#all ways. stop putting a binary in everything!!

[magickalsapphic]

us vs them mentality is within leftist and liberal mindsets/groups. we need to show empathy and promote learning and teaching in ways that will impact/ really hit conservatives and literally everyone!!

sometimes it's useless to continue arguing with the same people over and over- Yes-

BUT- you have to TRY, and ACT, and continue trying, and show up for your communities, and MAKE community and groups and include your local church and hospitals and charity and homeless shelter and universities and libraries!!! be there for people so they know what community is and can be.

join causes that aren't your own, go to protests, show that you care about the collective!!! be kind and open from the start, most people don't know how to help or join causes and it overwhelms them. show that anyone can join your protests and activist groups so that people JOIN.

the most disturbing trend in online leftism is outright hostility towards any kind of community building tools and forgiveness whatsoever.

[mrsvante]

{ before you continue }

media literacy is a MUST on this page (look it up 🙃)

be sure to check the warnings before reading

my writing covers almost every trope, but i’m a romance girl..if the characters aren’t boning at least once then why are we reading it?

if you come into my house (this blog) acting weird (bots, bullies, etc.) you will be blocked.

do not copy or steal my work. the guilt would eat you alive. so let’s not, okay?

please remember doxxing is a federal offense, let’s be respectful on the internet 🛜 it’s not that serious

i’m not anyone’s mother so it’s really out of my hands, but this is NO place for minors. if you’re under 18 and reading my work, ya NASTY! and i AM judging you.

my writing style is mainly written in the second person pov (reader is the main character), with my secondary protagonist written in the third person pov. if you don’t like it, have a beautiful day. thank you so much for stopping by

this is a SAFE space for all 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇦🇫

my main character (reader) is female 95% of the time, however, you can expect MM, MFM, and non-binary characters..i love a challenge

i don’t have a tag list, i recommend turning on my post notifications 🔔✨

lastly, at this time i’m not taking requests (i put enough pressure on myself as is)

if you got this far, pat yourself on the back for that attention span. remember, it’s just words on a page, so enjoy ✨

the long game (m)

↳ sugar daddy au | yandere | drabbles | in progress

namjoon was never supposed to fall in love. the arrangement was simple. money for time, desire for indulgence, no strings, no expectations. he was supposed to be your provider, your safety net, the man you called when you wanted something but never needed anyone. but somewhere between the swipe of his black card and the way you sigh his name in the dark, he lost control.

one | two | three | four | four ½ | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten

anywhere but the end 1.2k

↳ taxi driver au | strangers | drabble | complete

there’s no destination. you get in the backseat of his taxi with no plan—only a heart full of ache and the hope that maybe if he just drives long enough, the noise in your head will quiet.

at ease (m) 4.2k

↳ idol au | established relationship | pfp | drabble | complete

he served his time. endured the silence. folded his longing into letters and tucked your name between the creases. now he’s home. and all that patience? about to unravel, one kiss at a time.

for eomma 4k

↳ idol au | established relationship | drabble | complete

seokjin never imagined that love could break him open this way. not until you handed him a child and slowly slipped out of reach. he held the world in his arms and watched it unravel in your silence, your sadness, your absence. but he stayed. for you. for her. for the family you’d dreamed of on quiet nights before everything changed.

a gentle kind of forever (m) 4.3k

↳ ceo au | strangers to lovers | yandere | complete

there was always something different about the way he loved you. gentle, patient, like he was studying a language only he could understand. even when you'd parted, he carried you quietly in the soft folds of memory, never once questioning whether you'd return. and when you finally do... he knows. this time, he won't let you go.

he touches you like you're made of glass, speaks to you like every word has been rehearsed for years. there's comfort in his arms, safety in his silence. but behind the calm is a devotion that doesn't waver, doesn't yield. It waits, it watches, it binds. you think you've come back to something familiar. but you're stepping into a love that never left. one that's willing to reshape the world just to keep you close.

one | epilogue

where we left off (m) 4.4k

↳ college au | friends to lovers | drabble | complete

you’ve spent years dancing around the inevitable—soft glances, blurred lines, and too many nights pretending not to want more. but when the game finally ends, nothing feels casual anymore. not his touch. not his kiss. and definitely not the way he says you’ve always been his.

terms of surrender (m) 4.9k

↳ idol au | established relationship | drabble | complete

he always left a piece of himself behind when he went away. now he’s trying to remember where he put it. a slow burning love letter to quiet homes, messy reunions, half eaten cake, and the way someone’s touch can make a tired soul feel whole again.

class of ‘69 (m) 17.3k

↳ class reunion au | friends to lovers | series | complete

hoseok and gahee were the ultimate high school oddballs—chubby goofball meets nerdy wallflower, bonded by awkward moments and bad cafeteria food. until time and distance pulled them apart.

fast forward ten years, and life has seriously leveled them up.the night before their high school reunion, they meet at a bar—except they don't recognize each other. flirty banter? check.off the charts chemistry? double check. one steamy, no strings attached hookup in the bathroom? ...oops.

cut to the reunion, where their eyes meet across the room, and bam—realization hits like an embarrassing yearbook photo. as they navigate nosy classmates, cringey memories, and some seriously awkward tension, one question remains: was their wild night a hilarious mistake... or the perfect setup for a second chance?

one | two | three | four | five | six

the fire between us (m) 2.6k

↳ mafia au | yandere | exes to lovers | drabble | complete

he would have torn the world apart to find you. and when you left him—believing the worst of him, believing he was a monster—he simply waited. patient. certain.

because you were always his. you always would be.

the world can rage and rot outside these walls, but here, in the home he built for you, nothing will ever come between you again.

not fear. not doubt. not even you.

what you make me (m) 4.7k

↳ friends to lovers | yandere | drabble | complete

taehyung was never just hoseok's friend, not really. Five years of unspoken tension shattered by one kiss, leaving hoseok afraid of feelings he can't deny and taehyung too obsessed to let go.

avoidance only fans the fire, and when taehyung finally snaps, their friendship burns into something brutal, messy, and possessive. love was never supposed to look like this... but taehyung doesn't care. he's not letting hoseok run.

waiting in the water (m) 38.9k

↳ mermaid au | strangers to lovers | series | complete

when alma finds an injured man on the shore, she has no idea he belongs to a world beyond her own. jimin is unlike anyone she's ever met—mischievous yet gentle, with an undeniable pull that draws her in. as he helps her find joy again, she opens his eyes to the beauty of life on land, and their connection deepens into something neither of them can ignore.

but jimin's presence hasn't gone unnoticed, and forces from the sea threaten to tear them apart. with the weight of two worlds pressing down on them, alma and jimin must decide if love is enough to bridge the divide—or if some destinies can never be rewritten.

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve | thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | epilogue

beyond the shore (m)

↳ mermaid au | established relationship | series | in progress

jimin, once fearless beneath the waves, now struggles to find his footing as a father and partner on unfamiliar shores. alma, strong and steady, holds their little family together as doubts quietly creep in. when their son’s fragile health threatens to pull them all under, jimin must face the part of himself he thought he left behind… and decide how far he’s willing to go for the ones he loves.

one I two | three | four | five I six I seven I eight | nine I ten I eleven | twelve | thirteen | fourteen | fifteen

a house between us (m) 12.9k

↳ entrepreneur au | strangers to lovers | trio | complete

he moved in next door with a job to do, then he saw you. polite, perfect, hiding bruises behind your smile. now your husband’s dead. jimin’s in your bed. and the only thing more dangerous than his devotion…is how much you love being kept.

one | two | three

safe & sound (m) 5.8k

↳ idol au | established relationship | pfp | drabble | complete

you waited the last six months for the love of your life to come home. and when he finally does with his uniform crisp, with open arms, smile bright—you realize some things can’t be rehearsed. some things break the script entirely. especially the kind of love that arrives shaking, breathless, and swollen with surprise.

borrowed time (m) 7.3k

↳ military au | strangers to lovers | angst | series | complete

trapped behind enemy lines after a mission goes sideways, staff sergeant kim taehyung is forced to navigate a war torn city alone. his only objective is to regroup with his unit—until he stumbles upon a civilian woman hiding from the chaos. with danger closing in, he makes a split second decision to help her reach safety.

one | two | three | four | five | six

table four 7.4k

↳ college au | strangers to lovers | drabble | complete

when he sees you at a campus café on a random tuesday, he knows he has to know you. but you’ve sworn off love after a brutal breakup and want nothing more than to focus on yourself. what starts with a croissant and a crooked smile slowly turns into study sessions, spontaneous adventures, and a love story neither of you saw coming.

what you make me (m) 4.7k

↳ office worker au | friends to lovers | yandere | drabble | complete

taehyung was never just hoseok’s friend, not really. Five years of unspoken tension shattered by one kiss, leaving hoseok afraid of feelings he can’t deny and taehyung too obsessed to let go.

avoidance only fans the fire, and when taehyung finally snaps, their friendship burns into something brutal, messy, and possessive. love was never supposed to look like this… but taehyung doesn’t care. he’s not letting hoseok run.

honorably discharged (m) 4.4k

↳ idol au | established relationship | pfp | drabble | complete

he served his country. now he’s coming home to you. eighteen months of distance. eighteen months of longing, discipline, and denial. but no amount of time, no uniform, no public ceremony can restrain him once he sees you again.

bad decisions (m) 5.9k

↳ biker au | secret relationship | drabble | complete

by day, jeongguk is the youngest heir of the noble seven—untouchable, lethal, and born into power. by night, he's the ghost on a matte black Husqvarna, tearing through city streets with recklessness only royalty can afford. but there's one thing he can't control: you. the girl he's been sneaking around with in stolen hours and secret places. when a high stakes race throws you back into his path, a charged game of cat and mouse ignites—your biting words matched only by the heat in his stare.

later that night, you find yourself exactly where you swore you shouldn't be—underneath him, breathless and begging for more. but what starts as a heady, sweat slicked surrender spirals into something neither of you expect. in the quiet between moans and the hush that follows release, something shifts. words are whispered that neither of you can take back.

the night always finds you (m) 1.9k

↳ assassin au | unspoken relationship | drabble | complete

every time he comes back to you bruised, bloodied, and alive, it’s a stolen miracle. in the hush of a rain soaked morning, without words, jungkook finally shows you what his silence has always meant.

stolen orbit (m) 13.6k

↳ alien au | yandere | enemies to lovers | two shot | complete

you were meant for eradication with the rest of your planet—erased without a trace, just another speck in the galaxy’s endless purge. but jeongguk saw you. fragile, insignificant… human. and something his kind had long forgotten stirred in him. Instead of erasing your existence, he took you, stole you from extinction and made you his.

now you live in a celestial cage, adored and possessed by something not quite capable of love, but desperate to keep you. he doesn’t understand your fear, your resistance, but he craves your surrender all the more because of it. and if it takes breaking you to make you his completely… he will.

one | two

at your feet (m) 8.8k

↳ idol au | established relationship | pfp | drabble | complete

he’s home. eighteen months of discipline, distance, and denial. and now, the front door clicks shut behind him. the flashes stop. the noise fades. and all that’s left is you.

your voice. your rules. your power.

he remembers everything. every command. every ache. every way he was made to perform for you. and tonight, after all this time, he finally gets to please you again.

[fireboaserpent]

I've gained a few followers recently, so it's time for:

Rent Lowering Gunshots

[Rent Lowering Gunshots]

cishet aroallos are valid. yes the men too. yes the minors too.

contradictory identities hurt nobody. no, lesboys are not invading your spaces.

men are not evil. men are capable of harm, yes, but so is everyone else.

by putting "men DNI" or "cishet men DNI" in your profile, you are creating an unsafe space for trans men. either they are not welcome in your sanitized queer space, or they must out themselves to be welcome. this goes double for closeted trans women.

all trans people experience oppression. yes even the men. we all deserve terms to talk about how oppression affects our specific group. transmisogyny and transandrophobia coexist.

hermaphrodite is a slur. against intersex people. don't use it. while i'm here, don't use futanari either.

animals are not 'biologically non-binary.' they are intersex. stop erasing intersex people.

AMAB and AFAB were created by and for the intersex community but have since been changed and distorted to the point where they are really not useful anymore. say what you mean instead of using agab language to sanitize your posts.

while I'm at it, TMA and TME is much the same. TMA does not mean transfemme, but has grown to be used in that way. if you use TMA/TME i am going to assume you are either a transandrophobe or intersexist, because that language is primarily used by those groups.

sex is not evil. neither are the words vagina, breasts or penis. if you censor yourself while making educational posts i do not trust your education.

censoring words by adding symbols is unhelpful at best and harmful at worst. i cannot filter out every tag that says inc3st, ince$t, !ncest, etc.

you are allowed to dislike things without them being morally wrong. stop trying to find fault with everything you dislike.

neurodivergence includes "weirdos." neurodivergence is not just autism and ADHD.

oh, and last but not least: you can talk about jewish people and antisemitism without talking about Palestine.

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @jdebbiel

Deb JJ Lee is a non-binary Korean artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, NPR, Google, Radiolab, and more. Their award-winning graphic memoir, IN LIMBO, about mental illness and difficult relationships with trauma, released in March 2023 from First Second.

Below is our interview with Deb!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

That implies I am over my art block, but I’m still in it! I think about Kiki’s Delivery Service a lot and how she had to stop doing a thing, and that you can’t really force it, and you have to let it come back to you. It’s a pretty humbling moment, realizing there is more to life than just drawing. I’ve been trying to consume other content like reading or watching movies—anything that is not drawing-related—and to trust that it will come back to me. I think not being afraid to do the small pieces before committing to the big pieces is helpful. Because big pieces are what I am known for, I dig myself into a deeper hole, thinking that each piece has to be bigger than the last one. So yeah! Relaxing and doing the small things before overcommitting to a big piece is the best way to go about it for me.

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

I feel like these are all artists that I have second-degree connections with! Jillian Tamaki, Victo Ngai, and Tillie Walden would be my picks!

What are your file name conventions?

…What file name conventions? I mean, I don’t have specific file name conventions, but I actually have a public Google Drive archive! But I usually put “djjl_whatever-the-title-is_final,” and I would always know it’s the final and legit version.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I did an illustration for the whiskey brand Johnnie Walker. It’s so wild because I only had four days to finish it, and it usually takes me a week and a half if I rush. And honestly, it’s probably one of my best pieces from this year, which is funny. It was for the Mid-Autumn festival, so I made it as Korean as possible.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

I only use my iPad to draw everything now, and if I want to pretend that I have a steady workstation, I’ll use my Cintiq. I still am not as comfortable on the Cintiq as I am on Procreate, but it’s still pretty solid and nice. That’s the good part about technology. The bad part about technology is how AI art has been messing things up for me. I’m currently in a lawsuit about AI art as a class rep. Some of my stuff got turned into AI art late last year, so I have to give a deposition at some point. 

