#not a simulation variant

[theamityelf]

What's your take on polytagonist/naehinahara? I just feel like they'd be really cute 'cause they're unconfident boys who would definitely support and be there for each other <3

Also just the thought of them tag teaming in each class trial is really appealing to me............ but how would that even work? maybe in an au where Monokuma gathers all the past killing game survivors for one last killing game? but ough that's just so tragic............ but at the same time can you imagine them taking turns in pairing up together?? investigating together?? 🥹

First of all, of course I love them as a ship! I already like Hinaegi and Naehara separately, and Hinahara would also be a fun combination, with Hajime's steady abrasiveness and Shuichi's more precise, infrequent abrasiveness in-between bouts of malleability.

As for that specific scenario:

Oh my gosh, first of all, I'm going to say for this AU that despite the 77th class all having been brought back after SDR2, only the survivors of that game are in this new killing game. For V3 I'm going to say that was also a simulation, specifically so Kaito and Kokichi can get pulled in on some technicality about their case being inconclusive.

Now, you may look at this as me very specifically targeting the trauma of the THH cast, since they're the only ones whose entire friend group is in the killing game.

Anyway, I'm also going to say everyone's memory is erased except the protags, because whoever set this up is doing it as a specific torture of them. This means we have pre-character development Maki, Fuyuhiko, Byakuya, etc. in play, and if the protagonists try to impress upon them that they're already friends, they just get extremely suspicious and defensive.

Naturally, this means the protagonists all huddle up together right away.

"Alright, who's doing this one?" Makoto wonders.

"I don't know," Hajime says.

"You don't know?" Shuichi repeats in dismay. "You're from the Future Foundation and you're from Ultimate Despair. I thought one of you would have some idea."

"Whoever it is, we're not in a simulation right now," Hajime says.

"You're sure?" Makoto says.

"Positive."

"That's...worse, but...we know our friends. Whoever let us keep our memories did it to hurt us, but we know our friends."

(Hajime levels a sympathetic look on Makoto.)

"Knowing someone doesn't help you stop them from killing, if they feel they have a reason," Shuichi says quietly, thinking of Maki. "And the mastermind is in charge of giving people reasons."

"I probably could have re-befriended my friends the slow way, if I'd caught on faster that they didn't remember me," Makoto sighs. "Now, I weirded them out, and it'll be a lot harder."

"That's okay. You can actually branch out," Hajime suggests. "You should talk to Fuyuhiko and...Yumeno. Those are good matches for you. Once you've gotten to know them, I think Hagakure is also still an option; he's more interested in your seemingly supernatural insights than anything, though aligning yourself with him might not legitimize you in the eyes of Kirigiri, Togami, or Fukawa. I can reason with those three. Shuichi should spend time with Akane and Asahina."

"Then, what about Sonia, Kaito, Maki, Kazuichi, and Kokichi?" Makoto asks.

"Focus on your two for now, okay?"

It is a good idea, and they do mesh well with those groupings, but of course things don't go entirely to plan.

And of course, whenever something terrible happens, they retreat to each other's arms. They're all protective of each other, and they're all protective of their own friends, and the potential for hurt/comfort is matched only by the potential for messiness when some of them have to prioritize who they most want to protect.

Hajime's many talents are, of course, an asset, but if he knows multiple people are in danger at once and he can't save all of them, he's prioritizing his friends (which include Makoto and Shuichi) over their friends and might even have to do a trolley-problem-style switcheroo where Toko dies in Sonia's stead or something of the sort. He wasn't the one to kill her, but he decided who he was more willing to lose.

Shuichi would be willing to lie in the trials, and Kokichi would notice, and Kyoko would probably also notice. Hajime would back up Shuichi's lies when he knows he can get away with it and contradict them when he knows he can't. Makoto would not lie because he finds it really important that everyone is able to trust each other.

Kaito might punch Fuyuhiko in the face at some point. That would go really poorly. Or maybe he tries to punch Fuyuhiko in the face but Makoto's in the way and gets punched instead, solidifying Fuyuhiko's bond with Makoto because now he's got to teach this guy a lesson for effing with both of them! (Kaito is sorry, but like...not sorry enough?)

And Makoto (who passes out on impact, btw; his character development didn't involve not passing out when he gets punched in the face) is just like "No, you don't have to do anything to Kaito!" while Fuyuhiko is all "Sit down and let me handle this."

