#But I see no reason not to clarify anyway

[jacksonekennedy]

"You don't have to hold me to anything. I already know what dress I'm gonna wear for dancing."

Oh. She knew what dress she’d be wearing. Jack tried imagining it, but before he could get too far, his mouth blurted out:

“What dress?”

He’d asked the question before the words had even formed in his brain. It had been a selfish, impulsive thing, and he regretted it as soon as he’d asked.

Jack snapped his mouth shut, as if to make a point that he’d spoken before thinking. He offered a sheepish smile, before thinking about his words a little more cautiously.

“Don’t answer that. I want it to be a surprise, actually.”

It would be torture. Who knows when they’d go dancing? With Alice’s schedule, and Jack set to return to D.C. in the next few weeks for a (likely) disciplinary or investigative hearing. He’d do whatever it took, though. Spend the thousands of dollars just to fly to New York. Just to dance for one night.

Just to see her in that dress, whatever it looked like.

It would definitely be a date, Jack thought. He would make sure to clarify as well, the closer the time came. Or, well, he’d ask. Surely he wasn’t reading this whole thing wrong.

For some reason, the realization that Jack and Alice were both aware of where this was heading was … exciting. A little embarrassing, but in a sweet way? Maybe embarrassing wasn’t the right word for it though. It felt very … innocent at times. The exciting part of meeting someone new and realizing that the feelings go both ways.

If Jack had any doubt, well, Alice had put those fears to rest by suggesting that maybe they hold hands.

“Oh, one hundred percent. It’s probably worse than plastic surgery and the dentist. I really don’t know if hand holding will be enough, but we can give it a try.”

What else could there be?

The promise of a kiss, maybe?

Jack didn’t want to push it though. It was late, and talking about kissing Alice would only make him wade through the water until he was staring up at her, silently pleading for her mouth.

His phone buzzed again. Jack sighed. It was his mother. Was that the third or fourth text of the day?

“You have no idea how badly I want to stay out here and keep spending time with you, but I promised my mom that I’d call her tonight.”

Jack realized how … stupid that sounded. And childish. He felt the need to offer up an explanation.

“I’ve kind of been ghosting her. Everyone, really, since you’ve been here, but before that, too.”

Jack was sure that she could guess why. Things hadn’t been good, but they felt so much better now. At least, in that moment they did. Jack was on a high that no one could bring down. Maybe he’d even make plans to see his mother the weekend after Alice left. That would make her happy.

“She threatened to drive up tomorrow if I didn’t. So.”

Jack offered an apologetic smile. He felt like it was a good place to end the night, though. The promise of seeing each other after the week was over. Already, Jack felt a bit of relief that he’d see her again. He’d see her in that dress, in that Yankees hat — or even a Yankees t-shirt… but maybe that was pushing it.

“I had a really nice day with you though.”

Jack smiled. He really meant it. Enjoying coffee together, swimming, the trip to the falls, dinner. Getting to learn about Alice’s family and their little traditions. Her parents dancing in the living room. And Alice’s voice. Her beautiful, perfect voice that he was certain he’d dream about.

“One of the best I’ve had in … a really long time.”

God. It was really good that there was a body of water between them. Jack wanted to kiss her goodnight.

“It was really perfect, actually.”

Okay. Okay, he could stop talking now. The more that he hung around, the more difficult it would be to leave. The more he talked, the more he'd be tempted to ask about the dress again. Jack didn't want to spoil anything.

“Alright. If I don’t leave now … anyway.”

Jack stood, legs dripping from the water. He scooped up his shoes with one hand. He paused for a second, and his mouth almost did that thing again. There was almost an offer to walk her up to her bedroom, but ... that wouldn't have lead anywhere good. Jack was glad he managed to regain some self control (but not really, because he still turned around).

One last look. He smiled at Alice, very softly.

Isn't this what had turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt? Or what had condemned Eurydice back to the underworld?

Jack was glad that there was no biblical punishment for this. And, even if there was ... fuck it.

"Sweet dreams, Alice."

Alice bites her lip for a long moment while observing his smile— a part of aims for composure, but, alas.

