#( au of isekai au tag )

[mambodork]

Grian isekai au because the life series watcher lore is so isekai coded... like fym this guy turned into a player to save his friends that is literally a isekaier right there!!!!

Anyways, yeah <3 he got isekaid into his own novel full of tragedy and suffering, one like = one prayer 🙏 for Grian

Additional little facts and stuff down here 👇

- Grian, One, and Two all have some sort of head cover to allude to the Watcher's robes. Along with the evo symbol embroidered in their clothing and an eye pin.

- One and Two are actually based on Steve and Alex from the WeTheWatchers minecraft skin.

- One, Two, and Three are their pen names.

- Scar being Grian's favourite alludes to 3rd life (because im still ill abt 3rd life) where Grian says that he still sticks with Scar after he lost his 1st life because "he's the most interesting character here."

- I dont actually know how Grian got isekaid in the first place. It's either:

a. He gets hit by a truck (classic)

b. He gets so stressed about One and Two being the average ao3 writer and butchering his characters he got sick and d-worded in his sleep (he's so dramatic)

c. He just gets pulled in inside the novel Dora style middway complaining about the angst One and Two wrote.

[neo-my-geo]

So @pinapin and I were talking about what would happen if you wrote a fic using a D20 to determine the outcomes of everything that a character attempts to do, and it snowballed into a full blown D&D fantasy AU

Race/class details below the cut!

Scout - half-orc/way of the drunken bonk master monk

Soldier - human/genie warlock

Pyro - ???/dragonblood sorcerer

Demo - triton/war wizard-fighter multiclass

Heavy - dwarf (with gigantism)/glory paladin

Engie - needs no introduction/artillerist artificer

Medic - vampire/order of the profane soul blood hunter

Sniper - human/sniper (tf2)

Spy - changeling/soulknife rogue

(ft. original scrapped soldier sheet; yes, Merasmus is his patron)

(and also ft. other sketches)

ignore the drow, this isn't about him

[oooo-leanderies]

I saw people comparing Joel's life to a harem isekai anime and it all went downhill for me from there,,,,,,

What do you guys think of my anime artstyle??? I tapped into my inner middle school self for it.

Rest of the characters come later 😼 debating on whether or not to add Gem as the best friend who is sick of it all LMAO

Part one | Part two | Part Three

[thatdeadaquarius]

Genshin Impact Sagau/Isekai:

You still have acces to characters! ...by possessing them. 👻

PART 2 (you're here!) / Part 1

All art by me! :] leave me a iced coffee?? :0

HEY!! REALLY QUICK PLEASE READ!

STOP tagging my posts as "Yandere Sagau", "Sagau Cult AU", "Sagau Imposter AU" or other related dark content tags.

I'm sick of seeing reblogs that tag my work as dark content, when I'm specifically trying to LIGHTEN UP THE SAGAU TAG 😭😭??

Please be more respectful of this. Actually read the work before you just tag it incorrectly. Tags do matter.

/nm /gen

☆

Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (they/them)

Planet: Misc. Genshin AUs

Orbit: Headcanons, Scenarios

Stars: Tighnari ft. Cyno, Alhaitham, Collei

Comets & Meteors:

Content Warnings: Mild violence (bandit attacks/non-graphic), Reader/you possess people non-consent (mild/consent given eventually)

& Trigger Warnings: Reader/"you" possess people non-consenually for short times, but given consent eventually.

(pls comment if any more!)

Edit 9/7/23: 1,000+ NOTES?? WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY- THANK YOU???

Edit 12/24/23 + 4/5/24:

☆

My goofy ass forgot to put this here .-.

Anyway this is a full length fanfic now ;)

…mistakes were made.

bad decisions were had, and okay, mayyybbbeee you could’ve taken more precautions against people finding out you were “real”.

afterall, you did see the Eremites reaction, even if it was only two guys (one from each camp) that you possessed :/

word spreads quickly amongst the Eremites groups, you guess, bc next thing you knew, after you’d moved closer to floating around Gandharva Ville,

they’d called that entire bit of forest haunted.

BUT IN YOUR DEFENSE-!! how were you supposed to know they’d blab to the whole camp they didn’t remember the past 20 minutes after you unpossessed them?? and immediately be on guard and jump to possession?? (Irminsul works hard but eremites/sumeru people work harder u guess)

And by the time you were happily patrolling with Collei, the forest rangers were just so chill you didn’t really expect anybody would think a ghost was possessing them (or whatever you were now… maybe,, just code?? it’s unclear)

so when u start to see Tighnari squint at people who’ve technically just “woken up” after you possessed them, mumbling under his breath more and more as a file he carries around gets thicker and thicker-

you start to think,,, maybe.

okay, mayyybbbeee,

you’ve fucked up.

◇

You really can’t help it, first it was making sure Collei got back safely from patrols (she’s ur skrunkly okay, you can’t help it, you’re still aware she’s capable but- the urge to skrunkle overpowers you- )

but then-!! You managed to spot Cyno! :D its ur boy!! ur little meow meow, who can throw people over his shoulder!! He really doesn’t need you, hovering around, but eh ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

what could it hurt! …it’s not like he can see, hear, or feel you anyway…

(unless u possess some animal/machine he thinks is friendly, which. sumeru is not exactly known for cuddly creatures. you don’t feel like experiencing death when possessing stuff just yet-)

imagine ur panic and shock as the General Mahamatra takes on a camp of criminals on the run, only for one of the old ruin machines (the ones that are just LEG and DEATH)

to hear the ruckus and come stomping around a thick patch of trees, it launched missiles!! You can’t warn Cyno, he can’t hear you!! No one can!!! The criminals are unconscious, there’s no other wildlife nearby they all ran off!!! FUCK-

You look at him and try to imagine his perspective as vividly as you can, he’s looking over the criminals, but now he’s turning, so people passed out and the tree-line got it-

Congratulations! You’ve possessed Cyno. 💀

It completely disorients you for a second, but then the panic of dodging the missiles comes back in time for you to make his body dive and roll off to the side, for as long as you can manage a roll too since you remember that’s the best way to dodge missiles in the game

…which works really well! bc he’s so fit and agile tbh

It was weird to finally run again after so long (two months now in teyvat?? wow)

with your feet suddenly in sandals, and feeling the breeze chilling your bare chest (Cyno’s chest??)

yeah its a shock considering most of the ppl you’ve possessed lately have been fully clothed rangers lol

you quickly imagine your ghostly form again, and just like that you’re drifting out of Cyno in ur “ghosty” form, having floated out and away from his back

Poor guy looks so fucking confused, and immediately is wielding his spear again, and is about to get out the crouch you put him in behind the dilapidated stone wall (dammit he better not waste ur efforts to keep him alive-)

until missiles slam and explode against it, he ducks back down (thank fuck) and Cyno just looks around one last time before hopping the wall and running to fight the thing

you notice that when the electro user goes to use his powers, they seem stronger than they were in his fight with the goons??

Maybe he was just going easier on them, since they are only human?

…so why does even Cyno look surprised when he goes to make a simple swipe with his charged spear and a bolt of lightning cracks out from his spear instead…?

…weird.

◇

Tighnari knows you’re here.

You figure he must have collected the reports of people “blacking out” or “sleep-walking” or whatever else and begun to suspect the worst.

…to be honest, you’re not sure what to do.

on one hand, it would be great to have someone know you actually exist, as yourself,

but on the other…

What would Tighnari think?

