#Reach Influencer tracking system

[arolesbianism]

Thinks abt oni pmd au oh so hard. When you get a second chance at a relationship only to re experience drifting apart from them all over again

[reachartwork]

how to write fight scenes

many people have told me that Chum has good fight scenes. a small subset of those people have asked me on advice for how to write fight scenes. i am busy procrastinating, so i have distilled my general ethos on fight scenes into four important points. followed by a homework assignment.

Fight scenes take place on two axii - the physical and the intellectual. For the most interesting fight scenes, neither character should have a full inventory of the other's abilities, equipment, fighting style, etc. This gives you an opportunity to pull out surprises, but, more importantly, turns each fight into a jockeying of minds, as all characters involved have to puzzle out what's going on in real time. This is especially pertinent for settings with power systems. It feels more earned if the characters are trying to deduce the limitations and reach of the opponent's power rather than the opponent simply explaining it to them (like in Bleach. Don't do that). 1a. Have characters be incorrect in their assumptions sometimes, leading to them making mistakes that require them to correct their internal models of an opponent under extreme pressure. 1b. If you really have to have a character explain their powers to someone there should be a damn good reason for it. The best reason is "they are lying". The second best reason is "their power requires it for some reason".

Make sure your blows actually have weight. When characters are wailing at each other for paragraphs and paragraphs and nothing happens, it feels like watching rock 'em sock 'em robots. They beat each other up, and then the fight ends with a decisive blow. Not interesting! Each character has goals that will influence what their victory condition is, and each character has a physical body that takes damage over the course of a fight. If someone is punched in the gut and coughs up blood, that's an injury! It should have an impact on them not just for the fight but long term. Fights that go longer than "fist meets head, head meets floor" typically have a 'break-down' - each character getting sloppier and weaker as they bruise, batter, and break their opponent, until victory is achieved with the last person standing. this keeps things tense and interesting.

I like to actually plan out my fight scenes beat for beat and blow for blow, including a: the thought process of each character leading to that attempted action, b: what they are trying to do, and c: how it succeeds or fails. In fights with more than two people, I like to use graph paper (or an Excel spreadsheet with the rows turned into squares) to keep track of positions and facings over time.

Don't be afraid to give your characters limitations, because that means they can be discovered by the other character and preyed upon, which produces interesting ebbs and flows in the fight. A gunslinger is considerably less useful in a melee with their gun disarmed. A swordsman might not know how to box if their sword is destroyed. If they have powers, consider what they have to do to make them activate, if it exhausts them to use, how they can be turned off, if at all. Consider the practical applications. Example: In Chum, there are many individuals with pyrokinetic superpowers, and none of them have "think something on fire" superpowers. Small-time filler villain Aaron McKinley can ignite anything he's looking at, and suddenly the fight scenes begin constructing themselves, as Aaron's eyes and the direction of his gaze become an incredibly relevant factor.

if you have reached this far in this essay I am giving you homework. Go watch the hallway fight in Oldboy and then novelize it. Then, watch it again every week for the rest of your life, and you will become good at writing fight scenes.

as with all pieces of advice these are not hard and fast rules (except watching the oldboy hallway fight repeatedly) but general guidelines to be considered and then broken when it would produce an interesting outcome to do so.

okay have a good day. and go read chum.

[youremyheaven]

The Curse of Limitless Expansion: Jupiter's Shadow

I have covered the "negative" manifestations or the shadow side (as I prefer to call it) of different planetary influences, such as Venus, Moon, Rahu & Ketu and whilst I have explored Jupiter's different manifestations before, I thought it is time to do a more in-depth analysis of Jupiter's shadow.

Being the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is expansive and its natives are internally spacious and vast. I had observed previously that Jupiter is similar to Rahu in terms of its spaciousness (Claire had also observed the similarities between Punarvasu & Swati) but the difference is that Rahu is truly limitless in its expansive ability as it quite literally does not have physical form (Rahu refers to the north node of the Moon) Jupiter may be vast but it does have limits, it's bound by its massive capacity but since it does have a physical form, that means it also has limitations, it has a tipping point. This is why Jupiterean natives suffer or have the ability to realize they have "gone too far". Rahuvians have a "point of no return" mentality, they think they've gone too far but have to keep going since it no longer makes sense to return now.

Some people believe that since Jupiter is the planet of luck, abundance, growth and healing (or generally perceived as a "positive" planet) it somehow does not have a "dark side". This is untrue. Jupiter's darkness is just as terrifying as that of any other planet. The bigger the planet, the bigger the shadow.

Jupiter's shadow manifests as a god complex, messiah complex and megalomania, most commonly seen in men.

Men and women channel their nakshatras and planetary influence differently. Men tend to externalise their problems and women tend to internalise theirs. Men tend to inflict destruction upon others and women tend to self-destruct (@lasirenesensible tysm for pointing this out to me, it's a very valuable insight).

The scope of this post includes a few women but I'll discuss how Jupiter's shadow manifests in women on a separate post in the future.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that a planet known as the "Guru" or teacher is prone to making a lot of people under its influence proclaim themselves as Messiahs or divine teachers, many famous pseudo-spiritual "gurus" have Jupiter ruled naks in their big 3. They are merely charlatans with a Messiah complex driven by their ego to expand beyond reach. This is a toxic trait of Jupiter natives.

Ryuho Okawa- Punarvasu Sun, Purvabhadrapada Mars atmakaraka

He was a Japanese religious and political leader who was the CEO and founder of the Happy Science and the Happiness Realization Party. His organization has been widely criticised as a cult. Adherents of the religion worship Okawa, who claimed to be the current incarnation of a god called “El Cantare" and a number of other beings, including Hermes and Gautama Buddha.

L Ron Hubbard, Purvabhadrapada Sun conjunct Mercury and Jupiter conjunct Ketu in Vishaka (he also had Magha Moon)

He is the founder of Scientology lmao and basically co-opted a lot of eastern oriental thought mixed it with his malignant narcissism and created a religion based on spiritual hogwash. One of its most famous recruits is Tom Cruise, Punarvasu Moon

Jim Jones- Punarvasu Sun & Mercury (he was also Shatabhisha Moon)

He is known for being the (cult) leader of the Peoples Temple religious group and for the Jonestown Massacre, when he led the mass murder-suicide of more than 900 members of the group at their commune in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978.

fun fact: Suga from BTS (Purvabhadrapada Sun conjunct Mercury) sampled a bit from a sermon given by Jim Jones for the track "what do you think" from his mixtape D-2, he removed it following the controversy

"… though you are dead, yet you shall live, and he that liveth and believeth shall never die."— Jim Jones

I feel like it is way too specific and niche for him to not have intended to put it there or have known who Jim Jones was lol but I digress

But on that note, this whole self-belief thing (as we see from Jim Jones' quote) also seems to be tied to Jupiter's nature. These natives have insane self belief.

Will Smith, Vishaka Moon is kind of an early proponent of manifestation. He's been talking about it since the early 90s.

Jim Carrey, Vishaka Rising is another celebrity who has been talking about manifestation since the 90s.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Punarvasu Rising (and stellium)

He has talked about the power of the mind and visualisation A LOT. The key to achieving anything in life is to believe you can do it but many experiences (including trauma, self doubt etc) makes it hard for many people to persist in their belief, they hold themselves back. Jupiter's strength lies in its ability to be so vast and bold in its belief, their spaciousness means no matter what they've been through, they just know there's a way through, that they will make it out. This is their inherent nature.

Nikola Tesla, Punarvasu Sun developed the 3 6 9 method of manifestation (as @brundlefly3333 pointed out)

Kanye West, Purvabhadrapada Moon is another celebrity who has spoken about the Law, the power of self-belief etc etc a LOT.

It goes to show how easy it is for self-belief to turn into delusions of grandeur and make someone a narcissist. It is truly dangerous because Jupiter's influence on the masses is immense so whatever a Jupiter native may proclaim, they have the ability to affect many people through it. Some of the men I mentioned above convinced others that they were God and even made them kill themselves for it. This is a scary, dangerous manifestation of Jupiter's "guru" nature wielding vast influence on others and being absolutely convinced of one's righteousness

anywayssss

Mussolini- Vishaka Rising, Jupiter in Punarvasu amatyakaraka (he was also a Rohini Moon and Pushya Sun👀)

Benito Mussolini is like the OG dictator. He created fascism, a movement that would plunge most of Europe into darkness. From undermining judges to indoctrinating children, he pioneered key tactics that other dictators would use to seize power.

I specify Nodal influence in these individuals because I think the limitlessness and expansiveness of Nodal influence wrecks havoc to the already expansive nature of Jupiter and makes these natives more reckless.

I also specify Moon influence because as I already discussed in my posts, Moon influence can easily morph into cruelty and corruption and I think Moon & Jupiter together can be a dangerous combo if the native is imbalanced.

If you take anything away from these posts it would be that literally anybody with any placement/nak/planet is capable of being truly evil. There is no specific nak/planet that is a "guarantee" against evil. It truly comes down to the individual to choose how they want to live (I believe in free will and I do not condone in using astrology in a fatalistic way at all).

Ferdinand Marcos- Punarvasu Moon (he also has Ardra ascendant conjunct Ketu and a lot of Moon influence)

Ferdinand Marcos developed a cult of personality as a way of remaining President of the Philippines for 20 years, in a way that political scientists have compared to other authoritarian and totalitarian leaders such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, but also to more contemporary dictators such as Suharto in Indonesia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and the Kim dynasty of North Korea.

The propaganda techniques used, either by himself or by others, to mythologize Ferdinand Marcos, began with local political machinations in Ilocos Norte while Ferdinand was still the young son of politician and Japanese collaborator Mariano Marcos, and persist today in the efforts to revise the way Marcos is portrayed in Philippine history. According to members of his administration, such as Adrian Cristobal, Marcos's intent was to project an image of himself "the only patron, the king" of Philippine society, which he still saw as a society of tribes." Cristobal furthers that "Marcos and the First Lady wanted more than anything else [...] to be king and queen. They wished to shape the kingdom in their own image; [...] Marcos wanted to be able to say, 'L'État, c'est moi.'" ("the state, that is me") In some extreme cases where Marcos encouraged the formation of cults so that they could serve as a political weapon, Marcos came to be thought of as a God.

Sun Myung Moon- Mercury conjunct Rising in Purvabhadrapada (he also has Shatabhisha Sun)

He was the founder and leader of the Unification Church established in Seoul, South Korea, who considered himself the Second Coming of Christ, but not Jesus himself. It is generally believed by Unification Church members ("Moonies") that he was the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ and was anointed to fulfil Jesus' unfinished mission.

The thing about all these men claiming to be God/Messiahs is that there were people who believed them and followed them blindly and uncritically. Anybody can claim these things but not everybody can acquire power and influence and lead people this way. This is another aspect of Jupiter (not to repeat myself again and again but yeah it's the whole "Guru" thing, people look at you as a figure of knowledge and wisdom, and these people project natural leadership qualities).

You can't just be crazy or narcissistic enough to believe these things, you also have to be strategic enough to amass a following. To be a leader and a guru requires a certain commitment and discipline. These are all Jupiterean qualities (that are used for malicious purposes here).

Augusto Pinochet- Punarvasu Moon conjunct Saturn, Mercury in Vishaka atmakaraka, Jupiter in Purva bhadrapada amatyakaraka

He was a dictator who ruled Chile and claimed he was a visionary who was "guided by the mysterious hand of God". He had a cult of personality surrounding him

After his rise to power, Pinochet persecuted leftists, socialists, and political critics, resulting in the executions of 1,200 to 3,200 people, the internment of as many as 80,000 people, and the torture of tens of thousands. According to the Chilean government, the number of executions and forced disappearances was at least 3,095. Operation Condor, a U.S.-supported terror operation focusing on South America, was founded at the behest of the Pinochet regime in late November 1975, his 60th birthday.

Jupiter's expansive nature manifests as greed when an individual is imbalanced or spiritually stunted. This drives a need to acquire massive wealth or spread their influence/reign/territories. If the individual is spiritually evolved, their focus will be to balance the spaciousness within and not project it outward in continuous expansion.

Hafez el Assad- Mars in Punarvasu atmakaraka, Jupiter in Punarvasu amatyakaraka and Venus in Vishaka (he also had Hasta Sun)

Syria's Hafez al-Assad, a Ba'athist officer who seized power through a coup d'état in 1970, established a pervasive cult of personality to maintain his dictatorship. As soon as he took over power, Ba'ath party loyalists designated him as "Al-Abad"; an Arabic terminology with deep religious dimensions. Linguistically, ''Al-Abad'' means "forever, infinite and immortality" and religious clerics use this term in relation to Divine Attributes. By designating Assad as "Al-Abad", Syrian Ba'ath Movement ideologically elevated Hafez al-Assad as its "Immortal", "god-like figure" who is supposed to represent the state as well as the Syrian nation itself. Another meaning of Al-Abad is "permanent", which is used in state propaganda to denote the perpetual status quo of an "eternal political order" created by Hafez al-Assad, who continues to live in Assadist ideology. The term's verbal form "Abada" means "to commit genocide" including the "symbolical; performative side of violence". This dimension has been weaponized by the Assad regime to monopolize violence against alleged dissidents and justify state terrorism, including genocidal acts of mass murder like the Hama Massacre, Qamishli Massacre and other massacres of the Syrian civil war.

Jayalalithaa- Punarvasu Rising (Shatabhisha Sun & Magha Moon)

She was the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu in India and was an actor turned politician who had a cult following (they called her "Amma" or "mother" which I think is interesting that she was this mother figure/matriarch because of Punarvasu's deity Aditi being the Cosmic mother). She was a corrupt politician but the masses largely overlooked this and she was known for being a bit of a tyrannical figure who expected absolute loyalty from her party members who often publicly prostrated before her (not kidding).

Not as brutal as some of the other people on this list but her personality cult and influence over her following is crazyyy (I'm Indian so I'd know) and when she died in 2016, her state observed a 7 day mourning period.

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi- Vishaka Rising (she also has Hasta Sun👀)

She's an Indian spiritual guru known as the "hugging saint", she's still alive and has millions of followers and there hasn't yet been a proper expose but her cult has been controversial for ages especially after it started recruiting spiritually confused white people into its mix. A lot of it is unexplained, she's most definitely a millionaire at this point and we have no idea what actually goes on behind closed doors. Many of the alleged miracles that she has performed have been debunked on many occasions. To think that she has football stadiums full of people who worship her and think she's the divine incarnate is sooo crazy

Ram Dass- Punarvasu Rising

He helped popularize yoga and Eastern spirituality in the West. I don't think he's cruel or shady, just a regular white guy who had a spiritual awakening in India and co-opted thousands of years of Vedic wisdom and teachings to "introduce" it to the West. But his influence is unmatched to say the least, he spearheaded a whole movement and made eastern spirituality mainstream in the west. This is a manifestation of Jupiter's boundless nature.

Oppenheimer- Punarvasu Moon

the man who developed the first ever nuclear weapons was a Punarvasu lol

he truly believed that he was doing the "right thing" because (you already know all this if you watched the movie) Germany was bound to develop these weapons and cause mass destruction and Oppenheimer thought he was on the right side of history by making these weapons for America and by extension for the Allies

"After Germany's surrender in 1945, some scientists questioned the bomb's relevance. Oppenheimer believed it would end the ongoing Pacific War and save Allied lives. The Trinity test is successful, and President Harry S. Truman orders the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in Japan's surrender. Though publicly praised, Oppenheimer is guilt-ridden and haunted by the destruction and mass fatalities. After Oppenheimer expresses his guilt to Truman, the president berates him and dismisses his plea to cease further atomic development." (this is an excerpt from the movie's wiki lol)

it just goes to show how self-belief isn't a good thing on its own because you can make yourself believe anything. I guess Oppenheimer's guilt has to count for something ??? Idk how many people mentioned on this list felt guilt because of the destruction they caused, Oppenheimer had a conscience et.al

Elon Musk, Punarvasu Rising

He is the richest man in the world and is on a quest to own everything he can and colonize Mars, need I say more? Idk if this is a strange manifestation of Punarvasu's deity Aditi being the Cosmic Mother (either that or the man has a breeding kink) but this guy procreates at the speed of light (he has 6 kids right now with 3 different women I believe)

Tommy Mottola- Punarvasu Sun (Swati Moon)

the asshole who trapped Mariah Carey (Punarvasu Moon) in a hellish controlling marriage for 8 years. He was the CEO of Sony Music in the 90s and was known for being a megalomaniac (look up his feud with Michael Jackson) he has ruined the careers of many and is known in the music industry for being a really scary controlling maniac

Anders Behring Breivik- Punarvasu Rising

He blew up a bomb in the centre of Oslo. Meanwhile went to an island where a political youth gathering was taking place. Dressed up as a cop he would kill 69 people on the island of Utøya, and call out to teenagers hiding saying it was safe to come out, those who believed him and came out were shot.

Alfred Hitchcock- Vishaka Moon (also Shatabhisha Rising with a lot of Moon influence in his chart)

He basically stalked some actresses and tried to control their lives; told them what they could/couldn’t eat, and where they could/couldn’t go. He sent Tippi Hedren inappropriate Valentine's letters. She claims he threw himself atop her in a hotel room and kissed her — and in her biography accused him of sexual assault. Yet another Jupiterean megalomaniac.

Al Capone- Purvabhadrapada Rising

 He joined the Five Points Gang as a teenager and became a bouncer in organized crime premises such as brothels. In his early twenties, Capone moved to Chicago and became a bodyguard and trusted factotum for Johnny Torrio, head of a criminal syndicate that illegally supplied alcohol—the forerunner of the Outfit—and was politically protected through the Unione Siciliana. A conflict with the North Side Gang was instrumental in Capone's rise and fall. Torrio went into retirement after North Side gunmen almost killed him, handing control to Capone. Capone expanded the bootlegging business through increasingly violent means, but his mutually profitable relationships with Mayor William Hale Thompson and the Chicago Police Department meant he seemed safe from law enforcement.

Capone apparently revelled in attention, such as the cheers from spectators when he appeared at baseball games. He made donations to various charities and was viewed by many as a "modern-day Robin Hood". However, the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, in which seven gang rivals were murdered in broad daylight, damaged the public image of Chicago and Capone, leading influential citizens to demand government action and newspapers to dub Capone "Public Enemy No. 1".

Robert DeNiro played Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987)

Idk whats the link between PBP and the mafia but Scorsese (PBP Moon) has made manyyy mafia themed movies and Robert DeNiro (PBP Moon) has starred as a mob boss on multiple occasions.

Having Jupiter influence really is like having unwielded power and if a native isn't mature enough to channel it appropriately then they can easily lose themselves to malignant narcissism, god complex and megalomania.

It requires a great deal of wisdom to wield this ability wisely and for the greater good

Jupiter influence is very prominent in the charts of royalty, another group prone to megalomania and god complexes lol. Jupiter bestows its natives with power, status and affluence but one must wield it carefully.

