#no but for real finding that an artist I dislike made a cover of a song I hate that is actually fitting my taste is shocking lol

[cyberbun]

What's your take on AI art?

Detest it from the very core of my being. My problem with AI art is a purely labor-related one, its presence as a technology cheaply available to just about anyone devalues the work of artists who already struggle to get by on commissioned work.

From the shitty web content that use it to major companies embracing it as an alternative to paying writers, copy editors and visual artists; as does every hack that populates stock asset sites and other places to sell art with their own AI generated slop. Not only do artists now have to compete with each other, they also have to compete with cheaper, worse alternatives that drag the already-devalued value of their work down. Why pay a real artist to do your book covers or ad banners or web design when you can get a "passable" alternative from some guy with a Midjourney subscription. As an artist, it makes selling your craft that much harder, and as a consumer, it means we're being inundated with a never-ending tidal wave of cheap, mediocre "good enough to sell" glut of nonsense. This is part of why google is worthless as a search engine these days, twitter threads are ghosts towns and youtube is full of whatever takes the least work to pump out.

For established artists, this isn't much of a problem, but it makes it that much harder to get your foot in the door, as if starting a career in art wasn't already a nightmarish prospect. I've never been one to respect copyright law at all, but it's also worth mentioning the way that AI art cannibalizes the existing work of artists to create counterfeit lower-quality versions of what a suit in a corporate board room would assume is someone's "style". The thing that made me come to despite AI art was when Kim Jung Gi, one of my favorite pen and ink artists in recent years, died two years back, and instantly someone fed his entire art portfolio to their AI model as a bizarre sort of "tribute" to the man. Absolutely ghoulish behavior.

To be clear, I have no inherent problem with the existence of the tools themselves, nor do I hold art in some sort of spiritual "can't be made by a machine ooooo" regard like some people here, and in an ideal world where art isn't a source of sustenance, I wouldn't much care about their existence beyond finding them aesthetically displeasing. I was really excited for this technology when it first appeared, as some people who know me will be able to attest. But seeing the way that it's being hawked as a stolen labor generator is what makes me dislike it so much.

[groovyghostie]

The Seer: Part 1

Hey, guys! This is my Storytime Big Bang 2023 (@tss-storytime) submission! It was a lot of hard work and fun to get this done, and I'm really super proud of it! Mind the tags, stay safe, and enjoy! I was partnered with @creative-lampd-liberties, an amazing artist, for this event. You can find the art they made here. They also made the cover below!!! I'm putting this fic on Tumblr (even though I hate posting fics here -_-) because I have it set to registered users only on AO3 to help avoid bot AI scraping. That said, here's the AO3 link for those who are registered users on AO3:

[AO3 Link]

Summary: After spending most of his teenage years pretending to be something he’s not (a girl), then spending his adult life so far pretending to be something else he’s not (a clairvoyant), Janus is caught off-guard when he is granted real powers. He is the seer that predicts the downfall of the kingdom, as well as the potential salvation. The problem? The kingdom’s hero is Roman, Janus’s best friend’s brother, who… dislikes Janus. A lot. Now Janus is stuck going on a quest to destroy the source of The Dragon Witch’s power with a ragtag band of adventurers, and he has the unfortunate task of making sure they all survive. The forest is dangerous. So is their enemy. Janus hopes his friends are even more formidable.

Rating: T

Word Count: 26,268

Ships: Janus/Roman, Remus/Patton, Logan/Virgil, Thomas/Remy, Prince/Anxiety (shorts), Dad/Teacher (shorts)

Content Warnings: fire, description of burnt bodies, description of corpses, minor character death, animal death, parent death, sibling death, blood, assault, description of being burned, main character disowned by parents, mortal peril, kidnapping, injuries, transphobia, alcohol use, deadnaming, swearing

[Fic under readmore]

Prologue

Logan took his job very seriously. Being the prince’s manservant on top of being co-leader of the servants was a monumental task, but it was also a monumental honor. Of course, it was hard to feel honored when he was in the middle of taking the prince’s now-dry laundry back to his room so he could hang it up in the wardrobe. One basket on his head and the other on his hip with a hand on each one, Logan balanced the large burden carefully. He was passing one of the guest bedrooms, of which the door was cracked open, when he heard voices. He wasn’t sure who was in that room. Guests were more Remy’s department, because Remy could be charming when he wanted to be. That wasn’t Logan’s department either. 

He slowed, drifting closer to the door to listen. 

“...illing him won’t be easy,” said a male voice.

“Please, with me on your side, we’ll have no issues. It’s the chaos after that we must worry about.” This voice was female. It was smooth and sweet, the definition of comforting.

“Still, we must be careful that no one guesses what we’re up to. We’d have to act fast to prevent anyone from stopping us.” Logan recognized that voice. It was Prince Eschive, the king’s brother. That couldn’t be right, though. He wouldn’t be conspiring like this, surely.

“You’re right, of course, Dear One. Caution is of the utmost importance,” said the female voice. 

Logan peeked through the crack in the door. He could see the woman, now, and was fairly certain that it was Duchess Adalinda Draco. She was visiting the palace because she was a childhood playmate of the queen. This didn’t make any sense.

“I’m glad we’re agreed, Darling,” said Eschive. “And when we kill my brother and his family, you shall make a lovely queen.”

Logan’s eyes widened. They wanted to kill King Marceau, along with his entire family. But that couldn’t be right.

Adalinda grinned and leaned in toward Eschive. “And you shall be a powerful, respected king.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. Logan’s eyes were drawn to her shadow. It shifted against the wall, forming unfamiliar shapes. It took Logan a few beats to figure out what he was seeing. Then the shape came together in his head. Horns. A tail. Wings. Very draconic, indeed. He gasped.

Adalinda pulled away from Eschive. “Did you hear something?”

Eschive nodded, face darkening, and Logan took that as his cue to leave. He rushed the rest of the way to the corner and turned it quickly, then ducked into a servants’ kitchenette. He waited there, his heart pounding in his ears.

After a few minutes, when he realized they weren’t going to come after him, he left the small room and headed towards Prince Virgil’s room again. No one would believe him with his word against Prince Eschive’s. He’d have to take this into his own hands.

1: The Conman

Janus leaned forward, placing his chin on his folded hands with his elbows on the table. “Tell me, Ms. Fortuna, what can I do to help you?” He looked her over. Salt crusted her hair at the tips, her lips were dry, and she had a spyglass tucked into a loop in her belt. A sailor, then. Judging by the spyglass, probably a captain. Her clothes were fine, too, so probably a merchant, especially when considered with the lack of scars. A pirate would have more scars, and any other kind of ship’s captain would have plainer clothes. “Business, or personal?” he asked.

“Business,” the woman across from him answered in a deep, sonorous voice. “A friend recommended I come here, because I’m worried if I call my fleet back from Hertland they’ll be lost to the storms. Can you tell me whether to wait or to call them back?”

Janus was surprised. If she was, herself, a sailor, she should know that there was a fleet of pirates going up the coast of Hertland, probably toward her ships. He hummed and made his usual show of looking into his crystal ball. His brow furrowed. Then he looked up suddenly. “If you don’t call them back now, they will be taken by pirates. Do they have a mirror you can use to speak to them?” 

Ms. Fortuna nodded quickly. “I must go tell them. Thank you so much, Janus.” She reached into her satchel and pulled out a bag about the size of a cantaloupe. When she set it down onto the table, the action was accompanied by the sound of clinking coins. “You’ve done me an invaluable service.”

“Of course, Ms. Fortuna. I wish you good fortune,” he said, smiling at her. 

As soon as the front door closed behind her, his smile grew into a grin and he chuckled. He snatched up the bag she’d left him in one hand, his cane in the other, and made his way back to his bedroom.

The room was small, with a comfortable bed, a bookshelf, a wardrobe, and a locked chest all crammed into what little space there was. He went to the chest and knelt to unlock it with the key on a leather strap around his neck. He carefully set his cane on the ground next to him. He grabbed his coin purse, emptied a bit of the bag of coins into it, then locked the bag in the chest. The coin purse got attached to his belt. He left his shop-and-home, locking the door behind himself.

-

“To suckers!” Remus exclaimed, raising his glass. It was the third of the night, half empty, and Remus’s cheeks were red.

Janus laughed and tapped his glass, still his first, against Remus’s. “To suckers,” he responded, though his smile was fading a bit. 

Remus raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, sourface?”

Janus shook his head. “It’s nothing. Everything’s perfect.”

“Liar,” Remus accused, pointing at Janus. “Something’s bothering you.”

Janus huffed. “I didn’t lie. Everything is perfect, and that’s what’s bothering me.”

Remus tilted his head, considering that statement for a moment. “What, are you bored?”

“Yes, Remus,” Janus said, voice full of frustration. “Everything’s too easy. It’s both unsettling and incredibly boring.”

“Excuse me,” said someone behind them. 

Janus jumped, and they both turned in their seats. The person standing behind them was mostly obscured by a deep midnight blue hooded cloak. 

“I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re bored. What do you do for work?” the person asked.

Janus narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but nonetheless answered, “I’m a fortune teller.”

The person sounded like they were grinning, but it was hard to see in the shadows obscuring their face, as they said, “I think I can give you a challenge.” They pulled a hand mirror from their cloak, revealing that their skin was extremely pale. After placing the hand mirror, set against a simple bronze back with a handle, on the bar, leaning between Janus and Remus, they turned on their heel, then they were gone.

“Well, that was weird and creepy,” Remus said, turning back to Janus.

Janus was staring at the mirror. “Yeah.” He shook his head and looked up at Remus. “Well, nothing left to do but keep drinking,” he said with a smile.

-

Janus awoke with a groan. His head was pounding. He dragged himself from his bed, still wearing his clothes from the night from before. He needed to splash water on his face before anything else. At least he’d gone to the well twice the day before. As he padded towards his basin, leaning more heavily on his cane in the sleepiness of the morning, he suddenly froze. 

He stood in the street outside his shop, looking up at the palace. It was on fire, burning bright and hot. People were screaming and crying. There was a sound, the loudest cracking that Janus had ever heard, then the tallest tower of the palace began to fall, right towards Janus. He covered his head.

He was back in his room, the brightness and heat gone. He breathed heavily, looking around in confusion. His hands shook. He looked back toward the bed. There on the blanket lay the mirror, in all its plainness. He’d been looking into it before he fell asleep, noting the odd feeling it gave him. Like a sense of impending doom. 

With nothing else to do, he dismissed what he’d seen, felt, and heard as a waking dream and continued his morning routine. 

His hands shook for hours. 

2: The Duke's Sons

Janus didn’t know why he’d agreed to go to the palace. He hadn’t been back since everything changed. But Remus had requested he accompany them. When the group stopped at his shop, he greeted Duke Erex politely, then Roman Erex, this time his voice dripping with sarcasm. Roman glared at him. He made his way to the back of the group to stand next to Remus and Patton.

“Hi, Jan!” Patton greeted him excitedly. 

Janus couldn’t help but smile back at Patton. Patton could almost always improve his mood. “Hello, Patton. Remus, how are you?” 

Remus glared at him in a way that was quite reminiscent of his brother. “It’s not fair, you always recover from drinking quicker than me,” he grumbled.

Patton cupped a hand around his mouth and stage-whispered, “He’s been grumpy all morning.” 

Janus grinned. “Well, that can only be expected from someone who’s hungover as fuck.”

“Fuck you,” Remus grumbled.

By the time they were near to the palace, Remus was feeling much better. The fresh air had revitalized him. Still he was complaining, just more energetically. “I hate going to the palace,” he groaned. “It’s so stuffy.” 

“Can you shut up?” Roman hissed from just in front of them.

“Can you?” Janus shot back.

Roman shot him a glare. “At least I’m not going to the palace in commoner’s clothing,” he sniffed.

Janus grit his teeth. “At least I’m not a stuck-up bitch,” he replied. 

Roman whirled around, stopping Janus, Patton, and Remus in their tracks.

“Guys, pl-” Patton tried.

“No, you’re not. But you know what you are, Janus?” Roman asked. 

“What?” Janus challenged.

“Dumbasses!” Remus exclaimed, trying to pull their attention to him.

“You’re a fraud. You pretend to be so confident, but you know that, deep down, you’re just faking it. You pretend all the time,” Roman accused. He turned and began to jog to catch up with his father and the bodyguard.

Janus stood, frozen, mouth slightly open.

“Jan…?” Patton asked gently. 

Janus snapped from his stupor, set his jaw, and squared his shoulders. “Let’s go.” He began to walk quickly, trying to catch up. His short legs did not help. Patton was in the same boat, but Remus kept up with the two of them effortlessly. Damn his height and long legs.

Still, they did catch up, right as the group arrived at the palace gates. Janus glared angrily at the back of Roman’s head, imagining that his eyes were burning holes into him. Roman ignored him. 

The palace corridors were cold, and they echoed. Janus had always disliked that. It drew attention to him when the sound of his cane against the floor was amplified so loudly.

Patton grabbed Remus’s hand, then held his other hand out to Janus. Janus took it gratefully. His heart flooded with gratitude for his friends. He genuinely didn’t know what he’d do without them. 

They had to let go of each other, though, when they reached the parlor where they were to meet Prince Eschive. Janus had always disliked Eschive. He reminded him of a weasel. A servant, tall and graceful, with spectacles perched upon his round nose, opened the door for them, and Duke Erex led the way into the room.

The duke and his sons, as well as Patton, sat down in the chairs provided for them when the servant gestured to them. Janus stood against the wall behind Remus and Patton, and the bodyguard stood against the wall on the other side of the door. The servant glanced at Janus’s cane and gave him an apologetic look, presumably for not having a chair for him. Janus shrugged one shoulder and smiled at him.

The tall servant poured them all tea, including Janus and the bodyguard, and even offered them all sugar. Janus always took his tea black, unless it was herbal, then he would add honey.

They waited for a few minutes, sipping their tea before Eschive finally entered the room. The duke, his sons, and Patton stood to greet him, bowing and then shaking hands with him. The prince seemed to revel in the attention and respect. 

“I apologize for my lateness,” Eschive said. “I was caught up in another matter.”

Janus noticed the tall servant making a concerned… or worried face at that.

“Of course, Your Highness, we do not mind,” said Duke Erex. He turned and gestured to Patton. “I do not believe you have met my son Remus’s husband, Patton.” His expression dripped with disdain, and Janus’s blood boiled. He saw Remus clench his teeth.

“I have not,” said Eschive. 

“A pleasure,” said Patton.

“The pleasure is mine,” said Eschive with a crooked smile. A shiver went down Janus’s spine, and Patton looked like he felt much the same.

They all sat, Eschive across from the duke, and began to discuss as the servant poured Eschive some tea as well.

“Tell me, Achille, the state of your land. How is the crop this year?” Eschive asked.

The duke nodded and began his spiel on how well the crop was coming in, and how the cows were producing well, and the weavers were working hard on the wool he’d imported from Hertland. 

Roman interjected occasionally, as he had been put in charge of managing the numbers for the sales of their textiles.

Remus, for once, sat silently.

There was a knock at the door. Eschive looked up, then motioned for the tall servant to open the door. Outside the door stood a beautiful woman and a servant. The woman was of average height, with pale skin and a perfect figure. Her curly hair, which went down to her waist and had two braids in the front tied together at the back of her head, was a striking fiery red. The servant was short and skinny, with perfect, swooping dark hair, and tinted glasses covering his eyes.

Eschive grinned, his eyes almost glazed over. “Duchess Draco! Come, join us.” He stood, so Duke Erex, his sons, and Patton stood as well. The duchess walked over to Eschive, and Eschive took her hand, then leaned down to kiss it. He let go in a way that seemed almost reluctant, then turned to Duke Erex. “Achille, this is Duchess Adalinda Draco. She is visiting from the province of Noerel.” He turned to the duchess. “Adalinda, this is Duke Achille Erex and his sons, Roman and Remus.” He gestured to each man as he spoke. The short servant slipped out.

The duke also took Adalinda’s hand and kissed it. “Wonderful to meet you, Your Grace.”

“Likewise, Your Grace,” said Adalinda. She turned, and her eyes caught Janus’s.

Janus dropped his cup, freezing up. It shattered. On her head were curling black horns. Behind her back, blood-red wings and a matching tail.

He was in the street outside his shop again. The heat and light were so intense. Smoke burned his lungs. A shadow fell over him, and he looked up. A dragon flew overhead, towards the palace, and began to breathe fire to add to the flames. Again, the tower cracked and began to fall toward him. 

Then he was back, the cool air of the palace washing over his skin. He leaned heavily on his cane, his legs feeling weak. Patton and Remus hovered by him worriedly, and the servant was knelt by his feet to clean up the glass. Thankfully, the teacup had been empty. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. 

Adalinda was looking at him with concern. Roman was looking at him with disdain.

“Let’s go outside,” Patton murmured. “Excuse us, Your Highness,” he said louder. 

“Of course,” said Eschive, waving them away.

Patton escorted Janus out of the room, Remus following behind them. 

“What happened?” Remus asked worriedly. 

“I… just felt faint,” Janus answered. “I’m fine now, really.”

Patton didn’t look convinced, nor did Remus, but he knew Janus well enough to take that as a cue to drop it. 

“I have to go back inside,” Remus said. “Are either of you coming?” Janus shook his head. He couldn’t go back in there with that woman. 

“I’ll stay with Janus,” Patton said. 

“No,” said Janus, shaking his head, “Go keep Remus out of trouble. I just need to gather myself.” 

Patton frowned, “But-”

“Go on, keep your husband from saying something regrettable,” Janus repeated.

“Hey!” Remus exclaimed.

“Oh, I’m right and you know it,” Janus replied. “Now go.”

Reluctantly, Remus and Patton went back into the parlor.

Janus sighed and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. He had a headache.

“Pssst,” he heard. “C’mere.”

Janus opened his eyes, looking around in confusion. There, across the hall from him, there was the shorter servant, peeking out from behind a plain wooden door. He raised an eyebrow. The man motioned for him to come closer. He hesitated for only a few moments before carefully standing upright. The cane, like always, echoed. 

The servant opened the door for Janus to come in. Inside were both the taller servant and the shorter servant. When he was in, the shorter servant closed the door behind him. He looked around. They were in a little kitchenette that was probably primarily for preparing tea if Janus had to guess.

“So…” Janus said. “What did you want, exactly?”

The taller servant cleared his throat. “My name is Logan. I think we have some things to talk about regarding Duchess Draco.”

“Oh?” Janus asked, carefully keeping the nerves from his voice.

“I’m Remy, by the way,” interjected the shorter servant.

“Janus,” replied Janus politely.

Logan cleared his throat. “How about I recount to you what I’ve seen, then you can return the favor?”

“That sounds agreeable,” Janus answered, eyes sparkling with interest. “You've noticed something odd about her, then.”

Remy gave a small laugh. “You could call it odd, I guess. I’d just call it freaky.”

Logan shot him a glare, then continued, “I’ve definitely noticed something odd. You’ll hear my story, then?”

Janus gestured for him to go ahead.

“I was passing by Duchess Draco’s quarters, and I heard her and Prince Eschive conspiring to… get rid of the king,” Logan said.

Janus’s eyes widened.

“That’s not all,” Remy added.

“Indeed,” Logan agreed. “They kissed, and when they did Duchess Draco’s shadow morphed.”

“She had horns and wings,” Janus guessed.

Logan blinked. “And a tail.”

Janus nodded. “I saw that, too. And more.”

“More?” Logan inquired.

“I had a vision this morning… This sounds insane.”

“You’re the seer whose shop is down the main street, are you not?” Logan asked.

Janus hummed. “I suppose I must confide in you. I… am a fraud. Before this morning, I had never seen the future in my life.”

Remy snorted. Again, Logan glared at him. “That is a very unethical way to make a living.”

Janus took a deep breath. “I’ve done what I needed to do. I have a clear conscience. But that isn’t what this conversation is about. I had a vision this morning. The palace was burning. It felt so real… And…”

“And?” Logan prompted.

“I saw it again, just now. But this time there was a dragon, adding to the flames,” Janus said.

Logan and Remy were silent for a few moments, seeming to communicate with their eye contact. Finally they turned back to Janus.

“The course of action I propose is to keep this to ourselves for now,” Logan said. “Our word against the prince and duchess’s is not worth much.”

Janus nodded in agreement. “We should find more information. I can… speak with some of the mystics and magic shop proprietors. Hopefully one of them will have something useful to say.” He was hesitant. He’d avoided the other professionals in the capital to keep from being exposed as a fraud. This situation called for it, though.

Remy grinned. “We get to spy on the duchess and the prince, then?”

Logan gave a long-suffering sigh. “It’s not spying. It’s gathering information.”

“By watching them,” said Remy. “So, spying?”

Logan groaned.

“Janus?” called Remus’s voice, followed quickly by Patton repeating the call.

“I have to go,” Janus said. “It was nice to meet you both. Stay safe.”

“You as well,” Logan answered.

“Yeah, don’t get yourself killed or anything,” Remy said.

Janus huffed out a small laugh, then went to join his friends.

“Where were you?” asked Patton when Janus emerged from the small room.

Janus gave his most convincing smile. “Just gossiping. The servants always have the most interesting things to say.”

Remus giggled. “You’re always looking for things to use against people, aren’t you?” he said as they followed behind the rest of the group.

Janus gave a scandalized gasp. “I would never! I’m just a harmless busybody.”

Patton laughed a little. “Right. He’s just curious and nosy, Remus,” he said playfully.

“Right. Patton knows I’m telling the truth,” Janus said, barely holding in laughter.

Remus shook his head. “Riiiight. Well, I suppose I just have to believe you, seeing as you’re my best friend.”

“Good,” Janus replied.

About that time, they reached the palace gates. “We’ll see you soon, right, Janus?” Patton asked.

“Of course,” Janus answered. “Feel free to drop by any time.” He smiled. When Patton hugged him, he hugged back. And when Remus punched him in the arm, he punched Remus in the chest. They all laughed.

Patton and Remus followed Duke Erex, and Janus walked back toward his shop with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

-

The wooden training swords clashed in a way that sent the vibrations all the way up Pryce’s arm, making him wince. His opponent saw an opportunity, and she forced him back until his back collided with the stone wall around the training area. She grinned, and he laughed breathlessly.