Of you possessing his rangers?? Temporarily taking ownership of someone without permission??? You’re afraid he’d think the worst of you…

tho u didn’t do so often, as u realized how messed up this could be, and u never did more than make them walk or talk normally for a few minutes before leaving them alone!

… afterall, you missed interacting with people. You were honestly a little worried abt going crazy, which is the only reason u were desperate enough to possess human people in the first place and continue doing so, just to talk to someone and have them look you in the face again like you really did exist as a person here-

(u thought u remember reading somewhere back on Earth that someone can only last 3 days of no other human contact until they start to lose it? but even if that’s not true, at the very least, u dont think talking one-sidedly to yourself all the time is healthy…)

so when Tighnari seems to get that file you’ve seen him adding onto, and gather up supplies, mentioning a day trip to Collei and the others to Sumeru City for some

“further research into these ‘blackouts’, and also contacting some of my colleagues who might know something…”

there’s no way you’re not going with him.

you feel increasingly anxious all day, and at one point when you were sure Tighnari was walled-in by books at the House of Daena, decide to go blow off the anxious energy by possessing an animal to get some food!

…you’re not really feeling comfortable enough to possess a living being into eating yet, that seems hella nonconsensual, and u kinda would be taking the joy of the meal from them tbh-

so u possess a cat!

a ginger cat, bc u like to think if u do anything weird, that ppl in Teyvat have the same type of cats back on Earth and excuse it as just:

“unhinged ginger cats being unhinged ginger cats yep makes sense” lol

you’d managed to be really cute (and wasn’t that weird, having to mimic animal behaviors like rubbing ur side against a person’s legs..)

and convince one of the cooks of Lambad’s Tavern to give u some leftovers, and been about to go off to try out sunbathing before the chore boy, little shit he is, tried to chase you off with a broom!! >:( the audacity!! you clearly have a little plate and everything!!

luckily, you’d finished eating, but still! Ouch!! those bristles fucking hurt-!!!

…you look and see a Sumeru-ified version of a skateboard, and u just know ur little cat face is just ✨v✨

and u steal the little shit’s skateboard as revenge! HAHA thats what you get animal abuser!!!

The kid’s yelling at you as you speedily skate away with ur little cat paws (LMAOO), but the cooks are calling him back in so he can’t pursue, (oh good u hear them get onto him for chasing u off)

and as u slow down to coast along the Sumeru streets,

you feel someone’s eyes staring you down.

You assume it’s just people being amused at a cat skateboarding, obv

but when you look just ahead of you to see a smiling Sumeru citizen or eremite-

Oh. It’s Alhaitham.

and he’s just… watching you.

he’s stopped reading whatever he’s got in his hand, and is slowlyyyy turning his head as you pass by…

You decide to just keep skating away. LMAO

◇

it’s already sunset by the you’re accompanying Tighnari back from Sumeru City, floating along behind him

and you’d been expecting a calm walk back, tbh you’d been feeling a little better bc the ranger hadn’t found much to identify you, yet, luckily-

but bc u can never catch a break:

Tighnari didn’t see the bandits dropping from the goddamn trees BEHIND HIM- and they had like claymores out- those were definitely gonna be killing blows-!!

so yeah.

You possessed Tighnari.

turns out ur pretty good at dodging bc this is second time now you’ve helped dive away for someone in an ambush, ur kinda proud of urself tbh💀

and as you make him take a few leaps back, ur ears twitch in the wind as you duck behind a tree, then float away and out of his body

The poor hybrid ranger visibly sways, then shakes his head out of it, and he flicks his ears in different directions, squinting into the woods, he’s pulled out his bow, so you’re at least reassured he’s aware there are enemies

Like Cyno last week, he too gives up and rolls for the next tree for cover and begins to shoot and take down the bandits

the rest of the week is kinda a blur after that, bc it’s mostly filled with Tighnari running in circles around the camp checking for blackouts, writing letters to Alhaitham and Cyno apparently, and you not possessing anybody out of paranoia :/

Most notably however,

you’ve unfortunately discovered one of the few drawbacks of ur possessions

(y’know, besides not existing essentially, what with no one being able to sense u outside of possessions)

apparently, if someone walks thru you, they accidentally force you to possess them 💀??

while it’d already happened once with a random ranger that you didnt notice was walking up behind you,

you didn’t want to test it again just yet bc it kinda made YOU nauseous and incredibly dizzy when this happened

(as in, u stumbled like a drunk after this poor ranger woman ran thru u, until you were so dizzy and the world spun sm u had to make her sit on the literal ground, luckily she just thought she was just really dehydrated when she came back into herself 😭)

so obviously, you’ve avoided crowds to keep this forced possession thingy from happening all the time

like at the Forest Rangers meetings or something, ur watching off to the side, instead of standing with them or beside them

so needless to say, after about a week and half since possessing Tighnari,

you definitely did not mean to possess Collei.

She’d been in her wheelchair today, the Eleazar flaring up and tiring her body out

so her wheels had been entirely silent when she rolled up to where you and Tighnari were leaning over some strange experiments of his- you were just trying to figure out what all these mirrors were for, didn’t he do plants more-?

you didn’t even know what the hell happened, you just felt that familiar dropping sensation, like a small drop on a rollarcoaster, blinked, and then suddenly you were sitting instead of standing/floating???

Oh god-

before you could even begin to process that Tighnari was in front of you instead of beside you, the world was shorter,

The fox-eared ranger yelled in triumph, grinning with sharp fangs and spinning around to look at you (Collei)-

“Ah-ha! It worked! Finally, I saw you! I saw you, I-?? Oh gods, Collei, NO-!”

And with quick reflexes, Tighnari’s summoned his bow, but he’s clearly confused on what to do about this situation, taking aim, but also holding the air glowing with dendro not as taunt as you’d seen him in the battle with the bandits

You scramble to raise your hands up, brown poofy sleeves rise to your command, light green hair you can feel on your shoulders, everything is familiar, but not-

“WAIT! I’m sorry!! This was an accident, I promise! I don’t intend to hurt Collei, or you!! Please, just, don’t shoot me, I think you’ll just hurt Collei instead…”

You talk him down and decide, that if he’s put this much effort into finding out about your existence, is an incredible leader and friend to everyone around him, and was able to accept the traveler and many other strange things that’ve (probably? maybe?) already happened in Sumeru (god fuck u dont even know where in the timeline you are)

that you can probably trust Tighnari with your existence, and your powers.

…He nearly passes out.

