a bhí á phlé agam sa phóstáil seo!) ag teacht amach go luath leis, ceann dó gur féidir linn buile fé thuairim a thabhairt is a rá go mbeidh sé san albam nua leis. Taobh amuigh dena hamhráin sin, ceapaim go bhfuil seans láidir ann leis go mbeidh an t-amhrán Ceoláin Saor san albam nua, go háirithe agus é cinntithe dúinn anois mar gheall ar na hamhrán nua Clagarnach ó Ceolán a bhíonn ag teacht amach sna laethanta so. Bhuel, sin é anois, cad a cheapann sibh fén albam agus an t-ainm atá air? Inis dom sa replies! Ba mhaith liom níos mó póstáileacha a scríobh is a chur ar an mblag so sa todhchaí leis mar san má bheidh aon nuacht eile ann, inseod daoibh!

♡ Grmma as seo a léamh! ♡

[cyber-sleuth-paldea]

There's eleven of us! We're currently de-digivolved because Mari's DigiVice wouldn't have space for all of us otherwise :/

Uh. Yeah. I used to have ShineGreymon, GranKuwagamon, Rosemon BM, MirageGaogamon BM, Chaosmon, Omnimon Zwart, Vikemon, Jesmon and TigerVespamon.

I'm Shine! Currently an Agumon. There's a list of everyone and their signature typing styles in Mari's pinned post!

We all have nicknames~ It's nice to meet you, Daisuke-kun!

... What Rosie said.

(what am I doing. What. Am I doing.)

Hi! Uh. I have Digimon. How do you know about Digimon?

( @cyber-sleuth-paldea )

oh, im not from here ^_^!

..

WAIT WHAT DIGIMON???

[emma23]

Not exactly a bargain :

Nathan Bateman x reader

If you want to support me, check this out 💕

https://ko-fi.com/settings?tab=profile

Nathan Bateman is never one to beat around the bush. He's sharp, confident, and used to getting what he wants—a cocktail of traits that makes him both impossible to ignore and sometimes difficult to deal with. You, on the other hand, are perhaps his complete opposite, a mix of practicality and impulsiveness that Nathan finds both endearing and, occasionally, maddening.

The two of you have been dating for a while, but it’s still a puzzle to friends why a tech billionaire and a woman who can barely remember to charge her phone seem to fit so well together. Nathan loves your unfiltered honesty, the way you challenge him even when you know you’re in over your head. And you—well, you might not admit it, but you’re drawn to his relentless ambition and his way of making even the most outlandish ideas seem within reach.

This morning, you're at a sleek, minimalist art gallery that Nathan insisted on visiting. He wants to add something “inspired” to his mountain retreat, something unique.

"I could code an AI for this kind of art, you know," he mutters as you examine a large, abstract metal sculpture.

"And yet here we are," you say with a smirk, glancing at the price tag. Your eyes widen as you see the number: $40,000. You glance at Nathan, raising an eyebrow.

"Nathan, this piece costs $40,000," you announce, trying to keep your voice even.

Nathan shrugs, crossing his arms as he squints at the sculpture with an amused smirk. "Really? Shit," he says, as if he hadn't noticed.

You're both quiet for a beat, standing there, arms crossed. But then Nathan quirks an eyebrow, tilting his head toward you with that devilish grin of his. "I'm sure we can—"

You cut him off. "I thought it was expensive."

"Of course you did," he replies with a smirk. "But…don’t you think it’s kind of worth it? It’s got…uh…character," he says, clearly bluffing. You roll your eyes, and he chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Art’s always a gamble, right?”

"Like dating you," you retort, shooting him a teasing glare.

He narrows his eyes, trying not to laugh. "Low blow, Y/N. Very low."

You smile, feeling a flicker of warmth between you two, a comfortable rhythm you’ve fallen into. Nathan takes your hand, leading you to another part of the gallery, where a minimalist sculpture of tangled wire catches his eye. You watch him, arms crossed, tapping your foot.

"I could totally make something like this out of spare wires from the lab," he mutters.

"Or, you know, you could just buy it for $25,000," you reply, raising an eyebrow.

He turns to you, arching a brow in mock offense. "You’re really putting a price on my creative genius, huh?"

"You’re the one who said you could make it."

Nathan laughs, then turns his attention back to you, eyes gleaming with that familiar mix of mischief and charm. “How about I make a deal with you instead?” His voice drops a notch, his thumb lightly stroking the back of your hand. The gallery seems to fade away.

"Depends," you murmur, stepping closer. “What’s in it for me?”