“Good match, Val,” he said.

“Wish I could say the same,” Valerie teased, then immediately continued, “and I can. Thanks for the pointers, Pryce.”

“Val!” called a voice from the west viewing platform.

“Virgil!” Valerie called back. She gave Pryce a little wave, then jogged off to her brother.

Pryce watched, then his eyes slowly moved to the right of where the prince and princess were now talking, and he saw the very person he always looked forward to seeing at the end of his practice. His face split into a wide grin, and he waved.

Andy waved back. He looked a bit less self-assured than usual, which worried Pryce. He ran to meet him a little quicker than he usually would, scrambling up the ladder to the platform. “There’s my least favorite sarcastic asshole,” he greeted jokingly.

Andy gave a half-hearted smile and pulled a cookie from the basket he carried. He held it out, and when Pryce reached for it, he snatched it away. “I need help,” he said, the smile falling away. He looked as if he might cry.

Pryce stepped closer and guided him over to a more secluded corner, his blood running cold. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Andy so upset. Annoyed, sure. Grumpy, sure. But never anything like this. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Andy took a deep breath, and it came back out much shakier. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment. He wouldn’t make eye contact when he opened them again. “My father still hasn’t come back,” he said, voice breaking slightly.

“He left three weeks ago, didn’t he?” Pryce asked, his heart breaking at the expression on Andy’s face as he nodded. “I’ll go look for him then, okay? It’ll be okay,” he assured him.

Andy sniffled softly. “By yourself?” He sounded terrified. Pryce had never seen him so vulnerable.

Pryce gave him a reassuring smile. “How about I take Thomas? Sound good?”

Andy nodded again. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” he said, opening his arms.

Andy surged forward and buried his face in Pryce’s chest, dropping his basket to the floor. Pryce rubbed his back as he cried silently. Over and over again, he reassured him that it was alright. He wished he knew that were true.

3: The Prince

Virgil’s arms were folded in front of him. “You didn’t show up to our history lessons today,” he accused.

“Ugh, I forgot it was Monday,” Valerie groaned. “I’m so sorry, did you cover for me?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Of course I did, I’m the best brother ever, remember?”

Valerie nodded, smiling. “Ah, yes, how could I forget?”

“That’s right,” Virgil sniffed. “And I deserve compensation.”

She shook her head fondly. “What do you want, Virge?”

Virgil pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Give this to Logan for me?”

Valerie sighed. “When are you going to tell him you’re his secret admirer.”

“Never. Ever. That would be the most embarrassing and mortifying thing ever. Why would I do that?” Virgil asked, his face starting to turn red.

Valerie patted her little brother’s head. “Because if you don’t, you never get to find out if he feels the same, you never get to properly court him, you never get to marry him… I could go on.”

Virgil glared at her. “How dare you make sense at me?”

She finally took the note and placed it in her own pocket. “I need to go get changed into my dress for dinner. I’ll give it to him as soon as I see him.”

Virgil smiled, just a little. “Thanks, Val.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be a very good sister if I didn’t enable you in your quest to never talk to your crush about how you feel,” Valerie snarked, starting to walk back toward the armory.

“A lot of sass for someone who’s gonna need me to cover for her again in the future,” Virgil responded.

Valerie waved him off and walked away quickly.

Virgil shook his head fondly and headed back for the palace. He slipped in the door at the east end of the palace, near the kitchen. The halls were empty, which he was glad for, given he was technically supposed to be in his room studying.

He turned a corner, and there was Logan, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “What are you doing, Your Highness?” His intonation did not make it sound like a question.

Virgil felt very small with Logan towering over him. “I went to see Valerie.” His intonation made it sound like a question.

“Right. It’s not as if you need to practice your spells, is it?” Again, it did not sound like a question.

“I, um… I’m on my way back to my room now.” Again, it sounded like a question.

“Hm. I suppose that’s acceptable.” Logan cracked a small smile.

Virgil took a deep breath. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you, Virgil,” Logan assured him. “I’d prefer that you stick to your schedule, but I’m not angry.”

Virgil smiled a little, relieved.

“I’ll accompany you back to your room. I have some work to do nearby.”

“Okay. Sounds good,” Virgil said, as casually as he could manage.

“Good,” Logan answered.

“Good.”

-

The next day, Remus and Patton joined Janus in his garden.

“That one looks like a duck,” Patton said, pointing up at a cloud.

Remus nodded. “A duck who’s up to something,” he added.

“Noooo!” Patton whined. “He’s a nice duck. Very polite. He’s doing some cooking, see?” he said, pointing again.

Janus pointed at Remus. “That one looks like a husband who’s sleeping on the couch tonight,” he joked.

“Only if that’s where we fall asleep after-”

“Remus!” Patton exclaimed, his face cherry-red.

Remus chuckled, reaching up from where he rested with his head on Patton’s lap and booping Patton on the nose, even as Janus made a disgusted face.

“Remus, Father wants you,” Roman’s voice interrupted.

Remus groaned, lifting his head up from Patton’s lap. “What does he need?”

“How should I know?” Roman asked.

Remus rolled his eyes and began to stand up. He licked Patton on the cheek as he did, causing him to break out in giggles and wipe at his cheek with his sleeve. “I’ll see you soon, Darling,” Remus said, getting to his feet fully. “Bye, Jan-ass.”

“Bye, dickhead,” Janus responded as Remus opened the gate of Janus’s back garden to leave.

Roman was about to follow him when Patton called out, “Roman, are you busy?”

Janus shot Patton a glare.

“No, I suppose not,” Roman said, pausing by the gate. “Why?”

“Come join us!” said Patton. “We’re cloud-watching.”

“Oh. Fun,” Roman said, sounding slightly conflicted. His gaze wandered over to Janus, and they both narrowed their eyes.

Janus gave in first, letting out a frustrated sigh. He poured Roman some watered wine into the extra cup he’d brought out with him (Remus had a habit of managing to break the wooden cups, but he always bought a new one when he did, so Janus didn’t mind much). He held out the cup, a peace offering of sorts.

Roman opened the gate and stepped into the garden. His red coat looked out of place in the green of the small fenced-in area.

Patton grinned. “Yay!”

Roman reached for the cup. As his hand closed around it, his fingers brushed Janus’s. Janus found himself dropping yet another cup as he sprung upright. He stood in a grand ballroom, smoke and screams filling the air. Roman stood a few feet away, and, past him, a great shadow in the shape of a dragon with glowing red eyes. It began to move toward Roman, and Janus cried out.

Janus was back in the garden again, breathing heavily. Roman was in front of him, their faces just inches apart. Wine dripped down Janus’s shins, staining his dark pants even darker. “Watch it!” he hissed, unable to think of what else to say or do.

Roman’s stunned expression turned offended. “You’re the one who dropped it!” They were even closer now.

Patton snickered, and Roman and Janus jumped apart like they’d been burned.

“I have to go,” Janus said quickly.

“Janus!” Patton called, but Janus was already out the gate and rushing toward the palace.

-

Logan set the tray down on the table more loudly than he usually did things, especially in the library. As a result, Virgil jumped.

“Holy shit, Logan! Don’t do that to me!” Virgil exclaimed.

Logan gave him a disapproving look. “You are going to get in trouble with your father one of these days using that sort of language.” He began to take items off the tray and set them near the tomes that Virgil had laid out on the table. “Time for lunch. Take a break.”

Virgil looked at the food, then back to his books again, then rubbed his hand over his face. “Fine. Thanks, Logan.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Virgil opened his mouth to say something, but then the door burst open and footsteps, along with the tapping of a cane, hurried toward them.

“Logan? I need to talk to-“ Janus stopped as he rounded one of the shelves and spotted Virgil. He bowed quickly, wincing at the spasm in his back. He hoped they couldn’t see his expression. “I apologize, Your Highness.”

Virgil huffed. “No need for that. Please.” He paused as Janus righted himself. “Hey, aren’t you—“

“Janus,” Janus interrupted quickly. He realized his mistake quickly, but he decided to double down, clenching his jaw. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s Janus now.”

“Oh!” Virgil said. “Cool.”

“You needed to talk to me, Janus?” Logan asked.

“Yes. It’s urgent.”

Logan looked to Virgil, and Virgil waved him off. He and Janus began to leave, and as they were rounding the shelf, Logan looked back to see that Virgil had gone back to his books, the food untouched. He sighed softly but continued on his way.

He led Janus to an empty sitting room, then closed and locked the door behind him. He turned back to Janus, who had begun to pace nervously. “What do you have?”

Janus bit his lip. “I had another vision.”

Logan stepped closer. “That sounds ominous.”

“Yeah, it’s…” Janus sighed. “You remember Roman Erex, yes?”

Logan wrinkled his nose slightly. “Yes. Yes I do.”

“Well, his brother and brother-in-law are my friends, and we were spending time together in my garden when Roman came to tell Remus to go see their father. Then Patton said that Roman should join us, and I didn’t want him to, but Patton was giving me those puppy-dog eyes, and… I went to hand him a drink, and when our hands touched, I saw… him, fighting a dragon in a grand ballroom. Maybe the one in this palace.” As Janus finished, he felt the tension drain out of him, leaving only exhaustion in its wake.

Logan looked off into space, considering it for a while. “There seems to be no other reasonable conclusion. Roman is the one who must save the kingdom.”

Janus winced again. “That’s exactly what I didn’t want you to say.”

“Well, on my end, I’ve seen Eschive and Adalinda entering and exiting the same rooms furtively around the same time. They are certainly in it together. But, Eschive… He’s different around her,” Logan said.

“I noticed that yesterday,” Janus confirmed.

“What are our next steps?”

“You keep an eye on them. I’m going to spend the rest of the day talking to the other mystics. I was putting it off, but it’s becoming more and more urgent,” Janus said. “And you can clue in Remy, too.”

Logan nodded. “Shouldn’t we talk to Roman?”

Janus clenched his jaw and his free hand. “More information first.”

“Got it. Stay safe, Janus.”

“You too,” Janus said with a strained smile. He exited wordlessly, leaving Logan behind with only a sinking feeling.

When Logan returned to the library, it was to find Virgil having actually eaten a little bit. Not as much as Logan would like, but he would take the small victory.

“Why are you studying so hard?” he asked as he approached. “You hate studying.”

“I found something that interests me,” Virgil replied, leaning away from his books and stretching with a wince. “Healing magic is actually really interesting. Kinda complicated, though.”

“Good. But I would encourage you not to neglect your physical wellbeing, Your Highness,” Logan chided.

Virgil rolled his eyes and took another bite of his food to placate him. “You don’t have to call me that,” Virgil protested with his mouth full. “In fact, I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

Logan stiffened slightly. “I’d prefer to follow the rules, Prince Virgil.”

Huffing, Virgil took another bite, but this time swallowed before speaking again. “So, what’s going on with Janus?”

Logan looked unsure of what to say. “Just some palace business he is helping with.”

Logan, Virgil thought for the millionth time, was a horrible liar. “Right,” he said skeptically.

“If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I have some chores to take care of,” Logan said, looking uncomfortable.

“Of course,” Virgil answered defeatedly.

“Will you finish your food?” Logan asked.

Virgil softened. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll eat. You’re good at taking care of me.”

Logan allowed himself a small smile at the praise. “It is my job.”

He turned and left, and Virgil wished he would stay.

4: The Mystic

“ Mirror’s Shop of Curiosities ,” the sign hanging from a post above the door read. Underneath the words was painted a crystal ball with an eye inside. The building was sort of squat, the walls bowed outward, but somehow not suggesting a lack of structural integrity. In fact, the building itself seemed to exude comfort and safety. The walls were a ruddy brown color, the windows dirty with shutters that were likely once a deep blue but now a cracked and faded cerulean. The door was the most well-taken-care-of part of the exterior. It was a deep brown, almost black, leaving passers-by wondering what kind of wood it was.

Janus steeled himself, took a deep breath, and knocked twice before entering. A bell rang above him as he walked in. At first glance, the shopfront was emptier than expected. Scattered potion bottles and dried herbs sat on shelves, along with jars of things that looked suspiciously like pieces of once-living animals. A layer of dust coated almost every surface except for the products themselves, the counter, and the table and crystal ball toward the back of the shop. The table looked a lot like Janus’s own setup back at home.

“Hello?” Janus called.

A head, mostly a mop of gray hair and the lower part of a face (which looked awfully young compared to that color of hair), popped up from behind the counter. “Hello!” the person said in a smooth voice that somehow seemed discordant with their appearance. It was a familiar voice, though Janus wasn’t sure where he had heard it before. “Oh! You’re Janus, right?”

Janus winced. He had hoped not to be recognized at any of these places. “And you must be Mirror?”

“Correct!” Mirror replied, standing up to their full height. They were a little taller than Janus, pale and wearing rather simple clothing. “What can I do for you?”

“I, um… I’ve had a vision that I would like to get a second opinion on,” Janus answered.

“Well, I’d be happy to provide one!” Mirror said. “Go ahead.”

Janus took a deep breath. “I saw… the palace. On fire.”

Mirror’s mouth fell halfway open for a moment, but they regained their composure fairly quickly. They shook their head. “We should discuss this in private.” They hurried around from behind the counter to lock the shop door. Janus noticed that they were barefoot. They rushed back around the counter and gestured for Janus to follow.

Janus walked into the back room and sat when Mirror gestured to a chair. He watched as Mirror began to light candles and close curtains. The back room was full of drying herbs, empty jars and bottles, and potion-making apparatuses. It smelled strongly of rosemary and thyme.

When Mirror was done rushing around, they sat in the only other chair, which faced Janus, and looked at him intently. “Tell me everything.”

As Janus recounted his visions, Mirror looked more and more troubled. When Janus was finished, Mirror began to mumble to themselves, rubbing their temples (which allowed Janus a glimpse of one of their eyes, which was the color of their hair with no pupils or whites. Very unsettling.) and occasionally chewing on their bottom lip.

Mirror finally turned back to him, their eyes hidden by their hair again. “This is very disturbing.”

Janus huffed out a nervous laugh. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Mirror chewed on their lip again for a few moments. “The first two visions seem to be somewhat metaphorical. Disaster at the palace, something to do with a draconic creature.”

Janus nodded. “Okay. But the third?”

“Literal. Roman Erex will have to face off with the Dragon Witch,” Mirror said gravely.

“The Dragon Witch?”

“She seems to have taken on the name Adalinda Draco. The fact that she has already infiltrated the palace is very worrying…” Mirror mused.

“Okay, but who is she? What do you know about her?” Janus asked.

“Not much, I’m afraid. I know only that she has a reputation for destruction, and that they say she can influence people,” Mirror informed him. “You should keep asking around to find out more. I fear that Roman may be our only hope, and that he needs your help.”

“ My help?” Janus asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Mirror answered. “You’re the one who had the vision for a reason.” They paused, then stood and began to rummage around in the deep drawers of their workbench. They pulled out a rectangle-shaped parcel triumphantly, then turned to hand it to Janus. “Keep track of all of your visions, gut feelings, and even just notable thoughts in here. It will help.”

Janus raised an eyebrow. “How will journaling help?”

Mirror smirked. “It’s the journal more than the journaling. It’ll help you piece things together, trust me.”

“Right,” Janus said, pushing himself up. “Well, thank you.”

He was almost out the door when Mirror called, “Remember to keep your mirror nearby!”

Janus turned quickly to ask Mirror what they meant, but there was no sign of them. His stomach roiling with dread, Janus left the shop.

-

Janus knocked at the door hesitantly. He hated coming to visit Remus. Not because of Remus or Patton, but most of the others in the house. Roman and the duke shared a strong distaste for him, though for different reasons, as did most of the servants. Duchess Erex, though, was different. Carine Erex was really the only positive maternal figure Janus had ever had. And he was relieved beyond belief that she was the one to open the door.

“Hello, Your Grace,” Janus greeted with a smile.

Carine scoffed. “I’ve told you many times, dear one, you may call me Carine.” Her hair was up in a practical bun, and she wore a riding outfit. She must have been about to go out. He wondered how Duke Erex felt about her wearing pants instead of a skirt.

Janus grinned. “Your husband might murder me if I tried.”

Carine’s expression turned sour. “Yes, I suppose so.” She shook her head and smiled again. “Are you here to see Remus?”

“And Patton, if they’re both home,” Janus responded.

“I believe they’re in the greenhouse. Patton wanted to do some gardening today,” Carine said. “Go ahead, dear. And tell anyone I invited you in if they ask.”

Janus let out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you, Carine,” he said.

She winked. “Don’t mention it.”

They traded places, Janus going into the house as she went out, and she closed the door between them. The greenhouse, which was attached to the house, was not far from the front door, thankfully. Janus arrived there without seeing another person.

Patton was wearing his gardening outfit, the too-big shirt and patched pants reminding Janus of a child gardening with their mother. The whole ensemble was muddy, from wide-brimmed hat to gigantic boots.

Remus lounged nearby, sideways and upside down on a fainting couch with his torso and head hanging off. Janus wondered if the blood was rushing to his head. His tie, jacket, and waistcoat were discarded and his shirt unbuttoned. He held a book in front of his face, probably another horror novel.

Janus cleared his throat, and two sets of eyes turned to him before Patton let out an ear-piercing squeal.

“Janus!” he cried. “There you are! We were worried!”

Janus grimaced. “Yeah. Something came up.” He looked down at his wine-stained pants and realized he’d been in the presence of the prince like this. He wanted to hit himself. Then his eyes fell on Remus again. Remus’s expression was tired, angry, and sorrowful. He looked absolutely miserable.

Janus walked over and perched himself on the arm of the couch. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

Remus shook his head. “Not right now.”

Janus gave a half-smile. “Okay. Then we’ll talk about something else.”

Patton brushed himself off as well as he could with muddy gloves on, then took the gloves off. “What do you want to talk about, Janus?” he asked softly.

Janus took a deep breath. “I have something fairly serious I wish to discuss, actually. I need you both to listen with an open mind.”

Remus quickly swung himself upright, his impeccable balance unnerving as always. “What’s up, Janny?” His eyes still looked sad despite the rest of his face having taken on an expression of curiosity.

Janus looked away. “I had a vision. A few, actually.”

Silence fell over them for a few moments. Patton was the first to break it. “I thought you didn’t really have those.” He sounded scared, his voice small.

“Yeah,” Janus said. “It’s a new development.”

“Okay…” Remus began. “What kind of visions?”

Janus took a deep breath and recounted not only his visions but everything he’d learned at the palace and Mirror’s Shop of Curiosities. He didn’t look at them until he was finished. When he finally did look, Remus looked… Dismayed? Angry? Shocked? No, certainly not, because now he just looked worried, like Patton.

“Well,” said Patton. He didn’t seem to know what to say after that. He was trying to look brave, Janus noted. He didn’t want Patton to be afraid of him.

Remus apparently did know what to say. “This is bullshit. But! I think I speak for both of us when I say that we’ll do whatever we can to help.”

Patton nodded quickly. “Tell us what you need, Kiddo. I could talk to Roman for you…”

Janus shook his head. “First of all, I am two months younger than you.”

“Baby,” Patton said, nodding decisively.

Janus scowled. “Secondly, I’m going to keep Roman in the dark as long as possible. I don’t think he’ll believe me without more information.”

“We can do that, then,” Remus offered. “I’m good at that.”

“You are,” Janus agreed. “I think that would actually be pretty helpful.”

“You should go check in with Lo again,” Patton suggested. “He needs to know what you learned from Mirror.”

Janus nodded. “That’s good, yes, I can do that.”

Patton tilted his head. “Take a breath, Kiddo.”

“ Two. Months ,” Janus hissed before following Patton’s instructions.

“You got this,” Patton encouraged. “How’s your leg?”

Janus frowned. “Fine. I can rest later, I know that’s what you were going to say.”

Patton frowned back. “You’d better rest later, Mister.”

“Two months,” Janus repeated. “And you’re not my fa-” He paused. “I’m going to go to the palace. Thank you for your help.” He walked out as quickly as he could, trying to get his heart rate under control.

5: The Worshipper

Janus crouched at the top of the stairs, listening. Listening to his parents argue. About him. His mother was of the opinion that they could, “make [him] better,” while his father just wanted to, “get rid of [him].” Janus didn’t want to know what that meant.

He was about to go to his room and get ready to leave, for good, when his father called that name. The name that wasn’t his. It didn’t belong to him. Nonetheless, he was expected to respond to it.

He straightened, brushed his jacket off, smoothed his short hair down, and began to walk down the stairs. “Father, that isn’t my name,” he said stubbornly.

His father’s face was turning purple. “Yes, it is,” he ground out. He pulled a chair up next to the fire—far too close—and said, “Sit.”

Janus did.

His father was pacing as his mother knelt in front of him. His mother pleaded, “We know this isn’t you. Tell me what’s wrong, what has happened. How do we make you want to be our little girl again?”

Janus frowned. “I’ve told you, Mother,” he said softly, “you can’t. I’m not your little girl.”

“Ridiculous!” his father roared. “You stubborn little brat! Just tell us what you want so this can go back to normal!”

“This is normal! This is who I am!” Janus yelled back.

Janus’s father pushed his mother out of the way and grabbed Janus by his collar, pulling him up.

The rest was a blur. Janus remembered being beaten and thrown around, but only vaguely. What was vivid was the left side of his face being pressed to the grate in front of the fire, then slammed against it again and again. He could never forget the feeling of his flesh searing against hot metal.

That was the day Janus was estranged from the Marquis and Marquess de Allerie.

-

The streets were crowded. It slowed Janus’s progress in getting to the palace, but it provided the noise he needed to overrule his racing thoughts. It only left room for one thing. He had to get to the palace and talk to Logan and Remy.

He was lucky in that walking around the streets with a cane meant the people that noticed tried not to bump into him. Unfortunately, someone didn’t notice him.

Janus nearly went tumbling to the ground, barely managing to steady himself. The person who ran into him, though, did fall to the ground. Janus went to help him up. He recognized him vaguely, someone he saw frequently in visiting the palace when he was younger. The baker’s son, he realized. Avery? Alfred? Allen? Something like that.

The man pushed Janus’s hand away and stood on his own. As their hands touched, Janus froze.