What is a convention experience that has stuck with you?

Honestly, they’re all good! I feel like Lightbox Expo has been really nice because it’s truly been a convention for artists. I feel like that’s where most of my audience is, and they’re all around because their purpose is to be better at art. That’s where a lot of original artists do well because they’re getting art they’re inspired by, not so much fanart. I like the Lightbox Expo because it encompasses the pure love of art very well. 

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Use a Y axis, not just your X axis! Take advantage of it! Branding is also something to think about. It is definitely something I’m getting better at. Having an assistant is also very important. I’ve also heard that 8.5x11 to 12x18 inches is usually a good size for prints, but I also provide postcard-sized prints because sometimes people don’t want to commit to a larger size. 

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

You know this is so funny. I’ve been following @alicexz for over a decade on Tumblr and other platforms. I’ve followed her work since high school, and we’ve only recently become peers. I found her, and we met for the first time in real life, and she recognized me. And then I found all my drawings from when I was in my Alice phase, back in high school, and I was like, “Yo, this is when I was trying to be you so badly!” and she was cracking up and was like “Wow, this is so good!” It was such a sweet moment. I wanted to take a picture of her holding my drawing up. It’s really nice because now we’re peers.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Deb! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jdebbiel.

[femmenature]

You drew stars around my scars

The creator of this content does not speak English, constructive criticism on grammar is welcome😭

I know Liv identifies as non-binary and uses They/them as pronouns, but I used she/her just because of Vanessa's character!

Pairing: Teen Van Palmer/Vanessa Palmer x Fem!Reader.

Summary: Your girlfriend hasn't spoken to you since the wolves left scars on her face, and you can't ignore the sudden distancing.

Warning: Insecurity, bad words.

-

A few days have passed since the wolves bit Van. It was noticeable how distant she was from you. You understood, but on the other hand, you felt guilty for wanting to question her. How could she possibly think you'd judge her? How could she possibly think I'd be disgusted by seeing her face? It hurt you to feel that she had that perspective on you.

The secret relationship between you and Vanessa started before the accident. You were one of the defenders in soccer. It created a short distance between you and your team's goal. In other words, very little distance between you and Van. The chats at practice and the whispers in the locker room turned into make-out sessions and love confessions. Everything was perfect until the crash, and let's just say we managed to stay together. But this really messed things up. She won't talk to me, she won't look at me, she won't touch me, and she even does whatever it takes to push me away. And it sickens me, sickens me that I can't be by her side knowing what she's going through. So I took advantage of the moment when she went to look for dry branches for the campfire and cautiously followed her.

"Are you planning on ignoring me any longer?" Her shoulders lifted at your sudden voice, but she still didn't turn around. "I haven't even heard your voice in days, Vanessa" She cleared her throat as she continued collecting the sticks from the floor. "You don't understand," she said shakily, trying to get used to her voice again, as if she'd kept it hidden in the darkest part of her. "Why do you think I don't understand?" Your face clouded with confusion. 

"I don't know, things like this. This damn interrogation." She stops herself, trying to take back what she said "I'm sorry. I know I'm not reacting well. I just need to be alone."

"Stop doing that, stop pushing me away, because I'm not going to do it." You approach her, facing her back. Every step toward her feels like a step closer to the abyss. "You don't know what I'm like right now, you don't know what I'm saving you from," you furrow your eyebrows, even though she can't see you. Your hand reaches for her shoulder, not with the intention of turning her around. Simply so she knows you're there, respecting her time. "What are you talking about? Do you really think I'd react like this because of your scars, imagining what I was saved from now that my girlfriend was bitten by wolves?" You blurt out the words that had been stuck in your throat for so long. "Do you even know me at all? I need you to listen to yourself."

Her face turns away from where you placed your hand, still trying to avoid you. "I don't think badly of you. I just don't want you to be with me out of obligation." A sigh of frustration escapes you at the sound of her voice. "If you think I'd do that, you really don't know me."

Her body abruptly turns, facing you, allowing you to finally see her face. "Look at me. Look at me and tell me I don't disgust and repel you. That you could caress me the way you did before I had this." Her hands scribble, trying to point out her scars. Even the slightest reference to them repels her.

"You survived a damn wolf attack. What you have on your face are the marks of survival. Do you want me to tell you what would have been devastating for me? That you don't come back." Her eyes meet yours, hungry for the tiniest hint of contact. "So don't put words in my mouth I'd never say. Because having you here with me is more than I could have ever wished for, and more."

Her eyes glaze over and her breathing evens out, leaving behind the air that was squeezing her lungs. "Doesn't it disgust you? Doesn't it make your stomach feel sick, like you're going to throw up?"

"The only thing I feel in my stomach when I see you are butterflies," she rolls her eyes, though you managed to see a small smile escaping her lips. "Van, your beauty is eternal to me. The thing I feel when I see your scars is pride and gratitude that you're still here." One of her hands dared to move away from her body to stop contemplating yours from afar and do something about it. Brushing your hip, with the absurd fear that you'll reject her even though she's heard you say the opposite, her mind betrays her. "I don't deserve you," she whispered to you while her thumb caressed you. 

"You fought with fucking wolves. I don't think anyone really deserves you. And I think it's important to emphasize that you look way too hot with them." She lets out a chaste laugh, not believing you. "You're just saying that." Your hand approaches her cheek, delicately caressing her sensitive marks. "I'm not lying. It's a constant reminder of how brave you are. And you know very well that I admire that about you."

After staring at each other for a while, you pull her into a hug, wrapping your arms around her neck as she rests her face in the crook of your neck. "Thank you. Thank you for staying even though I tried to push you away. I don't know what I would have done without you. You always know just the right thing to say, at the right time, in the right way. I love that about you." Her voice is low as she clings to your body "I love you."

Your head moves away from hers, forcing her to look at you. With a smile, you stroke her hair as you respond with the same feeling you always had. "I love you, Van. Nothing could change that."

Unable and unwilling to prolong the moment any longer, their lips found each other as they had before.

-

Again, sorry if there is any mistake, it's late here and for some reason I write when I'm sleepy. 😫

[alexanderwales]

In the horrible AI future, they have all your data, and someone decided "hey, we can use this data to make predictions, no, declarations! why do we have this thing called marriage that can mean so many things, why is there this bright line that two people must decide upon that works differently for different people?"

The AI was supposed to be better than humans at knowing what labels to put on things. That was how it had started, after all, distinguishing cats from dogs. But there were some things that just didn't have natural labels, that weren't like looking at an X-ray and saying whether or not a mass was cancer. Some things were more nebulous, like whether a piece of music belonged to a specific subgenre.

Turns out, people found this socially useful, to be able to tell whether someone was a friend or just an acquaintance, or maybe, as with a lot of AI, it was just faster and cheaper, readily accessible, if not actually better in any way. It was pretty accurate though.

And once the AI was doing everything, why did you need strict binary labels? Why not just make it a spectrum, which represented reality better? Why not do some factor analysis on friendships and break them up into different categories, which got even closer to reality? If the AI was doing everything, harvesting your omnidata, why not get some numbers out of it?

So Jessica from work was a 6.3 friend, but most of that was in the factor labeled "propinquity", which meant that probably you were only friends because you spent a lot of time at work together.

Robert was a 7.2 friend you didn't see too much, but he was high on the factor they called "effort", someone who was probably friends with you because they were putting effort into being friends with you, for whatever reason. Sometimes that was good, sometimes it was bad, but Robert was just like that, a guy who put a lot of effort into being friends with a lot of people.

There was a factor they kept renaming, either "romance" or "attraction" or something, but mostly called "fuck factor" or "fack factor" to dodge the censor penalties. It was just about whether one of you wanted to fuck the other. Lots of fights happened because of that one.

Everything started shifting from concrete labels to sliding numeric scales, and at some point, marriage stopped being a thing, there were just benefits to being in a long-term committed relationship, because the government had decided that was a good thing in general. And of course, the AI was the one deciding on your numeric score, so you could look up "how married" you were, and so the automatic tax and benefit adjustments could use that number.

Some people tracked the numbers closely, which was a problem. A man might ask his wife why their marriage score was down by 0.1, did something happen? And he'd try to use a neutral, curious tone, because an accusatory tone might make the score drop lower. Some people had marriages that were at least partly a performance for the AI, for the tax benefits, trying to get as high a score as possible to save a few thousand dollars. There were complaints about how the AI was determining things, but of course, it was all based on training, and you couldn't really say how the AI was making its decisions, you could only look at the AI's factor analysis and make some claims about what it thought was important and what wasn't.

People petitioned to change things, but we'd long since stopped voting on anything. Voting was another binary, and you could just have the AI make accurate guesses about probability mass of the whole population at any given time. Why hold a vote on election day when you could have a "vote" extracted from your omnidata every five minutes? Why have a set law when the law could respond to the will of the people, updated every week and implemented seamlessly?

And as the AI responded to the will of the people, the people also responded to the incentives structures of the AI, and society became liquid, a sloshing ocean where once there had been binaries and rules.

[r0manceplanet]

okay yipee yay!! haven’t done these in a hot minute so apologies if this isn’t that great… i’m trying >_> !

fandom: forsaken plz!!

pronouns: they them

gender/sexuality: non-binary androsexual (best way i could put ittt ^^)

personality: ummm… i think i’m generally a pretty nice person, i’m rlly empathetic and i luv to talk yap yap i like to run my mouth! i cannot keep it shut and i’m rlly bad at keeping secrets oops. i’m kindaaa stubborn and a big over thinker but i try reallyyy hard not to be;;; i just wanna have fun and b chill ^^

hobbies: ummum arts! anything artsy! like graffiti. baking is sooo awesome and fun doing things with your hands is great. i love music a LOT (specifically rock/metal/alt) and enjoy going to concerts!! i’m also big on conspiracy theories & psychological philosophy :3

likes & dislikes: i generally like weird/creepy things, any sort of horror media! & being outside & doing things, like exploring or looking for bugs. like i said i <3 philosophy but i also love the unknown!! and theorizing!! and debate!! collecting/hoarding things i like is fun too, like knives & license plates. oh and rubber ducks. photography!!! pictures are everything to me!!! i don’t dislike much but i guess umm… the dark! i hate that. strong smells & loud noises freak me out. ppl who are mean to animals babies and old people are a different kind of evil.

mbti & zodiac: enfp 4w5, gemini!!

love languages: acts of service above all but i also adore words of affirmation!! i don’t care much for gift giving.

what i look for/want in a partner: someone who can keep up w/ me, i guess! i get bored quickly, i usually wanna always go do something. i hate silence and i hate distance, i need to be able to vibe & have fun with them always!! i’d also prefer someone who isn’t shy ^_^ .

thank youuu my goat please take your time!!! 🧡

FORSAKEN MATCHUP #1

A/N: Ahhh my first request for a matchup!! And to whoever sent this ask to me thank you so much!! And I hope you enjoy who you get! And, matchups for forsaken are open to everyone!

Press “Read More” to see who you have been matched with!

.

.

.

You have been matched with… Chance!

• It took me some time to think about who to match you with, and I did have a few characters in mind before I thought of him, and when I did he seems to match you the most, I feel like you two would function so well together.

• Chance is a really calm dude, he can work under pressure and is able to talk to anyone really, I mean, who wouldn’t like him? He’s never fallen in love before you, he was always focused on gambling and the casino he owned. Before meeting in forsaken, you would’ve met him in his casino while you were hanging out with your friends.

• When he met you he was immediately focused on you, why? something about you made him interested in you, maybe it’s because of how much you love to talk with him, and he’s always listening to you yap and adding into the conversation, it’s refreshing for him to find someone to match his energy.

• When you guys start dating, he would spend ALL his money, which you would have to stop him before he goes broke. But he would buy an entire store if you wanted one thing, that’s how devoted he is to you.

• He would definitely bring you to concerts, I can see him as someone who would go to concerts of bands he likes, you guys always have a blast whenever you’re at a concert to see your favorite band, and as a surprise he’s arranged an appointment for you to meet with your favorite idols.

• He always compliments your artwork, he’s in awe whenever he sees your paintings or drawings, he’s someone who would point out the smallest details in your art, and he LOVES it whenever you bake, and if you bake anything that he likes he’s gonna eat it all in 1 minute and ask for more.

• He loves hearing you talk, including if it’s about theories you bring up, he’ll love to theorize with you and debate, you can get him to talk about ANYTHING, off topic but, whenever you guys are chilling at home or out on a date, he would take pictures of you that have amazing views.

• Whenever you’re overthinking about something, or anything that’s bothering you, he’ll always make sure to tell you that you can go to him for anything, and he is of course… He’ll be your emotional support animal if you want. No matter what situation you happen to be in, you’ll always have him, and he’ll always have you.

Round-Ups:

Shedletsky, John Doe

[sourcreammachine]

look yeah. i’m an Avoidant Personality. i’m terrified of doing anything

it’s not that i present cis in real life. in every fucking way to all my people, i am cis. because i’m fucking terrified of not being. my they/them persona online is basically cognitive dissonance: i’m AVPDing away from the fact that i am, cognisantly for years and incognisantly for my whole life, and always will be, a trans girl. i’m “taking it slow” but have been doing so for years and years and years because i’m so terrified and frozen and unable - because i have personal issues i need to work through before my brain will let me start transitioning

and tumblr was safety for me. that’s how i could be non-binary here. wall-to-wall trans inclusivity and love, when you don’t put your head above the parapet. and hell and hostility if you do, but i never had reason to. i could stretch my wings here. i could be something closer to being me here. one little bit of acceptance in a horrible world

and even here, the QuEeReSt PlAcE oN tHe InTeRnEt, a bigoted little baby man and his spineless enablers are annihilating my community of love and safety, and deleting my friends

my friends are going to keep getting deleted. i may well be. exactly how then am i supposed to find community and love and solidarity with all the people i’ve known and loved and supported. i don’t ever like talking about my head here, but it truly is a lifeline for me in a world of hostility

fuck you Matt. i’ll return the favour. next time you have friends over, i’ll be hovering in the room gradually throwing them all out, and then you too. next time you show your face in public i’ll have you arrested for indecent exposure. if you dare say “hey stop” i will call the police and FBI

i hope your car gets destroyed with so many hammers. i hope your house gets smashed down with a wrecking ball. i hope your phone catches fire in your pocket. i hope you never feel like you’re allowed to exist in any space. i hope all your friends get crushed by pianos. i hope everything you touch fucking explodes in your face

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - known Character Creation info Part 1

[LINK TO PART 2]

This post is just a dump collection of info and snippets that came out about CC (& some related topics). if you've been following the news or reading posts here, it's not new info or anything, I just put it together in one place here for convenience. ( ˶´ ᵕ `˶ )

if you notice anything missing, pls lmk. there's a bit of repetition of info in places as prev posts on the topic overlapped.