Makoto realizes, over the course of calming his friend down, that Hajime set both him and Shuichi up with people who could and would protect them from physical threats. He always thought of it as Hajime trusting him to keep Fuyuhiko out of trouble and trusting Shuichi to keep Akane out of trouble, but in a way, he's also trusting his friends to keep Makoto and Shuichi safe.

The day Maki dies or gets executed (I'm sorry, there's no way she sruvives this one.), Shuichi sleeps in Makoto's bed, crying into his chest. Hajime intuits where they both are and brings them food. He wants to curl up on Makoto's other side, but he has to keep watch over the school. There are too many people they can't afford to lose.

(A version of this same AU where it is a simulation is also on the table. In that case, Hajime wouldn't have any Kamukura Project stuff in his head and also motives like Despair Disease could happen.)

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF helpy has an old friend from SOTM,,,

[belligerentbagel]

submitting my transfer request for the warlock track

[certified-diplodocus]

I just want you all to know that I beat the Least Steps challenge for Chamber 16 of Portal (one of the most evil challenges ever inflicted by man upon man) by 15 steps instead of the required 40

and I am feeling very unhumble about it

[best-fictional-marine-reptile]

Best Fictional Dinosaur Tournament: Megatheropod Bracket; Round 1D, Poll 4/8

[highretrogamelord]

Spelletjes 1 for the ZX81

[ask-obt]

Is Requiem like a darkrai and cressilia smooshed together? Speaking of I absolutely adore your take on hybrids and your art style is just too hecking cute.

Requiem: I dunno, do I look like that to you? And here I thought my sense of style was original.

[formidable-fermenter]

need you to know your username and that tag paragraph you left on a reblog one time have captivated me and that's why I followed. I know nothing about fermenting. I've spoken of you to my friends. tell me a fact about fermentation

I’m going to scream, this is my first ever ask and I’m so nervous!

Let’s see, a fact about fermentation.

There are too many so here’s a few that I find interesting 🤷‍♂️

SCOBY (the thing most commonly associated with kombucha) stands for (S)ymbiotic (C)ulture (O)f (B)acteria and (Y)east

Vinegar can also develop a SCOBY. However, instead of being called a SCOBY, it’s more typically referred to as a MOV - (M)other (O)f (V)inegar

Hot sauces can be fermented. Many famous hot sauces are fermented. And it’s generally agreed upon that fermentation hot sauces have a better blend of flavors.

If a bread had yeast in it it’s been fermented. The difference between regular bread and sourdough bread is that with the wild yeast some bacteria will also take root which helps give that nice tart taste!

Fermentation is just the process of having smaller microorganisms digest a food before you do. The most common fermenters are fungi and yeast, bacteria, mold, and enzymes.

All vinegar starts as alcohol

Even salamis and other dried/aged meats are fermented!

There’s so much more I could talk about, but these are a spread of facts that are neat!

[leafofkudzu]

I see the poll’s final results and I’ll have a proper announcement post for the art party up tomorrow afternoon/evening! Got distracted by room reno stuff tonight and have work things tomorrow, but no last-minute announcements this time - it will happen at a reasonable time this time around!

[eggchjf]

Hey.

[illustrious-ia]

hmmm i should probably write... im into sahsrau currently

[ask-kuu]

What flowers do you like Kuu?

wow, it’s been ages. Uhm… I’m ‘sorry’ for not looking at my inbox. I just didn’t feel like it. Well, I’m not a gardener. But, on my walk to school, specifically in the summer months, I pass these beautiful blue flowers. I think they are called ‘Ajisais’. They are drunk on religious festivals I attend with school, too. Not bad.

[prokopetz]

I'm spinning this off of the main thread about tracing the origin of the term "d66" because it's not strictly germane to the topic – none of these examples actually use the term "d66" to describe their dice-rolling methods – but I'm going to post it anyway as a matter of general interest: following a conversation with Tumblr user @notclevr, it appears that before tabletop wargames (and, nearly concurrently, tabletop RPGs) got their hands on the mechanic, the principal (though by no means exclusive) users of the old "roll a six-sided die twice, reading one die as the 'tens' place and the other die as the 'ones' place" trick may have been tabletop American baseball simulators.