He stood in the forest. The air was cool and crisp and smelled like iron, and there was only the moonlight to illuminate the gruesome sight before him. The palace baker lay prone in the dirt, his horse lying nearby and his cart overturned. A pool of dark liquid spread around him, wetting the dirt.

“Are you okay?” asked the baker’s son, and Janus returned abruptly to the busy street.

“Yeah, I’m fine, bu-” Janus began.

“Good,” said the man, and he rushed away before Janus could ask or tell him anything.

Janus swallowed heavily, watching after him. He could still taste the iron smell. Then he turned and continued on his way to the palace.

-

Thomas felt the damp seeping through the seat of his pants as he sat on the log, but he didn’t particularly care. It was cold, sure, but he was more focused on his conversation.

“I dunno, Emi, it’s like he just wants to play with me. Like it’s some kind of game,” he said.

The child sitting in front of him was drawing lines in the dirt, but he looked up to answer. “Maybe that’s his way of showing he likes you. Like when Kyle used to push you over.”

Thomas winced at the memory. “Yeah. Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced.

Emile sighed. “I think he likes you, Tommy. He even made you that sketch of you. The one you hung up on your wall.”

Thomas smiled. “I know the one. It’s so pretty.”

Emile nodded decisively. “There you go. He likes you.”

“But what if it’s just as friends?” Thomas asked.

Emile shrugged. “You know I always say you should talk about it instead of overthinking.”

Thomas shook his head fondly. “Maybe you’re right, Emi. As always.”

Emile grinned. “Why, thank you!”

“Thomas!” Pryce’s voice called. It sounded like something rather urgent needed his attention. When Thomas looked back to where Emile had been, he was gone. Thomas sighed and stood before jogging in the direction of Pryce’s voice.

Upon reaching the clearing just off the road, Thomas froze. Andy’s father lay in the dirt, dried blood caking the dirt around him. His throat had been slit, and he was so, so pale. Thomas looked to Pryce who knelt next to a pool of vomit. It looked like he was having trouble breathing.

Thomas went and knelt next to him, in between him and the upsetting scene. “Can I touch you?”

Pryce nodded. Thomas placed a hand on Pryce’s back and rubbed it.

“We’ll do everything we can,” Thomas assured him softly. “We’ll take him back for a proper burial and do whatever Andy needs. I know it’s terrifying, and that it hurts, so badly right now. It hurts more than anything. But it will be okay, eventually.”

Pryce nodded again. “Okay.” He paused. “He was like a father to me.”

“I know,” Thomas said softly. “You go back to camp, and I’ll carry him back there. Ready the horses and put out the fire. Can you do that?”

Pryce nodded yet again. Thomas helped him to stand, then he turned and walked back towards their camp.

Thomas sighed and turned back to the baker. He crouched next to him and offered a small prayer to the Death Goddess, then hefted the body into his arms.

-

Thomas screamed as he fell to his knees in the remnants of his home. The scorched bodies of his fathers were contorted in fear, and he wanted to scrub the sight from his eyes.

His brother lay in a makeshift grave in the forest. Thomas had built it from stones and mud. He hoped it was enough for Emile to rest peacefully.

“ Thomas,” said a small voice.

Thomas looked up. Emile stood over him and offered him a hand, pulling Thomas to his feet when he took it.

“ Emile?” Thomas asked, dumbfounded.

“ Yeah. The Death Goddess and the Magic Goddess took me in. I’m sort of a god now? Or, I will be,” Emile said. “It’s hard to explain.”

“ Oh,” Thomas said softly.

“ You have to get up,” Emile told him. “You have to walk to the nearest town and ask for help. Please, Thomas. You have to live.”

Thomas had never been able to say no to that face.

-

Patton grabbed Remus’s hand as they entered the shop. A bell attached to the door rang out. There was a bored-looking teenager at the counter, leaning their elbows on the counter with their chin in their hands. They had bright red hair that fell over one eye in the front and ended at their neck in the back. Their clothes were largely black and red, very expensive colors to dye fabric in, though the clothes themselves looked fairly plain.

Remus squeezed Patton’s hand. Patton had always been uncomfortable around anything to do with magic.

“Hey there, Kiddo!” he greeted the teenager nonetheless.

They finally looked up, having been unfazed by the bell. “Hi, welcome to Pierre’s Powerful Particulars, home of many useful magical items. How may I help you today?” they droned.

“We want to trade for information,” Remus said. “Are you the proprietor of this shop?”

The teenager huffed out a small breath. “Hell no. I’ll go get Pierre.”

“Thank you very much,” Patton said with a friendly smile. He was sure he looked nervous.

The teenager waved their hand and disappeared into the back of the shop.

Patton cast his eyes around nervously. Remus squeezed his hand again. Patton smiled at him.

A tall man, probably in his late twenties, walked out of the back of the shop. He looked tired. He clearly hadn’t shaved in a while, but not long enough to grow much of a beard. His long blond hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of his neck. His dark eyes looked glazed over.

Poor guy must be really tired , Patton thought.

“Pierre, at your service,” the man said.

“We need some information,” Remus said. “We are prepared to pay handsomely.”

The man smiled. Something about it unsettled Patton. “Well, I hope I can provide what you need.”

“What do you know about the Dragon Witch?” Remus asked. Patton decided he also didn’t like that Remus had gone into all-business mode.

“Oh,” Pierre said, “I can tell you about her.”

6: The Nanny

By the time Janus got back to the palace, he was in a very sour mood. From the crowds, the exchange with Patton that almost ended in him saying something regrettable, the vision from Andy, and the pain in his back and leg. Nonetheless, he continued to walk, making his way into the palace and beginning the search for Logan.

It didn’t take long to find him, returning some clean blankets to one of the linen closets.

Janus cleared his throat. “We need to talk,” he said when Logan turned his head to look at him.

“Come in,” Logan said.

Janus walked into the linen closet and closed the door behind him. It wasn’t as cramped as it seemed when looking into it from outside. He took a deep breath. “I have troubling news. I’ve talked with the proprietor of one of the shops, and it seems we’re dealing with someone called the Dragon Witch, who has taken the name Adalinda Draco and gotten herself a noble title.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “That sounds unpleasant.”

Janus nodded. “Her powers supposedly include mind control. And Roman must defeat her. Apparently my having the vision means I’m supposed to help.”

Logan began to pace in the small space. “What do we do, then?”

“Remus and Patton have been filled in, and they’re looking into that now,” Janus replied.

Logan nodded. “As soon as they find that information, we should take action. Time is certainly of the essence.”

“Definitely. I just have to convince Roman when the information becomes available to us,” Janus said, his tone and expression both defeated and nervous.

“I have to talk to Remy,” Logan said as he opened the closet. “But first, let me walk you to the gate. You look exhausted.” They began to walk together.

Janus grimaced. “I’m that obvious, huh?”

Logan pressed his lips into a tight line and let the silence hang for a moment. Then he said, “There’s nothing wrong with needing to rest. Taking care of yourself is important.”

Janus laughed sharply. “I give that advice all the time. I suppose I haven’t applied it to myself.”

Logan hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe you should give that a try.”

“Thanks, Logan.”

Logan nodded.

As they rounded a corner, they passed Virgil. He gave a little wave. “Hi, Janus. Hi, Lo.”

Virgil rounded the corner, and Logan turned his head slightly, looking wistfully at where Virgil had been.

“You should talk to him,” Janus said after looking around to make sure no one was nearby.

Logan bristled. “I talk to him all the time.”

Janus scoffed. “About feelings, Logan.”

Logan shook his head. “There’s nothing to do about it. He’s… out of my reach.”

Sighing, Janus looked away. “Just a little advice.”

They reached the door to the palace, and they walked down the path to the gate in silence.

“Get home safe,” Logan said.

“I’ll certainly try,” replied Janus.

They both turned and began to walk in opposite directions. The streets were less crowded now, and Janus made it home in far less time than it would have taken earlier. He thought about Logan’s advice to take a rest, and Patton’s demand that he rest. He put out his “Open” sign and went to clean up a little. He’d do some readings and then rest. Putting it off surely wouldn’t hurt… too badly.

-

Janus was in the middle of listening to a customer’s question about their future when he heard a knock on the door. Specifically, Remus’s knock pattern. He paused, then interrupted the customer, “I need to check on this, I’ll be right back.”

When he opened the door, Remus was there, looking worried and somewhat upset. Patton stood slightly behind him with the same expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” Janus asked.

“Um, we have something kind of important to tell you,” Patton said, then began to chew on his lip. He paused for a moment, then wrinkled his brow. “You’re not resting.”

Janus cast a glance over his shoulder. “Can it wait a little? I’m with a customer.”

“I guess,” said Remus. But Janus had never seen him so on-edge.

Sighing, Janus gestured for them to come in. “You guys go to my room, I’ll be right there.”

They both walked past the customer and into the back room.

Janus walked over to the customer. “I’m very sorry, but something has come up. If you’ll come back later, I’ll do your reading for half price.”

They looked a little miffed, but the customer did leave. Janus sighed and went to join Remus and Patton. “What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

Patton and Remus looked at each other.

“The Dragon Witch,” said Patton. “She’s a real nasty character.”

“What do you mean?” Janus asked, his heart jumping in his chest.

Remus tried to perk up, but it didn’t quite work. “Well, it’s mostly just rumors, but, supposedly, she started the war in Louria, killed the prince of Hertland, and has razed quite a few villages.”

Janus’s eyes gradually widened. “That’s… not good.”

Patton quickly added, “But we think there’s a way to defeat her. We were told that the source of her power is an enchanted mirror.”

“So we destroy that,” Janus said.

“It’s not that simple,” Remus replied. “The mirror is hidden away in a cave in the Droiler Mountains. She connects with it through other mirrors.”

Janus hissed out a sigh. “Well… Do we know where the cave is exactly?”

Patton nodded and pulled out a map from his messenger bag.

Janus hummed. “That’s about a three days’ walk, six round trip,” he said. “And… Unfortunately, according to my visions, Roman has to come with me. You two can stay here if you like, though.”

Remus and Patton locked eyes again. Patton nodded.

“Fuck that, let’s go on a quest!” Remus said. “Besides, you may need help kidnapping my brother.”

Janus sighed.

-

For the third time that day, Janus walked to the palace, this time with companions. The sun was moving lower and lower in the sky. He was distracted, trying to come up with what to say to Roman. Patton flitted around him worriedly as they walked. He kept asking if Janus was alright, if he needed to stop. He said that they could go tomorrow, that Janus needed rest. Janus just hummed and mumbled basic responses. “I’m fines,” and “It’s okays.”

Janus felt like it took very little time to arrive at the palace. Nonetheless, he brought himself back to the present just as Remus told the guards that they had business with Logan. It was a good excuse to be there so late, and it was true as well. The guards let them in.

Janus let Remus take the lead on asking around about where Logan was. Eventually, they caught up with him. “Logan,” Janus called.

Logan turned to see them, and he quickly bowed his head to Remus. “I assume you have something to talk about?”

Janus nodded. “I’ll let Remus explain… I need to talk to Roman. I walked here to stall,” he admitted.

Patton furrowed his brow. “Janus, your leg…”

Janus set his jaw. “I’m fine , Patton. You three discuss what needs to be done. It’ll help when I drag Roman back here.”

Logan sighed, and Remus gave him a concerned look as well. “I’ll be okay, I promise,” Janus said. He turned abruptly and left before he could be lectured on the importance of taking breaks.

When he finally got back to Duke Erex’s estate, it was dark, and he was limping pretty heavily. One of the servants opened the door. Thankfully, it was Grey, who was sympathetic to Janus. “Young Master Remus isn’t here, Janus,” they said.

“I know,” Janus answered. “I’m here to see Roman.”

Grey raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “He’s in the study. The Duke isn’t there, don’t worry.”

Smiling in relief, Janus stepped inside when Grey gave him space to. “Thank you, Grey.” He walked away quickly, trying to avoid anyone else. Another servant brushed past him in the hall outside the study, knocking into the arm holding his cane and nearly kicking the cane out from under him. Janus nearly fell. He righted himself and took a deep breath before knocking on the study door.

“Come in!” Roman’s voice called. Janus did his best not to hobble as he entered. He closed the door behind him.

Roman looked up, then his eyes widened in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Janus took another breath. “I have something to talk to you about.”

Roman furrowed his brow, but then gestured for Janus to continue.

Janus told his story in great detail, trying to make sure Roman would believe him. To his surprise, Roman listened quietly.

When Janus was finished, Roman stood from behind the desk, then walked toward Janus. Janus straightened as much as he could, but Roman still towered over him. He swallowed with difficulty.

“You really think I would believe all that? That I’m so gullible I’d just listen to you?” Roman asked.

“Roman, it’s true,” Janus said as earnestly as he could, fighting against the annoyance that wanted to creep into his voice.

Roman grit his teeth. “I can’t believe you! Why do you want to make a fool of me?”

Janus shrank back a little. “I know I wasn’t always nice to you when we were growing up, but this isn’t about you and me! This is more important than us!”

“Why do you always feel the need to antagonize me?!”

“Oh, please! You do the same!”

“You little-”

The door swung open. In swept Galena, Roman and Remus’s nanny, carrying a basket of clean dishes. She took in the scene before her. “Hm. What are you two fighting about now?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Roman frowned, almost a pout, like a child who knew they were about to be in trouble. “He’s trying to convince me that I need to go off with him to save the kingdom.”

“It’s true!” Janus insisted. “I saw you fighting the Dragon Witch! I saw it, Roman!”

Roman turned back to him. “You’re really doubling down?”

Galena raised a hand, then pinched her fingers together. “Quiet.” She stepped closer to the two of them, taking in Janus’s expression. “Roman, he’s clearly telling the truth.”

“What?!” Roman asked.

“Look at his eyes,” Galena requested.

Roman peered into Janus’s face, and Janus clenched his free hand into a fist at his side, his knuckles going white as he tried not to flush from having the attention on him. Whatever Roman saw with his deep green eyes seemed to surprise him. He stepped back. “What do we do now?” he asked Janus.

Janus breathed a sigh of relief. “We go to see Remus and Patton at the palace. They’re discussing it with a servant who knows about it. They’ll have an idea of what our next steps should be.”

Roman nodded, surprisingly agreeable. “Great. Let me finish on this last report, then we’ll go.”

7: The Baker

Logan led Patton and Remus toward the scullery, where Remy was supposed to be helping out that day. “So, Patton,” Logan said, “It’s been a while since we got to talk.” His voice felt stilted and awkward.

Patton nodded, giving him a smile, even though he didn’t turn to see it. “Yeah. I’ve missed you and Prince Virgil.”

Remus tilted his head. “You should visit them sometimes, Pat.”

Patton’s smile fell. “I guess, but right now we have serious things to talk about.”

“Indeed,” Logan agreed. He opened the door to the scullery and held up a finger in a gesture for Patton and Remus to stay in the corridor. He returned shortly with Remy at his side.

“Hello,” Patton said with another smile. “I’m Patton, nice to meet you.”

“Remy, at your service,” Remy answered.

Remus waved a hand. “Remus, it’s a pleasure.”

Logan cleared his throat. “Let’s go somewhere less… open.”

Patton’s eyes widened. “Right! Lead the way!”

Remy grabbed Logan’s arm, much to Logan’s apparent annoyance, and began to walk. A short walk later, they found themselves in the servants’ quarters. Remy opened a door and gestured for the rest to go inside, then followed when they did. He checked no one was around and closed the door. “You have information?” he asked when he turned to face them, lowering his tinted glasses slightly, an excited look in his eyes.

“Yes!” Patton said. “It’s… There’s this mirror we have to go destroy to take away the Dragon Witch’s powers, but it’s in a cave in the mountains, and it’s going to be a long journey, and Remus and I are going with Janus and Roman to do that,” he said far too quickly.

Logan and Remy seemed to catch all of it, though. Remy hummed. “Well, I have to go with you guys. I’m not missing this.”

Logan hummed. “I suppose I should stay here, then.”

“I want to go too,” a voice said from the doorway.

They all jumped and turned to face the door, where Prince Virgil stood leaned against the door frame.

There was silence for a few moments, then Logan frowned. “No.”

“No?” Virgil asked, frowning back.

“It’s too dangerous, Your Highness,” Logan answered.

“I’m a grown adult,” Virgil shot back.

“A grown adult who’s never been in any real danger. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Logan said, sounding slightly agitated.

“And you’re just overprotective! I’m a healer! I can help!” Virgil cried.

“Prince Virgil-”

“Actually,” Remus interrupted, “a healer might be helpful.”

Logan shot him a glare.

“See?” Virgil said. “They want me to come!”

“Kiddo, Lo’s right. It’s really dangerous,” Patton said.

“Virgil,” Logan said, successfully catching Virgil’s attention. “I just want you to be safe.”

Virgil tilted his head. “I will be, Logan.”

Logan sighed softly. “Then I’m coming too. The other servants can fend for themselves for a while.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow and flushed slightly, then a triumphant smile split his face. “Cool.”

“Won’t people look for you?” Patton asked.

“Hm,” Virgil paused for a moment, “I think I have an idea.”

-

“Where are we going?” Patton asked as he, Logan, and Remus followed Virgil down the road. 

Virgil was focusing very hard on not tripping over the boots he’d borrowed from Logan, which were about two sizes too large. “Mh,” he hummed, “you’ll see.” He pulled the hood of his cloak down further. He was clearly trying not to be recognized. Patton wasn’t sure if Logan tagging along would help with that.

They finally slowed outside a bakery. The bakery that served the palace more often than not. Virgil opened the door, and the group made their way inside. 

The baker’s son–Andy, Patton’s brain supplied–popped up from behind the counter, surveying them with a raised eyebrow. “How may I help you?”

Virgil looked around, then lowered his hood. “I need a favor.”

Andy rushed to bow, but Virgil quickly waved for him to straighten up. 

“It’s fine, um…” Virgil cleared his throat. “I have somewhere I need to go, but no one can know I’m gone. You look so much like me…”

“Ooooh, no,” Andy said. “Nope. I can’t. That’s not going to work.”

“Andy, please,” Virgil said. He looked around furtively again. “It’s very important. The Dragon Witch has infiltrated the castle, and I need to go destroy her power at its source. We need your help.”

Andy’s shoulders fell. “The Dragon Witch? I… Who’s going to run the bakery?”

“I think I know a couple people who owe me a favor,” Patton said. “I’m sure I’ll find someone.”

A small sigh escaped Andy’s lips. “You’re sure about this?” 

Virgil nodded. “It’ll be absolutely fine. Just lay low, and I’ll be back before you know it. A week, tops.”

Andy nodded. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Virgil said. “You're doing the kingdom a great service.”

With a sigh, Andy walked around from behind the counter. “I’m glad to help, I guess.”

-

Patton held up a lock of Andy’s hair and carefully took the scissors to it. “You know, Logan, I don’t think anyone would have noticed that Andy’s hair is longer than Virgil’s. It’s not that much longer.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Logan said with the smug tone of someone who had just gotten their way. 

Patton brushed the hair off of Andy’s shoulders. “Look in the mirror and tell me what ya think,” he instructed Andy, who did as told.

Virgil approached to look Andy over. “...Well, this is uncanny.”

Andy turned to look back at Virgil. “Tell me about it.”

“Makeup time!” Remus announced with perhaps a bit too much excitement. 

Andy sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to apply it myself after you leave…”

“We’ll keep it simple,” Virgil promised. “Come on.” 

Andy followed Virgil to the vanity table and sat facing the mirror. “And what do I do if someone notices I’m not you?” he asked. 

“No one will notice,” Logan assured him, “because you will lay low and pretend to be ill. Ask not to be bothered, and no one will bother you.”

Andy took a deep breath, grimacing slightly as Remus and Virgil simultaneously began to apply makeup to his face. 

“Eyes open,” Virgil instructed. “You need to see what we’re doing.”

Patton leaned against the wall, watching as Remus and Virgil lectured Andy on what to do with the makeup, Virgil very seriously and Remus with the occasional off-color remark.

Remy emerged from the walk-in closet with an armful of clothes and began laying them out on the bed.

There was a knock at the door.

“Got it,” Patton said, pushing himself away from the wall.

When he opened the door, there stood Pryce and Thomas. “Oh,” said Pryce, “hello, Patton. Do you happen to know where Andy is? Or Logan, he might know.” 

“Ah, um…” Patton began.

Pryce looked past Patton, and his facial expression fell when he spotted Andy. He raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Why is he here?” He took in more of the scene. “What’s going on?”

“Pryce?” Andy asked. 

Logan and Patton locked eyes. It took less than a second for them to come to an agreement. 

Patton stepped aside for Pryce and Thomas to enter. “Hi, Thomas,” he said

“Hi, Patton,” Thomas answered with a tense smile. 

Logan walked over to them as Patton closed the door. “Andy is doing us a huge favor. Prince Virgil has somewhere he needs to go without anyone knowing he’s leaving.” He looked over at Andy. “I think it’s safe to say you’re nervous? Will having Pryce around to help you ease your mind?”

“Yeah,” Andy said. “That would help.”

Pryce still looked somewhat confused, but he nodded at Andy’s answer. “I’ll help however I can. But…” He shifted his gaze to Andy. “Andy, I need to talk to you for a moment.” 

Virgil and Remus moved away from Andy so that he could get up. 

“What is it?” Andy asked, tone full of trepidation.

Pryce jerked his head toward the closet. “I think it would be best to have this conversation in private.”

Andy looked back at Virgil, and Virgil waved for them to go. He followed Pryce, clenching and unclenching his fist at his side. 

The door closed heavily when Andy pushed it. It left Pryce and him in complete silence. “What is it?” he asked carefully.

“We, ah… Your dad,” Pryce said. “We think he was attacked by bandits. It was far too late by the time we got there.” Pryce’s voice was breaking, but he made it through giving Andy the news. 

Andy shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “No…”

“Andy, I’m sorry,” Pryce said. “I’m so sorry.”

Andy choked back a sob, placing his hand over his mouth. “No,” he repeated. He was unsuccessful in holding back his next sob. The dam broke, and he couldn’t stop himself from crying out in distress as the sobs overwhelmed him. 

Pryce opened his arms, and Andy dove into them again, clinging to him with all his might. He shook like a leaf as he cried into Pryce’s shoulder. Pryce rubbed his back, muttering empty words that meant nothing to either of them.