She's fairly certain it's a losing game.

Jack simply looks too handsome like this. He looked too happy, about the prospect of seeing Alice again.

It makes her neck hot. Her hands feel all fidgety too, like they're too flighty to rest in her lap, too twitchy to skim the water. Like she needs to touch something. No. Not something. Jack. She really just needs to touch Jack.

And there was flickering between them right now too; something bright and new and exciting, but it wasn't flimsy, it felt, especially now ... substantial.

What she felt for Jack felt substantial.

'I’m gonna hold you to this. The Yankees game and the dancing,'

'Like, the day you leave, I’m sending you a calendar invite with different days to pick from.'

Alice shakes her head and smiles.

"You don't have to hold me to anything. I already know what dress I'm gonna wear for dancing."

It was black— not too long — and the hem of it had layers, pretty ruffles that moved like rippling water. She hopes Jack will see her in it and feel something. She hopes Jack will see her in it and feel compelled to twirl her, to dip her, maybe even pull her close to her chest and rest his forehead against hers and—

Well.

Alice would really like a kiss.

More than anything, she wants piano music to float above their heads as they stand on weathered hardwood, nicked by years and years of footsteps and dance steps, and she wants Jack to kiss her, and she wants to feel that fire rear up in her belly again like from tonight.

She really wants Jack to want that too.

And when it does happen, she wants Jack to want it again, and then there's another Yankees game, and another dance night on the calendar, and then another set of those, and another, and she's Scheherazade, extending their time together in a never-ending story of stadium seats and slow dances.

Again and again and again.

'We should go to the museum anyway. Get it out of the way so you can’t threaten me with it. And — well, there’s no way you could’ve known this, and if you repeat this … I’ll be very hurt by it — but dolls creep me the fuck out. So… apple dolls? I don’t know. I’m willing to go though. Face my fears.'

Alice smiles like the cat that got the cream.

Willing to face apple dolls for her? Willing to go this creepy ass muesum all because she'd suggested, jokingly?

"Apple dolls are scarier than normal dolls, I think— they look extra wizened."

"It might be a dentist or plastic surgery kind of situation. Where you might need to hold my hand."

Yeah. They definitely should hold hands there.

[brightest-stars-if]

hi! i was just archive-stalking all the asks, and was wondering if there was a particular reason you made m!lux barren? also, is it where the demo ends around where we're having dinner with the fam (i'm avoiding spoilers lol for anyone else reading)? i feel like i'm reading stuff and that i missed a large amount from the info i'm finding but maybe that's just bc i played only the m!lux path. anyways, i absolutely love this story and i'm excited to see where it goes further!! <3

Hello anon!

I wanted to clarify that both male and female Lux are infertile. I did this for a few reasons. Firstly, I think that it thematically fits where I'm trying to go with some characters. Secondly, I didn't want to have to juggle the variables of adding MC-Lux bio kids into the game, it sounded like hell. And thirdly, Lux not having biological kids was important for plot reasons.

As for where the demo ends, yes, it does end when the MC is eating with their family.

And regarding you reading things on tumblr that you feel like you missed in the game, that makes sense, don't worry. I've shared things thusfar on the blog that you haven't seen in the game yet, though you will. You haven't missed anything :)

Thank you for playing he game so far and sending this absolutely lovely ask <3

[gamora-borealis]

incoming dangender thoughts: the more I read up/watch the stuff dan has said about gender after BIG + reflect on what he said in BIG I'm like. y'all she really has been explicitly trying to tell us his gender IS formless blob (without making it a huge deal in the mainstream public eye), but so many people haven't actually been taking him seriously! like. labels are made up, dan has pretty much said as much before. why do we have to have a specific approved™ term to consider them genderqueer/nonbinary/trans? those are descriptive labels and dan has been using a fun descriptive label they created that he defined for us in BIG, a definition that matches up with those other labels! and dan has said since 2019 that he is comfortable with any pronouns even though he still mainly uses he/him. like, lately dan has been using more she/her and they/them for herself and experimenting with being more femme and/or androgynous in various ways, and what is changing is not even necessarily gender (although maybe who knows), but probably that dan is finally feeling more comfortable with different kinds of gender presentation and pronouns than she typically uses. because low-key gender is kind of a performance and it's scary to switch it up sometimes but dan feels safe doing so especially with their audience and I think that's actually really special 🧡 but moral of the story, dangender has actually been out in the open since 2019 and I wish more people picked up on that!