◇

Life has gotten a lot funnier, and happier, since you told Tighnari (and some of the more trustworthy rangers and Collei by proxy) about ur existence (or really, confirmed it)

He’d been wary at first, appropiately cautious and demanding answers, of which you were happy to give and explain yourself

luckily, after a whole lot of “hmm, I see, no, I think I’m understanding-” , finger on his chin and everything

he’s said it’s okay to hang around the rangers, so long as you don’t possess anyone anymore without them knowing about you/with permission (outside of emergency situations that is)

tho he did seem surprisingly understanding and accepting of you doing it before after you explained how u were just unbelievably lonely and were lowkey paranoid of going crazy-

The rangers seem to believe you’re some kind of god/spirit thing, as you had no explanation yourself as to what you were ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Tighnari’s also given you the rule to help out around here if you’re going to “ghost-laze around”, as he puts it lol

you’ve redirected ruin machines/feral animals away from rangers many times by now, to the many thanks and gratefulness of the rangers

you’ve even managed to even figure out how to push Collei’s wheelchair around when she uses it!

mostly by possessing tree after tree and using vines, or occasionally a fungi that can fly so you can nudge her along

she has insisted that you possess a ruin guard and carry her just to try it… however, Tighnari overheard her talking to the forest rangers’ dog (you) and immediately knew shit was up and banned you from doing it (at least not yet)

While most rangers are okay with you possessing them for a few minutes (and they’ve developed this bandana wrapped around their upper arms policy of “red = no possess, green = go ahead”)

Collei is the most okay with it and for longer, so you “won’t be that lonely ever again!” :’)

Tighnari is busy with stuff, so you can’t possess him as often, but the ranger has developed a theory that the more you possess someone, the more they can sense your feelings during possession/while floating around in ghost form too,

so he’ll occasionally feel you in the room with him, and start talking out loud in some one-sided convo to make you feel more included to make up for not being able to interact with him sometimes :)

(after taking you off his list of worries he’s still pretty swamped, not that he’ll tell you that, as he’s still not quite sure why he’s so, warm and safe feeling when you’re around, so willing to trust you so naturally, that it makes him want to at leats pretend to be worried abt a possessing ghost god/thing hanging out with the rangers now)

◇

basically everything is great!

the rangers are okay with you, they got a system to interact with you consensually, Tighnari and Collei are fond of you, you get to finally have something to do instead of floating around all the time (joining ranger missions)

and look!! they’ve even been kind enough to build you a little shrine or altar of sorts! Notes about Sumeru life, recipes for you to try, occasionally some books for you to read, and even some snacks/desserts for you to try out the next time someone possesses you and gives consent! (you leave them a little note stuck on their hand with your question for specific actions like that, if there isn’t another ranger there to ask for you when you unpossess them)

and everything is so cool, and everyone is so sweet and accepting

…Until Alhaitham shows up in Gandharva Ville, knocking on Tighnari’s door.

☆

AHHHH idk if this is any good! sorry it took so long, it was mostly the art 😭😭

anyway its not the best (the writing or the art) but i hope it’s at least some content to look at and be entertained for a minute!

also figured it was a good day to post what with the attack on our beloved Ao3 (tho i think it’s back up now?)

anyway, feel free to leave critiques on this one! (which I’ll probably turn this into a real fic one day soon, but not sure what to do with the plot/do a diff setup than this or what)

☆

sorry abt the radio silence! I just needed to close my mailbox bc i had a lot of stuff to answer, ur welcome to send submissions to chat/non-requests!

and also this took time to make (once again, mostly the art, bc thats how it always is with art isnt it 😭)

☆

Safe Travels Stranger,

💀♒

☆

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @justlostintheinternet   / @assassinsnake101 /@sun-wokung

If ur tag is here and didnt work, idk why!

Maybe see if your listed as a "searchable blog"?

[meamiki]

some random reverse entry au [office + reverse isekai loop] drawings :thumbsup:

[mildly interested in this silly au? here is a link to scroll through for all the stuff i've made for it! i'll make a proper master post... someday.....]

[m1d-45]

dead leaves

summary: the creator is meant to be worshipped and praised, exalted to the highest of high. so… what went wrong?

word count: 1.2k

-> warnings: mentions of blood, you die multiple times, bitter(?) ending, spoilers for xiao lore (but it’s not said to be xiao specifically so technically you could read and just not know it’s him but now that i’ve said that you know it’s him so-)

-> gn reader (you/yours)

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24 || @genshin-impacts-me

< masterlist > || next >

it wasn’t meant to happen like this.

it was never to occur at all, in fairness, but like this?

the clouds parted to make way for a single glitering star, shining a white hot gold. the whole world turned, stopped and stared in awe, every leaf on every stalk bearing witness to the one they called god.

it wasn’t supposed to be like this. the golden shine poured through the tall windows of a palace meant for you, the heretic in a crown ordering your people to betray you. their hands shook where their followers could not see—perhaps even they were aware of why the trees were rejoicing.

you, blessed you, torn from your home by the divinity in your blood, picking yourself up from sand with barely a vague memory of your location. walk, climb, walk again, and that’s where you learned how to swim, led on by the crumbling stone of barbatos’ statue. the squirrels chittered and the hilichurls retreated, not wanting to frighten you, bandaged hands seeking shields and clubs to keep busy instead.

mondstat is the nation of anemo. happy and bustling, merchants calling across courtyards, adventurers waking with the sun to continue their trade. a cool breeze welcomed you, tugging you along a stone bridge, the winds quiet.

so quiet, in fact, that the archon stirred from his slumber early, reaching for his bow.

you never even made it to the city gates. the doves on the bridge hopped closer as you approached, the knights on duty watching how eagerly they pressed themselves against you. a nod, a twist, a chain of knights leading up to the headquarters, all set on edge the moment the acting grandmaster cleared them to engage.

the first casualty was a bird. it had flung itself into the air, halting the arrow in its tracks, drawing your attention to the man standing atop the city wall. another bird died before you understood his crime.

leaves dappled the ground in shades of green, warm light falling on you as you ran. you didn’t know where you were going, really, and why would you? who had a contingency plan for when everyone they loved turned away? the river tumbled over smoothed rocks, the bright beacon of the statue of the seven pleading for forgiveness even as it’s archon wanted you dead.

mondstat was the city of freedom. could it still be called that when you bled out before you could reach the border?

you couldn’t die. literally, you couldn’t. ley lines converged where you were crossed, absorbing the dissipating flakes of your physical body. the earth hummed beneath the anemo archon’s feet as he watched divine blue blood be sucked up and swept away. was it a hallucination? how would he know?

elemental energy coursed through the earth, sprouting again at the geo through which it bled, releasing the holy light it carried and supplementing with its own. within the hour your eyes opened again, unsure whether to pray it was a dream or wonder which god could hear you.

liyue, nation of geo. the stone hummed beneath your feet, though you didn’t walk toward the city. you’d learned your lesson fast, and a spear to the gut would certainly take longer to kill than an arrow to the neck. not that it mattered, of course—the adepti are too in tune with the land to not have noticed your arrival.

as it turned out a spear does hurt more, which you learned when you found it sprouting from your stomach in the split second before the pain hit. bright jade stained blue, betrayal glimpsed in the dying eyes of the one alatus once called his savior.

and it began anew.

teyvat bubbled with anger, torn between enacting vengeance on those that hurt its maker and protecting you. you were taken to places of shelter, but people learned to follow where nature raged loudest. even if they didn’t, if storms kicked up in false alarm to draw them away, intuition toward their creator was sewn into the hems of every living creature. hilichurls could only hold up for so long, and the millelith were used to dealing with vishaps. the dense forests of sumeru were memorized by the most vigilant forest watcher, the consecrated beasts in the desert too big to keep up with the agility of the general mahamatra.

how cruel for you to die like this, at the hands of the ones you should have been able to trust. how cruel for you to die at all, stabbed in the back by those who should have worshipped you.

the one on your throne was tolerated, just barely so, rationalized as the people needing an idol to follow in your continued absence. but now you were here, now they had no reason to be, and visions began to go haywire whenever they entered the throne room. boars outran hunters, trees tangling over boots as nature wrought vengeance on behalf of its god.

you were everything.

every scholar sought to understood your world further, your spirit found in every star in the sky. to study the world was to study you, how every string was woven into the universe. when you looked to the earth the soil said hello, the trees bowing before their creator, and yet your most beloved artwork was the one that hated you the most. was it hubristic to think a mortal could truly kill a god, or pathetic that they believed the fraud so quickly? they didn’t have elemental energy buzzing at their fingertips, they didn’t have the respect of the world, only commanding people, those easily swayed by a similar face and lucky coincidences. they were nothing like you, you who held galaxies in your blood, you who created the sky and the seas and the creatures within, who created everything. who was everything.