8: The Childhood Friends

By the time Janus and Roman arrived, Andy had calmed down a fair bit. Remus was showing him the different makeups and brushes, and Logan was filling in Thomas and Pryce on the situation, as well as clarifying some things for Andy. Remy had just returned from making preparations for his and Logan’s absence, and Patton and Virgil were packing Virgil’s things.

Roman looked around at the activity of the room. “How many people know about this?” he asked.

“Only the people in this room,” Logan answered. Janus nodded in confirmation.

Roman counted quickly. “I feel like this is too many people.”

“We’ll need as much help as possible, won’t we?” Janus pointed out. 

“I… suppose so,” Roman said. 

Janus sat down in the nearest chair, trying not to look too tired. “So, to recap,” he said, “Duchess Adalinda Draco is really the Dragon Witch, and she’s conspiring with Prince Eschive to kill the King. Her power comes from a mirror that she keeps in a cave in the Droiler Mountain Range. We need to destroy it. Virgil is coming, so Andy is taking his place and pretending to be him until we return. The journey should be six days, round trip. Three days to the cave, three days back. Everyone clear?”

There was a general murmur of consensus that rumbled through the room. 

Janus looked up at Roman. “From now on, I suppose I’ll defer to you.”

Roman looked around the room again. “Do we know exactly where we’re going?”

“I’ve got a map,” Remus answered without looking up from the makeup laid out on the vanity table. “Ooh, this one would be perfect for hiding that scar.”

“Remus, focus,” Roman groaned.

“I am! This is important, too, you know,” Remus chided. “I got the guy at the magic shop Patton and I visited to show me where on the map the cave should be.”

Roman nodded briskly. “And who is going on the journey?”

“You and me,” Janus answered.

“And myself,” Logan said.

“Patton and me too,” added Remus.

“And me,” said Remy. 

“And me,” echoed Virgil.

“I’ll go too,” Thomas chimed in.

Roman nodded. “That makes eight.”

“We should leave as soon as possible,” Janus reminded them. 

Again, Roman nodded. “We’ll meet just after midnight tonight. Everyone needs to pack for the journey. We can meet outside the north gate of the capital, in the treeline so the guards don’t see us and bother us.”

Logan frowned. “Are you sure we shouldn’t plan more?”

“Do you think we have time?” Roman shot back. 

Logan pursed his lips. “I suppose not.”

“Get ready,” Roman said. “We leave tonight.”

-

Andy sat staring at himself in the mirror. Everyone else had left the room, many of them to their own homes to pack, Pryce with Thomas to the temple, and Virgil to his closet for the moment. His face didn’t look quite like him. Definitely more like the prince than himself. He touched his cheek lightly over his now-invisible scar and looked down at his hand. Only the faintest hint of powder dusted his fingertips.

Virgil reentered the room with an armful of traveling clothes and an empty knapsack hanging from the other hand. He set it all down on the bed and looked to where Andy was still sitting next to the vanity.

Andy looked up only when Virgil sat down in a chair he pulled up next to him, then bowed his head slightly. “Your Highness.”

Virgil coughed and cast his gaze to the side. “You don’t need to… Um, you really don’t have to tell me, but I was wondering if you’d like to talk about whatever Pryce said to make you so upset…”

Andy sniffed, blinking at the stinging in his eyes. “My father went on a trip for some seasonal ingredients. When he didn’t return, I got Pryce and Thomas to go look for him. He was attacked.” His words were stilted, ground out past the lump in his throat. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist.

A look of understanding spread across Virgil’s face, and his shoulders fell. “My condolences,” he said. “You probably don’t want to hear any platitudes right now. But I can sit with you for a while, if you like.”

Andy shook his head. “You need to pack. I’ll be okay.” He sniffed again.

Virgil sighed. “We haven’t been that close in a long time, but you’re still my friend, Andy. I want to help.” He smiled a little. “Besides, we both know that Logan will be packed in no time and back to either help or nag me. I can at least sit right here until he gets back.”

Andy managed a tense smile. “Thanks, Virge.”

Virgil grinned and ruffled Andy’s newly-cut hair. “Least I can do for a childhood friend.”

He hesitated for a moment before holding his arm out. Andy leaned into him, and he wrapped that arm around him.

“I wish I could do more,” Virgil murmured. “I wish I could stay.”

“They need a mage,” Andy said, muffled by Virgil’s shoulder. “They’ll probably get themselves killed without you.”

Virgil huffed out a small laugh. “Knowing Duke Erex’s sons, that might not be an exaggeration.”

They fell quiet, the tension of Virgil’s nerves and Andy’s sadness hanging in the air. The silence remained until Logan arrived to scold Virgil for not having packed yet, which sent the two into a fit of laughter.

9: The Mage

Janus stood against a tree, waiting for the others to arrive. The moon was high overhead, waxing, and it bathed the forest canopy in silvery light that soaked through the leaves to dapple the ground beneath. His eyes focused in on movement off to his left, and he tensed, reaching for the dagger he’d strapped to his belt.

“Calm down, it’s me,” someone grumbled, and Janus relaxed when he recognized the voice.

“I expected you to get here first, or maybe Logan,” Janus commented as Roman came to stand a few feet away from him.

Roman yawned and grumbled.

“Not a morning person, huh?” Janus asked with an amused smile.

“Shut up. It’s not even morning yet,” Roman snapped.

Janus held his hands up and stifled a small laugh. “Cut your nap short to get your hair perfect, did you?”

Roman glared at him, and he had to stifle another laugh. A surprisingly comfortable silence fell.

Virgil and Logan arrived next, Remy trailing behind them.

Thomas came next, then Remus and Patton.

At this point, Roman had recovered his attitude and superior airs, and he was questioning everyone on whether or not they had packed everything they might need. Logan quickly joined, and the rest realized that those two in combination might be an actual living nightmare.

“Hey, Dipshit,” Remus said finally, reaching into his bag. He produced a rolled-up map and held it out toward Roman.

Roman reached for it, then hesitated.

Remus jabbed the paper toward his brother. “You’re our intrepid leader.”

Roman took the map.

Remus grinned. “Don’t fuck it up.”

-

The group had traveled mostly in silence for several hours until the sun rose. As the morning sun began to shine, Patton began talking.

“You know, I think we ought to get to know each other better, you know, as a group.”

Logan gave him a withering look. “Must we?”

“Yes,” Patton answered matter-of-fact-ly. “We should take turns saying fun facts about ourselves.” He was met with silence. “Okay, I’ll go first. I’m Patton, and I can say the alphabet backwards.”

“You can?” Logan asked before Janus could warn him.

“Yep!” Patton said with a grin. “Listen,” he paused for effect. “’The alphabet backwards.’”

Logan blinked, and Virgil, Roman, Thomas, and Remy all snickered. Then realization dawned on him, followed by a devastated thousand-yard stare.

Patton burst into giggles. “Okay, okay,” he said through his laughter. “Remus next!”

Remus smiled. “I’m Remus, and I tricked Patton into marrying me.”

“Remus!” Patton chided. “You did not trick me!”

“Nope,” Remus answered. “You fell desperately in love with me all on your own because I’m irresistible.”

“Ew!” Roman and Janus exclaimed simultaneously. They locked eyes for a second, then silently agreed never to mention it again.

Patton sighed, a smile still on his face. “Okay, Jan, your turn.”

Janus’s eyes widened. “Me? Why me?”

“Because you’re the first one I looked at!” Patton replied.

Janus sighed. “Well… I’m Janus, and I guess I see the future now.”

“We all knew that already,” Patton protested.

“Okay, fine, then… Um, I guess… Oh, I once helped Remus fill Roman’s room with feral cats,” Janus said. “That’s a pretty fun fact.”

“You what?!” Roman screeched.

Janus rubbed at his ear. “Ow.”

“I thought you had ‘nothing to do with that’!”

Janus huffed. “I lie, Roman, we’ve established this.”

“Ooookay!” Patton intervened. “Next…. Um, Logan!”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I am Logan, and I work as head of servants at the palace, a role which I share with Remy. I am also Prince Virgil’s personal manservant.”

“Lolo, we already knew that, too,” Patton said.

“I really do not know what you want from me, Patton,” Logan said.

“Well…” Patton began. “Oh! How about your favorite sweet!”

Logan blinked. “I suppose that would be the jam the palace cook makes.”

Virgil grinned. “I once saw him eat a whole jar in one sitting, three days in a row,” he said.

Logan’s face went still. “Falsehood. You’ve fabricated this.”

“Mmmh, I don’t think I have, Lo,” Virgil answered.

“How about you, Prince Virgil?” Patton prompted.

“Oh,” Virgil said. “Well, first of all, I’d prefer if all of you just call me Virgil. At least for this journey. Um… What’s a good fact about me? Ah, um, I can do this,” he said, and summoned a small ball of light in the palm of his hand. They all watched as it morphed through several animal shapes before settling on a cat that stretched, arched its back, then curled up in Virgil’s hand before slowly fading.

“Woah,” Patton said. “You’ve gotten so much better at that!”

“Very impressive,” Thomas agreed with a smile.

“And you, Thomas?” Patton asked.

“Oh, well, I’m Thomas, and I like to sing,” Thomas answered. He hummed a scale in demonstration.

“Wow!” Patton exclaimed. “I didn’t know that.”

“You don’t know everything about everyone, Pat,” Virgil pointed out.

“If I did, I’d be Janus,” Patton joked.

“I don’t know everything about everyone,” Janus informed them. “Just the things I can use in my favor.”

Roman mumbled something, and Janus pretended not to have noticed.

“I’ll go next,” Remy volunteered. “I’m Remy, and I make the best coffee and tea in the world.”

“You know I make better Earl Grey than you,” Logan interjected.

“In your dreams, Girl,” Remy responded.

“His coffee is pretty good,” Virgil admitted.

“Your turn, Roman,” Patton said.

“I hear a river,” Roman said in lieu of an answer.

“Perfect,” Logan said. “That should be a good place to rest briefly and gather some water if it’s clean. If not, we should probably gather it anyway and build a fire to heat it.”

The group headed toward the sound. Janus slowed, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Then Patton called his name, and he hurried to catch up.

The river was wide and flowed briskly, though not quick enough to pose any danger should they need to cross it. Virgil looked around at the edge of the trees by the river, and his stomach flipped as he heard a snatch of song.

“Guys, wait!” he exclaimed. “I think I know where we are!”

The music got louder. Virgil quickly slapped his hands over his ears and spat out a quick incantation, causing the rest of the group to do the same and freeze that way. Someone was still moving, though.

Logan was walking toward the river’s edge at a leisurely pace, a blank smile on his face.

Virgil’s eyes widened, and he murmured another incantation to muffle all sound for himself. He ran to Logan and looked toward the river.

Logan looked toward the river too. He didn’t notice Virgil next to him. Instead, he saw Virgil sitting on the rocky bank, singing. He held a flower in his hand, which he looked up from only to bat his thick lashes at Logan.

Virgil saw the creature for what it was. Its face was covered in a mix of scales and feathers, the skin between gray and withered. Its hunched shoulders drew close to its thin neck as it sang. A slimy, pointed tongue darted out over chapped lips.

Virgil planted himself in between the thing and Logan, hands on Logan’s shoulders. But Logan was physically stronger than him, especially under the creature’s influence. Logan forced him to take a step back, then another. “Logan, please,” Virgil said. “Logan, it’s not real,” he begged. “Whatever you see, it’s not real. It’s going to kill you, Logan, please!”

Logan kept pushing forward towards the river.

“Logan!” Virgil exclaimed, glancing back to see they were only a few meters away from the bank now. “Logan, I need you to be safe! I need you, Logan! Please!” he cried, throwing his arms around Logan’s shoulders.

Logan stopped, the melody shortly after. “Virgil?” he asked, looking down at the prince in confusion.

Virgil nearly sobbed with relief, sagging against Logan’s chest.

The rest of the group removed their hands from their ears, staggering slightly.

A screech rang through the air, and Virgil felt a hand close around his ankle, sharp claws digging in. He was yanked back and nearly fell.

Logan closed his arms around Virgil quickly, eyes widening. “Virgil!”

The others were pretty quick to realize what was happening and rushed over. Janus, Remus, Patton, and Remy all grabbed onto Virgil tightly and began to pull with Logan, while Roman and Thomas each drew their swords. They rushed the creature and began taking swipes at it, though they couldn’t seem to penetrate its steel-like scales.

Janus kicked at the creature’s face, and it used its free hand to swipe at him, tearing his pants and leaving long gashes across his upper thigh. In his surprise, he let go of Virgil and staggered back, and the creature managed to pull Virgil a little closer to the water. Remus let go, too, as soon as he noticed Janus’s injury.

Roman scanned his eyes over the revolting creature, and he finally brought his blade down hard on its wrist, cleanly severing its hand.

It screeched again and reeled back, and Remy, Patton, Logan, and Virgil toppled over into a pile. The creature disappeared into the water with a splash, leaving a trail of viscous brown blood.

Virgil looked down to see the hand still clutching his ankle and cried out. Thomas leaned down to hold his leg still and pried the hand off with the tip of his sword.

Roman rushed over to Janus, who was leaning against a nearby boulder. “Are you okay?” he asked urgently.

Janus nodded. “Fine… I’m fine, just a scratch.”

Roman leaned down to look. “That’s not just a scratch, Janus,” he said, giving him a look. “Take better care of yourself. Hopefully Prince Virgil can heal that in a minute.”

He stood straight and turned to help everyone regroup.

Logan held Virgil close to his chest for a few moments longer as the group began getting ready to move to a safer area. Finally, he helped him stand. “Thank you, Virgil,” he said very seriously.

Virgil managed a weak smile. “No big deal.”

10: The Confidants

The campfire crackled, comforting Patton a great deal. He leaned back, watching the water from the river begin to boil, the additions of the vegetables Virgil had foraged for and whatever type of meat Thomas had managed to acquire when he left for twenty minutes beginning to turn it into more of a broth. He reclined against a particularly old tree and let Janus take over the stirring for a minute. Thomas sat next to him, cleaning a blade. Despite the dire circumstances, he was quite comfortable with this group of people.

Across the fire, Roman sat down in between Janus and Virgil. Logan was on Virgil’s other side, then Remy, but Logan was entirely focused on the map, which Roman had given him to look over while they rested. Thus, Roman seemed to be the only one who caught Virgil poking at his ankle, pants pulled up slightly to reveal a bruise and the beginnings of some swelling. “Are you alright?” Roman asked.

“Mmh,” Virgil answered noncommittally. “I’ll be fine.”

“Can’t you heal it?” Roman pressed.

Virgil frowned. “I haven’t really mastered healing myself yet. Drawing from my own energy just to pour it back into myself… It’s harder than you’d think.”

Roman nodded and reached for his bag. He dug around in it for only a moment before pulling out a small bundle, wrapped in a strip of fabric. He unwound the fabric to reveal another, lighter fabric beneath holding together a poultice. Roman held out the poultice and the strip of fabric. “My nanny, and Remus’s, she made this. Caught me packing and made me bring it.”

Virgil hesitated. “I can’t accept that.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to disturb Logan from his intensive thinking?”

Virgil grimaced. “Okay, okay.” He took the offered poultice and fabric, then pressed the poultice against the worst of the bruising. After securing it with the cloth, he looked up at Roman. “Thanks.”

Roman smiled. “You’re quite welcome, Your Highness.”

Virgil flushed. “Stop that,” he groaned. “I’m nobody’s superior right now. Or in general really-”

“Do I hear self-deprecation over there?” Patton’s voice called.

Sighing, Virgil shook his head. “I am your equal in this journey. How’s that, Pat?”

“Perfect, Virge. Keep it up,” Patton encouraged.

Remy snickered.

“What?!” Virgil snapped. 

Remy shrugged, still smiling to himself.

Virgil grumbled to himself for a moment or two. “Either way, I don’t particularly enjoy the royal titles and all that…”

Roman gasped. “I never would have guessed!” he cried, feigning surprise.

Virgil elbowed him. “Shut up, dummy.”

“That’s the best you’ve got?” Roman asked.

“Oh, no, but if I swear, Logan’s sure to look up, no matter how preoccupied he is.”

“He’s definitely listening,” Remy added. “The boy can multitask.”

Janus looked up from the pot of what could now probably be called soup. “Remus has been gone for a while.”

Patton sat up. “You’re right. Should finding more firewood take this long?”

Roman scoffed. “Please, he’s Remus, he’ll be fine.”

Janus nodded slightly. “He’s right, Patton. It’s Remus. He probably found something gross that interests him, so he’s watching that.”

Patton didn’t look convinced, but he nodded back anyway. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Roman.”

“Of course I am,” Roman said, puffing out his chest.

Virgil, slouching, snorted. “Oh, you’re more of an obnoxious royal than I’ll ever be.”

One of Roman’s hands flew to his chest, and he gasped. “’Obnoxious’?!”

Virgil nodded definitively, though he couldn’t hold back a smile. He giggled.

Roman shook his head. “You wound me, Virgil,” he lamented.

Virgil snorted. Logan looked up briefly, but then seemed to decide it wasn’t worth it and looked back down to the map. Virgil had to hold his hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter at the look Logan had given him.

“Dinner’s ready,” Janus said. “Smells great, thanks Thomas, thanks Virgil.”

Janus began serving the soup into the wooden bowls Logan had been sure to tell everyone to bring. There was just enough for everyone present at the fire and about two more servings.

As they ate, Virgil eyed Patton, who ate far more quickly than Virgil thought he used to, then began glancing at the pot. He caught Janus’s gaze and nodded toward Patton.

Janus watched Patton for a minute, then took Patton’s bowl. He scooped out a smaller serving into the bowl, then dumped the rest of his own into it. When Patton opened his mouth to protest, Janus held up a hand. “We have some leftover things from Virgil’s foraging that I can eat, and you know Remus will only eat one portion.”

Patton couldn’t exactly argue with that. He tried anyway. “But wouldn’t you like the soup better?”

“Nope,” Janus answered. “Doesn’t agree with me.”

Patton frowned.

“You know I’m not going to let up until you eat,” Janus pointed out.

Patton sighed, then smiled a little. “Thanks, Janus.”

Janus waved a hand. “Whatever.” After a moment, he pulled out his journal and a fancy pen he’d kept from his younger years from his bag. He opened it and began to jot down some of the day’s events as well as the visions he hadn’t had time to write about yet. There was a pleasant silence that fell over them for a while. Janus’s pen against papers, the crackle of the fire, and the waking crickets and owls were the only sounds that rang out in the twilight.

Then there were the sounds of footsteps and twigs breaking. Remus loudly made his way to the fire and dumped an armful of firewood near it. He grinned over at Janus and Patton. Patton smiled back, while Janus gave him an unimpressed look.

“We saved you some dinner,” Patton announced.

As soon as Remus held out his bowl, Janus dumped the rest of the soup into it.

“We should rest soon,” Logan said, finally looking up from the map.

Roman yawned as if to punctuate Logan’s statement, causing Virgil to yawn.

Remus swallowed a mouthful of soup. “I’ll take first watch. Get some sleep, everyone.”

“I’ll take the next watch,” Logan said. “Wake me in two hours.”

“Then me,” Janus volunteered.

“I’ll go last,” Roman said.

Virgil and Patton looked up from where they’d been yawning, half asleep.

“Hey, wait,” said Virgil.

“Yeah,” Patton said.

Logan and Roman met gazes. “I suppose we could use one more shift, so everyone gets adequate sleep,” Logan said.

Roman nodded. “Aren’t you going to volunteer, Remy?” he asked.

“Nah,” Remy answered. “I’ll let one of them take it.”

“Me!” said Virgil before Patton could.

Patton pouted at him.

“Okay, Your Highness,” Logan said.

“Lo-” Virgil tried to protest.

Logan smiled tightly. “I am still your subordinate.”

Virgil huffed.

“Lay out your bedrolls,” Roman said. “Get some rest.”

-

Virgil sat on a tree stump with his chin in his hand. He supposed it was good that nothing had happened during his watch, but still, he was very bored. Sunrise was on its way, the sky beginning to lighten ever-so-slightly.

When he heard movement behind him, in their campsite, he turned around quickly. He saw Patton quickly getting out of his bedroll and stumbling off into the forest around the campsite.

Virgil debated in his head for a few moments. If he followed Patton, the campsite would be undefended. But, currently, Patton was undefended. He decided to follow.

He moved as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb the others. He heard Patton begin to retch, and he moved a little more quickly. When he found Patton, he announced his presence softly, “Patton, are you alright?”

Patton managed to nod, though he began emptying the contents of his stomach shortly afterwards.

Virgil moved next to him and gently rubbed his back. “It’s okay, just get it out,” he said as comfortingly as possible.

After a few minutes, Patton straightened up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m okay,” he rasped.

Virgil reached out and placed his hand on Patton’s forehead, murmuring a quiet incantation. He meant to check what was wrong with him. He instead found something entirely different. “Patton,” he said slowly, “are you…?”

Patton nodded a little. “Um, yeah.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “I, ah, I don’t know what to do! I haven’t told Remus yet, I can’t. What if he’s not ready, or he doesn’t want to- What if I’m not ready?!”

Virgil placed his hands on Patton’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Pat. You will be the best father ever. I know you will. And I’ll be here, no matter what. Whatever happens with Remus, whatever you need. I’m here.”

Patton sniffled and threw his arms around Virgil. He sobbed into Virgil’s shoulder, and Virgil held him tightly, one hand on his back and the other on the back of his head.

“I’ve got you,” Virgil said gently. “I’ve got you.”

-

Patton sat next to Virgil on his bed. “Hi. What’s wrong?”

Virgil huffed out a small laugh. “How do you do that?”

Patton grinned. “I can read minds. Now, tell me.”

Virgil bit his lip, chewing on the dry skin there. “I don’t want you to hate me,” he finally said.

Patton scoffed. “You’re my best friend. Why would I ever hate you?”

Virgil’s frown deepened. “You really want me to tell you something that might make you hate me?”

Patton smiled gently at him. “I could never hate you. You can tell me anything.”

Virgil took a deep breath, then blurted out, “I’m not a girl, I’m a boy, and my name is Virgil!”

Patton took a moment to parse out what Virgil had said, then realization flashed across his face. “Oh, thank the gods,” he breathed out. “Me too.”