---

CC is vast [source] and immensely detailed [source]

We will enter CC straight after Varric’s opening narration [source]

You are given 5 categories to work your way through in CC: Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction, Playstyle. Each of these has a range of subcategories within them. There are 8 subcategories within the “head” subcategory" in “Appearance” alone [source]

Lineage dictates things like race (i.e. human, elf, dwarf, qunari) and backstory [source]

Backstories include things like factions. Factions offer 3 distinct buffs each [source]

There are dozens and dozens of hairstyles [source]

There are separate options for binary and non-binary pronouns and gender [source]

“BioWare’s work behind the scenes, meanwhile, goes as deep as not only skin tones but skin undertones, melanin levels, and the way skin reacts differently to light” [source]

CC has a range of lighting options within it so that you can check how the character looks in them [source]

There are a range of full-body customization options such as a triangular slider between body types and individual settings down to everything from shoulder width to glute volume [source]. There are “all the sliders [we] could possibly want”. The body morpher option allows us to choose different body sizes [source]

All body options are non-gendered [source]

They/them pronouns are an option [source]

Rook can be played as non-binary [source]

Individual strands of hair were rendered separately and react remarkably to in-game physics [source]

Special, focused attention was paid to ensuring that hairstyles “come across as well-representative, that everyone can see hairstyles that feel authentic to them, even the way they render” [source]

The game uses strand hair technology borrowed in part from the EA Sports games. The hair is “fully-controlled by physics,” so it “looks even better in motion than it does here in a standstill” [source]

The ability to import our choices from previous games is fully integrated into CC. This will take the form of tarot cards - “you can go into your past adventures” and this mechanic tells you what the context was and what decision you want to make [source]

In CC we will also be able to customize/remake our Inquisitor [source]

A core tenet of the game is “be who you want to be” [source]

There are presets for all 4 of the game’s races (human, elf, dwarf, qunari), in case detailed CCs overwhelm you [source]

It is the best CC BioWare has ever made in a game [source]

The faction we choose will determine who we as protagonist Rook were before they were recruited to put a stop to Solas [source]

Certain conversation options are only available to Rooks of certain factions. For example, Grey Wardens get conversation options that are focused on the Blight, as they know more about it from other people. It also impacts how people talk to Rook (reactivity from characters and then faction reactivity from plots relating to that faction) [source]

Faction choice affects a lot of things [source]

There aren’t unique missions (I think this means like the playable Origins in DA:O), but faction choice does set the course for Rook for the rest of the game [source]

“body customization and morphing. From more muscular characters, to curvier builds, and just about any shape you want to give your character, there are all sorts of toggles to adjust so you can give them any figure you want”. “There’s even features that let you choose proportions, so you can alter their height, give them wider shoulders, and much more” [source]

There are makeup options [source]

There are tattoo options [source]

The hair uses a “Strand system” to “make them behave and move in a believable way for the different races” [source].

There are 4 voices to choose from for Rook: two feminine and tow masculine (one American, one British for each) [source]

In CC, 'Lineage’ is the game’s parlance for race i.e. human, elf, dwarf, qunari [source]

We can pick Rook’s name, but the dialogue calls them 'Rook’ [source]

In CC we can “make a few key decisions that will impact how The Veilguard begins” [source]

“I really do think its our most feature-ful character creator ever.” [source]

All armor and clothing options will scale and mesh to any body type [source]

The character creator has lots of sliders for body parts and overall shape, none of which are tied to the voice or pronouns (she/her, he/him, or they/them) that you choose [source]

“Epler took special care to show off the extensive curly and textured hair options in the game, including several versions of braids and locs, noting that increasing these options in particular was very important to the team” [source]

You can change your character’s physical appearance at any time during the game, but not their class or backstory [source]

“Each individual class has some variability, too; even the mage class has some up-close-and-personal attacks, since a mage player character could still conceivably have an assassin backstory and would therefore need to have some attacks to accommodate that sort of career path” [source]

“ "We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about skin tone,” Corinne said. The character we made, a Black elf, seemed to glow in the bluish light of a nighttime scene, and under bright sunlight, I could see the richness of his color. Corinne: "We want to make sure that skin tone is reflected authentically” “ [source]

” “We have dozens and dozens of hair types,” she said. ���And they’re fully affected by physics.” The quality and variety of choices I saw delighted me. The rows of bouncy, luxurious-looking hair of all curl types and textures (and yes, the annoyingly ubiquitous “Killmonger cut” was among the options, what can you do?) brought the biggest smile to my face in the hour I spent with Busche and The Veilguard.“ [source]

BioWare confirmed that even if you make your Rook a short king, the team has done work to ensure animations fit any character build [source]

“Dragon Age’s character creator has seen a massive glow-up” [source]. “The volume of choices you get here are frankly insane. As Epler noted, “you could spend forever here,” and he’s not kidding.” [source] The art and graphics teams spent a lot of time trying to make hair look amazing [source: the Discord]

In CC we can customise our “bulge size” [source]

Some more detail on the new lighting options to see how Rook looks like in CC when you make them: you can view them in “blazing forest sunshine versus the glare of an underground temple” [source]

“newly mobile, extra-hairy hair” [source]

Faction choice has statistical boons. For example, Shadow Dragon Rook deals extra damage to Venatori blood cultists [source]

Faction choice basically determines why Rook has been called to help in the fight against Solas [source]

All pre-determined character models in CC can be adjusted [source]

You can make a really tall dwarf if you want [source]

“Setting your previous world state is fully integrated into the character creator for Veilguard” [source: the Discord]

Inquisitor appearance will be re-created, there is no way to carry their appearance from DA:I into the game [source: the Discord]

Classes for Rook are not restricted in the sense that you can play any almost class, lineage and faction combination that you want. For example, a mage Rook can be a Crow [source: the Discord] (Fel note: it sounded like Rook cannot be a magic-wielding dwarf, even though the exception of Harding now exists) (Fel note: there is a mage Crow in one of the books)

“The diverse body and gender options make it an industry leader by a signifcant margin” [source]

“BioWare was keen to highlight the hair strand technology that looked very similar to that seen in FIFA and EA FC, also made under EA’s roof” [source]

“Fine tuning sliders that allowed for microscopic adjustments of nose angles, it was clear that a lot of options exist to get the smallest possible body parts exactly right” [source]

“There’s no specific genital customisation to be oversold as CDPR did but, much like Saints Row, there is an option for bulge customisation” [source]

Pronoun choice, gender identity, body type, and voice choice are 4 separate options, not tied together [source]

Height is customised on a slider [source]

Size is customized on a triangle like in Saints Row: the 'points’ are fat, slim and muscular [source]

The different lighting options are 4 different settings: clean, bright, dim, sunset [source]

In CC you can also try out what Rook looks like in their starting rags, in typical mid-game armor, and some level 50 gear (class appropriate for each one) [source]

There’s a way for you to modify your character’s look once the game has started if you want to make some tweaks [source: the official Discord]

You can be any class and choose any backstory/faction, any race, any gender [source]

The opening cinematic Varric narrates at the start of the game plays before CC. “Following character creation, Varric’s narration continues, revealing that he’s put together a group to stop Solas, having recruited our character and a handful of others so far.” [source]

Faction choice affects in-game moments between other factions and locations, as well as characters [source]

Re: using body sliders in CC - “It looked incredibly easy to maneuver around and create a body that is either close to that player’s real personage or their ideal fantasy self” [source]

“Our presenter said that each specialization was pretty much as deep as a job” [source]

“Many fans were subject to the horror of DA Inquition’s special green light, so BioWare made it where players could shuffle through a handful of backgrounds to see how their character looks in different lights. Body sliders for fully customizable bodies, other appearance changes like tattoos, and everything fans would expect from a modern Dragon Age character creator seemed to be there.” [source]

Rook always shares a background with 1 of the companions. Makes sense, the backgrounds are Wardens, Crows, Shadow Dragons, Mourn Watch, Veil Jumpers, Lords of Fortune, and that’s Davrin, Lucanis, Neve, Emmrich, Bellara, Taash respectively [source]

The CC team and character art team spent a lot of time working on making sure that hairstyles behaved appropriately, in a realistic way, and on representing a lot of different hairstyles [source]

“We were told that one of the three key pillars of the game was ‘Be Who You Want To Be.’” [source]

“Numerous selections for a wide variety of body types & skin tones” [source]

There is faction-themed gear to wear, like if you chose Grey Warden as a background, there is GW gear. [source: The Discord]

“As a faction, the Inquisition doesn’t really feature prominently in the story - your appearance options are more reflective of the factions and styles you’ll encounter in The Veilguard.” [source: The Discord]

body sliders + “a triangle for gradients of body types” [source]

“The team heard us loud and clear on hair styles”. Frostbite engine updates served them well. Hair moves with your body and reacts to the wind [source]

For pronouns and gender selections, everything you select is used in the game and in cutscenes [source]

They were asked about the customizability of Rook’s backstory. Rook has 6 different backgrounds that you can choose from. Each of them is tied to one of the major factions in DA:TV. “Each one sets up who Rook was before they were recruited by Varric. Well that sets out the broad events. As you go through the game, as you have conversations, either with members of your faction, other characters, you can define not just what those events were but what they meant to you. What was your motivation, what was the kind of person you are as you build up Rook. Because again, we wanna make sure that roleplaying is at the heart of this experience, and taking Rook, giving them background to ground them in the world and then letting you decide what that means, what that says about you, is also a big part of it.” “A lot of opportunities to really define who your Rook was and who they are now, so.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

They have taken a different approach on how we import our decisions into the game this time around. This is now fully integrated into the character creator. The devs believe that this serves a dual purpose. Corinne said that she playfully thinks of it as ‘last time on Dragon Age’, though it isn’t actually called this in the game. She noted that it has been ten years since the last Dragon Age game was released, so this aspect serves as a refresher on critical events as well as allowing us to remake those decisions that are critical to us. The system for doing this is very highly visual and uses the familiar tarot card aesthetic. “It’s a very visual and playful experience as you go through it.” It was very important to them that this system was built into the client, so that you can play this game entirely offline. No online connection is required, no linking to EA accounts is required – this was a big fan request.

Corinne added, “I don’t want to spoil anything by revealing what decisions you can import, but I will say that this [thinking about the decision import system and what decisions to include] has been a really interesting creative intersection for us, because on the one hand, this is a whole new adventure”. In this game we are in northern Thedas, in locations we have not been to before. This naturally affects “some of what will matter and what decisions they’re not using this time around, as far as decisions. But obviously there are some very, very clear connections to existing characters.” “It’s no secret that the Inquisitor is going to show up, so that’s a factor”. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

In CC, Rook’s pronouns can be chosen. You can select both pronouns AND gender, as as Corinne noted, these are related concepts, but actually not exactly the same thing. Rook can be non-binary. The pronouns available are she/her, they/them, and he/him. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

The Character Creator is very detailed and very deep. The team focused a lot on doing good hair and doing hair and skin tones respectfully. There is full body customization. They are going to show us a lot more on CC in the future, but at a time when they have the time and space to do so. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

Q. How extensive are Rook’s decision trees for companions and NPCs throughout the game going to be?

A. “Huge. It’s a Dragon Age game. We wanna make sure you have choices, we wanna make sure you can choose your roleplaying but also choose outcomes of conversations, choose how events unfold. We wanna make sure that we also react to decisions you’ve made. So, for example, you may be talking to a follower who is an elf, and if you yourself are an elf, obviously you’re gonna have a different perspective on events than someone who is not an elf. Sometimes that means different conversation options. Sometimes that’s going to mean entirely deep dialogue trees. As well as based off decisions you’ve made throughout the game, so. Again, making sure that the game feels like the it’s noticing what you’re doing is a huge part of how we’ve written out the dialogue trees in this game.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

 “There are quite a few, easily more than we’ve done before I think, tattoos from various cultures. We’re bringing the vallaslin back of course. There are a ton of different options, especially when we’re going into all of these new regions. Each region has its own kinda visual language for that. But yeah, we are bringing the vallaslin back, and then a couple of the characters have them, but we’ve kinda customized them a little bit, they’re a bit more specific to their personality.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

Corinne’s favorite thing other than the companions is the CC. “That CC, the makeup options, the range of sliders… I’m a qunari fan, so even just the way you customize the horns and combine that with the really great looking hair”. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

The Inquisitor can be customized, “include some of our new customization options”. “Yeah, they’re gonna show up and they’re gonna be your Inquisitor.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

We will get to see the Character Creator before launch. “They are laying out a roadmap for what we are going to show and when we are gonna talk about it. So, yes, you will see it, as we get a little bit closer to launch.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

In CC, the body customization can be done for humans, elves, dwarves and qunari. Qunari hair options and horn options are rad. They acknowledged that it was hard to have nice-looking hair for qunari in DA:I. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

“Related to this, your Lineage (human/elf/dwarf/qunari) gives you a lot of really unique dialogue options, so that’s a really lovely aspect of choosing your lineage as well.” “Each lineage, depending on the lineage you choose and the background you choose, there are some specific call outs to. For example, if it’s the Mourn Watch, them being a faction from Nevarra of mages, obviously your experience as a dwarf there is going to be different than say a human or an elf, so, there are also specific callouts tailored to those combinations with again, the intention of giving each lineage their own little flavor as to how they fit into that faction as a whole.” [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

“Rook’s last name is defined based on their faction, again, we wanted to tie that into your backstory, but also, there’s a name generator that can give you a selection of first names. Obviously if you want to make your own first name, that’s definitely something we support as well.” But if you always struggle during CC and name all your characters like 'Bob’ or something, you’re gonna be okay thanks to the name generator. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

"some of what I saw behind closed doors, as well as the way the devs spoke openly about the passion for diversity, gave me a lot of hope for this installment." [source]

"A New Peak For Progressive Character Creators. My first thought as I watched the dev take us through Dragon Age: The Veilguard's character creator at Summer Game Fest was 'okay, everyone can shut up about Cyberpunk 2077 now'." "Dragon Age, as I've written about in more depth in my full breakdown, cares. It takes elements of Cyberpunk 2077 and Saints Row, plus its own creator from 2014's Inquisition which was then best-in-show and remains a contender even today. It acknowledges the trans experience in a multitude of ways, likely owing heavily to game director Corinne Busche being a trans woman and therefore able to inject a personal perspective that most other games lack." "The dev also made a Black woman during our gameplay demo" [source]

The world reacts to Rook’s lineage and backstory. There are unique dialogues or conversation options based on backstory and lineage. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

There are glorious, fantastic dwarf beards. "I don’t know what magic the character art team did with the beards”, but they feel/look like how beards should. [source: June 14th Discord Q&A with devs]

On the slider for body type selection: “It looked incredibly easy to maneuver around and create a body that is either close to that player’s real personage or their ideal fantasy self” [source]

“Our presenter said that each specialization was pretty much as deep as a job” ((job - class)) [source]

“sliding a cursor across a triangle that can make your character stocky and chubby or tall and muscular or anything in between” [source]

[witchthewriter]

𝐒𝐢𝐡𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

Warnings: some spoilers for the series xx

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ | ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ ᴵᴵ

ISTP

Hufflepuff

Chaotic Good

Scorpio Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Cancer Rising

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

・The most sweetest, most gentle and most loyal husband you could ever imagine.

