#so id likely not be messed with like could happen with a computer

[cozycassette]

I've decided that my current alt mode would be an ereader, specifically the type I have, a Kobo Libra 2

[petew21-blog]

Friends with benefits

Two long time friends Trent and Brett. A classic story. Met in kindergarten and have been friends since. Grew up together. Spent their holidays together. Graduated together. But then stopped seeing each other as often. Why? Because adult life ain't easy. Brett had to find a job while Trent got into college, graduated and on top of that became a fitness influencer. Brett started his Twitch account and became a gamer, which he had time for, cause how he was constantly doing a different job, depending on what he could find. But both of them always took some time off for a beer with their buddy.

This is Trent

Although he doesn't appear like that, he is a 24 year old male with young looks

On the other hand Brett is also young, but his looks are a bit more mature. Maybe it's because of all the hair

This is Brett

So hairy.

Normal guys, right? Well something was about to change very soon

Friday, August 2nd, 5 PM

Brett:"Hey, dude. Wanna grab a beer later tonight?"

Trent:"Yeah, sure. I am down. Is 8:30 ok? I gotta finish a video"

Brett:"Oh yeah, totally fine. See you then"

Friday, August 2nd, sports bar, 8:33 PM

At the bar Brett waits patiently, only his leg is slightly shaking. Trent comes in through the door. It's kinda funny, cause Trent used to be really insecure and not confident. Now he looks basically like a god. But still, he has this cute shy looking guy whose face doesnt match his body and the fact that he's 24. Brett was kinds jealous, most of the people that didn't know him always thought he was older because of his looks. Trent had the opposite problem. Always had to show ID whenever he went. Yet Brett was probably more jealous about his life in general. He finished school, took great care of his body, which now could help him hook up with anyone he would set his mind to.

Brett:"Hey, maaaan. How are you doing?"

Trent:"Heyyy. Yeah good. You know, single influencer life, haha"

Brett:"The ladies must be driving you crazy"

Trent:"If only it were just ladies. Haha. You should see the messages some of these gay dudes keep sending me. It's insane"

Brett:"You tell me. They always send random shits to my chats while playing. But it's mostly dumb kids."

Trent:"I think we should find you a date for tonight"

Brett:"Nahhh, fuck it. I'm not in the mood. I just wanna chat with my bro."

After a few beers

Brett:"Shut up, you did not!"

Trent:"I swear. She came on to me without a word."

Brett:"So what did you do?"

Trent:"You think I put up a fight? Haha"

Brett:"Maaaan. I want this stuff to happen to me to. That's so hot"

Trent:"Come with me to the gym then, I bet more chicks woukd be into you if you would gain some muscles"

Brett:"You calling me fat?"

Trent:"No, just saying that all that body hair would be good to match with a good body. You're just a walking gorilla right now"

Brett:"Oh shut up twink! Haha"

They finished their drinks, said their goodbyes and went home.

Brett felt amazing. He really needed to get a beer with his best friend. He came back home, sat behind his computer and searched Dark web. He already knew what he was looking for. He wanted to mess with Trent. Just a another one of his pranks. All he needed was Trent's personal item. He found the body swapping website. He read the rules and conditions and filled out his and Trents name. The only next step he had to follow was to go to sleep. And so he did. Only taking off his shirt in the process and collapsing on the bed. Not even brushing his teeth

Brett woke up feeling better than ever. He was used to have a hangover by now, but today he felt great. He opened his eyes and immediately noticed the different sheets. He looked around. This is Trent's place.

Brett:"Trent?" he said, but he heard Trent's voice.

He turned around to get up

His body. He has a different body

Brett:"Holy shit. It worked" he said amused. He looked down at his now soft chest. He got up

Brett:"Oh wow. getting up is so different when you have these hard muscles"

He went to the nearest mirror. And there he was. Trent in his glory. Brett was so happy right now. His prank worked. He is now inside of his best friends body. And the pranks probably won't stop there. Now he can mess with him all he wants. But not now.

He looked from top to bottom how tall and slim his body was. "Almost no hair anywhere. Lucky guy"

He took Trent's phone and snapped a photo to send it to Trent in his body. He knew it would take a while for Trent to wake up so he proceeded in his exploration.

He felt his curly hair. "How come you don't even have widow's peak? So unfair" He traced his jawline, now with tiny baby hair that Brett wouldn't even call a beard. But his sight was now caught by those nice Calvin Klein's. He looked around as if there was someone in the room with him who would judge him. He pulled on the waistband

Brett:"Just as I thought. Also shaved" he grabbed his new dick, that was getting harder and harder by the second, when suddenly his phone received a notification. he let go of his dick

It was Trent. Brett:"Haha, this is gonna be good"

There was a photo of Brett's body, observing his hairy armpits in shock

Trent in Brett's body:"Hey. Got any idea why I am a gorilla now? And why that gorilla looks exactly like you?"

Brett:"Surpriseee. And fuck you"

Trent:"So this is your doing?"

Brett:"Yeah, I kinda wanted to prank you somehow for all the pranks and the gorilla jokes. Joke's on you ape man"

Trent:"Fuck you. So this is reversible?"

Brett:"Sure, man. No worries. We'll meet tonight at the bar again and chat how our day went?"

Trent:"I don't know how to feel about this, bro"

Brett:"Just try enjoying being another person"

Trent:"Do you realise there are some no go things including intimate stuff and hygiene?"

Brett:"Sure I do. I'm already holding your dick in YOUR hands right now"

Trent:"Dude! Not cool. I meant more stuff like shitting etc. But yeah, this too."

Brett:"I gotta say Trent. You have a very nice dick"

Trent:"I'll comment on your size when I find it in the bushes I guess. Have you never heard of trimming?"

Brett:"Keeping it natural, baby face"

Trent:"Fine, let's see each other tonight at 8, ok?"

Brett:"Enjoyyy" Hangs up

Trent:"Jesus, this guy. I hope he doesn't fuck up something or someone"

Starts observing himself. "I must say, It feels good to look like a mature man and not a teenager. All of this hair. And the moustache is hot too. I could never grow this thing"

Trent looked down and had a mischievous thought. "Well, Brett. Since you have already held my dick, I think it's time to step it up. Gonna see if you can last longer than I do" Trent said with a smile and whipped out his new hard hairy dick

Saturday August the 3rd, bar, 8:04 PM

Brett is sitting amused in the bar, eating chips on the table and drinking beer. Winking at the ladies looking at his direction.

A waitress came by his table:"Want another?"

Brett noticed his old incoming body:"Sure, and another one for my friend who just arrived. Thank you, sweetheart" he said as his flirtatious look almost seduced the local waitress

Trent:"You need to stop!"