Virgil tilted his head, processing.

Patton laughed loudly. “Call me Patton,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Virgil.” He smoothed out his skirt and grinned again at Virgil.

Virgil smiled hesitantly back. “Okay.”

“ Okay,” Patton said. “I’m so glad I got to tell you that.”

“ Me too,” Virgil said, grabbing Patton’s hand.

“ And I’m here for you no matter what,” Patton added.

“ Me too. I’ll always be there for you, Patton.”

Six months later, they both told Virgil’s parents.

A year later, Patton met Remus. They got engaged not long after, and Logan replaced Patton as Virgil’s personal servant. Parting was hard for them. But life moved on. Being on a journey together was nice, though. It felt like no time had passed.

11: The Child God

Janus walked next to Roman as they made their way along the path. Behind them were Patton and Remus, then Logan and Remy. Roman was looking at the map, where Logan had laid out a new, “more efficient” path for them.

“You know you’re holding it sideways, right?” Janus asked.

Roman scoffed. “It’s called looking at something from a different angle. Try it sometime.”

Janus scowled. “You don’t have to get angry every time someone tries to help.”

“Maybe I don’t want your help,” Roman snipped.

“Fine,” answered Janus, Having schooled his expression into calm indifference. “Let’s see how well you do without me.”

“Fine,” said Roman, turning the map completely upside-down.

“Will you two shut up?” Remus groaned.

“No,” Janus and Roman answered at the same time.

“Seriously, shut up,” Remy interjected, “I hear something.”

Everyone paused, listening carefully. There was yelling in the distance.

They all looked at each other, then began to run in the direction of the yelling. Janus lagged behind a bit, so Patton stayed with him.

It didn’t take more than two minutes for the group to come to the clearing in which was nestled a small cottage. In the garden in the front, which was larger than the area of the house, a man and a child were running about with large nets. The man was also holding a shovel.

“Hello?” Roman called. Janus tried to shush him, but it was too late.

The man paused, though the boy continued in his pursuit of… something. The man waved, and Remus waved back.

Remy crossed his arms and looked rather unimpressed.

“What?” Patton asked.

“I don’t do kids.”

“What?” Janus repeated.

“I just don’t like ‘em, hun.”

Janus rolled his eyes and looked to where the twins were already headed toward the house.

“Whether you enjoy the presence of children is not relevant to this situation,” Logan, clearly exasperated, told Remy. “Now… Get over it.” He turned to Patton. “Did I say that right?”

Patton gave him two thumbs up.

They started to walk toward the cottage, Patton and Logan practically dragging Remy. Roman had already reached the front gate.

“And you are?” Roman asked, having already introduced himself and his brother.

“I’m Emile!” the kid cried.

Roman smiled. “Lovely to meet you, Emile.”

The man looked at the group, seeming like he was thinking very hard about something. Finally he said, “I’m Teal. What are you doing here?”

“We,” Roman said, trying to sound important, “are on a quest!”

Janus rolled his eyes. “We heard you yelling, so we came to see if something is wrong.”

“Something is wrong!” Emile exclaimed.

“What is it?” Roman asked.

“Garden gnomes,” the man replied. “We have an infestation.”

“I thought most gnomes lived in the mountains,” Roman said.

“Oh, those are true gnomes,” the man explained. “Garden gnomes are pests that dig up gardens and eat any plant they can find.”

“They get into my garden pretty often,” Janus said.

“And you’d know that if you hung out with the cool group, Ro-Ro,” Remus said with a grin.

Patton elbowed him and muttered, “Be nice.”

“Well, can we help?” Roman asked.

Remy groaned, so Patton elbowed him too.

The man hesitated. “Some extra hands might be useful.” He smiled at Emile, and Emile smiled back.

Roman smiled too. “Perfect.”

Janus held out his hand over the gate to shake the man’s hand, shoving Roman slightly out of the way. “I’m Janus,” he introduced himself. Roman glared at him.

“I’m Patton!” Patton added. “And this is Logan, and Remy!”

Teal nodded. “Okay, so here’s our strategy for trapping the garden gnomes.”

The group filed through the gate as Teal explained that they were trying to drive the pests into the center of the garden on the path, then catch them in one of the nets. Teal was going to dig out any holes that looked like they still had gnomes in them.

Unfortunately, this plan just resulted in all of them running around for a long while like they were being chased by an ogre, except for Emile and Janus, who were keeping the garden gnomes in the center. They had five of them.

By the time they were finished, it was a bit past noon. Teal put the garden gnomes in a burlap sack and asked Roman if he could take them as far out into the forest as possible and release them, so Roman went. Then Teal invited the rest of them inside.

“Dear, we’re all done,” he called, removing his jacket and leaving it on a chair by the door.

They walked through the den and into a kitchen, where a man stood by the oven. He looked over with a fond smile when Teal and Emile entered. His eyebrows shot up when more people followed. Then he smiled again. “I don’t think we have enough chairs, but we’ll make it work! Who are all of you?”

“We’re.. passing through and heard Teal and Emile in the garden,” Janus explained.

“Their friend said they’re on a quest!” Emile added.

Janus sighed. “Roman is prone to dramatics.”

“You can say that again,” Remus said.

“Well,” said the man at the oven. “I just got the stove hot enough. Can I make you lunch in thanks? We can introduce ourselves while I work on that.”

“You don’t have to-” Patton rushed to say.

“I am pretty hungry,” Remus admitted before Patton could quite finish. Patton pouted at him.

Janus couldn’t help but agree.

Teal had already begun dragging in every chair that he could find.

Patton made Janus sit down at the table, then sat next to him.

“So,” said the man as he got ingredients from cabinets. “My name is Dyad. I’m the dad around here,” he said with a small laugh.

“That’s because he’s Papa,” said Emile, pointing to Teal.

Dyad paused for a moment to ruffle Emile’s hair affectionately.

The group introduced themselves again as Dyad cooked. Patton kept offering help and getting refused. After a while, Dyad served food.

They talked pleasantly as they ate, Janus and Teal sharing gardening tips. Once everyone was finished with their lunch, there was a knock on the door.

“Emile, could you get that, honey?” asked Dyad.

Emile hopped up and practically ran to the door. When he opened it, Roman, Virgil, and Thomas stood at the door. “Hi, Roman,” he said happily. He peered around Roman to see the two others. He locked eyes with Thomas. “Thomas!” he cried and practically pushed past Roman to hug Thomas around the waist.

Thomas froze for a moment, then hugged Emile back, his eyes filling with tears. “You can touch me…” he mumbled.

“Only here,” Emile said back. He pulled away, then looked at Virgil. “Hi! I’m Emile!”

Virgil smiled a little, though he looked between Emile and Thomas curiously. “Virgil. Nice to meet you.”

Emile smiled back, then went back inside, gesturing for them to follow him into the house.

They followed, though Thomas walked stiffly and looked around carefully. It was the same, but… different. Very different. It still felt like home.

When they got to the kitchen, tears began to flow down Thomas’s face.

Virgil was the first to notice. He nudged him gently and asked softly, “Are you okay?”

Thomas didn’t respond to him. Instead, he hesitantly asked, “Dad? Papa?”

Both Teal and Dyad turned to look at him, then rushed, almost tripping over themselves, to hug him. Thomas held on to them tightly, trying his hardest not to sob.

Emile hugged Thomas again, too.

“How is this possible?” Thomas choked out.

“Um…” Roman said.

Janus elbowed him in the side, but he continued nonetheless.

“What’s going on?” Roman asked.

Thomas sniffled and wiped at his face.

“I brought Dad and Papa here so I could be with them,” Emile explained, though Roman didn’t find that very helpful to him. Emile continued, looking up at Thomas earnestly. “This is my little corner of the world, where I can live again. You can come here too, someday. But you still have a lot to do.”

“Emile-” Thomas began, but very suddenly, the house was gone. Teal, Dyad, and Emile were gone, too. It left all of them dizzy and disoriented. They sat in weathered chairs around a rotting table, except for Thomas and Virgil, who still stood. Tears flowed freely down Thomas’s face.

-

Thomas didn’t speak again until they were sat around a campfire again. Everyone else was quiet, trying not to disturb him too much as he appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, he looked up, meeting eyes with Remy over his tinted glasses. Thomas’s eyes were bloodshot, and Remy’s eyes had bags under them.

“Emile was my brother,” he said, voice hoarse.

“Was?” Patton asked gently.

Thomas nodded. “He was seven, and I was six, and our village was raided.”

There was silence for several moments. Then Remy spoke up, “You don’t have to talk about it.”

Thomas coughed. “But I should.”

Janus frowned. “You shouldn’t do anything that will cause you pain,” he said.

“I need to,” Thomas insisted.

Remy nodded slightly, face deathly serious for once. He reached over and grabbed Thomas’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

Thomas shot Remy a sad smile, then looked around at the rest of the group. “Teal and Dyad, Papa and Dad, they adopted us before I can remember. They took care of us and made sure we were happy. The other people in our village were amazing, too. We all took care of each other. It was full of good people.” He paused, taking a shaky breath in and letting it out in a heavy sigh. “I’m the only survivor.”

Patton gasped softly, and Remus put an arm around him.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Virgil said.

Thomas shook his head. “It was a long time ago.” He smiled a wobbly smile. “Emile died protecting me. He hid me, and took an arrow to the chest before he could hide himself.”

Remy squeezed his hand again.

“He didn’t die, though, not all the way,” said Thomas. “Some of the goddesses took him in. He’s…”

“The Child God of Magic,” Janus finished in a soft voice.

“How’d you know?” Thomas asked.

Janus frowned. “I just… did.”

“The church was an accident,” Thomas said. “I went to look for help, and I told the people in the next village over that I was saved by my dead brother, and they just kind of… picked it up. We built a temple to him, and they took care of me. The temple helped him gain power, and…”

“How’d you become a knight?” Roman asked.

Thomas shrugged. “I wanted to help people. It made sense.”

Logan, who had been looking down pensively this whole time, looked up. “You gave Emile new life. You should be proud of that.”

Thomas smiled again. “Thanks.”

“We should go to sleep,” Roman said after a bit of silence. “Long day tomorrow.”

Continued in Part 2...

[for-thosewhocare]

The A List

I’ve been rewatching the A list and Oh My God.

I remember why I loved it so much. The dynamics and plot is what made me so invested. From the title and cover, you would have no idea what this show would be about. It’s a mystery from the start.

I do believe this is one of Netflix is a last shows targeted at the age group between 10 to about 15 where they’re too young to watch things like Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why but they don’t wanna watch Dora. And let’s be real, shows towards that age group get canceled quick, look at Julie and the phantoms for instance. Be honest, kids shows that aren’t like blow up bubble guppies and Sesame Street don’t really get as much attention. It’s like there’s no market for them at all.

Keep in mind I could be wrong. I don’t know every show that it’s on Netflix catalog but I do know what gets pushed and it’s not the family friendly shows.

But getting back to the A-list, the show itself has an amazing plot filled with mystery turns and a little bit of drama. But paired with that it’s also immensely diverse. I don’t believe the show is part of the representation matters collection that Netflix has, but it should be it even found a way to portray a healthy LGBTQ plus relationship without that being those characters main personality traits and still allowing for them to be a part of the plot outside of their sexuality. That is exactly how it should be because being gay is not a personality trait rather than a part of your identity but that’s neither here nor there. Not only that, but it does have characters of many races and ethnicities and I don’t think that that should be ignored.

The show also even made me finally have a main character that I dislike. I typically find a little bit to like an every main character but I don’t know something about Mia. She’s not exactly my favorite person in the world but she’s workable. I like the fact that you can see clear difference in her character development from the first season to the second season and unfortunately, there are only two seasons, 10 episodes each in the series. But in similarity to Mia, Amber is also equally unlikable. I don’t like the villain or the hero and that is very different for me. Usually I can find at least a little bit to like in a character and for those two characters I can find some moments where they are likable at least in the first season but overall they both suck. And make it even better. They both going out to the same boy, who is completely clueless, and it gets on my nerves BAD. But as for the background characters, I like them; They make the show very much worthwhile. I am not even talking about the gay ones.

I’m not gonna fully get into the characters in this review because I would like to do character reviews at some point in my busy schedule but let’s mostly talk about how I think shows like the A-list should get more attention from Netflix and Netflix’s viewers. I’m very disappointed they decided to cancel the showing a cliffhanger, and I do think that the show had a lot of potential artistically. Similar to The Greenhouse Academy, it does have painfully basic dialogue and I feel like they could have put a little bit more work into that and not continuously try to appeal to teenagers.

Besides that fact, it does have a good plot overall, I do believe that if the show was done by a company like HBO, they probably would’ve upped the antics a little bit and maybe it would’ve been less of a kid show but the dialogue would be way less painful to watch and I wouldn’t feel like I have to endure the bad parts.

With that said the show is what Disney wish they can put out. No hate to any of Disney shows. I just think that they think their viewers are idiots and you can see it in the dialogue that they put clearly little to no work into. Other than the dialogue, there is also things like the visuals and the outfit choices that I do like

They don’t dress their characters like adults they dress like teenagers. I can see any one of my friends wearing any of these outfit. They’re not something I would make fun of like in shake it up or some thing that would make me audibly gasped like in euphoria, but rather they seem like outfits that people from the ages of 13 to even 18 would wear.

Also, they are set in a seemingly realistic situation that a teenager could find themselves in. It’s just summer camp. The show was like Bunk’d on steroids. I feel like a lot of kids, especially in the US have had the experience of being sent camping at a summer camp. I mean not me, but a lot of kids have. The most I’ve been sent to our regular camps that are inside of schools but not camping but anyway, I digress.

The shots in the show are taken as if there’s someone watching them. It’s kind of like office style but less obvious. Within the shot, you can see leaves next to the camera or in the frame or they will take quick notice to food around and stuff like that I just appreciate the detailing of the camera work.

With that said…can we pay attention to the set?? The set itself has amazing earthy tones, as if it was an actual summer camp. I also like the fallen trees and the stumps that you can see around it and inside of the cabins they really put in detail, as if there were a group of teenage girls living in it. With that I also think that the make up that they put on the cast is realistic for teenage girls, because as someone who has gone out and been in nature environment, it didn’t stop me from putting on a little bit of eyeliner.

Overall, I would give the show a solid eight out of 10 because dialogue as you know is worth a lot for me and that’s the only thing that I see it missing mostly the only plot hole is that an occurrence because the show we are unfinished so I can’t even add that into the contrast of the entire show.

[nicosraf]

sorry if this has been asked before—it probably has—but what was the publishing process for abm?

It hasn’t been asked before! It’s actually kind of strange to me how the majority of my followers now weren’t here for when ABM was being queried and then me discussing how I was gonna publish it. (I’m not sure why it freaks me out; I think I was less of an author then, I was just a guy who wrote a book, and now I’m an “author” and I’m not comfy adjusting).

But basically, Angels Before Man was published through Amazon KDP (and briefly B&N Press but that’s an unresolved long story); it went through a line editor and proofreader that I hired first, and then I paid a cover artist, bought formatting software (Vellum), and posted it. That was it. I did it all pretty quickly too. Not in a sloppy way; indie publishing just goes a million times faster because there’s less people to wait on, and there’s pressure to get things done quickly.

Before self-publishing though, I was querying (sending an email or application with a pitch letter and the first couple chapters of the manuscript) to literary agents with the hopes of getting it traditionally published. During that, I got mostly rejections, but some interested agents and requests for the full book. I joined writing twitter and started posting about ABM and it got quite a bit of attention on there (this will be relevant). I started to get really disillusioned with traditional publishing though; if you want to know why, you can pick up Yellowface by RF Kuang or just spend more than 3 minutes on writing twitter. I realized that ABM, even if it got picked up, would probably get censored, and that I had heavily self-censored myself to try and appeal to agent and editor sensitivities. I was worried it would take several years for ABM to ever get on a bookshelf. There was a lot of talk about debuts not finding their book stocked anywhere, and I realized that ABM might never end up on a bookshelf at all. Authors are being asked to do their own promotion these days; big publishers just say “go viral on Booktok” and throw them to the wolves. I worried about my anonymity.

And maybe this is a stereotypical reason but ABM is very personal, and I knew that it would become an impersonal product the moment I handed it away. I started imagining the marketing they’d do, the things they’d make me say, the cuts they’d make me write. And it’s not that I think I’m a perfect writer who refuses to edit, (I like working with editors), but that I feared they’d turn the book into something else altogether - a husk of itself. So I decided I didn’t want to have a “professional, real, traditional book” and I emailed the agents who had ABM that I would no longer be considering traditional publishing. At this point, I had three options: forget about publishing ABM at all, post ABM on archiveofourown/Wattpad/etc for free, or put in the work and make it an indie book.

I couldn’t forget ABM, because the story wasn’t really over to me (the sequels) but more importantly because people on Twitter and friends wanted it. I considered posting it online for free somewhere, but I had written ABM to be a book. I wanted to see it properly formatted and bound with a pretty cover. I had acquaintances who self-published successfully (Freydis Moon, Kellen Graves), and so I decided to give it a (terrified) shot.

I made a lot of mistakes though. (Distribution for ABM has been a nightmare). I remember in a previous post, I gave the advice that, if you’re interested in self-publishing, you should look into D2D and I stand by that. I’m available for any very specific questions you have! I still love indie publishing and heavily dislike traditional and I love supporting indie authors. Reach out if you need any help with anything!

The publishing process isn’t really over for ABM, of course, given… developments but right now nothing is for sure. (Will ABM get picked up by traditional publishers? Maybe. But maybe not). But this is how things have worked out. Again, let me know if you have any specific questions!! I’m always happy to help.

[aswegoalong72]

31/1/2024 Writing Update

Hey, all! I'm here with another writing update!

First; a special shout-out to my partner, @gr33ngr1zz!! It’s their birthday today, so go and follow them! 💚

Sadly, there isn't much to really update this week; I've been busy and feeling a little under the weather (hooray chronic illness), so I've been lacking unfortunately when it comes to writing. I have something to make up for that though! It'll be under the cut at the end of this update :) Status: Dawn - 6% complete (696 words) Yuniv & Semat - ~1% complete Deep Freeze - ~1% complete To Touch Tenav - ~1% complete Piercing The Veil - ~42% complete (118,325 words) "Book Two" - ~2% complete (483 words) "Book Three" - ~1% complete Universal Ideal - ~1% complete

As you can see, very little has changed. The most work since this last update was in PTV, which was mainly just me editing and re-writing a few chapter titles essentially.

I'm currently doing an art trade with someone, and since art takes a lot out of me, most of my energy will be directed towards that in the coming days. I've been doing a lot of brainstorming when I can though, and have made a lot of decent progress in regards to that!

Now, for those of you who dislike spoilers, you may finish the post here. For those of you who are interested in the plots of the books, stick with me and follow me under the cut; I'll give a synopsis for each one! :)

Glad to see you! This'll be a bit long, as there are a lot of books to cover here. I'll try and keep it brief, but in the future, I'll give a more dedicated look at each one under the cut!

Dawn Dawn is the first book in the series, and will be a collection of short stories. It centers around their early history, ranging from before they discovered fire up until a bit after the first religious wars. There'll be about 8 or so total, as I have mentioned previously. This is one of the prologue novels, and will serve to set up the history and world of the Lyratet much better. Yuniv & Semat Yuniv & Semat is about the titular characters, who were instrumental in opening up Southern Reyal to the North. The book follows them as they depart from their hometown, and begin their treacherous trek up north. Yuniv is a botanist and artist, and Semat is a geologist and good at basic engineering. Together, they work hard to get through the dangers the untamed land has laid before them.

Deep Freeze Deep Freeze takes place a few hundred years after Yuniv & Semat, a bit after the beginnings of pre-nuclear industrialization hit Reyal. It centers around a small group of scientists who embark on the first ever expedition to the North Pole, and the discoveries they make along the way. This book will have more of a focus on speculative evolution, as I have a rich biosphere planned for the exotic poles!

To Touch Tenav To Touch Tenav is about the first ever person to be sent into space, taking place a bit after nuclear industrialization has taken place (they're late bloomers, what can I say?). This book covers more of the social aspects of the Lyratet, and how hard it is for them to not be with family, as well as with the idea of dying in space. This is the last of the prologue novels! Piercing The Veil* PTV is the first "real" book in the series, and documents Sav Rapalla'etka Estras (née Estunyas) and her voyage with 14 other brave souls to Thrallit, the icy moon of Olena, the system's only gas giant. There, they set out in search for signs of life, and are pleasantly surprised only a year into their mission. There, they find the Aulon, a civilization of post bronze age, hyper-aggressive, olm-like beings; a stark contrast to the peace loving Lyratet. "Book Two" Still thinking of a title for this one. This one takes place only a few years after PTV, and centers around another groundbreaking discovery that only takes place a little bit after the discovery of life on Thrallit; life on Earth! Book Two follows the journey of the New Dawn**, which is a massive ark capable of hosting up to 12m people. After the ~148 year trip between the stars, the New Dawn arrives at Earth in 1972, just a bit after the launch of Apollo 16. There, they change the history of the world as we know it. This book features a lot of alternate history, the difference between the Lyratet and Humanity, and how they get along and cope with the differences. Humanity's reaction isn't the best at first, so this will be a bit of a darker book at times. Despite this, it will be uplifting. "Book Three" Book Three, the final of the main novels, takes place in 2003, up until a bit after the present day. After the world has been massively restructured thanks to the friendship between the Lyratet and Humanity, they set forth on their first interstellar expedition together. They make their way to the Alpha Centauri system, doing a survey of all the stars and their respective planetary systems. Upon arrival at Alpha Centauri B, they discover the wreck of a planet known as Delnok Sharr. There, they meet up with the inhabitants by much surprise; the insectoid & voracious Vaurouii. After a bit of discovery, they find that they nearly wiped out the entire population over 20,000 years ago in a massive nuclear war. From there, the three civilizations work together to help each other in every way they can. Universal Ideal The last book in the series, named after a lyric from Todd Rundgren's "International Feel". This covers many topics; from the recovery of the Vaurouii Nomadic Arks that were sent out just before their destruction, to the first interspecies*** child, to the end of it all. A look at how love endures, how we're all not that different, and at the end of the day? We just want to feel safe and loved.