…and now you were nothing. lost in the ley lines that frantically searched for a place to host your body, outrunning the hunt for the god of all. nothing, half conscious in the heart of the earth, within a cave that had cracked open for this very purpose. hidden, the entrance sealed by stone itself, only allowing in slimes that helped sustain you. how cruel, the skies wept, torrents of rain falling in punishment. the fraud barely left the palace anymore, which was only standing thanks to reinforcement from the geo archon. were it not for their lie, they would be dead a thousand times over, killed in every way you had.

but they were in the palace, hidden where the world could not reach. so stone cradled your body, carefully ensuring you still continued to breathe, leylines redirecting to offer energy. not awake, not asleep, stuck in a stasis while hell raged around you.

it’s alright. teyvat would have its revenge eventually. lightning would find its way into the palace, someone would bring something carrying elemental energy into the throne room, something. the fake would die and you would be born anew from the earth, weak and tired but alive, most importantly.

anemo brushes off dust that begins to settle in your clothes, hydro doing its best to soothe the cracks on your lips. geo rolls you over so you don’t bruise, dendro adjusting its net of vines to keep you stable.

eventually…

[zarvasace]

These are NOT good doodles but they were fun! The 1931 au design is new, as is the modern Shatterproof one, and it’s been for-freaking-ever since I drew the Half Fours. I love them.

[the-owl-tree]

pride art for my wc ocs!!

[incorrect-finding-frankie]

Cartoon Frankie has a body—but he still, frequently enough, appears on any screen that may be around.

...But he’s so terrible at multitasking, that it just comes off as really strange.

Like, if Lucky was confronting him, and was just talking to him on any screens? Then they’d just see his physical body up ahead—completely still and expressionless.

This rabbit does not how to control both.

[jadelover69]

stupi doodle for an upcoming au

[scary-grace]

make me work on my fics!

Thanks for the tag, @quinnyundertow!

Rules: Make a 24hr poll listing the titles of every WIP you want to work on. (It’s fine if you only have one, still make a poll for the vote count). Whichever WIP title gets the most votes, write 1 sentence for every vote received.

Some of these I haven't mentioned before (send ask if more info needed) and tbh I'll probably end up writing for the number of votes on each of them.

tagging:

@nocompromise-noregrets @dogblessyoutascha @phantombstone @scarlettcryptid @mirkwood-hr-department @threadbearsweater @shigarakislaughter @vegascriesduringsex!

[liauditore]

new suicide squad anime got me thinking about the genderbend batman au i made when i was 16 again.

extra (nsfw??? body horror + shirtless doodle lol) art under the cut + drabble.

A mysterious actress appears in Gotham!

Production for the long-anticipated remake of the 1930s classic horror film, "The Clay", is saved in part thanks to the audition of one woman with no credits to her name, just a face and demeanor identical of the late leading actress of the original film.

However, the cast and crew have bigger worries than their limited budget and endless demands from their producers -- everyone involved seems to be disappearing one by one!

While the average gothammite worries that the cult classic's "cursed" reputation might be a little more than an urban legend, The Batman refuses to entertain such unfounded silliness and aims to get to the bottom of this crime against cinema!

presenting BATMAN '63 - THE RISE OF CLAYFACE coming not actually ever lmao

(her hair is brown now because I like the idea of her appearance never being fully consistent lol. shapeshifters gotta do their thing)

[silanb]

Hey Y’know what no one asked for? Multidimensional travel au where disco cops get turned into teenagers and have to solve crimes like this.

I asked for it though so I made it.

Idk what this will culminate into (if anything) but it did result in me writing up a set of skills for adult-turned-teen Harry that I get to play around with! Can’t help but love their goofy little selves.

[thatdeadaquarius]

sagau with the language barrier issue except... the creator is sick and tired of trying to ask for things so they do everything themself.

and it gives their followers mass anxiety bc they can't even ask what you're doing... bc they know they won't understand anything...

SUCH A GENIUS NARVI 10/10 GOOD WORK SORRY IM SUPER LATE BUT THIS IS *chefs kiss*

Like, that's literally how I feel like I first played Genshin LMAO

Also this has a cont. Part 2 at the bottom bc tumblr fucking hates me UPDATE I FIXED IT THANK FUCK

Paimon was like "and then we go to Mondstadt- ! NO, not Wolvendom, to Mondstadt! NOT THE THOUSAND WIND TEMPLE WITH ENEMIES OUT OF UR LEAGUE, ENTER MONDSTADT FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE U EXPLORE THE REST OF THE MAP!! >:("

SO MANY IDEAS YET SO LITTLE WRITING SKILL GUYS HELP-

Also warning this is ROUGH in terms of spelling and editing and im so sorry abt that! I have my art show today so you're welcome to come back if you want to see it a little more readable tomorrow lmao

Edit Update 4/6/23:

Revised and fixed all the bad spelling and grammar (hopefully) so make sure to give another read if you havent read the cleaned up version lol

I dont have a beta reader so its just me trying my best ok-

Everything was like kinda chaos tbh at first

WOW- MY FIRST 1,000+ NOTES POST??!?! U GUYS, WHAT ARE R YOU DOIN??!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IM GLAD U GUYS ENJOYED IT SM!! Also look out for more encoded stuff in the future since i mentioned wanting to continue stuff like this + ARG stuff :) <3

Edit 9/7/23: 2,000+ NOTES?? THANK YOU???

Like u wake up under the Irminsul, and u think ur hallucinating a goddamn gacha game for like a solid 5 minutes, or ur lucid dreaming, 

but once u actually took what felt like hours to process that u might actually be in fucking Genshin Impact-

Nahida came running from, somewhere?? Its kinda just very floaty dreamy in here so, unclear, she’s beaming with a giddy little smile (💘)

It’s… so much more than what her game model could manage.

I mean, you knew that, of course you did, but- to see the tiny goddess smiling in person, her cute chubby arms waving in the air, her cheeks all plump with baby fat from her excited smile, pretty green eyes that sparkle only in the way excited toddlers do-

It was just…wow. 🥺

You can’t help it, her sheer carefree excitement, exactly like a child but you know that she must be really overwhelmed with joy if shes letting herself act like that so blatantly, you feel ur muscles tug gently into a smile, you try to muffle it but ur happiness leaks out anyway

She's panting as she stumbles on short chubby legs to reach you.

After just staring at you with those big green clover eyes for a few seconds, she physically shakes her head to knock herself out of it,

Nahida places her hand over her heart, and bows elegantly, going back to looking at you with a small but bright smile, her voice is kind of quiet, muffled in a soft way, much like her game depiction,

“Hzozn! R'ev yvvm dzrgrmt gl nvvg blf! R wrwm'g gsrmp blf dlfow wvhxvmw fmgro R dzh zg ovzhg z uvd gslfhzmw bvzih low!” *

…Nahida begins to look a little concerned… her eyes get impossibly bigger.