Brett:"What? I was just flirting"

Trent:"Not that. Stop eating those chips. God knows how many calories you ate already"

Brett:"So you don't mind that I was flirting with her?"

Trent:"Nah, I don't care. I jerked off your dick for like the fifth time half an hour ago"

Brett:"What? You beast. I would have never expected that. Cool. You have a really good dick to jerk off too. I didn't expect to shoot so far tho. Made a bit of a mess"

A couple off bikers started eavesdropping to their conversation and turning heads

Trent:"You might want to quiet down, or we're gonna get beaten up for mistakenly speaking like gay guys"

Brett:"But you gotta admit that my body is not so bad, right? All the hair and everything. You like it"

Trent:"It's not bad, but I prefer being in my own body. I'm used to it."

Brett:"Ok, I'll pretend I didn't hear the part before about masturbation. But what do you say? We didn't even have enough time to see what the life is like in our new bodies. It's only been a day"

Trent:"And your point is?"

Brett:"Let's stay swapped for a while. We can swap back anytime we want. It's reversible. We know almost everything about each other, so pretending to be the other one will be easy. You'll just teach me your workout routine, I'll show you... what games to play and how to set up a livestream and we'll figure it out"

Trent:"Livestream? That's all you got?"

Brett:"Come on, man. We got nothing to loose"

Trent:"I don't know man. It's gonna be complicated. I agreed to leave for a few weeks to work at one of our gym branches in another city. And now you'll be the one that has to go. I think now is not the best time"

Brett:"So? I can update you about everything. We can chat all the time. We can call. And I got nothing to do. Actually, you might need to find some job for those few weeks. And there's never gonna be a better time then now. We're single, ready to mingle. So let's enjoy that month"

Trent:"You wanna stay swapped the whole tíme I'm gone?"

Brett:"Yeah, I'll be a fitness instructor/viral star and you'll ne enjoying my chill life"

Trent:"Chill life. Man, you won't even recognise your life when we'll swap back"

Brett:"So you agree?"

Trent:"Yeah, what the hell. I'll be a gorilla for a month"

Brett:"Deal. Now, let's see if you'll have a better game in finding a hookup then me"

Sunday, August 4th

Brett sends a text to Trent:"Why do I feel like my body still hasn't gone through puberty?"

Trent:"Piss off. Yours looks like it went trough yours several times."

Brett:"Nah, gotta be honest. I'm really enjoying this lean figure and hairless body"

Trent:"And my dick..."

Brett:"Haha, yeah and your dick. How are you doing in my body?"

Trent:"Feels pretty weird to be so hairy, but gotta admit it's a nice change. Like... feeling so manly"

Brett:"Yeah, but tip for that hairy stomach. Don't cum on it. It's really irritating to get cum from it"

Trent:"Never had the issue in my body, so yeah. Thanks for the tip"

Brett:"No problem. I had to try it out in yours haha"

Trent:"Doesn't this feel kinda gay to you? All the dick and jerk off talk. Appreciating each other's bodies"

Brett:"Nah. We're exploring, man. Who knows if we ever get that chance. Gotta enjoy it"

Wednesday August 7th

Trent:"How are you settling in?"

Brett:"Yeah. Pretty great. I just jerked off to some porn"

Trent:"Ew. I mean the appartement"

Brett:"Whooops. Sorry. Right. Yeah it's nice. Very clean. Very modern"

Trent:"It's yours only for a month so don't destroy anything there"

Brett:"It's kinda poetic right. New appartement, new body, new job"

Trent:"I don't see anything poetic about me playing games in front of a camera"

Brett;"Dude you have to. My fans are gonna wonder what happened to me"

Trent:"Fine. I'll log in tonight. By the way. Dude your feet smell so much when you work out."

Brett:"Work out? You took my body to the gym?

Trent:"Yeah. I had to show off these bushes somewhere, right?"

Brett:"Ahhh thanks man. Looking good"

Trent:"And I think oke girl was checking you... me out"

Brett:"If you can score than go for it. I'm actually late for a date. Or... how do you call it if you're just gonna have dinner and fuck?"

Trent:"Standard hook up man. Please be safe. Wear a condom. And watch our foe those carbs, man."

Brett:"Sure thing, bye"

Monday, August 12 th

Brett:"Dude do you like ever have to shave your face?"

Trent:"Sure I do. I just don't have to do it so often as you. Btw can I please shave off this moustache?"

Brett:"Absolutely not. You'll learn to love it and appreciate it. Just like I will your baby face"

Saturday, August 17th

Brett:"I have to admit I really love showing off your muscles man. I have been doing it constantly at every occassion. So many people turn their heads to take a peak"

Trent:"Yeah I get it. It helps with the confidence a bit"

Brett:"A bit? I feel like I can beat any fucker whk crosses me"

Trent:"Brett, please don't beat anyone in my body"

Brett:"Just kidding, man. How have you been"

Trent:"Well I tried being consistent with the gym. I think your body is doing pretty well"

Brett:"Daaaamn bro. I look good. You really do take care of my body really well"

Trent:"I was actually thinking I could offer this for money. Swapping with people, doing their routines and then swap back. But that's a talk for another time after we swap back"

Brett:"Yeha, sure. Cool idea. Anyway... how was the streaming?"

Trent:"I don't know, man. I think they are desperste for me to say your catchphrases, but they are so cringe."

Brett:"Nah, you have to do that. That's how you get into Tiktoks and become viral"

Trent:"Honestly. I can't wait to get back to my body and to my life back. So we will swap on September 2nd?

Brett:"Yeah. I suppose. Depends how the work will be etc. Anyway I gotta go man. Talk soon"

Trent to himself:"It feels like he's avoiding me with amswering more and more. Trent rubbed his hairy chest, recalling his sweet soft pecs that he missed.

Thursday, August 22nd

Trent:"Hey, man. How is it going?"

Friday, August 23rd

Trent:"Hey. I just wanna know if you're ok. I just wanna talk about the reversal."

Saturday:"please call me back as soon as possible"

Sunday, August 25th

Brett:"I'm ok"

Trent:"What the hell happened?"

Brett:"Nothing I just felt like I needed a break from phone and that stuff"

Trent:"Brett you didn't answer the phone for 4 days"

Brett:"Ok, I was avoiding you, cause I kinda fucked up and was afraid to tell you"

Trent:'What did you do? Is my body ok?"

Brett:"Yeah your body is unharmed. Nothing that bad. We just had a party in the appartement. Broke the TV and... I had unprotected sex with one girl. She didn't know if she was pregnant or not. So I was waiting. And congrats. You're not gonna be a dad"

Trent:"Brett..."