[hoahoahoahoahoa]

In my experience, a good 70% of fics tagged “Bella with a Backbone” end up writing Sookie Stackhouse in Bella Swan’s place, minus the southern belleness and telepathy. And that’s not inherently bad. I love Sookie dearly. But. Please. Please, if you’re going to approach Bella this way, remember Sookie exists in a universe in which vampires have actual exploitable weaknesses, and it’s possible for a human to injure, incapacitate, and even kill them. Bella exists in a universe in which vampires are all but indestructible, especially to humans. There’s only so much she can do. And there are far reaching consequences that shape her character and the narrative. Just. Please

[apexhaven]

I'm not too sure if I understand any specific tone to your reblog, so if you are fine clarifying that would be nice, but you do not have to. Anyways-

It is extremely sad that so many people have to resort to fundraisers to get funds and help, whether they're facing genocide(?), a trans person seeking help for transition, a disabled person, or anyone else for any reason (not including scams, which I'd hope are a small or nonexistent variable but I wouldn't know), and I try boosting things about it that I see posted by others such as on TikTok and formerly here too but not as much now, but being asked directly when I can't do anything myself in ways of donating or spreading awareness very far just makes it feel hopeless and draining and overwhelming and frustrating and more.

I like helping people, *when it's something I can actually make an impact on*, but in those cases I'm much better of an option for things like some kind of advice and moral support and also typically need to actually know the person to really let my help be personalised to them. If I can't do that, it does more harm than good to me, and does absolutely nothing for the other person. It becomes a mute point with no gain and only drawbacks, whether for one or both parties involved in the specific case.

Inbox: *shows notif*

Me: *excited I might have some fun interaction*

Inbox: *it's just spam asking for donos again*

STOP. FUCKING STOP. I'VE SAID I DON'T WANT THIS. I HAVE SAID BEFORE I CAN'T DO DONOS. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME. I DON'T HAVE MONEY TO GIVE YOU. I KEEP BLOCKING THE ONES I GET AND THEY JUST COME FOR MY ALT BLOGS INSTEAD. HOLY FUCK. LEAVE ME ALONE I THOUGHT I'VE BEEN CLEAR ABOUT THIS. ASK SOMEONE ELSE. I CAN'T HELP YOU WHETHER IT'S A SCAM OR AN ACTUAL REAL PERSON OR BOTH. JUST GO AWAY. LET ME HAVE ASKS THAT I CAN ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH, NOT DONO SPAM ASKS. OH MY FUCKING GODS.

I get it. The ones that are actually in these situations need help, but I cannot help and I've said this time and time again. I know some of them are just scams as well and not the real people. I used to answer these but I didn't even know what to say then, so I stopped answering them and said I couldn't and you all still do it. Just give me normal interaction! Ask someone else who can actually help you! I can't!

I shouldn't need to keep saying this. It's in the gods damned pinned post for crying out loud.

I'll be reblogging this to all of my blogs whether they get these asks or not, because some of you clearly can't use your eyes. My vision is shit and I could still respect this if I was in your place!

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all! Weird question time again, this time for my fellow peeps with brain fog (or other things that could cause word issues tbh I have no idea which of my health issues causes it): Do you ever find when your brain gets stuck trying to say a word because the word is just completely gone from your head* in your first language, you can kinda work around the missing words in a different language? Especially asking if this commonly happens to you in a language that A. you are not fluent in and B. no one you are talking to understands Like, knowing more Spanish vocab has helped me when I get stuck in English because sometimes I can say the thing in Spanish and it's like it unlocks the ability to say it in English, but sometimes I say it in Spanish and still can't come up with the words in English and then I have just said a sentence in not very good Spanish to my dad and brother, who speak almost no Spanish (this has happened enough my brother is picking up on Spanish)