Later that evening, back at Nathan’s secluded estate, he pulls you in close as you both settle on the couch, a glass of wine in each hand. The cool, modern living room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and minimalist décor, feels a world apart from the gallery, yet your playful banter remains.

"I still think $40,000 for a metal blob was a bit much," you say, taking a sip.

"Trust me, I’ve spent worse on dumber things," Nathan says, smirking as he leans back, stretching his arm along the back of the couch. "Besides, you and I both know money’s just...an instrument."

"Sure, for people who can spend $40,000 on a whim," you retort, nudging him playfully.

He chuckles, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear. His gaze softens, just for a moment. "Maybe I’m just as impulsive as you are."

You raise an eyebrow. "Impulsive? You, Nathan Bateman, tech mogul, world-class planner?”

"Trust me, I don’t plan everything," he says, his voice a low murmur as his fingers trail down your jawline, sending a shiver through you. “Sometimes, I just...follow the instinct.”

Before you can reply, his lips capture yours in a kiss that’s slow, intense, and electrifying. His hand slides to your waist, pulling you closer, and you feel the familiar thrill and tension in the air as his touch deepens, igniting something warm and consuming between you.

The evening unfolds slowly, without rush or pretense, each moment building on the next as you lose yourself in his arms. Every touch, every laugh shared in the quiet of his estate feels like it’s just for the two of you, far removed from the high-tech world he usually inhabits. You realize that this side of Nathan, the side that isn’t always in control, is one you’d gladly stay lost in.

The following morning, you both sit on the patio, your fingers intertwined as you sip your coffee, watching the sun rise over the mountains. He looks over at you, eyes bright and playful.

"Still think the sculpture was a rip-off?" he teases.

You roll your eyes, laughing. "Absolutely. Next time, you can throw that kind of money into something useful. Like...a personal chef."

Nathan raises an eyebrow, a sly grin forming. "What, you don’t like my cooking?"

You smile, taking a sip. "Let’s just say it’s as...abstract as that sculpture.”

He laughs, shaking his head, clearly amused. But then, with a smirk, he leans in and murmurs, “How about we stick to the things we’re both good at?”

You raise your cup to clink it with his. “Fine by me—as long as it’s a bargain.”

He laughs again, pulling you in for another kiss. This time, it feels even sweeter, knowing there’s no price tag on moments like these.

[thehiddenbaroness]

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here! <3

Here you'll find: fine art and antiquities, history of all kinds, flora and shiny rocks, fashion and lingerie, writer stuff, ephemera, Asian culture, recipes, architecture. Pretty things plus important things, peppered with sporadic in-jokes and shameless self-promotion. 

As for me, I’m a writer by dreaming, training, and devotion – and soon, vocation. Should go without saying, but any original content I put up is mine. Don’t use it without my permission. Graduated with First Class Honors in a BA Creative Writing; US-born, UK-raised; currently an embarrassed inhabitant of the Southern US aka the 10th Circle of Hell.

Tumblr:

+ My Self-Publishing Masterpost -- learn from my mistakes as I document my haphazard journey into self-publishing my novel. + #original poetry + #scrapsofbiography, #my face, #fav – more about me, if you really must know. + Mercedes Carello – my anime/animation-devoted sideblog.

Elsewhere:

+ Stay tuned for the official online presence of my debut epic fantasy novel series, The Fruit of War! + @ohtobealady and I are revitalizing our historical fiction epistolary project, Any Port in a Storm, so stay tuned for that as well! + Are you a writer of any kind? I have a writer's Discord server -- resources and feedback exchange forums, and just places to chat -- that's open to new members! Reply to this post if interested.

=============================== TERFs and other bigots are exceedingly unwelcome here, as is anyone who generally thrives on belittling or outright persecuting others. I do not knowingly share content made or perpetuated by such people -- if you spot something that got past me, let me know so I can remove it. Similarly, if you see me unknowingly posting AI imagery, tell me. I'm in my 30s, and while I try to avoid explicit material, this blog is guaranteed to contain some content that's unsuitable for minors.

[joyceebels]

How can I handle my mind?

Alam ko naman na hindi tayo pwede ...

Kasi may iba kang gusto ...

Siya pa din yung nasa isip mo..

Hindi ko pwedeng ipagpilitan yung nararamdaman ko.. kasi alam ko kung hanggang saan lang ako..

Paano ka ba tanggalin sa isip ko?

Alam ko naman na kaibigan lang turing mo sakin..

Tropa .. friends.. karamay.. kasama..

Laging nakikinig sa mga kwento mo tungkol sa kanya..