…Oh no.

♧

Nahida had apparently quickly spread the news that you can’t understand them, but luckily it seems like all the characters still know you!

Alhaitham is pretty much a constant by your side, you knew he was vaguely studying linguistics in the akademiya… but that knowledge still didn’t prepare you to be intensely stared at with his diamond pupils for hours. 💀

Then he’d tap your shoulder or something, and you quickly picked up that he wanted you to just try and say something.

Then he would scribble for hours.

Turns out they can understand you about as much as you understand Teyvat language (s? You can’t even tell if there are multiple languages, that’s how unrecognizable this language is, damn)

The more extroverted or friendly people, like Venti, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Jean, Noelle, Amber, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Zhongli, Ganyu, Barbara, Beidou, Collei, Ayaka, Gorou, Nilou

At least attempt to talk to you, and try very hard to watch what you gesture with your hands or body language

They're pretty much ready to play charades at all times for you lol

Interestingly enough, they only ever understood you when you typed in the chat (with other ppl)

But even then not immediately, 

Sumeru scholars basically had to make a whole new department (regardless of how much you play with others) to decipher your ancient language (to them) like those old clay tablets with cuneiform we’re still translating?

Like that, your words appear in elemental magic heavy places (so like that abyss lang. It’ll appear on walls or structures, so like Andrius’ stone colosseum? in Wolvendom gained some of your chat replies inscribed and glowing a rainbow of colors on the top edges of the walls)

Much like the abyss language you see throughout genshin, most Teyvat scholars (across nations/internationally) agreed your language is the oldest form of language known!

It’s like modern languages having roots in older ones, like English with Latin, greek, or German roots, or Sanskrit and the Prakrit for Hindi language today

…so of course no one really speaks the root languages anymore, because they’re so old, so those ancestors who spoke those languages would have little to no understanding of their modern counterparts…

◇

Occasionally if you turned your mic on for whatever reason there would be a gentle whisper on the winds in Mondstadt of your voice,

or your laugh in the waves washing ashore in Inazuma and Fontaine,

your startled noises or screams from battling bosses mixed with the landslides in the mountains of Liyue

So they know what you sound like, but that doesn’t mean they understood your language :/

Nahida had been hoping that you’re actual physical form being here would help improve the language barrier

But unfortunately, those things remained the same, but at least you were physically here to talk to now and give more content for the scholars to study rather than them having to make do with your snippets of language from chats

…so needless to say, it took you a long time to realize they viewed you as a god of sorts.

You kind of knew something was up when at least two allogenes were by your sides at all times, or eremites would replace them if they really couldn’t stick around

You figured they knew you weren’t nearly as combatant-ready as they were at all times, hell you obviously didn’t have a vision hanging off you somewhere, and you only really had a knife strapped to a belt, courtesy of the Thirty Corps

You are still kind of convinced that the people of Teyvat, or Sumeru at least, are just pretty polite (and in the allogenes case, very kind or friendly, even people like Alhaitham or Cyno, resting bitch faces they have, seem to soften a little when they’re walking around with you… maybe you’re just imagining it…)

And as much as you would love to wait until they understand you to do something more fun, as you can see the frustration on Tighnari’s face (and his ears try to flatten back hehe) as he looked like he was debating heatedly with some of the Sumeru sages who insist you stay in the city

…so why not go?

It’s not like they’re going to get it anytime soon, and it’s still too frustrating for yourself to charade things or draw things for them because you can’t even hear their guesses 💀

You can totally handle being like the traveler too, 

You still have access to your inventory afterall! Plus, lucky for you, you still find a pass for the Serenitea Pot in your little pocket dimension!

So now you have somewhere to sleep at night, and while most of your stuff went to the traveler’s pack, the things like Primogems

(which.. Okay now you really want primogems bc theyre so pretty and shiny irl)✨️

And other high-level things, or just objects of no use for the traveler (so basically all your hoarded level up stuff and infinite amount of weapons lol) came along with you

So you did have to wander the first week or so around the city and even commission the Adventurer’s Guild to grab you food supplies to cook with

Filling up, along with a few big waterskins, you’re off!

...and everyone collectively has a heart attack!

◇

When you show up in Ghandaraville essentially all “✨️💖☺️✨️” on Tighnari’s doorstep-

He chokes on the tea he’d been sipping on before he opened the door lol

He looks a little frazzled so you try to just gesture with “calm yourself small animal” energy with your hands

“Tivzgvhg Oliw! R'n- R- sld wrw blf-?! Mvevinrmw, xlnv rm, xlnv rm, ivhg! ...R mvvw gl hvmw z nroorlm ovggvih mld gl ylgs gsv vmgriv xrgb lu Hfnvif, gsv Zxgrmt Tizmw Hztv, zmw gsv Nzgiz nlhg orpvob…” he began out looking at you and talking and gesturing to his small dining table (the game sucks, his house looks great and has lots of cool rooms filled with interesting plants… oooo…so pretty...) 

But then he kinda just devolved into rambling, no need to understand, you can read the vibes and just know that's what he's doing lol

Collei eventually ducks in, and she looks a little panicked?

She’s quickly followed by Cyno, pushing past her to call out into the house,

His voice seems hard and stressed, looking at Tighnari, “Grtsmzir, szev blf hvvm gsv Tivzgvhg Oliw zmbdsviv, gsvb dviv hvvm xlnrmt gl Tszmwziezeroov ozhg-” 

Cyno stops and blinks.

Collei’s mouth is slightly dropped open, she also just, blinks.

You blink. 

Tighnari blinks tiredly, he looks like he’d rather be done for the day, you think.

The doctor sighs, and moves his head to nod towards the other dining seats.

◇

Sumeru foods are so much better looking in real life, and they’re so good too, your practically bloated by the end of dinner, 

As a thank you, bc u cant say it obv, you just gesture for Tighnari to stay sitting, and he gives you a raised eyebrow and a suspicious ear twitch

But stays still, and you reach out to finally hit the eight-pointed star hovering over his, and all playable characters chests at all times.

Like you suspected, it brings up a holographic character menu, but rather than his full model, it kind of hovers in front of Tighnari’s face, replacing his old 3D model self with framing the real thing for a portrait just in front of his face

The poor Denro user nearly jumps a foot out of his chair as he looks in shock at your screen, you do the same “chillll boy” gesture with your hands and press his shoulders for a second to remind him to not run off or panic

Cyno and Collei had done the dishes and put up leftovers, and are now standing behind Tighnari, watching with equally wide eyes,

“...Dszg ziv gsvb wlrmt gl blf?

Cyno’s voice is even deeper and quieter than usual, you feel goosebumps run up your spine

“Ziv blf tvggrmt yovhhvw, Nzhgvi Grtsmzir?!” Collei’s sweet voice is also hushed like she’s witnessing something sacred, Tighnari gently shakes his head negatively in response, his shoulders shrugging,

“Nzbyv? R uvvo... z orggov hgilmtvi, zmw nb Erhrlm rh zxgrmt fk zh dvoo…”

Though he’s replying, Tighnari’s eyes haven’t once left your ancient magic? technology device? hovering in front of him,

and as he crosses his arms and squints to try and look closer at everything floating in front of him, you can see the childlike gleam of awe in his green eyes, (so cute) in fact, now that you glance up and look, both Collei and Cyno have the same quietly excited and fascinated sparkle in their eyes too

With a displeased sneer, you chuck his old level one bow into the material grinding spots, hope he wasn’t attached to that…

Oh well, he’ll like the new one better, afterall, with no characters, all your best weapons and artifacts are ready to use!