The most notable example of the type – and the only well-known example still in publication today – is J Richard Seitz' APBA Baseball, first published in either 1950 or 1951 (accounts vary). In this game, a d66 roll is cross-referenced with a card representing the active player and a "board" representing the current situation on the field:

For example, with Carlton Fisk at bat, a d66 roll of 31 would yield a result of "8". Assuming for the sake of argument that the situation on the field is a runner on first and a grade C pitcher, consulting the "Runner on First Base" board, this corresponds to an outcome of "SINGLE—line drive to left; runner to third".

(This example is, strictly speaking, incorrect, as Carlton Fisk didn't have his major league debut until 1969 and I'm using the wrong lookup tables for any year in which he played, but you get the idea!)

Interestingly, APBA Baseball is not the first game to use this setup. It's heavily derived from Clifford Van Beek's National Pastime, a game whose patent was registered in 1925, though it wasn't actually published until 1930. Even at a glance, the similarities are substantial:

Indeed, though National Pastime's lookup tables are much simpler than APBA Baseball's, where they overlap they're often word for word identical. It's generally accepted that Seitz plagiarised National Pastime without credit when creating APBA Baseball (ironically, given his own famously combative stance toward alleged imitators!), though he was within his rights to do so, as National Pastime had fallen into the public domain by the time APBA Baseball was published.

We can go back even further, though. As far as I've been able to determine, the earliest known tabletop baseball simulator to use d66 lookup tables for resolving plays is Edward K McGill's Our National Ball Game, first published in 1886:

A copy of the game's 1887 US patent application can be downloaded here. This one uses an unusual 21-entry variant of the standard d66 lookup table in which the order of the rolled digits is insignificant, with doubles being half as likely as non-doubles rolls; it's unclear whether McGill was aware of this when he laid out the table. Unlike later incarnations of the genre, there are no individual player statistics, with all at-bats being resolved via the same table.

[sharkylass]

I kind of spoiled them- But yeah! Crittoros! Based on the wonderful @tawnysoup 's critters, and specifically their precious Isabird [MASTERPOST]

Crittoros are a variant of the more wide spread Isabirds. They seem to have adapted to their surroundings and evolved to mimic trees and plant patterns, including their spotted patterns to simulate light through leaves.

The wingless variant originally wasn't considered to be related to the Isabirds, due to it's lack of wings, and presence of ears. However, upon further research, it was discovered that the wingless variant simply evolved for a more stationary life among the trees. Their bone structure resemble that of an Isabird, but with no wings, and an extended tail for balance. The Crittoro's seem to be especially hostile and territorial towards Isabirds, but show little hostility towards their winged variant.

The winged Crittoros appear to be a closer relative to the Isabird, even tho they actually descended from the wingless variant. Due to hostile environments, this Crittoro variant developed further in agility and resilience. They keep the flowery camouflage and their claws have developed webbing but regained their wings. Their ability to float on water, fly, and blend with their environment shows an advanced adaptability, gained from continuous evolution, and have only now started to appear more in recent years. The winged Crittoros remain a pleasant dynamic with both Isabirds and wingless variants, both playful and doting.

[mintyys-blog]

May i request a reader x mark/mark variants fic where mark and reader find out from angstrom that they’re an “anomaly” in the timeline that isn’t supposed to exist like miles morales from the spiderverse? i love all your work btw!! you keep the mark x reader tag flourishing 😭

ANOMALY | mark grayson x reader

INVINCIBLE MASTERLIST | WARNINGS: character death

Y/N sat quietly on the couch, her fingers wrapped around the edge of her mug, steam rising from the warm liquid inside. The soft glow of the lamp cast a peaceful ambiance over the room. Everything felt calm, serene. But that calmness was often fleeting these days.

She’d been noticing something strange over the past few weeks. It wasn’t constant, but it happened enough to unsettle her. Occasionally, when she reached for something or adjusted herself on the couch, she’d feel a brief, pinching sensation, as though something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t hurt—just a sudden sensation of being out of sync, like the world around her was glitching for a split second.

At first, she thought it was exhaustion—too many sleepless nights, too much stress from the chaos of Mark’s world. But it persisted. Every now and then, her hand would flicker, a distortion she could almost see in her peripheral vision. Other times, it was just a sense that something wasn’t quite solid in her reality. Like she was a part of a simulation, an illusion that wasn’t quite running smoothly.