As We Go Along - What If? This is a nebulous idea, and is up for debate if I’ll do it or not. Another short story collection, this would revolve around multiple alternate scenarios in the setting. What if first contact between the Lyratet and Humanity occurred in the present day? What if the Lyratet were aggressive and wanted to kill all carnivores? What if the Vaurouii never destroyed themselves? This and much more would be explored! That's it for now! I'll do some more explaining in a later post, then! *When I started writing this book, I fully intended for this to be the first and only book. As I continued, I was enraptured, and wanted to write more. Much more. This book has recieved the most love out of them all so far, and will probably be the first I finish, followed by Dawn and then the rest. It will be published only after I finish all the other prologue novels though, as I want this to be done chronologically. **Name still up for change. ***Not interspecies as you would think it would be ala Star Trek; I've got this whole concept I'm very excited to share!! And no, it won't be graphically sexual. I don't do that kind of thing. And no, I don’t condone zoophilia. This is love between two advanced societies with language and an understanding of consent and each other.

[foxonfier]

my favorite thing in the world to do is assign music to characters. and by assign i mean figure out their fav bands. fav songs, fav albums, fav musicians … their listening habits, their opinions in music. are they a music snob? do they not really care? do they listen more during the day, while working, or while they’re chilling at night? what are their unpopular music opinions? genres/decades they fancy? there’s so much you can do here and so much character depth you can add and uncover.

sometimes i just. lob artists/bands at characters to figure out what they’d think. grow their music taste and opinions yk. i think about the holts from adf quite often, it’s just fun to see the differences between three brothers and even their parents and how music is passed down vs how some go against the grain. dale might love the smashing pumpkins and tyler might hate them. complain about billy corgan’s voice, cross his arms and think about how much he hates this and how much he’d rather hear something like what’s the story morning glory (oasis). but not wonderwall! no, that’s beneath him, he may tolerate it but he doesn’t love it and resents the idea of it being assigned his favorite song just because he likes oasis. he doesn’t understand dale’s interest in weird shit like supertramp but can silently appreciate the rolling stones even if he finds it appalling that their album cover is a guy’s bulge. tyler can appreciate 70s but he just doesn’t…love it. too many long intros, not enough singing - i think tyler does enjoy hearing someone’s voice, so all that rock n roll guitar solo shit doesnt really fly with him. i know he’d just die if he ever heard dale play shine on you crazy diamond, he’d be like wtf is this? no turn it off i want to hear some real music. and dale’s like bro, this IS real music. this is literally pink floyd. and tyler’s all, i don’t give a shit change it. and dale’s like fine whatever. then tyler is like no, i don’t wanna listen to david bowie, just put it on some 90s or even some good 70s stuff, i just don’t wanna hear those weird solos. so funny to me.

and dale! i don’t see dale being into a whole lot of pink floyd - maybe just the popular stuff, esp the wish you were here album. if he dove into it more i think he’d enjoy it (especially the wall) but just hasn’t really given pf a big ole chance yet. just into weird shit, just music made for that certain demographic that people like tyler can’t and maybe never will understand. dale’s experimental and nods off to reggae, bob marley and (by extension) bunny wailer, and alton ellis. watches old docs on woodstock and the doors and jimi hendrix. probs got into stevie ray vaughan through his cover of hendrix’s “little wing,” he can just really appreciate a good fuckin’ guitarist. i think he’s a little all over the place, kinda the guy that listens to everything w other people’s influence, picking up on new songs along the way, kind of a magnet for new music. he loves his mom’s taste in music and they listen to some similar stuff. not sure yet if dale got sharon into reggae or if it’s the other way around. either way i feel like reggae is important to dale, he enjoys uplifting music and doesn’t really fuck with depressing shit, maybe more mellow stuff here and there but nothing like what jay would ever listen to. some of it is just too dark for him. so i do think he has a bit of a line despite picking up so much from others. doesn’t mean he dislikes grunge, he just doesn’t really enjoy songs like black or polly or even jeremy. tyler’s similar, not that he hates grunge or anything but if he even got a glimpse of nirvana’s “rape me” he’d be super turned off.

surprisingly i can see all three listening to pearl jam, kinda something that keeps the whole fam together. jay obviously enjoys the ten album, jeremy and black and once… thinks that whole album is a masterpiece. tyler likes yellow ledbetter and some other stuff off of vs, elderly woman and daughter… and dale i think also likes vs, def yield and maybe even some vitalogy ? better man and faithful, given to fly? yeahhhh. jay’s a full grunge fan, likes that crusty 90s, sonic youth and pixies and nirvana.. maybe a little old country thrown in from his dad. could definitely see jay being a deadhead if he’d ever been able to keep up with a band like that and wasn’t stuck to the confines of two rock. just enjoys jamming to music, electric guitar vibes all around. when it comes to blur vs oasis jay is probably gonna choose blur, much to his brother’s chagrin. not that he’d admit that, he’d probs say something like “i like em both..” just nodding along when tyler’s music snobbery comes up. unlike dale he doesn’t really mind that tyler doesn’t open his mind to different music. meanwhile i bet it annoys dale that tyler won’t even give songs a chance just because of the title. also have mentioned this in the past but jay does like a lot of girl singers, mazzy star and hole and sonic youth,, maybe even the cranberries ? can see “linger” being a guilty pleasure song of his. also he’d def enjoy the smashing pumpkins (which i am listening to rn hence why i’m bringing it up lol) so he and dale have that in common i imagine. shockingly enough i think jay might also weirdly be into like, 60s to mid-70s bob dylan? none of that christian shit he got into later in life but definitely simple twist of fate and like a rolling stone… that whole highway 61 album. maybe is possibly obsessed with that black and white bob dylan aesthetic, firing back at reporters and smoking cigarettes in every vid and being up on stage all by himself, just a guitar and harmonica. black shades and everything… and no i’m NOT just saying this because i’m also obsessed with bob dylan but jay seems the type what can i say.

so, the gist? dale is weird experimental mostly 70s/some 60s shit, tyler is 90s alt rock and jay is moreso 90s grunge and rock and shoegaze. can’t see any of them being much into 80s, maybe jay could get into the cure with some time but as of now i can’t see him being into it yet. bet dale could appreciate those synth solos that were so popular. maybe sharon listens to a bit of 80s… not too sure yet i’d have to see. i mean thats probs the era jay grew up in so? who knows. but yeah, dale is into bob marley and tyler oasis and jay nirvana, their tastes can obviously overlap and it’d be hilarious to see what they’d do with a joint playlist between all three of them and how they’d react to each others songs, may write that someday if the time is right.

why did i write this? because i needed to expel all of these jumbled music thoughts in my head and these three are the easiest to do that with. this may not be canon to anyone else in the adf fandom (btw this is not even my fandom but i’m here hi) but it makes sense in my head and i’m sticking with it. i may go deeper someday if anyone is interested or if inspiration strikes again so, we shall see. but yeah here hands you this essay

[italic-doing-random-shit]

all of them

only if you feel like it

HERE WE GO

* Who was your first ever OC? Do you still “use” them? How have they evolved over time?

their name was aqua! Sadly I don’t have any art of them on my phone cause it was like 2019. They wry really evolved sadly but I might redraw them!

Who is your newest OC? Why did you make them? 

Technically, Ceia. The Adam you all know is a revamped character for this story.

Biggest self-insert OC?

Oof, I had a MC one in 2020-22 so I believe that counts

What kind of music do your OCs listen to?

Italic enjoys hyper pop

Adam enjoys cello covers, Cody fry, and anything with orchestra

Ceia doesn’t really enjoy music

What are some of your OCs biggest fears? 

Italic: blood and betrayal

Ceia: needles (for the stinging pain)

Adam: guns and blood

Do you have any OCs without stories? Will you ever create one for them?

Nope! Every character I’ve made had a story that I never followed through with

What are your favourite relationships between your OCs? (romantic or platonic!)

Italic is best friends with Ceia. Italic is friend/enemies with Adam.

Adam strongly dislikes both Ceia and Italic.

Ceia is best friends/co-workers with Italic. Ceia sees Adam as a stray sheep, a pawn.

Do you have any OC family trees?

Not written/drawn yet.

Favourite OC?

Adam for his story, Italic for their design.

OC you most struggled to make? 

I really struggled with Italics final design (the onl that’ll be in the animation I have planned) just because it was smaller details and more fine tuning on things I didn’t like

Sum up one or more of your wips! 

WHY IS IT A SCRIPT WHEN DID IT BECOME A SCRIPT WWWHAHAHU

Which story took the most research?

I had one story that involved murder so…. I now know how to kill someone and get away with it/j

Which story has the most lore? 

Paper Notes (Aka: Italic, Ceia, and Adam)

Current word count of all your main wips? 

1616 words on the script, 3126 on the planning/practice

How many projects do you have going on right now? Are there any that you doubt you’ll ever finish? 

I have two main ones. It really depends, executive dysfunction is ✨fucking wonderful✨

What was you first major project? How far along is it? 

it’s…. Struggling but I’m working on it

What are some tropes and character dynamics found in your wips?

In paper notes, you can find a redemption arc lots of betrayal, and found family

Describe the setting of one or more of your wips

In paper notes, they live in ‘The Domain’ which is a version of the Anti-void, and it’s been decorated.

What are some things that inspired your stories? Real events? Maybe a dream?

Undertale soul quiz inspired Italic, Ceia was inspired from Ink and my own art ability and doubt.

What story are you the proudest of? Why?

Paper notes. It’s a story I really put everything into and I’d really like to see it become a professional show/story.

When did you start considering yourself a writer/artist? 

fourth grade. I started drawing and I tried to began improving

What are all the “kinds” of writing/art you do? (short stories, poetry, screenplays, digital, painting, clay, etc.) 

digital art, video, music, writing.

Are you in any writer/artist groups? (Ex: discord server!) 

here! Even if I don’t post art often

Do you have/want a career in your medium? If not, what do you do/want to do instead? 

I really do want to take this into a career. I actually visited the collage I want to go to! It was actually really nice!

What’s your favourite genre to write? Is it also your favourite genre to read? 

I like writing a mix of fantasy and Sci-fi? I think that’s a good way to put it? I just like magic and funky charatcers.

What are your favourite books?

I like some books I read back in elementary, one was called Wishtree. I like to read them for comfort. I don’t really enjoy books for my age group/level because I can easily have trouble with actually reading and understanding them. It’s been suspected that I have dyslexia since my dad did too.

What are your favourite movies?

LUCA. GAY FISH.

Favourite songs at the moment? 

butch 4 butch, inarticulation, and the killing kind.

What was your first fandom you were in? Did you make any art/fanfic for it? 

Hamilton, and no

How are you doing? <3

am eepy but okay!!

[euphoricfilter]

hi hi :) quick question but what’s ur thoughts on those ai photos of bts that are trending on tt rn?

i have sort of mixed feelings?? though probably lean towards the dislike of it all more than being for it. first off, i don’t think realistically most of the ones that have come on my tiktok are harmful, though a few of them have come close to being scarily real and that is slightly worrying

i don’t know if they’re meant to be like photos or drawings or what?? a few i’ve seen i think are meant to be like photo shoots, which are the ones that always have me 🤨 because i think i’ve missed something. but a lot of the sci-fi ~ fantasy ones look more like digital art than photos

i don’t entirely agree with ai ‘art’ or media, be it writing, music, digital art, deep fakes, photos, whatever form of media we consume as people. simply for the fact that i believe humans will always do it better. plus, having that sort of unfiltered freedom is all fun for some people but can be dangerous if given to groups that have malicious intentions. which is scary part.

sure, a computer can write fancy words, probably come up with a full plot and have it written in minutes but it lacks the human empathy, and emotion, and experience. same with ai art, or photos. behind every art piece, either with traditional media or digital, there’s intention behind every choice made, what textures to use, placement, hidden mistakes that have been covered up but still a secret behind what lays on top. and no matter how good ai becomes at replicating stuff like that, i don’t think it’ll ever truly compare to human talent. that doesn’t mean i don’t think it can’t be a useful tool if you ever find yourself in a rut and want some form of guidance, or a new perspective on a question or topic to help you achieve your art in a way you’re happy with

as for the photos that have been on tiktok, i think maybe it’s important to label that it is ai generated if you desperately want to create and post photos like that. some of the ones i’ve seen are obviously fake, a lot of fantasy mixed with bts which when you first look at it you can tell isn’t real. however there have been a few that have looked a little too real with no disclaimer that they aren’t real photos. i say i have mixed feelings because i know the people that are posting that kind of stuff are just playing around, however, ai as whole, in terms of this topic i’m very iffy towards, and i’m sure it’s a topic that a lot of people will start to talk more about now that ai is very prevalent within both online and offline spaces in school or work, probably anywhere at this point 😭

i have similar thoughts of ai voice generation too, it’s kinda weird and kinda dangerous. because again, it’s fun for people to make their favorite singers do covers of other artist’s songs. but that doesn’t mean groups of people who have less than innocent intentions can’t also have access to these tools to spread a narrative that is entirely false

ai art ≠ art. they’re not the same thing!!! and will never ever be equals in my eyes

however i also don’t think there is a need to feed a computer the faces of bts and made it shit out a ton of funky, sometimes weird art? photos? whatever it’s meant to be. because somewhere down the line that’s gonna lead to some mean people doing some mean things

[childofaura]

If you're doing roasts now we might as well get Kusakihara out of the way.

I'm sorry anon, but... Kusakihara Toshiyuki isn't a bad artist in my opinion. So I apologize, but this one ain't gonna be a roast, I know I'll be hated for praising this artist but again, it's 100% my opinion.

Let me just establish this right now: The only reason why I dislike Ryoma Kitada's artwork so much isn't (just) because "horny". I've said it before but you can have fanservice on the mind and still have great art, like Cuboon, Maeshima Shigeki, or Okuma Yugo. It's only when you're so focused on drawing big tits or muscle that you completely neglect every other important aspect of the artwork, like Kitada did. Like... Kitada neglected almost every important aspect of FEH artwork that I cover, which is:

-Expressions

-Anatomy

-Posework

-Details and effects

The only thing that Kitada had going for them was their colorwork was actually good. But everything else was so clearly poor quality.

So moving on to Kusakihara Toshiyuki.

They've drawn Noire, Rhajat, Easter Loki, B!Marianne, Rinkah... And Mustafa. Friggen Mustafa, lol, THAT was a character I wasn't expecting them to draw.

And yeah, when you look at their artwork, Toshiyuki likes drawing their busty women:

But that's not necessarily a bad thing? All these characters were naturally busty from the start, so it's not like Toshiyuki took a flat character and made her chest huge.

And aside from that, Toshiyuki has some lovely color work and great posing most of the time:

I included Marianne's because while she's not necessarily in an action pose, she looks relaxed, like she's floating, which is a great natural feeling. Forgot to mention the way they draw clothes adds to that motion as well.

Though when I say "great posing most of the time", there is a miss:

But to give them credit, even though Marianne's attack pose does the same kind of bending, it at least looks more plausible and less like she snapped her spine:

Also they all have some toned muscle, which is really neat to see from an artist drawing female characters (I mean Rinkah is a given, but Marianne, Rhajat, and even Loki on her artwork have some visible muscle).

And again, they drew MUSTAFA. The very much a manly man Plegian General:

They didn't shy away from the muscles, the facial hair, the tired and worn face and scars. An artist who has primarily drawn thick chicks very easily and perfectly drew a muscled man with a very drastically different face. Just by picking Mustafa alone they proved they have the range to draw any type of character.

Also they draw expressive faces:

And not to mention, it's clear from how they drew Rinkah, Noire, and Rhajat that they really know the character and knew what to do with them. Rinkah has very strong poses that aren't fan-servicey at all and keeps her absolutely shredded body, Noire's critical has her dark persona, and Rhajat's crit also gives her a shadow on her face. Also Marianne's critical portrait has Maurice/The Wandering Beast. And Loki has more expression with this artist than Maeshima Shigeki.

The only real criticism I can find is A) Noire's awkward attack portrait (that they ended up improving pose-wise in future pieces) and the weird way they shade noses as if the characters have a cold (which they also improved, as it's absent from Marianne's artwork and Mustafa's).

I do apologize anon, but Kusakihara Toshiyuki deserves no roasting. They're a way more capable and competent artist than Kitada or Sencha, and I'm honestly thankful that they were chosen to draw Marianne, Mustafa, and Rinkah. They're easily a 10/10.

[measuringbliss]

Tag game time!

The delightful @frog-in-bog tagged me and I must oblige!

Relationship status: recently singled, even more recently in a new relationship. it's working out. he's adorable.

Favourite colours: red and pink and indigo!!!!

Favourite foods: FAJITAS. risottos are nice too!

Song stuck in my head: This Monitor/Quondam Monitors (from Zero Escape) cover

Last thing you googled: if boiling water truly made it drinkable. roommates were not going to take a chance however.

Time: 01:42 am

Dream trip: Nothing. I'm fine with where I live! I just came back from a year abroad after all. ...Well I'm missing that city...

Last thing you read: The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I'm still at the beginning

Last book you enjoyed reading: See previous answer but also I love Les Faux-monnayeurs (The Counterfeiters) by André Gide. favourite book.

Favourite thing to cook/bake: Fajitas and risotto

Favourite craft to do in your free time: honestly not very crafty but I occasionally write. I also found taking care of my laptop soothing but it's. an endeavor.

Most niche dislike: I can be very specific about what I like and don't like in ASMR. First off, a few years ago you could search "asmr" on YT and filter by "last hour" and you always got a nice selection of new artists. Now 60% of these results are spam, 30% are slime and/or mukbang (eating), and the rest is mostly uninteresting. I love ASMR done by people who don't have the best control of their own voice (loud whispering or normal talking) with a bad mike, and kids are absolutely great in this category. But it can be complicated to find those videos, and even then people already have too much "good" craft. They know they have to whisper (because everybody does it), they know they can film with their phone (and nowadays even your base smartphone is a great recording device) and it all feels so formulaic. It's boring. My brain isn't interested. Another issue with the current state of ASMR is that Youtube recently introduced Shorts.

Shorts look like this when normal videos look like this:

The length is not shown on Shorts because they're at most 60 seconds long. However they take up the same space as normal videos, are in this weird aspect ratio that's for your phone, not your laptop, and the video player is bad. I understand that it's a mean to grab/make available small bites for your audience but it's a horrendous idea in ASMR because you usually want your video to last a while so that the watcher/listener can get in the mood. 60 seconds or less? There's no way I can enjoy it. But somehow, content creators absolutely lashed onto it and it is... displeasing, essentially polluting our experience.

Another issue with the ASMR community that REALLY needs to become a discourse already is this:

I've been seeing ASMR videos "for ADHD" for about a year now, I think. I don't like my disability becoming a wide selling point. ADHD has been trivialized and it's been everywhere. I complained about it on r/asmr but the agreement was lukewarm at best. I don't doubt that some people who do ASMR also have ADHD; my issue is that it's a real disability that ruins a lot of lives and people latched onto it as the new ~big word~. It's insulting, really. Anyway.

Opinion on circuses: I hate them but I do understand the appeal

Do you have any sense of direction: Yeah! But sometimes it fails me. So it's unreliable.

Tagging, with no obligations: nobody! if you see this, consider yourself tagged by yours truly!

HAVE A NICE DAY/NIGHT! 💌

[kevinlaforest]

HOUR // Peter Gabriel présente "New Blood Live in London 3D" à Montréal (12 septembre 2011)

The legendary Peter Gabriel was in Montreal this afternoon to present an advance screening of New Blood Live in London and hold a press conference.

The concert film, which was shot last March during two concerts at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo during which the former Genesis frontman was accompanied by a 46 piece orchestra, will be shown again in select Cineplex theaters (including Montreal’s Cinéma Banque Scotia and Cinéma StarCité) on October 12 and 17, before being released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 25.

The New Blood CD will be released on October 11.

PETER GABRIEL ON…

3D as a gadget: “It’s just a gadget in the same way that your eyes are just gadgets. But they connect to the brain and they allow you to process images, and you have two of them. So I think it’s a device, it’s a tool [that] allows you into this world which I think is closer to real life.”

The challenges of making a 3D movie: “Blue Leach, who directed it [and] did a fantastic job I think, he had most of the problems. A thing we tried that I think I would have loved to have a little more time with, I put on a camera rig myself, just a few shots that we used from that… I think if I’d had my own monitor and just a little more time, I would have learned how to use it better. But I thought it was quite interesting, and the other thing I liked is when the camera’s able to move through the musicians, cause obviously you don’t get to do that when you’re sitting in the audience. And again, had we known how that was gonna work, I think we would have tried to engineer more of that.”

Making music with a full orchestra: “This grew out of the covers project which is called Scratch My Back. It was a song exchange: you do one of my songs, I do one of yours, that was the original idea. We’ve only got half the number of songs back again, but… Then it was a question of how to arrange the songs and I thought at first about all hand-made instruments, I wanted to do something that was different and fresh for me. And then actually, as I began thinking about that, I thought, ‘If I use traditional instruments, it’s gonna be, you know, more range of expression and great players to draw from.’ And I’d never really done an orchestral project… We always try to make some rules to help the process cause I think if you really wanna castrate an artist, tell them they can do anything they want; they haven’t got a clue what to do. If you tell them, ‘You can’t do this, you definitely can’t do that, and you absolutely must’nt do this,’ then they start thinking creatively. And so I try to do that to myself. In this case, we said, ‘no guitars, no drum kit’ – we use classical percussion – and we’ll try and make some things really, really empty, sparse, and other sections so very full. So, with that in mind, we sat down with John [Metcalfe], this amazing arranger I’ve been working with on this, and we talked about our influences, things that might have reference to this project, for instance Bernard Herrmann, who did all the wonderful Hitchcock work, with a track like Intruder [...] So we wanted to be bold. I specifically avoided some of the more popular songs, we went for things that would be an interesting journey from start to finish. I think that some of the classical projects can sound like rock-lite, and we were trying to avoid that.”

How he can navigate various genres of music while not losing his fans: “I think the best policy is to follow your passion – Joseph Campbell used to say, ‘Follow your bliss’ – and then you try and find find a way to sell it afterwards! Because I think that way, if things don’t work out, you still had a great time and an interesting journey, so that’s sort of been the way I approached things. And I know with this project, some people who like Sledgehammer and Solsbury Hill don’t like the orchestra; some do. But then I’ve also come across people who really disliked everything I’ve ever done, but they like this! So I think you have a chance, if you do something different, you lose some and if you’re lucky, you win some.”