・Exactly like the ones in the romance novels - you are his world.

・And he would do ANYTHING for you. Sounds cliche but he would literally climb the tallest mountain, ask Uhtred to help him bring down the moon, Sihtric is crazy in love with you. And it doesn't stop after the honeymoon phase.

・Any part of your body that you dislike, Sihtric is the first one to be like "what? I don't get it. You are ... the most glorious person to ever walk on midguard."

・Has cried while alone when he's away from you.

・Not when he's been asked by Uhtred to spy though - he just thinks about you when it's safe to do so (he takes caring for his friends very seriously. He's big on loyalty.)

・Further with the loyalty comment; it's actually hilarious that it was he and Uhtred who set up that ruse in season 3. Sihtric would rather die than actually be that person

・Buys you any and every kind of jewellery; bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces. If you follow his religion/way of life, then he buys you your own thor's hammer pendant.

・When he places it around your neck, he tugs you forward and leans his head against your forehead.

・Calls you, "sweetheart," "my love," "beautiful/handsome". But also likes to call you cheeky ones too: "troublemaker," "danger."

・Puppy god eyes, puppy dog eyes, PUPPY DOG EYES. He doesn't even know he's doing it. It was practically beaten out of him when he was younger by his father and half-brother.

・But when he realised he was doing it, Sihtric thought, 'I have never felt safe enough to act like this. With anyone.'

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

Calm bf (Sihtric) x Hyper gf/bf/non-binary partner (You)

Gives Jewellery (Sihtric) x Tries To Wear Everything Every Day To Make Them Happy (You)

Black Cat (You) x Black Bat (Sihtric)

𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Enemies to Lovers

You first saw Sihtric when he was living with his wretched father. You never expected to find him tied up under Uhtred's command.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Lady of the Dawn by Peter Gundry

𝑁𝑆𝐹𝑊 🔞 No one under the age of 18 past this point.

・When he first gets back from being away from you, he's hungry - like a dog in heat, he's rough, he needs to feel you, all of you.

・Sihtric's favourite thing to do is go down on you. Your juices, your smells; it drives him mad.

・After he's made you cum thrice, he rubs your cum/juices on his clothes just in case he has to leave again. He wants to be able to smell you.

・It has become a ritual now - if he doesn't then it's bad luck in his mind.

・If Sihtric is home for a while then his fucking turns into love making. Gentle, loving, slow, passionate.

・Long strokes, in and out of you while kissing every part of your face from above, nuzzling his face into your neck.

・Has a massive breeding kink (even if your body does not have the means to create a child); he likes to talk dirty while pumping into you.

"That's it, let me cum inside you my love. I want to put a child in you."

・When you agree with a whimper, it sends him over the edge. Hot ropes of cum shooting inside you.

・Sihtric keeps pumping though. The fantasy of having a large family with you made his cock hard again.

[kifkay]

the Cloud Tower headcanons

out of the three Magix schools, Cloud Tower has the biggest roster of scholarships and waived tuition fees.

witches are oft mischaracterised by the public. because they draw their power from strong, negative emotions, people incorrectly assume that witches must be either miserable, evil and/or drudging through a miserable existence. because of those biases, many talented young people never even pursue a witch’s education.

the Cloud Tower has been historically a very generous institution, hoping to draw in more students and combat those believes. Under Griffin’s leadership, the amount of given out scholarships is as big as ever and is specifically geared towards financially compromised students, or students in bad life situations. 

Every first year student at the Cloud Tower gets to choose a new name for themselves. It’s a ritual meant to symbolise rebirth; a way to let go of the past and embrace your new life.

of course, you’re not required to go by that name after the “initiation” - but that’s the name your coven siblings will remember you by.

in the last couple of decades, the idea of a self-sufficient, all-powerful witch became extremely popular. if before witches came in covens, nowadays, most prefer to do their bidding alone. this is why most Cloud Tower students are more versatile than fairies, but less powerful since they spread themselves thinner to try and learn a bit of everything.

in order to earn their enchantix, a fairy has to make a sacrifice to save a person from their homeland. in order to go through their final transformation, a witch has to prove their relentlessness and determination; willingness to achieve a goal by any means possible, at the expense of oneself.

the requirement for the final transformation is deliberately vague. it can be grandiose and self-destructive - a last stand, you, engulfed in blazing fire, shielding your friends with all that you’ve got - because worlds be damned, your loved ones are your first priorities. or it can be as uncomplicated as standing up to your shitbag father and trashing your old house; that asshole won’t keep you down any longer. all in all, there’s no right way to be a witch.

student spend their first three years of college on campus. their fourth year, the school finds them an internship. future guardian witches are hired by “hero-for-rent” organisations and sent on supervised off-world missions, alchemists and potion-makers are interned in Linphea, teachers are sent off across dimensions. they come back once every semester, to report their progress, and on graduation. similar system in employed in both Alfea and Red Fountain.

some fairies and witches definitely have beef with each other, and stereotyping/hate-mongering is ripe on both sides - BUT. so many of them are dating each other. just so many. you guys have never been in an (almost, there are still guy and non-binary witches/fairies) all girls boarding school if you think those bitches from Alfea and Cloud Tower are anything but gay.

Griffin is in an attrition war with the fairy-dating witches. they keep sneaking their SO’s into the Cloud Tower, who then have to be rescued because the castle is kind off sentient and keeps trying to eat the intruders-

it’s just annoying to be constantly dealing with! so Griffin literally puts anti-fairy charms on the school grounds.

(but then Griffin also has to call an emergency meeting with the entire school and reiterate that she is not actually homophobic - just against trespassers without entrance permits - and to please, stop sending hexes into her office-)

[holmesianlove]

Chapter 27 -  Gloves

When Sherlock finally found him, John was standing by a frozen lake in the park, shivering. Sherlock was furious. He had just given John gloves and a scarf for specifically this purpose. Beautiful, warm cashmere, even. John had worn them to dinner but where were they now? He knew that even though it was a new habit for John, he would likely refuse to give Sherlock the satisfaction of being right. He would stand there and freeze to death rather than put them on, or admit he’d forgotten them. But Sherlock wouldn’t argue now. John Watson was clearly in crisis in this moment. Now was not the time.

Sherlock moved slowly closer, finally standing beside him in silence. John was staring across the lake, so Sherlock stood beside him, staring out over the lake too. He didn’t want to disturb John, but he needed to help him. He turned to say something and saw John shivering. He could even hear his teeth chattering. He reached out and put a hand on John's arm and the poor man startled like a wild deer. As if he hadn’t even registered that Sherlock was there yet.

“John…” 

“Mmmm,” he hummed uncomfortably, still deep in thought.

“John.” 

“What, Sherlock?” John finally asked, in an irritated growl.

“You’re angry.”

“No. I’m embarrassed, Sherlock.” John shuffled his feet uncomfortably but still refused to turn and look at his friend. 

“You needn’t be,” Sherlock replied gently. “He seemed… very nice.”

“He’s not. Appearances can be very deceiving,” John snapped.

“Is that… why… you…?” Sherlock hesitated.

“Sherlock.” John’s tone was a firm warning.

“I’m just trying to understand, John. You’re always saying you're—“

“Not gay. I know,” John interrupted, finally crossing his arms across his body.

“So, are all the women… a cover up or…?”

“No. Please, Sherlock,” he pleaded. When Sherlock remained silent, John finally spoke again. “I’m… I suppose I’d be bisexual or some part of that grey area that’s indefinable. If it were anyone’s business. If it needed to be clarified,” he said bitterly. “It’s barely relevant since I don’t really date, do I? Not really. I like sex. Who it’s with is generally not so important, although I tend to fall into more traditional, binary preferences and women are just… easier.”

“But that… there… was a relationship, John. You told me it was a relationship…” Sherlock tried to open the lines of communication.

“An awful one.”

“It mustn’t have been. On the train you said…”

“Sherlock, I really don’t want to go over this. If you must know, we were together in medical school and he was an abusive, manipulative piece of work who lied about what he wanted." John sighed heavily. The weight of the world seemed to be on his shoulders. "And I got away from him… and I won’t ever be in that position again. Alright?”

Sherlock nodded quietly, knowing better than to push any further. They stood for a while in more silence, and John’s eyes teared up. A single tear made its way down his face. He looked at Sherlock with clear embarrassment. The realisation of what had happened finally hitting him.

“Sorry. I just haven’t seen him… since…”

“John, you’re shaking,” Sherlock said, moving slightly closer, wanting to help him now that his walls were finally coming down.

“Well, it’s bloody cold.”

“You never bring your gloves! Honestly,” Sherlock growled.

“I did!" John argued. "Left them in the bloody restaurant, didn't I?” John sighed.

Sherlock stepped forward. “Here,” he said grabbing both of John’s hands in his.

“What are you doing?” John squeaked, suddenly nervous.

“You’re bloody freezing, John!” Sherlock said angrily. “You’ll catch your death out here. You’re always telling me you don’t like the hassle of scarves and gloves and for someone who has such truly terrible fashion sense, I can't fathom why you’re being so fashion conscious about the one thing that might actually stop you dying of hypothermia. And now, you’re freezing your backside off. So let me warm you up, for heavens sake! Not everything has to mean something alright?” he snapped.

John clenched his jaw after the scolding. “Fine.” He held his hands out again and Sherlock stepped closer. 

“Here,” Sherlock said, pulling his scarf off and tying it around John’s neck before he could argue. Then he held John’s hands between his gloved ones. “Stand closer,” he directed.

John flicked him a dubious look.

“I’m not a predator, John. Why do you always behave like I’m going to…”

John shuffled closer in, stopping Sherlock's words. Their hands were now touching and resting against their chests. They had formed a circle of enclosed body heat. They stood in silence, breathing in each other’s air and finally, John’s shivering started to settle.

“Better?” Sherlock asked, his voice calmer now.

John stayed silent for a moment. “Better,” he finally admitted with a nod. “I do really like my scarf and gloves. I think they fell under the table at dinner. They were with my things when we arrived. I’m not used to having them yet. Sorry.”

He looked up at Sherlock, and in that moment, being so close, he felt sure Sherlock would see something. He would know. John really only had one secret left to hide. The secret that could have him out on the street. Sherlock thought John was worried he was a predator, when really, it was the other way around. John was terrified Sherlock would figure out what was in his head. Surely Sherlock wouldn’t appreciate his flatmate harbouring secret feelings for him? And now, here they were, entwined in a park, in the dark, alone. If John didn’t know any better, it would almost be romantic.

When Sherlock finally looked at him, their faces were so close, their eyes boring into each others. It was mesmerising. Their breath was filling the same space, the condensation leaving their mouths like elegant smoke, entwining like lovers in the narrow space between them. It felt incredible. John was definitely warm. rom the very tip of his toes to his eyeballs everything felt bloody warm now. He was on fire for this man. And now he could feel his breathing finally settling to match the pace of his flatmate’s, calming him.

If only he could read the expression on Sherlock’s face right now.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked. John sighed with irritation. “Sherlock…” But still, he looked up at his friend, allowing him the space to talk.

Sherlock went on. “When we met, you were trying to figure me out, and what to expect with me and I was… uncomfortable too.”

“I remember.”

“Well, just so it’s clear... I am gay.” Sherlock admitted. "Non-practising, though."

John scoffed at that. “I already gathered as much,” John said.

“But you said to me… Back then, you said… it was all fine,” Sherlock continued.

“Yes, so?” John frowned.

“Did you really mean it?”

“I did,” John confirmed.

“But… it hasn’t been all fine, has it? Not really. You haven’t been fine with... any of it,” Sherlock said quietly. "And I've been trying to decide if it's me... or just your own thing... or...?"

John sighed. “I want to be comfortable. With myself. I want to be. But I know I’m not. I’m sort of just drifting along, following your lead, Sherlock, if I'm honest. I go where you go. To Belgium if required. And wherever else you need. The rest... the personal stuff... it just stays over at the side in a dumpster fire not being dealt with.” John made sure to look at Sherlock. "It's not you. It's my own mess."

“This is why the case upset you? The man with the… husband?” Sherlock asked.

“He wasted it. He was able to marry that man but it wasn’t even… he was just collecting spouses like they didn’t even matter. It was so wasteful and so unfair…” John said bitterly between clenched teeth. “And some of us…” He couldn’t finish the thought, his eyes tearing up again.

Sherlock frowned. “John—?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Sherlock,” he said firmly, a sob escaping from his chest. The humiliation was palpable. “I didn’t want you to know any of that and now…”

Sherlock moved his hands away and grabbed both of John’s shoulders, forcing John to look into his eyes. "John, there's something I've been wanting to..."

“I’m tired Sherlock. Please stop,” he pleaded.

Sherlock had thought he might make his move tonight. Things had been so good and on the way home, he was going to talk to John. Their conversation had seemed comfortable lately and he really thought it might be possible to say something. But now, after this revelation. Alex. Sherlock realised that what had been going on in John's head was not at all what he thought, and now things were way more complicated.

“Let’s just go home,” John said, closing his eyes. Everything had been ruined by the appearance of Alex.

Sherlock's face softened slightly, his hands squeezed John's shoulders ever so slightly in support. “I just wanted to say, it’s all fine, John,” he said, looking deep into John's eyes. “I mean it. Whatever you need. It’s all fine.”

John nodded without a word. His heart hurt. His mind was fried. Was it really all fine? Did Sherlock know? Did he suspect? Or was he just trying to be a supportive friend right now?

“Let’s go back and get your things from the restaurant,” Sherlock said gently. “I don’t want anyone else wearing your posh accessories. They’re yours, and yours alone.” He finally let go of John but left his scarf around John’s neck, in a possessive move. His soft and Sherlock-scented scarf, which would drive John crazy all the way home.