Y/N had tried to ignore it, attributing it to her own mind playing tricks on her. But the more it happened, the more she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. There was something in her that didn’t belong, like she was fading in and out of existence in small, inconsequential moments. And she wasn’t sure how to explain it, especially not to Mark.

She loved him more than anything, but Mark was busy. There were always battles to fight, villains to deal with, worlds to protect. She didn’t want to burden him with her strange experiences. Besides, if something was truly wrong with her, she wasn’t sure she could face the reality of it.

So, she kept it to herself. Hiding the moments when her body seemed to glitch, when the world felt too fragile for comfort.

Tonight, however, it was different. She had just been reaching for a book from the shelf when the feeling hit again—a jolt, a small pinch, and then… her fingers flickered. Just like that, like a digital artifact on a screen, her hand froze midair before snapping back into place. Her heart skipped a beat, but she steadied herself.

It’s nothing. Just my imagination, she thought, forcing a breath out. She turned away from the shelf and moved to the window, her gaze trailing across the dark city below.

The light from the streetlamps flickered momentarily, but Y/N’s mind was too preoccupied to notice. She rubbed her temples, a faint headache beginning to form.

“Everything okay?”

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. She turned to see Mark standing in the doorway, his brow furrowed in concern. She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard him come in.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, giving him a small smile, though her heart raced. She didn’t want him to notice anything was wrong. She didn’t want him to think she was falling apart.

Mark, ever observant, didn’t seem convinced. His eyes narrowed, his gaze shifting over her with an almost unnerving intensity.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice gentle. “You seem a little off.”

Y/N quickly nodded, feeling a knot form in her chest. She couldn’t tell him. She couldn’t tell him that she sometimes felt like she was… vanishing.

“Just a little tired,” she said, brushing off the concern. “I’m fine, really.”

Mark studied her for a moment longer, then walked over to her, brushing his hand gently against her cheek. “Alright, but if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

She met his eyes, grateful for his support, even as the weight of her secret continued to press down on her. “Thanks, Mark,” she murmured, then kissed him softly on the lips. It was a moment of normalcy, a fleeting escape from the oddities that plagued her mind.

But the unease didn’t fade. If anything, it grew stronger. Later that night, as they lay together in bed, Y/N couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with the world around her. As Mark’s steady breathing filled the room, she lay wide awake, her mind racing.

The glitches were getting worse.

The room was quiet, the only sound the soft hum of the city outside the window. Y/N sat on the couch, her legs tucked beneath her, staring absently at the book in her lap. Mark was in the kitchen, humming as he prepared their dinner, a peaceful normalcy that they’d both come to cherish after so much chaos.

But as the moments passed, that familiar unease crept in again—the unsettling feeling that something wasn’t quite right with her. She’d felt it before, those small glitches in her body, as though the world around her was flickering out of sync, but today it was worse. It wasn’t just a fleeting moment anymore. She could feel it building, a pressure deep in her chest as though her body itself was fighting against the natural flow of time.

She took a deep breath, trying to push the feeling away, but then—

A sharp, painful jolt hit her in her chest, and her vision wavered. It wasn’t just a pinch this time. It hurt—a deep, intense pain that seemed to tear through her very being. Her fingers went numb, and she gasped as her body jerked, her form flickering in and out of focus. It felt like everything was unraveling around her.

She fell to her knees, clutching at her chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. It was worse than any pain she had ever felt. She couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t fix it. It felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out.

Mark’s voice cut through the haze. “Y/N?!”

She barely heard him, her vision blurring as the sensation grew unbearable. Her heart hammered in her chest, her limbs shaking. She looked up, trying to say something, but no words came.

And then, Mark was there, kneeling beside her, panic evident in his eyes. “What’s happening to you?” He cradled her in his arms, his voice trembling as he held her tightly. “Please, tell me what’s wrong!”

Y/N’s fingers twitched, the world around her spinning. But then—something changed.

A green portal suddenly opened behind them, its swirling energy lighting up the room. Mark stiffened, looking over his shoulder as a figure stepped through. Angstrom Levy emerged, his familiar calculating look replaced with something closer to urgency.

Mark glared, his protective instincts flaring up instantly. “What the hell do you want?” he demanded, his grip on Y/N tightening, pulling her closer against him.