Brett:"I know. I'm so sorry. Won't happen again. Promise. I just got drunk once and it led to this. I'll be good now"

Trent:"Please, don't do anything anymore. I want to switch back"

Brett:"Nah man. We still gotta week to finish. You said until September 2nd."

Trent:"I didn't know you'd do something like this"

Brett:"Please Trent. I'm begging you. Just that one week"

Trent:"Fine. But don't do anything else!"

Sunday, September 1st

Brett:"Hey. Are you packed yet?"

Trent:"Hey. Not really. I planned on packing tommorow. You can come and help if you got time"

Brett:"Sure. I'll come by"

Monday, September 2nd

Trent arrives to the appartement. Brett is on the couch playing video games

The TV is new and there is a PlayStation on the table

Trent:"You didn't tell me you got back into gaming and that you bought all this."

Brett:"Yeha, I missed it. I thought to myself that you'd like it too. So I bought it. By the way. You should see how the fans dig it"

Trent:"Fans? You're live streaming in my body?"

Brett:"Yeah. The gamers are so into it when I'm flexing in the spare time. I even got a viral Tiktok already!"

Trent:"I think we should swap back, Brett. My life is out of your control now."

Brett:"I'm just using all the goods, man. You don't like my body anymore?"

Trent:"Stop changing the subject. I want to swap back"

Brett:"Ok... but on one condition"

Trent:"You want money?"

Brett;"Nah I want to have sex with my body. I want to have sex with you."

Trent:"You have lost your mind"

Brett:"Oh come on. Admit it, that you thought about it. Who gets the chance to fuck their body? To watch their body in the most animalistic moments from somebody else eyes?" Brett flexes his biceps to let Brett watch

Trent:"Brett..."

Brett stands up and goes towards Trent

Brett:"You know you want to kids thus face. To suck this hard dick" he says holding tightly his hardening bulge

Trent:"I... I do. I want to suck my dick"

Brett:"Atta boy"

They begin making out. The fast movements heading towards the bedroom could be described as chaotic, but for them it was a dance of passion. Brett was ripping his old clothes from his old body was all over his body, kissing his neck. Sucking each part of his skin

The kissed even more

Brett began to be more dominant. He gripped Trent's now receding hairline and pushed him down to suck his dick. Trent was choking. But did his best to swallow most of the shaft he now had. He had his dick in his mouth. He couldn't believe it. He is straight and he is sure of that. But this is absolutely different

Brett took his old body by the neck, choking him. "Say you love being in my body"

Trent:"Brett I can't breathe"

Brett:"Fine, let's do this the hard way"

He turned him around. Trent now on all fours. He knew what was coming, but he wasn't ready

Brett spit in his hand and spread it all over the head od his dick. Ready to penetrate his old hairy hole

Trent:"Brett wait... I... Ahhhhhhhh". Trent screamed in pain

Brett:"Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm just so horny. I love your body, Trent. I love every inch od it. Admit you like mine"

Trent:"Brett, please slow down"

Brett:"Naaah, you'll get used to it in a sex"

Trent:"Please, get lube or something"

Brett spit again to where his dick was penetrating Trent's ass. Brett:"Should do it"

Trent was still in pain, but now a new feeling was making him feel better. The pain was now... pleasant? He wanted to feel more. With every thrust from Brett. He felt like shitting himself and cumming at the same time

Brett:"Admit it. Admit you love being in my body" he sped up. Thrusting painfully.

Trent:"Yeah.... yes..."

Brett:"Louder"

Trent:"I do... I love your body. I love being you"

Brett:"Ahhhh. I'm gonna cum. Turn around. I want to cum on your chest"

Trent turned around. He could feel cum leaking from his dick. And now he saw his old face like he never did before. Brett was so into it. His face was full of lust, rage and mischief.

Brett:"Ahhhh. I'm cumming!"

The cum shot all over Trent. Not only on his chest, but also on his mouth and face

Trent watched in awe what just happened.

Brett:"Whew. That was a ride wasn't it? First gay sex. Am I right?"

Trent:"Brett... I?"

Brett:"Oh sorry. I have to catch my breath. You look so funny with my cum all over you. Haha. By the way. I'm glad you love your new body. You get to keep it"

Trent:"Brett, you said we would swap"

Brett:"Yeah I did. That's true. But after this little 'cum over your face' and 'dick in your ass' we made it permanent"

Trent watched in shock as his old body was still standing on top of him. Breathing rapidly and laughing.

Several months later

Hi my name is Brett. Welcome to my only fans channel. If you got any hairy request, hit me up

Brett in Trent's body:"Well this is just pathetic. Man, I knew you'd crumble. But this just seems you lost your mind"

Trent's massive colleague came next to him:"Hey, bro. What are you looking at?"

Brett:"Just looking how one of my friends threw away their life, kinda sad. But whatever. Their life, not mine"

Friend:"Hey, wanna grab a beer later this evening?"

Brett scanned his friend from top to bottom and smiled:"Sure thing. Be there at eight"

Brett thought about switching it up a little. That body would be amazing. But then he turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. And flexed

Brett:"Nah. I'm Trent. And I'm keeping this body"

A request from messages (another one who waited for a LONG time, sorry guys) for @swappwas

Hope you like it :)

P.S. written late at night on a phone with a very irritating autocorrect, so please excuse the mistakes

[yourtypicalwriter]

The Dream Team || (Pietro Maximoff x reader)

GIF Originally posted by @steve-rogers

Words: 2441

Warnings: Some swearing, minor injury.

Summary: You and Pietro went on a mission and had a rough day. Y/n is an agent like Natasha.

Author's Note: I loved writing this one!! Most of the story is a hilarious, action-packed flashback of what happened during the mission. This is my first post and I’ve been working on it since August, so I hope you enjoy it.

-- Christina

➳ ➳ ➳

The file landed on Steve’s desk with a smack.

He looked up and found you and Pietro standing in front of him. “Well, if it isn’t The Dream Team.” He smirked.

The rest of the team coined you and Pietro as ‘The Dream Team’ because of how well you worked together. Yes, you had the occasional quarrel, but ultimately balanced each other out and kept the other in check.

Pietro stood with his arms crossed. “Is that what you wanted?” He asked, flatly.

Steve flipped through the documents. “Yup.” He barely glanced up to thank you. “Great work.”

‘Great work.’ After everything you went through today, he could at least look you in the eyes.

What was supposed to be a simple mission to retrieve intel from a covert HYDRA office in Delaware went completely sideways. It was supposed to be a low-key job: get in, grab the files, and get out, but it turned into a full-fledged, cross-city chase and an overall hell of a mess.

➳

You and Pietro stood about a mile out from where the HYDRA laboratories were located. 

Leaning against a tree, you watched as Pietro was kicking dirt, waiting impatiently.