@lisbeth-kk @helloliriels @totallysilvergirl @221beloved @safedistancefrombeingsmart 

@givemesherbet-blog-blog @naefelldaurk @a-victorian-girl @phoenix27884 @peanitbear 

@starlitkeys @lumilama @yorkiepug @talkativeanxiousturtle @kettykika78 

@kittenmadnessandtea @whatnext2020 @egregiously-chuffed @chriscalledmesweetie @catlock-holmes

@battledress @kholkate @randomquadballpun 

@sillygirlsmindpalace @johnlockficclub @rainstarboii @bheadhe

@wssh13 @br-nz @solarmama-plantsareneat @givemesherbet-blog-blog

@dw91165 @pileofstardust2106 @moonkeller @surprisinglyokay @r4venlyn  

@therealalexisamess-blog @e-b1838 @rhasima @salmonsown @tropelovingpainter 

@westandforships @fuck-off-watson-rp @notjustamumj @melodious-me @sherlocke3d

@otter-von-bismarck @silvergoldsea @calaisreno

[midnight-mourning]

Snow Frights & Snowball Fights

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 3❄️❄️

ITS STILL THE THIRD SOMEWHERE

I just keep having too much fun with these prompts gahhh, hope you enjoy!

Prompt: DCA's first christmas outside the pizzaplex, at reader's house maybe? At least a snow fight scene would be fun (I have never been in a snow fight so it's fun to read lols)

Word Count: 1825

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

"Fire extinguisher! We need the fire extinguisher!"

You cough, hand waving through the thick smoke in your kitchen, "I just, need an oven mitt. It's okay—"

"Found it!" Sun runs in frantically, trips, and faceplants on the floor beside you, as you take the burnt cookies out of the oven. 

Your smoke detector blares loudly above you, fume hood fan roaring just as loudly in your ears as it—slightly—helps to remove the smoke from your kitchen.

Once everything calms down again, namely Sun, you're able to assess the damage. 

Besides a tray of blackened husks you could once call cookies, not much at all. Sun wasn't banged up from his fall, and surprisingly neither was the fire extinguisher. Though, the emotional toll it had taken on both of you was much higher. And that was only the reactions you knew of, you can only imagine how Moon's feeling right now. 

Every holiday event or activity you'd tried to attempt with the attendants had ended sourly. From gift-wrapping, to gift-shopping, ice-skating, tree decorating, and so on and so forth. All of it had ended in complete and utter disaster.

And now, you could add cookie baking to that ever-growing list. 

You pick up one of the burnt black slabs—the result of an incorrect timer—and sigh. You were starting to feel defeated. You'd wanted this holiday season to be special, because it was their first outside the Plex. The first time you could truly share in the experience together, and so far, it'd gone horribly. 

To their credit, they'd both been great sports about it. Never actively showing disappointment or being upset when things went awry. But really, you think they were just keeping up the facade for your sake. 

Like now, for example. 

"You know, I think with a little bit of icing these might be salvageable!" Sun puts a hand on your shoulder, take the cookie from your hand. 

At that moment, it crumble into black dust, he laughs awkwardly. 

You sigh again, then laugh at the absurdity of it all. "I appreciate it, Sun. But I think if I even attempted to eat one of these I'd die instantly."

You pick up the tray, and carry it over to the trash, dumping it unceremoniously. 

"I'm sorry the cookies burnt." He says, sheepishly. "I should have paid better attention to the time."

You wave him off, and walk back over to him. Your arms wrap around his waist as you shake your head. "Nah, it's my fault, I should've known you'd get sucked into 'Rudolph'."

"It's just so interesting! Why is his nose so bright?" He asks, bending down to your level. 

You laugh, kiss him once, then lay your head against his chest. "Your curiosity never ceases to impress me. In a good way. You've always got such a, hope, despite it all."

He holds you closer, chuckling, "You're the one who taught me that, silly."

"See, you always say that, but I've yet to have any proof of it."

Quiet for a moment. 

"Moon thinks it's because you lack self-confidence."

You gasp, pulling back to look the sun-themed bot in the eye, "Rude! He was too shy to even talk to me the first three weeks I started working in the Daycare!"

"He won't admit to it but it's because he thought you were too pretty to talk to." Sun snickers. 

There's a bit of binary then, and as they bicker back and forth your gaze travels over to the window. What you see surprises you greatly. 

"Oh! It's snowing. First one of the season."

At this the binary stops. Sun whips to look outside, so fast that you almost lose your balance and have to break the hug, "Woah! Easy there."

But he's distracted, muttering a brief apology before hurrying over to the window. Once there, he presses both hands and his faceplate to the glass, just staring. 

When he doesn't say anything, you speak up, "Um, you good bud?"

"I've never seen snow in person before." His voice is soft, utterly enthralled, "It's, it's so, calm."

You walk over to stand beside him, watching as well, "Yeah. It is."

You check the forecast and whistle, "Wow, they're calling for a foot. Good thing we went to the store when we did. Won't be leaving home anytime soon."

"What?" That snaps him out of his daze, a bit of panic evident in his tone. 

You shrug, "Well, the roads will be covered, and it'll take a bit before anyone clears ours for sure. No big deal, just means I don't have to worry about work for a day or so."

He relaxes, "Oh, good. That means more time you can spend with us instead!"

"Exactly,"—you grin—"Tell you what, we'll go out in a couple hours and build a snowman or something, that'll be fun." 

There's no way this can go wrong, you tell yourself. It's just frozen water. Nope, no way. This'll be perfect. 

And so, after a few hours past, you bundle up and head outside. 

Sun of course had no need to worry about the cold, but there was the concern of water in his system, so he was dressed in a coat and scarf as well. 

It's still snowing as you exit your house, but not to the point it was uncomfortable. Just a soft, gentle snowfall. 

"Alright! Let's get to work," You bend down and start collecting snow, finding that it packs easily. Perfect, this is going exactly as planned—

You realize Sun's not standing beside you. 

Looking up, you find he's still standing in the doorway, half in, half out. Probably driving up your electricity bill while he's at it. 

But, based on the apprehension present in his body, any annoyance you might have stays buried away. 

You stop forming your snowman, only a small ball in your hand, "Is everything alright?"

"Just fine!" He calls over to you, but shrinks back inside more when a snowflake hits his face. 

You frown, and he seems to notice. 

He chuckles quietly. "Though, I suppose it's a little intimidating, as silly as that sounds."

You smile then, but inside your heart is twisting at the adorableness of the eight foot tall robot being afraid of snow. 

There was two ways you could remedy this. One being a much gentler and smoother approach than the other. 

Your brain decided on the violent option. 

On instinct, you launch the snowball in your hand at him, meaning to playfully hit his jacket. But you'd underestimated your throwing capacity. 

To your horror, it flies rapidly at the bot, landing square in the middle of his faceplate. Your eyes widen, hand coming up to your mouth. 

Immediately you're apologizing, "Oh my gosh, Sun I'm so sorry I promise I didn't mean to—"

"What. Was that."

Confusion mixes with panic, "I—a snowball? You know, like a snowball fight? But really are you okay?"

His hand raises and in one swoop, clears off his face. Then, he bends down, scoops up a pile a snow, forming a ball in his hand. 

*Poof!*

You look down, and sure enough, the remains of his snowball are on your chest. You look back up again and see he's already making another. 

You start to smile, and when he glances back to you, eyes upturned crescents, you realize that he's not upset. 

"I suggest you start gathering an arsenal, Starshine. Because I will not be holding back."

Your smile bleeds into a grin, and you instantly get to work. Before you can finish forming your return projectile, he's hitting you with another, and another. 

As it would turn out, the Daycare Attendant would be a skilled fighter when it came to snow. You didn't stand a chance.

Sun was quicker, had better aim, and better agility than you in any shape or form. By the time you called it quits, after literal hours of going back and forth, you were covered head to toe. And cold. So very cold. 

But, it was worth it. Witnessing the pure, unbridled joy he displayed as he threw volley after volley at you. Laughter near diabolical as he dominated the field over you. That was worth any amount of chill to you. 

Besides, at the end, when you bitterly admitted defeat, you'd been rewarded for your efforts, handsomely you might add. 

When attempting another throw at Sun—who was quickly getting closer—you trip, falling back into the snow. At the same time, your hit him with your weak attempt at a snowball, but he's so concerned about you it dazes him, causing him to stumble and fall as well. 

He catches himself before landing on you, hands planted on either side of your head, eyes wide. 

"Hi,"—you breathe out—"Funny seeing you here."

"Quite the coincidence."

You stare at each other for a moment. 

"Alright, I give up." You put your hands up between the two of you. "You and your freakishly good aim win."

He laughs. "Your effort was valiant, Sunbeam, but unfortunately for you, it simply wasn't enough."

You huff, but it doesn't hide your smile. 

"However, for being a noble competitor, and succeeding gracefully, you deserve a reward."

Before you can question what he means, Sun's leant down and placed his smile to your lips. Pulling away a moment later.

You nod, more to yourself. "Well that might've actually been worth it—"

A snowball is dropped onto your chest, disintegrating with little fanfare. 

You blink, then narrow your eyes up at the Attendant. "That's a dirty trick. One I won't be falling for again."

But yet, sometime later, after time to reheat and a bit of dinner, you find yourself back outside in the dark with the former naptime attendant.

You're prepared for this round though and—whether he lets you or not—you defeat him in this battle. 

Fully of adrenaline from your victory, you pull him in a half-hug and tumble to the ground together, this time however, you're the one on top. 

"Does this mean I get a kiss now?" Moon asks with a chuckle. 

You smirk, head held high, "I suppose. It's only fair, after all."

You bend your neck down, kissing him once. As you pull back, you're shocked to feel a bit of snow land on your head and neck. 

You shake your head, snow flying and make a noise, reaching out for more of the stuff to pile on Moon's faceplate. His snickering only drives your desire to get revenge, the two of you looking like idiots as you fling snow at each other while lying on the ground. 

You end up with a runny nose the next day, and a scolding from Sun, but as you sip on hot chocolate and cuddle on the couch with the—still slightly—displeased animatronic, you'd argue that it was worth it. 

Definitely worth it.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

And another done! Thank you to @deviouscrackers for the request. Finding out you've never gotten to have a snowball fight made this personal /j hope I was able to capture it for you :)

If you'd like to request, you have until 12/13 OR until all slots are filled, currently 11 of 31 are taken! See here for more details, thanks for reading!

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml

[vulpixisananimal]

[A:3 C:65]

[Alex] |Jasmine|

“You, y-you . .” [Perci drew his swords, and was looking at you, eyes full of rage.]

“I could teleport us out, but I'm not prepared.” [Merlon was back to back with Perci, and their light was already crackling.] 

[You and Odile were facing Perci, and the rest of the party faced Merlon. You grinned.] “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet you stray.”

[Siffrin let out a chuckle as Merlon shot you a dirty look.] “No need for name calling now!”

“Oh, oh there is quite a need for name calling.” [Despite his damaged appearance, Siffr-Asterion was able to smile.] “my good binary star.”

“Stop that, Stargazer!” [They snap back.] “Who raised you to be so rude.”

“And who raised you to be such a, a CRAB!!” [Mirabelle yells.]

"My!” [Odile chuckles.] “You’ve even got Mirabelle up in arms. You’ve really done it now.”

“Fine.” [Merlon tapped her foot.] “If we need to fight you, then we will. Right, Cici- Perci?”

[So they noticed it too. Perci had gone quiet. He was staring at you, teeth gritted, breathing shallow, and his hands. . . They're shaking.]

“Perci, Cici, Percival!” [Adversaries forgotten, Merlon turned and shook Perci’s shoulder.] 

“Uh. . .” [Isabeau stands at ease.] “Is everything alright?”

“Really, big guy? Asking the big bad if everything's alright?” [Nille gives him a look.]

“What! It's only poli-”

(Do it again.)

[Wh- what was-(WHAM WHAM WHAM!!)-BLINDING! What is--]

(I-I'm sorry I'm sorry I-I-I won't WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM!!!)

[You grip your head and stumble back into the table. S-stars those aren't, your thoughts, they're, ah, how are you. . ACK--]

[Odile glances at you.] “Headache?”

“No.” [You shake-(No use lying. Again.)-your head Nille said you could now, but you hadn't until, now.] “I think I'm, hearing his thoughts.”

“Cici it's not real, it's not real you're okay. You're here with me, listen to me.” [Merlon puts a hand on his.]

(Please, no, more-)

[Perci snaps back, gasping and stumbling back. (Not real, not real, not real not real not real.)] “. . . I'm fine!”

“You are not!!” [Merlon keeps a hand on his as they turn to the other half of the group.] “I will transport us out of here-”

“NO! No.” [Perci slipped the mask of confidence back on and leaned back, whispering to Merlon.]

“. . . . . . . . . Weren't we gonna fight?” [Bonnie asks, annoyed.]

“Give them a second, Bonnie.” [Odile huffed.] “I'm sure the conversation is very important.”

[The two stopped whispering and Perci turned back to you, smiling.] “A bonded couple's argument, I'm sure you understand.”

“D-do you need a second? Or are we good to fight now.” [Mirabelle asks.]

“No no no! I’m alright now. Sorry about that.” [Perci chuckled, clearly covering for a slipped mask.] “Please, continue.”

“Well now that you're back to your senses. Ahem.” [You gesture dramatically to Asterion.] “Mind repeating yourself for the class?”

[Aster laughed, face softening.] “Oh I was just commenting on these binary stars!”

[Perci made a face.] “Why do I feel so. . . Attacked?”

“I believe it’s an islander insult, Cici.” [Merlon huffed and turned back.] “And it is, unfortunately, devastating.”

[The Monets glanced at each other, then both took a combat stance, Perci glared at you.] “Let’s just get this over with.”

[Odile pushes up her glasses. Odile analyzed the enemy!] “Percival Monet. Scissors craft. A highly advanced mind craft user, he’s reading your thoughts as I speak. Assume any plan of attack you have, he already knows about it. And for expressions sake don’t let him touch you!”

[You gave Odile a smug look and adjusted your glasses. You studied the enemy!] “Merlon Monet. Paper craft. Somehow, they have found a way to weaponize wish craft. Don’t take them lightly, or you’ll end up dead. She does have one weakness, eventually the wish craft will wear her out, and they’ll pass out.”

[You’re not fully sure how you remember all that, but right now it didn’t matter. Perci looks back to you, then his frown turns back into a smile.] “You want to fight so bad? Fine. We’ll fight!”

[In a smooth motion reminiscent of a dance, the Monets swapped places. Stepping to each other's left, Merlon turned to you and extended a wave of dangerous craft energy, while Perci rushed at the rest of the group.]

[You dived into Odile, both of you hitting the floor as the crackling energy passed above you. In a quick response, Odile held out a hand for [Scissors III]. Despite being defended by that light, Merlon stumbled back just a bit.]

[You get up off Odile and hold out your own paper sign. [Bramble Ramble!] And in a moment whisper rose brambles wrapped over the battlefield, that should slow them down.]