What he likes best about the film: “I see plenty of myself so I prefer so I prefer to watch the others! The thing that I got most excited with was an idea to take the drums sections of Rhythm of the Heat and I thought, maybe what we could do is try and take the parts of drums and put them on orchestral instruments, and that’s what I asked John to do. I think that’s my favorite moment in this and in the concert.”

His relationship with Montreal: “Well, it’s always been very kind to me, Montreal, so I appreciate that. And it seems it is a home from home.”

How he sees himself: “I think, um… A man who went for an interesting life.”

His greatest achievement: “There’s this dream [I had] to make an organization of former statesmen and women which is called The Elders (theelders.org). Sir Richard Branson and I were determined to get Mandela to found that, and he was at first reluctant, but then agreed. The fact that that’s in existence is amazing to me, so I think that’s probably well up there.”

REVIEW

Up until now, save for 2008′s U2 3D and maybe a few others, 3D concert films have been reserved to teen idols à la Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber and the Glee cast. Enter Peter Gabriel, who couldn’t be farther removed from that, especially the way we find him here, singing in front of a 46 piece orchestra conducted by Ben Foster and focusing in great part on lesser-known art rock numbers such as Intruder (off 1980′s Melt), San Jacinto and The Rhythm of the Heat (off 1982′s Security), Blood of Eden (off 1992′s Us), as well as Darkness and Signal to Noise (off 2002′s underrated album Up ).

Also included are a few tracks from Gabriel’s 2010 covers album Scratch My Back (Regina Spektor’s Après moi, Lou Reed’s The Power of the Heart, The Magnetic Fields’ The Book of Love) and some favorites from his own repertoire like Biko, Digging in the Dirt, Mercy Street and Red Rain, culminating with the timeless Solsbury Hill and, during the encore, the very moving one-two punch of In Your Eyes and Don’t Give Up.

Visually, Blue Leach’ film is not the most dynamic thing in the world, relying mostly on Peter Gabriel holding our attention with his powerful voice and presence, which he does. White-haired and dressed in black, often bathed in red light, the singer is surrounded by the orchestra, through which the camera swiftly moves. There are also some interesting mise en scène tricks, notably involving LED screens. The use of 3D is immersive enough, if not particularly impressive.

[looosey]

Lucy's Main Quest #3: "Hey, shouldn't you be trying harder?"

So... You might've guessed by my last Main Quest post, but final grades came out for my sophomore spring and I didn't do that well. And... I was like disappointed but not surprised, because although I am delusional, I can also work myself up to reality. I.e. although I saw I got like a 30% on that 046 final, I was expecting at least a B, but then again, I can't recall or name most of the topics covered in the last third of the class, so it makes sense I got a C.

Well, there's someone else who isn't happy about these grades that is not me. It's my mom. Yeah, @budumtssss we're going a step further from, it's all the dance you've been doing, to... how can you take TWO classes and not get Bs (and a whole bunch of repetitive nagging getting real close to direct criticism). And so I got upset, and was like let me figure this out, you're not helping. And then she was upset--she says she should have the right to nagging as a mother without me being upset. In general, the nagging seems like more for her, and her need to feel important as a mother, and for her longterm financial stability than it is for me. But still:

"Shouldn't you try harder to get good grades now that you've been goofing off for three years?"

Damn. It hurt. But it also objectively does bring up an interesting idea that I need to figure out: do I need to try harder in school, and why?

Part I: No

To preface, I will shine some light to my journey leading up to now. "Work hard as a means to open more doors in life" is the no-brainer philosophy I lived by throughout high school. Once I arrived at MIT, I tried hard in classes and got the grades, but had a really depressing first semester, and a slightly less depressing second semester. It was exhausting, living such a "default" lifestyle: by "default" thinking about school, watching the clock as I ate, looking at unanswerable pset questions and thus having to pset with people I could not carry a normal conversation with, and otherwise be surrounded by strangers all the time. It was unsustainable, and made me hate my life and the school.

So, after some thinking this summer, I decided I would care less about grades. I took hip-hop dance theory and screenwriting. I worked on freestyle dance in my free time, really investing time and effort in it, and pursued this small funny Italian dream. I became better friends with y'all. I participated in clubs like KCA, mince, and MissB. I applied to rap class. In my application to CMS.S60 Rap Theory and Practice, I wrote:

"At the moment, the artist/creative is someone I respect more than the stellar student. So even at MIT, I write my own short-films, draw, choreograph dance, and think about satisfying videos I want to film in the future. All in all, I really appreciate that art shares a vision/interpretation of the world, giving it value."

This is my truth.

Yes, there is a parallel universe where I could be giving my all into understanding algorithms, and I am confident I could get an A in that class. I think my mom in particular was struck by this when I said this to her but I think she must've stopped listening here. The second half of this story is: I did not choose that universe. I study hard with curiosity and interest, but not to the extra levels I know is needed to secure a high grade in any class.

Yet maybe because of this choice, now I am living life to a fullness that I am proud of. This was the first year of my 15 years of schooling, where I was not an A student, and I've experienced soo soo many more parts of MIT, Boston, and delayed young adult life because of this: like grocery shopping and cooking to survive, working jobs, being bad at something, getting good at something unproductive, being pursued and rejected, on dates in general, finding my likes and dislikes in people again. Yes, I am figuring out what it is I want to pour my efforts into.

If Richard Feynman was my role model figure in high school, I draw inspiration from artists like Tyler the Creator now. Which is interesting: both geniuses, irreverent, cocky, and pushed their fields forward. This summer will be a research opportunity for me to figure out how closely I want to mimic the path of either the academic or the artist. In general, this lifestyle is necessary for my happiness and my continued journey in finding who I am in college.

Part II: Yes

"You keep it all bottled up that's why your life dry while mine wet / I study hard at school to keep my sisters and my mom fed." - Amari, suffolk county water (Nomadic Seoul EP)

Um... so exaggeration or not? My family as it stands right now, is doing okay financially. However, as some of y'all can guess, there are some ticking time bombs, or random variables, that make the system unstable. So, for now, let's just say there is some weight on my shoulders to make a decent salary after MIT, to share support wherever the pieces lie in a couple years. I think that might be a major part of my mom's worry as well, which is lowkey fair, because I used it in my rap lyrics so I should walk the talk.

The assumptions here are that a good GPA and a promising student at MIT will get hired by a tech company and keeps all those doors of opportunities open for me in the future. This route is tried-and-true. Whether you do it for the family or for yourself. The soul-searching can be done in a more BALANCED fashion--besides, you can move anywhere once you are at the top of the ladder.

Besides, my goal being Netfllix is as basic as any other company in recruitment: like they want a spiky developer, someone who's good at developing, not a creative mediocre programmer. They'll filter me by GPA if I don't have anything to show for myself. Ain't that crazy?

So studying harder. Yes. There are some sacrifices yes, like sleep, improvement in dance and rap, social life, but in return is capability and delayed opportunity.

Part III: Maybe

Anyways to wrap up this post: I will figure this out this summer. I just know I like my life a little fast-paced. I need to move forward with more of a plan/vision and the confidence to execute it either way.

Before my mom even brought it up I thought to myself this is probably now where I get better grades anyway. But I don't care about keeping all doors open: I live fully and intentionally such that I know which doors I want to close and not worry about. If I choose to spend my time pursuing something hard, I just hope I thought about why I'm doing it and why I chose it in particular. I agree bottomline that I need to work on my systematicness/thoroughness/work ethic in doing even what I like.

This is just what's on my mind right now. So thanks for reading it through if you did. Toodloo.

[coutelier]

Lana Sane - Part One (2nd Draft)

(I won't be posting many early drafts anymore and will start to delete the old ones, but I wanted to keep an example to refer to tracking the changes that happen between drafts. So this is the start of the second draft of a novella I started a while back. About 2500 words).

Millenia ago, yet the same moon looked down on Earth as now, most of the same stars still twinkled in their slow procession through the night. And as the gears of the cosmos ever turned, a family sheltered in a cave. There were many dangers out on the tundra. So many lost to ice, sickness, and predators. Prayer would do little to mitigate the harshness of nature, but perhaps to survive as a human means looking past the cruel to gaze with awe and wonder on the magnificent. Outside was a world they could not control, but in here huddled around a fire they began to grind charcoal and other things into paste with which to celebrate the splendor of their world; the windswept plains, herds of mighty beasts, the sun, moon, sky. They began to paint.

Twenty thousand years later, twelve-year-old Tenley Tych squinted at a holographic image of their work. With her black bob hanging to one side and her arms folded, she declared like a British judge on a talent show, “it’s rubbish.”

Sat next to her in the van next to machinery covered in blinking lights, Jennifer Airhart gaped like she’d been punched in the gut, “rubbish!?”

“What’s it even supposed to be?”

“Well,” now it was Jenn’s turn to tilt and squint, “it’s a Mammoth. I think. The trunk is just a little faded.”

“I could draw a better Mammoth than that and I have never even seen a real one.”

“Okay, well I’ve seen your drawings so-“ Jenn quickly revised what she was about to say under the intensity of Tenley’s dark eyed stare. “You know, it’s not about whether you’re a better artist than a caveman. The point is that even separated by thousands of years your ancestors also felt the need to create; humans were the first animals to make things not for survival but just so they could appreciate them. Doesn’t that make you feel something? Anything?”

“Can’t have been my ancestors,” Tenley shrugged, “whoever did that had no talent.”

Jennifer sighed, blonde hair covering her face as she hung in near defeat. She had a flashback to school trips to museums and her being the only kid in her class not interested in just fooling around. She had hoped to instill in her ward a sense of the wonder she felt, but Tenley just wasn’t receptive right now.

Tapping her foot impatiently Tenley said, “What I don’t understand is that you always talk about how amazing humans are and these great things they’ve done, but you don’t really like people at all. You’re always trying to avoid them.”

“It’s not that I dislike people,” Jennifer explained, “it’s like Tangerines; I like them a lot, but too many at once will make me poop.” She began scrolling through her tablet, murmuring, “I’ll find something that’ll impress you.”

Tenley snatched the device, shutting down the hologram. “Stop stalling,” she warned. She pointed through the front window to the mansion they were parked outside - Dashwood. “We’ve been here half an hour. They’re going to start wondering what we’re up to.”

Dashwood was a retirement home. From the outside it seemed well kept even in the low light of early evening; nicely trimmed hedges, colorful flowerbeds, glistening pond. No doubt it all made a pretty photo from anyone looking for a place to spend their twilight years. Jennifer had never seen or been here before, having no immediate family members she was looking to decommission. She did have cousins most of whom had regular full-time jobs and families of their own, so when word came of a problem with her uncle they called on her - as she was surely only busy with little things like preventing the apocalypse - to pay him a visit. She’d made it to the gate before suddenly deciding on the history lesson.

Tenley chided, “if you didn’t want to come here you should have just said so when they called.”

Jennifer stammered, “I-I can’t do that. I mean it’s family.” She also just hadn’t much of an excuse since unfortunately no world ending crisis had come up.

“Well then you should have given the phone to me and I’d have told them to shove it up their butt holes. Honestly you are such a doormat.”

“I’m sure you would,” Jenn smiled. She didn’t know why she was stalling. This should have been very easy compared to, say, hacking a mycelial network, yet here she was drumming her fingers, having to gather herself before she could even walk up to the door. “I’m just not sure where we’re supposed to go.”

“Maybe to the door marked reception?” Tenley suggested.

“Right,” Jenn bit her lower lip. She must have looked pathetic, sitting on her finger procrastinating over something so simple. And she was supposed to be the adult. “Right! Let’s get this done,” she hopped up and out of the van, turning to Tenley as she followed, “I should warn you what Great Uncle Quinn is like.”

“What’s he like?”

“Oh; grumpy, misogynist, racist - like all seven dwarfs stood on each other’s shoulders and wearing the skin of an old man.”

“I should warn you,” Tenley stomped ahead of her, “I’m missing the new season of Big Dino Brawl for this. I’m not exactly cheery right now either.”

“You’ll catch it on streaming.”

Tenley harrumphed then led them into the reception. The young man behind the desk was sat with his back turned, listening to something through his headphones while also watching the news on a screen hung in front of him. The coverage was of evacuations and relocations from the Abomination Zones - places where the mutagen had fallen warping life in them into myriad new forms. Jennifer had seen to it that a vaccine was freely available to everyone, but couldn’t prevent corporations like Meridiem from capitalizing on the chaos to seize swathes of land for themselves. They were far from any affected areas now so all Jenn had to worry about was getting the receptionist’s attention. Just walk up to the desk and ring the bell. Easy. Nothing to it. Then she would have to explain who she was and why she was here, which should have also been easy; wasn’t like she was a criminal, she was asked to come here. Stop being distracted by the TV and ring the bell. But the man there didn’t look like he wanted to be disturbed, and wouldn’t it be rude to-

Tenley tilted her head, prompting, “well?”

“Um,” Jennifer made an undulating pyramid with her hands but a solution to her problem may have just presented itself. “Would you like to ring the bell?”

She was trying her best to sound like a grown up allowing a child to do some minor task so they felt they were helping. Tenley saw through it muttering, “unbelievable,” as she shook her head and stepped to the desk, agitatedly slamming her palm on the bell repeatedly.

Startled from his seat the man quickly covered the bell, groaning, “stop that! It’s not a toy.”

“Really?” Tenley blinked innocently, “I thought it was like one of those clicky games. Press it a thousand times you win a berry or something.”

“What do you want?” He sighed exasperatedly, “you’re a little young to be checking in.”

“Funny,” Tenley acknowledged, “we’re here to see Quinn Alto.”

“Who’s we?”

“My adult. She’s-“ Tenley turned to where Jennifer had been. It only took a second to find her again. “Well she’s hiding over there now. Pretending to be interested in that big potted plant.”

The receptionist peered between the pale blonde cowering in the corner and the tanned dark haired Tenley. “You don’t really look related,” he noted.

“Do I look interested in sharing my life story? Just tell us how to find the old man.”

“Well I need you both to sign in first. And I need to see some ID.”

“Or,” Tenley considered, “you could let us in, and I won’t shatter every bone in your body.” The man, not knowing what she was capable of, just looked bemused by the threat. And Tenley knew that Jennifer likely wouldn’t approve of unnecessary roughness so, “look,” she said, “I’m missing my Dinosaur show. The sooner you let us in the sooner I can be done and out of here, which is what we both really want, right?”

“Big Dino Brawl?”

Tenley brightened as if she had new found respect for him. “You know it?”

“Okay, fine. Just sign and get out of here.”

Having annoyed the receptionist into submission, Tenley was soon stood tapping her foot impatiently as beside her Jennifer tentatively knocked on a wooden door in one of the mansion’s halls. After a moment of no response Jenn suggested, “maybe he’s not here.”

“He’s in there,” Tenley assured her, “he’s just really slow.”

“How do you know?”

Tenley tilted her head back as the whites of her eyes were swallowed leaving behind shimmering onyx spheres. Jennifer bit her lip, feeling foolish for having to be reminded.

“I could smash it open,” Tenley suggested.

“No! N-no - no smashing,” Jenn sighed, “just be good and we’ll get some ice cream on the way home.”

Tenley’s eyes returned to normal. She tilted her head and narrowed them saying, “you’ll forget. But I’ll remind you.”

“Consider it an object lesson; never make promises you can’t keep.”

Finally the door clicked then creaked open. Of course what greeted them was an old man; fit for his age, but his back bent like a well used bow, thin wisps of white hair clinging to a liver spotted scalp, loose cheeks pulling his lips into a perpetual frown. Jennifer immediately snapped to attention, gasping, “Uncle Quinn!”

He snorted, “what the hell do you want?” He then swung about to slowly hobble back around his bed to the other side of the room.

“I came to check up on you.”

“What you mean,” he creaked and groaned as he lowered himself into an armchair, “is that none of your cousins could be bothered, and you’re too much of a doormat to tell them to get lost.”

“W-well,” Jennifer flushed beet red, Tenley offering no support; merely looking up and shrugging. Jenn tugged on her waistcoat, breathing deep. “They are worried about you. They just have jobs and their own families now. They’d be here if they could.”

“Bullshit,” Quinn told her, “you just skip on home and tell them I’m fine. I don’t need your charity.”

“Okay!” Tenley clapped her hands merrily. “You heard him. He’s fine. Let’s go. Ice cream! Remember?”

But Jennifer was less convinced. Hanging around the room were various mementos; tarnished medals, certificates, a yellowing employee of the month award, photos of her aunt, uncle, and cousins, Jennifer off to the side looking glum in a few of them.

Quinn had switched on the TV, although to Tenley’s chagrin he was just watching the boring news. More reports of people fleeing from and being evacuated from the zones, the military and several private mercenary groups - most of them under the umbrella of Meridiem - setting up cordons around the worst infected areas. “You know who’s behind all this don’t you?”

“Actually I was there, so yes,” Jennifer muttered. If her friend Kaya were here she would say maybe he just wanted to be listened to, so Jenn braced herself for whatever nonsense she was about to hear. “I suppose you’re going to tell us your theory anyway. I’m guessing it will be somehow the fault of people not straight, white, and capitalist.”

“Australians.”

“Okay, well, that I was not expecting,” Jenn sighed, “dare I ask how or why exactly?”

“Cui bono, girl. Think it’s a coincidence this disease or whatever it is hasn’t spread down under? And now there’s all these people fleeing there so their economy is booming like never before. Never trusted them. I mean, how could you? They’re all descended from crooks.”

Jenn sighed again, rolling her eyes, “There is so much wrong with everything you just said that I just don’t know where to begin correcting it.”

“Suppose you believe all that fake news blaming the corporations.”

“Well, by ‘fake news’ you mean news you don’t want to hear. You want every report to say ‘once again, Uncle Quinn was never wrong and society in the old days was perfect.’”

“Bah!” Quinn spat, rising slightly in his chair, “you Airharts always thought you were so damn clever. Where’d it get your parents, eh? Where are they?”

Low. Jennifer pursed her lips, looking away from him as if afraid she would do something very out of character if he remained in her sights. Tenley on the other hand fixed him firmly in hers. “You should be nicer to her,” she warned.

“Oh?” Quinn snorted as he bent forward like a grandpa telling a story. “Why?”

“Because no-one else will save you if you keep pissing me off.”

“Who is this brat?” He laughed to Jennifer. “Your guard dog? You taking in strays now?”

“Ten,” Jennifer placed a hand on her ward’s shoulder, gently turning her around, “it’s okay. I lived with this man for three years. I can put up with his nonsense.”

“You sure?” Tenley asked.

“Yeah. Go watch your show. I can handle things from here.”

“Okay, well - holler if you want someone to break his legs.”

Tenley left them. After a moment Quinn leaned back noting, “well she doesn’t take shit, does she?”

“No,” Jenn agreed.

“You know, I just don’t understand why a pretty blonde girl like you isn’t married already. Starting a real family. You one of them lesbians or something?”

“Something,” was all Jennifer was willing to divulge at this time. She just simply had no interest in those kind of relationships, but that was something most people struggled to accept. She would rather just get to point of why she was here. “Look - they say you’re refusing to take your medication.”

“I don’t need any more jabs or pills in me.”

“That’s not what the doctor thinks.”

“That vampire? You know they all just want to implant us with their microchips so they can spy on us.”

“Okay, well, if ‘they’ wanted to spy on you there are much more straightforward ways to go about it. You’re just not-“ Jenn froze. She started biting her lip, unsure she should carry on, but Quinn leaned forward bidding her until quietly she finished, “you’re not important.”

Quinn snorted. Leaned back. His old gray eyes scanned the walls around him. “See that? Lifetime Achievement Award. Outstanding contributions to customer service. They booked a ballroom, a band, they took my photo for a magazine shaking hands with the company president. But now all that’s forgotten. This is what we get for our service; swept away out of sight so we can’t keep being a reminder to you all that nothing ever lasts forever.”

“You know,” Jenn sighed, but this time it was accompanied by a soft smile, “I think that’s the first time I’ve understood anything you’ve said.”

He confessed, “I have missed the arguments.”

“Yeah,” Jenn graciously nodded, “I understand wanting to take back some control of your life, but you do still have to take your medicine.”

Quinn stretched, cracking his neck and loosening his shoulders, getting ready for another round.

[thisisntanaddiction]

Six Regional Centers

Description: Epidemic prevention is by no means a heavy responsibility that can be accomplished alone. Fortunately, Bai Jing and Jian Yi are not alone. Because there are still six [SRC Vanguards] stationed in various places, sticking to their posts for everyone's health.

Description (Traditional Chinese): 防疫工作絕非單打獨鬥可以完成的重責大任。幸好白靜和簡奕並不孤單。因為還有六位派駐各地的【SRC 先鋒部隊】為了大家的健康，堅守崗位。

Characters: SRC Pioneer Force

Nickname: District Manager

Release: October 2021

Artist: Chi You

Birthdate: 7/23 (Leo)

Character info below:

Gender: Male

Character: North (upper left)

Height: 178cm

Personality: If there is no public transportation to take, I don't want to go anywhere. North looks a little gloomy, but he works seriously and observes subtleties, and he can always find out the clues of infectious disease activities. The micro-scanner on hand can scan a wide range of areas, ships, and aircraft at one time to detect potential sources of infection. Likes technology products, watches movies at home and dislikes homemade cooking, eating without washing hands.

Character: Ji Tao (middle left)

Gender: Female

Height: 174cm

Personality: Elegant and firm, a new-age woman with outstanding taste, you can always see her busy but never tired figure in the bustling country. The lightsaber in the hand can instantly scan passengers for abnormal diseases, and it can also be used as a weapon to protect everyone when a sudden disease strikes. Likes to travel, makes small things by hand, hates flight delays, and does not take the initiative to report symptoms.