You were waiting to meet up with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who went undercover as HYDRA personnel a couple of months ago. They were going to get you past security and into a HYDRA scientist’s office so you could retrieve documents.

You jumped when you heard rustling from the trees, making Pietro spin around, too.

“What was that?” Concern washed over your face as branches continued to snap.

Pietro stepped in front of you, fist at the ready.

Emerging from the foliage was a woman in a business suit holding a briefcase.

You both exhaled and looked around.

“Hello, sorry for the scare.” The blonde-haired woman said. “It's a perfect day for a walk."

The both of you stood confused for a moment until you remembered the rest of the code sentence. "Oh right! I hope you brought an umbrella, just in case it rains."

She nodded. "So, you’re the ones I’m supposed to meet with? Agent Y/L/N, Maximoff, correct? 

You both nodded.

“I’m Agent 13.” She said, flashing her badge.

She placed her briefcase on a tree stump and opened it to reveal a computer. She began typing away. “Turgeon is on an hour lunch break, which leaves his office unattended and gives you two plenty of time to grab the file." 

You could hear the clicking of keys on the keyboard. 

“I was able to make a copy of Turgeon’s ID card too, so opening doors won’t be a problem.” Agent 13 continued. “Once you’re past security at the front doors, take the stairs; there’s less of a chance you’ll be recognized. Then, you’ll go to the 9th floor, swing a left, and the office will be the third door to your right. Do not draw attention to yourselves. We can’t risk anyone recognizing you.”

“Got it.” You and Pietro replied.

“Okay, I temporarily shut down their security system, but not for long.” She looked up at both of you. “You’re up. Get in and get out.”

“Ready?” Pietro turned to look at you.

“Ready.” You confirmed.

He scooped you up, and in a second you were a few meters away from the building, hidden behind a white van parked out front.

Pietro smoothed out his shirt, and you fixed your false glasses in the van’s mirror.

You began to worry. “This is stupid. How is no one going to recognize us? We’re literally so recognizable right now. It’s like how no one knows who Superman is, but it’s so obvious.”

Pietro walked towards you and put a hand to your shoulder. “Look at me.”

You were reluctant to, but you did it anyway.

“Take a breath, okay? Don’t worry.” He said calmly. “Just don’t draw attention to yourself, and we’ll be out of there before you know it, m’kay?”

You took a breath. “Okay. Let's do this.” You peeked out from behind the van, and once the coast was clear, you both made your way towards the front doors.

The security cards worked; now you were in the building and headed towards the stairs.

You stopped as a man with a mop and bucket was blocking the doorway to the stairs.

“Sorry. Can't use the stairs. Clean up.” He said flatly.

“Really?” You questioned.

“Seriously?” Pietro rolled his eyes.

The man shrugged and continued mopping the floor.

“Elevator, I guess.” You suggested.

You headed over to the elevator and repeatedly pressed the button.

The elevator doors opened to reveal about 10 people crammed like sardines. They tried to make an effort to shift around to accommodate Pietro and yourself.

You both tried to keep a low profile on the elevator ride. You didn't worry much; everyone was pretty preoccupied with the documents and folders in their hands that they didn't really look up at the two of you.

Once you arrived on the 9th floor, you and Pietro stepped out and made your way down the hall. 

You could see agents here and there, popping in and out of offices.

You arrived at Turgeon’s office and walked in. Pietro shut the door and you closed the blinds. 

You were looking for information on ‘Project Red Sky.’ Some files were more recent and on a hidden network, so you shoved a USB drive into the computer and began uploading everything. And some files dated back to the 60s, so Pietro went through the filing cabinets in search of information.

“Found something!” Pietro called out and placed the file on the desk.

You looked through it. “Great! Uh… just fold that up and put it in your pocket or something.”

“You’re sure that’s safe?” He questioned.

“It’s four sheets of paper; I think we’ll be fine.” You reassured him.

Once everything had been uploaded, you removed the USB and opened the office door.

With Pietro in front, you walked back down the hall towards the stairs.

Just then, someone bumped into you by accident.

The man who was previously looking down looked up at you, now puzzled.

“Sorry.” You said, head down as you continued down the hall, now a little faster, trying not to be recognized.

You could hear indistinct whispering behind you and felt people’s gaze upon you. You tugged on the back of Pietro’s shirt to give him a signal that you two had probably been compromised.

Pietro fell behind slightly to make sure that you were safely in view.

How nice, you thought sarcastically.

You peered over your shoulder. Not paying attention, you stumbled over a file cart that was being wheeled across the hall. Pietro used his powers to quickly stop you from hitting the ground.

Your arm was wrapped around his neck. “Woah. Thanks.” You said, looking into his blue eyes. Then you snapped out of your daze and realized what he had just done: shown his abilities in a place where that meant trouble. 

If the agents hadn’t already noticed you then, they sure did now.

“Hey!” A HYDRA agent called out.

You snapped your heads up.

“It’s one of the Enhanced. And her? She's with the Avengers!” The agent said, pointing straight at the both of you, who stood there like two deer in headlights.

The Dream Team had been caught. And that’s when shit hit the fan.

You and Pietro looked at each other and spoke in unison. “Aw, damn.”

One of the agents shot a device that latched onto Pietro, just as he made a move to grab you and run. The device sent a little shock wave through his body that immobilized his abilities. 

“Gah!” Pietro clutched his side.

It seemed to be a power inhibition device.

Alarms began to sound as HYDRA agents poked their heads out from their offices. 

He urged you to keep running. 

You grabbed Pietro’s arm and pulled him along, down the hall and towards the stairs. You threw the door open and started jumping down the steps as quickly as possible.

HYDRA agents were popping out of doors in the stairwell and joining the chase.

You reached the bottom of the steps and threw the door open aggressively.

“Hey!” Shouted the janitor.

“Sorry!” You yelled back.

“Why must you apologize for everything?” Pietro asked hurriedly.

With Pietro, plus about a dozen HYDRA agents, on your tail, you made it through the lobby and outside. You both stopped and looked around for an escape plan.

“What do we do?” You asked.

“We can’t keep running; they’ll catch up to us. Y/n!” He said hastily as agents approached.

You looked from left to right and spotted the van from earlier, with its back doors open.

“Shut up and follow me!” You said. 

Grabbing his arm, you pulled him into the back of the van and shut the doors behind you.

Pietro sat in the driver's seat. “I—uh.” He hesitated, unfamiliar with what he was supposed to do.

“You don’t know how to drive?!” You shouted as you could see HYDRA agents exiting the building from the side mirror. 

“Well, I didn’t really need to know how, now did I?” He questioned, making a running motion.

“Get up!” You shouted as you threw him into the passenger’s seat.

You plopped yourself down in the driver's seat and turned the keys that were still in the ignition.