“Paper?” [Odile stands back up.] “You're not a paper type.”

“But I know paper moves.” [You reply, staring Merlon down.] “Why so surprised?”

[Merlon chuckles. Odile glances at her.] “Finding something funny, are we?”

“Oh yes, very funny.” [They waved a hand.] “I won’t spoil it.”

“How polite.” [Odile huffs, extending her sign. [Paper III]] 

[Whatever hand waving Merlon did, their shields of light were now much stronger as Odile’s attack did almost nothing. You grumbled and rushed in, pen-knife in hand. You strike, only to stop an inch away from Merlon's body, that light shielding them.]

“Stars. . !”

“Are you quite done yet?” [She reached forward and flicked your head with a finger. With a spark of light, you flew back, crashing into the table.]

[Starsdammit, you’re way underleveled. You struggle to stand as Odile gets in front of you.] “I believe we’ve never properly met each other, Merlon.”

“No, we have not.” [They hesitantly bow.] “Merlon Monet, as you very well know.”

“Odile.” [She bows back.] “No last name necessary. Now that we’re properly acquainted I can ask just how you’re able to use wishes in combat like you do.”

“Oh you know I can’t just pass out such secrets, Miss Odile.” [She puts a hand to their chin.] “But, let’s just say I’ve had many, many years of practice.”

“Is that so?” [Odile glances back as you finally stand again.] “So it’s no different from the wishes than any other person could do?”

“The only theoretical barrier is one's knowledge and willpower, Madame.” [She holds her hand out to the side.] “I’ve met none who have been able to match me, Madame, and it’s very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. So don’t try.”

“Oh trust me, I don’t plan to.” [Odile held out a hand, and you heard what could only be described as a thunderclap. Odile use [Craft Break Δ!!!]]

“How-!” [Merlon stumbled back, that light dissipating for a moment. You take the chance, and rush in again, taking a stab with your pen. You connect!!]

[Merlon stumbles back, clutching their side.] “You, how did-”

[They’re cut off by Mirabelles scream from across the room.]

“HE’S WHAT?!?”

<<<

(Siffrin) {Mal Du Pays} <Null> |Asterion| [Loop] [(Saffron)]

|Perci rushed right at you, a wild smile on his face that told you all you needed to know about this fight. You raise the katana in both hands to block his attack. Mirabelle lunges from the side but Perci twists one of his swords to block her, too. Now locked between two swords, Nille came rushing with her hammer.|

|He jumped back at the last second, and all three weapons struck thin air. As soon as Perci landed, he ducked just in time to avoid Isabeaus fist on the back of his head. He spun and slashed at him back. Before dancing back and kicking you in the gut as you went to strike him in the back.|

|Stars. . .|

“You’re a nimble crab aren’tcha!” |Nille yells.| “They weren’t kidding about knowing what we’re about to do.”

“Of course, Pétronille.” |Perci chuckled.| “I’m an expert, after all.”

“Don’t talk to him, Nille!” |Mira yells, jumping in to strike.| “He’ll just get under your skin!”

“Oh my!!” |He blocked the attack and swiped back.| “Don’t worry, I’ll keep Nilles tales of the seas a secret~”

“Shut your mouth!!” |Nille ran in again to smash him down, only for Perci to sidestep her attack and strike her in the gut, thankfully, with the flat of his blade.|

{Tag out. In a swift motion you switch from sword to dagger and jump in, Perci raised his sword to block. You were locked, blade to blade, and you saw his expression change from smug, to confused, then to pained as you punched him in the stomach.}

{He stumbled back.} “. . . Hah, HAH! You tamed your sadness?”

“Tamed?!?” {Isabeau steps to your side.} “It’s not some wild animal, Perci!”

“Oh really?” {He grinned. Looking at you.} “By all metrics, it is! And you trust it? Enough to share blood with it?”

{Isa glances at you. You nod, and he shows his palm, a faint scar on it that is almost imperceptible.} “I’d trust it with my life, Perci! That’s why we’re gonna beat you!”

“Cute.” {Perci smiles, and takes off a glove, showing his own palm with a similar scar.} “I could say the same.”

{In a twist, Perci extended his scissors sign, and slashes of lightless ink shot at you and Isabeau. You block, yet the craft passes right through you.}

{A blink later, Perci was swinging at you. You go to block it, and the swing disappears. Only for you to feel a sting in your leg.}

“MAL!!” {Mirabelle rushes to your side, and Nille passes you to strike at thin air. Then suddenly Perci is at your side! And then is gone, then, Isabeau is holding his head, kneeling. Oh. You shake your head.}

{As Mirabelle uses her healing craft, you point to your head then hands together, then wave over your eyes. “A trick, a veil over the eyes. Illusion.”}

“You’re seeing things?” {She asks, you nod.} “Got it, can you switch out?”

{You sigh, but nod. Some protector you’ve been, perhaps it’s not in your nature. You close your eye.}

|After a brief headache, you’re back. O-oh. . It’s too hectic to focus properly, or switch easily without pain. Stars, you’re only mostly sure you are. . . You. Your eye snaps open to see Nille barely holding Perci off, and Mirabelle tending to Isabeau. You switch dagger for sword and run in again.|

|Perci jumps back from your swing. You hold out a fist.| “I will not let you win!! |You used [Cries of the Lost!] Tears drip from your fist, then fly at Perci. He deflects some, but others catch his legs, taking him to a knee.|

|And that was the golden moment for the frying pan wielding savior to run in and smash Perci in the head. He didn’t even see Bonnie coming, stumbling back and holding his neck, and watching the kid run back behind Nille.|

“. . . Haa, you’re all quite tricky, you know.” |He stands up, relaxed.| “For one I wouldn’t think being plural would be so helpful in the middle of a fight!”

|You don’t reply, don’t talk to him. He looks at you, and smiles.| “Cat got your tongue? Or do you not like someone poking in your head.”

“STOP TALKING CRABFACE!!!!” |Bonnie was barely holding themself back from attacking him again.|

|Perci glanced at them, then you.| “. . . Why are we even fighting, anyways.”

“Because you're trying to take over our minds!!” |Mirabelle rebuked, having helped Isabeau recover.| “We can stop fighting, j-just as long as you stop using mind craft!!”

“A chance to change my ways?” |He laughed, sheathing a sword and shaking his head.| “So is that the same offer you gave your once-enemy now-friend?”

“Ramos?” |She huffed.| “They only did the things they did because of you!!”

“Oh no no!! I don't mean Ramos.” |He smiles.| “I'm talking about Asterion here! Unless. . .”

|Your eye goes wide.|

“Unless you don't know who he is.”

|You rush at him, metal clashing against metal, he blocks and strikes back. You rush again, and with one hand he keeps you at bay.|

“Oh? Why so aggressive!! Did I hit a nerve?” |He pushes you back.| “After all, I may tell half-truths, but you're the one stabbing them all in the back!!”

|You hear Mirabelle behind you.| “. . . A-asterion? What does he-”

|No no no NO NO!! You rush again. You need to shut him up, shut him up or, o-or do something!! You swing, but he effortlessly sidesteps you, and hits you with the hilt of his sword. You collapse to all fours.|

“Aster!!” |Isabeau runs to get to you, but Perci cuts him off.| “Leave him alone!”

“And why would I do that?” |He twirled his sword.| “I've always wanted to commit regicide.”

“Wha. . ?” |Isa steps back.|

“R-regicide?!?” |Mirabelle hesitates.|

“Crab you mean?!?” |Nille grips her hammer tighter.|

“. . .” |And, Bonnie. They're just, looking at you.|

“Why, exactly what you think I do~” |He looks back at you, no nononononononononono--|

|You're shaking, you're shaking, you can't breathe.| “P-please, no-”

 “Shall I tell them for you, your majesty?”

|You're frozen to the spot.|

“HE'S WHAT?!?" |Mirabelle screams.|

“LIKE CHANGE HE IS!!” |Nille yells and runs at Perci.|

“Oh trust me, he is.” |He dodges.| “I can see it all over your face, you know it's true.”

“SHUT UP!!” 

“Asterion. . ?” |Isabeau is looking at you. You're crawling away, slowly. You can’t, you, you can’t look at him, you can’t look at any of them, you feel, pale, you feel cold and, numb. Your breathing stopped, you can’t focus you can’t, c-cant-|

|You grip your hair, close your eye, you can’t can’tcan’tcan’tloopbacloopbackloopback-|

“Well I don’t care if he is!!” |Mirabelle joined Nille on the offensive, stabbing relentlessly at the historian.| “If he really is the King, he’s already proven to us multiple times that he’s changed!!”

“Mirabelle’s right.” |Isabeau sounded like he was right next to you. Opening an eye, he is. He’s holding a hand out to you. You took it.| “When I first met him he didn’t even know who he was or what to do. So we’ll deal with that later. AFTER we deal with YOU!!”

“Interesting.” |There’s a pause in the fight, Perci breathing faster.| “. . . And what do you think? Boniface?”

|Glancing over, Bonnie’s. . . Still, looking at you.|

“Tell me, Bonnie, why does your mind feel blank?” |Perci chuckles.| “Why is it that when puppeting Ramos, I mistook you for the islander I was looking for?” 

“. . Bonnie. . ?” |Nilles voice. A moment later, she was crouched down in front of their sibling.| “Bonnie what’s he talking about? What’s-”

“SHUTTUP!! GO AWAY!!!” |Bonnie yelled, pushing Nille away and stepping back.| “YOU DON’T KNOW ME YOU CRAB!!!”

“B-BONNIE?!?!?” |Nille was taken aback, Bonnie was crying.| 

“Interesting! Tell me, Bonnie, did you make a little wish?” Perci was practically gloating.

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!!” Bonnie clamped their hands over their ears. “I DID NOT!!!”

“Oh! You clearly did.” His smile was venomous. The fighting from the other half of the room was making its way over to yours. “And if I had to guess the wish, it’s something to do with. . . memory~?”

“N-NO!! NO!! SHUT UP!!!”

“Odile is very observant, you know, and thus now I know. It was only a matter of time before she told everyone what she found-”

“NOTHING IT’S NOTHING IT’S NOTHING!!!!!” 

“B-bonbon, Bonnie, Boniface please.” [(The Carpenter crouched down in front of the Kid.)] “It’s, listen whatever it was it’s okay I just-”

“SHUT UP!!!!” [(They’re crying. You cling tighter to the Fighter, eye wide.)] “JUST CRABBING SHUT UP!!!! I JUST WANTED TO BE HELPFUL!!!”

[(The scholar laughed. You looked at him.)] “That’s no way to talk to someone trying to help you! Here, I’ll say it for you”

“NO-”

“You remember. Don’t you.” [(He chuckled.)] “You remember all the times your traveler has looped back.”

[(The Kids head snapped to attention, they’re crying and can’t stop. Their bottom lip is trembling. The Carpenter gets closer.)] “Bonnie. . .”

“E-every. .” [(The Housemaiden was keeping the Scholar at a distance.)] “Every, one?”

“That’s something to ask them.”

“Okay! That’s enough!” [(You bolt from The Fighters arms, smiling to yourself as you lunge at the Scholar, no care for your own health. He blocks, but you’re relentless.)]

[(Eventually, he pushes you away from him.)] “Ah! That’s our cue to leave. Mimi~!”

[(You hear a snap, and move back just in time to avoid the explosion at your feet that somehow, leaves the ground without a scratch!)]

[(The Sage joins The Scholar, both near the exit. The Sage smiled.)] “Bravo, Cici.”

“I told you I’d get us an exit, Mimi.” [(He chuckled.)] “Saviors! I bid you all adieu, don’t try to follow, I’ve spoiled two secrets tonight, pray that I don’t spoil a third.”

[(He backs up towards the exit, you see The Trainee start to chase him before The Researcher catches their shirt. The Housemaiden is at your side. You can see she wants to chase as well. You stand, and go to chase, but another grabs your cloak before you do.)]

“JUST GET OUTTA HERE YOU, Y-YOU CRAB!!!” [(The Kid yells.)]

[(The Scholar bows, and exits, the Sage pauses a second, looking at you before they follow.)] “. . . Perhaps that’s something you can learn from Perci and I, saviors; communication.” 

[(They leave, and the doors slam shut.)]

[(. . . . . . You, breathe out.)]

[Mirabelle is now level- oh you’re not doing all that. You shake your head, and fall back onto the ground.]

“Stars above. . .” [You close your eye and breathe. Bonnie’s crying, Nille is worried, everyone’s wounded, and Ramos is. . . Stars. . .]

“A-asterion?” [You hear Mirabelle crouch down next to you.] “Are you-”

“Wrong headmate, Housemaiden~ Try again.” [You giggle, exhausted.]

“O-oh! Loop are, you alright? I-I’m guessing you, just switched in?”

“Correct. . .” [You’re still breathing heavily.] “I think the other three all got a bit. . .”

“Overwhelmed?” [Isabeaus voice. You open your eye a crack, he’s smiling down at you.] “I wouldn’t blame them.”

“I can see the battle replaying in my head.” [You laugh a little.] “Overwhelmed I think is an understatement.”

“Hey!” [Ramos- hmm, voice was off. You sit up.] “Let’s head home everyone. Rest up, deal with everything later. Alright?”

[There’s general agreement around the room. Mirabelle and Isabeau both help you up. Nille was carrying the crying Bonnie, and Odile and. . . “Ramos” led the charge home.]

[As she passes you, her younger siblings face buried into her shoulder, Nille gives you a look.]

[Stars. . .]

[shoyastars]

My 100th Post! 🥳

Ok long story short, I couldn’t get the image of this outta my head!

Soooooo

Ray x GN/ Reader

The proposal of a lifetime.

Yes its something other than my oc x ray, not to mention you guys are probably tired of it by now hehe!

Anyways…

Let’s begin.

————————————————————————————————————————

Ray was always protective of your love and always patient as he could with you, when you were ready to love again, especially after double vision, you weren’t entirely sure what you were getting yourself into. However… one day by someone mysterious, the NAHA’s wrong doings were brought to the public eye and somehow Ray escaped the binds of it all, and the NAHA had to have a rewritten system. Ray got the news that he would only be needed if truly necessary, which was when aliens attacked, it did still annoy him but it was a bit fair due to some of the hero’s still a bit inexperienced with the said situations. However, he was able to not have a chains attached or be bothered, due to the new staff knowing his power, he could possibly destroy everything if they were to try anything. Ray was not free from the governments eyes but was able to have a good once of freedom he’s never had before. He mostly spent it with you. You were his tie to humanity, and if you weren’t here at all he would’ve destroyed humanity at this point…. But he never did. He felt more human more sane, all thanks to you. As he said to you before, you were his binary star.