With a small smile of reassurance, you finally finish gearing Tighnari up, tap a miniature version of that 8-point star in the corner like an “X” button, and it retreats like a classic TV set📺 turning off into his chest, he startles but then carefully stands

You decide to just start making decisions bc its worked out so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And grab his hand and haul him out into the forest, Collei letting out a surprised squeak, her and Cyno hurrying after

You reach the nearest clearing, and gesture at Tighnari like a bow and arrow firing, he gets it, and your glad he already trusts you, because he doesn’t take long to summon his bow

He takes aim at a smaller tree about two cars length away

You can feel them all holding their breathe, as Tighnari charges it with Dendro, the arrowhead glowing, (it looks so cool and badass irl god you feel envious even tho ur already here-)

The ranger lets it fly, it streaks neon green, whistling through the air, it hits the tree-

and it fucking explodes.

Vines and leaves and the trees roots all rapidly swell like theyre filled with water, like it literally got hit by a superhero with plant powers, which, not that far off actually.

The green floating Dendro seeds make a ring around the tree its so full of elemental energy-

You give a wild grin, you still got it, hell yeah. >:)

Your grin widens as you look over at Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno

Cyno has a smirk lighting up his face, eyes eager, Collei’s jaw has dropped and she’s just frozen staring as the tree finally settles from the burst of the dendro powered arrow

…Tighnari has lowered his bow, and his mouth is only slightly open, his ears perked straight up into the air, shaking with excitement? Happiness? Interest? You don’t know how peopl-animal-hybrid ears work,

and you STILL cant talk to any of them to ask what they thought, so looks will have to do >:/

Tighnari is the first to move, his head snapping over to look at you, the brightest, kinda feral tbh, smile taking over his face-

“Blf pmld, dv xzm'g fmwvihgzmw blf, zmw blf fh, bvg R xzm'g dzrg gl hvv dszg rm gsv dliow blf'iv tlrmt gl wl mvcg. Blf'iv znzarmt."

… and you just 🙂? Cool!

And give a thumbs up👍LMAO

☆

Bonus:

Alhaitham was literally running around Sumeru City trying to find you when you left, tho you did try and leave a translatable-in-3-to-5-business days-note, he didn’t have time to translate that because you were gone.

Or worse, lost in the city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you, esp as Acting Grand Sage-

Kaveh got a letter a day and a half later from Tighnari letting them know you were having a sleepover in Ghandarvaville lol

Kaveh also had to hunt down Alhaitham to give him said news, then force his roommate to go sit or lay down for the rest of the day to recover lmao

(Haitham honestly kinda freaked Kaveh out bc he’s never seen him that... desperate, it was like seeing a statue emote lol)

♡

ARE YOU KIDDING WE ALMOST HIT LIMIT AGAIN?!

Bro has anyone else had this problem???

I literally had to switch from PC to mobile and copy and paste it there to get all my shit in and tumblr not throw a hissy fit???!!!

FUCKING TUMBLR- SUCK MY BIG FAT- 👹👹 UGH

ANYWAYYYY SO I FINALLY CAVED 

And started doing ciphers for when you dont get teyvat’s language! I meant to do something fun like this for awhile but I wasn’t sure if that would be kind of annoying, but if you’re interested in learning what they actually say (which the whole point of this is that dw it doesnt rlly matter lol) here’s a hint:

*hint = Atbash

:> good luck!

Wish me luck on my art exhibition today!! Then I’ll be homefreeeee 😭

Safe Travels,

💀♒

♡ the beloveds ♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[meamiki]

siffrin deals with the woes of a frozen computer.

guest starring (hah) loop!

loop can just input text box dialogue onto tech within the reverse entry au for funsies, dont worry about it!

[sweaterrat]

PORTALS ✦ Chapter 1

════════⊹⊱≼ ✦ ✧ ≽⊰⊹════════

“Apple Juice” — Madilyn Mei

════════⊹⊱≼ ✦ ✧ ≽⊰⊹════════

Niyah’s body rocked with the sway of the rickety bus. In an attempt to get her mind off of what she was doing, she stared out the window to her left and admired the handful of stars in the sky. While clutching her little bookbag, she tried to ignore the shaking of her sweaty hands, the bobbing of her leg that seemed to have a mind of its own, and the pit of anxiety– a dark, sticky feeling that festered in her chest— spreading quickly all over her body. Despite all the worry, Niyah tried to shake it off. This would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Who was she kidding? This was the stupidest idea in history. She would be grounded for months, no, years for this.

‘It’s only for a day,’ She thought, trying to reassure herself (which didn’t help at all). Sighing quietly, Niyah let her chin rest in the palm of her hand as she stared out at the sky that seemed to be lit up more by street lights than stars.

Niyah thought about the events that led to where she was now. Much to her surprise, she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt. In fact, she felt alive. More alive than she had felt in the past week, the past month, the past year.

Hell yeah, she was terrified of the consequences that were sure to bite her in the ass after all this, but she felt so… relieved at the thought of freedom. Even if it was only for a day. Maybe she was a bad kid and maybe her parents didn’t deserve this, but she couldn’t care any less.

Niyah was free tonight. Even if that meant she’d be trapped tomorrow.

She just couldn’t stand staying in that awful place she called “home” anymore with those awful people she called her “parents”. Home never felt like home to her. It was just a house, a house that she always dreaded walking back to after school.

So, she left.

The idea of her being a runaway put a smile on Niyah’s face, oddly enough. Normal people wouldn’t approve of such a title over their heads, but then again, Niyah was not normal people.

As the bus slowed to a stop, Niyah gave the driver a halfhearted thank you and stepped off the ride. She looked around at the vaguely familiar place she was in. Clutching the straps of her bookbag, she slowly treaded the ghost town. While wearily walking down the sidewalk, Niyah nearly jumped out of her skin at the buzzing of her phone.

Her heart sank. Was it her mom? She swallowed a lump in her throat as she slowly pulled it out of her pocket and read the contact.

One unread message from Comet💫

Niyah let out a soft sigh of relief. It was just Kat (Comet was just a nickname she came up with and it kind of stuck). Quickly, Niyah checked her surroundings before reading the text.

‘r u here yet?’

Niyah blinked and texted back, ‘Yeah I’m omw now!’ She paused for a moment, then typed again. ‘You sure you wanna do this?’

Her phone instantly pinged again. ‘i want to!! But idkkkk i feel so eueue.’

Niyah wasn’t quite sure what ‘eueue’ was supposed to feel like, but she tried to sympathize nonetheless. ‘Do you wanna go back home? I’ll walk you back <:]’

‘no no, im gonna suck it up. i swear i’ll have fun!’

Niyah’s lips turned down slightly in a frown, but she replied anyway.

‘If you’re sure :[’

She then turned off her phone and continued down the crooked sidewalk, feeling a bit paranoid about how dark it was at night. There were barely any street lights here.

Eventually, Niyah was beginning to arrive at her destination. She spotted the familiar silhouette of her good friend Kat in the distance. Breathing a sigh of relief from finally not being alone, Niyah called out to the other.

“Kat!”

Kat in turn looked up and smiled widely.

“Niyah!” They called, walking towards her, then they started sprinting.