Laging andyan pag kailangan mo..

paano ba maiisip ang iba bukod sayo??

Inopen ko na ulit yung fb dating ko .. para makakilala din ng iba.. may makausap na iba..

Nanonoood na ako ng anime, kdrama, jdrama..

Pero after nun, andyan ka na ulit sa isip ko..

Paano ka ba iwasan?

Nakamute na yung messenger ko sayo.. para hindi ko na buksan agad pag nagmessage ka..

hindi na ako naka follow para hindi ko makita post mo..

Sineseen ko na nga lang message mo..

pero maya maya may message ka na ulit na kailangan may message na reply..

Paano ko ba sasabihin yung isip ko na STOP!!!

Paano ko ba pagalitan isip ko na "PAGOD KA NA!"

Ano pa bang dapat ko gawin para hindi na kita maisip pa?

Tinanong ko na nga si META AI pano yung ibang way para makalimot.. pero wala eh ganun pa din..

Baka Delikado na ako??

Baka maramdaman ko na yung hindi dapat??

Baka mahulog ako at hindi mo ako masalo?

At ang masakit dun

Baka ako lang ang nakakaramdan nito?

Na baka LOVE na ba ito?

:(

[hoahongmuathu]

thử gửi cho người tình

nhưng chẳng bao giờ đến tay người tình

bạn ko đc reply nhé, để mình nói chuyện một mình thôi.

Đèn ở cầu thang lại bị hư rồi, cả đèn trong bếp nữa. Hôm bửa, người ta vừa đến sửa lại vòi nước trong nhà. Sợ trời mưa quá, nhà mình lại bị dột cho coi; nó cũ quá rồi.

Mình thấy tội nghiệp em mình, ba mẹ mình nữa. Ước gì mua được nhà để gia đình có chỗ ở tốt hơn. Mỗi lần trong nhà có đồ hỏng là mình lại tự trách bản thân liền. Mình vụn vỡ ngay luôn. Đến vẽ thôi cũng cảm thấy mang tội nữa. Chắc là mình nên tìm việc gì ổn định mà làm…

Tâm hồn mình có khi sẽ chết vì đói. Nhưng ai bảo tại mình yêu mọi người nhiều quá làm chi.

[cyber-sleuth-paldea]

Mari, you might want to look up Hologram Projectors designed for Porygon's. Polygons are a Digital Pokémon and they utilize holographic projectors to interact with the world outside of Cyberspace, probably the perfect thing to allow your digimon out of your Digivice.

Wait, that's a thing? I'm definitely looking into that, then -

Wait

Wait I didn't tell anyone on here my name right

How did you. How did you know my

[hilovehowareyou]

Anh mình - người được mình liệt vào danh sách những người vô duyên nhất cuộc đời này, hnay nói " sinh nhật tới tao cho m nghỉ 1 ngày đó ", xong nở 1 nụ cười tự hào như vừa giải cứu nhân loại, mình cũng cười, chưa biết có nên cám ơn vì sự tốt bụng ko ai mượn này không :)

Chuyện tình cảm điên rồ của mình mấy hôm nay bắt đầu từ việc ng nào đó hỏi mình " did u ever love me ? ", mình ko muốn rep, chẳng để làm gi, sao lại nhắn cho mình nhỉ ???! không hiểu nổi lại muốn cái gi ???

Mình rất muốn nt cám ơn vì những cuốn sách Ngọc đưa mà mãi đến bây giờ mới đọc hết được. Bằng một cách nào đó Ngọc luôn hiểu cái đống lộn xộn bên trong mình dù nhiều khi đến cả bản thân mình cũng không hiểu nổi. N chọn im lặng, và mình cũng ngại làm phiền.

Nghĩ mãi mình cũng reply T là " chắc không được đâu" cho câu hỏi hôm trước. Thật ra mình đã ngờ ngợ nhận ra vì sự chủ động reaching out gần đây của T, nhưng đúng là mình đã không nghĩ gi nhiều, ngớ ngẩn hết sức.

Những đoạn nch gần đây giữa mình và MN khiến mình cảm thấy bất lực. Mình nhận ra việc làm bạn với người mình thích là điều không thể, quá mệt mỏi vì những cuộc trò chuyện không dẫn đến đâu, mà theo MN hay nói là cạn năng lượng. Chỉ là, mình buồn quá, mối quan hệ mình vô cùng trân trong, xem ra cũng chỉ như vài ba cuộc tình trôi tuột qua cuộc đời MN. Trong Peter, Taylor viết "Forgive me, Peter, please know that I tried", hy vọng một ngày nào đó khi mình không còn ở đây nữa, mình mong mng sẽ hiểu vì mình đã cố gắng hết sức.