Punarvasu is widely accepted as the most auspicious of Jupiter-ruled naks (due to its themes and its deity) whereas Vishaka and Purvabhadrapada are both harsher manifestations of Jupiterean energy but even the most "gentle" of Jupiterean naks still came up in the charts of some of the horrible people I mention in this post. Basically, no one is exempt from being cruel, obviously, everything depends on the chart as a whole (a person is more than the sum of their parts) but that said the presence of a nakshatra considered "auspicious" (Jupiter ruled or otherwise) does not automatically qualify as some kind of redeeming quality lol. Everybody has to consciously choose their actions and be good and do good aka anybody can be cruel and evil and yes even Jupiter has its dark side/shadow.

hope this post was interesting xx

[canthandlethishit]

Batfam’s handwriting headcanons!!

Alfred (right handed): cursive, normally neat and kind of flowery calligraphic(?) (he usually write the gala, party invitations for worthy guests himself), his notes are written just as neat but the letters are more narrow and tilted to the right.

Brucie (left handed): writes in cursive, bubbly letters, flowery, extravagant with endless numbers of loops and stems, big flourishes (picture light yagami writing) watching him write is a performance itself (near impossible to read, looks like an art piece from afar)

Bruce (self-trained ambidextrous, favors his left though is equally efficient with both hands): rounded print (for notes in reports), and cursive (for personal writings), he’d had some influence from alfred so theres a little extra in his writing like an extra curve, stem (ie: his i’s & t’s got lil hooks, his v as a downward stem at the end), but its overall quite minimalistic and tidy, there’s sufficient force on the paper.

Batman: doesn’t write >:( computer <- duh (if he really has to like idk the riddler forces him to write sth he would in caps block letters very strong straight lines, almost like excessively forced and he also place his pinkie on the pen/pencil to further deter identification, he switches hands every time to keep people off-track)

Dick (trained ambidextrous, favors his right, naturally right-handed until robin): cursive quick and kind of messy but still eligible writing, he’s used to taking quick notes (cop job), his letters are jaded, pointed (ie: his b’s are written like music notes, not rounded). he uses average force when writing (dents the paper but not through multiple pages), his letters’ spacing are nonexistent they overlap a bit, his words narrowly apart.

Jason (circumstantial ambidextrous, favors his right, his left handwriting is still neat, not as pretty as his right’s): cursive, his handwriting experienced several metamorphosis, he was left handed by birth & mother’s teachings, then at school he was taught write right-handedly. His writing was somewhat neat minimally scratchy, letters joined with loops, generous spacing. during his time with bruce he copies writing styles from his favorite authors (look up Jane Austen), Alfred and ends up with a very distinct, tilted to the right, beautiful scripture, some loops (Mary Shelly), long y’s and consonants. Post-death, he still got a nice handwriting, just less of the pizazz, the flare of personality bleeding through ink, its more tamed, still slanted, he doesn’t take as much care to force distribution (calligraphic way) but it just became more subtle, not completely gone.

Cass (ambidextrous, writes left handed): print, when first asked which hand she’d like to learn to write with she chose left, she didn’t learn to write ambidextrously. clean yet a bit weirdly spaced, she dots her i’s and cross her t’s after whole sentences. She likes making capital first letters of her text flowery like brucie’s, its amusing how out of place it looks.

Tim (self-trained ambidextrous, born left handed, writes with both hands interchangeably): cursive, young tim researched on lots of encryption, alternative writing systems. he take notes in shorthand’s, his handwriting is fairly eligible but frequently misses letters from words (ie: handwriting -> hdwritig). his lines are slanted downwards, narrow spacing overall.

Steph (trained ambidextrous, writes right handed, batman’s ambidexterity training for her hadn’t reached handwritings): mixed, her handwriting alternates between really messy and scratchy and more eligible curvy with sharp ends to her words (when writing lift pen up fast, bigger hand movement, picture a tame and hinged light yagami). Her lines tilt upwards from left to right. her writing’s eligibility depends on her mood, what she is writing.

Duke (right handed, trained ambidexterity but opted out of handwriting training): mixed, his letters are rounded and evenly spaced, fairly neat but scrawls when he’s in a rush (makes more sharp loops, longer curls at the ends, more connected words). his letter have thin loops, sometimes subconsciously dots his i’s with crescents. his lines tilt upwards slightly in the middle (he prefer to keep his lines straight so he take notice and fixes them).

Damian (natural ambidextrous, favors his left for arabic and his right for english): cursive, strong neat strokes, clean writing, clear appropriate spacing. its almost a font, print-like from how consistently he writes. His signature on his arts is more rounded with a bit of lilts and curves (the end of his m curve like the symbol for scorpio zodiac sign). His personal diary/journal writing is softer, his paragraphs more densely packed, the first letter of each entry are more ornate than the rest (loops, curves, tiny doodles)

note: handwriting style main variety are these

these headcanons are based on handwritings of people in my life & myself :)! not based on graphology (during my search for specific adjectives and vocabularies i came across some graphology & writing analysis articles and found them to be kind of mean & biased, rude etc so just clarifying im basing these hcs on my friends and family’s)

[mpreglover225]

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins—Understanding Conception in Expectant Fathers

Introduction

Embarking on the journey to parenthood is an exciting and transformative experience. For expectant fathers, understanding the intricacies of conception is the first step towards a healthy and fulfilling pregnancy. This chapter delves into the biological processes of male fertility, the various methods of conception—including natural intercourse, artificial insemination, and in vitro fertilization (IVF)—and the significance of the monthly heat cycle when ovulation occurs.

The Male Reproductive System: An Overview

Anatomy and Physiology

Understanding your body is essential for maximizing fertility and achieving conception.

Testes: Produce sperm and the hormone testosterone.

Ovaries (Male Ovaries): Specialized organs that release eggs (ova) during the heat cycle.

Heat Cycle: A monthly period of increased fertility when ovulation occurs.

Uterus (Male Uterus): The organ where a fertilized egg implants and develops into a fetus.

Anal Canal: Serves as the birth canal during delivery.

Hormonal Regulation

Testosterone: Influences sperm production and libido.

Estrogen and Progesterone: Regulate the heat cycle and prepare the uterus for pregnancy.

Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH): Control the release of eggs during ovulation.

The Heat Cycle: Timing is Everything

Understanding Ovulation

The heat cycle is a critical window for conception.

Duration: Typically lasts 5-7 days each month.

Ovulation: Occurs mid-cycle, releasing a mature egg ready for fertilization.

Signs of Heat:

Increased body temperature.

Heightened libido.

Mild abdominal discomfort.

Clear cervical mucus discharge.

Tracking Your Cycle

Calendar Method: Mark the start and end of each heat cycle to predict ovulation.

Basal Body Temperature: Measure daily temperature to detect the slight rise during ovulation.

Ovulation Predictor Kits: Detect LH surge indicating imminent ovulation.

Monitoring Symptoms: Be attentive to physical and emotional changes.

Natural Conception: The Traditional Path

Sexual Intercourse During Heat

Engaging in sexual activity during your heat cycle increases the likelihood of conception.

Optimal Timing: 1-2 days before and after ovulation.

Frequency: Regular intercourse every other day during the fertile window.

Positions for Conception:

Positions that allow deep penetration may facilitate sperm reaching the egg.

Remain lying down for 15-20 minutes post-intercourse to aid sperm travel.

Factors Affecting Fertility

Lifestyle Choices:

Nutrition: A balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals supports reproductive health.

Exercise: Regular physical activity promotes hormonal balance but avoid excessive training.

Substance Use: Limit alcohol and avoid smoking or recreational drugs.

Health Conditions:

Hormonal Imbalances: Can affect ovulation and sperm quality.

Chronic Illnesses: Conditions like diabetes or thyroid disorders may impact fertility.

Medications: Certain prescriptions can interfere with reproductive function.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

When natural conception is challenging, assisted methods offer alternative pathways to parenthood.

Artificial Insemination (AI)

Overview: Sperm is collected and directly inserted into the reproductive tract during ovulation.

Types:

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): Sperm placed directly into the uterus.

Intracervical Insemination (ICI): Sperm deposited near the cervical opening.

Procedure:

Performed in a clinical setting by a healthcare professional.

Sperm can be from a partner or a donor.

Success Rates: Vary based on age, fertility issues, and sperm quality.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Overview: Eggs and sperm are combined outside the body, and the resulting embryo is implanted into the uterus.

Procedure:

Ovarian Stimulation: Medications stimulate multiple eggs to mature.

Egg Retrieval: Eggs are collected using a minor surgical procedure.

Fertilization: Eggs are combined with sperm in a lab.

Embryo Transfer: One or more embryos are placed into the uterus.

Considerations:

Time Commitment: IVF requires multiple clinic visits and procedures.

Emotional Impact: The process can be emotionally taxing; support is essential.

Cost: IVF can be expensive; explore insurance coverage and financing options.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

Overview: A single sperm is injected directly into an egg during IVF.

Indications: Used when there are sperm quality or quantity issues.

Procedure: Similar to IVF with the additional step of sperm injection.

Preparing for Conception

Preconception Health Check

Medical Evaluation:

Visit a healthcare provider for a comprehensive health assessment.

Discuss medical history, medications, and any chronic conditions.

Fertility Testing:

Semen Analysis: Evaluates sperm count, motility, and morphology.

Hormonal Tests: Measures levels of testosterone, FSH, LH, estrogen, and progesterone.

Ultrasound Examination: Assesses the reproductive organs for any abnormalities.

Lifestyle Modifications

Nutrition:

Increase intake of folic acid, zinc, selenium, and antioxidants.

Consume plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

Exercise:

Engage in moderate physical activity to maintain a healthy weight.

Stress Management:

Practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises.

Avoid Environmental Toxins:

Limit exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Supplements and Vitamins

Prenatal Vitamins:

Start taking prenatal vitamins at least three months before attempting conception.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

Support hormonal balance and fetal development.

Consult a Healthcare Provider:

Before starting any supplement regimen.

Emotional and Psychological Preparation

Communication with Your Partner

Shared Goals:

Discuss family planning desires and expectations.

Emotional Support:

Be open about feelings, fears, and hopes.

Intimacy:

Maintain a strong emotional and physical connection.

Coping with Challenges

Infertility Concerns:

Acknowledge that conception may take time.

Seek professional counseling if needed.

Managing Expectations:

Understand that each journey to parenthood is unique.

Building a Support Network

Family and Friends:

Share your plans with trusted individuals.

Support Groups:

Join communities of other expectant fathers or couples trying to conceive.

Professional Guidance:

Consult fertility specialists, counselors, and reproductive endocrinologists.

Conclusion

Understanding the process of making a baby empowers expectant fathers to take proactive steps towards achieving pregnancy. Whether through natural conception during the heat cycle or utilizing assisted reproductive technologies, being informed about your options and preparing both physically and emotionally are crucial components of this journey. Remember, patience and persistence are key, and seeking support along the way can make the experience more rewarding and less daunting.

Key Takeaways

Know Your Cycle: Understanding your heat cycle enhances your ability to conceive.

Healthy Lifestyle: Nutrition, exercise, and avoiding harmful substances improve fertility.

Explore Options: Familiarize yourself with both natural and assisted conception methods.

Emotional Preparedness: Open communication and emotional support are vital.

Professional Guidance: Regular consultations with healthcare providers ensure optimal care.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Another random mechanics thought: I think d&d combat feels the best around levels 3-8 because it threads the needle between characters having juuuuust enough health that they don't go down in one or two hits in the early game, and being completely untouchable by mundane enemies when they reach higher level. In the 3-8 zone health is still a finite resource but the party can mitigate the loss of it by playing well.

Imagine a system where hitpoints/Hitdie were based off proficiency bonus rather than level (so 2xMax class HD+con for levels 1-4, 3xMax class HD+con for levels 5-8). It would mean that low level threats (wolves, bandits, minor dungeon traps) stay mechanically relevant as the party goes on, meaning that you're not forced to jump ahead to monsters with CR twice the party's level just to make combat consequential. It also might save boss battles against big solo monsters (giants, casters and the like) as the ability for an enemy to do large amounts of single target damage risks putting one of the party temporarily out of the fight and saving the boss from its usual fate of dogpiling.

Obviously you'd have to tinker with how damage numbers worked (only rolling damage once for an AOE and distributing it evenly across targets) , but I think it's workable.

This system would put a spotlight on temporary hitpoints, which would be far easier to get by staying in taverns, using limited supplies, playing into a survival element that's sadly lacking in the exploration side of gameplay. To draw from a bit of dungeon meshi/monster hunter influence, I could even imagine saying that the flesh of certain magical beasts when properly prepared and consumed could permanently boost a character's max HP, creating a natural questhook as the heroes go out of their way to track dangerous targets for the hope of tasting the literal breakfast of champions.

I might try this in a minicampaign in the future and see how it goes, but I'd be interested to hear what y'all think in the comments before that.

[mariacallous]

“Now, how long will this take? The Ukrainians behave like charlatans and we continue to pay,” reads a quote in French next to a picture of Taylor Swift on what looks like a promotional poster for an upcoming tour. “That is not right.”

“Every time the Ukrainians get money, everything goes wrong,” reads another quote in German next to a picture of Selena Gomez on what appears to be a page taken from a fashion magazine.

"It's just disappointing how the Ukrainians use our help,” a quote, also in German, reads next to a picture of Kim Kardashian speaking on stage. “Someone needs to stop this, seriously."

Though the images make it look like these quotes were said by Swift, Gomez, and Kardashian, they weren’t. They were the product of a pro-Russian network of fake Facebook and X accounts that created and disseminated an ad campaign suggesting that some of the most famous people in the world back Russia and detest Ukraine. Among the celebrities included are Beyoncé, Oprah, Gigi Hadid, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cristiano Ronaldo. “Supporting Ukrainians is unacceptable,” reads a quote next to a photo of Oprah. “Their actions destroy lives and societies.”

The disinformation campaign, which was launched in November, reached at least 7.6 million people on Facebook alone, according to a database of the ads reviewed by WIRED and collected by Reset, a nonprofit that provides grants to those tackling disinformation. It’s still in progress, and two separate groups of disinformation researchers believe the campaign is run by a notorious Russian influence operation dubbed Doppelganger that has in the past been linked to the Kremlin. New information shared exclusively with WIRED suggests the campaign has links to Russia’s GRU military spy agency.

At the beginning of November, researchers at Reset discovered what they described as a “blitz campaign” by two networks of fake Facebook pages. Over the course of a week, the researchers saw at least 560 Facebook ads that feature images of celebrities alongside pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian quotes. While some of the ads reached only thousands of users, others spread far more widely. One featuring Cristiano Ronaldo reached over 115,000 people before it was deactivated. Alongside the image of Ronaldo was the quote “It's frustrating to see how the Ukrainians use our aid. Someone needs to stop this, seriously.”

Researchers at Reset believe that the campaign “exploits loopholes in Facebook’s ad verification and content moderation systems to foster hostility against Ukrainians and undermine EU support for Kyiv.” Including fake quotes from celebrities within images makes it harder for Facebook to spot a coordinated campaign, they added. The campaign, which specifically targeted people in France and Germany, also removed any links or additional text in the ads, making it harder for Meta to track it.

Doppelganger has been actively spreading disinformation on both Facebook and X for some time. The organization was unmasked in September 2022 by EU DisinfoLab, a nonprofit working to combat disinformation against the EU, but it had been operating since at least May 2022. The group used clones of media websites, including The Guardian and Bild, to spread disinformation, filling the fake sites with articles, videos, and polls designed to push pro-Kremlin talking points about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Facebook first announced action against Doppelganger in September 2022, and said it was removing pages and accounts associated with the campaign.

In June 2023, another campaign targeting major French websites including Le Parisien, 20 Minutes, Le Monde, and Le Figaro was exposed by the French government. “French Minister supports the murder of Russian soldiers in Ukraine,” read one fake headline on a page that looked like Le Monde during that campaign.

Despite being repeatedly found out, the operators of Doppelganger have managed to continue their work: They also created fake versions of Fox News and other news websites to seed chaos and confusion during the Israel-Hamas war.

While Doppelganger campaigns in the past have been linked to the Kremlin in some media reports, new information from researchers tracking the disinformation campaign shows a link to Russia’s GRU.

A network of bot accounts on X, which in the past have been used to push Doppelganger’s fake websites, has also been used to push people to websites with direct links to Russia’s military spy agency. “Doppelganger bots promoted two sites recently, which both have strong connections to GRU,” researchers at Antibot4Navalny, a Russian anti-disinformation research group that has been closely tracking Doppelganger activity on X, tell WIRED. The researchers did not want to be identified due to security concerns.

The first site promoted by the Doppelganger bots was ObservateurContinental.fr. The Whois data, a public record of information related to the registration of a website, for this site shows that it is connected to InfoRos, a news agency previously linked to the GRU that operates hundreds of websites to push Kremlin propaganda. InfoRos was first reported to be a front organization for GRU Unit 54777 by The Washington Post in 2018. At the time, the group was said to have been active as far back as 2014 to spread disinformation about Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The second site pushed by Doppelganger bots targeted Germans. In October 2022, an investigation by the German newspaper Die Welt found that the author of content on the EuroBRICS site was being paid directly by InfoRos, which is registered as the operator of the EuroBRICs website by the German domain registrar.

Many of the same images from Doppelganger’s campaign, along with others targeting an English-speaking audience, were also shared on X by the same network of bots that have previously shared links to the Doppelganger campaigns.

“We collected a whopping 75-plus fake quotes by celebrities from the US and EU, all massively posted recently by bots of Doppelganger, the pro-Kremlin influence campaign,” one of the researchers at Antibot4Navalny tells WIRED.

The campaign on X, which coincided with the Facebook campaign, used over 10,000 bot accounts, according to the researchers. In the space of one eight-hour period, the bots posted over 27,000 messages. At one point, the bot accounts were posting 120 messages every minute.

The posts on X are identical to those posted as ads on Facebook identified by Reset, except that some of these posts were in English. The X campaign also featured mocked-up versions of celebrities’ verified Instagram accounts, making it seem as if screenshots of celebrity Instagram accounts, using similar anti-Ukraine quotes, were being shared.

X did not respond to a request for comment from WIRED about the Doppelganger campaign. Since Elon Musk took control of the platform in October 2022, he has eliminated most of the company’s trust and safety team, and disinformation has flourished on the site, especially around breaking news events like the recent Israel-Hamas war.

One of Reset’s researchers, who did not want to be identified to protect their privacy, tells WIRED that, in recent days, researchers have seen Doppelganger’s celebrity-based campaign evolve. Some ads on Facebook now, like the ones on X, feature screenshots that appear to show verified Instagram accounts of the same celebrities, adding a further layer of authenticity to the campaign. In one case, a screenshot of a fake Instagram post from the entrepreneur Richard Branson suggests that he believes America was behind the Nord Stream explosion.