You stepped on the gas pedal and drove into the city, HYDRA agents on your tail in their black SUVs.

“Get Tony on the phone.”

“Wh—”

“Don’t question me; just do it!”

Pietro took your phone out of your pocket, dialed Tony’s number, and put him on speaker.

“Hello?” Tony's voice rang through the phone.

“Tony! We need your help.”

“Y/n? Who’s ‘we’?” He asked.

“Me and Pietro.”

“Let me stop you right there. Speedy’s been on a pranking rampage, hiding my tools, screwing with my tech, and now expects—"

“Listen, I’m sorry, but I don’t give a crap right now.” You said, rushed. ”You can give Pietro shit when we get back.”

A soft “Hey” came from Pietro.

“Long story short," you continued, "we’re on a mission, and we’re on the move in the city. Is there any way you can autopilot the Quinjet to our location?”

“There’s always a way.” Tony reassured.

“There’s no way we can escape them!” Pietro looked back at the black SUVs following you.

“Hold on!” You ordered.

“Whoa!” Pietro shouted as you took a sharp right turn.

And another sharp right just in case.

“Jesus!” He yelped, the phone slipping out of his hands.

“Sorry! You can never be too sure.” You advised as Pietro picked the phone up from the floor.

The black SUVs were no longer behind you, so you guessed they drove right through the intersection.

“Tony, I need an ETA on the jet.” You said urgently.

“Okay,” Tony said, “There’s a parking lot about a quarter of a mile west from your location. I can land the jet there.”

“Perfect. I’ll let you know when we board the jet. Bye!” You said as Pietro pressed the end call button.

You spotted an alleyway and turned into it. The both of you rocked as the van hopped the curb and skidded to a halt.

“Get out.” You said quickly, unbuckling your seatbelt. “What?” Pietro questioned as he unbuckled his.

“HYDRA’s looking for a van, so we’ll be better disguised if we ditch it.” You jumped out of the van and slammed the door, prompting Pietro to do the same.

“Let’s go!” You started on foot.

You and Pietro were running down the sidewalk, people jumping out of your way.

You looked back and saw the black SUVs from before, rounding a corner.

“Seriously!?” You said, breathlessly.

HYDRA caught up to you… again.

Pietro started. “But you said—”

“I know, I know.” You cut him off.

“Can’t catch a break.” He said, as you both began running faster.

Luckily, you were getting closer to the Quinjet.

You approached the parking lot and ran as fast as you could through the loading hatch door.

Once inside, you ran upfront to press the video screen, “Tony, hurry! Start the engines and get us out of here!”

Then you pressed the ‘close door’ button as the SUVs got closer.

“Hurry.” Pietro waited impatiently, as he watched the agents exit the vehicles.

“C’mon, c’mon.” You whispered as the door closed slowly.

"Got it!" Tony said through the video screen on the dash.

The engines started up, and the plane slowly lifted into the air.

You sighed. “Thanks, Tony.”

“No problem,” his voice echoed through the small screen, “But you’re in for it when you get home, you little bastard.” He pointed to Pietro, and the screen turned off.

Pietro rolled his eyes and plopped himself down in one of the seats, just as you did.

Finally, you both had a chance to exhale.

➳

“Seriously, all of that only for you to say, ‘Great work’?” You questioned Steve.

“What?” Steve chuckled. “Were you expecting a hug?”

“Yeah! Maybe…” You shouted, which made him look at you, confused. “Ya’ know what? A hug would've been nice after the day we just had.”

Steve looked at you with a face that had ‘sorry’ written all over it. “Y/n, you know I was just—”

“Ah ah—” You interrupted him. “Good day, Steven.” You slapped your hand on the desk and marched out of the office as Pietro loosely followed.

You walked down the hallway, thinking about how you definitely reacted too harshly. You knew Steve was joking and didn't deserve that outburst. 

After all, he was only doing his job and giving orders. You knew he was busy, and now you felt bad for shouting at him. 

It had been a long day. You just wanted to climb into bed and rest your aching body.

You felt someone poke you. As you spun around to face Pietro, he wrapped his arms around you and rested his chin on your head.

“Oof—” As much as you wanted to resist, you melted into his arms. How could you possibly fight this after the day you just had?

“There’s your hug.” He said with a smile.

“Thanks, Pietro.” You smiled.

“No problem. Also, I'm pretty sure Steve feels very terrible now.”

“Shush,” you tightened your grip around Pietro, “I'll give him his apology hug tomorrow.”

➳ ➳ ➳

Completed December 2024 ©2024 yourtypicalwriter

↩︎ Back to Masterlist

[ateezscupid]

can u write a fic where san is a mean dom? i have this thing for calling him sannie bc its cute! and i think it would be hot if he mocked yn calling him that and it was kinda centered around humiliation!!! i love ur writing sm id love to see this done in ur style <333 i hope this doesnt make u uncomfy to write!! ):

- 🕸️

hello hello! i’m getting to this after a very long time, my apologies but i’ve been WAITING for someone to request mean dom!san. he’s been in my mind for a few weeks but i’ve had writers block and could never figure out how to write it out, so thank you for this.

and don’t worry about anything making me uncomfortable! a lot of things, i don’t have a problem writing. i plan to make a really detailed post about my rules and things like that soon so you guys know what i do and don’t write!

anyway, let me stop blabbing. enjoy!

﹟𝗠𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 ⋆ 𝖼.𝗌𝗇 𝗑 𝖿!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗭 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 / 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧

plot - san always gets flustered when you call him sannie during sex, but he loves it just as much as you do.

warn - kinda smut w/o plot, dom!san, unprotected sex, rough sex, pet names (baby, princess, pretty, etc.), choking, begging, degrading, humiliation

w/c - n/a

𝗧𝗔𝗚S - @felixs-voice-makes-me-wanna @starillusion13 @mingitheskzstan

you didn’t think today could’ve gotten any worse. you were teasing san the entire day trying to imply you needed him without actually saying it, but he clearly wasn’t catching the signals you sent. he was so busy with work, he couldn’t spare at least ten minutes for you.

you didn’t want to tease him so much that he’d be annoyed of you and he’d stop talking to you for the rest of the night, but you needed him. it’s been a while since the last time you two were together in bed. all you’ve been thinking about for the past week is how his hands would feel on your body; his hands squeezing your breasts and caressing your skin. rubbing the pads of his fingers on your clit and messing with the sensitive little bud that was there.

if anyone had asked you how badly you wanted to spend at least one night with him, you’d ramble on and on about it. you rambled about it to wooyoung the night before and it was clear he didn’t want to listen to your horny problems.