Chuyện tc tháng 4 điên rồ khép lại bằng việc mình đồng ý ăn trưa với người mà mình nghĩ là sẽ kbh gặp lại, lại là 4ps, hôm trước hẹn với MN xong cũng lại là đi ăn 4ps. Cuộc hẹn vỏn vẹn chưa đến 1 tiếng đồng hồ. Mình chỉ thấy ảm đạm. Vậy đó, tháng 4 sắp hết rồi không biết còn ai muốn lướt qua cuộc đời mình không nữa. Mng cứ đến rồi lại đi, còn mình thi cứ mãi thẩn thờ nhìn, rồi sẽ có ai đó đến và ở lại cùng mình không ?

[tigre-edi-rawr]

Ai

yes, we knew each other.

he shared how he kept resisting on messaging me but is checking my story every time.

i call him “Ai” a japanese word translated to “lover”

i was talking to multiple men that time.

but at the same time, i have my personal time and space. so whenever they ask for my attention, i’m like “wait”… as they should.

Ai called me one time when i was having my me time. i remember watching HIMYM, and i asked “anong meron?” he said he just wants to talk.

he was speaking too much but i paid no attention.

“anong ginagawa mo?”

“i’m watching rn”

“ahhhh kaya palaaaaa”

“actually, you’re disturbing my me time. can i drop this call? i want to enjoy what i’m watching. you’re disturbing my peace”

then i hang up.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AS I SHOULD

then eventually, i started liking him.

gave him a little time.

whenever he calls, i do answer it.

until i became too attached… to the point that i am waiting for his call and messages.

i even stopped talking to other men because i thought it’s getting serious.

i am clearing up my schedule so that we could talk over the phone, it progressed just like that.

my work ends every 12am, do my rituals then by 2am he will call me, it’s evening in the country he’s at. then we will have the call on for 4 hours.

i am happy. it was fun. we get to talk all night and laugh all the time. we barely even talked about serious things and conversations are all about funny things.

i got serious, tbh. i thought i liked him.

but it was just another thing to fill up the void.

we had a misunderstanding, i got angry and just like that… i vanished, did not talk to him for a week.

i continued talking to other men. i even went out for dates and a hook up. i thought i was okay.

until i thought i lost him, which astonishingly pained me. one day, i saw his story that he is coming back here in the Philippines. my heart skipped beats. beats. i realized i wanted him to see him, to ask for me back. but he didn’t.

someone asked me in NGL, and i think it’s him.

he replied to that story the next day, “miss din naman kita”….. i was ecstatic.

we were talking again, but not like we used to.

as we talked, i felt like it’s nothing i want to move forward to. it’s just an entertainment and temporary. also, it felt like i was the one who is into him too much. he would not call as much. he barely left messages.

he was being too harsh with me as well until i snapped.

“i do not want to talk to you anymore.”

blocked him.

remove him in my instagram.

yesterday, after two weeks, i saw he messaged me in IG again, he followed me as well.

i do not care at all.

you could do all the things you want to win me back but i ain’t dumb.

i know my worth, you can’t take it.

so bye Ai. thank you for all the laughters and butterflies, but you ain’t the one. you don’t deserve me.

but thank you, because i realized i can still be genuinely happy and that how i am still capable of giving love.

i appreciate the time you were there when i was at my lowest. you would make me laugh all night especially when you knew i cried. you will ask me “byyy umiyak ka ba?” then you will get no response but you will do your best to make me smile and laugh.

you were there when at i am at my darkest place, i will be forever grateful for the light you have shared for me to be able to move forward.

good bye, Ai.

[thenasoneshots]

Sirius Oneshot - Protection and Pranks

Requested?: No

Prompt: None/prompt from ai

Type of oneshot: Fluff

Timing: Marauders’ Era

Reader's Relations: None

Reader’s House: Gryffindor

Warnings: Use of the word ‘mud-blood’, Bullying, swearing

Other notes: At the start of this, you’re in 1st year, and the Marauders are in 2nd. You’re also muggle-born in this. Also, I believe in ‘Quidditch Team! Sirius’ btw…

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

“Look, it’s a pathetic little Mud-Blood! What shall we do to her?”

Before either of his friends could answer, Lucius had smacked the stack of books out of my hands, “Oops…” I bent down and started to pick them up, trying to stop the tears that were wanting to escape my grasp, when he stood on my hand before running off.

“Here.”