The researcher also found video ads that feature real footage of celebrities with fake audio dubbed over the top, which they say have been created with text-to-speech apps. The researchers at Reset were unable to identify which app was being used to automate the creation of the videos. One example reviewed by WIRED showed footage of German filmmaker Wim Wenders speaking in English about his own films, dubbed to make it appear as if he was speaking in French about how “the Ukrainians are ruined.” The ad was posted to Facebook on November 25 and was seen by up to 3,000 people before it was removed for failing to have the “required disclaimer,” according to Facebook’s ad library.

While Facebook has taken down the majority of the pages, some of them remain active, and the campaign shows glaring gaps in Meta’s ability to deal with disinformation on this scale.

Meta declined to respond on the record to WIRED’s request for comment about the campaign and the network of fake accounts created to disseminate the false ads. In a report from August, however, Meta acknowledged that Doppelganger was the “largest and most aggressively persistent covert influence operation from Russia that we’ve seen since 2017.”

The automated creation of accounts on Facebook is a well-known problem, and Meta has deployed a variety of artificial intelligence systems to combat efforts to mass-create fake pages and accounts. By its own admission, Facebook deletes millions, and sometimes billions, of fake pages every quarter, sometimes within minutes of their creation. Meta claims that around 5 percent of its monthly average users are fake, but outside experts say that figure is substantially higher.

While the Doppelganger group ran the campaign, the fake Facebook pages it used were purchased from an agency that specializes in creating massive networks of inauthentic pages on Facebook, according to Reset. They are still investigating who created these initial networks, but the researchers say this campaign was pushed out by two separate networks they identified containing 52,000 and 25,000 pages respectively. In October, Reset published a report identifying even larger networks of inauthentic Facebook pages, including one that had over 340,000 inauthentic pages. Despite having been identified publicly, these networks are still operating today.

With a number of major elections taking place in 2024, experts are again concerned about Meta’s ability to reign in disinformation.

“Meta’s sloppy product safety is a security liability for both Europe and the US as we approach next year’s elections,” Felix Kartte, EU director at Reset claims to WIRED. “Threat actors will continue exploiting loopholes in Facebook’s advertising systems to target deceptive and inflammatory content at millions of voters in the world’s biggest democracies.”

[01zfan]

INTRODUCTION

contains: no warnings.

taglist: @https-yeonjun, @soheefleurs, @melobin, @naa-ri7, @antoncore, @jvngw0nlvr, @hcluvie

PROFILES AND PROFILING

Sohee (@/l33soh33)

OFFLINE: Student at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. Majoring in Practical Music with a minor in Music Education. Is studying abroad on a scholarship away from home. Hasn't been back in two years. Met Anton through a pairing system to find roommates. They often meet up after class and go look for a taste of home in Koreatown together. Besides that Sohee often considers that he lives alone because his roommate is never home. Loves studying and winding down with a few episodes of an anime before going to bed.

ONLINE: Inactive on Twitter. Inactive on Instagram. Only shows occasional signs of life on social media either to talk about a singer cover or because Anton makes him tweet. If food is particularly good he will post a picture of it on his socials. He gatekeeps the places he goes to.

Anton (@/tonzofluck)

OFFLINE: Student at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. Majoring in Electronic Music with a Minor in Composing for Film. Loves partying. Locked into the underground house music scene in Amsterdam (says it's to study for his major). Is never home. Always tries to bring Sohee along, but he often goes alone and meets up with friends first. Lived in Amsterdam his whole life but goes on vacation to South Korea often to see family.

ONLINE: Chronic tweeter. Loves tweeting about Sohee. Loves posting on Instagram. Is a loyal user of the Airbuds app and Tiktok. It is amazing that he has a life outside of social media. He is an influencer of sorts, even if he hates to refer to himself as such.

Giselle (@/u_cgiselle)

OFFLINE: Graduated from the Tokyo College of Music, but her true passion is art direction. Moved to Amsterdam after graduating four years ago. Instantly locked into the music scene and art scene, even was running it for a very brief period of time. Lives in a big fancy apartment in Oud-Zoid. Refuses to tell anyone how she makes her money. Everyone knows she is rich as Hell though. Got popular through taking pictures of people, mainly at the parties she either attends or hosts. Met Anton at a house party at some flat in Noord two years ago. Met you through a job she had as the Director of Photography for one of Wonbin's music videos. You were the Assistant Camera, you two naturally hit it off.

ONLINE: Also a social media influencer of sorts. Got famous on Tumblr, somehow managed to keep that following and triple it through the different eras of the Internet. More popular on Instagram, but uses Twitter to post behind the scenes content and information about her parties. Uses social media as a business platform more than for fun. Socialite, but very few people actually know her personally.

Wonbin (@/starbin)

OFFLINE: Singer. Family friends with Giselle, is living with her temporarily. He doesn't know anyone in Amsterdam besides her. Occasionally goes shopping, mainly is focused on writing and reaching out to record labels. He's on track to being signed. His small dive bar shows sell out, he has booked local venues that Giselle has hosted. Looking forward to his Halloween show.

ONLINE: Blew up from a TikTok cover and is in the middle of cultivating a following off of that and promoting his music as well. Also more popular on Instagram. He is somewhat inactive on Social Media, also uses it as a means of business.

MAP OF AMSTERDAM AND KEY LOCATIONS

masterlist | part one: halloween night

[galesdevoteewife]

I imagine Zilvera at times has problems keeping up with the moral compass of some characters, namely Wyll and Karlach, specially with subjects as slavery, child abuse (as she might not consider some abusive traits as abuse), and others.

I can imagine them seeing her free the deep gnomes and being "thank gods you are against slavery", and because she avoids confrontation her reacting being like "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever helps us sleep soundly at night without more conflict than the one Shadowheart and Lae'zel bring."

Hi Anon! Thanks so much for your ask! This might get a bit, or very lengthy because I find it hard to stop talking, or thinking, about their story 😅😂💜

Yeah Zilvera's moral compass is basically "whatever leads to what I want is right."

The storyline I chose here was: co-op with the duergar elder → used regular explosives to blow open the cave and kept the Smokepowder → killed Nere and loot all his money from his body without being noticed. This battle turned into a favor the elder owed her, since he failed to pay what he promised. → freed the deep gnomes, including Barcus.

In Zilvera's eyes, these were all minor skirmishes, and the true enemies haven't shown their faces yet. She wanted to gather all possible advantages for the upcoming real war. The little guys with powerful explosives technology were worth investing in. And Nere? Who?

She has no sympathy for slaves or children. She thinks these people brought it upon themselves; powerlessness and compliance are the true crimes. Wyll and Karlach were great "good-guys" moral examples for her because their reactions were honest, instant, and easy to read. She influences people by making them to like her, and in general surface people like the good guys. She knew the concepts of slavery, manipulation, and abuse are triggering to many, so she prefers putting on an act. Nobody ever openly asks her opinion towards slavery, but if they did, she'd give sly, witty answers like "Of course, I ran a slave farm back home," or "Why? You need a mistress?"

If she was alone, she'd probably wrest control from the duergars by making shocking horror examples of her capability, then force the gnomes to figure out a way to blow open the rocks immediately. Her approach would be, "Your loved ones are in there too, right? Don't you want to save them? Clock's ticking, and their fates are depend on you."

In her opinion whipping slaves to make them work faster is foolish child's play—how can injured arms swing quicker? She has no need for defective slaves. She slaves with a long-term reward and punishment system. Learning the slave's drives and fears, creating conflicts of interest among them to ensure they don't band together, making them prone to betraying each other. She has a twisted appreciation for the true art of manipulation. The master's work should always be deeply ingrained and unnoticed. Flogging? Beating? Starving? Amateur. My spider baby was raised in Lolth's church after all.

Ironically, her core has always been a devoted lover, a giver, a pleaser. Her lover's approval means everything to her. Zilvera feels embarrassed by the way she loves so she's pretty shy in romance, even worse in bed. It's an endless cycle for her—she gets hyped by their affection and then hates herself for having no dignity. But the sweetness is all she wants in the world so she'd easily go back to the same track. I wrote a story curve for her and it'd eventually gets a lot better as their bond grows and she slowly learn self acceptance. Her moral compass had became guessing-what-Gale-likes ever since she fell in love with him XD She’s already hopeless way before they reached the forge. She always looks for opportunities to put a smile on his face, to make him proud of her. Anything she thinks he wouldn’t approve, she'd do behind his back or find another way. This tendency eventually sowed unease in herself. She thought that once Gale find out everything about her then he'll definitely leave. She thought their relationship was but a countdown on a tightrope which she tried hard to cling to. My HC Gale actually knew some of her secrets and struggles, but he was treating the matter carefully. He sees her true nature as quite selfless, a rare and precious attribute that he loves about her. Plus it's intoxicating for him to see how much influence he has upon her and how obvious that he is her priority always.

[DISCLAIMER] I wanted to build an anti-hero character and create a reasonable, relatable drow culture out of the straight silly evil frame so I built Zilvera this way. None of these represent my own moral opinion! XD

[gibbearish]

every time i see discourse about fundraisers go by on here im just fully struck with the realization that not a single one of you people have either taken a cybersecurity fraud prevention course or bothered to take one singular second to consider the website youre on. this is the broke bitches website. none of us can afford to fund our mutuals' grocery bills, much less entire evacuation funds, and CERTAINLY not FAKE evacuation funds taking advantage of genocide victims. all this shit abt how people are deliberately choosing not to fund every post that passes their dash because they hate palestinians literally just does the work of actual scammers for them by laying the high-pressure sales tactics groundwork, and the "do you guys have any idea how hard it is to keep coming up with new attention-grabbing fundraiser posts?" ones just ring EXTREMELY hollow because YEAH! YEAH I DO! and so does everyone i follow! and everyone they follow! because all of us are FUCKING BROKE and surviving on crumbs! i just saw one that said "i make sure to keep $40 in my wallet at all times so i can give $20 to any panhandlers i see, this is the same" and its like!! good for you, thats very nice, but like!!! you need need NEED to take a step back and realize that /being able to do that/ is a position of privilege, not the default setting to be a good person. i wont discount that some people do ignore fundraisers specifically because of racism because Of Course, but like. a) yelling at them isnt gonna make them stop, or more accurately yelling at /everyone else/ isnt gonna make those people stop, and b) trying to apply that as a blanket motivation for everyone just. realistically doesnt work. not donating is a nonaction, it is the literal default status, and while in specific situations you can use CONSISTENT absence of SPECIFIC actions to track a person's motivations SOMETIMES, broadly speaking that just. doesnt work.

there are 8 billion people on this planet. most of them will never know you exist. of the ones that do, most will not be able to help you. of the ones that can, most will not be on the broke bitches website passing the same communal $20 around. consider your audience and stop shitting on fellow poor people for having the gall to need to be careful with their money. and if you are genuinely only posting your fundraiser to tumblr, like. im sorry, but you need to anticipate not reaching your goal and prepare accordingly. theres a reason the last big scam scandal people talk about actually getting the money is like. all-or-nothing era, as a website none of us have the funds to make that kind of thing happen anymore or the security to risk it. a fundraiser not meeting its goal on here is not a personal sleight against whoever made it, its just how life goes sometimes. and it's unfair and it sucks and we should help however we can, but. sometimes you just arent able to help someone else, and continuing to feel responsible serves only to torture yourself. and blaming OTHERS serves only to move that guilt from yourself off onto another person. i imagine that has to be where a lot of the vitriol comes from, is people who cant afford to donate more getting pissed at people they see as having the funds but choosing not to share them, but again, sometimes you just are not able to achieve the goals you set out towards, through no fault of the specific parties involved.

people on tumblr choosing to buy groceries rather than potentially donate to a scam are not your enemy and are not the ones facilitating a genocide. we're all victims of the same horrific system, the question is just how that system manifests its influence on each of us. poverty kills just as thoroughly as a bomb. everyone is just doing their best to survive, and as much as we like to pretend that everyone should be a perfect selfless angel that puts others before themselves no matter what, humans are by default a selfish species, and it is a lot easier to say what youd do in theory than actually do it. and there's a reason you have to put on your own oxygen mask before helping the person beside you, youre of no help to anyone if youre too dead to do anything.

[kimmiessimmies]

Looking back on Rachel's Dating Adventure

This was a huge project. I decided all this somewhere at the start of December, and here we are, three months later, and my dear Rachel has finally reached the end. Or, actually, the beginning. Of what will hopefully become a great romance.

How I felt throughout this adventure

🥰Moved. I never expected this to get the response it did.

😬Overwhelmed. Thirteen guys is a lot!

😕Apologetic. I always felt a little pinch thinking of the creator when a date didn't work out. I'm sorry your guy didn't make it or if the date showed him in a bad light.

😒Annoyed. This game still does my head in sometimes, especially during gameplay.

😂Amused. This game still makes me laugh out loud sometimes, especially during gameplay.

😘Grateful. All the comments and additional support were amazing. Thank you all for being here for this.

😍In love. Seeing Rachel develop her crush and maybe even deeper feelings touched my heart.

Comparison Chart

To keep track of how it was going and where each guy ranked, I kept score in a comparison chart. See below. I started a list for the second round, but the second round only became one date.

As you can see, Alfie and Trey were pretty much level-pegging and absolutely very strong contenders if Malte hadn't made such a smashing impression.

A note on "attraction"

I talked about the attraction scores with some people and how surprising some of these were. Also, as it turned out, different people have different experiences with the attraction system generally. In my game, it's always the same both ways. I checked it both from Rachel's perspective and from the guy's and each time, it was the same both ways, which is why only one score is noted. In conversations, I realised some people see different attraction scores depending on which of two sims they select. I think this might be influenced by mods. So it's good to note that at the time of playing these dates, I had no mods installed that affected attraction. This is only the game's attraction system at work.

Thanks to the creators

This whole thing wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant ladies sending me their men. I've loved the attention you put into creating these guys, the background information you gave me and seeing the boys interact with Rachel.

@sircesimblr, the fact that you created a whole mini-story to introduce your guys was so heartwarming and touching. You brought me three very different guys, each with a very strong individual personality. I'm sorry Stam didn't get a real chance, but I had to go with the story. Orbin is such a lovely guy, I'm glad I get to keep him in my game and in the animal rescue centre which Honeycomb gained because of him. Who knows, he may find love another way. Klaus-Ove was very funny and I liked him a lot. I still believe he and Rach can be friends.

@flotheory, I'm sorry, I feel Nathanial might not have had a totally fair chance because his date was crashed by another. It was a funny twist to the story, though, and the way he reacted to it all made it even funnier, and I thank you and him for that.

@echoweaver, Even now, I'm still not sure why Craig and Rachel had all those silences. Or the low attraction score. They seemed a good match on paper. Better than they turned out anyway. I thought he was cute and he had good traits.

@echomoria, Jake is so gorgeous! Can he stay? I loved the backstory you created for him and was looking forward to sharing more of that if he were to get a bigger part in the story. Maybe I can find another purpose for him?

@greenplumbboblover, I don't know if you are aware, but Cedrick was a firm favourite with many of the followers of my story. Several people told me, either in comments or in a personal message, that they thought Cedrick seemed an absolutely perfect match for Rachel. And honestly, I thought he'd do well too. I'm sorry it went completely differently.

@sushiikinsss, Despite Drax being much too cocky for Rachel, Trey fixed everything! He was such a darling! You sort of predicted Trey would do better than Drax, and you were very right, haha. I secretly would have liked to see Rach handle being a stepmum!

@nocturnalazure, Your boys stole my heart very early on. The hidden drama of the geeky, socially awkward younger brother always in the shadow of his irresistible and successful big bro. And now they signed up to date the same girl... Ethan was so endearing (as was Pepper!). He tried really hard, and I had to sit on my hands not to interfere and help them along a little bit. Nathan was all charms, but Rachel didn't bite. Though, as I've shown you, there was a background moment between him and someone else that might make for an interesting storyline after all. Let's discuss! 😉

@batsheba, Brave Alfie, going first. It feels like ages since we've seen him, but he was one of the strongest contenders in this whole thing. Rachel couldn't have hoped for a better start than Alfie gave her. He was absolutely wonderful, and I'm truly a little bit sad we didn't see more of him.

And finally, @nornities, where to begin? The letter, the extensive background story and, of course, wonderful Malte himself. It was clear from the moment he arrived that this wasn't just any random dude, this was someone who was special to his creator. I feel privileged that he gets to continue his path in my story. I've fallen a little bit in love with Malte myself, but I think he's in good hands with Rachel. 💗

The 'Real' Date

Like I said before, I gave Rachel and Malte a gameplay trial date: I had them meet up and spend some time together, just the two of them, outside, no special shenanigans. With the sole purpose of seeing if the chemistry they had on the first date was still there. It was clear pretty much straight away that they were still very much into each other. They picked up where they left off and were flirting and amorously hugging again quite quickly and built their relationship to best friends. This was all the incentive I needed to go with the pre-written romantic success date posted over the last few dates.

And, one last thing; after Rachel and Malte had their scripted and posed kiss, I felt I owed it to them to let them have a 'real' one too. Here it is:

💕

Thank you to everyone who made this adventure a success. For Rachel, for Malte and for me.

[lalal-99]

of being true {l.f.} | track 5

©June 2023, April 2024 by lalal-99

Lee Felix x Jung Wooyoung | trope: strangers to lovers | word count: 9.2k

Synopsis: The one that's about Felix and other pretty people.

Check Chapter Overview for complete list of warnings

Smut tags: explicit content | porn with plot | first time with the same gender | oral (m. rec.) | body worshipping | teasing | anal sex | top/sub dynamics | top!felix | Felix is whipped | sex under the influence (they're not wasted but definitely tipsy) | soft sex | nothing too spicy, honestly, but so, sooo many emotions

Note: This is an interim chapter. You don't need to read this chapter to understand the rest of the main plot. But I advise you do, because it's just so beautiful. Truly one of the best things I have ever written. (Reposting, cause the first upload tanked...)

Tumblr works on a reblog system. Please consider reblogging this post so that it can reach more people. Thank you :)

Please don't flag as mature or repost this story - Thank You

Felix learned he was gay at the tender age of 7. That was if he were completely honest with himself.

It happened on a beautiful Sunday morning in his suburban Sydney home. He had just prepped himself a bowl of fruit loops, clad in his pyjamas with his favourite blanket in hand. That’s how he made himself a home on the sofa, turning on the TV with the volume on low so his parents wouldn’t wake. Switching through channels his parents had forbidden him to watch, he finally landed on Nickelodeon. And that’s when he saw him.

Danny.

Phantom, if that wasn’t clear already.

All the kids at school had talked about the show for weeks, raving over who they thought Danny would end up with. Sam—the sarcastic best friend—or Jazz—the cutesy love interest. Pretty, beautiful and whitty were some of the words his friends referred to them as. Felix needed to see for himself and make up his mind. If not to admire their animated beauty, at least to determine who he preferred.

Needless to say, all intentions went out the window once he saw the underdog protagonist. His hair as black as the night and his eyes as blue as the ocean minutes away from Felix’s house. And that was only the human form of one Danny Fenton. No one could have prepared Felix for the incredible looks of his super-hero alter-ego. His icy grey hair and green eyes were truly something else, and Felix was soon captivated by the fictitious character. A fabricated figure drawn with pencil, but even so the hero of his childhood.

In hindsight, Felix should have known it right then and there.

While his friends argued the show’s female characters, he fantasised protecting Amity Park alongside his idol. Telling him his deepest secrets and hugging him in glee at the end of each episode.

As he was only a child, Felix didn’t think to investigate the intensity of his affection further. He pushed it to the back of his mind. Argued that he didn’t watch the show for its romantic aspects whenever someone asked him about his prefered love interest.

Despite ignoring the nagging thought for all his childhood—oblivious to a deeper meaning behind it—it caught up with him at some point. And that point came in the form of one Cassidy Miller.

Cassidy was one of Felix’s classmates in Year 8. Upon laying eyes on him on the first day of the year, she made it her main plot point to become his girlfriend. During lunch that first day, she chose the seat next to him in the cafeteria, sharing some of her homemade snacks. As a teenage boy amid a growth spurt, he accepted with not another word of persuasion. He didn’t even consider it to be an advance of sorts. Even when his friend high-fived him after the fact, Felix understood it as an act of kindness. Cassidy was trying to make some friends after moving to town weeks prior. Nothing out of the ordinary.

It took him about three weeks of shared snacks every day and a kiss on his cheek to recognise that, yes. A girl had a crush on him. And everything would have been fine. Hadn’t it been for the slight complication that he didn’t feel the same about her. Cassidy was sweet. He would even agree that she was cute with her bunny nose and blonde locks. Conventionally attractive features for a 14-year-old girl.

Before he could break the truth to her, though, she had already introduced him to her parents. Quick, but Felix didn’t get the chance to intervene. He didn’t even know she wanted to introduce them when she asked him to follow her to the parking lot. Let alone introduce him as her boyfriend, much to her father’s dismay.

So, at the fragile age of 14, Felix found himself in a heterosexual relationship with a girl he barely knew but didn’t have the heart to break up with. As though being an unknowing closeted teenager wasn’t enough already.

That relationship, as innocent as it was, lasted 6 months. At most, it consisted of hand-holding and handwritten notes passed during class. Still, it lasted long for a first relationship Felix had no intention of having in the first place.

When Cassidy revealed that her dad had been relocated for the umpteenth time, Felix was even a little sad. She left after only 7 months, thus ending the relationship as it had begun—completely out of his control.

One should think: A closeted gay teen who just came out of a heterosexual relationship he hadn’t intended having? Definitely won’t do that again in the near future.

And that thought was fair. But wrong.

It took around 2 months after Cassidy left when Emily Wilson came into Felix’s life.

Emily was different from Cassidy in many ways. She was one year Felix’s senior, held back a year for grade-related reasons. She had black hair and a sidecut. Eyelids always painted in a thick layer of dark eyeliner which made her look at least two years older than she was. She had a nose ring her parents hadn’t allowed her to get and wore combat boots like part of a religion. Every word leaving her lips was drenched in sarcasm, which drew Felix to her right from the beginning.

It didn’t take Felix more than a few weeks to accept it. If he were to ever have a relationship with another girl, it would be a girl like Emily.

Fortunately for him, she and Cassidy had one thing in common. They were both pretty much obsessed with him from the moment they first laid eyes on him.

Whatever was drawing them to him, Felix decided that what anyone in his position would do, was make a move on Emily. Everyone in his class was obsessing over who was with whom. All his friends went from relationship to relationship in weekly rhythms. So, getting a girlfriend himself was the logical thing to do.

The 1.5 years he spent with Emily were the most fun but excruciating months of his life. Being with someone that long was hard, as much as he loved getting to know every part of her life.

He liked Emily’s parents, and they thought he had a positive influence on their daughter. But they were uber controlling and burst into her room every few minutes to check on them and what they were doing.

He adored Emily’s love for music and art. Every picture she drew for him and every mixtape she made proudly displayed in his room. But, she didn’t allow any opinions on the topics that didn’t correlate with her own. Felix’s love for Pop music? A slap in the face of a proud anti-capitalist. Felix’s one-year-anniversary plans to visit a special exhibition in the museum? Another penny in the pocket of the rich, making them even wealthier.

He fell apart at the touch of Emily’s hands and mouth. Losing his virginity to her left him breathless and in a sweaty sheen for hours. But, as much as he didn’t mind sleeping with her, he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling. She always made the first move. And he was not only lying to himself but to her.

Their relationship was a constant back-and-forth. Liking her while not liking her enough to want a serious future. No matter how hard Felix tried, keeping up the facade became more agonising with every I love you. Eventually, Emily could tell something was eating at her boyfriend. And after 18 unforgettable months together, she finally had enough. She left him with usual harsh words and exhausted tears of relief in his eyes.

Even then, as the doubt and exhaustion finally reached the front lobe of his brain, it took him a couple more years and 3 more relationships to come to terms with reality.

Felix was gay and wouldn’t continue lying to everyone around him.

Well, except for his parents, who, despite living in a modern country, had different values. They weren’t particularly homophobic, though they approached the movement with ignorance. That’s other people. That would never happen to us.

Thankfully, by the time Felix realised he would never be content in a heterosexual relationship, he had already set his eyes on further education abroad. And once he finished High School, he was already packed and ready to head overseas to live as his true self.

Never in a million years had Felix expected to live that true self so early in this new chapter of his life. He had barely set foot onto campus when he bumped into a guy on his way out of the physiology building. Felix almost lost balance but the man grabbed his biceps, delicate fingers steadying him against himself. That’s when he met the guy’s gaze. Beautiful mahogany, surrounded by a sheen of gold eyeliner. Which only made them sparkle even further than Felix was sure they already did. His hair died in layers of blonde and black, ears adorned by so many earrings he couldn’t have counted them. And that cheeky smile on his lips made Felix want to taste him right then and there.

Instead, Felix pulled away, smoothing his t-shirt out as he hugged his bag closer to himself. It gave his hands something to do while hiding the semi he sported. From a short-lived, innocent physical contact, but nonetheless.

“You good?” the guy asked, and Felix nodded, eyes wide as though he had seen a ghost. The man swiped his thumb over his plumb bottom lip with a smirk and a wink as he brushed past Felix. “Next time, keep your eyes on what’s important. Alright, Pretty?”

Pretty. Felix subconsciously nodded at the words as the man rounded the corner with another look back. He remained still for approximately minutes before he shook himself to snap out of it.

And that could have been it. A short, embarrassing moment like he had had so many times before. But that wasn’t Felix’s luck.

God screamed You should see your face at Felix when he entered his Psychology 101 class days later. The same boy stood by the entrance, talking to another guy who looked a little too good in his pink hair.

Felix skimmed past him, feeling the man’s gaze trained on his back as he wordlessly sat between two girls. Anything so he wasn’t exposed to the man’s enticing presence. Making his heart race like that of an untouched virgin.

That’s when Felix diagnosed: He might not be as ready to live his true self as he had thought.

The decision to take his time exploring his identity was easily made. Yet, the pledge lasted only 4 days.

“Hi, man! How’s it going?”

The first thing Felix noticed about the man in front of Jisung was the age difference.

Jisung might have been Felix’s age phsyically, but he usually carried himself with a heightened sense of maturity. His long-term girlfriend definitely was the cause for that, so much the countless dirty jokes had told Felix.

Jackson, on the contrary, had a sense of wiseness to him. He must have made many a experience that still awaited Felix and Jisung. What exactly made Felix feel like that, he couldn’t pinpoint. Although it likely wasn’t the baggy clothing or the Gucci snapback. Jackson must have come from money, was all Felix took away from them. And if it weren’t for Jackson’s clothing, the golden earrings and chain around his neck would have said as much.

“I’m alright. The workload already has me in a chokehold. But I’ll manage,” Jisung joked with his old friend before turning to Felix. “Jackson, this is my roommate, Felix. Felix, Jackson.”

“Nice to meet you!” Jackson greeted him as he pulled him into a bro-hug. The first of many, Felix was sure.

“Likewise.”

“So, already swimming in the workload? If it’s too much already, I wouldn’t advise picking Medicine as a Major. I was studying until the second the first guests arrived. And I will continue the moment the house is empty.”

A future doctor? Jackson? Definitely not what Felix had expected, but he didn’t know the guy. All he could go from was the first impression. He knew better than to judge from that alone.

“I’ll keep that in mind. You should tell Y/N before she suggests I also become a doctor.”

“She’s still not giving up on you picking a Major, huh?”

“I swear it’s everything she talked about the past two months.” Felix looked around the place, trying his hardest to ignore the words coming from his friend. It wasn’t like he knew everything about their relationship, nor was he picking sides in this debate. But hearing Jisung talk behind her back like that? It filled him with slight unease. “I love her, but it’s annoying.”

“You probably don’t want to hear it, but she has a point.”

Again, not what Felix had expected from Jackson. Taking Y/N’s side like that.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking a semester to figure things out, but you’ll have to pick one eventually.” Jackson could tell from Jisung’s expression that this wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “But...” Jackson opened three beer bottles from the sink before handing two of them over to Felix and Jisung. “That’s a conversation for tomorrow. Or next week. Right now, we party.”

“Hell, yeah!” Jisung agreed with a cheer before toasting the other two and downing half his bottle.

Felix took a sip, face scrunching at the bitter aftertaste of the liquid. He had never quite grown accustomed to the flavour of beer, his tastebuds preferring vodka or rum. Anything that mixed well with soft drinks.

While Jackson and Jisung chatted away like two estranged friends (which, for as much as Felix had understood, they were), Felix’s gaze wandered through the doorway into the living room. The house gradually filled with young students—some yet sober, some already intoxicated. Felix started appreciating Jisung by his side, so he didn’t have to approach this situation alone. Even if Jisung, right now, was ignoring his presence for his old friend.

Distracted by the loud music, Felix took a few steps out of the kitchen, when suddenly, he got knocked off his feet. Or at least almost.

He would have planted his face straight into the tiled flooring hadn’t it been for a set of delicate fingers coming to his biceps and steadying him. And if it weren’t already a complete recap of his encounter on the first day, Felix met the same mahogany eyes yet again.

Sweet, sweet irony.

The guy recognised him soon enough, a smirk appearing on his beautiful face. How he could be so enticing and cheeky without saying a word was beyond Felix.

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

Invisible strings drew Felix’s eyes to the man’s face, hanging on the way his lips moved whenever he spoke. He was in total awe of how someone could sound so sweet while having the fucking confidence of a... Well, if Felix had to name it, he would have called it fuckboy. Although, he didn’t want to judge a book by its cover. Even if this particular book was extremely easy on the eyes.

“You good?”

“Huh?”

“I asked you if you were alright.”

“Oh, of course. Yes, I’m good.”

“Good.” And there it was again. That stupid smirk made Felix feel things he didn’t know he had the mental capacity to feel. Emotions he had prayed to feel for Cassidy, Emily, Tina and all the others, he instead felt for some stranger the second he laid eyes on him. Like a complete loser. “You’re Felix, right?”

Eyebrows raising at the sound of his name from the stranger’s mouth, Felix swallowed thickly. “Yes. How do you know?”

“We have Psychology 101 together.” The first non-flirtatious words coming from the man, though that didn’t last long. “And I always remember the pretty faces.”

Pretty. That word, again, made Felix’s stomach churn and his pants tighten. Internally, he scolded himself for being so new to this that the simple compliment could affect him like this.

“I’m—You—Erm—” Felix stumbled over his thoughts pathetically. The stranger’s eyes kept running over all Felix’s features and he was very aware of it. He must have thought Felix was an utter basket-case. If he wanted to keep the last bit of pride, he had to get it together. Quick. “What’s your name?”

“Ouch,” the guy said as he placed his hand over a heart in mock hurt. “And here I hoped you had paid as much attention to me as I did you.”

What now? He had paid attention to Felix? When? How long? And why? Was this all part of a play, or was he kidding? Felix didn’t know what to think.

“I—I’m sorry.”

“No worries. I’m messing with you.” A breath of relief escaped Felix’s lips as he hoped the guy didn’t notice. “I’m Wooyoung. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

“You, too,” Felix replied with the first smile in approximately hours.

“So, Felix. Now that I saved your life twice, what do you say we have a drink? It’s on me.”

Felix laughed at the joke as he pushed a strand of his blonde hair behind his ear.

“I already have one,” Felix explained, holding up the beer towards Wooyoung.

“Beer? You’re one of those guys?” Wooyoung asked with a sarcastic undertone, making Felix blush as he eyed the brown bottle.

“Actually, no. I never liked beer.” Placing the almost full bottle on the counter, he let Wooyoung guide him around the counter. A display of countless different liquors met them in a broad array.

“What’s your poison? Vodka? Gin?” Wooyoung questioned as he grabbed two red cups from the stack.

“Rum, actually.” The slight smile on Wooyoung flustered Felix as he hoped he hadn’t somehow made a fool of himself. Again. “What?”

“Nothing,” Wooyoung shrugged as he filled the two cups with a quarter rum before topping them off with coke. “I just know how to pick ‘em.” Felix didn’t know what he was hinting at, so he only smiled once Wooyoung handed him his drink. “To new acquaintances.”

“Yes. Acquaintances.”

With that, they toasted and took a sip each. The mixture of Captain Morgan and Coke gave Felix a sweet aftertaste. Much more comfortable than the beer had done, and he returned the smile Wooyoung sent him.

This whole situation was rather new to Felix. He had never been to a party like this. Single, that was. He never had the chance to meet someone on the go in a similar situation, and that reality filled him with unease. Despite having only met the guy, Felix wanted Wooyoung to like him. Whether that was a like in the we’ll become good friends sense or the give me all of you kinda way.

For a moment, Felix felt he was getting ahead of himself. He had met Wooyoung a few minutes ago. For all he knew, being flirtatious could have been engraved in his personality. Felix had arrived at campus mere days ago and even pledged to ease himself into this new, true identity. He definitely shouldn’t rush it.

As fast as he remembered that pledge he had taken, the memory evaporated. Wooyoung’s hand touched his hip, pulling him slightly closer, in front of everyone. Including his roommate and Jackson—two people he had no idea how they’d react to finding out his deepest secret. A secret he had never told anyone, on top of that.

“So, Felix—” Looking around the room, Felix soon realised that Jisung had left, and so had Jackson. A bunch of random people were running around, albeit ignoring the two guys in the corner, throwing googly eyes at each other. That realisation relaxed him almost entirely. “What’s your deal?”

Felix’s eyes met Wooyoung’s lips as he licked his own, a little nervous in the presence of someone so beautiful still. “What do you mean?”

“Are you, like, single? Hetero? Better tell me now before I fall for another straight guy.”

For someone so—unfamiliar, Felix felt himself drawn to anything Wooyoung did. Much more than he ever had with any of his ex-girlfriends. Sure, Felix was nervous around him, his hands shaking so heavily, he feared he’d spill his drink on the guy. At least some blame laid on his inexperience, blood rushing through his system like it was racing against itself. How was Wooyoung so self-assured and head-on anyways?

“I don’t know what to say.”

That was the truth. Felix had no idea how to answer such a straightforward question. Especially since he hadn’t said the words I am gay out loud, ever. Not even to himself. Expressing his personality to a stranger, out of all people, felt so out of place for him. Although he couldn’t deny the unmistakable magnetism pulling him towards Wooyoung.

“That’s okay. Because I know.”

The fingers at Felix’s hips dug into his flesh a little fiercer as Wooyoung closed in, breath hitting Felix’s cheek. Everything around him slowed in motion as his gaze switched from Wooyoung’s eyes to his lips, unsure of what to do or how to act. Would this be his first kiss with a man? With a stranger? In front of all these people? Tipsy from two unfinished drinks and Wooyoung’s presence alone?

“You do?” It took him a few seconds to finally reply, the tension becoming too much, too fast. “Maybe you can tell me. Because I have no fucking idea.”

Wooyoung laughed out loud at his words; a hearty laugh which sounded much like heaven to Felix. Some of the tension vanished as he took another deep breath and a long sip from his drink.

“And he’s funny, too. Damn, I really do know how to pick ‘em.”

The words made Felix blush as he averted his gaze towards the floor.

“I tell you what,” Wooyoung retracted his hands as his softening gaze met Felix’s anxious one. He must have noticed Felix’s unsure aura, torn between wanting to experience whatever Wooyoung had in mind and taking it slow. Felix had never been this happy about his expressional features. “How about you figure out what your deal is first? And when you do, come find me.”

As much as those words took the pressure off, Felix couldn’t deny the hint of disappointment pulling at his mood. He wanted to try and get him to close the proximity again, feeling cold after Wooyoung had pulled away. Sneakers screeching against the tiles soon captured their attention, rendering the moment gone. Felix recognised the owner as the same guy Wooyoung had been sitting next to in class. How could he have forgotten the bright pink hair and features as sharp as a fox’s?

“Dude, you gotta come watch this,” the guy exclaimed as he came over, dragging Wooyoung away by his hand. “Mingi is trying to do a keg-stand. It’s fucking hilarious. Like a giraffe trying to… well, do a kegstand.”

“No way!” With one last wink that made Felix’s knees weak, Wooyoung ran after his friend and out of Felix’s vision. It took him a few desperate moments to steady himself, hands still trembling from the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Felix turned around, one, to tighten his grip around the counter and regain his balance, and two, conceal the boner which his pants did nothing to hide. His mind kept racing back to the proximity, the touches. The flirtatious words of a guy he barely knew but, at the same time, felt like he wanted to know everything about. The distance allowed him to realised how fast everything had played out. And while he feared it had happened all too fast, he couldn’t help but want to skip forward even further.

Perhaps, it was that he was desperate to finally get a taste of what he had denied himself for years. Crushes, love, passion. Everything his girlfriends had felt, but he never quite managed to. Making mistakes and gaining experience. Anything eventually leading him to alwaysness. With whomever that might be.

Although, right now, he wanted to have a sense of it with one particular person.

Two excruciating hours later, Felix found himself in the living area of the frat house. He had thought back to the moment in the kitchen so many times he could hardly count them. Not to mention how often he had gotten semi-hard thinking about Wooyoung’s breath against his cheek. His hands on his hips. And his words in his ear.

How about you figure out what your deal is first? And when you do, come find me.

But what if there was nothing to figure out? What if Felix already knew what he wanted and what his deal was? What if the only thing keeping him from acting on it was his inexperience?

All those what if’s jogging through Felix’s brain didn’t change anything. All he wanted—truly wanted at the moment—was to drag Wooyoung into the nearest closet and make him feel good. Have Wooyoung make him feel good. Whatever the guy was up for, honestly. Felix had spent the better part of two decades pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Now that he had a fresh start, he desired to finally be his true self.

It took him not 20 minutes longer until he decided that enough was enough.

Y/N, Yuqi and Changbin had left a while ago to play Truth or Drink in the kitchen, leaving Felix with a group of random boys. Sure, it was a group of boys he considered his closest friends on campus, but right now, they appeared so boring. Especially with a much more intriguing person, throwing him suggestive winks from the other end of the room.

How he had even noticed Wooyoung in the sea of drunk students was beyond him. Though Felix had no brain capacity left for the whys and hows. Wooyoung was sipping on his drink, playing with the straw about as suggestively as Felix had seen anyone do. Biting at the short fingernail of his pinky, Felix already felt the excitement nagging at his gut. The combination of clothes, alcohol and arousal ran him so very hot.

Wooyoung’s pink-haired friend didn’t notice he wasn’t paying him the slightest hint of attention. How ever important their conversation was, Felix couldn’t bring himself to care. This whole back and forth went on for a few minutes when Felix finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Without a word to his friends he got up from his seat, eyes drawn to the beautiful tempter at the other side of the room. Once Wooyoung recognised the intention behind Felix’s approach, he left his friend for the stairs.

The sway in his hips had Felix’s whole attention as he followed him upstairs, always a few steps behind to not alert the surrounding couples. As though they weren’t completely immersed in their make-outs and other grindings.

Once at the upper end of the staircase, Felix looked around to find the hallway empty. Someone must have ensured the private rooms remained private, and usually, this would have been the end of his path. Though the confidence in Wooyoung’s step encouraged Felix to push that to the deepest part of his brain.

His movements stayed cautious until he reached the end of the hall, entering the last room on the left. Felix took a deep breath as he closed the door and turned around. Not a second went by until he noticed the man on one of the two beds, drink long forgotten on one of the desks.

“Hi.” With no hint of pressure in his voice, Wooyoung watched Felix fidgeting by the door.

“Hi.”

Silence took over the room as Felix realised why Wooyoung wasn’t being his usual flirty self. Understanding how he had some reservations still, he left every decision up to Felix. It gave him a sense of security, understanding that if he didn’t want anything to happen, nothing would. Even if they were on their own in a small room, veiled in tension thick enough to cut with a spoon.

With that sense of total security in mind, Felix took a shaky step forward.

“So—” His voice broke as he regretted not bringing his drink. He felt the deep desire for something to cool his system, easing the lump in his throat. “I figured out what my deal is. And I’m coming to you, like you said.”

“Good.” The smile on Wooyoung’s face was as non-suggestive as he had ever seen, further soothing his tense body. “Do you mind sharing with me?”

“No. I will.” Taking another deep breath, Felix looked to the ceiling as he brought his hand to his stiff shoulders.

This was the moment. Felix would say the words out loud for the first time. Reality would hit, and there would be no escaping it anymore.

Fortunately, Felix didn’t want to run from it any longer.

“I’m single. And, I’m—”

Say it! He won’t judge. Just spit it out!

“I’m gay.”

“Okay.”

Okay. Okay? Despite the simplicity of the word, pure relief overcame Felix, body slumping as exhaustion blurred his vision. He was gay, and it was okay.

The next breath through a watery veil of happiness and alleviation felt like the first one he had ever taken.

“Oh my God, did I say something wrong?” Wooyoung hurried over to Felix’s trembling body as he wrapped his protective arms around him. Felix’s hands clung to the man’s shirt, face pressed into the crook of his neck as he let himself be held. Nothing more. Just held and accepted.

“No. Nothing wrong.” The whispered words reached Wooyoung’s ear within milliseconds. “All the right words. But—”

He stopped, pondering for a few seconds whether to confide in someone he hardly knew. A man who had nothing but shamelessly flirted with him for all 20 minutes of aggregated conversation. But he was here right now. And Felix needed to let him know how much he had already done for him.

Also, he was bawling into the guy’s shirt. It could hardly get much more intimate than this, anyways.

“I never said it out loud.”

“Oh… Oh!”

The realisation hit Wooyoung like a bus as he further fastened his comforting grip on Felix. It all made sense to him now. The insecurity. The uncomfortable tension whenever he said anything below the belt. The silence following the question of what his deal was. And here Wooyoung was, thinking he was yet again barking up the wrong tree. As it turned out, he had finally found the right tree, though it hadn’t bloomed yet.

“Fuck. I’m sorry I came on so strong. It just… I thought you were cute, but then I wasn’t so sure if you felt the same way. I assumed you might be one of those straight guys who aren’t so straight after a few drinks. So, I went all in to skip all that will-they-won’t-they crap. Wouldn’t have been the first time I was utterly disappointed at the end of the day.”

He had only tried to feel Felix out and learn if he himself could get hurt. Evidently, neither of them was trying nor intending to play games with the other.

“You didn’t come on too strong. I mean, you kinda did. But I liked it.”

As they drew away from each other, light laughter filled the room. Wooyoung’s arms were still circled around Felix’s waist as they stared into each other’s eyes. Their smiles soon faded as they recognised their proximity. When Wooyoung’s hands reclaimed their position on his hip, Felix’s stomach erupted in sheer excitement. The sentimentality of the moment was ultimately broken by his arousal.

“You like this, too. I can feel it,” Wooyoung pointed out with a smile as he squeezed Felix’s sides once, making him jump a little. “Knew it.”

“Fine. I like it.”

“So, you never told anyone you’re gay. Does that mean you just found out yourself? Or did you always know on some level and try to fit into a pair of shoes that weren’t yours?”

“A little of both. Like, I used to crush on Danny Phantom so hard it surprises me my parents never caught on. But then again, I had many girlfriends in Middle and High School.”

Wooyoung explored Felix’s cheeks and nose where freckles decorated him in beautiful patterns.

“You’ve never been with a guy then?”

Felix shook his head as his gaze met Wooyoung’s inviting, plump lips. In his subconscious, he grazed his teeth against them, the intimacy of the moment turning the corners of his mouth upwards. The closer Felix got to him, the sexier he found him to be.

“But you want to be?”

This time, Felix nodded. Never had he been more sure than while looking at the most beautiful man he had ever seen. So close he could almost taste him. And if that wasn’t sign enough already, the prominent tent in his pants at the simple touch of his hips assured him.

He wanted Wooyoung, more than he had ever wanted anyone else.

“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more.”

“That’s good. I can work with that.”

Leaning in their eyes met as Felix took in what was happening. Like the romance novel moment he had always dreamed of, seconds turned minutes, and moments turned into a lifeline. And then, finally, after hours of distant pining, Wooyoung closed the gap between them.

Now, Felix had kissed many people before. Cassidy, at 14, under the old cherry tree in his backyard while reading his favourite anime. Emily at 15 in more places than he could remember. And many others since. Girls, exclusively.

Though right now, as he tasted Wooyoung for the first time it finally dawned on him. The sweetness of his scent, the rum on his lips and the coke in his breath. This was what a kiss should feel like. This was what desire was supposed to feel like.

They deepened the kiss, tongues brushing lips, and Felix reached for Wooyoung’s neck. He ran his hands through the man’s hair, mouths moving in unison as silent whimpers escaped his lips. When Wooyoung pulled away, it was to catch his breath while also searching for a hint of regret in Felix’s features. When he couldn’t find anything but lust, he smirked, reconnecting his lips to the other’s.

Hands clawed at and bodies moved against one another as desperate whines filled the room. Mainly Felix’s, but who could blame him? Every single one of Wooyoung’s movements was the perfect calculation. He knew through and through what he was doing. Wooyoung clawed at Felix, pulling him into his body and providing his aching erection with much-needed friction. Semi-aroused for the better part of the evening, finally, he got relief from the discomfort.

Pulling Felix’s hair and tipping his head back, Wooyoung’s lips moved to the side of his neck. All the while, Felix kept his hands in Wooyoung’s hair, pulling him even closer and not letting him go.

“Fuck…” Felix slurred when the other sucked at his skin, trying to mark him for later. In the past, he hated having hickeys on his neck. Others knowing he had made out with his girlfriend had always made him uncomfortable. With Wooyoung, he couldn’t deny that he loved the thought of people knowing he belonged to someone. Or at least had done so for a brief moment in time.

Wooyoung’s hands fisted Felix’s shirt as he inched it up before checking in with the blonde, “Is this okay?”

“Yes. Please, take it off already.”

“Getting hot?” Wooyoung asked with a smirk, getting his answer once Felix nodded with a thick swallow. “Good.”

Once the fabric landed on the floor, Wooyoung lingered to take in the view. He had expected many things from the closeted nerdy boy, but not this. Not a full-on six-pack, tensing as he let his fingertips wander over his hot skin.

“Damn. Who would have thought?” The thoughts leaving Wooyoung’s brain without a filter made Felix blush. It was one thing, hearing how well-built he was from someone else. But someone he deemed the hottest person he had ever laid eyes on? That did something to him alright. And when Wooyoung leaned down to let his perky tongue run over the bulges, that did a whole other thing to him.

“Fuck… More, please.”

“Patience. I have a lot more to give you,” Wooyoung told him with a smirk as he pushed Felix onto the mattress and sank to his knees. This view was heavenly, straight out of a porno, and Felix felt like he was dreaming again. The whole situation was surreal.

Looking up at the blond, Wooyoung pulled him down for another kiss before focusing on his pecs. He took his sweet time worshipping Felix’s chest, his nipples and abs. Electric shocks rushed straight through Felix’s spine towards the top of his head. Wooyoung couldn’t get enough, spending a few extra seconds kissing his abdominal muscles until a layer of spit and sweat covered them.

“Please…” The silent prayer escaped Felix like a mantra. He’d come in his pants if Wooyoung didn’t do something soon and that was definitely not how he wanted this first time to end. Bad enough his first first time (a few years ago with Emily in the backseat of his father’s Toyota) had ended that way. Another taste of that embarrassment would have been too much to overcome.

“You think you’re ready for this?”

“I was born ready. Just— do something, please.”

“Oh, I’ll be doing much more than just something.”

Wooyoung opened Felix’s pants, dragging them over his thighs and towards the floor. Once the jeans had gone, Felix noticed he was almost entirely naked while Wooyoung was far from it. Without a second thought, he pulled the man’s shirt up, and over his head. To even it out, if you will. Now, not only their bodies but their pure skin was connecting. No restraints, no barriers. Only the two of them.

“I’m gonna go slow, okay? Let me know if you want me to do something different.”

As sweet as Felix identified the assurance to be, it was much unneeded. The second Wooyoung pulled him out of his briefs—tip red and leaking—he licked a thick stripe up the underside. That’s when Felix knew this would be excruciating in the best way immaginable.

Wooyoung worked him with so much knowledge and understanding of the male anatomy. It felt like he was inside Felix’s body, metaphorically. He knew exactly where to lick, where to suck and how to work him so he would fall apart below him. Felix’s eyes stayed glued to the beauty, watching him suck on his length and take him down his throat. As though he had never done anything else.

The past blowjobs Felix had received—which there were quite a few, thanks to his charming personality and sweet looks—had been good. He couldn’t lie that he had enjoyed every one of them, though it had never been this mind-numbing. Wooyoung had a technique to his movements only someone with a dick could come up with. Someone who had experienced many a blowjob first-hand— Felix was sure of that.

Spit slid down his length as Wooyoung navigated him deeper with each thrust, hands pumping what he couldn’t fit. His eyes filled with utter and total lust, gazes meeting when he looked up at Felix with a blurriness to his vision. It was a sight Felix had never seen—so pretty and feral. Enough to make him burst on the spot.

However, he couldn’t let that happen.

Felix’s hand on Wooyoung’s cheek urged him to let him fall from his mouth, cock glistening in a beautiful glow. He leaned down and connected their mouths as he tasted himself on Wooyoung’s tongue. Never had he tasted so delicious.

“Good?” Wooyoung asked as though he hadn’t made Felix see stars. Right now, he wasn’t sure he could ever feel as good again.

“So, so good.”

They shared a short moment of silence while Felix scooted back on the bed until he reached the headboard. Wooyoung situated himself above Felix’s lap as they continued their heated make-out session.

Felix admired Wooyoung’s broad chest and sculptured pecs while he planted wet kisses against his jaw. With as much confidence as Wooyoung presented, Felix wasn’t surprised his beauty continued past his face. Although he was still in awe of the perfect piece of art that was Wooyoung’s body. So chiselled, so muscular, so masculine. A dream come true in the most literal sense.

Delicate fingers ran over Felix’s stomach and snapped him out of his daydream. His abs tightened when he felt Wooyoung reach back and wrap his digits around his length.

“Oh, God.” Wooyoung seemed to enjoy the teasing too much, a triumphant grin on his features at the heightened reactivity in Felix’s expression. “Please. I— God.”

The grunt leaving Felix was nothing short of animalistic as Wooyoung’s thumbed over the head.

“You were saying?”

“I need you. Please.”

Bringing his hands back to his front, Wooyoung ended every direct skin contact to Felix. The loss of the physical component refocused all their senses while the fog in their brains lifted a little.

“You sure you want your first time to be drunk at a frat party?”

Felix appreciated Wooyoung’s caution, heart swelling as he wondered how he had deserved someone so considerate. A stranger, yes, but the most respectful one. However, this was hardly his first time. His body count filled all of one five-fingered hand. And even though this felt different, he was well aware of the vulnerability he exposed himself to.

“First of all, I’m not that drunk. See?” Felix straightened up as he positioned his pointer fingers at the corners of his peripheral vision. Bringing them together to touch right before his nose, he proofed his hypothesis. Much to Wooyoung’s amusement, who giggled at the adorable action. “Second, this isn’t my first time. I’ve done this before. With girls, yes. But I know what I’m getting myself into. And third, I really fucking want you to fuck me. Like yesterday.”

Opening up to Wooyoung seemed so easy after he had literally sucked his cock mere moments earlier. The guy’s sweet personality made it much easier for Felix to voice his wishes. He was sure about this.

Apparently, Wooyoung understood so much.

“Okay. But only under one condition.” Wooyoung’s fingers ran between Felix’s pecs and down his adonis belt. “You are the one doing the fucking this time. I have nothing to prep you with, and you want your first time to be slow, believe me. Ergo, you’re topping.”

“Alright,” Felix gave in with a laugh. If that’s what Wooyoung wanted to do, then Felix was content with being the penetrator rather than the penetrated. He also couldn’t deny the skip of his heartbeat when Wooyoung suggested there would be a second time. “One more thing. What’s topping?”

Eyes widening in amusement, Wooyoung couldn’t help but giggle at the younger’s words. “God, you’re innocent. Good thing you have me to show you everything you need to know.”

Rolling off Felix’s body, Wooyoung rid himself of his remaining clothes— jeans and underwear landing on top of Felix’s pile. With his free hand, Wooyoung reached for the nightstand and rummaged through its content with a hopeful expression.

“Come on, San-ie. Don’t disappoint me right now.” After a few seconds, his face lit up while he pulled lube and a condom from the drawer. “Do I know my best friend or what?”

“San. Is that the pink-haired guy?”

“Yup. I dyed it myself. You like it?” Wooyoung asked as he handed Felix the condom.

“It suits him well.” He rolled the piece of latex over himself with vigour while Wooyoung opened the lube and began spreading it between his cheeks. “So, this is his room? He doesn’t mind us using his bed?”

“Oh, I’m counting on it. San used mine so often, with so many different women, he should be paying half of my rent.” Felix chuckle was dark, eyes focusing on Wooyoung once he was back on top of him. “But enough about him.”

Felix’s eyes ran down Wooyoung’s naked form as he felt himself twitch against thin air. For a few rose-coloured seconds, he let himself enjoy the view of a beautiful man on top of him. His hands roamed over the older’s thighs, feeling the texture of his smooth, sun-kissed skin. He could have spent hours exploring every crevice of Wooyoung’s body.

In the dim lightening of the room, Wooyoung looked ethereal, muscular statue and pretty face only further continued in the shape of his cock. In no porn had Felix ever seen someone so enchanting, mouth watering at the mere sight of his erection. As much as Wooyoung had focused on him within the previous moments, Felix couldn’t shake the need to do the same for him. His own arousal pushed past its limits by the thought of making Wooyoung feel good.

Hands wandering further up his thighs, Felix soon reached the base of his dick. With one questioning look followed by an agreeing hum, Felix finally touched him.

He went slow at first, testing the waters and Wooyoung’s reactions to figure out what he liked. It took him not a minute to do so. Working Wooyoung the same way he worked himself in moments of privacy did the trick. It almost came natural to him as he collected the guy’s pre-cum to smear it over his length, hand pumping from base to tip in short, rhythmic motions.

“Fuck. You’re so pretty.”

The words were as much unsolicited as they were unintentional, though Wooyoung enjoyed the compliment. A blush appeared on his cheeks as he closed the gap, pushing his hungry mouth against Felix’s.

“How about you fuck me and see how much prettier I can become.”

Felix, yet again, felt himself twitch at the crudeness of the words, proving to himself that, yes. He might have a thing for dirty talk. Though that realisation was for another day to explore. With his bottom lip between his teeth, Wooyoung shimmied down his body until he reached his lap. Squirting some of the lube onto his palm, Wooyoung lost no time to massage it into Felix’s length.

“Ready?”

“God, yes.”

As Wooyoung sunk all the way to complete fullness, Felix realised that was a lie. He could have never prepared for the feeling of Wooyoung’s snug hole, so much tighter than anything he had ever felt around himself before. His hands flew to the older’s thighs as he moved up and down and steadied himself by clawing his nails into Felix’s skin.

“Fuck, you’re tight.”

“You have no idea how amazing you feel,” Wooyoung agreed with a moan, hands resting on Felix’s stomach for support. “You think you can move? Meet me in the middle?”

“I don’t even know if I can breathe right now.”

His words were met with a giggle, though despite his inability to think, Felix lifted his hip up to meet him. Moving against gravity was more demanding than he had anticipated, but the look of pure bliss on Wooyoung’s face made it worthwhile.

He definitely hadn’t lied when he said he’d become even prettier while fucked out.

They soon found a rhythm that was comfortable for either. Still, Felix knew he wouldn’t last much longer. Not when Wooyoung caressed all his senses so perfectly, eyes, ears, hands, mouth and mind filled with nothing but him. The world stood still around them, entirely immersed in the moment.

One particularly sharp thrust poked Felix’s attention, tip hitting a spot within Wooyoung that made him throw his head back with a whimper. His body trembled under Felix’s palms, abdominal muscles pulling Wooyoung forward and crouching over the younger. At first, Felix believed whatever he had done had hurt Wooyoung. Once the older opened his eyes—gaze veiled in animalistic hunger—Felix understood it wasn’t a grunt of pain.

“Was that…”

“My prostate? Fuck, yes.” Stilling on top of him, Wooyoung needed to rest for a second. Right when he took up his previous movements, Felix fell back into the same rhythm. Five thrusts in, the same thing happened again, though Wooyoung didn’t stop this time. To say that the sight was divine would have been a crude understatement. “Fuck… Touch me, baby. Please!”

The first time Wooyoung begged him for something—rather than the other way around—Felix identified another new kink. This was all new anyways, and Wooyoung still unleashed underlying desires Felix hadn’t even known existed.

Felix’s hands flew to Wooyoung’s dick, stroking it in unison with his thrusts. And like that, the older fell apart on top of him.

Felix had only ever seen a man cum through the screen of his laptop. It had seemed so fake, the whimpering and grunting way too excessive to be genuine. Or so he thought.

When Wooyoung hit his high, he completely slumped with a groan in Felix’s ear as he released onto his stomach. Hot spurts painted his abs in white, running between the crevices and towards his navel—and there was so much of it. Felix wasn’t quite sure if this was still considered healthy.

Despite being in a state of utter bliss, Wooyoung kept moving, dragging out his orgasm and urging Felix towards his own. The sight and noises would have gotten him there as was. The added pleasure of Wooyoung’s tired hole clenching and his intense eyes eventually launched him into his sweet, sweet release.

Panting beside each other, they tried catching their breaths for a few minutes. It could have been hours, for all Felix cared. He couldn’t have been trusted with anything right now, not even telling the time.

At some point, Felix cleaned himself before reclaiming his position under Wooyoung, with the older’s head propped on his chest.

“That was…”

“Yeah.”

Chuckling filled the room as their gazes fixated on the ceiling. Wooyoung pressed kisses against Felix’s chest on occasion, a sweet gesture that was much appreciated. The longer they remained entangled, listening to each other’s breathing, the faster Felix’s mind spun. The kissing, the tension, the desire. Everything was so fresh in his mind but, at the same time, felt so far away. He couldn’t deny that after finally figuring out why everyone was so obsessed with sex, he couldn’t wait to experience it again.

Wooyoung figured Felix’s mind out with one short look at his lap.

“You’re still hard.”

It wasn’t so much still as it was again, his body visibly not done yet despite having reached a peak minutes ago.

“Because you’re still pretty.”

The explanation forced Wooyoung’s cheeks into another blush as he kissed Felix, softer this time but just as passionate. Climbing back on top of him, Wooyoung nipped at Felix’s bruised neck, making him moan at the mix of pain and pleasure.

“That’s gonna be a bitch to cover up tomorrow,” Wooyoung recognised with a giggle as his gaze met Felix’s. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright. I like having a visual reminder for the next few days.”

“Well, if that’s so…”

Trailing off, Wooyoung leaned back down, sucking on Felix’s chest. A red bruise appeared within seconds of him biting and licking over the flesh, Felix holding him close by his hair to keep him going. Any direct skin contact Wooyoung gave him Felix couldn’t get enough of. He wanted to live in this moment for as long as possible.

The fire in his stomach reignited when the older licked over his nipples, swirling the buds between his lips. The shock waves coursing through Felix reached his cock, which twitched in excitement.

Yup, he definitely wasn’t done for today.

While Wooyoung kissed his way all over Felix’s chest, the younger reentered heaven. He couldn’t help but ponder what else there was he hadn’t tried yet. Like giving blowjobs. Or whatever the antonym of topping was. He couldn’t quite wait to figure it out, although some higher power forced patience on him.

Felix wanted to ask Wooyoung if he could taste him, but he didn’t get there. Before anything else could happen, the door to the room opened with a creek, and Felix’s head snapped up. His eyes darted to the entrance, shock written on his face as his gaze met the intruder’s.

He couldn’t quite tell whether you had recognised him. Although the lighting most likely wasn’t dark enough to shield his identity. You must have identified him. But he couldn’t react fast enough. As soon as you had appeared, you muttered a perplexed “I’m sorry” and pulled the door shut. Leaving Felix with only fear and a hard-on he wasn’t so sure would find any true relief for the rest of the night

Next Chapter >>>

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[alice-in-adventureland]

🌈 TS3 ARCHETYPE LEGACY CHALLENGE

to celebrate 100 followers (thank you!!) i’m sharing this 12-generation legacy challenge i created based on the 12 jungian archetypes where each generation represents one of the archetypes. it’s mostly trait-based with some requirements for each generation. feel free to tweak them however you want–these are guidelines, not strict rules, it’s meant to be fun after all! the challenge is completed once the 13th generation is born (or once you’re bored 🤷)

credit: quotes and inspiration taken from this article

the set-up:

start by creating your founder (a YA sim) that represents one of the archetypes described below. for this challenge the order doesn’t matter, choose based on what makes the most sense storytelling-wise or use a number generator for extra randomness

the founder and each heir must all have a primary trait that corresponds to their respective archetype as well as a secondary trait selected from a given list (see archetype rules below). the remaining 3 traits are up to you except for the ones that aren’t allowed for that generation (we’ll call them “conflicting traits”). if a child is born with a conflicting trait they may not become heir unless you replace that trait via alchemy/cheating. to make the trait assignment process easier i highly recommend downloading the mod that enables all traits for all ages

lifetime wishes are up to you

there are no rules for other sims in your household, only for your founder and heirs (but there are some requirements that may involve their spouses/children in some way)

...now for the archetypes!

the 12 archetypes:

1. THE INNOCENT 🐣 “free to be you and me”

primary trait: GOOD

secondary trait (choose at least one): absent-minded, easily impressed, excitable, friendly, loves the outdoors, family-oriented, over-emotional, childish, hopeless romantic

conflicting traits: mean-spirited, snob, evil

may be employed in any career except crime, politics and scam artist branch of fortune telling (no place for pure innocent souls like them)

every time sim wishes to donate to charity, they must fulfill that wish

may only woohoo on 3d date

may not cheat or have multiple romantic interests

may only try for baby with their spouse

if an innocent heir receives an imaginary friend doll as a toddler, it must come alive and they must remain good friends till the end of the run

must pet a unicorn at least once

2. THE EVERYSIM 🤝 “all sims are created equal”

note: most of the time it’s impossible to prevent your sim from becoming at least a 1-star celebrity, so personally i would play an everysim by opting the household out of the celebrity system in the gameplay options menu.

primary trait: FRIENDLY

secondary trait (choose at least one): easily impressed, excitable, frugal, good sense of humor, workaholic, green thumb, handy, schmoozer

conflicting traits: snob, rebellious, avantgarde, star quality, natural born performer, loner

may not be self-employed (freelancing is too lonely for someone who wants to belong)

may be employed in any career except those that are supernatural-related or feature being in the spotlight (showtime careers, singer or band, actor etc.), but they may only reach level 5 of any career track. they may change careers as many times as you wish

must have one “normal” hobby (e.g. gardening, fishing, horse riding etc.)

must fix every appliance on the lot by themselves

must be friends with their neighbor(s) or/and colleagues and invite them over for dinner at least once a week

must always do the suck up to boss interaction for at least 2 hours every work day

may not accept opportunities that increase celebrity points (or any opportunities at all, if you want extra limitations)

may not be friends with sims who have rebel influence (unless colleagues or neighbors)

may not cook ambrosia or use other “magical” ways to control their aging

may not interact with supernatural or magical things (e.g. alchemy, woodoo dolls, bonehilda coffins, imaginary friends, unicorns etc.)

may not become a supernatural

may not socialize with supernaturals, unless they are your colleagues/neighbors OR unless your sim was born a supernatural

if your sim was born a supernatural, there are 2 ways of developing the storyline:

i. find the cure asap and prove that you renounce your past by gaining an enemy among the members of the appropriate occult and winning a fight against them ii. find a community of members of your occult type. group up with at least one fellow supernatural every week, marry and have children only within your occult type (if needed, you can be the one to turn them). however, you can’t be the leader of this community (e.g. the leader of a werewolf pack, the king/queen of the fae etc.)

must only marry or have children with a person from their community: either a colleague, a sim who lives nearby, someone who shares your sim’s traits etc. if your sim was born a supernatural, their spouse must be the same type of occult as your sim

if the sim’s child receives an imaginary friend doll you may not allow them to interact with it unless it’s the heir who was rolled as the innocent (in which case they must befriend the doll) 

3. THE HERO 💪 “where there’s a will, there’s a way”

primary trait: BRAVE

secondary trait (choose at least one): athletic, disciplined, friendly, good, adventurous, daredevil, lucky, star quality, social butterfly

conflicting traits: snob, proper, loner, coward

may be employed in the following careers: law enforcement (special agent), military, professional sports, firefighter, ghost hunter, lifeguard

must reach level 10 in the selected career track

must reach a 5-star celebrity level

may not have burglar or fire alarms on their home lot and must always fight the burglar or extinguish the fire by themselves

must explore at least one rabbit hole (e.g. masoleum, haunted house etc.)

must perform the “promise to protect” interaction with every new sim they meet (aim to have the “protector” moodlet at all times)

must drive a motorcycle

4. THE CAREGIVER 🧸 “love your neighbor as yourself”

primary trait: FAMILY-ORIENTED

secondary trait (choose at least one): frugal, neat, natural cook, animal lover, nurturing

conflicting traits: commitment issues, dislikes children, slob, evil, mean-spirited

may be self-employed or work in the following careers: medicine, culinary, education, daycare

may not try for baby until they have acquired the fertility treatment lifetime reward

once the fertility reward is acquired, you must try for baby each time instead of woohoing (but you can change the chance of pregnancy via nraas/use risky woohoo)

must always dance to kids music for a couple of hours during each pregnancy (to increase the chance of triplets)

may not hire a babysitter–they must care for their toddlers themselves

all toddlers must learn the 3 basic skills (walking, talking & potty). other members of the household may help, but your sim must take part as well

may not go to work when there are toddlers on the lot. they may work from home if they’re self-employed. once all toddlers have aged up to children, the sim may travel to work if there are other sims in the household who can watch the kids (not special services)

must teach teenage children to drive

must be best friends with all their children by the time they reach teenagehood

may not send their kids to boarding schools

must help every child with homework at least once

if pets ep is installed: must have at least one pet. another idea you can play out is start a pet legacy that will continue on together with the main legacy

if a member of a household is deceased while playing the caregiver, you must leave their tombstone on your home lot and let the ghost roam freely

5. THE EXPLORER 🧭 “don’t fence me in”

primary trait: LOVES THE OUTDOORS

secondary traits (choose at least one): adventurous, lucky, rebellious, brave, commitment issues, gatherer, athletic

conflicting traits: couch potato, coward, hates the outdoors

may only be self-employed as only freelance works for explorers who need as much freedom as possible

must move to a different lot every week until they have children who live on the same lot as them, then they can build a legacy house and settle down

must visit all 3 countries, explore at least one tomb in each one and befriend at least one sim from each country

may not try for baby until they’ve visited all 3 countries

each time your sim woohoos, they must do it in a different location. try to woohoo in as many different spots as you can!

may only marry/have children with sims who are different from them in some way (an opposite trait, appearance, an occult, a foreign sim etc.)

when the successor reaches childhood stage, your sim must travel with them to a country of your choice to “show them the world”

when they settle down and get married, every week you have to roll a number to determine whether the union is going to survive (if it’s 1 keep them together, if it’s 2 break them up). the exception is when the spouse is pregnant, in this case you may wait until they give birth and then roll. keep doing this until you switch to the next heir

must complete at least one collection (gems, rocks, butterflies etc.) 

must fulfill all midlife crisis wishes

must accept every opportunity they get

must take at least one picture a day (to remember all the majestic experiences)

must attend every seasonal festival

6. THE REBEL 📣 “rules are made to be broken”

primary trait: LONER or REBELLIOUS

secondary traits (choose at least one): artistic, daredevil, hot-headed, inappropriate, kleptomaniac, rebellious, loner, avantgarde, charismatic, dramatic

conflicting traits: proper

may only be self-employed or work in the following careers: criminal (thief), journalism, music (rock), politics. can also be a band member

must organize protests every week

teen must pull a prank every day

teen must skip school at least once

teen must stay out past curfew at least once

must get at least 3 tattoos (may not ignore any tattoo wishes)

must write at least one satire book (you’ll need to write 4 humor books for that, but you can also do it with lvl. 4 in writing skill if you have the avantgarde trait)

if the sim is a politician, they must write a political memoir, too

may not have a baby until their rebel influence is level 5 (try to max out the rebel influence)

7. THE LOVER 🌹 “you’re the only one”

primary trait: FLIRTY

secondary trait (choose at least one): friendly, good sense of humor, party animal, star quality, charismatic, great kisser, hopeless romantic, social butterfly, irresistible

conflicting traits: loner, shy, socially awkward, unflirty

may be employed in any career that features being in the spotlight (e.g. music, actor, showtime careers etc.)

must always use “talk to colleagues” interaction at work for a couple of hours (if working at a rabbit hole)

must try to impress every celebrity they encounter

must become a 5-star celebrity

must reach level 10 of charisma skill

must have their first kiss as a teen (unless it’s the founder)

teen must have a partner to go to prom with (aim to become prom queen/king)

must accept every party invitation

must host a party every week

must go on a date every week. every date must result in woohoo or makeout (if there are no places available for woohoo)

must have someone stay over every week

must create an online dating profile and accept all messages they get there

may not try for baby before they’ve gone on 5 dates with different sims

must only get married after they’ve reached adulthood. after your sim gets married they don’t have to go on dates/have someone stay over anymore

must have a blog and post every day (unless they have a “blogged out” moodlet in which case you might wait till it passes)

must send at least one text every day

if you wish your sim may use life fruits or other ways to slow down aging as they are afraid of it, but only after reaching adulthood. you may not use the age freeze potion reward

8. THE ARTIST 🎨 “if you can imagine it, it can be done”

primary trait: ARTISTIC or VIRTUOSO

secondary traits (choose at least one): eccentric, artistic, virtuoso, ambitious, perfectionist, rebellious, photographer’s eye, avantgarde, savvy sculptor

conflicting traits: can’t stand art

may be (self-)employed in any creative career or profession (culinary, music, film, architecture, band, stylist, painter, photographer, writer, game development, artist, inventor, sculptor)

must paint a portrait/make a sculpture of every sim in their household

must reach level 10 of their career

must reach level 10 in a creative skill of your choice as well as complete at least 1 skill challenge

must have an art gallery at home filled with their creations (alernatively could be a separate lot that you own)

must have a muse (or several of them), a sim who inspires them to create art

9. THE JESTER 🃏 “you only live once”

primary trait: GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR

secondary traits (choose at least one): friendly, insane, inappropriate, rebellious, star quality, charismatic, childish

conflicting traits: snob, proper, no sense of humor

may be employed in any career or profession, but they may only reach level 3 before “getting fired” for improper behavior. they may also be self-employed, in which case there’s no limit to how high they can score. if you chose a showtime career for your sim, there are also no limits

child sim must skip school at least twice

teen sim must pull every existing type of prank. that includes booby traps, neighborhood pranks and school pranks

teen must stay out past curfew at least once

must write a best-selling humor book (you’ll probably need to write several of them to reach the best-selling status)

must write at least one satire book (you’ll need to write 4 humor books to be able to do that)

must troll on forums at least every other day (you’ll need the inappropriate, mean-spirited, evil or grumpy trait to perform this action, so if you really don’t want your sim to have one of these traits you can ignore this rule)

every time the sim swims, they must skinny dip (unless there are children on the lot)

10. THE SAGE 📜 “the truth will set you free”

primary trait: GENIUS

secondary traits (choose at least one): loner, perceptive, ambitious, bookworm, computer whiz, perfectionist, workaholic, brooding, shy

conflicting traits: party animal, social butterfly, couch potato

may be (self-)employed in any career or profession that requires logic or creative skill

must always keep their nerd influence at the minimum level of 5 and win at least 3 trivia challenges

must visit the library/comic store every week

must get on an honor roll as a child and teen

must go to university and get an “a” degree

must reach level 10 of logic skill by adulthood

must max out 2 other skills of your choice

must complete at least one logic skill challenge (grand master, celestial explorer, teacher extraordinaire or skill professor)

must unlock and test all potions on chemistry table

must have at least one child via a non-conventional method (alien abduction, wishing well, plantsim, engineer a baby)

11. THE MAGICIAN 🚀 “i make things happen”

primary trait: BOOKWORM

secondary traits (choose at least one): eccentric, genius, perceptive, ambitious, supernatural fan, charismatic, gatherer

conflicting traits: couch potato, supernatural skeptic 

may be self-employed or employed in the following careers: science, education, fortunetelling (mystic), magician

must reach level 10 of selected career

must be an occult or reach level 10 of alchemy skill. (alternatively: if you don’t have supernatural ep your sim must create ambrosia and master gardening skill)

if your sim is an occult, they must learn all the skills connected to their life state

must use an elixir on themselves/other sims at least once a week

must write at least one horror book (if you have the supernatural fan trait you’ll only need to have lvl 2 writing skill)

must visit the graveyard and talk to ghosts at least once a week

must achieve at least one “unbelievable” thing (example: create a simbot, resurrect a dead sim, clone yourself, cause a utopian future, befriend a unicorn–up to you)

this is the only archetype that’s allowed to be immortal

12. THE RULER 👑 “power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”

primary trait: AMBITIOUS

secondary traits (choose at least one): evil, family-oriented, mean-spirited, perfectionist, snob, workaholic, charismatic

conflicting traits: couch potato, good, shy, socially awkward

must reach level 10 of criminal (evil), politics or business career

if your sim is employed in politics, they must write a political memoir

must reach level 10 of charisma skill

must establish an inner circle and invite them over every week to discuss their plans for world domination

must get married before reaching adulthood. the marriage must be arranged (the criteria is up to you, an example would be choosing a wealthy spouse or a vampire if your sim is also one)

once the sim gets married, their spouse must quit their current job and get employed in the same career track as your sim

must drive an expensive car

must purchase at least 3 properties

must accumulate at least 50,000 simoleons of wealth

once the household is worth more than 50k, they must donate 1,000 simoleons to charity every week (to avoid paying taxes and improve public image). this option will be available once you reach level 3 of charisma skill. if it’s worth more than 100k simoleons, it should be 5,000 simoleons per week

if sim is a supernatural, they must be the leader (e.g. leader of the pack, king of the fae) and must turn all their colleagues and friends into this type of occult. their spouse must belong or be turned into the same type of occult, too

p.s. this challenge is a work in progress. if you have any suggestions/ideas, feel free to message me, i would appreciate your help A TON. rn i feel like some archetypes are lacking compared to others, but i’m all out of ideas–hoping to update it in the future. and, finally, if you decide to play this challenge and post your gameplay–tag me, i would love to see what your sims are up to! 