“Ohhh boy.” Niyah chuckled nervously and braced for impact. Kat practically flew at her, jumping into her arms, (Niyah attempted to catch them, but her little bones could only hold so much weight) and they both went tumbling into the concrete pavement (not escaping without a few scratches).

Pained laughter echoed through the empty streets. “Why do you do that every time?” Niyah complained, trying to push Kat off her now.

“You took forever!” Kat shouted before getting up on their own. They extended a hand out to the other. “Now, c’mon. I found something cool!” They flexed their fingers as a way of saying, ‘Hurry up.’

Niyah rolled her eyes, “What happened to ‘Hi, Niyah. How are you?’” She took Kat’s hand in her own.

“‘Hi, Niyah. How are you?’ Now get your ass up and come on!” Kat replies with a grin on their face. They hauled Niyah up, nearly sending them flying again. It's funny how Kat, who was iffy about this whole plan, seems more excited than Niyah.

“Alright, alright. Where are we headed?” Niyah dusted herself off, glancing around again. Suddenly, she was pulled by Kat in a random direction.

“Through the underbrush! I know a shortcut.” They claimed, strutting towards a dirt path through some bushes. Niyah winced at all the dirt and possible bugs, but went along anyway.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” Niyah mentioned, stepping over a shrub and nearly yelping aloud when she saw a rather large spider web on a tree.

Kat groaned and rolled their eyes. “Do you trust me?” They asked, turning towards Niyah and raising an eyebrow.

“Unfortunately,” Niyah mumbled and shot them a sarcastic smile. The other glared right back before they both erupted into giggles.

Niyah then piped up, “Did you ever finish that Rise marathon you started?” Kat only hummed and shrugged in response. “I just started watching the movie. I’ll finish it later though.”

“Honestly,” Niyah started, “I only watched the Donnie centric episodes and skipped to the movie.” Kat only laughed in response.

“Why am I not surprised?”

After a few steps more of walking, Kat smiled excitedly. “We’re here~!” They sang, pushing back a bush to reveal…

“A… convenience store?”

Niyah’s head tilted to the side as the building came into view. It was just some old, run-down looking little shop that kinda gave her all the wrong vibes.

“Not a convenience store, It’s kinda like those stores at gas stations. Or Clair’s. I passed it while heading to you and it has Hello Kitty stuff! Let’s check it out!”

Niyah examined the rusty exterior of the store, grimacing at the cracks on the walls and the moss growing on them. “I dunno, Kat. This place looks… not great.”

Kat huffed defiantly, “You already forced me to accompany you as you ran away from home. It’s only fair we do something I wanna do first, right?” They rested a hand on their hip dramatically.

“I gave you multiple chances to back out, but sure; fair enough.” Niyah shrugged and followed the other into the decrepit-looking shop.

The first thing she noticed when she entered was how much bigger it looked on the inside. It wasn’t huge, it was just bigger than she thought. It honestly wasn’t as bad as it looked, but Niyah was still on edge. She skimmed around the store, looking down the tiny aisle (and noticing that there was in fact Hello Kitty stuff).

“Welcome, welcome,” rasped an elderly voice. Niyah practically jumped out of her skin and whipped around to see what seemed to be a store employee.

The woman was… well, old. But she has this casual aura to her. Her grayed hair was done nicely in a bun and she had rectangular glasses. She wore a cream colored blouse, and on it was a brooch or pin of some kind.

“…Hello,” Niyah spoke cautiously, feeling awkward for flinching.

The lady smiled, the concerns of her eyes crinkling. She seemed to study Niyah. “You look like you’re a bit far from home, hm?” She responded, folding her hands together while maintaining eye contact.

Niyah glanced around frantically for Kat (who was indulging themself in all the Sanrio merch they desired). She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“I guess you could say that,” she mumbled, wishing desperately that she could exit this conversation. The old woman seemed to sense her discomfort and she offered up a comforting smile.

“Well, look around and see what you might like.” And she propped herself up and left to the back. Niyah let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and basically sprinted to where Kat vanished.

She turned the corner and saw her friend examining a little keychain. Kat blinked and looked up at the other.

“Oh hey! Where’d you go?”

“You left me! That lady up front gives me the creeps, dude,” she whined, pulling at Kat’s wrist. “When can we leave?”

“As soon as I finish shopping,” they answered. “Now shoo, I’m tryna figure out which one I should get.”

Niyah let out a strangled groan as she dragged herself away, leaving Kat with their stupid keychains. She walked back to the front of the store, glancing at where the old woman was. Thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen.

Niyah let out a quiet sigh of relief before turning to look ahead. She peeped into one of the isles to check out what was there. Niyah was met with crystal necklaces— the ones that were cut in some kind of hexagonal shape.

“Oooh!” Niyah piped up, going into the aisle to get a closer look. Her eyes landed on a purple crystal that resembled amethyst.

A small smile made its way onto the girl’s face. As she held the necklace, her expression softened. It seemed like everything reminded her of him. Her stupid fictional turtle crush. It was… embarrassing to say out loud sometimes, but she couldn’t care less more often than not. She liked a fictional guy, so what?

“Find anything you like, dear?” The woman suddenly appeared beside Niyah, her eyes squinted slightly as she smiled. Niyah let out a small shriek, then instantly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Did I startle you?” she questioned, but Niyah quickly shook her head.

“N-No! You just, uh, I’m just a bit jumpy tonight, I guess.” She laughed a bit awkwardly, gripping the ends of her hair (a nervous stim of hers). She avoided eye contact like the plague.

The woman gazed sympathetically at the younger one. “Is something the matter?” She asked.

Niyah fumbled with her hands. “It's been a long day,” she sighed, glancing back to where Kat was. “Sorry I freaked out on you.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“That’s quite alright, dear,” The elder spoke with a knowing smile. She moved her gaze to the shelf in front of them.

“Interested in these, dear?” She chuckled, eyes shining. “My daughter used to love this stuff.” The woman picked a necklace with a stone that resembled amethyst and handed it to Niyah.

“Purple suits you,” she smiled.

Niyah felt herself relax a bit, subconsciously smiling. “Thank you, miss…?” she trailed off.

“Miss Chiyo.” The other— Miss Chiyo— replied with a smile. Niyah reciprocated the gesture with a smile of her own.

“Thank you, Miss Chiyo. I, uh, I’m Niyah by the way,” She stated a bit awkwardly. Niyah felt a bit bad for judging Miss Chiyo. This lady seemed pretty nice.

Miss Chiyo began walking back towards the front and Niyah was inclined to follow. In fact, part of her felt like Miss Chiyo expected her to. It was almost as if any nerves or distrust she may have felt about the odd lady melted away as she followed, though of course her anxiety was still there, just slightly less apparent. She felt safe. Well, as safe as one can feel in a run-down retail store, this late at night.

Miss Chiyo went behind the front desk while Niyah stood there idly, taking a better look at her surroundings. “So, Miss Niyah, what made you run away from home, hm?” Miss Chiyo suddenly asked, that same knowing smirk on her face.

Niyah’s eyes grew a bit wide in alarm. “How did you know I—“ But she was cut off by a wave of the other’s hand. “I was a teenager too, always wanting to run off. So, what’s your reason for leaving home?”

Niyah hesitated for a moment, then sighed. She figured she had nothing to lose. What was Miss Chiyo gonna do, tell her mom? “If I’m honest, I hate living with my mom. So many rules and restrictions, I just wanna be free y’know? Plus, it’s not like I’m leaving forever.”