Soon going on dates without worry and able to spend more time with you as days pass, he realized he wanted more. More than just a simple title as a lover. He had it planned out, a nice picnic somewhere nobody else would interfere and no one to ruin the mood, he wore something special for the occasion even texting you to put on something nice. He flew you out because he was too excited to simply drive. When you both landed you were more skeptical than ever, first the blindfold, then him flying? Something was definitely up with him.

“Ray, what are you planning?”

He let out a soft chuckle as he let you down carefully.

“Wait and see, I picked out a perfect spot just for us.”

He lead you by taking your hands and guiding you. When you both stopped you heard him go behind you and take off your blindfold, due to the darkness your eyes had to adjust to the sunlight a bit.

“Well?”

When you’re eye’s focused, you saw a beautiful site, a lakeside picnic. You were a bit speechless.

“I- I don’t know what to say…”

He walked in front of you and gave you a passionate kiss.

“No need, you’re face expression says it all star.”

“But… why all the way out here?”

You crossed your arms and smiled a bit you knew exactly by now if it’s something worth Ray dressing formally for then he has something up his sleeve.

He smiled and let out a soft laugh.

“I just can’t hide anything from you now a day can I?”

He put his hands in his pockets.

“What If I wanted to enjoy the view?”

You scoffed and turned a bit as you weren’t believing that.

“Hmph! And I thought we agreed not to hide things from each other again.”

Ray saw his chance and took it. He took a deep breath, scared out of his mind.

You were wondering why he was so quiet now.

“Ray?”

“Maybe if you turn around it would be more clear.”

“What?”

When you did, you were met with him on one knee. He took out a small box, you couldn’t believe your eyes. Was this all truly happening or was it all just a dream?

“Star… you’ve changed my life, in ways I’ve never thought it could, depending on it being good or bad for me. You were most important. You made me realize I could be more than what I thought I was.”

Ray opened up the box to reveal a beautiful ring, it wasn’t too flashy or anything outrageous. Your emotions were pouring over at this point, your hands over your mouth, tears practically in your eyes, it was happening. You weren’t dreaming. It was real.

“Would you… like to fulfill a greater purpose for us?”

You couldn’t help but kneel to the ground on both knees, you were so happy, you were questioning why you were crying. Was it the fact you didn’t think you’d find someone like Ray to begin with? Or we’re you so sure you’re villain career would’ve ruined any chance for you to have a happy married life?

Ray starts to worry, his hand shaking as he was going to check on you.

“Star, are you-“

Without warning you hugged him along with a passionate kiss on the lips, Ray couldn’t help but feel both relief and joy. The little box still in hand as he wrapped his arms around you as you kissed, when you pulled away you were still crying tears of happiness laughing as you knew you weren’t dreaming at all, it was all real, he was real, this was real.

“I’m assuming that’s a yes?”

“Yeah haha!”

He took the ring and put it on your ring finger, you couldn’t help but laugh as you saw it fit perfectly, weeeelll actually it was a bit loose but that’s a problem for later.

“Wait… I thought we couldn’t…. Wouldn’t the NAHA?”

“The new head said hero’s personal lives should remain personal. And they knew if they were to try anything on me I’d practically have to deal with them personally.”

“Personally? Wow Ray never thought you’d be that intimidating.”

He shrugs.

“They just realized how much of a problem it would be if they were to make an enemy of me I guess.”

You’d playfully nudge him, causing him to laugh a bit.

At that moment he had so much love for you he wasn’t even worried about what could possibly come next. He knew exactly what he wanted, a future with you. You were his star, and he was willing to take a chance with you, might as well go all the way.

“Now come on, it’s a picnic for a reason, I bet you made the food yourself since this was oh so secret.”

You move over to the blanket set out of you two of you.

Ray smiled as he then goes to join you, enjoying the rest of the day together.

In a world he was brought in, he thought nothing was worth saving, till he saw you petting that cat.

He knew there would be something about you, knowing something about you was bound to change something within him he didn’t know needed to be changed. Or felt….

He felt love

He felt beloved

He felt…. Human.

He was simply… Ray

He forgot he was Binary Star that day.

He was ready for anything now more than ever.

You were ready more than ever to.

Come at you and him, you were ready for it.

Ready to face the world.

Together.

————————————————————————————————————————

The end

————————————————————————————————————————

Please be sure to know this was inspired off of @smxhyphy

Due to the picture!

Without this picture This beautiful scenario would of probably never existed 😩

I hope you all enjoyed! Be sure to support the artist of the commission!

And as always if you want to give me criticism for my writing be sure to put it in the comments!

✨💗Bye!💗✨

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER TWELVE

Welcome to Jurassic Park I mean, the Clamouring Cretaceous Claypits! Enjoy the scenery while it lasts and take photos of the dinos that cross your path! Be mindful of the carnivores, but don't worry! They only want to play! This is my game. My world. I will tear it apart to make it my own again.

A/N: special thanks to @paper-fowl for the track!