*idk how to articulate the difference between the word issues I'm talking about and the "oh I forget the word it's on the tip of my tongue" type issues. Like, my dad, uncles, and cousin were/are firefighters. My dad was, at the time, watching a show about firefighters. One time I lost the word firefighter so completely that by the time I was able to string together other words to get the concept across, what I came up with was "firetruck people". I still occasionally have the "forgot the word" issues, but I never had the "word is completely gone" problems before I got sick and the two feel very different (they probably look not too dissimilar from the outside)

[callie-flower]

"proship dni" this, "comship dni" that, "neutral dni" unfortunately the people you don't like are still human and deserve comfort. my fucking god shut the hell up you're just as annoying as they are and protest WAY too much about it. go unlearn your purity morality shit

[theoldworldsrunnerup]

Okay so um. To the Soichiro enthusiasts who don’t headcanon him as straight (specifying this because I’m assuming straight is the most commonly agreed on), what do you headcanon him as?? Personally my default headcanon is that he’s bisexual but genuinely just doesn’t realise he’s attracted to men, but him being a really closeted gay man is also really fun to explore. Idk I want to hear people’s thoughts

[ailithnight]

🙄 *smh* Just say you hate single people why don't you. Since clearly ya think they don't need or deserve to have lives outside of their homes.

This person prolly just wanted to treat themself to a nice meal they didn't have to cook themself. An here you are bemoaning the "tragedy" of their mere existence because it doesn't meet your amatonormative expectations.

[autistic-katara]

due to the amount of fics where ppl take non-american characters and make them american for no reason other than uwu it’s the stuff i know or whatever i may have to set all my fics abt american media in scotland

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Unfortunately I treat my whole life as sidequests. I've moved five times in five years. I'm already planning my sixth. I was considering joining the volunteer fire department until I saw that training takes a year and that would affect my plan of leaving in a few months. I'm on Indeed for 911 dispatcher jobs and kind of guessing that if I get one I'll move for it. Why 911 dispatcher? I'd like to think it's because I want to help people. I know deep in my heart it's bcuz the show 911 ingrained itself into my psyche while I was watching it every night from midnight to 8am for awhile. I live on a farm right now btw.

[cabozers]

If you follow us for rvb fanart I'm so sorry to tell you we pretty much never interact with the fandom because we're all from there as a source and everyone interprets everything differently than we do. We just do Not feel comfortable interacting with rvb fandom stuff most of the time since we feel like the show got a lot of shit wrong. Complicated relationship with source 💪

[starglitterz]

GUYS I SUBMITTED MY ASSIGNMENT IN TIME!!!

[liminevator]

[We are aware of the current deficiencies with the current denizen file system and are currently busy working to improve them, with our file manager Eskobar overseeing the changes of course.]

[Update continues below.]

--

[One of these improvements is a letter ranking system to help better identify the potential risks your fellow denizens may pose to you or the lack thereof- remember, always be careful of who you trust.]

[This new letter ranking system is as follows]:

D-rank - D rated Denizens are effectively just your average joe schmoe, they don't usually have powers, and if they do they usually aren't offensive, or are simply so impractical theres very little ways if any to be harmful. A good example of a D-rank denizen would be ID #2200

C-rank - C rated Denizens are much similar to D-rank however the biggest difference is they do have substantial abilities that could be harmful in the wrong hands, but thankfully C-rank denizens are typically the example of powers "in the right hands" so-to-say. A good example of a C-rank denizen would be ID #0004

B-rank - B rated Denizens are basically the "middle of the road" tier. They aren't exactly harmless, but they're not exactly dangerous either, it's difficult to explain, essentially another you know it when you see it type of situation. A good example of a B-rank denizen would be ID #0325

A-rank - A rated Denizens are those whose scale is tilted a bit more into the dangerous direction, whether this violence is intentional or not they are known to be unstable and have outbursts that may result in serious injury or even death, it's not recommended to bother them if you can help it. A good example of an A-rank denizen would be ID #0115