Angstrom raised his hands in mock surrender, his expression one of feigned indifference. “Her,” he said, pointing at Y/N as she recovered from the glitch, still gasping for air. “She’s not supposed to be here. She’s affecting the canon event. Everything around you—your world, your timeline—is starting to break down because of her.”

Mark’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. He could feel Y/N trembling in his arms, her body still shaking from the aftereffects of whatever was happening to her. His anger flared up, his jaw clenching so tightly it ached.

“You’re not taking her,” Mark growled, his voice low and threatening. He stood, still holding Y/N close, not about to let her go.

Angstrom only shrugged, his expression cold. “That’s fine. But your universe… well, it will be destroyed because of her,” he said, his gaze flickering down to Y/N, who was slowly recovering but still visibly weak. “Everything you’ve worked for, everything you’ve fought for—it’ll all come crashing down. The timeline cannot be altered, and her presence here is doing just that.”

Mark’s grip tightened on Y/N, but he didn’t look away from Angstrom, his glare burning with fury. “You’re lying,” he spat, the words cutting through the air like a blade.

Angstrom gave him a half-smile, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small device. He tossed it at Mark, who caught it without looking. “You can use this to save the timeline,” Angstrom said, his voice dripping with condescension. “Or you can choose not to. The choice is yours.” He began to step back toward the portal. “But just know that, by keeping her here, you’ll be signing the death sentence for everything you know.”

Mark’s heart raced as Angstrom turned toward the portal. He held Y/N tightly, his mind running a million miles a minute, trying to figure out what to do. But one thing was clear: he wasn’t going to let anyone take her from him, not even if it meant fighting the whole multiverse to protect her.

Angstrom paused just before stepping into the portal, his voice echoing one last time. “I’ll give you time to make your decision, but it won’t last forever.”

The portal snapped shut behind him, and Mark was left standing there, holding Y/N in his arms, his heart torn between the impossible choices before him.

Y/N, still reeling from the pain, lifted her head, meeting his gaze. “Mark… what do we do now?”

Mark looked down at her, his grip tightening as he held her close. “We fight,” he said firmly, his voice full of determination. “No matter what, I’m not letting you go. We’ll fix this together.”

But as the weight of Angstrom’s words pressed on him, Mark knew there was a far deeper decision ahead. If saving the timeline meant losing her… he couldn’t even fathom that possibility.

For now, all he knew was that Y/N was his, and he would protect her with everything he had.

Mark stood there for a moment, the device still clenched tightly in his hand. The weight of it felt heavier now, more dangerous. He could feel the tension in the air, the question of whether to use it hanging over him like a dark cloud. Y/N was still in his arms, her breathing steadying but her body clearly exhausted from the glitch. He couldn’t lose her—not now, not ever.

But Angstrom’s words echoed in his mind. The universe, their world, would be destroyed because of her. The timeline itself was unraveling, and there was this device that could, somehow, fix it.

But at what cost?

“I don’t know what to do,” Mark murmured under his breath, his voice a mix of frustration and fear. He knew he couldn’t make this decision on his own—not without understanding more. He needed answers.

“Rudy,” he muttered, before he made up his mind. “I need to talk to Rudy.”

⸻

Rudy was in the lab, as always, buried in a pile of wires and machines. His mechanical hands clicked and whirred as he worked, his focus laser-sharp. But when Mark stepped into the lab, Rudy immediately looked up, sensing the tension radiating off of him.

“What’s going on?” Rudy asked, pushing himself away from his workbench.

“I need your help,” Mark said, his voice tight. He held up the device that Angstrom had given him, his fingers tightening around it. “Angstrom says this will fix the timeline. It’s supposed to send Y/N back to wherever she came from—but he didn’t exactly explain how it works. I need to know what this is.”

Rudy’s expression darkened as he reached out to take the device from Mark. He examined it closely, running his fingers over the small, intricate details. It was a sleek, metallic thing, compact and unassuming—but Rudy’s brow furrowed as he turned it over in his hands.

“This… isn’t good, Mark,” Rudy said slowly, his voice laced with concern. “This device—it’s not just a way to fix the timeline. It’s designed to remove anomalies, like Y/N. If you activate it, it will… it will erase her from this timeline completely.”

Mark’s stomach dropped. “Erase her?”