Character: Huaqiao (lower left)

Gender: Female

Height: 168cm

Personality: An activist who loves nature and outdoor sports, even if she has to trek across mountains and rivers, she can't stop her momentum in carrying out epidemic prevention tasks. The jet inline wheels on the feet can handle various terrains, and it is an indispensable tool for time-sensitive tasks such as drug delivery, public care, or sample delivery. People who like mountaineering, boating, hate typhoons, and play with wild animals casually

Character: Gaoping (upper right)

Gender: Male

Height: 190cm

Personality: Sunlight! vitality! Passionate about life and work. There are not only the Shanghai style of the harbor boy, but also the rigor and precision of the pilot stock. The to-be-made transport cabin has protective functions such as temperature control, shock absorption, waterproof and fire prevention, and ensures that important epidemic prevention materials such as vaccines can be safely delivered to where they are needed. Like surfing, healthy and ill, coughing does not cover mouth.

Character: Jincheng South (middle right)

Gender: Male

Height: 152cm

Personality: A gifted boy who looks like a child and has a higher sensitivity to epidemic prevention than ordinary people. The hand-cranked cup is an indispensable fuel. Although it is always leisurely, as soon as it detects an abnormal warning sign of the epidemic, it will immediately switch to work mode. The supercomputer in hand can collect and analyze the epidemic data from various places in real time, so that the epidemic prevention team can respond quickly. Likes sweets, plays video games, hates sugar-free drinks, and is a biting bug.

Character: Xinxin (bottom right)

Gender: Female

Height: 165cm

Personality: A frank and energetic young woman, she enjoys herself while having fun, and is more serious than anyone else at work. Her strong social skills allow her to quickly open the hearts of the people and make the epidemic prevention work smoother. The two-way loudspeaker in hand can not only quickly convey important epidemic prevention information to the community, but also collect reports from epidemic prevention personnel in various regions to adjust strategies in real time. Likes to try things, make friends, hates the rain and the food being stale.

Facebook Link

[bourbon-ontherocks]

I didn't have strong feelings on Femme like U but I accept yours hahaha (ironically it's been stuck in my head since your reply! maybe you'd like the Cœur de pirate cover better?) it totes makes sense he'd know the lyrics by heart. yeahhh. no worries.😂😂 (we need more karaoke goodness à la CXG!! btw: "I have friends/I definitely have friends" from CXG brings us back to the no-friends-outside-of-work thing lol)

(Julia's adventures with the HPI anon)

Bhahaha, anon, granted, I can’t stand Femme Like U and I’m not really a big fan of Coeur de Pirate, so I was extremely skeptical on your suggestion, but you know what? This cover actually WORKS GREAT 😍😍 And this is NOT something I thought I’d ever say about either the song or the artist 😂😂

That being said, it was still criminal that they used it on this tooth-rottting karaoke moment... [EDIT] While I was typing this reply, I played Femme Like U on Deezer to get in the mood, and you know what Deezer chose to follow up with?? Les Démons! I feel so outed by the algorithms right now 😂😂😂 Oh by the way, did you add Les Démons to the shipping rota after Thursday episode???  👀👀👀

Oh my GOSH, anon, you've just opened a whole Pandora's Box with this ask!! "I have friends, I definitely have friends" made me think of Morgane, and next thing you know I was like "hey, what if I looked for a CXG song fitting each character of this show?" and now I'm deep into this idea of a HPI + CXG songs gifset edit and there are SO MANY possibilities!!!!

Settle for me + Roxane, Sexy French depression + Morgane, Getting bi + Morgane/Céline, Santa Anna Winds + Morgadec sex dreams... And that’s JUST the tip of the iceberg 😱😱😱😱😱

Congratulations anon, you’ve just ruined me today 😂

[katyasrussianaccent]

you’re so golden (corpse x reader)

Summary: You’re a faceless youtuber that sings cover songs. What happens when a certain faceless streamer slides into your DMs after you cover one of his songs?

Authors note: Part 3 whoop! I havent written fic in 3 years so Im hoping this is okay. Its about 4000 words, super long, sorry. I also dont play Among Us, but hopefully its not too obvious. Lemme know what you think!

You're nervous, though you aren’t quite sure why. The kind of nervousness that spreads to your feet, causing you to tap your toes against the side of your sofa.

Call you in 15. 

You look at the message again, staring at it till the screen goes blurry. Rubbing your eyes you exhale into the emptiness of your apartment; a feeble attempt at calming yourself down.

Logically it’s stupid to be nervous over a phone call. Logically you know that in the grand scheme of the universe, there are bigger things at hand. But you’re not a logical person, never have been. You’re all heart and emotion, both a blessing and a curse. There’s something intimate about a phone call, to have nothing but someone’s voice on the other end of the phone, talking to you and only you. It was a little scary; to think your purely online friendship with Corpse was going to be taken to a different level. You’re excited to think what that could mean.

“Fucking get it together,” you mutter to no-one as you exhale again, because there’s nothing else to do other than to wait and try to breath. There’s this frantic energy about you; like when you eat fizzy sweets, the flavour buzzing on your tongue. Your ancestors used to hunt wolves and here you were nervous over a single phone call.

The silence in your apartment’s too much now; too noisy. You grab your TV remote, clicking onto Spotify to find something. You’re scrolling so much, none of the artists feeling quite right for the moment before settling on Sufjan Stevens.

The dulcet tones fill the space, and for a brief second, you feel fine. You’re feeling relaxed and then your phone lights up.

Incoming Facetime Audio

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck” you say. Your face feels warm, your heart quickens in your chest. You could just ignore it, say you’re not feeling too good and that would be that, you wouldn’t have to do this. But it’s Corpse, you like Corpse and you’re kind of friends.

You swipe to accept the call, and press the button for speaker. 

“Hey,” you say, cringing at the meek tone your voice has taken on.

“Hey,” Corpse’s deep voice rumbles through your tiny speaker, distorting slightly and you press the volume button to turn it down a little.

There’s a beat of silence, a beat too long, and you already hate how awkward this is. You’re not great at social stuff, the concept of being a social butterfly is almost foreign to you. And it’s not because you dislike people, it’s just you hate this; the small talk, the awkwardness before you get comfortable and can hold an actual conversation.

You suddenly remember a tip from your customer service days. “How are you?” you ask, plastering on a grin so wide that it must look borderline demented. Thank god you’re single. 

“I’m okay thanks, how are you?” he asks.

You lounge back against the soft cushions of the sofa, lifting the phone up to your mouth as you do so. “I’m good, excited to be taught by the Among Us master.”

He snorts in disdain. “Hardly a master.” 

You chew your lip before you speak again, “I dunno, people on the internet think you’re pretty good.”

He snorts again, and you smile at the sound. It’s not something you’ve heard from him before, through your hours of watching his streams, you’ve become accustomed to his voice and the noises he makes. But this one seems to be new. And maybe it’s the weird, selfish part of you that likes to think he’s only ever made that sound for you. You shake the thought out of your head, because really? Getting happy over a snort is really such a ridiculous thing to do. 

“People on the internet say a lot of things.”

“True, but sometimes they speak the truth,” you reply, moving to get more comfortable; tucking your feet under your thighs. You wonder what he’s doing right now as he talks to you, is he sitting down? Or is he lying on his bed; his head propped up with pillows? There’s a brief flash of yearning, of wanting to be there in the same room as him, but it disappears as quickly as it appeared so you ignore it.

“Hm. We’ll agree to disagree.”

“Okay, you’re the boss Mr Husband.”

He chuckles softly, and again, you smile. You can feel yourself getting annoyed with yourself; you’re acting like a child with a crush; smiling at the phone. All you needed now was a notebook that had Mrs YN Husband written all over it.

“You know if you keep calling me that, we’re gonna have to get married,” he says, his voice a little lower than it was before. You blink and cock your head to the side, looking at an imaginary camera like you’re in The Office. Did you say that out loud? Is he...flirting with you? Sure, you’re flirty over Twitter, but it’s Twitter, Twitter isn’t real. There’s a fluttery feeling in your stomach at the mere prospect that he might actually be flirting with you.

“I’d be the best wife you could ever get,” you shoot back. There’s a brief second of silence before he answers, and you can hear shuffling on the other end. You want to ask what he’s doing, but you know it would break the conversation, and you’re curious to see where this goes.

“Oh really? And why’s that?” he asks, and you can picture the smirk in his voice. You have no idea what he looks like, no real care about it either, but you bet he’s got a beautiful smile. You bite your tongue before it tells him this, for once your brain actually works and stops you from making a fool out of yourself. It’s incredibly strange, how quickly he puts you at ease without a try, he’s just so naturally comforting. He’s not this flashy persona, he’s just a guy who likes to play video games and happens to be kinda good at them. And also has a voice that is literally like chocolate. Not just chocolate; dark chocolate. If dark chocolate could talk, it would sound like Corpse.

“Cos your girl can cook,” you say proudly, puffing out your chest a little. And that’s not a lie, you can cook. Okay, you’re not a Michelin starred chef, but you feel quite confident in the fact that Gordon Ramsey could eat your food, and probably (hopefully) wouldn’t scream that it was “fucking raw”. 

“And what would you cook for me?” he asks. 

You hum in thought for a second. “You’ll have to marry me first to find that out.”

He laughs, a proper laugh that settles in your stomach, spreading warmth through your chest. “I’ll think about it. I can hear music, what are you listening to?”

You straighten up a little, the question catching you off guard. You bite the inside of your cheek as you look at the song that’s playing. It’s not his type of music, you’re almost positive about that. You almost don’t want to tell him out of embarrassment. You’re not sure why you feel embarrassed; you know Corpse isn’t an asshole, he wouldn’t make fun of you. But music is so personal to you, so personal, it’s like baring a piece of your soul; which sounds so fucking cliche, but it’s true.

“Uhhh...It’s called Make out in My Car by Sufjan Stevens,” you reply.

He hums in affirmation. “It sounds nice; from what I can hear.”

“I can turn it up?” you ask, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table.

“You could always sing some for me,” he offers. 

You laugh a little, scrunching up your nose. “And why would I do that?”

“I thought you wanted to get married. You have to woo me,” he replies.

“Woo you?” you ask, your tone incredulous. This isn’t how you pictured the conversation going.

“Yeah. Woo me, yn.” he says, dragging out the “o” causing you to laugh again.

You sigh dramatically. “I haven’t warmed up or anything, it’s gonna sound so bad” you warn as you put the song to the beginning.

“I’m sure you sound great. Go ahead, woo me.” 

You shake your head as you softly sing. “I'm not trying to go to bed with you, I just wanna make out in my car. And though I'm dying to fall in love with you, I just wanna make out in my car”. You stop and you’re suddenly very aware that you have essentially just serenaded him. Good going, brain.

It’s silent for a beat too long, and the smile that graced your lips starts to fade as the embarrassment starts to set in. 

“Well now we definitely have to get married,” he affirms. And there’s that fluttery feeling again.

You swallow, moving the conversation swiftly onto Among Us. You grab your laptop that was next to you, humming in acknowledgement as he walks you through downloading it. 

“So there’s a few of us joining us tonight, it should be really fun.”

“Oh. It’s not just us two?” you ask. You focus on the download, watching the number increase. You’re nervous at the prospect of playing with other people, strangers, for the first time. 

“No, it’s a 4 player minimum. We’re going to stream as well.”

“Corpse…” you start. You begin to pick at the skin around your nails, a habit you do whenever you get really anxious. This was meant to just be a cute moment where you learnt how to play a game, not a big event where people would be actually watching you, judging your every move.

“We’re going to do a few games off stream with you, you don’t need to be there for the stream after if you don’t want to,” he interrupts. 

“Okay,” you trail off, your teeth biting down on your bottom lip. You feel a little better, but not by much. You didn’t know who the other people were, what if they hated you? You ask this out loud.

“I’ll be there. You know Rae and Sykkuno. Felix, Sean and Toast will be there but they’re super nice, I promise.” His voice is sincere, and it soothes you. You don’t know him, not really know him, but you trust Corpse. You know he has his own struggles, and you believe his promise; he wouldn’t screw you over or put you in a situation you were uncomfortable with.

The rest of the call is him taking you through how to play and how to set up something called Proximity Chat so everyone can talk to each other in the game. He says it’s easier once you actually play, and it doesn’t sound particularly hard quite honestly, you just hope you don’t get imposter on the first try because you’re not the greatest liar. 

The game screen pops up, and you type in the code that Corpse gives you. You say goodbye to Corpse, who tells you to text him if you need any help. You drop into the game lobby, and you look at the little astronaut. There’s no time to dwell as a cacophony of voices hits you.

“YN!” Rae screeches and you chuckle at her enthusiasm. You’ve known Rae for a few years now, you met at college and had become fast friends. Though you had many different interests - gaming for one, you considered her your best friend. Rae was the type of friend where you didn’t need to talk every single day, you could message her a week later and it would be like no time had passed at all. And you loved that, sometimes you just didn’t want to talk to anyone. Sometimes your mood wasn’t the best, and you needed a little time to recharge. And she understood that, something that you were eternally grateful for. 

“Raebies!” you screech back, using your “pet” name for her.

“I’ve been trying to get you to play forever. But Mr Smooth Operator over there slides into your DMs and suddenly you’re a gamer now?”

“It sounds so sordid when you say it like that,” you reply.

“Hi yn! Glad to see you playing with us,” Sykkuno says. You greet him and the others, making sure to say hi to everyone in the game. You didn’t want to start off by being accidentally rude. You listen as everyone talks amongst each other, and you talk when spoken to, but you aren’t interjecting. It wasn’t anything against the other players, it was just a little overwhelming, and you were figuring out what everyone was like.

“Hello,” Corpse’s voice interrupts your train of thought and you greet him along with everyone else. 

“Aw, I wanted purple,” you say, frowning at Corpse’s name above the astronaut.

“We can switch,” he replies.

“No it’s o -” you start to speak before you realise he’s already switched to white. “Thank you, you didn’t have to.” You smile as you switch to purple, and you decide to add a flower for a little pizzazz.

“It’s your first game, I’ll kill you if I get imposter so it’ll even out,” he jokes and everyone laughs. The countdown begins and you puff your cheeks out, exhaling as it gets to 1. You’re nervous again, a seemingly common theme of the night. Your shoulders relax as the word CREWMATE flashes across the screen.

You watch as everyone but Corpse disperses from the cafeteria with haste, and you look at the keyboard to press the buttons to move.

“You ever see an old person text? That’s how I’m picturing you right now,” Corpse says as you walk together to Weapons.

“Shut up Sonny,” you reply in your best old woman voice, getting a laugh. You open up the task, shooting the Asteroids with ease. “Yay, I completed a task!”

“Good job,” Corpse replies, and you beam at the praise. You move down to o2, doing your task while Corpse does his.

“Wait, you could be imposter right? How would I know?” you ask as you walk together to Navigation.

“You wouldn’t, you just have to trust me,” he says, his voice full of charm.

You scowl. “Well that just makes me not want to trust you.” 

Before he replies, there’s a blaring alarm. DEAD BODY REPORTED. You blink at the suddenness; you were really enjoying the relaxing pace of the game. You look at the screen;  Felix has been killed.

“Who found the body?” Corpse asks.

“I did,” Rae answers. “I was in admin, and was going to lower engine and it was there in storage.”

“If you were in admin, why didn’t you go up through Cafeteria?” Toast asks.

“Because it’s quicker to go through storage,” Rae replies. They argue between themselves, and you listen intently and silently. It’s a lot of information, you can’t tell whose lying, but you guess that’s what makes a good player.

“Where were you yn?” Sean quizzes, and it takes you a second to realise you’re being spoken to.

“Oh. I was in um o2?”

“You don’t sound too sure there, pretty sus,” he says. Your face heats up a little, you’re not the imposter, but it feels like you are.

“She was in o2 and then we went to Navigation,” Corpse answers, and you breathe out as he takes on the interrogation.

“Oh you were together?” Rae asks, and you know that tone she’s got. It’s the tone that says she’ll be messaging you right away.

“Well yeah, it’s her first game, I’m not gonna leave her alone,” he says and you smile at that. 

“Yeah we’ve been together the whole time,” you add and it’s left at that. No-one votes anyone out, since no-ones really too suspicious. You carry on the game, and you find yourself really enjoying it, though the questioning part is kind of stressful. You can see why Corpse likes it so much, it’s really fun. You’re in electrical, humming as you do your task when Rae comes next to you. 

“Hey,” you greet her.

“I’m sorry, nothing personal,” she replies. Before you have a chance to say a word, she kills you and you look on in shock as your ghost floats above your body.  You listen into the meeting as Rae continues to lie and plead her case. She’s good, but Corpse knows better.

“Wait, you said you found her in electrical and you were where?” 

“I was in Upper Engine, and then I went to electrical to do my task,” Rae answers, her voice even and calm.

“I was in Lower Engine, and I didn’t see you,” Corpse says, and you grin at the fact Rae’s been found out. That’s what she gets for killing you.

“You were doing your task, I passed right by you,” Rae starts. She pleads her case, but it’s too late and she’s voted out.

“That was so much fun!” you declare. “I can see why you guys play it all the time.”

“Yes! We have converted another!” Felix shouts in victory.

“And all it took was Corpse,” Rae mutters sarcastically.

“Don’t get bitter Rachel, just get better,” you reply, causing the group to laugh.

You get the hang of it after a few games, and find yourself agreeing to stay while the others stream, though you decide against it yourself. You’ve only streamed once by yourself, and it was a very casual affair and you don’t want to feel too much pressure while you enjoy yourself. You know that Corpse gets nervous when he streams and he’s been doing it for so much longer, so you can only imagine how nervous you would be.

You tap your fingernails against the keyboard as the lobby counts down, any previous nerves have been replaced with excitement. 

IMPOSTER flashes across. You’re the only one, your astronaut looks lonely on the screen by itself, and the red letters almost taunt you. 

“Shit,” you mutter as your brain goes into overdrive. What was it Corpse had said before? Not to be too obvious. You don’t kill immediately, instead going at your previous pace to not look too suspicious. You were still fairly new to the game, and you were going to use that to your advantage.

You fake your task in Cafeteria before venting over to Navigation where Toast was.

“Hi Toast!” you greet, coming to stand next to him as you pretend you’re doing the task. 

“Oh hey yn,” he says. It doesn’t seem like he suspects you, and you’re not quite sure when to click the Kill button. You do it anyway before running out and going down and into shields. There’s adrenaline running through you as the dead body’s reported and you crack your knuckles before putting on your game face. You were going to play dumb, play the confused newbie - because to them, that’s what you were. 

“YN, where were you?” Corpse asks. Fuck. Maybe you weren’t going to get away with this.

You twiddle your hair as you draw out your words, playing the role perfectly. “Uhm I was in...shields? I think that’s what it’s called. I was in the cafeteria before that though.”

“Wait, you couldn’t have, I was in weapons. I would have seen you,” Sykkuno says.

You open your mouth to talk. “She could have vented,” Felix comments, and the rest of the group starts to agree.

“Guys, I don’t even know what venting is. I literally just started playing,” you point out, giggling.

“That’s true,” Rae agrees and you knew there was a reason you loved her.

“Bullshit! She’s playing you with her “oh I don’t know how to play” schtick,” Felix proclaims.

“Aw, that’s kind of rude, Felix. I’m just enjoying the game, doing the tasks,” you say, pouting a little. He’s the next on your list. 

Everyone skips the vote and you lean over your laptop, ready for the next round. You were going to win this. You kill Rae and Toast next, and yet again, manage to worm your way out of any suspicion. You can sense that Corpse and Felix are starting to get suspicious of you, and you know you need to bring out the big guns to throw them off.

You catch Sykkuno in Med Bay after checking the cams in Security.

“Hi yn!” he greets, and you almost feel guilty as you kill him. He’s so sweet and innocent, but unfortunately, casualties are a given. You pass Felix as he comes out of reactor and it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to talk your way out of this one again.

“I passed yn as I came out of reactor,” Felix shouts with a hint of glee.

You roll your eyes; this is going to be tough. “Yeah I came from Upper Engine, I was finishing part 2 of a task.”

“I was in Electrical, where was the body?” Corpse asks.

“Med Bay. And the only one that could’ve been there was yn,” Felix starts.

“Well no, you could have passed me and killed Sykkuno then self reported,” you reply. “I think you can do that right?” 

Corpse hums in agreement. “Oh come on! She’s being really sus,” Felix argues.

“You are being a little sus yn,” Corpse comments.

“Corpse. You don’t really think it’s me do you?” You decide to lower your voice a little, your tone sweet but sultry. “You only taught me like an hour ago, there’s no way I’d be able to fool everybody so quickly.” You get close to the mic so it’s like you’re speaking only to Corpse. “Remember what I said? You’re a master at this.” You’re laying it on thick, and for a brief second you think you’ve been too over the top.

“This is difficult,” Corpse says, and you see the seconds count down, your heartbeat starts to quicken.

“Corpse, stop being a fucking simp and vote her out!” Felix demands.

“Corpsie baby,” you drawl out and you smile in success as you hear him sigh, almost shakily. You’ve got this in the bag. The victory screen flashes up and you cheer.

“Fuck yeah!” you shout, patting yourself on the back. You laugh as you exhale the breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Good game yn!” Sykkuno comments, the others agreeing.

“Not fair, you used your womanly wiles against Corpse,” Felix says.

“Gotta use them for something. Not my fault Corpse knows where his allegiance lies,” you reply laughing a little.

You stretch, your back crying out in pain from being hunched over so long. You let out a long, loud moan of relief as you straighten your spine, your shoulders relaxing as you move from side to side.

“Your mic’s not muted” Corpse points out, clearing his throat. You feel your stomach drop and your face instantly becomes hot. Shit. 

“Oh. Uh. I totally forgot about that,” you say, forcing out a chuckle. You screw your eyes shut, any happiness has been now replaced by red hot shame. “So this was fun, uh, really fun, but um, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go. So...yeah. Bye guys, have fun!” 

You click to exit without giving anyone a chance to say a word, and drop your head into your hands. 

“Can’t wait to see what they say on Twitter about this,” you mutter into your hands.

TAGLIST (if youre bold, it wont let me tag): @teenageguitarist @fanworrior  @cherry-piee @mirahg  @clara-bee @cookinglovingalien @vir-tual @clubfairy @youretheonlyonewhomakesme @more-like-reyna @boiled-onionrings @moneybagmgk @brendalopez99 @delicateavenuenacho @dreamsofficialwife @hydrate-tion @little-red02