WARNING: digital body horror, peril, angst

~~~

Caine slowly hovered around the dark prison cell. The glow of the gold binary illuminated him from below. Light blue chains of code held out to the unseen walls, binding the prisoner in place. "Long time no see, Abel. Nice to see you're still holding out. Would hate for abstraction to take you away from your punishment too early."

Abel didn't respond. Didn't even move. His casual work office attire hung loosely from his tired body. Long, curled black hair hung over his face as he stared at the floor. A short unkept beard obscured the lower half of his face.

Caine visually inspected each part of the cell as he made his way around. "You look just as awful as the day I threw you in here. Tell me, so you still feel hunger? Thirst? Exhaustion? Everything a human body craves?" He used the head of his cane to lift Abel's chin. Thick curtains of hair covered Abel's face, but Caine could see his eyes cracked open. Piercing blue stared weakly back at him.

Caine tilted his head in mocking curiosity. "To be so close to death, and yet it will never come. One would think you should be pitied."

Caine turned swiftly, dropping Abel's head. The coded chains rattled lightly from the movement. He left the hidden cell and looked at Abel one last time before reactivating the firewall. "Captivum aeternum." Heatless fire closed around Abel and he was hidden from sight once again, beyond the void.

Abel lifted his head slightly as the light from the void beyond the fire faded. He glared at Caine's silhouette, blue static sparking in his iris. His body went limp as the static arced from his eyes and went through the cell floor.

~

Pomni sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the mystic galaxy rose. She slowly rotated it in her hand, the light butterfly fluttering around her wrist. Tears welled in her eyes. She was so overwhelmed by everything. She didn't know what to do, who to trust, so she cried. She was so lost in her emotions, she didn't even register the knock at her door.

Ragatha peeked inside. "Hey, sorry for intruding. It's just, we're worried about you, Pomni. Is it okay if I come in?"

Pomni didn't have the energy to answer. She let her tears drip onto the rose in her hand. Ragatha sat next to Pomni and put an arm around her. "Today was a lot. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Pomni sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "It's more than that. So much more."

"Is it about us pressuring you to get answers out of Caine? We're desperate, but if this is too much, I understand-"

"Things are getting complicated." Pomni sighed, trying to stop crying. "Ragatha, does the name Abel mean anything to you?"

Ragatha thought for a moment. "No, why?"

"This person? Entity? Ghost? By that name has been talking to me. He says he can fix the exit. All I have to do is keep Caine distracted, but...I don't know if I should trust him. He seems a bit...unstable."

"A ghost is telling you he can get us out?"

"I know, it sounds crazy, but he's real. He's the one that been causing the crazy glitches. He was the reason the beast went berserk on the Fairy track. He said things will get worse because he's getting close to the mainframe, whatever that means."

"Pomni, I want to leave as much as the next person, but that does sound crazy. Have you told Caine?"

"No. I don't know if I can trust him either. He controls everything. What's to stop him from lying to gain my favor. To think I might be falling for it..." Pomni dropped the rose. "And now it turns out he has a twin brother of sorts??? Some [%$!#]head biker that makes the races even harder?? Like, WHY??"

Ragatha smiled sympathetically. "Caine's gone to some pretty strange lengths to keep us entertained. He's always seemed genuinely remorseful when someone abstracted, even if he kept his distance." She picked up the rose. "He's more human than I've ever thought possible, that's for sure."

"Enough to have real feelings for..?" Pomni mumbled.

"Maybe."

"Do you think he'd really let us go if the exit was fixed?"

Ragatha hesitated. "...I don't know."

"That's what scares me." Pomni held herself and leaned on Ragatha's shoulder.

Ragatha held the rose in from of Pomni as she comfortingly squeezed her shoulder. "I dont know much, but I don't think falling in love is a bad thing. If it helps, I know for a fact that he's never done this before."

Pomni stared at the beautiful rose. The voice in her head telling her it was all a sham to make her want to stay was getting quieter, overridden by her heart starting to crave his interaction. The very thought of him made her feel butterflies. "It's like Jax said...we either succum to the madness or get broken by it. I suppose I'm choosing the former." She scoffed at herself.

Ragatha sighed, thinking of her casual relationship with Loo. Another AI. "Whatever helps you cope."

"Thank you, Ragatha."

Ragatha smiled and leaned her head on Pomni's. "Anytime."

~

The next day, everyone sat silently in the lounge while waiting for Caine. No one ate, the air was too tense. Bubble chef hovered over the table, confused as to why they had no food requests.

"I'm fine. Please, stop staring." Pomni said from behind her hands as she leaned on her knees.

"Are you sure your ready to race?" Gummigoo asked.

"As long as nothing weird happens, I'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure weird things happen no matter what." Gangle commented.

Caine popped in. "Hello, my bouncy baby beans! I hope you're ready to have a good race, because I've revamped an old favorite for today! Some our long term racers may remember a certain Clamoring Cretaceous Claypits??"

"Oh, yeah." Kinger spoke up. "That one was fun. We saw giant insects."

"That you did!" Caine twirled his cane. "I've improved the graphics and AI of the roaming dinosaurs so it's more immersive than ever before! The objective is the same: take photos of ever dino you see! They will be judged based on species and pose, giving you bonus points to potentially move you up a place in the ranking."

"How do we take pictures if we're driving?"

"I'm glad you asked, Pomni!" Caine snapped his fingers. Strange goggles fit over everyone's face. "Just blink, and a photo is taken! Don't worry, it only activates when the race starts. Who's ready to go back in time!?"

Nobody said anything or got up.

"Oof, tough crowd today." Caine tugged his collar. "Come on, everyone! Let's get those engines warmed up!"

The racers got up and filed out of the garage. Outside was a vast grassland than led off into a clay colored crater. Looking around they saw distant thick forests and a lake. The track didn't have as many crazy loops or jumps, as the focus was on the objective of taking photos. The racers karts were lined up at the start and ready to go, the stands were full of the cheering NPCs. Bubble waited at the start with the light.

Gangle timidly approached Caine. "There won't be any scary dinosaurs, will there?"

"I can assure you, the track is completely safe. Spared no expense on keeping the asset AI on it's set directive. Some of them will be more playful that others. This is like an interactive safari, but with dinos. It'll be fun!" Caine reassured.

Gangle nodded with a smile and went to her kart.

Kinger tried to adjust his goggles on his lopsided eyes but he could only cover one at a time. "...this is fine."

Zooble also has a hard time with their goggles fitting on their asymmetrical head. "This is stupid." She grumbled.

Jax rapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. "Just take photos. How boring. The least he could do is make them try to eat us or something."

Caine could feel beads of nervous sweat on his top jaw. The disaster that was yesterday's race had clearly affected everyone's energy. Today's wasn't anything too complex or crazy. He hoped it would help his racers feel more accomplished again. Before starting his race announcements, he went to Pomni.

"I wanted to apologize." Caine removed his hat, hovering at Pomni's eye level. "You worked so hard to help me with the Fairylight Forest, only for it to go off the rails. You didn't even get to finish the race properly. You had to rely on SETH to get you across the finish line. Normally, I would commend a racer for doing so well as to trigger the new challenge, but honestly, he really isn't necessary. The tracks have been acting weird anough as it is without a new player in the mix. Maybe I have too many racers. The max has always been eight, but that was a long time ago and-"

"Easy..." Pomni said calmly. "Don't worry about the whole Fairylight thing. We tried something new and it didn't work. That doesn't mean it's your fault."

"But it does. I'm supposed to keep all of this running as smoothly as possible. Anything that goes wrong falls on me as Racemaster. Which is why I integrated the newer code in with some of more active dinos. To help salvage the experience that the Fairlyight Forest was supposed to be. I promise to make it up to you, Pomni."

"There's really nothing to make up for, but if you're offering...maybe another date?" She asked tentatively. She wasn't sure why she was still going a long with this but she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Why not?" Caine chuckled. "But something that doesn't involve tracks or karts or racing at all. Something just for you and me. Would you like that?"

Pomni searched Caine's eyes. If he held another motive, he hid it well. "Yeah...I would." Pomni smiled.

"Wonderful." Caine smiled back.

"I, uh, really like that flower you gave me."

Caine swooned. "I'd give you a thousand if I thought the game engine could handle it."

Pomni looked away shyly. "Maybe you can give me another when I win this race."

Caine brightened. "That's what I'm talking about! Go out there and win this, Pomni!" He lowered his tone. "And when you do, I'll have you swimming in roses."

Pomni ran off to her kart before her fluster got the better of her.

Caine couldn't stop smiling through his announcements. "Prepare yourselves for a race 66 million years in the making! Run with the troodons! Fly with the pterosaurs! Weave between the massive legs of the long-necked sauropods! Keep an eye out for secrets and WHATEVER YOU DO: don't get caught by the carnotaurus! RACERS! START! YOUR! ENGINES!!"

The karts came to life and the countdown began.

First light

Pomni adjusted her goggles. She heard a click and a high pitch whirr as she blinked. The camera was active.

Second light

She looked around for signs of Abel. No blue static or glitches to speak of.

Third light

One last look at Caine. He was staring again. Her heart fluttered from his attention and she resigned to it. It was getting harder to deny what she felt when he looked at her that way.

GREEN!!

Pomni's head wasn't in the game and she had a rough start but managed to keep up with the rear of the pack. They started with a wide run around a lake with dinosaurs of all sizes roaming around. It was nothing short of majestic. Caine's touch ups on the dinosaurs made them look lifelike. A massive, earth shaking dinosaur with legs the size of large tree trunks slowly meandered over the track, forcing the racers to drive underneath it. Pomni blinked at every neat dino she saw, not worrying about ranking or items. This was nice.

The grasslands became wooded, shrouding the racers but not plunging them into darkness. Gummigoo was nearly knocked off his bike in surprise when a medium sized dinosaur jumped out at him and ran along with him. The dino was thin and fast on two legs, keeping up with the karts no problem. It looked at Gummigoo, seemed to think for a moment, then moved on to another racer. It ran with Zooble then made a chirping noise. Suddenly, several of these fast dinos appeared from the trees, moving with the racers like a herded unit. They swarmed Zooble, snagging an item and disappeared as fast as they came.

Pomni got several pictures, laughing at the cute track interaction and Zooble's frustration. To add insult to injury, she got the next item before Zooble could.

~

Caine laughed. "Looks like those troublesome troodons found what they wanted! Watch your items, racers! Ragatha has the lead but we'll see for how long! Pomni is moving up and so is Gummigoo! Come on, Kinger! You can keep up! You've done this track before!"

~

Jax got an item that was relatively rare after the top hats and purple shells. A clown horn. He lifted it up in the air, surrounded by other racers. "Let's get this party started!" He squeezed the horn and it created a deafening sound that crippled the others. He sped off ahead, leaving the woods to were the track was surrounded by tall grass.

Pomni thought her ears would bleed, she was right next to Jax when he set off the horn. She claimed an item, hit a boost and rocketed after Jax. Ragatha and Gummigoo right behind her.

Kinger turned hard left, leaving the main track. However, instead of being wrangled by a bunch of bubbles, he kept going. He had found a shortcut. Gangle and Zooble followed. They weaved in between trees, following Kinger over rough wooded terrain to a clearing. The side path track circled a lone brick building. A sign out front said "visitor center".

~

"And the track secret has been found!" Caine proudly announced. "Our veteran racer has found the visitor center, who's photograph is worth the most amount of bonus points! Get those snapshots! But watch out for the residents."

~

Kinger took a photo and gave Gangle and Zooble a thumbs up. Gangle waved appreciatively but then screamed as something large jumped onto the track in front of her. She swerved around the utahraptor as it snapped it's jaws at her tires. "AAAAH KINGER!! WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THE RAPTORS!?"

"I forgot they were over here." Kinger shrugged. He spun out as another raptor pounced his kart, digging it's massive hook claws into the hood.

Zooble took out a popper and expertly avoided an attack. "You got the photo!? GO!!" She threw the popper and it exploded right in the middle of the small group of dinos. They screeched and dispersed, opening the track for the racers to flee.

The three zoomed off, the raptors in hot pursuit. They left the clearing and drove single file through the thick brush. Zooble was in front, she didn't know where so was going or where this side track was leading to, but she was focused on leading Gangle away from the raptors.

~

Pomni, Ragatha, Jax, and Gummigoo all aggressively vide for first as the track wound through the tall grass. As Ragatha was about to throw a shell, a roar to her right. A massive bibedal dino rushed out of the grass and charged the racers. Ragatha screamed and threw her shell at it. The shell bounced off the dino's nose with a hollow THUNK. It didn't have any effect.

Zooble, Gangle and Kinger all came bursting out onto the scene from the shortcut. The raptors long gone, but now they had a much bigger problem with a lot more teeth.

~

"There he is!" Caine excitedly announced. "The big bad carnotaurus has found our leaders and will hold back the slowest racer! Drive like your rank depends on it!" Caine double checked every POV of the track. So far, so good. No glitches. No unusual AI behavior.

Caine sighs and leans against the control panel. "Bubble, do you still feel yourself? Any more memory gaps?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, boss." Bubble hovered next to Caine, usual blank-eyed grin on their face.

"Nevermind." Caine watched the carnotaurus chase and snap at Jax. At least he seemed to be having fun. "Almost to he crater. That was Kinger's favorite, once upon a time."

"He did like driving on the walls, boss."

"Maybe I'm too hopeful, but I really need this to go well. Everyone is on edge and I'm...heh, I'm loosing my mind. I checked absolutely everything. There is no reason things should be out of place. None." Caine tapped his fingers against the control panel.

"Relax, boss. You worry too much. You're still in control."

"Yeah... I am. Everything is under control. Everything is fine." Caine watched Pomni battle Gummigoo for second as the track narrowed to the drop into the spiral down the giant crater. "But I don't FEEL fine."

~

The track down the crater walls was at a horribly steep angle. They were practically driving sideways to the bottom. Flying reptiles swooped and circled around the crater. Pomni used a shell to spin out Jax and steal first. She hit the boost and the bottom and rocketed into the underground tunnel that made the steep climb back up to the surface.

The victory of the first lap was Pomni's. She started the second lap through the grassland again, taking pictures of all the cool dinosaurs when suddenly, the sun vanished. It didn't dim or set. It just stopped existing. There was no moon, no stars, and the more natural look of the track made it hard to see. Her kart headlights illuminated as much ahead of her about as well as high powered flashlights.

"What the [%$!#]?"

~

Caine snapped. Then snapped again. Nothing changed. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO GO WRONG!! I AM SO SICK OF THESE GLITCHES!! Um- I can fix this. The track needs lights at the very least." He snapped and small lights lined the edge of the track so the racers could at least see what was ahead. "Okay, that still works. Bubble, I need to step away. I need to figure out where the stupid sun went. Keep the racers calm. Just let them keep going. Nothing else has changed. I think. I'll have things fixed in a moment." He teleported away.

Bubble hovered up to the POV control panel. "...that button looks tasty."

~

The racers went forward nearly blind. Large herbivores stayed on their designated paths to cross the track. Everyone was swerving last second reactions to avoid collision.

Zooble punched her radio. "CAINE!! CAINE, WHAT THE [%$!#] IS GOING ON!? WHY ARE WE DRIVING IN THE DARK!?"

"Caine isnt here right now, can I take a message?" Bubble's voice crackled through.

"WHAT!? WHY!?"

"He's chasing the sun."

~

Blue static jumped all over the track from asset to asset, infecting everything. Dinosaurs shuttered and twitched in place. The static reached out of bounds and glitches in new dinosaurs that weren't originally part of the track. They manifested and free roamed with no objective. The glitching dinos got caught in one another, forcefully fusing and horrifically mending together.

The static then zipped in-between the bounds, gliding through the shadows that hide in the non-spaces. It found Caine. He was outside the mainframe, giving the access code. Then he vanished. There was no door. No firewall. He was simply allowed to teleport in.

Abel tried to go through the white cylindrical wall, but couldn't get through. The static buzzed angrily and arced several times at the barrier around the mainframe. Abel could FEEL the lifeblood of the game coursing from this center point. The static crawled back and forth in place impatiently. Things weren't broken enough. It wasn't ready. The static reluctantly sank into the floor.

~

Caine hurriedly opened the day/night cycle code file. The game's standard time was untouched. "The problem has to be with the track." He brought up the Claypits code file and tried to open it.

Error.

He tried again.

Error.

"That- what?" He tried opening asset files under dinosaurs.

Empty.

Just like the exit door, they didn't exist. Caine paled. "All the dinosaurs have gone rouge. I have to force stop the track before someone gets hurt. Shut everything down and reset the system. That should fix it." He opened admin controls and worked as fast as possible. "Race your hearts out, everyone."

~

The racers stayed close to one another, moving in a tight pack to use each other's headlights to see where the dinosaurs were. When they reached the woods, multiple troodons came out at once. They dog piled the racers.

Pomni has one practically climb inside her kart and snap at her. She didn't have any items for the dino to steal. She swerved, trying to shake off the unwanted passenger and accidentally went off track. Bubbled didn't collect her, so she kept going.

Low hanging branches whipped by and one snagged the troodon by the neck. The dinosaur flew off the kart into the dark woods out of sight. Pomni didn't look back, she put the pedal to the floor, navigating the narrow side track as quickly as possible to get back to the others.

~

Jax kicked a troodon off his kart and ran over another. "Finally! An exciting track for a change!" He laughed loudly.

"I don't think this is supposed to be happening!!" Ragatha punched a troodon in the face, making it flop off her kart. "We were just going to take pictures!"

"And you can! Of me kicking dino [%$!#]!! Haha!! Get some!!" Jax plowed into another troodon.

Gummigoo grabbed the tail of a troodon lunging at Zooble. He whipped his bike around in a slingshot maneuver and tossed the dino back off the track. "Did anyone get a picture of that? I don't think I blinked at the right time."

Kinger saw a troodon climbing into Gangle's kart and rammed it back into the trees. "I don't remember the dinos being this aggressive."

"Caine said there wouldn't be any scary dinos!" Gangle cried.

Zooble grabbed a troodon by the throat and threw it off her kart. "Just keep going! Finish the race and all of this should stop! I'm right behind you, Gangle!"

Gangle shrank in her seat, but put the pedal down. She wanted this to be over with, but she knew the worst was yet to come in the tall grass.

~

Pomni found the clearing with the visitor center, though she could barely see the building in the deep darkness. She followed the track around the building, focusing on what was directly in front of her. As she circled around to the front, the doors to the visitor center burst open and half a dozen raptors stormed out.

Pomni drifted into the sharp turn back to the woods and hoped she was going the right way. The raptors caught up with her quickly, running alongside her speeding kart with agile precision. Pomni looked back and forth, waiting for the raptors to snap at her but they didn't. They barely registered her presence as they themselves were looking back.

Pomni looked over her shoulder and saw what the raptors were running from. A massive, glitching T-Rex was forcing it's way out of the visitor center. It destroyed the wall around the front door and stomped after the fleeing prey.

"HOLY [%$!#]!!" Pomni almost hit a tree from her hands shaking with race rush adrenaline. This was too much. Where was Caine? Why wasn't he stopping this? She looked at her red gloved hand. Before she could even remove her hand doesn't the steering wheel to snap, the familiar scream of a racing motorcycle came from behind and lit the forest up with silver fire.

The T-Rex snapped at the black racer but completely missed. The raptors parted for motorcycle, allowing him to race alongside Pomni. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Seth! What's going on!?"

"A dinosaur chase. First time?"

"LOOK AT THE [%$!#] THING!! IT'S GLITCHING!! HOW ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Pomni nearly hit Seth with how tight she took the next turn.

Seth teleported to her other side and glanced back at the pursuing T-Rex. He watched it's jaw unhinged as it roared, it's body glitched out of place and back several times. "Hm. Yeah, that's not normal." He snapped his fingers and the raptors' eyes glowed white, their bodies go black as pitch. Seth pointed his thumb back at the t-rex and the raptors' stopped running. They attacked the larger dinosaur, stopping it in it's tracks as Seth and Pomni raced ahead.

"Caine must be losing his touch to allow such a fucked up asset on the track."

"It's not the only one! All the dinos have gone crazy!"

Seth caught on to the real panic in Pomni's voice. He looked over at her for a moment. Then vanished.

"Wha-!?" Pomni was left alone again in the dark as the tress parted at the end of the shortcut. She saw the headlight of the others behind her coming into the tall grass area.

~

Seth appeared inside the announcer booth.

Bubble turned. "Hello! What can i-"

Seth smacked Bubble aside, sending them spinning through the air. He checked the POVs and saw the amalgamated dinos glitching together. It was starting to affect the track itself, forming tears in the digital reality. The bright emptiness of the void shined through.

Seth's eyes went wide and he snapped. Shadows from the in-between seeped out of the tears. He exurted his will to pull the bounds of the game back together, but he was out of practice. Each new tear made it harder to hold the track together. "Bubble! Tell that bastard to get back here before his racers fall into the void!"

"Okay!" Bubble popped, leaving Seth to struggle.

~

Pomni saw a spotlight like beam up light shoot up into he sky from the crater ahead. She could see large flying dinos circling like vultures. She was brought back to her current situation by an ear splitting roar. A carnotaurus with two heads and extra limbs at weird angles exploded from the grass, nearly clamping it's jaws around her head.

Pomni swerved away between it's legs, it's glitching foot grazing her kart and making it vibrate violently. "Ah! God! Don't let it touch you!"

No sooner had Pomni said that when Jax was whipped by one of the tails as he tried to dodge the head on the side of the dinosaur. Jax was separated from his kart as it glitched out and spun into the grass. Jax glitched erratically, his eyes flashing different colors.

Gummigoo did a u-turn with the intention of getting Jax off the ground, but Kinger got to him first. He didn't even slowdown. His floating hand grabbed Jax by the front do his tracksuit and hoisted over the back of his kart. He started to glitch but kept driving as if he was unaffected.

The large predator lunged for Gangle, who was so panicked she could hardly drive, but the dinosaur was charged by something even bigger. A spinosaurus with too many teeth and eyes grabbed the fused carnotaurus and tore it in half before the racers' very eyes. It's jaws split four ways as it roared after the fleeing pack of racers.

~

Bubble appeared outside the central pillar that held the mainframe. "Boss! Seth wants to talk to you! He says you need to get back to the track!"

"NOT NOW, BUBBLE!" Caine shouted from inside. "Almost...there!" He finished putting through the shutdown command and everything stopped.

Every racer, AI, and asset was momentarily frozen in space and time. Except one. The blue static shot up from the floor and into Bubble. "Finally." Using Bubble's teleporting pop, Abel shot himself through the disabled security wall of the mainframe.

Caine himself was suspended in frozen time with his fingers laced into the game code. Eyes intently focused, yet panicked. Abel floated near Caine's head and whispered. "You were never the god of this world. Today, I take back what is rightfully mine."

Bubble popped. Abel's static arced out in all directions, infecting the game code. The gold numbers turned blue and everything went black.

For a moment, there was nothing. True non-existence. Then the hum of a booting computer. Strings of code appeared and came together to form the game bounds. The default world and track was formed. Then the garage. Then the karts appeared one at a time in front of the start line. Then the racer avatars.

Caine was still in the mainframe. He blinked with a start and looked around. "Blue...like in the beginning. I must have done a harder reset than I thought. Maybe that's for the best. I hope everyone's okay." He teleported out.

~

Pomni gasped, feeling like she was jolted awake. She was back on the default track and didn't know how she got there. She jumped out of her kart like it was on fire. "What- what just happened!? Ragatha!? Kinger!? Anyone!?"

The other racers came to the same time Pomni did, just as clueless as to how they got back to default so suddenly. "Please stop shouting." Gangle whimpered, curled up in her kart.

Pomni grabbed her head and paced in circles, unable to breathe normally.

Caine appeared and exhaled heavily with relief. All humans were accounted for. He hovered close to ground as everyone got out of their karts and surrounded him. "I...I wish I had an explanation. I really do. The game has never done anything like this before. I was forced to reset the system. I just glad all of you are okay."

"We're not." Pomni said shortly. "Everything was trying to actually kill us this time. Jax got glitched. Gummigoo, he-....where's Gummigoo?"

"Not to worry, dear. He got reset out of bounds with the other AI and assets. I can fetch him." Caine snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. It was harder for him to hide his panic that his snap wasn't doing anything. "I'll, uh, be right back."

Caine teleported to his workshop to find empty space. Every custom track, asset, and NPC was gone. Only the basic pieces the game started with existed. He dropped his cane. "....Bubble?"

No response.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT