#feels like even updates about what's going on aren't entirely useless

[booasaur]

It's that time again!

If you can donate for or provide eSIMs for Gaza, they're in need of more:

If you just want to donate to a fund:

Some things to know about how Gazans are using eSIMs and how they're a literal lifeline for many people and why so many are needed:

[damnation-if]

Hi, I just played the demo and I loved it! I was wondering if you could give us an estimate of when the next update is coming?👉👈 (Or link a relevant post, if you already talked about and I just didn't scroll down far enough to see it 😆)

Also, I wanted to check, can you be in a romantic relationship with more than one character, and not just a sexual one? Because I might be in love with every single character in this game 🤭

hi, thank you! i'm glad you're enjoying the game :) i've answered the question about romancing multiple characters a couple of times in a couple of different asks but the posts all kind of link back to each other so you should be able to find all the info by. following the various links in each ask i think, starting here XD

i'm going to put the answer to your other question under a cut because some of it is quite emotional for me

i did Sort Of talk about this at the time when it happened, by which i mean that rather than making a post, i talked about it in the tags of an unrelated post i was using to distract myself (i think it was character playlists and how i'm not sure if it's a good idea to do them or not if i recall), but earlier this year while i was already going through a really rough time, my laptop died and i lost a lot of work on the game.

i knew my laptop was old and that this was possibly approaching so i made regular backups and the good news is that because i write in a separate word document and keep backups of those also i didn't actually lose any Writing. however. my twine has a problem in that every second or third game file that i publish from the build is Haunted - it contains passages i removed weeks ago, or writing that i deleted long before publishing it, that kind of weird annoying shit. (other authors have seen my files do this lmfao) and i just have to hope that the backups i make either won't be needed or aren't haunted. anyway... because hope is futile, the last backup i made was indeed haunted, and utterly useless to me as a recovery file. because it's just twine, i still have all the writing, as i mentioned... but i would have to re-code the entire chapter and put it all back together again because of how much the file did not export, which is a complicated and daunting process.

so i made a rambling explanation of this in the tags of a post and decided to take maybe a couple of days off and cool down from this specific disaster before getting into it.

i wake up the next morning to find the IF community absolutely plastered all over with Helpful Informative PSA posts about how Silly it is not to make backups and how if you just make backups you'll never have problems again and you should know better than to not make backups.

now. i'm not a catastrophist. i know for a fact that nobody was making or spreading these posts out of cruelty or a desire to make me feel bad. i also know that it's not particularly realistic to expect people who don't even know me to hunt down the source of a piece of hearsay that's like "i heard from someone that someone said that an author lost a bunch of their files and is really upset about it" to find out what the situation is and whether or not it's what they imagine. i don't even think the vast majority of people knew who it was that was the author involved, or who i am either.

but to already be going through an extremely stressful time and then lose my laptop on top of that and then be obliquely referenced by people i thought of as my peers as kind of just a big silly bumbling goose who didn't know how to manage my files and a "don't be like this person" attitude really, really hurt me. i can't express just how deeply it hurt me. one particular author was openly laughing at me and saying it was my own fault for being too stupid to make backups using a certain twine peripheral program.

so. there was a period of time where i could have found the motivation to just restart the whole chapter myself and re-code it in a frenzy because i wanted to get right back into writing it because. like a lot of authors, i LOVE writing. that's why i do this even when it's difficult. but that potential recovery was sandblasted away by the reactions of people that i thought of as my colleagues in some sense (even though i understand that they didn't do it with bad intentions, in most cases). and i hope people can understand that it greatly lengthened the amount of time i needed to spend away from the game recovering emotionally, despite being a Very Small issue to most people. i'm literally upset again just typing out this answer lmfao

however one other small piece of good news is that my laptop seemingly just lost the ability to turn itself on (because of its age) so i Think the hard drive is intact. meaning that i think i can get someone to pull all the files off it and just have them back fine once i do. the other piece of bad news is that my life is a trainwreck! and i cannot afford that right now. which is why i sort of pivoted to writing the 2000 follower celebration sidegame as a way to enjoy myself while i hurtle through hell sdjgbdfhfdgh

shortly after this thing with the laptop the house i was living in was sold out from underneath me, even though it wasn't supposed to be, and i had to find somewhere to live with my 18 year old cat, but the city i lived in had zero places that would allow cats (they're totally fine with Dogs though of course) so i had to move to an entirely new city on my own while worrying about her health. and right now i spend every fortnight desperately trying to scrape together enough to survive the next fortnight. there were entire months where i had no access to internet! it's been pretty Bad!!

so i get that people really want updates, and i'm really flattered that people do and it makes me happy that people like the game so much. but i am currently expending so much time and energy trying not to die lmfao, and i need to save up the money to get my files back around that. i truly cannot tell you when the next update will be, but i promise you that it Haunts me, probably more than you can imagine XD the sidegame will Definitely come out before it though, if that's something you're looking forward to.

thank you again for your message, and i'm sorry that i don't have good news for you. but i am trying, constantly. every day.

[popchoc]

I was underwhelmed by Arizona’s return. Love Arizona but yeah it could’ve been any doctor and nothing much would’ve changed since we got no updates on her life or no scenes with old friends other than Bailey. That was nice but I wanted more. The good was Mika, I love hers and Jules relationship but idk if they’ll actually invest in them since they kind of dropped Simone’s and Jules’s growing friendship and the idea of the entire group just hanging out at Meredith’s old house and being friendly a little too quickly. I understand that the interns are in trouble but I wish they’d kept the camaraderie and jokes because without the friendships it’s a regular boring medical drama. On the other hand, this episode made me realize that I as much as I like them, I really don’t care about Teddy Richard or Link. I really didn’t miss them or remember their storylines until the end especially Link he’s been kind of useless since Amelia dumped him, but I know they won’t get rid of him because that means getting rid of Scout. Too bad because he can go and take Jo and bring over Carina to be the rightful head OB she is instead of the invisible role she’s been playing for the past almost decade lol



Honestly? To me, even those moments with Bailey felt underwhelming. They are friends, the woman officiated her wedding for christ's sake... so why acting so damn formal? I guess it didn't help that they all went "world renowned blabla" (something that I already hardly buy when it comes to someone like Addison, for example), even though I do love her being amazing at her job. But you know... come on! Besides, her human side is what makes her a superstar. So yeah, some more of that would've been welcome for sure. Still, I did enjoy her being there.

I agree, it's a shame that the interns aren't that fun bunch anymore. A group like that could have a lot of potential, starting with simply being a fun watch. On the other hand, I'm having issues with Simone since pretty much the start (sorry, for some reason I just can't stand her) and by now I'm also very much done with Lucas' crying face (I bet they casted him for his droopy eyes, just to resemble Derek) and most of all his constant feeling sorry for himself - come on dude, you're a Shepherd, you're not any "less" (you're just an entitled brat who maybe simply isn't cut out to be a surgeon... you know, like 95% of the world). So I think I'm good, since them not being involved with the others only improve those scenes of the others by now.

Teddy's return was a disappointment (she was so much more interesting as Cristina's teacher and Henri's wife), but I do still like Link - though his best days were with Amelia.

Aren't Jo and Carina in the same field, but in different jobs/positions? Jo is a surgeon (now becoming an OB), while Carina is "just" a regular OB, as in not doing surgeries... right? Besides their exact titles/jobs though, I don't need everyone to be in charge. It's getting a bit old, as if job-wise there's nothing else to make a character more interesting. When Carina was introduced, she was doing her study (which we never heard of again). Now why not let her have some fun like that again? Anyone in for some crazy science, raise your hand! 🤪

[devsgames]

This post is circulating a little bit, and I've been keeping watch over some of Unity's communications and conversations over the official Unity thread on the topic. I just wanted to update with some other observations over the course of the day so this complaining doesn't stay totally out of date and isn't just me rambling nonsense:

Unity's communications on this from the outset have been entirely muddy and unclear for everyone. There's a lot of mixed messaging from basically every angle, with various different Unity channels saying at best contradictory or at worst untrue things.

Both their blog post and FAQ have been contradicting one another, and it feels clear that this new direction was either extremely poorly coordinated or severely undercooked (both of which aren't new for Unity). That's really really shocking for a change in pricing plan that affects literally everyone involved in the ecosystem.

Many mobile devs have pointed out that with small margins of profits and high install rates mobile games have, having to pay money to Unity per-install would basically tank many mobile companies.

The whole "you owe Unity money per-install" thing is completely ambiguous implementation-wise and communications-wise, which is a major problem considering that is the core metric for how developer would be charged for a payment scheme like this. Considering this data is virtually impossible to accurately track, it leaves this whole monetization plan on thin ice. This is why other pricing models go off revenue and not actual installs, because installs are so dubious to track.

Very few answers for how Unity would legally track that data (sending data from every Unity platform? Bypassing data laws from certain regions??).

Edge cases like piracy, children's games which legally can't track data, freelancers who use Unity licenses for their contract work for major corporations, etc. seem to be completely overlooked or ignored in this plan, meaning some developers simply don't have answers for how this will impact them.

Some folks have suggested that it's not a stretch to assume a malicious user could potentially re-initialize/install packages and 'force' a developer to owe Unity money, since there's nothing Unity can do to prevent this on their end. Review bombers could potentially exploit this and force devs to lose money.

Devs not running analytics can't accurately track their sold copies. Gamepass/Humble Bundle for example don't provide 'installed' metrics, so it's hard to know when you'll start owing Unity money, or how much to expect to owe. (I suspect this is why Unity is pressuring devs to adopt their built-in analytics).

Unity's previous small dev license (I'm forgetting what it's called) is being made obsolete as part of this, which was a fairly affordable and cheap way to remove the "Made With Unity" splash screen some companies hated. Many users pointed out that this was the only reason they paid for the license, and the only alternative to the Personal is one that costs considerably more.

Many of the features Unity has in its new, more expensive structure are 'AI powered' or generally useless for smaller developers who don't need any of that stuff.

Demos/early access etc. will work this way, and may potentially cost developers money to send to users.

Embedded WebGL builds count for this too, so potentially even viewing a web page would potentially incur a fee.

I'd recommend checking out this piece by Brendan Sheffield which goes over some thoughts on how this impacts indies specifically, and how Unity got here.

It is retroactive, so any game that has made over $200k and 200k copies can expect to have to start paying money as soon as this kicks in. Big game companies using Unity sure won't be happy about that!

Unity already seems poised to lose money from this move, and given how shaky this announcement was I wouldn't be surprised if a lawsuit or 10 come out of this, either from data-related issues or from devs who will suffer from this.

Preservation could potentially suffer from something like this as this potentially incentivizes developers to pull their games from shelves before they cross the payment threshold and start owing huge money to Unity.

Basing fees off installs makes it almost impossible for devs to predict their profits, because having to guess how many 'installs' users will have and by association how much money to put aside to pay Unity - is virtually impossible to do reliably.

The fact that there are so many confusing moving parts to this change speaks volumes about the outlook of Unity on the whole.

Some folks have been sharing around that the CEO of Unity sold a large number of shares before this all happened, so folks have speculated he knew this was a shit idea. The article also points out that insiders at Unity have only sold stocks and haven't bought any, meaning the outlook of the company from the inside is potentially poor.

Generally speaking, everyone hates this.

It's bad for small developers who now can't trust anything they make in Unity's ecosystem because Unity's fly-by policy changes, it's bad for medium-large developers who are lined up to to lose lots of money because of sudden change in payment structure, it's bad for consumers who will suddenly have Unity tracking their game installs on every platform. Hell, it's probably even bad for Unity who will lose money and significant user trust as devs start ditching Unity.

The 1-2 punch of both strong-arming their loyal userbase and doing so in a massively incompetent manner Unity is exercising really mind-boggling.

I'll update with more if new stuff happens, just felt obligated to make this a facts thing and not exclusively a complainy thing. 😉

Venting About Unity's Pricing Plan Nonsense

Venting here, but this morning Unity announced changes to their pricing plan including charging a "Unity Runtime Fee" to a developer any time a user installs the product on their PC above a certain threshold ($200k revenue and 200k downloads on personal plan, less for paid plans). Oh it's also retroactive to all existing products made with the engine.

They're trying to justify it by claiming "the Unity Runtime costs money to maintain" - which is unhinged because I'm no software expert but I'm fairly certain Unity Runtime has existed for about as long as Unity has been capable of making builds. So uhhhh.......it's a thing that has existed for like a decade now, at least. This isn't some expensive new thing, and it almost certainly hasn't gotten that much more expensive that it's suddenly costing them millions more to maintain.

If this seems like a raw deal for the developer don't worry - if they pull up their work and simply transition to using Unity's in-house ad service instead of external ones they won't be forced to pay as much. :) And what's more is if you buy the really expensive Unity plans you won't have to pay as much in Runtime fees! I'd sort of compare this deal to forcing a developer to move into their ecosystem at gunpoint.

I'm sure this is also related to them recently merging with ironSource - a mobile ad distribution software company - for a staggering 4.4 BILLION dollars. It's another string of stupid moves and gross exploitation by the company that in the last year has laid off 600 of its workers (8% of its global staff).

With their trajectory over the last few years, at this point I've generally just got zero faith in the suits to not plummet this software into the dirt..

[sweetestlamb]

Bring Me To Life

Summary: Kang Sujin has never had anyone to turn to, hiding behind a façade her entire life. Someone begins to peek behind the mask. 

Author’s note: My two favorite characters in TB are Seojun and Sujin, both characters who are honestly treated like trash by the writers. I cannot begin to tell how upsetting it was to see Sujin’s character assassination or how painful it is to watch her being physically abused knowing that the writers will not give her therapy or a true happy ending. She’s just here to be beaten and vilified. Seojun, I won’t even rant everyone knows what the problem is (idk who told them we wanted to see Start-Up the high school edition.) So I wrote this after watching the most recent episode and hating most of it for these reasons. I don’t know how far it’ll go or how often I can update, but I need my two babies to have a happy ending preferably together because the visuals are just a dreammmm. 

The rain crashes down loudly from aggrieved storm clouds bellowing above her in the sky, the chilled condensation plastering her thin satin pajamas to her trembling body. She had to get out, the pain in her cheek numbing and electrifying all at once.

How dare she tell him that she didn't want to get married, want to stand on her own two feet without a man giving her value?

His hand had flown across the room before she could sidestep the blow, the fragile glass filled with water in her hand- the very reason she'd left her room in the dead of night- shattering into jagged pieces as it collided with a greater force. Just like her.

She hadn't been trying to eavesdrop but it was hard not to hear him chuckling deeply on the phone, offering up his only child like she was an item on a menu.

"Yes we should set them up. It seems Suho isn't interested and she should marry young, that's when women are worth the most."

Nausea rolled like waves in the pits of her stomach and before she could think logically, her feet were sprinting into the living room, air barely filling her lungs as she stared at the man she'd never once thought of as a father. The last time she'd made the grave mistake of calling him daddy he'd smacked her so hard that was how she lost her first tooth. He'd been father ever since or Mr. Kang. She tried her best to avoid him at all cost, she would never be good enough and it was getting harder to hide the marks he left behind.

It was difficult to remember clearly what occurred seconds after her refusal to marry a man she didn't know left her lips, his fist connected and she was knocked back onto their coffee table the sharp edge cutting at her cheek. As she looked at him, anger painting his face a demonic red, fear crippled her and her hands twitched desperately wanting to wash them raw. Then he grabbed a thick marble ashtray from the table and her instincts took over and she was out the door, running as fast as she could, knowing her life was at stake and she couldn't afford to stop.

When the cloud in her head cleared that was when she found herself at the bus stop.

Judgmental whispers breeze by her ears as people passed by with umbrellas, shocked to see the young girl crying in her pajamas at the stop, but none stopped to offer her help or inquire about her situation, happy just to pass judgement. She ignores them all, panicking racing through her blood until she's unable to breathe, choking on nothing as she twitches in the harsh air. Her throat constricts as she screams at herself, breathe. 

Breathe.

BREATHE! 

But it's useless as her body shuts down, forgetting how to do the basic function, she sways as she starts to feel light headed from the lack of oxygen and with a final wheeze she collapses. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He signs as he weaves past cars moving far too slowly, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he marginally misses nipping a car to the left of him, easily dragging his motorcycle away with the fluid movements of his body. He glares up at the sky before cursing, "Fucking weather report didn't say anything about a sudden rainstorm." If he'd known he would have stayed home, always hating the rain. It brought back bad memories.

Halting at a red light, he puts his leg down for balance bouncing slightly in place. Pulling the shield up on his helmet he glances around, recognizing the area easily, before something in his peripheral catches his attention, a lump on the ground. Tilting his head he revs his trusty iron steed to live, riding over to the direction of the mysterious mass on the wet ground. As he gets closer his heart falters, it's too evident now. 

It's a person.

Jumping off his bike and pushing out the kickstand he flings his helmet off, his hair immediately drenched under the downpour as he races over to help. As he nears the figure, it becomes clearer it's a woman wearing what looks like sleep clothes. Momentarily he wonders if this is a crazy person and if he should just mind his business but a frightening image of his little sister unconscious on the ground and no one coming to her aid flashes in his mind.

"I'll just check if she's breathing and call an ambulance. That's all, if she tries to attack me I'll just ride away." He takes a deep breath, collecting his courage before closing the gap between him and the unconscious woman.

Crouching beside her, he reaches out a hand hesitating before sighing and shaking at her cold shoulder. No response. He shakes harder now, watching the motion quake through her entire body, but still she is unresponsive.

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay? Wake up, you're scaring me!" He starts to jiggle her with both hands, before he crawls into her space not caring about his safety any longer, the idea that this unknown woman might be dead is making him nauseous. People are always dying without his permission. It's so frustrating.

"Wake up! Come on!" He shouts at the figure now holding both her shoulders and turning the woman over, lifting her face from its place on the ground, cradling her limp body in his lap. After two more vicious shakes, she starts to cough and groan in his arms. Relief swims through his veins as he watches her come back to life, anxiously watching as her dewy long lashes flutter open and he's caught in a lifeless deep gaze.

"Han Seo-Jun?"

It takes a long pause for him to register that the woman has said his name and then a longer moment to recognize who she is.

"Kang Su-Jin?" He replies in genuine shock, taking in the wom--young girl in his arms. She's shivering so violently that it's becoming difficult to hold onto her, vibrating out of his hold before he grips her tighter, whipping off his jacket without second thought and wrapping it around her. Goosebumps raising on his skin as his body mentally berates his lack of survival skills.

"What are you doing here?" She looks at him bewildered as if the stranger occurrence is his presence and not her own.

He squints his eyes looking back at her, "I could ask you the same thing. I found you unconscious here. I thought you were...." He trails off unable to utter the rest of his sentence.

"You should have left me here. Maybe I would have. If I was that lucky."

"What? Are you crazy, you want to die? Did you do this to yourself, what are you on?!" He roars at her, rage flooding his system as he shouts at the stupid girl, how dare she try to kill herself and leave her body for him to find? He wishes he had taken a different route, that he'd never come across her. He was in no state to comfort someone who was suicidal, still too raw and hurt. What was so hard about living that made people want to do that? Hot tears gather in his eyes as he abruptly pulls away from Sujin, unapologetic as she tumbles to the ground without his support.

She starts at him, stunned before righteous fury twists her features and she roars back at him.

"Who are you to judge me! I didn't ask you to help me, leave me alone!"

He glares back at her ready to yank his jacket away and run away from her but a small movement stops him, as she's screaming at him a small muscle twitches in her cheek bringing his attention to said cheek. It's nearly purple, standing out obscenely on her pale skin and then he notices the split lip and the bruises on her neck and he's so ashamed of himself he could bawl.

He deflates before speaking to her, "What happened to your face? Who did this to you?"

He doesn't know what kind of look he has on his face but before his questions can even settle between them she's sneering and twisting away from him, throwing his jacket on the ground before making her escape. Unprepared for her sudden departure he reacts too late, before chasing after her. It's easy to close the distance separating them with his long legs and within seconds she's merely inches in front of him, he reaches out a large hand to grab her wrist but hesitates recalling the bruises littering her frame. Instead he races past her, blocking her with his body swerving to the left and then the right when she tries to dodge him. They play this cat and mouse game before she finally gives up, glaring up at him with moist enraged eyes.

"Why do you care? We aren't even friends!"

Her piercing shout rings in his ears as he looks down at her passively. He can't answer that question, doesn't know what brought him to this area so late and not understanding why he was the one to find her in this condition. He doesn't know why he cares. But maybe things could have been different if Se-Yeon had someone to chase him. Maybe he'd still be alive...

So he answers her honestly.

"I don't want anymore people to die."

To his complete shock she starts to cry, tears falling rapidly from her eyes before she crumples to the ground, the rain pounding on her head and he stands still unsure of what to do before he drapes the jacket he'd rescued from the ground over her head, shielding her from most of the thunderous downpour. When she looks up to see the jacket protecting her, he almost falls backwards as her head slams into his chest, her tears simmering hot on his chilled body. It's almost painfully uncomfortable but he doesn't move away. Letting her cry on his chest, his shirt is soaked anyway this makes no difference.

He doesn't know how long they are crouched there on the ground, so dark that the sidewalk is completely devoid of anyone else, it feels like they are the only two people left on Earth.

"If we stay here you're going to get a cold."

He voices his concern but the only reply he receives is a gross sounding sniffle and he grimaces, knowing that his poor shirt is probably damaged beyond repair covered in snot and tears.

Sighing he starts to repeat himself before she whispers, "I don't have anywhere to go."

"I can take you home." Her fists tighten in his drenched shirt, he can practically feel the fear wafting off her, he'd assumed the marks on her face were from a possessive unhinged boyfriend but her reaction makes him uneasy. He tries to push those unpleasant thoughts to the corner.

"What about your friends? Why don't you call Su-ah or Ju-Kyung, I’m sure they’ll help you.” 

She stiffens in his arms before shaking her head in decline.

"No. I can't let anyone else see me like this. I don't need them looking at me the way you did, like I'm a sad pitiful puppy. I never want anyone look at me like that again."

He can respect that, he never wants to appear weak in front of others. It was easier to become angry and lash out rather than showing your true heart, nobody could hurt you that way.

"Then what? Where do you want to go?"

"I have nowhere to go. I'll stay here until morning. I'll be fine, you can go."

He looks at her dumbfounded, what kind of man would leave a battered woman alone in the rain? He wasn't raised by animals, damn it.

"Let's go." He makes a point not to touch her, their only point of connection are her hands twisted in his shirt.

"What?"

He bulldozes past her confusion, looking at her with what he hopes are comforting eyes.

"I'm taking you to my house. I can't just leave you here."

"Are you crazy? Don't you live with your mother and sister, what will they say?"

He winces at the logical inquiry, he had already considered that himself, thinking of his mother's subsequent smacks and his sister's teasing once they learned what he'd done but still deciding that he has no other choice. He can't just leave her here.

He shrugs, "That's my problem to worry about. I'm not leaving you here, I'd really like to get out of his rain. Let's go." He repeats himself harder, pleading with her.

She looks away and he's prepared to throw her over his shoulders and face the consequences when he hears her response, "Okay. Let's go."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It's a quiet ride back, the engine rumbling through the aching bones of her frozen body. Han Seojun. The last person she ever expected to see after being roused from her panic induced collapse. Her arms tighten around his thin waist as he swerves around a car, adrenaline and fear battling for dominance in her body. When her fingers accidentally brush across wet bare skin she quickly moves her hands higher, fighting the embarrassment that washes over her.

If he notices she can't hear his reaction over the roar of the motorcycle.

When they finally pull up to a small apartment, she loosens her hold on him cracking her frozen digits.

"You didn't need to hold that tightly, I wasn't going to let anything happen to you. I ride this everyday you know."

She doesn't reply focusing on getting off the bike, swinging her leg over and hopping off not graceful but effective, a small proud smile spreads on her face before she gazes back at him.

He stares back before shaking his head, as if lost in a daze before he stomps off for her to follow.

Wordlessly she trails behind him, feeling foolish in her duck pajamas, a gift from Su-ah.

When he pushes his front door open, letting her in first she steps out of her sopping wet house slippers standing awkwardly looking around.

"Stay here. I'll get towels so we don't trail too much water."

She nods at his command, gazing at the floor and seeing how much water is already pooling around her feet.

"Here." He hands her a fluffy pink towel, she raises an eyebrow at the color.

"It's the guest towel. I wouldn't give you my towel."

That makes sense, sharing towels is far too intimate for the relationship they have. That being none. 

She rapidly towels at her hair, before running the towel down her body and wrapping it around her waist.

"You can use the bathroom. It's the second door on the right. I'll bring you dry clothes."

She steps cross the doorway, finally entering his home. Before she turns back to him staring directly into his eyes, "Than.... You didn't have to do this." She loses her confidence but his answering smirk lets her know he understood enough, with that she walks to the bathroom locking herself inside.

The sight of her bruised face in the mirror makes her pause, reaching up to finger at the stark purple mark on her cheek. She's crying before she can control her emotions, tears dripping into the sink as she remembers her night, how close she was to the end despite what she said to Seojun she wanted to live. As her father stood above her ready to snuff her out like a mere nuisance in his life, she realized with a burning passion how desperately she wanted to live.

A soft knock drags her back to reality as she rapidly wipes her tears away.

"I'm leaving clothes by the door. You can come out whenever you're ready. I'm making tea."

When she hears the light steps of his feet moving away from the door she opens the door a crack, picking up the neatly folded pile of clothes. Sending the boy a mental thank you before closing the door quietly.

It's clear that these clothes belong to Seojun, draping off her body, too large for her frame, a black T-shirt with a microphone on the center and sweatpants that cover her feet as well, he'd even remembered to bring her socks. Instantly she feels her body warming as her body temperature returns to normal. 

Folding her wet clothes and splashing water on her face then using the towel to rub it dry, she exits the bathroom walking towards the light she sees assuming that's the kitchen.

"The water's almost done boiling. Sit down."

His deep voice greets her as she follows his orders and takes a seat.

"Are these your clothes?"

"What? Oh yeah they're mine, sorry my sister locked her door. They're very old though, I haven't worn them in years I thought they would fit you better." He eyes her as he says the last sentence, "I guess it didn't make much of a difference I'm just too tall and manly for my own good."

She scoffs at his narcissistic comment rolling her eyes "Tall and manly my foot. You're so skinny I could probably pick you up with one arm."

He immediately turns at her comment, affronted look on his face, "Shut up! It's hard for me to put on weight, I'm not that skinny."

He places his hands on his hips, looking down at himself before puffing his chest out to make himself appear broader, it's so ridiculous that she can't control her reaction.

Sudden uncontrollable laughter.

She laughs breathlessly, folding onto her lap trying to contain her giggles but his scandalized look makes her laugh harder and she has to stuff her face in her elbow to prevent herself from waking his family.

After a few minutes of random spasms of laughter she finally peers back up at him.

He looks just like he did outside when she'd smiled after successively getting off his motorcycle.

"What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. I just never see you smile at school."

"Well you never do anything worth smiling about." She quips back, wondering if she'd gone too far but he doesn't reply beyond a slight smile that's gone too fast to even be titled that, he places her steaming cup of tea before her sipping at his own after blowing on it.

They drink in comfortable silence.

She's the first to rapture the silence, "I don't need pity."

"I don't pity yo--"

"But thank you. Thank you for stopping. Thank you for this, thank you."

He stares wordlessly before nodding, a slight blush on his cheeks before he hides his face in the cup of tea. She doesn't bring attention to it.

"You can sleep in my room. It's the door next to the bathroom."

Humming she looks up, fatigue hitting her like a brick at the mention of sleeping.

"Where will you sleep?"

"I have a perfectly good couch, don't argue you're sleeping in my room. That's final. It's better that my mother doesn't see a strange woman on the couch when she wakes up."

Well, she can't argue with that logic.

"Okay." Drinking the last of the soothing beverage, she stands up walking over to place the cup in the sink.

"Good night." She starts to walk back in the direction of the bathroom, seeing another door next to it. Seojun's room. Twisting the doorknob she pushes it open, before she hears his voice from behind her.

"If you need anything I'm right outside."

Blinking her tears away, she nods without looking back, too vulnerable with his palpable concern.

When she lays her head down on his pillow, his scent fills her senses and she falls into a deep restless slumber feeling safer than she has in long time.

Tomorrow will be horrible.

But tonight, she will allow herself to breath easy knowing that someone is on her side.

[yuvon-writes-letters]

Hey guys :)

Maybe I'm going chronological for one time, so I can sort my thoughts easier.

Yeah, Goldie's much mire active than I would've thought, too. But they did all those things to keep me alive and kind of save, since we still don't know who they are exactly working against. (I mean, we don't know who Goldie exactly is either, but you get my point)

Honestly, I am pretty sure the TSB timeline is continuing, at least if my theory that Goldie just set me back in an alternate timeline is true. In this case I feel sorry for TSB, though..Extremely sorry. He still was 'my' Jake back then, even though he acted weird in the end (maybe was manipulated by entities). I mean, if what he wrote was true he went with authorities. And in the end..this could've been his downfall.

And yeah, maybe I'm not exactly safe, but I just have to go back. If I go, and if I lose my job, I have some things to sort out. And Jake luckily agreed with me that clearing up my desk isn't the worst thing I can do before leaving. We're still thinking about a location, which I could luckily deside myself. Max agreed on that. Even though he still has some doubts. (I mean, of course...His cousin opened the door with bruises all over her face.) He did promise to not ask any questions until I feel ready, though. That gives myself and Jake some time to figure that out.

And also, Jake is right! We have three Jakes and three smart people. YUVON. And of course Goldie, like you said Yu :) And some information about the previous timeline. (And that was it with being chronological)

So yeah, like I said, Max and I'll go. And I also think we can be pretty certain now that the message came from Goldie not the MWAF (which is relieving). I saw the messages and they didn't make Jake the bad guy. I honestly just don't think I can quote them yet. (They're too good, but I probably start daydreaming if I do) But they talk about Jake being an important part of my life and my heart and Max protecting me when he cannot. My dear cousin jumped to conclusions when he saw my bruised face. About Max' phone...I'll probably throw it in a river or something if he brings it with him. I told him not to, also because of Jake (he's not only worried about the MWAF apparently...He didn't exactly say it out loud, but I think it's pretty obvious) but he loves this device.

And I emphasize with you about the being kidnapped thing, you'll manage it, I know it :) And if I need to jump dimensions and box some sense into your Crow-Crew xD

No but for real, you can do that. I know it :)

Jake, find a good point in time to talk to her. But do it :)

Otherwise, I still think the 'underlying desire' theory is a possibility! But, like always in the moment, we could be wrong.

As for my stasis, I really do not wish to talk to more people who think I've been kidnapped. And I am a bit scared that could somehow lead to either them or me being in more danger again. But for now we have to wait.

I for now will pack some important things and paper & pens xD I don't want to leave y'all behind :P

Liska🐾🔥

[A screenshot is glued to the back of the letter and the quick sentence "Jake wants to talk to Jake" is written above]

Hello Jake, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am not quite sure in which way Liska will handle giving you my message, but she promised me to not read it for now.

I don't know whether she told you before or not, but as far as I am concerned she realised I am not only worried about the MWAF chasing her.

With me breaking out of this stasis I am sure that my followers aren't that far behind. And I know you can't do anything from where you are, but cross checking way to protect her doesn't seem to bad to me. Especially since we are similar but still fairly different from each other. At least it seems like that from what I have read.

For my part, I recently improved and updated Nym-OS which allows me access to Liskas whereabouts. If Yuvon should read this, she knows and agrees to it.

Still I am yet stuck on one little detail: I am trying to help Nym-OS in counterattacking. So, even though I am sure you already knoe this yourself, Nym-OS gets the ability to access location of the people attacking Liskas phone. I am almost done with that, so we are able to see a bit easier if and where people are that could be a danger.

Do you have any other ideas for ways I could help? Or even improve what I am doing momentarily. I wouldn't normally ask this since I know and trust my skills, but I think that this is fairly different from a 'normal situation'.

~ Jake

Lis,

Um. I don't know if you've seen the newest person to send in a letter, but we now have an issue.

Jessy, if you're reading this, I was sort of trying to avoid talking about this right away but I'm sort of trapped in a weird place, and Jake's here too because I'm a dumbass. I did not, so you know, let him read your letter or my reply. I figured you wouldn't want that. Sorry for dancing around the issue earlier :/ But at least you can get a good sample of the complete insanity we go through on the regular now!

Yeah... you're getting thrown into the deep end right now, aren't you. Sorry. There's no way to ease into this. You should probably either stop reading these entirely or start reading the letters from the beginning, so this will all at least make some sense. The first letter should start with the words "To whoever reads this," just so you know you get the right one.

Back to you, Lis. Yeah, I feel pretty bad for TSB Jake too. I honestly can't imagine being in his position right now.

Alright. So, you can choose the place. Great! There's way less chance of you being caught that way...

Tragedies just seem to be happening to all us Duskwood detectives, recently, don't they? Rai is chronically overworked and barely has time to sleep, I'm stuck in this hellhole and I've been forgotten by most everyone, you were shot, and poor Matt died and... well.

I never knew him, but I feel really bad for him :(

You could give Max half the truth. Tell him you have a stalker, and he's starting to get physical. Jake has been trying to help you get away from the asshole. It's not even a lie, just... not the full truth. Because. You know. The whole truth is completely fucking insane.

Writing to Jessy just put into perspective how insane everything is, I think. Gimme a sec.

Oh, fuck. My Jessy just texted me. Great timing.

Jeez that whole thing with me leaving myself out was just a joke XD If I knew you and Jake would take it so seriously, I'd never have said anything. I'll steer clear from now on.

Yeah, okay, definitely Goldie. That makes way more sense. I don't think you have to be quite so drastic as destroying the phone. Just get him to leave it at home for the trip.

Ahaha, thanks. I don't think that's necessary, though. Actually, seeing future!Jessy's perspective has caused a bit of a paradigm shift. I think I might need to reconsider what all to tell and not to tell the Crow Crew. I just sort of default to keeping things secret, now, but you've seen how well that worked for me with you and Rai, and with Jake.

Again, you probably should wait for them to contact you first, but you WILL need to talk to them when that happens. What you say to them and what you don't is up to you.

Pack a couple different pens XD We're all a bit long-winded.

That's all from me :)

(The handwriting changes to Jake's.) Hallo, Lis.

Yuvon refuses to tell me what precisely she means about Jessica. Was she somehow contacted by an alternate version of Jessica? If so, how?

I am glad it was Goldie who contacted Max. Yuvon's suggestion for an excuse seems a good one, as there are far less things to remember that way. You simply need to oversimplify everything.

I do not, unfortunately, entirely believe that Yuvon was joking when she made that comment, based on previous comments and her ongoing guilt. I can't understand sometimes why she feels the need to lie so much. It is difficult for me to read people, much less her.

I will speak to her eventually. Early tomorrow, perhaps, if nothing else rears its head. Yuvon looks tired, and I am also admittedly not at my peak. I sincerely hope she does not wake up as early as she does every single day. It may get somewhat taxing, what with the lack of coffee here.

I think that is all from me to you, Lis. If you would kindly find a way to send the next section to my counterpart without looking at it, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you :)

—Jake and Yuvon

Jake,

It is a pleasure to meet you as well, despite the unusual circumstances.

That our pursuers may be freed from the stasis is a logical conclusion. Seeing as the last known location I had on them in my universe was approximately five hundred miles from Duskwood, they will likely be some of the first to free themselves from the stasis. I do not believe I need to warn you that time is of the essence.

It seems as if I am a small distance ahead of you in the development of countermeasures, perhaps because I have had more linear time to develop them. If you are where I think you are at in the development, you likely have or will soon hit a bug you cannot pin down that makes the pinpointing mechanism simply refuse to work at all. Presuming your and my version of NYM-0S are similar enough, the issue should lie in the public bool set in line 132 of the third part of the targeting script, the script that decides what constitutes a target; you have it defaulted to "false" where it should default to "true".

As for additional countermeasures: I was attempting to work on a rudimentary automated system of pattern detection when I was brought here. Essentially, its function would be such that it would be able to triangulate using the locator features already installed to find a rough estimate of where their headquarters might be. However, I have not found any way thus far to eliminate outliers, and as such the feature is currently next to useless. I am no longer able to work on the code, but perhaps you will have more luck than I did.

That is all I can think of for the moment on that subject. However, I have an odd theory on what may be part of the reason we vary so. If you have a moment to spare, please answer me this:

When I was very young, back when Mother was still around, she took me to a doctor for odd behaviors. This included not looking people in the eyes, but there was a list. I was given a diagnosis; if you had the same experience, you should likely know which one.

Did you have this experience? If so, please prove it by stating what the diagnosis was.

Do not worry if you do not know what I am talking about; I would rather you did not guess. Simply state that you don't know. It will confirm my theory.

Good luck with your pursuers.

—Jake

(The letter tucks itself in the paper clip with the others.)

[panda-noosh]

HC with Allura where during a meeting for a possible alliance her S/O noticed that someone was about to assassinate her, so they took the hit of a poison dart (highly lethal to Alteans) for her with no known antidote (painfully survivable for humans, but no one knows that). The pods aren't working, so how's she handling with her S/O unknowingly recovering for days thinking that they're slowly dying. Bonus points if you add the rest of the crew platonically for both her and their 'dying' friend.

I added Coran in,since I have such an aesthetic in my head for him if he was facedwith this situation. Enjoy!

   Allura:

  -shewould put on such a front that it would be unbelievable.

  -everybody knows she is hurting, completely dying on the insidebecause she blames herself for everything that happened, but shedoesn’t want themto know that.

  -she’ll be walking around the ship, trying to be her usual self buther skin has lost that little bit of colour, and it’s clear shehasn’t slept since it happened.

  -that wouldn’t stop her from working, though. that’s how she distractsherself, because that’s all she wants – a distraction.

  -she wouldn’t ask for updates on your health, wouldn’t go in and seeyou every two minutes – she would literally get all of the shipswork done in a matter of hours because she’s just busying herself somuch.

 - tries to stop the conversation whenever people talk about you.

  -I think it’s more of her trying to detach herself from the situationand pretend that she wasn’t even there to experience it. she wants tostop her feelings from getting any further than they already havebefore they completely destroy her.

  -she doesn’t wanttolose her feelings for you. they were the strongest feelings she hadfelt in a long time, but she feels like she has to because she trulybelieves you’re going to die.

 -she’s preparing herself for the moment your heart genuinely stops.

- at night, though, there’s no hiding her sadness and her guilt.

 - she always sleeps in the room you’re in, because that’s the timewhen she thinks she can finally let go, and she does.

 - every night she sits by your bedside and reads to you, even thoughshe has a hard time reading modern day books. she tries her hardestthough, because she knows you like them.

  -it’s very rare that she’s actually able to get through the entirechapter before she breaks down into tears, silently begging you towake up.

  -everyone would hear her. nobody would say anything. at least she wasletting her emotions out.

   Shiro:

 -Shirohad tried to grab you whenever he noticed you were going to jump infront of the dart.

 -he has quick reflexes. he took one look at you and just kind of knewwhat you were about to do, so obviously, he tried his hardest tosnatch you back before you could.

- but whenever his reflexes weren’t quite quick enough, he felt likehis world was crumbling.

 - you and Shiro had always been close. mainly because Allura likedShiro a whole lot, you liked him as well. he made Allura happy,therefore he was worthy of your own kindness in your eyes.

  -so whenever the dart hits you and your skin immediately starts toturn blue, the poison in your veins illuminating due to the power ofit, he can’t help but blame himself fully for it all.

 - he truly thinks he had to save you, just because you had given him achance of a lifetime with being a Paladin.

  -he would be angered. nobody would be able to say a word to him, andwalls would be punched and rude comments would be thrown, all becausehe’s angry at himself.