Miss Chiyo nodded in understanding. “Well, wherever you’re going, get there safely, alright dear?” The other just smiled and nodded.

A slight glimmer caught Niyah’s eye. She blinked as her eyes landed on a beautiful, milky white crystal wrapped in a small brown rope. The rope came up into a necklace with a golden hook at the end of it. It was just laying there on the back counter.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Niyah asked, tilting her head while leaning on the counter. She gestured to the lazily luminescent stone behind the other.

Miss Chiyo turned to the large crystal necklace. With a slow inhale, she replied, “Oh, that old thing?” She went over to retrieve it. “It was a… family heirloom of sorts.”

Niyah simply ginned. “Cool! What kind of crystal is it? Quartz?”

Miss Chiyo just laughed, “No, not quartz. This crystal is one of a kind. Well, one of its kind. I used to have its little twin— a black crystal just like that one. But, I lost it.” Her expression fell into a sad smile.

Niyah offered the older woman a sympathetic smile. “Who knows, maybe it’ll turn up. If I see anything like it, I’ll get it to ya.”

That seemed to cheer Miss Chiyo up a bit. She let out that sweet little laugh of hers. “You remind me so much of my little Emiko.” She turned back to retrieve the crystal. “Always trying to help someone.” She cupped the stone in her hands.

With a smile, Miss Chiyo extended her hands out to Niyah. “Here,” she said, holding out the crystal to the other. “I think you could take better care of it than me.”

Niyah sputtered wildly. “Wh— me?! Wait, isn’t— isn’t this your family heirloom thing? I can’t just take it!” She yelped, waving her hands around. Miss Chiyo only smiled and took Niyah’s hands in her own.

“I think I can trust you,” she replied simply. Niyah wordlessly blinked and looked down at the jewel now in her hands. The elder only chuckled, “I’m far too old to keep looking after it anyway, haha!”

The crystal in Niyah’s hand felt… electric in a way. It was a feeling that she couldn’t quite place. It was like the shard was buzzing with energy.

“Take it,” Miss Chiyo whispered with a small smile. “On the house.”

Niyah was still in disbelief. “I… thank you,” she smiled. “Y’know, Miss Chiyo, you really made my day— er, night.” The girl chuckled as she threw on the necklace. It was heavier than it looked, that's for sure.

Miss Chiyo chuckled in response. “It’s nice to come across some kind souls these days,” she sighed. “Now, It’s quite late out. Shouldn’t you two get going?”

Niyah nodded, “Yeah, we’ll be on our way.” She then turned to call out to her friend behind her. “Yo, Kat! You almost done over there?”

Kat did nothing but send a silent thumbs up as a response. They stared thoughtfully at what bag of chips to buy before they seized some jalapeño chips and skedaddled over to the front counter.

“Just these, please!” they sang and placed a bag of chips, a drink, and 3 Sanrio keychains on the desk. “How much do I owe you?”

The older woman only smiled and replied, “Just take it, honey. Make sure you both get home safe eventually.” Miss Chiyo then put the items in a plastic bag and then pushed them back across the counter.

“Oh wait— for real?” Kat stared in surprise but then shrugged. “Thank you!” They look at Niyah, signaling that they’re finally ready to go. Niyah turned back to the elder behind the desk.

“Well, we’ll be on our way,” she sighed, offering a kind smile to the other. “It was really nice meeting you, Miss Chiyo.”

Miss Chiyo said nothing but smiled and waved the pair goodbye as they exited the store.

Niyah glanced at the stone again, holding it and feeling the same static spark between her fingers. A wave of nausea washed over her. She blinked drowsily in an attempt to fight the sudden tiredness.

She looked back at Kat, “Hey, Comet, you think we can still make it to the beach on time…?” Niyah trailed off as she saw Kat turned around, staring at the store behind them. They looked almost puzzled.

“What’s up?” Niyah asked, but Kat only shook their head and walked back to Niyah’s side. The other narrowed her eyes… but then shrugged.

The two made their way to their next location, chatting about their plans for the summer.

“I seriously hope Rise gets a season three. Do you think that Netflix might pick it up?” Niyah asked, sipping on a Capri-sun she snagged from her backpack (strawberry kiwi, because that’s the best flavor).

Kat (who was sipping on a Pacific cooler) replied with a shrug, “Man, I hope so.”

Niyah kicked a loose pebble on the sidewalk, nearly tripping while doing so. She had a slight sway in her step which caught the attention of her friend. “You okay?” Kat asked, placing a comforting hand on Niyah’s back.

Niyah nodded, “Yeah, just tired. I’ve been feeling all funky ever since we left the store.” A funny idea popped into her head. Ha, what if that crystal was magical or something? Niyah internally laughed at the idea. Hopefully, she didn’t jinx herself.

Niyah continued to stumble over her own feet despite her reassurances that she was fine. “Do you just— wanna go home?” Kat asked as they held her up, attempting to help her walk.

Niyah would’ve answered but a deafening, high-pitched ringing echoed in Niyah’s ears. She felt like the life was being drained out of her. She was fine a minute ago— what happened?

Niyah’s eyes landed on the white crystal around her neck. It almost seemed to give off a soft glow. She wouldn’t have questioned it (maybe it was the trick of the light?) but then the soft glow turned harsh, making her squint at the brightness.

“What in the…” Niyah whispered to herself (not that she could hear herself over the loud ringing in her ears). As the crystal glowed brighter, it started to levitate. She blinked rapidly, thinking she had finally lost all her marbles.

“Am I tripping or is that thing—” Niyah turned to her friend who looked just as horrified. Kat took two steps away from Niyah, causing her to stumble a bit.

The crystal had floated high enough to hover a few inches away from her face. Welp, she jinxed it.

Niyah heard voices in her head. Voices that weren’t her own. Whispers, cries, pleads. She tilted her head inquisitively, and out of pure curiosity, lifted her hand up to touch the stone.

As soon as her fingertips came into contact with it, the electric feeling returned. For a second, it almost felt nice— new. But it quickly became overwhelming. Niyah yelped out in pain.

Niyah couldn't see what was happening around her— just feeling all too many things at once. She felt despair that wasn’t hers. Worry, sorrow, panic, most of which didn’t belong to her. And in the midst of it, she felt a new feeling. A feeling of change. Things were changing.

In front of her, something flashed, then flickered, then sparked. A swirling circle of what seemed to be pure white lightning formed. Speckles of gold littered the neutralness of the white and in the center seemed to be the galaxy itself. The dark purples and blues contrasted beautifully against the white and gold.

A portal?

Common sense told her to turn away from it, to run as fast and as far as she possibly could, but… she couldn’t.

Something drew her to it, a force she couldn’t possibly understand. Niyah thought she could just vaguely hear the yells of her friend, the frantic pleas for her to stop and not get any closer, but the other voices were so much louder.

She took a step.

Then two.

Niyah kept approaching the gateway. Her head dipped to the side as her pain— and consciousness— slipped. Taking a swayed step, Niyah reached a hand out into it.

Everything around her was telling her to go.

Go.

And she did.

Niyah only remembered falling into the warm white. She had blacked out the second after.

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Chapter 1 is out! Woooo!!!! Yyayayayy!!!! I’m setting up the master list now :]

Beta read by @yourlocalartsonist @yosajaeofficial and @oleander-nin !!! Go check out their accounts now now now!!!!

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