@simschallenges​

[wazzappp]

Resident Evil 7 Mold discussion / Theory

Ok so this is going to be split into a few pieces:

What IS the mold

Infection process details as well as details about why Ethan didn't fall under her control

Hivemind hiarchy and enemy management on Eveline's side of things.

What IS The Mold:

Ok so first things first the Mold isn't actually a mold. We know from part one of the R and D report page 3, the mold is actually a fungus that a shadowy organization called The Connections had been manipulating for their own bioweapon purposes. This fungus is called the Mutamycite and is derived from the Megamycite (which we learn about from resident evil 8). They just DECIDED to call it mold because IDK WHY FUCK YOU YOU FUCKERS MOLD AND FUNGI ARENT THE SAME YOURE SUPPOSED TO BE SCIENTISTS YOURE SUPPOSED TO BE ACCURATE AUGHHHHHHHH anyway for the sake of general understanding I'm mostly just gonna keep calling it 'the mold'

The Connections created Eveline through trial and error of exposing an embryo to this fungus. The various body parts we collect throughout the game for both the cure and the E-Necrotoxin are actually from her failed 'siblings'.

Infection Process:

We know from part 2 of the R and D report found in the labs/mines that Eveline's 'Molded' creatures can be created through her mycelium which she secretes through her tissue which is AWESOME FUCK YEA FUCK YES MY FRIEND MY BEST FRIEND MYCELIUM LETS GOOOOO.

Wer'e coming back to details about the mycelium in a minute because WHOOP WHOOP HIVEMIND MOMENT but the actual infection process needs more examination. The way it's described in part 2 R and D report, it sounds like Eveline can either spawn these molded or turn them from people (coming back to the spawning in a sec don't forget about it)

We know they can be turned because of both the note at the beginning of the game keeping track of those turned and dead, the deputy's half turned severed head in the fridge, and the pre release 'Opening Hour' teaser where we SEE someones body be taken over in real time.

The details of the infection process are in Infection Report 1. So here is what the actual report says and then what my reasoning of it is.

"Initial Infection The mold ingests nutrients from the subject's body to propagate itself, and slowly takes over cells within the body.

As a side effect of this, the infected subject gains remarkable regenerative abilities.

During experiments, we removed arms and legs from test subjects and found that they were able to coapt the amputated limbs in a matter of minutes."

Its my theory that the reason the Mold is able to both sidestep the immune system and to cause this regenerative effect is because the mold itself is mimicking the biological structures it runs into. As it works its way through the body, it's replacing everything that exists, so naturally if any damage occurs it can just regrow since replacing that tissue is what it was doing any way.

This gets interesting when you start including more than one species during this initial infection process. Like the Dimitrescu daughters. After death and insertion of the cadou parasite they were swarmed with flies until they covered their entire bodies. The mold was able to assimilate their DNA as well as the human DNA of the daughters themselves, allowing them to transition between the two.

It is ALSO very important to note that Ethan is under this level of infection for the majority of the game. He has an amazing degree of regeneration without the side effect of Eveline's control because he hasn't reached the mid stage infection, which is described next. Its pretty interesting how the time periods of how long it takes for Evelines control to take hold changes from person to person. 3 years after infection and Mia is still resisting, but the Bakers fell under her influence almost IMMEDIATLY based off of the 'Daughters' DLC. It looks like things kind of went?? back to normal?? for a second there but its pretty ambigous. This could rely on a variaty of factors ranging from Eveline's strength (she seems kind of tired at the end of the game. maybe less powerful than when she wasn't over extending herself) and the state of the tissue she's infecting.

I think it would make sense that the mold can infect Dead tissue faster than Living tissue because theres no immune response whatsoever. Maybe thats why Ethan was experiencing stage 2 symptoms after only 12 hours even with Eveline's weakened state taken into consideration.

"Mid-stage Infection Once the mold reaches the brain, the subject's thoughts become "in tune" with those of the E-Series asset.

If this state continues, the host will lose all sense of ego."

It is VERY interesting that apparently we can see this fungal structure in x rays, which we know because of Margurite Bakers doctors note. This is really awesome because that means the mycelium structures are spreading into the brain and maybe starting to integrate the host into the hive-mind even BEFORE complete integration/assimilation. I wonder what would happen if you killed someone mid integration? Would only the memories/functions of the part of the brain thats been integrated be shared or would it just not go through at all? Also this hive-mind component is going to come back later so don't forget this either.

"Complete Infection After every cell in the body has been taken over by the mold, the subject begins to lose their human form. Physical mutations differ from case to case, but all result in him or her acquiring incredible physical strength.

Containing a subject at this stage would be extremely difficult."

PHYSICAL MUTATIONS BABY LETS FUCKING GO. Ok so if the mold is just replicating itself in a way where its trying to mimic the structure of the original host, why do mutations happen? Because with increased replication there also comes an increased chance of mutation. Jack Baker gets more and more fucked up as the bossfights go on, finally appearing as a barely human monster for the final boathouse fight. THAT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO HIS BEING CUT IN HALF. The mold has a LOT to fix after that much damage has been done and with it comes an increased chance for mutation, plus when you take into account he's been 'killed' throughout the night, the mold making up his body has been put through a TREMENDOUS amount of strain.

We can also see after his death, while Ethan is chillin in a mold pillar, that his real consciousness is kept in the hive-mind Eveline has constructed for the area, which leads me to the next point.

Hive-mind hierarchy and enemy management on Eveline's side of things:

Ok remember the mycelium from earlier? I told you to remember them because it's coming back now. If you hadn't heard of this amazing part of fungi you're leaving fully educated now.

Mycelium are essentially the nervous system of a fungal colony. Just one spore can result in a network like this. Mushrooms are actually the fruiting part of a mycelium network, this is what goes on underneath the surface. You may have heard that clusters of mushrooms communicate with each other through their networks and this is true! In fact theres a colony of Armillara that spreads for over 2,000 acres (or 10 square kilometers) in Oregon. The uh. way they phrased it in the article was pretty disturbing tbh; "This was kind of a side project," Smith recalls. "We were looking at the boundaries of [fungal] individuals using genetic tests and the first year we didn't find the edge."

Mycelium communicate with their colony by exchanging information, sharing resources, and even hijacking other plants in the area as an early warning system for danger.

This is AWESOME because it means that Eveline's infection has indeed spread across the entirety of the Baker estate. Its assimilated all of the local plant life, all of the local wildlife (punching molded alligators into submission is badass) and appears to be able to spread through water as well (dead fish when re entering the boathouse after the ship section). Eveline has turned the entire area into her own fungal colony thats directly under her control.

So now we get to the nitty gritty about how this relates to the hive-mind hierarchy in the game. There appears to be not one but TWO hive-mind functions operating in this hellhole. Obviously we have the main hive-mind that Ethan Winters sees when he's stuck in that mold column. Because we see Eveline has been stored in the megamycite in the 'Shadows of Rose' DLC. it appears that this is like. a smaller hive-mind thats attached to the main one. If the megamycite's hive-mind was a house, this would be the shed; Separate but still connected. but I also propose that Marguerite has her own smaller, less complicated hive-mind for controlling her bug enemies.

During Marguerite's "Bug-pit" boss-fight, we can see that the bug enemies aren't just attacking at random, she's conducting them. This is just another one of Eveline's 'gifts'. I think she prioritizes mothers above most other family members. I think it would make sense because she was LITERALLY CREATED AS A VESSEL FOR MOTHER MIRANDA TO RESURRECT HER DEAD KID and theres further evidence in that she directly gifted Marguerite her dead siblings arm that can be used to make a cure that stops her from influencing someones mind (at least for a little while) for safekeeping (run on sentences my beloved).

Ok so back to the 'shed' analogy that I mentioned before. Theres a problem I noticed with the amount of people that go missing vs the amount of enemies Ethan fights throughout the game. We can see newspaper articles in the kitchen saying things like 'Over 20 missing in two years'. ETHAN FIGHTS. WAY MORE THAN 20 MOLDED. Even being generous that the news was wrong Ethans gotta be fighting what at least 90 Molded over the course of the game?? (im. so tempted to rewatch the whole thing and keep track of how many spawn. so tempted). Theres a simple answer to this problem. We know from the 'Shadows of Rose' DLC that grunt minds are stored in the hive as well as the more developed boss minds. I propose that these aren't new molded consciousnesses that Ethans fighting, its the same ones over and over again. Getting killed and sent back and respawned and killed and sent back and respawned over and over stuck in a rotating door of present in the real world and stuck in the 'shed'. The shed is the molded's own personal HELL they're just not mentally present enough to recognize it.

[multiplicity-positivity]

hi would any of you have any advice for a syshost worrying hes parroting through his sysmates? we're median and im terrified im accidentally puppeting them or something and its freaking me out a whole bunch.

plus any tips on improving communication would be great but no pressure. thanks

hey there…

so when it comes to improving or building communication, we’re probably just going to link our post on establishing contact with headmates. hopefully there’s enough info there to help y’all stay on the right track when it comes to building and maintaining solid communication.

we’re not sure what y’all’s system origins are, and our advice might be different depending on those factors. in general, though, here are a few thoughts we have on your predicament as a host of feeling like you’re puppeting your headmates.

- it may be worth it to try talking to your headmates about this and asking them what they think. of course, we see how this might be tricky if you feel like you are controlling them or have some sort of influence on their actions. but they genuinely may not feel the same way, and at least opening a dialogue between y’all may help you reach a bit of a better understanding.

- if your system is endogenic, created, or purposefully formed by you (the host) in any way, your headmates may sometimes have moments where they’re less sentient or struggle to maintain their own agency. our wife is a paromancy system, and the thoughtforms in her system sometimes experience this. in this situation, it’s just taken time, patience, and going back to the basics of headmate formation in order for our wife’s thoughtforms to settle back into existence. tulpanomicon and tulpa.io are both great sites full of guides that might help with this. if your system is not endogenic, though, please disregard this advice.

- if you really can’t shake the feeling that you’re puppeting your headmates, maybe just try to “puppet” them in ways that allow each headmate to live their best lives. ask them questions. offer them choices. give them space to grow and develop in their own ways. don’t force yourself to disengage or stop interacting with them as a way to force them to act on their own… rather, continue doing what you’ve been doing, while trying your best to treat your headmates with respect. these feelings of having control over the rest of your system may fade with time as you leave room for your headmates to act differently if they choose.

- we fully and truly believe that if your headmates are not distressed by this situation, if they feel comfortable and happy with this current arrangement, then there is nothing wrong with continuing as you have been. every system is different, and some systems may function by one headmate having more influence over the rest. what works for y’all may be unique and special in its own way, and there is nothing wrong with that. it’s all about keeping that dialogue open, helping your headmates feel comfortable coming forward if they want something to change, and accepting yourselves as y’all are in the present.

granted, we are a system with a dissociative disorder, so we likely aren’t going to have advice perfectly tailored to y’all’s situation. but what we can say, is that early on in our syscovery, we did have problems with one part trying to control the rest of the system. we had an alter who very much did try to puppet other members. and for us, that has faded with time as we’ve gotten to know each other better and spent more time focusing on accepting ourselves as we are.

idk. we’re sorry that this response is kind of fragmented and all over the place. personally we do feel that, if your headmates are not stressed about this, then you’re probably fine and shouldn’t worry too much about it either. if they are also stressed that you’re controlling them or having too much influence on their decisions, then you’ll at least know what’s happening, and can take some steps to try and give them more space to express themselves.

gosh, we’re sorry if this isn’t helpful. let us know if you need any clarification or any more info. we’re wishing you and your whole system the very best with figuring this out, though.

[lexiepiper]

Strange Relations

Hey @five-rivers happy truce! Sorry for being a little bit late, life got crazy.

I combined two of your prompts - Prompt 2: Clockwork gets sick of how Jack and Maddie treat Danny and spirits him away. Jack and Maddie must prove to Clockwork that they'll do better by completing his challenges. Whether or not they succeed is up to you. Prompt 4: Soft and cozy body horror. Lots of tactile texture and gentleness. Positive ending. :)

I hope you enjoy it! I’m a big fan of a lot of your writing and so tried to embody your masterful grasp of the abstract and eldritch, with a few references to some of the different elements/versions of Danny I’ve seen in your works.

The fic can be read here on ao3, or in this tumblr post.

...

Time is a mortal construct. At least, the understanding of its measurement is. For Clockwork, the markers of its passage were far less significant. What care did he need to have for weekdays, or hours, or the amount of revolutions around the sun?

He measured by different means.

How long it took for his endangered plants to sprout, grow tall, and flower or bear fruit.

The stretching eddies of dynasties rising and falling, and the outward-extending ramifications throughout the history of humankind.

The slow, awful rhythms of celestial bodies that he could barely parse even after aeons of watching the universe unfold in their rippling influences.

Mostly, he measured his time through the things he observed. Once he interacted with something it became difficult to ascertain its final path — like ripples obscuring the bottom of a small pond if you tried to put your hand into the water. The image only stayed clear so long as he refrained from touching it.

That being said, it was another regular morning when Daniel Fenton’s parents shot him out of the sky for the one hundredth time. A Tuesday, if anybody was keeping track.

Clockwork measured time by things that piqued his interest. Patterns, irregularities, and notable things in between that brought him any sense of emotion beyond simple detached interest.

So, he noticed, and he cared. He cared enough to burn.

One hundred times.

He burned hot with anger, his core flaring with a fire that he’d forgotten he harboured, and Clockwork was no longer able to hold himself back from plunging his hand into the pond despite all of the restrictions and regulations that normally kept him in his place.

The parade vanished, his vision of the future clouded, and within a mere selection of months, Clockwork found himself on the cusp of crossing the threshold of one of the only spaces beyond the time stream.

The place had many names, as did its denizens. There was no true way to define them, and perhaps that was the point of it all. The building changed depending on the perspective from which one tried to take it in, its architecture shifting from angle to angle. One moment it seemed as though it was a drab twentieth-century office with soap-bubble windows and floors that reached into blurry uncertainty. Then the building shifted, almost imperceptibly, and its peeling brick facade melted into the carved columns of an ancient Greek pantheon, complete with a sprawling copse of ancient olive trees that quietly creaked as ghosts moved between them. A moment later, and it was a connected city of tents strung with colourful banners that fluttered in a nonexistent breeze, flaps propped open with sticks with seemingly no coherent system that could be discerned by the outside observer.

Clockwork drifted across an invisible barrier and it ruffled his essence like the sudden breath of air conditioning one felt when entering a supermarket on a hot day.

The tent city’s trampled grass shifted to polished tiles, smooth beneath Clockwork’s boots as his core sank into dormancy and bade him land. The lack of ability was discomfiting but he shook it off and walked purposefully to the revolving doors of a great glass skyscraper, his cloak drifting around his ankles pleasantly with the sudden gravitational assertion over his typically-spectral body.

Being forced into a single form was more unpleasant even than the temporary binding of his powers, but Clockwork spared at least a sliver of gratitude that his default was that of an adult that appeared to be roughly in his thirties. If he were a child or an old man, it might damage his chances, depending on the test that the council ended up choosing.

The door spun on its center pole as he approached, its glass panes flashing in the light of a swarm of tiny blob ghosts that flitted around its interior segments. Their cores, like those of the denizens of this zone, were unfettered, as they were not here with a petition for review. It was a relief to see them, enjoying the neutral safe space and clearly having fun as they bounced around the entryway with glee.

Their purity reminded him of the severity of his purpose here, and as he stepped into a gleaming glass lobby that shifted into a sun-washed garden an approximation of a secretary rose from the path in front of him. It was faceless and blank, and Clockwork stood still as it passed an appendage that might have been a hand over the clock casing embedded in his chest.

The being didn’t speak, but he understood nonetheless when it confirmed his identity as applicant Clockwork the Timekeeper.

The pleasant sound of running water deeper into the garden paused for a moment, and the intermingled murmur of voices and birdsong went quiet. He figured that it wasn’t every day that someone as consequential as himself came here, but he shrugged off the feeling of being observed. The lull was only brief, and ambient noise resumed before Clockwork could do more than wonder yet again if he’d chosen the correct course.

The wondering, in and of itself, was nothing new. As soon as he’d reached through his viewing screen to scoop up a bleeding Daniel his vision had clouded, and since then, he’d done nothing but wonder.

He could have tried to just keep the boy, to adopt him by force and never let him go back to the life and people who were so horrible to him, but as he followed the secretary down a path through verdant twelve-foot ferns dappled with sunlight and filled with flashes of jewelled dragonflies, Clockwork’s doubts faded. He reminded himself that by surrendering Daniel to the protective grasp of the impartial council while taking the time to go through all of the proper applications, nobody would be able to dispute his relationship with the child on the other side. It was the only way to make Daniel permanently, irrevocably his, and despite his current inability to see the outcome for himself, Clockwork knew that there was no way he would fail the test.

The path ended abruptly in a freestanding stone door, ornately decorated with a mosaic fresco of towering creatures that Clockwork didn’t recognise from any reality that he was privy to observing. It swung open soundlessly as he approached, and beyond its threshold stretched an unremarkable hallway. The paint was yellow with either age or poor lighting, or perhaps a combination of the two, and the floor was worn threadbare carpet that might have once been a colour but was now more of a faded light brown.

There were no doors or windows, and when Clockwork stepped onto the carpet the guide shut the freestanding door behind them, cutting off the light and sounds of the garden. He didn’t need to breathe, but the mustiness of the corridor stuck to his throat anyway, and he followed wordlessly when his guide kept moving.

It took several minutes for them to reach another door. This one matched the hallway they were in, being remarkably plain with a little brass plaque at head height.

He couldn’t read the language, but entered anyway when motioned to do so.

The guide didn’t follow, and the door clicked shut behind him as Clockwork blinked in the warm light that spilled through a large window. The room seemed to be a small office, but it was homely, with abstract artwork on the wall and nice armchairs both in front of and behind the desk.

The person sitting at the desk was also faceless, but unlike the neutral tones of the secretary, it was wearing flowing fabric that shimmered between cool tones with each small movement.

It gestured to one of the armchairs and Clockwork sat, feeling as welcomed as he would have by a smile and friendly words. It would have been rude to speak when his host did not, so he stayed quiet and exuded his own pleasantries nonverbally, as some ghosts were wont to do. It seemed to be the right move, because the person nodded and Clockwork sensed its warm appreciation.

It opened a drawer and produced a slim file, sliding it across the desk to rest in front of him, and Clockwork recognised the paperwork that he had so painstakingly filled out over the past several months. The registration and application process had been long and arduous, and Daniel had been kept from all interested parties for the duration. He’d been kept here, in fact, but Clockwork knew that he had no hope of interacting with the boy before the petition trial was complete.

He skimmed through the papers, noting the extra stamp at the end of each page. The final page had a line to sign, and when he glanced up at the faceless being it beckoned for him to hold out his hand.