Rudy nodded grimly. “It’s a one-way ticket. It will pull her out of this reality and send her back to wherever she came from—or wherever she should have been from. And, in the process, it will kill her. It’s not a gentle process. The way it works… well, it tears the anomaly apart and reverts the timeline. She’ll cease to exist here, Mark.”

Mark’s blood ran cold as Rudy’s words hit him like a physical blow. He couldn’t lose Y/N—not like this. Not with a device that would tear her away from him.

“But… she is the anomaly,” Rudy continued. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but that’s the truth. If she’s not supposed to be here—if she’s somehow distorting the timeline—then something has to be done. If you don’t use this device, then your world could be destroyed. That’s what Angstrom meant.”

Mark shook his head, his fists clenched. “I can’t lose her. I won’t.”

“I’m not saying you have to, but you need to understand what this means,” Rudy said, his voice softer now. “Whatever decision you make, it’s going to be painful. Either way, there’s a price to pay. I just want you to know what you’re dealing with before you make a choice.”

Mark looked down at the device in his hand. The reality of the situation hit him full force. The choice he had to make was impossible. If he used the device, he would lose Y/N forever—erase her from his life completely. But if he didn’t, the entire universe could collapse.

“What happens if I don’t use it?” Mark asked quietly.

“The timeline keeps deteriorating,” Rudy said. “It won’t take long before things start to break down, even more than they already have. Things could spiral out of control. People will die. The world will fall apart.”

Mark stared at the device, the weight of the decision heavy in his chest. Y/N was his everything. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again, of losing her. But he also couldn’t sit by and watch the world crumble. He’d already lost so much—he couldn’t lose her too.

“What should I do?” Mark muttered, more to himself than to Rudy.

Rudy was silent for a moment, his gaze intense. “I can’t tell you that, Mark. This is your choice. But whatever you do, you need to act fast. If you don’t make a decision soon, the timeline might not just collapse—it could tear itself apart entirely.”

Mark closed his eyes for a moment, the sound of his heartbeat thumping in his ears. Every instinct screamed at him to protect Y/N—to keep her safe, to keep her in his life. But the threat to their world, to everything he cared about, was real.

After a long pause, Mark finally spoke. “I have to make sure this isn’t the end. I need to fix it without losing her.”

Rudy nodded. “Just remember, Mark… you can’t save everyone. You have to decide who’s worth saving.”

Mark turned and left the lab, the device still heavy in his hand. His mind raced as he walked back to their apartment. He had no idea what the right decision was.

But he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

⸻

When Mark arrived back at the apartment, Y/N was sitting on the couch, her body still frail from the glitch. Her eyes looked up when she saw him, the faintest glimmer of hope in them. But as soon as their gazes met, she knew something was off.

“What did Rudy say?” Y/N asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mark stood still, staring at the device in his hand. The tension was palpable between them. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to make her feel like she wasn’t worth fighting for, like she wasn’t worth saving.

But he had to make a choice.

“I have to fix this,” Mark said, his voice thick with emotion. “I have to save the timeline. But I won’t let you go, Y/N. I’ll find another way. I swear it.”

Y/N reached out to him, her expression softening. “Mark… whatever you do, I trust you. I know you’ll do what’s right. But I’m scared.”

Mark’s chest tightened. He couldn’t lose her—not like this. He just had to figure out how to save her—and the world—before it was too late.

But Angstrom’s warning still lingered in the back of his mind. Time was running out. And the choice, no matter how he looked at it, was impossible.

The weight of the decision was suffocating. Mark paced the apartment, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. Every time he looked at Y/N, he saw the pain in her eyes, the subtle tremors in her hands, the flicker of her body that reminded him she wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t supposed to exist in this timeline, and her mere presence was tearing apart the fabric of their world.

It wasn’t just the glitches anymore. It wasn’t just the brief, painful moments when her body flickered like a bad connection in a video game. It was constant. She was always in pain, always feeling the pressure of her existence—her body aching with every breath, every movement. The emotional toll was just as bad as the physical one. She was slipping away, and there was nothing Mark could do to stop it.

But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, the truth was clear: she wasn’t supposed to be here, and the longer she stayed, the worse it would get for everyone, for everything.

⸻

That night, the glitch was worse than ever.

Mark lay next to her, his arm draped across her waist, trying to sleep, but he could feel her shivering next to him. She was restless, tossing and turning as her body jerked from the constant pain. He could hear her soft gasps and whimpers as she fought through it.