  -the best thing to do right now would be to leave him by himself, andeverybody does. they barely speak two words to him throughout thistime, because he’s either training to let off steam, or he’s lockinghimself in his room, yelling curse words at the top of his lungs.

   Keith:

  -outof all of the Paladins, Keith was certainly the one you were closestto.

  -you loved them all, but Keith knew you and him had a specialconnection.

 - during the time when he was dealing with finding out about where hecame from, that he was half-Galra, you had actually helped convinceAllura that he wasn’t a bad person just because he was half-Galra.

 - you were part of the reason why Allura didn’t hate Keith and he wasextremely thankful for that.

 -so whenever he looks up to see Shiro and Coran dragging you into theship, your head lulled onto your shoulder and Allura sobbing behindyou, he feels his stomach drop.

  -he feels completely useless. you had done so much for him in terms ofhis progression as a Paladin, and he could do nothing but sit backand watch as you slowly decay in front of him.

  -and it makes him feel like shit.

 - not particularly guilty – just upset. upset that he can’t doanything about it, though he knows that’s not his fault, which isgood.

  -he would be the one who was always by your bedside. he sees everybodywalking in and out of the room, because he doesn’t leave the room.

  -upon finding out that Allura didn’t want to see you in such a state,and that she was having a little bit of a crisis within herself atthe moment, Keith took it upon himself to be your company.

 - he doesn’t speak. he simply sits by your bedside and gets on withwhatever physical work he has to get on with.

  -that is until Allura comes in and he leaves the room, giving her sometime to talk to you herself.

   Lance:

 - lancedefinitely wouldn’t know what to do, but he’d try and figure it out.

  -along with Pidge, he would be doing non-stop research on the poisonwhich had been injected into your system. he wouldn’t let himselfmope around, wouldn’t let himself show any sign of sadness, eventhough that was all he felt.

 - he’d want to find a cure, and that was what he was working towards.

 - he would lose sleep. he would literally stay up for daystohelp Pidge and Coran find this antidote.

 - as Coran and Pidge slowly lose hope with finding one, he’s the lastone to keep looking. he’s in a bit of denial, because howcan they just notlive? how can wejust notcure them?

 - that’s his thought process. he doesn’t understand how there can benothing thatcan help.

 - and he also doesn’t understand how it’s you who was having to gothrough this.

 - Lance and you had always been very close. you had a joking-side overthe top of that business-person persona you often put on for thebenefit of Coran. he was hyper enough – you didn’t need any more.

 - but you and him always managed to have a laugh when you weretogether, and Lance doesn’t want to lose that.

   Hunk:

 - hewould be the peace-maker amongst everyone.

 - he would ignore his own feelings because he wants to make everybodyelse feel okay.

 - of course, he’s terrified. you’re a good friend of his, so heobviously doesn’t want to lose you.

 - but at the same time, he’s concerned about everybody else as well.not only does he think he’s losing you, but he thinks he’s losingeverybody else as well. everybody has become so hostile and so angrytowards one another, that he takes it upon himself to stop that.

 - he makes sure everybody speaks to him about their feelings at leastonce – except Allura. she’s being far too stubborn and she’s toofar gone to really get through to at this point.

 - he cooks for everybody every night and makes sure everyone is eatingright and keeping their physical health in check, because he knowsthat a deteriorating mental health can have an effect on the physicalaspects, as well.

 - does daily night checks of the Paladin’s rooms to make sure they’reall asleep at an appropriate time.

  -also checks your room to check on Allura, but she never notices him.he’s very quiet, very respectful when he’s checking on herspecifically.

   Pidge:

 -alongsideLance and Coran, she’s part of the team that is looking for theantidote.

 - she has a lot of respect for you, just like you do for her. shefinds your intelligence admirable, and your leadership skills are todie for.

  -so she doesn’t really want you leaving anytime soon.

  -and so she gets on with research almost as soon as she can. she takesa few moments to just kind of stare into space, unsure of what toactually do at first.

  -should she cry? should she comfort Allura? should she run off andhide in her room like Shiro was doing?

 - she didn’t really know. it wasn’t until she saw Coran, completelybeside himself (you were like a younger sibling to Coran),desperately looking for a cure almost as soon as he could get hishands on a computer.

 - that was what pulled her out of her state. she immediately got up tohelp him, though her hopes weren’t high.

 - she had heard of the poison, heard of it’s savage effects it had onpeople, but she didn’t share that with anyone. she was far too scaredof shaking the already wobbled mood of the group.

 - so she just works. through the day and through the night, takingonly short nap breaks in between that Hunk orders her to have. thoughshe isn’t hopeful, she believes it’s the least she can do to make upfor everything you did for her whenever she was training to fly thegreen lion.

   Coran:

 -Coranhad basically raised you.

  - you and Allura were like daughters to him – two of the people hecould talk to about anything and everything. so upon seeing yourstate, he would be panicked as hell.

  -he would cry before he did anything. completely bawl.

  -at the same time, he’d be trying to comfort Allura but nobody couldunderstand a word he was saying through his sobs and his tears.

 -but after he’s done crying, he’s probably the most helpful out of allof them.

 - he deals with Allura at the same time as he deals with you. he’sresearching antidotes and getting every piece of information he canfind whilst at the same time, being the one person on the ship whocan get Allura to sitdown and take a minute.

- heof all people knows just how much you meant to Allura, and Coranhates the idea of Allura missing that part of her. seeing Allurawithout you by her side is like seeing her without her left arm orsomething.

 - and that’s his drive, really. he wants to see you two togetheragain, because he didn’t spend seven months trying to get you two todate for you to just die and leave her again.

 - and at the same time, you make him happy. you, Allura and Coran werethe three amigos, the three muskateers – the ultimate squad on theship.

 - you were one of the few people who could actually put up with himand his hyper mood, and he was notaboutto lose that. not if he could help it.

 - he’s also the person who treats you. he keeps you at the righttemperature as your knocked out, and he and Keith sit together and heinforms you of the day he had, because he always used to do that. itwas your daily thing to sit down with Coran and just talk about yourday, and he wants to continue on that habit, even if you can’t hearhim.

[funny-relatable]

there's a new app or something

Girl: Did you get the new app?

Boy: What app?

Girl: The new app, stupid.

Boy: What does it do?

Girl: It's new! Check it out. *fires up app*

New App: *in a fresh and cool voice* Welcome to the new app.

Boy: I still don't understand what it does.

Girl: You can press this button here and it checks for the latest version of the new app. Watch. *boop*

New App: Boop received. There are ZERO new updates.

Girl: Isn't it cool?

Boy: I'm really not into it.

Girl: C'mon. You have to be. Everyone's using it.

Boy: I'm not really into the same things everyone else is.

Girl: You're always such a hispter, but that's your choice.

Boy: Yeah, it's my choice and I'm proud of it.

*later, elsewhere*

Group of People: Wow, the new app rules, right? I love it. I like booping it to see if there's any new updates. We should all boop it now. No, I think we should wait. You're stupid. Yeah, let's all boop it forget the other guy. *boopboopboopboopboopboop*

New App: Bbbooooppppp rreeecciiieeeevvvveeedddd. Ooonneeeeee nnnnnneewwww uuuuppppdddaaaattttteeeeeee aaaaavvvvvvvaaaillllllabbbbbl-

Boy: *watching from afar* What a bunch of sheep. How can they get excited over a stupid app that does nothing. It's mob mentality if I've ever seen it. One person downloads a useless app, so everyone else has to. Thank god that I'm appless and entirely free from banal social dogma.

New App: New update has finished downloading. Activating new feature, outcast locater. One outcast located directly to the south of your group. He's watching from the alleyway.

Boy: Huh?

Group of People: *rush over the alleyway* Whoa, there really was a guy watching us from the alleyway! What a weirdo! Does he really not have the app? No one doesn't have the app, it's the newest app. Hey, do you not have the app?

Boy: I have to go.

Group of People: Don't go! Why don't you have the app? Actually, fuck off if you don't have the new app, freak!

Boy: *runs away* Why did they all gang up on me like? *stomach growls* Now I'm hungry after running like that. I best go to that sandwich shop over yonder and eat a... hmmm sandwich.

Cashier: Hello, sweetie. What kind of sandwich can I get you today?

Boy: Just a bread sandwich. Like, a sandwich with three slices of bread and meats, vegetables, cheeses, or condiments.

Cashier: *phone vibrates* Hold on, sweetie. The new app is booping me, there might be a new update.

New App: Hey, do you see the kid standing in front of you?

Cashier: You mean that very cute boy?

New App: Yes, him. He doesn't have the new app.

Cashier: What!?

New App: It's true.

Cashier: You have the new app, don't you?

Boy: Well, no.

Janitor: *stops mopping the floor* That's kind of weird.

Cashier: It's actually very weird.

Boy: I don't understand what the big deal is, it's just a dumb app.

Cashier: It's not dumb, everyone's using it!

Janitor: *locks the doors* It's suspicious that you're not using it, son. Why don't you take a seat and wait here for a moment.

Cashier: Yeah, me an my colleague, the janitor, have to talk. Your sandwich will be out in a moment.

Boy: *nervously sits*

*the janitor and cashier huddle behind the counter and whisper to each other*

Boy: *internally* This is ridiculous. Why is this stupid app getting me into so much trouble. I'm not required to download it. It's just an app. So why is everyone getting so aggressive about it.

Cops: *knock at the door*

Janitor: *lets them in* Welcome officers.

Cops: So we hear that someone isn't using the new app, eh?

Janitor: Yes officer, he's sitting right over there. He's terrible! TERRIBLE!

Cops: Calm down, sir. We'll take care of this. *walks over to the boy, very authoritatively* Hello, son. Now, don't be intimidated just because we're cops and all. We simply want to know why you aren't using the new app.

Boy: I don't know, I just don't feel like using it.

Cops: But you realize it's the most innovative app to be released in the past decade. It was developed by Darkheart Studios, and you know those Darkhearts always make good stuff.

Boy: I just don't get why I have to download it. Like, what's the big deal? All it does is update itself.

*cops look at each other puzzled*

Cops: *phone vibrates* Oh, looks like the app has something to tell us. Lemme just give it a boop. *boop*

New App: Boop received. New has update finished downloading. Activating new feature, extermination of the sacrilegious. Kill the boy, officers. End his miserable life.

Cops: Are you telling us to shoot the boy because he hasn't downloaded the app.

New App: Not necessarily, but any means of extermination is sufficient.

Cops: I don't think we should kill the boy. The new app is great an all, but not worth killing over. In fact, it's getting kind of old. I think we should take the boy down to the station for safe keeping while we figure out what's going with this here bizarre app. Hey there, little guy... oh.

Boy: *gone*

Cops: He's gone. Now where did he run off too?

Boy: *runs panicked down the street, the cellphone of every single person vibrating and ringing as he passes them*

Boy: *runs into his house and locks himself in his bedroom* What did I do to deserve this? I should just download the app and spare myself this hell. No! I refuse, I won't fall in with trends like all the sheeple. I'm special. I'm different.

Sister: *knocks at the boy's bedroom door, clutching a knife behind her back* Little brother, open up. I have to talk to you about something. It's important.

Boy: I don't feel like talking, leave me alone.

Sister: Come on, I'm your sister. You can trust me, open up. *tries to force the door open* Open the fucking door!

Boy: You're acting crazy, leave me alone!

Sister: Fine. *stomps off*

Boy: *hides under his blankets*

*a cacophony of cellphone notification sounds come from outside of the bedroom window*

Boy: *sheepishly peaks out the window, his blanket still wrapped around him*

*a mob of people, some armed with weapons stand in his backyard*

Leader of the Mob: Kid, we all know you didn't download the new app. Unfortunately, the app says we gotta kill you unless you do. I personally think that's unreasonable, but it is the new app after all, and who am I to question it?

Boy: Fuck your stupid app! It doesn't even do anything!

Leader of the Mob: What a bad attitude. It's the new sensation.

Boy: You're sheep!! You're all stupid sheep!! I'm never downloading the stupid fucking app!!

Leader of the Mob: Then we have to burn down your house, kid.

Boy: My dad is super rich and influential. If you burn down my house, he'll have you guys taken care of.

Dad: *from the mob* I actually support them, son. It's disconcerting to me as a father that you don't have the new app when everyone else does. I could support your through anything, but not this.

Boy: Wha- dad!? Argh! Just burn the house! I don't care! I'm not afraid to die!! At the end of the day, I'll be a martyr and you'll all still be fucking nobodies!!

Leader of the Mob: Whatever ya say, kid. *tosses torch at the house*

*the rest of the mob follows and the house quickly goes up in flames*

Boy: I guess this is it. This is how I die. All over a dumb app that doesn't do anything but boop.

*flames reach the bedroom window*

Boy: Oh god, oh god, oh god! I've changed my mind! I don't want to die!! *frantically pulls out his phone as the flames grow and downloads the new app*

New App: *boop* Thank you for downloading the new app, boy. Now, you've been forgiven. You may live. Please be sure to boop me to check for updates.

Boy: I feel so fucking stupid, but at least I'll live. I just have to get out of here.

Boy: *rushes into the hallway, but the flames have engulfed the entire house*

*the ceiling collapses, trapping the boy in the hallway and ceiling any exits*

Boy: No! Someone help me! *coughs* I'm sorry! Please help! I downloaded the app!

Boy: *curls up in fetal position* I don't want to die. Fire fighters will come and save me or something like that, I'm sure of it! I'm so scared! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! It can't end like this!

*The End*