I looked up at the different voice and saw Sirius Black. He and his friends were infamous around the school for pranking teachers and students, so I was hesitant to trust him, thinking he was going to prank me when I saw the bottle of hair dye in his other hand.

“Don’t worry, it’s not for you. Our pranks are reserved for Slytherins and annoying teachers.”

I smiled and took the book he’d picked up from him, whispering a small, “Thank you,” before picking up the rest myself, ignoring the pain in my hand and running off.

-------------------------- 4 YEARS LATER

“It’s my fault, Professor McGonagall. The prank was my idea, Sirius was only keeping guard for me, please don’t punish him.”

When I looked up, having been hanging my head in shame, I saw Sirius’s eyes had widened. Professor McGonagall gave a small smile in my direction, “10 points to Gryffindor for your honesty, Miss (L/n).”

I looked up at her in shock, “Huh? Aren’t I going to get a detention or something?”

She shook her head, “Not this time. If I catch you again, you will though. Now back to bed, both of you.”

We nodded and she walked off, as Sirius quickly put James’ invisibility cloak over both of us before we walked back up to the common room, removing it before going through the portrait hole. When we got into the common room, we fell to the floor, laughing like loons.

“That was fun.”

“Apart from getting caught, yeah,” Sirius replied.

I giggled, “Hey, at least we didn’t get detention.”

“Thank you. Really, if you hadn’t been there, I know I would have got at least a week’s worth of detention.”

I smiled and stood up, examining my watch, “I doubt we’re going to be able to sneak into our dorms at this hour. Everyone will probably still be awake in mine, I don’t know about your friends, but I’d going to be bombarded with questions, I know that. I’m going to sleep down here.”

“I’ll join you. The guys will ask why I was gone for so long.”

I nodded and made my way slowly over to the sofa, the fire giving just enough light to see to get there as I made myself comfortable.

------------------------JAMES’ POV

“I don’t care what those two are up to, I want my cloak back!”

“I’m sure they’ll give it to you, James, plus we don’t even know where they are. Sirius never came ba-what is it?” Moony replied, stopping himself mid-sentence when I stopped on the stairs, putting my arm in front of him, “Shh… Look.” I pointed over to the sofa noticing Moony’s gaze follow mine, “That’s why he didn’t come back up.” That’s when I got an idea, quietly and slowly sneaking over to the sofa where Sirius was lying, (Y/n) resting on his chest, Sirius’ arm wrapped around her.

“PADFOOT!”

Immediately the two woke up with a start, “THE HELL?! James you git!” (Y/n) shouted.

YOUR POV

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate your friend, Sirius?” I asked, turning my attention back to the boy in question.

“I dunno, I hate him too sometimes,” he replied, “Prongs, fuck off, I’m trying to sleep.”

“What you really want is some alone time with your girlfriend, isn’t that right, Pads?”

I felt my face heat up a bit and I threw a nearby cushion at James, “We’re not dating! Plus, I have a boyfriend already!”

I noticed a painful look overtake Sirius’s face but he wiped it off as James spoke again, “He had his arm wrapped around you protectively. You wouldn’t be sleeping on top of him, on his chest I might add, if you weren’t, Moony, back me up.”

“(Y/n) is right. I believe William is his name, Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.”

“Thank you, Remus. At least someone pays attention. Now, go and eat your breakfast, I’m going to go and get dressed.”

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

I felt my heart break at the sight of William pressing a random girl I didn’t know against the wall and kissing her. I gasped and he turned to me, dropping the girl, “(Y/n), it’s not what-”

“Cut the crap, Will. We’re over!” I shouted before running off, not caring about all the looks I was getting. I ran back to the common room and muttered the password, ignoring the Fat Lady’s words asking if I was alright and ran up to my dorm.

“(Y/n)? What’s up?”

“William’s been cheating on me, I broke it off.”

“Well, he’s a jerk. Come here, what do we always say?”

“‘Lily hugs make everything better’. Right?” I replied as she smiled at me, standing up from Emelia’s bed and walking over to mine, hugging me, “Right!”

A few minutes later, she let go of me, “Better?” I nodded and she smiled, “Good, now I think you should get some food, want me to come with you?”

I shook my head, “It’s fine, Lily, thank you.”

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

“WILLIAM!”

I turned around from walking towards the common room after a quidditch match; Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor, to see Sirius with William pinned up against a wall, “You jerk! How could you do that to that Angel?! (Y/n) did NOTHING to deserve you cheating on her so why?!”

At this, I saw Sirius raising his wand to William’s throat, “Why? Why did you cheat on her?!”