S-rank - S rated denizens are few and far between, but are a force to be reckoned with nonetheless. They're violent, destructive, and disregard any attempts to stop such behavior, either finding it fun or necessary or for other reasons. The ways to handle them are different for each individual, remain wary and on your toes. A good example of an S-rank Denizen would be ID #1000

U-rank - "U rank" is a very seldom given title, often reserved solely for those with deific powers, or those who have fragmented (fragmentation is further indicated by a ☥ symbol by the name.) It is highly ill advised to seek out anybody with this label unless you absolutely know what you're doing, or are operating under my orders. A good example of a (non-fragmented) U-rank denizen would be ID #4444

[The rest of these improvements are more minor things, including but not limited to]:

- Changed "Distinct Marks" into "Distinct Traits" to reflect its current usage

- Slightly more detailed descriptions for Hair and Fur besides just the color

- New description section for a denizen's Skin where applicable

- Mr. CocoCoolatta is working on new art for some of the more "scuffed" files that "look like shit"- its words not mine

- For Phonians only, adding the "Song" category to properly document the tune of applicable denizen's phonoglands

- Touching up some files with more lackluster descriptions where necessary

- Removing unsavory edits made by... "third parties" that will only remain visible to higher ups in The Archive

- Urging Professor Radiant to change his password so these edits stay private

[And one final note, my apologies for the radio silence lately and lack of updates to our database, things have been busy in our facilities lately and it's gotten in the way of proper procedures around here. But not to worry, I assure you this is only temporary, we will be back on our feet soon enough, so long as I have anything to say about it.]

Sincerely, Doctor Rito Kusatta

[spideyhexx]

just a psa I wanna say here since bull run is screening, if any clips are posted by anyone, I’m not gonna be sharing them so don’t send me any either🫶reviews on the other end…yes!

[ailithnight]

I'm imagining Batman scouted Danny for the Watchtower's medical team because he helped the junior team (speedster, martian, half Kryptonian clone, half Atlantean, and humans) when they crashed in Amity Park after the ambient ecto messed with their tech

So after learning what happened, he's meeting with the current lead doctors, staring at them like:

"You fired the guy I brought to you, explicitly for his experience with variant biologies, on day one, because he corrected you about variant biologies."

Batman is not happy.

The weirdly competent Doctor

So! The Watchtower's Medical Bay is a hub of constant Activity. With the number of Heroes who work under the Justice League, there are always injuries, health check-Ups, and illnesses that need healing.

But with the amount of Variant Biologies that those Heroes have, it's always a guessing game as to how to help them best. Some Metahumans react positively to penicillin, but others react like it's their Kryptonite. Some Aliens have anatomy similar to Humans, others are so different you can't tell the Stomach from the Bladder.

So when they hired a New Doctor for the Medical Bay, they had to run him through an entire Course on Variant Biologies and how best to treat specific Heroes. It was long and difficult to remember fully, but it was necessary for him to know.

But then the new Doctor started correcting Them.

"Actually, Martian's react better to the Syrup of Eucalyptus Plants better than Penicillin, since Eucalyptus is very similar to a medicinal plant from Mars which they used in many of their antibiotics."

"I don't think just pumping double doses of sedative is the best way to calm down a Speedster, that could have adverse effects on their body. Perhaps try Psychic Intervention? Their minds move a Mile a Second, but if you can calm them down their bodies will follow suit."

"Of course you use Micro-Doses of Kryptonite to operate on Superman! What else would you do?! I don't know, maybe ask JLD to enchant your Equipment to make use of Kryptonian suseptiblity to Magic? The Kryptonite is just gonna give him Cancer!"

Of course the Doctors didn't take kindly to being rudely corrected by a newbie, and Fired him on his first day.

Then a few days later their usual Treatments don't work, and they decide to give those strategies the Quack Doctor gave them out of desperation.

And Lo and Behold, they work! Martian Manhunter is fully healed and feels much better than the previous times he has needed surgery. Apparently they used a different Antibiotic that worked better with his Biology. Which was incredible, how had they figured it out?

Another Doctor you say? One who was experienced on Martian Biology and Medicinal History? He would very much like to meet with the man!

...

What do you mean you fired him for talking back?!