“Y/N…” Mark whispered, his voice hoarse with worry.

“Mark…” Her voice was barely audible, strained with exhaustion. She was trembling violently now, the familiar flicker of her body appearing and disappearing in short bursts. “Mark… it hurts. So much…”

Her words twisted in his chest. He wanted to fix this, wanted to make everything go away, but nothing was working. Nothing was stopping her from slowly deteriorating.

He pulled her closer, trying to comfort her, but her body kept glitching, pulling away from him like it couldn’t even stay anchored in one place. She cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face, and that was the moment Mark realized—he couldn’t keep pretending there was an easy way out of this. He couldn’t pretend this wasn’t slowly killing her.

“Mark…” she whispered through clenched teeth, her voice breaking. “Maybe… maybe we should use the device.”

Mark’s breath caught in his throat. His hands tightened around her, his mind racing as he pulled back slightly to look at her face. Her eyes were wide, exhausted, and filled with a mixture of fear and sorrow. The pain was written in every line of her expression.

“No! I can’t lose you,” Mark nearly shouted, his voice thick with emotion. “Please, we can find another way. We can fix this. I can fix this. I won’t let you go.”

She smiled bitterly, a quiet sadness settling over her. “Mark… I’m not meant to be here. And… it’s ruining everything.” She closed her eyes, a pained breath escaping her lips. “So please, let me just fix this. Let me do this for you, for us, for the world…”

Mark shook his head, his heart breaking as he reached out to her. “No… please don’t say that. There has to be another way. I—”

She didn’t let him finish. With a trembling breath, she slowly pushed herself up, moving toward the desk where the device lay, silently waiting. The moment her hand brushed against it, Mark felt a sense of finality wash over him. This wasn’t what he wanted. It couldn’t be.

“No! Y/N, please—” Mark’s voice cracked as he rushed to her, grabbing her wrist gently to stop her. “Please, reconsider. We can figure this out. We’ll find a way, I swear.”

But Y/N only shook her head, her face wet with tears. “I’ve already decided. I love you, Mark. Always remember that, okay?”

His heart clenched painfully at her words. He didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to lose her.

Before he could say another word, she leaned up to kiss him—soft, slow, as if it were their last. And it felt like it was. The kiss lingered, a beautiful, aching moment that Mark never wanted to end. But she pulled away, looking at him one last time with those eyes that had always been his anchor, the love between them strong even now, even in the face of this impossible choice.

“Y/N…” Mark breathed, barely able to form the words. His chest tightened as he saw the resolve in her eyes. He knew she was right. The world would keep falling apart if she didn’t do this. But that didn’t make it any easier.

She stepped back, taking a deep breath as her fingers brushed over the device, her hand shaking. “I love you, Mark,” she whispered once more, and then, with a final, heart-wrenching sigh, she flipped the switch.

The moment the device was activated, a sharp, high-pitched noise pierced the air, and Y/N’s body jerked violently, as if every bone, every fiber of her being was being ripped apart. She screamed, her voice raw with pain, but the sound of it felt like it was tearing Mark’s very soul in half. He reached out, wanting to help, wanting to stop this, but before he could move, she was already vanishing in front of him.

He could see it happening—her body flickering, distorting as if she were being sucked away into nothingness. Her scream was the last thing he heard as she was pulled from this reality, leaving only emptiness in her wake.

Mark collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving as the room felt like it was closing in on him. His hand reached out, as if to grab her, but there was nothing. Nothing but the cold air, the emptiness that filled the space where she had just been.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered, his voice hoarse, the words barely able to leave his lips. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

But there was no answer. No comfort. Only the haunting echo of his own pain and the crushing weight of the decision he had made.

He had lost her.

And the universe—their universe—was never going to be the same.

[circuitfurscaleandvine]

🔥Pulling a reverse Ender's Game on your little Pilot ward, telling her she's still going on missions after you've rewired her mech into a simulation~ Adding realistic battle damage and gore after every successful mission. And after every "failure", drugging her to the gills so she can't tell your "rescue operation" took fifteen hours of snuggle time instead of deployment and recovery. Slowly weaning her off the combat drugs, into variants more gentle on her body, until she comes back from missions full of energy, ready to take on the world <3

You're not sure when you'll let her know the truth, but you do know she can keep going on missions as long as she wants <3