“Pads, he’s not worth it, you don’t want to get another detention, do you?” James spoke, placing a hand on Sirius’ shoulder, causing him to let William go, putting his wand away and going to turn around, before surprising everyone and turning again, punching William in the jaw. I gasped, causing the group to turn to me.

“(Y/n)! You weren’t supposed to se-” Sirius was interrupted when I ran up and grabbed the tie of his uniform, pulling him to my height and kissing him, “Thank you.”

“W-what?” Sirius asked, his face now bright red.

“To be honest I was meaning to break up with him for a while. I’ll explain on the walk to the common room.” Sirius nodded and wrapped an arm around me, tossing his broom to James, who got smacked in the face with it, “Mind putting that away for me, Prongs?”

“I’m not your wingman, Padfoot!”

I giggled at the antics of the two boys and tapped Sirius’ shoulder, gaining his attention, “I realised that pulling those pranks on the Slytherins with you, and how much fun that was, I realised I was falling in love with you, Sirius, but I didn’t say anything because of William, but then I heard the rumours about you having ‘shagged almost every girl in Hogwarts’, and realised I’d have to tell you I was in love with you, but I wanted to break up with William first… Sorry if you don’t feel th-” I was cut off when he stopped walking and grabbed my upper arms, pulling me closer to him and kissing me, “I love you too, (Y/n).”

—-----------------END OF ONESHOT

Hehe… finished, it wasn’t exactly the prompt but ehh, the prompt gave me the idea for this.. .doing what a prompt is supposed to do ig.

[virtual-crisis]

Virtual Crisis: Character Creation

First in a mini-series of "prologues" for my writing project, Virtual Crisis. I've had to go back to restart and re-edit this project numerous times over the years, but hopefully this time it'll stick.

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

Ba-ding!

A chiptune jingle rang through the air as electrical light glinted off a logo: a crest of Earth's eastern hemisphere rotating counter-clockwise, before settling into place as it aligned with the letters 'GE' that it faded to reveal.

'Gaia Entertainment'

After a fade to black, streaks of color flew across the space: red, brown, then scarlet, then orange, yellow and lime, progressing through the color spectrum as Korean lettering revealed itself bit by bit:

벤처 렐름: 그 너머와 그 안

as a circular swirl of neon green began cycling below and to the side, the lettering converted into English:

Venture Realms: Beyond & Within

"Ugh, my eyes...."

A blue light began fading in and out within the green loading indicator, before the colors decreased in brightness as the display ended.

The previously black space then grew in color to become something like a nebula, with fog and mists of various subdued blues swirling in the distance. The speaker--the player--turned this way and that to look around, before realizing, *'Where are my arms and... Where's my body?'*

All that was present was an iridescent aura of energy, insinuated to be a player's consciousness, lacking a proper form in the worldspace of virtual reality. And then...

"Hel-looooooooooooooo, lady gentleman or otherwise!"

A crackle of electricity, swirl of pixels, and a flash of light came and went in seconds, leaving a humanoid figure made of vibrant green plasma, with deep blue "eyes".

"'Ay! Welcome to the world of- well, okay, more like the void preceding... Venture Realms! Beyond and within!" the figure said in a bright, peppy voice, like a television host. All the while, it gestured with its limbs for emphasis.

"...Huh. Wait, Mercedes? Mercedes Newton?" said the player.

The figure paused, hanging in the air and staring blankly for a few moments, before speaking again. "Oh, Mercedes, you say? Good ear, good ear, she's who I get my voice from! I ain't the real gal though, I'm an ar-ti-ma-ficial intelligence made to emulate her," it explained. "She's probably playing the game herself right now, hahah. You happen to know her?"

"Yeah. Yeah... She's a friend of mine," the player replied.

"Ooh, really now? What's your name? I can send her a friend request on your behalf once we're done here."

"Uh, Joshua. Beckett."

The AI facsimile of 'Mercedes' clapped its hands, then gave a thumbs up and a wink. "Funny! My records have you listed as one of her friends! I'll make a note of that for later."

The AI hesitated again, more briefly. "Anyway, back on topic," she started, snapping her fingers a few times as she reoriented upright. "Welcome! Like I said, to Venture Realms! I'm the AI guide for players in this region: Matrix-Affiliated Recreational Catalyst and Informant. You can just call me Marcy for short, heh."

"Yup...? Can we get to the character creation?"

Marcy blinked. "...Oh, ain't got time for my rambling, huh? Alright, yeah yeah, fine, I'll move it along:"

Marcy put her hands up to her sides, palms up. "So, this here's where we'll begin creating your *avatar*, the persona you use, play as, and can *be* within the virtual world. First thing's first, a name:

"...Your name is Joshua Beckett, you say. That your *legal* name?"

"Yup." Joshua said, mildly disengaged.

"Right, riiiight. Quick question: would you like to consent to me accessing available data on you outside of the game, to fill in information for your profile more quickly? You're free to opt out at any time, and we never save more than basic, relevant information on players, nor do we share your information with people outside our moderation teams."

Joshua opened his mouth to speak, invisible within the virtual world, but hesitated. "Uh... Okay, sure."

"Right-o! As a reminder, you can tell me to wipe any of our saved data on you at any time, unless there are extenuating circumstances like, you know, an ongoing criminal investigation on your person that we've been made aware of. Hopefully not relevant!"

"Yeah, that... Won't be a problem."

"Heh, here's hoping. Now, lemme take a read and rundown... Age seventeen?"

"Yes."

"Living in.... Boston, Massachusetts?"

"...Uh, no, New York City, New York."

Marcy smirked, turning her head to the side and pointing a finger coyly at Joshua. "Hah, making sure you're paying attention, I said that wrong on purpose."

"Yeah, sure you are."

"Correct-a-mundo! Now: gender male?"

Joshua paused, looking down, then off to the side. "I, well.... I'm... Sort of male? I guess."

"Oooh," Marcy cooed after processing. "That mean you're genderqueer? Nonbinary? Demi-gender? We're all about that whole 'respecting people's identities' stuff, heheh."

"Well duh, your voice credit is genderfluid. I'm- *I'm* not genderfluid, I'm, uh... I'm demigender, I guess."

".......Gotcha, noting that down. Now, would you like to base your avatar on your, ah, 'meat-space' body?"

Joshua paused again, thinking. "I... I'd rather not, but..." he trailed off.

"Okay, alright, we can do some'n else then. Human, or some other type of entity?"

Joshua perked up. Outside of the game, he put a hand to the front of his virtual reality headset, as it was covering his face. "No, wait, I was gonna say, I'll... Use my real life self as a base."

"Oh! Oops, I'll go change that," Marcy noted, shrugging. "So. 'As a base', you say. Any modifications or such you'd like? I mean, *hopefully* you wouldn't want to be JUST an average human in a sci-fi fantasy RPG."

"Oh obviously not, uh... Can I be, like, a... A were-dragon? Or like, able to transform from human form into a dragon form and back."

"Oh yeah, totally. Human-dragon form-shifter, huh... What kind of dragon?"

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

The exchange went on for a while, Joshua dictating his desired self for the game, and the AI making developments and changes to narrow down to his liking.

All around the world, countless others were having similar interactions. Instances of MARCI aided players all around the United States' northeast states, but in other regions, different AI personas appeared to players, representing the various locales they were from.

"¿Ángel? ¡Qué buena elección! ¿Hablamos de representaciones contemporáneas o de algo más 'bíblicamente exacto'?"

"Schockierend, sogar! Mit solchen Kräften wirst du einen Riesenspaß haben!"

「制限については申し訳ありませんが、制限があるにもかかわらず、アバターを楽しんでいただければ幸いです。」

Venture Realms was a runaway success in its week of release, many regions experiencing slowed game performance due to the volume of new players.

"So, bipedal dragon dude, username 'Nocturne of Umbra': can craft weapons from shadow magic, and can project your voice to damaging and debilitating frequencies. Lookin' in the mirror, whatcha think?"

"Yeah... I like it. That all? Can I start the game?"

"That should be it! You ready to start? Gimme a yeah or nah!"

"Yes! Of course?"

I know I'm no celebrity or pro gamer, and maybe the whole darkness motif is kind of edgy and weird, but hopefully I can make up for it with the... ‘Eventful’ content of my story.

[gerrbhel]

Dinosaurs at the Water Park

(This story was generated with AI. All characters and events are fictional.)

It was the hottest day of the summer, and Noah was so excited. His family had planned a day trip to Splash Kingdom, the biggest water park in the area, and he couldn’t wait to spend the day zooming down waterslides, floating on lazy rivers, and getting drenched under giant, colorful water buckets. He had spent the last week obsessing over which slides to hit first, and now the day had finally arrived.

Noah, now 12 years old, had been looking forward to this moment for weeks. His favorite part of the water park was the Aqua Tornado, a huge slide that swirled around in a giant funnel before spitting you out into a pool at the bottom. He’d been talking about it nonstop, making sure his mom and dad knew how many times he planned to go on it. There was only one rule: no fear.

Noah’s dad, Ben, was just as excited as he was. “I’m going to beat you to the bottom of every slide!” he’d said that morning, grinning like a kid himself.

Noah had laughed, feeling like he was the one with the upper hand. He was fast, he was fearless, and he was ready for anything.

The day started off perfectly. The sun was shining, the lines for the slides weren’t too long, and Max, the family dog, was safely back home with a sitter (thankfully). After an hour of racing up and down slides, Noah and Ben stood at the base of the Aqua Tornado, looking up at the twisting tube that seemed to spiral into the sky.

“You ready, buddy?” Ben asked, adjusting his goggles.

“Born ready,” Noah replied, grinning.

They both climbed into the raft, and with a quick push, they were off. The ride was everything Noah had hoped for—the rush of water, the sensation of weightlessness as they slid through the funnel, and the thrilling moment of being tossed around in the swirl before splashing down into the pool below.

Noah was still riding high on adrenaline when they got out of the pool, laughing as he looked at his dad. “See? I told you I’d beat you to the bottom.”

Ben just shook his head, chuckling. “Alright, alright, you win this round. But I’m catching up next time.”

Noah was about to respond when he felt something odd. His swim trunks—his favorite, bright blue trunks with a cool shark pattern—felt a little loose. He adjusted them instinctively, but before he could do anything else, he heard a loud snap. He froze, his heart skipping a beat.

Ben looked over, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

Noah’s face drained of color as he glanced down at his waist. His swim trunks had completely ripped open. Not just a little tear, but right down the back, leaving a large gaping hole.

“Oh no,” Noah muttered, his eyes wide.

Ben’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

In that moment, Noah felt like the world had stopped. Around them, families were laughing, kids were splashing, and there he was—standing at the base of the Aqua Tornado in the middle of a water park—pants-less. To make it worse, he was wearing his favorite pair of dinosaur-patterned underwear.

Before Noah could react, a group of kids near the pool started pointing and giggling. “Dude, your shorts just exploded!” one of them shouted, and the laughter started spreading like wildfire.

Noah’s face turned crimson. “This is so embarrassing!” he whispered under his breath.

Ben, who had initially been stunned into silence, suddenly found his voice. “Alright, Noah, time for Operation ‘Get You Covered’!” He pulled off his T-shirt and handed it to Noah. “Put this on, quick. We need to get you out of here.”

Noah grabbed the shirt and tried to put it on as quickly as possible, but it was way too big, hanging off him like a dress. The worst part? It didn’t even cover the torn back of his swim trunks.

“Noah, we gotta find a spot to hide,” Ben said, scanning the area. “You good to make a run for it?”

Noah nodded frantically, his heart still racing. “Let’s go!”

With a mixture of speed and awkwardness, the two of them bolted toward the nearest bathroom area. Noah kept his back to the crowd, clutching the shirt tightly around his waist. Every step felt like an eternity. He could hear the distant sound of more kids laughing and shouting, and all Noah could think was, Please let this day end.

Once they made it to the bathroom, Noah locked himself in a stall, trying to hold it together. “Dad,” he groaned from behind the door. “I can’t believe this happened. What do I do now?”

Ben, waiting outside the stall, knocked lightly on the door. “Well, first things first: You’re definitely going to need new shorts. And second, I think you’ve officially topped me for embarrassing moments at a water park. The dog might’ve torn my shorts back in the day, but this… this is a whole new level.”

Noah, despite himself, let out a laugh. “I can’t believe I’m getting embarrassed by my own swim trunks. This is so weird.”

After a few more minutes of awkward waiting, Ben came up with a plan. He ran back to the souvenir shop and bought Noah a brand new pair of water shorts. They were neon green with a giant beach ball on them, and they didn’t exactly scream “cool,” but they would do the job.

When Ben returned, Noah changed quickly, and with a deep sigh of relief, he finally emerged from the bathroom.

“Alright,” Ben said, smirking. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”

Noah groaned, but there was a small spark of humor in his eyes. “I guess you can say I’ve made a splash today.”

Ben laughed out loud, then gave Noah a playful shove. “You’re something else, kid. Let’s just hope you don’t rip these new ones too.”

As they walked back to the slides, Noah couldn’t help but feel a little lighter. Sure, it had been mortifying, but maybe it was just another story to add to the collection of family disasters. Besides, at least he had his dad by his side, and—who knew?—maybe someday he’d be able to laugh about it with his own kids.

But for now, all he could think about was hitting those slides again. And this time, he was keeping a very close eye on his swim trunks.