“distract him while he’s working!” is the advice he gave you, and boy, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

now you were face down in the bed with your arms pinned behind you, your makeup smudging on the pillow and your entire body shaking uncontrollably. you thought distracting him would make him realize what he was missing out on, but you did it at the worst moment.

it was embarrassing to say the least. san was in his office having a meeting, and you had the crazy idea to walk inside with nothing but a lingerie on. you’ve been wanting to wear it for a while, so what harm was there to wear it while he was having a business meeting? it was a harmless idea, and hic co-workers wouldn’t have seen you since you planned to go underneath the table. but you messed up.

while you were busy unbuckling his pants, neither of you noticed the top of your head was visible at the bottom of his computer screen. that meant everyone in the call saw yo ur head, and only one thing came to mind. when it was brought to his attention, he excused himself then turned his mic and camera off. you knew a punishment was coming your way when that happened.

he dragged you out of the office without saying anything and threw you on the bed, ripped the lingerie off your body without hesitation, and pounded into you like there was no tomorrow. there was so much going on in your mind, like would his co-workers think you were some sex crazed lunatic? or would they think of him as someone addicted to sex? unprofessional? there wasn’t any room for you to feel bad when you felt too good to remember what happened.

“this is what you wanted, right?” san growled as he pushed your head into the pillow, using his unoccupied hand to land hits against your ass whenever he felt like it. “you wanted to be treated like a slut, now you are, you little whore.”

no words could come out of you. just a bunch of incoherent babbles spilling from your swollen lips and tears falling down your cheeks. you loved when he was so angry all he could do was fuck the lights out of you. you loved him being rough and treating you like a rag doll. it was impossible for you to get over how easily he went inside you and how much he stretched you out. it felt like heaven.

“s-sannie~!” you whine into the pillow, hands curling into fists behind you. “f-fuck, s’good… y-yes!”

“don’t call me that.” he smacked your ass once more and thrusted harder. he was lucky you were facing away from him otherwise you’d see the visible red tint on his cheeks. he liked when you called him sannie, but now wasn’t the time. at least that’s what he told himself.

“such a little whore for me, hm?” he grunts, leaning down and biting your ear gently. “you wanted to mess with me during my meeting and now everyone saw how much of a dirty girl you are~. you wanted attention so bad but ended up embarrassing yourself in front of everyone.”

“i-i—,” even your attempts at forming full sentences failed.

“aw, is it too much?” he whispered in your ear. “you like it when i fuck you like this, huh? such a fucking whore.”

“sannie, p-please i-i can’t—,”

“sannie blah blah blah!” he rolled his eyes and basically forced you to arch your back. “i said not to call me that, and now you’re not listening? you wanna be bad now?”

“s-sa—,” you weren’t even allowed to finish your sentence. the minute you tried to speak, his hand was wrapped around your neck and gripping so hard, it felt like you couldn’t breathe. you loved every bit of it.

“pl-please—!” you whine. “l-let—“

“let you what? cum? after you were being disobedient?” he kissed your temple, groaning softly and letting go of your arms and planting his hand on the bed. “fuck, you feel so good.”

you opened your mouth to speak, which triggered san to tighten his grip around your throat. it was almost too much.

“call me sannie again, i dare you.” the tone in his voice was enough to let you know he wasn’t joking around, but the urge to be a brat was weighing on you.

“s…” you bit your lip. “s-sannieee!”

he didn’t say anything. he took his hand away from your throat and lifted you up by the shoulders, wrapping one arm around you and using his other hand to rub rough circles around your clit.

“you wanna be a whore? i’ll treat you like one.”

[threepandas]

Bad End: Restructuring

The blast doors on my office were stronger then the ones on most bunkers. They matched the one's on the company dorms AND my personal rooms. Thing is? They weren't designed to hold out forever. In fact, I was pretty sure they were a pretty bit of security theater, just to let us fleshys feel safe.

We weren't.

Not a single moment of a single day.

The pay was unmatched. But then again, it'd HAVE to be, with the mortality rate. The morbidity rate on top, too. You didn't take a job like this unless you were crazy. Or, you know, desperate. College loans, man. They get you over a barrel and don't let up. But a few years of this? I'd be clear an free~

Few MORE years? I'd ever have a tasty little nest egg to fall back on, in case of emergencies. I just... you know, had to play it smart. Be really, REALLY careful.

No slacking off. No getting comfortable. Vigilance and best manners. Then we all get to go home alive. Because what's out there? In the Labs? Those guys can pop diamonds like we crush packing peanuts. Highest grade, fancy ass, metal bars of specialty blend metals? Tied up in pretty little bows.

They may LOOK like some sort of waifish boy band... but God, they are NOT. They are really, REALLY not. And their "personality" matrix program thingies? Apparently still a work in progress. A LONG work in progress.

People have fucking DIED.

But does management care? Of course not. Pay out some life insurance. "It was an accident on the job". And "of COURSE steps will be taken to insure to never happens again". Ha! My ass, it is. And my ass, they are. They aren't doing SHIT. Nor are they GOING too. They're in too deep with this project, whatever it is. And us?

Well WE'RE expendable.

Just the cost of doing business.

I watch bleeding edge technology move like dancers, room to room. The wall of screen lighting up my cramped little office. The mini-fridge hums and the fan whirrs, filling the silence. I try to spot FM-036 on one of the screens. I can't find him and it makes me nervous.

He might be hiding. Trying to be polite, in his own way. Since there was an incident.

I FUCKING TOLD Ric not to call them "it"! I TOLD him! It aggravates them. Provokes. You don't DO that with something... some ONE, with that much physical power. 36 put their fist through his SHOULDER. And the God damned wall! He might LOSE his arm, which? Given their ability to calculate better then most supercomputers?

Was probably the point.

I notice one of the androids messing with a computer in a lab. Fuck. I lean forward, hating drawing their attention but knowing I have to do my damn job. I press on the speaker system for that room after a quick glance at the ID on their jumpsuit.

"FM-047, could you please not touch that? I know you are aware that you are not supposed to tamper, meddle, or otherwise engage with the researchers notes or electronics."

The android stop typing. Their head rolling up and to the side to look directly at the camera, their body perfectly still. The angle borders on impossible. Almost owlish, nearly snake like. All perfectly smooth movements effortlessly controlled. Joint not limited by human designs. His face is bemused. Pleasant.

"Of course, night gaurd. My mistake. Thank you for correcting me." He replies, something almost like laughter, nearly like mocking, but not quite, in his smooth voice. They always sound like they are... HUMORING us. Working around us.

It sends a jolt of cold fear though my veins.

I... I REALLY hate talking to the androids.

Pity, they seem to like talking to ME.

"I was unaware you were on shift tonight. I will update the others. It's good to hear your voice again, you seemed nervous, last time we spoke."