He did so, and it drew off his glove, exposing the pale blue flesh of Clockwork’s palm. With a sharp swipe a letter opener flashed across his hand and green ectoplasm welled in its wake, and Clockwork allowed his hand to be tilted so that a few drops fell onto the paper just above the line. It soaked in until it disappeared, leaving the white parchment spotless, and then Clockwork’s name etched itself out in flowing green script.

The person nodded approvingly and offered a strip of plain white cloth, which Clockwork allowed it to use to bandage his bleeding hand. Usually such a trifle wouldn’t be an issue, with the power to simply shift time around the wound and immediately heal, but with his abilities bound by this interdimensional space he would have to make do with the far more mundane option.

He reclaimed his glove but tucked it into his belt when the person shook its head at his attempt to put it back on. The bandage on his hand stood out starkly against the dark tones of his clothing, and he realised that it was a badge of honour, signifying that he’d come far enough to be considered a candidate for the judgement.

The being shuffled the papers back into order and rose from its chair, tilting its head in an unspoken request to follow when it moved towards the door. Clockwork complied, and when it opened he was not faced with the same hallway that he’d walked down before, but a large atrium filled with silver light that spilled through a delicately domed glass ceiling.

They entered on one of the upper levels that hugged the round wall of the space. It was a narrow walkway that led to individual evenly-spaced boxes, each holding a single seat. They called to mind witness boxes, although the chairs were carved from the same marble as the walls and floors, and inlaid with plush green velvet.

The lower level of the room was blocked from view by a shimmering barrier of black smoke that sparkled as though filled with stars. Clockwork watched it as he walked, and it drifted with the slow, soothing movements of gentle eddies. He looked up again once they reached the nearest box, and allowed himself to be ushered into the seat. It was even softer than it looked, and once he sat the same starry mist rose around him and cut off all sight.

He hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long, but quieted any irritation at the delay. Time was nothing, after all. He just needed to win the case for custody of Daniel, and then there would be all of the time in the universe, both known and unknown.

He comforted himself with that knowledge, and whiled away the waiting by planning the things that he’d do once he took Daniel home. It was a topic that had become a favourite among his daydreams, and he’d already prepared a room that was draped in constellations and held all of the comforts that the boy could possibly want. Beyond that, he’d already begun to make changes to Long Now. The clock tower, while perfect for Clockwork alone, was not conducive to the rounded development of a child’s core. As he’d laboured through the application process, Clockwork had changed much, working on making shared spaces like the kitchen and garden habitable for a halfa, and private spaces, such as his own viewing room, at least safe for Daniel to spend time in should the opportunity arise. After all, children always ended up where one least expected them to be able to reach.

His ability to sense time was unavailable here, but Clockwork still felt that his wait stretched for longer than was comfortable. He resisted the urge to leave his seat for a stretch, since technically he didn’t need one. This may be a part of the process itself, determining if he possessed the necessary patience to nurture a wilful creature such as Daniel.

Some time later, the smoke around him thinned, then dissolved in a breath of cool air. Clockwork blinked in the silver light, realising that since he had sat down he had been unable to hear anything aside from the small chimes and noises of his own internal rhythms. Now, he recognised the low murmur of voices in a tongue he couldn’t comprehend, and when he glanced down toward the noise he saw a platform jutting from the wall just above the cloudy barrier that was still in place below. It was crammed with figures that blurred Clockwork’s vision, and whenever he tried to focus on a single detail all others slipped into fuzziness until he could no longer recall anything.

These must be members of the infamous council, removed from the affairs of the infinite realms and truly impartial in every meaning of the term. They stood only for justice and harmony, maintaining delicate balances and judging only the most significant cases across realities.

Clockwork glanced up at the giant moon through the window, the source of the brilliant silver light. It was peppered with craters not dissimilar to Earth’s, likely to help put Daniel at ease with what he would be going through right now, and stars blazed in the cosmos that outlined the moon in a thin band between its edge and the round windowpane.

The same smoke that had shrouded him also drifted around the other boxes, which had been empty when he had first entered the atrium, and Clockwork tried not to show interest as it began to thin and reveal the people within.

Of course, Vladimir Masters would have been one to request inclusion as a candidate. He sat smugly in his space in the full ghastly splendour of his ghost form, and as his shroud dissolved into nothing he smirked at the other candidates before looking at Clockwork with a clearly confused lack of recognition.

The sight of the other two candidates, each in their own individual boxes, struck Clockwork’s soul like a flint, setting loose a spark of anger that he fought to keep from showing on his face. He forced himself to relax his shoulders and keep his hands loose in his lap, resisting the urge to grind his teeth as Madeline and Jack Fenton looked around. Their expressions were slack with awe, mouths open and eyes wide as they gazed at the surrounding splendour which they should have never had a right to witness.

He tamped down on the unruly emotion, reminding himself that each of them had a solid claim on Daniel, and that this was the only fair way to determine true rights to parentage. There was nobody else, and he was initially surprised at the lack of Frostbite, considering the level of support that he had provided over the past few years. He wondered if the relationship was less one of parentage and more one of worship and awe that blended into camaraderie, but brushed off any suppositions before they could colour his perception. Conjecture was useless right now, and he knew that he’d be able to piece things together later, once his powers were restored.

Madeline opened her mouth and clearly called for her husband, but no sound left her lips. Her brow pinched in building panic, and she tried again, with the same result. Vladimir waved a hand and her attention snapped to him, her panic melting into something harder and more accusatory as he shook his head and pressed his fingers to the hollow in his own throat.

Clockwork wondered at the display. Surely they’d been briefed as to the rules of the trial, including the inability to communicate verbally once it had commenced so that they would not be able to distract Daniel or each other throughout the process. Now that he saw who he was competing with for custody he wondered if this safeguard was to also arrest any untoward exchanges between ghosts and hunters.

A soft chime rang through the atrium, and all four of them looked down at the group of assembled judges. The speech in the unknown tongue had stopped, and they were gathered in a perfect line along their platform, watching silently. One rose from the middle of the line, floating into the centre of the room and nodding to each of the applicants in turn. You each hold claim to Daniel James Fenton Phantom as your child, a genderless voice whispered inside Clockwork’s mind, and each of you in turn has passed the preliminary application process when you were informed of the request for a custody ruling. This trial will determine which, if any, of you can recognise his deepest needs and see beyond your own ideals to accept who he truly is.

Out of the children below, all of them are the one to which you lay claim. You will see all stages of his becoming as individual persons. To pass this trial, you must understand him deeply enough to know which form is his final one, and offer a contrite and willing heart to heal his hurts and nurture him as he truly requires.

Take as long as you need, and from this moment, you will not be able to meet each other’s eyes or share any information that you may glean with other candidates.

May balance and justice be restored.

A stillness settled over Clockwork’s soul, all anger and irritation at his competition melting away as the chime sounded again and the judge returned to their spot in the line. The barrier of mist dispersed, revealing a round open space below them. There was a plush green carpet scattered with white pillows and blankets, and dozens of children were strewn amongst the softness.

Each one of them was Daniel, in varying stages of being and becoming.

Clockwork glimpsed a flash of pain on Jack Fenton’s face before his vision tunnelled, and then he could see nothing but the children bathed in silver light.

Daniel lay on a large floor cushion, breathing heavily as smoke coiled from his singed hair and clothing. His fresh lichtenberg scar pulsed an angry, deadly green, visible even through the suit that his parents had so lovingly custom made, unaware that it would become his funerary shroud. His uninjured hand lay over his heart as he panted, eyes closed, pain clear in his furrowed brows and gritted teeth.

The echo of black bones was barely there, but when he sucked in another breath one could glimpse deep, dark eye sockets and a jawline like a smudge of charcoal beneath semi-translucent skin that held the blue pall of death.

It was hardly his truest form, but still, the moment of his death was difficult to see.

Clockwork caught his cheek between his teeth and looked at the others.

One Daniel held himself like a superhero, hands on his hips and his shoulders thrown back with a jaunty smile on his face. His hair and white cape rustled in a nonexistent wind and he just… stood there, suspended in a snapshot of time.

Nearby slept the featureless figure of a child bathed in the fabric of the night sky, every inch of skin liquid with a flowing firmament that dripped and swirled with the rise and fall of his small, fragile chest. He stirred but did not wake, murmuring wordless nonsense sounds of contentment from whatever dreamland had claimed him. He was laying on one of the white blankets with his head resting on a folded arm, and another blanket pooled around his lower half, giving the impression of the night sky glimpsed through a gap between clouds.

As Clockwork watched, the stars and galaxies on his skin of liquid darkness bloomed into brilliant nebulae and sank into spirals that grew ever brighter as they dropped into cores of black holes, and it was as though he were watching the entire unfolding of a universe contained within a single person.

Beyond, there was commotion. Daniel’s wings were coming in, and he shivered as plumes of feathers overtook him in sprays that created layer upon layer of new appendages. There was an aborted noise, as though he tried to cry out, but then that dissolved into gentle bell-like chimes that slowly smoothed into a calmer cadence. The darkness in his hair and clothing were quickly overcome, melting away into more and more soft fluff until he was nothing more than a mass of glowing white feathers and wings draped with silken fabric. The child hovered momentarily, as though uncertain, before shivering again and fluttering over to sink into a pile of pillows and blankets that had been arranged to resemble a nest, perfectly sized for this new form.

Yet another Daniel was also changing, splitting beyond his skin until the husk of a body disintegrated into nothing and released a cloud of lime green essence that roiled and foamed until it dripped down into the gelatinous shape of a blob ghost. It peered around with wide green eyes devoid of whites or pupils, quivering but not yet able to take any greater form. When nothing else seemed to happen it began to fly around the room, moving frantically at first like a trapped bird, but slowly settling into a more leisurely pace once the shock of the change wore off and it found no way to leave.

There were many more, a few scores at least, and Clockwork took the time to carefully observe each and every one of them from his vantage point high up on the wall. While many seemed initially confused or distressed, and some even pained, they all slowly drifted into various stages of calm restfulness. One factor that linked each child was a note of softness, whether overt like the feathered shape or the space child, or more subdued, like the smudged bones and gentle smoke of Daniel’s first ghostly iteration, or the way that some of the harsher forms blurred into wisps at the edges, as though unfinished.

This was, after all, a distillation of essence. They were all Daniel, but only one of them was what he became when purified down into his truest form. Clockwork just needed to put aside any latent bias he might still hold, and look for the version that embodied Daniel at his most honest self.

There was one that caught Clockwork’s attention, sitting on a floor cushion with his head tilted up to watch the moon beyond the domed glass ceiling. His eyes were voids of darkness swathed with stars, and his slender body drifted like smoke when he moved to adjust his position.

He was clothed in a loose starry shirt that frayed at the edges into a pattern of Amity Park’s skyline lit with street lights and suburban buildings, but when he moved again the hemline morphed into an imitation of the swirling eddies of the ghost zone.

His death scar faded the longer he looked up at the sky until it was nothing more than the barest impression of a shadow on his skin, and stress lines smoothed away from his face as his mouth curved into a soft smile. He was wearing plain dark pants, form-fitting but clearly comfortable, and his feet were bare, toes curling in the thick green carpet as though it were grass. There were frost flowers in his hair and the stars in his eyes glinted blue and green as he stared straight to the heavens.

This child was equal parts incorporeal and solid, his past painful traumas clear but exactly that: in the past. His frame was so small and appeared frail in comparison to many of the others, but his aura shone beyond his boundaries with a soft, steady glow. Clockwork sensed a childlike curiosity that had not been present in the others, clear with a desire to drink in the knowledge of the universe in a safe environment at his own pace.

He shook himself when he realised that he’d been staring at this child for far longer than the rest. This version of Daniel was everything that Clockwork wanted for him, but just as he prepared to make his choice, he paused.

Was this truly Daniel, or simply the Daniel that he wished for? This was a test, after all. Each candidate must see a version that embodied what they desired the most in a child.

No, the true question here was which form embodied what Daniel most desired.

Clockwork looked again, carefully examining each version of the child he hoped to adopt. He would only get one chance at this, and if he failed, he would not be permitted to see Daniel again. He had to get this right.

He surveyed the room several more times, and each time, he was drawn back to the one staring up at the sky. Slowly, as he eliminated each other version as possibly being Daniel’s true self, he realised that perhaps the reason that he was so drawn to the peaceful, inquisitive, happy person who seemed to truly embody the balance between life and death was because this was the way things were meant to be. Clockwork knew Daniel as well as he knew himself, and he knew when he recognised the essence of the child that belonged in the safety of his care.

He made his decision, clasping his hands and leaning back in his seat. His vision cleared as he did so and restored his view of the rest of the room, revealing again the line of impassive, featureless judges and the other three people trying to lay their claims in this soul-deep custody battle.

It appeared that Madeline and Vladimir had finished ahead of him, which was expected, given the amount of times Clockwork had reviewed what he saw before choosing his child. They were both looking about the room and occasionally glancing down at the children, but none of their eyes met the other candidates’. Much of the pomp and pride had drained away from both of them, the hard lines of their shoulders and jaws smoothing into something gentler.

He turned away from them and looked back up at the moon. Now that he was removed from the pressure of choice he felt a wash of anguish for the changes that Daniel had clearly gone through, mindful of the pain and confusion he would have felt as he had cycled through those different forms until he had settled into his essence. It chafed, knowing that Clockwork had not been there to comfort him during the different stages of becoming.

Movement from the adjacent box caught his attention and Clockwork glanced over to see Jack Fenton still staring at the assortment of Daniels. Tears freely flowed from puffy red eyes and he wiped his bandaged hand beneath his nose before mouthing Daniel’s nickname. It was both fascinating and satisfying in equal parts, but Clockwork looked away quickly, trying to school himself lest the judges sense anything untoward in his feelings and dismiss his claim on the basis of unacceptable levels of bias. He didn’t know if it was a possibility in this case, but he'd heard of it happening before and didn’t want to take the risk.

Besides, he admitted to himself for the first time, if Jack was here then he clearly showed enough determination to care for Daniel’s needs and right past wrongs to qualify for a claim.

It took a while longer for Jack to make a decision, and Clockwork watched his own preferred child in the interim. The longer he looked the more peaceful he felt, surer with every passing moment that he had made the correct choice.

Eventually Jack leaned back, scrubbing his hands over his drenched cheeks as his shoulders trembled with silent residual sobs.

The dark starry barrier rolled back over the lowest tier, hiding the children from view once more. The judges dissipated into nothing and their platform melted away, leaving a smooth, featureless patch of wall in their wake.

Clockwork turned when something shifted beside him, and a guide who could have been the same one from earlier beckoned for him to leave through a door that materialised in the stretch of wall behind them.

He obeyed, sending one last glance to the people who had dared to challenge his claim to custody as they were similarly ushered away. Madeline frowned when she finally caught his gaze, and he only had a brief moment to wonder what she was thinking before he stepped into an office that mirrored the one in which he had signed the papers, except that the artworks on the walls were hand-painted starscapes interspersed with planets and nebulae that he didn’t recognise.

Through a door on the opposite wall stepped Jack Fenton.

A judge was waiting behind the desk, and motioned for the two of them to sit. Clockwork moved numbly, his mind racing as he took one of the armchairs while Jack collapsed into the other one. The man was still crying, the cuffs of his sleeves and the white bandage around one hand soggy from repeatedly wiping his face.

The judge looked to both of them in turn, the only indication of its shifting focus a subtle turning of the head. Congratulations on your joint custody of Daniel James Fenton Phantom, that same soft not-voice said, slipping between Clockwork’s thoughts. The pre-prepared living space in Long Now has been approved as his new residence, with minor changes required to accommodate the presence of Jack Fenton. No other persons are to interact with your child for the next six months without the approval of this court while he settles into his distilled form, and neither of you will leave him throughout this process.

Neither Vladimir Masters or Madeline Fenton are permitted to interact with your child from this moment on, and any ties they have to his soul or emotions will be severed immediately.

Congratulations on your joint adoption. Daniel has been moved to a comfortable waiting room to rest now that he has completed his initial process of becoming and assigned his parents. A guide will collect you presently. Once you have completed the introductory course in the next room, the two of you are free to collect your child, and return with him to your home.

May balance and justice be forever upheld.

The judge disappeared as a chime rang through the room, clear and true, and Clockwork’s core seized as his ticking clock skipped a beat. The universe shifted around them, and a deep, primal tie to Daniel imprinted itself upon him so firmly that Clockwork’s entire view of existence shifted.

He… he had a child.

Daniel was his child.

And…

Massaging his clock casing, he looked over at Jack Fenton, who was clutching his own chest. His eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing as he seemed to struggle to keep up with what had just happened.

Clockwork swallowed as the tightness that had been in his throat since the trial commenced fell away, and he sighed. The sound was a quiet chime, like a distant grandfather clock in the middle of the night, and then he shifted so that he turned in his seat to more fully face the person who, against all odds, had somehow managed to glimpse the truth of Daniel’s soul enough to gain shared custodial rights.

“Hello, Jack,” he said, surprised at how soft his tone was. Gone was the bite of anger that had been there previously, replaced with the recognition of a person whose goals and parenthood aligned with his own. “I figure that since we’re to share our child, we should at least know each other’s names: I am Clockwork the Timekeeper, longtime mentor and new parent to Daniel. I hope that despite our differences, we can work in harmony to help him become the best version of himself, whatever that may be.”

He smiled, showing just the barest hint of fangs, and Jack baulked for just a moment before visibly gathering himself and taking a deep breath in. “Nice to meet you, Clockwork,” he said, and to his credit, his voice barely trembled, though his eyes were still watery with the threat of further tears. He clearly glanced at the scar over Clockwork’s eye before looking away quickly. “I guess, since Danno’s a halfa, one parent from each side makes some kind of sense, right?”

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. “I never thought of it like that,” he confessed, leaning back in his seat. “And you don’t know it yet, but lack of knowledge is a rarity for me.”

Jack frowned. “So… we’ll be living in this Long Now place?”

“I’m assuming that your profession makes you at least passingly familiar with the concept of lairs,” Clockwork said. “It will be comfortable, and after six months have passed you will be able to come and go as you please. As much as this is unexpected, you’re right — it does make sense.”

Jack swallowed. “So, uh… what now? I feel like I should know more about you, and about Danny.”

“I’ll try to answer your questions, but I expect that someone will come to move us to the introductory program soon.”

He nodded, brow furrowing in thought. “Right, okay then. I’ll just ask a few questions while we wait, since you seem to know a lot more about me than I do about you. Um… uh… okay, I have to know. Do ghosts like fudge?”

He was an all-knowing, powerful being, an embodiment of control of the concept of time itself. Yet, in this tiny office, with his powers bound and with no ability to see the future beyond his own powers of logical deduction, Clockwork never would have guessed in a million years that this would be the first thing that Jack Fenton would ask.

It reminded him so much of Daniel that he couldn’t help but smile. It looked like, no matter how chaotic everything ended up becoming, things were going to work out just fine.