Yeah. Because you were asking PERSONAL QUESTIONS. Oh, sure, they had dressed them up as "We're so CURIOUS about Humans~☆" but I wasn't an IDIOT. You Did NOT, under ANY circumstances, try to bond with the machines. NO chatting. That was lesson number one from my trainer.

And Frank? Frank had seen too many "but THIS time it's DIFFERENT! We're FWIENDS~!" Incidents end in unspeakable carnage. Lost too many noobies. We DO NOT chat! With the machines!!! DO. NOT.

"Ah~, you made her nervous again, FM-047" came from a different screen. I flinched. Jerked back so I could see it. Oh god. "Besides, I told you. The calculations showed she wasnt going anywhere. The 'money' is too good."

The androids had stopped. Turned, in some cases unnaturally, to stare up at the cameras. At me. It was a blatant show of how interconnected they were. How distance meant nothing to them. How... how enmeshed they were, in the Lab's systems.

COULD they see me?

I didn't want to know. I NEEDED not to know. If only so I could continue to sleep at night.

They smiled, clearly hoping I'd engage. I wanted to. God did I want too. Wanted to demand "what calculations" and for them to STOP looking at me like that. But I didn't. With tense muscles I careful lifted my finger from the speaker system's button and leaned back. Crossed my arms like I was hugging myself.

Do. Not. Engage.

Remember what Frank taught you.

My... my office felt so claustrophobic. Painfully small. Across the screens before me, matching faces huffed laughs of condescending amusement. Some out right DID laugh. Bright and mean noises that echoed in silence of the night.

Humans? Frank had observed (and I kinda had to agree) were beneath them, in their minds. Flawed little flesh creatures. Annoying. It was something the scientists were trying to correct. Pretty sure they fucked up. Badly. And long, long ago.

Watching over these guys? Felt like watching over a sea of identical demons. Pretty, cruel, and incapable of human understanding. Fond of tormenting the nearest human for sport.

"Tell us, night gaurd, are you afraid?"

Oh that's just PETTY. Fucking cliché as shit, too. I mean, YES, obviously. But STILL. And... and you know what? Fuck it! Frank, gave me his number for a reason! I scramble for my belt. The communicator there. It barely rings.

"Mph, m'awake! Wus happin' kid? Come on, talk to me."

I ramble. Knees dragged up on my chair, curled in a ball. Frank's low, old man, rumble a soothing focal point. These guys are so creepy. I HATE that they KNOW that. Gleefully will TRY to be, sometimes. Can BACK IT UP.

"Hey, hey. I'll stay on the line, okay? You just need to make it to morning shift. They're are creepy lil shits, but they can't get past the doors. I'll come get you myself, okay? Walk you right back to the dorms. You're going to be okay, sweetheart."

I nod, even though I know the old man can't see me. Manage to crackle out a "Mmmhmm". The androids haven't stopped staring. The worst part? Is they realistically DONT HAVE TOO. Can stay, perfectly still, like statues... forever, if they wish.

Watching.

With those "I'm laughing at you" grins. That "aaaw, how PATHETIC" expression. As though I were a wretched little animal to be observed. I ask Frank to tell me about his new show. It's... it's something about socialites, right? Historical? He's glad too. Filling my office with the sound of his voice. It's gonna be a long shift.

I don't notice, high up on the wall, near the back of my office?

A security camera that I do not control. It's red light on.

The company has to be sure it's employees aren't slacking, after all! Aren't up to no good! But don't worry, THAT camera is connect to a database the androids shouldn't be able to access! Because we told them not too.

And THAT'S IT.

No one will learn of the security breach until its far, far too late.

Now? They watch as I watch them.

And it's just the beginning.

[phantombanquet]

Main Story: Diasomnia Book Chapter 8 Episode 7-117: Preparation for Departure! (Translation)

Episode 7-117

⚠️ Major Diasomnia spoilers! Proceed with caution.

translation by: phantombanquet

Idia: MALLEUS-SHI, HUH~~~~! 

THIS GRUDGE… SHOULD I LEAVE IT UNSETTLED~~!! ¹

If that happens, that pretentious inexpressive² guy, who usually keeps up his strong chara moves up in his sleeves…..

I can't help but feel sorry for myself if I don't see his pathetic figure sobbing with a runny nose and begging for forgiveness!

Now, what should I do…… Heh… Ehehehehehe!

Ortho: W-What a malicious scheming face…

This… May have angered someone who shouldn't be angered~

Idia: Heheh…… I'll show you. The ultimate power of a lone wolf³ trained in the gloomy “underworld.”

Just you wait, Malleus Draconia……

I'LL GET REVENGE BY SEIZING YOUR SPECIAL WEAKNESS!!!

Ortho: ……That's all.

From the magical disaster caused by Malleus Draconia until the awakening of Idia Shroud. This concludes the progress report.

Grim: Oohh~~! While we were fightin’ over in Lilia's dream, that's what happened to you guys.

Silver: I see. So Idia-senpai and Ortho are outside of the magical realm. It means that there is support coming from the real world. 

Idia: Y-Yeah, t-that sort of thing…… Well, for now, we'll be playing a dummy video on the surveillance camera for a short while……

I can only do this much.

Sebek: So, even if you have woken up, Malleus-sama will fail to notice and the “darkness” will not attack you.

Ortho: Yes.. And like I said earlier, Malleus-san is currently……

Focused on putting Lilia Vanrouge-san to sleep. 

So, I expect that he has not traced down the whereabouts of Silver-san and the others.

Sebek: Hm. I honestly want to praise your skills, but it is quite complicated when you are outsmarting Malleus-sama……

Idia: Well, that other guy is a battleship-like⁴ cheater so… We're still far off from completely capturing him.

Silver: However… I had no idea that Malleus-sama continued to expand his magical realm beyond the island……

Sebek: Furthermore, if the area is forcibly destroyed from the  outside, there is a possibility that the trapped person's psyche could also become destroyed!?

Grim: Somehow it's a real mess for real.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Can we do something about this?

[Choice 2] Yuu: (If this continues on, Tsunotarou will become the enemy of mankind.) 

Ortho: Yes. That's why we need your power!

Silver: Our… Power?

Ortho: Currently, the S.T.Y.X. staff is working together to assign ID numbers to the dreams of those trapped in the magical realm. 

During that time, we captured your magical reaction as you “moved around on your own” in the dream.

Silver: Could it be that it was my “Meet in a Dream?”

It's my unique magic that allows me to cross between dreams……

Ortho: Yes! That one, that one!

When traces of someone moving from one human dream to another were discovered, the engineers at S.T.Y.X. were in a commotion.

So that was Silver-san's unique magic, after all. Magic is a really mysterious power, huh.

Silver: However, my magic is to reliably travel to the dream of the person I'm targeting after, like you guys. I can't call someone into my dream.

I don’t know what else to say; it's hard to explain… It's a very intuitive kind of magic……

That’s why I was really surprised when Ortho appeared in the Dream Corridor and led us here. 

Ortho: What are you saying?

S.T.Y.X. prides themselves on their super computers and experts in magical engineering and magical analysis. 

They tried their best to analyze magic and they finally found a way to travel from dream to dream. 

Moreover, it is difficult to say that the current method is 100% reproducible so they said: “it's still a beta version.”

The mere fact that you can do it intuitively is astonishing.

Sebek: Hm. So the “power” that you need is Silver's unique magic?

Ortho: That's a part of it, too, but…

Sebek Zigvolt-san, Grim-san, and Yuu-san, your cooperation is essential.

Grim: Hmph! You're just trying to make us do the messy work, aren't ya!

Ortho: Wow♡ Grim-san, you talk too fast. 

[Choice 1] Yuu: This pattern is similar to the headmage……

[Choice 2] Yuu: I don't see any other reason to  be called out……

Sebek: Hmph, I don't like this sluggishness. Get to the point!!

Idia: S-So, uhhh……. While you guys were chattering in Lilia-shi's dream..

I-I was trying to think of a way to escape from my dream world……

Or rather, I've been trying to come up with a strategy to deal with Malleus-shi.

[Choice 1] Yuu: Is your strategy to get him to cry and beg for forgiveness while his nose is runny?

[Choice 2] Yuu: Is it a strategy to take revenge by capturing their special weakness?

Idia: Y-Yeah. That… Hih, hihi.

Anyhow, I made a video to explain that strategy…… W-Would you like to watch it?

Grim, Silver, Sebek: Video?

Idia: Waah~♪ Only good things have been happening lately~ It's so fun every day~ It's just like a dream~♬ Well. It was, in fact, really just a dream. Welcome, all you carefree people who live in the world of empty dreams. I am Idia Shroud. So for today, a cheat trick to create a dream world using magic — — was used by The Most Evil☆Final Boss Mage. Let me explain the strategy used by Malleus-shi. The magical realm that Malleus-shi created is kinda like a server running a huge MMORPG. And each dream of someone sleeping is managed individually. Malleus-shi is using himself and his alter ego to keep an eye on this server. To give you an idea, Malleus-shi is a server admin. And his alter ego is cracking down on users to commit violations in the online game — like a gamemaster. Malleus-shi, with the authority to operate and manage over the entire server, is currently in the state of a demon king who has the world right under his thumb.

Under Malleus-shi's control, we have NO chance of succeeding…… BUT! Because of the super geek hacker group S.T.Y.X. and Ortho's attack, all of the server's source code (construction formulas of the magical realm) has been analyzed and is now completely visible!

So — I'm going to use that data from my dream to develop and build a cheat tool. And then get rid of that damned invulnerable status! It seems like a perfect strategy at first glance, but in fact, there’s actually a flaw in this cheat strategy……. If Malleus-shi (the server admin) discovers this during development— IT'S GAME OVER IN AN INSTANT. But hold your horses! Despite that his alter ego uses autonomous magic, with the total population of Sage Island, monitoring and managing the dreams of about 20,000 people is not an easy task — even for Malleus-shi. If a problem happens here and there in your dream, there's a high chance that you'll have to deal with it by yourself! Therefore — I’ll be developing a cheat tool. I want you guys to catch Malleus-shi's eye and gather party members so we can subdue the demon king.

When everyone wakes up, we'll hand out invite codes that will allow them to travel to my dream.

Then, when all the preparations are ready, Malleus-shi will be lured to my dream and that's when the cheat tool that I developed turns on!! As planned, Malleus-shi's invulnerability will be canceled. And by using the invite codes that were diligently handed out, everyone will gather in my dream! We're going to beat him up with our sheer numbers of forces!

If things go as expected, Malleus-shi will also lift the spell and free us—! How was it!? “A lone wolf magician engineering guy explains how to capture the demon king in three minutes video.” If you think this video was good, leave a like! And this was Idia Shroud.

Grim, Silver, Sebek: ............

Idia: Ummm, e-everyone… Thank you for your attention. ⁵

Th-that’s why……

I ask you guys to go on a journey to gather “the strongest party members who will take on the challenge of defeating the demon king!”

Grim, Silver, Sebek: EHHHHH~~~!?

TO BE CONTINUED...

translator notes:

¹ - 「この怨はらさでおくべきか」 is an old Kansai (Osaka) dialect phrase. This phrase, although it seems like one will forever hold a grudge, actually means something along the lines of: “Shall I leave this grudge unresolved? (No, I actually have to solve this),” due to how the phrase is structured (which would be too deep to delve into but it’s mainly because of the か and べき/べし in the phrase).

² - 「スカしま」 is a Japanese slang usually used as an insult

³ - 「陰キャ」 is yet another Japanese slang used to describe someone with a gloomy or reserved personality or introverts. I used a known English slang instead of translating literally to preserve the meaning of the word.

⁴ - 「弩級 (どきゅう)」 is the Japanese translation of “Dreadnought,” which is a type of battleship in the early 20th century. Idia was just being a nerd again by using game-like terms so I decided to stick with using “battleship” instead of the literal translation.

⁵ - I wanted to note that Idia addressed them as 「皆様」which is a polite way of addressing others due to the inclusion of 様 (sama). Also, the “thank you for your attention” line was written as 「ご清聴アリガトウゴザイマシタ」 in the text instead of the usual 「ご清聴ありがとうございました」 which I think it's just to note Idia's personality www.

personal notes: this wasn't jp proofread so there might be inaccuracies;;; additionally aniplex jp actually posted the "how to subjugate the demon king" video but it's only available in japan.. you can still access it by using a vpn though~

[jumjum-crafts]

jummy ...........

covertly slipz you a rare 20 lei bill – which roughly tranzlatez to 85-ish mexican pesoz ...........

look buddy . i need to know more about that puter man ; i GOTSA find out hiz weaknessez and how to finally get him outta the picture ..........

soo ............ if you could be so kind to ....... hook me up with some fun factz about him ........... id be ever so grateful ;]

He is scared

Honestly, do you believe i'm going to sell my creature's secrets for 85 miserable pesos? Do you believe i'm that affordable? Absolutely yes. Here are some fun lil facts abt the Putrr

- His model is one of an assistant. Pretty much a house computer. (Answering questions and helping others 'get online')

- Was one of the last batches of said model. It was discountinued long ago.

- programmed to assist and be as much human as possible but has a ✨️distorted perception✨️ of it.

- Barely has self-identity

- those headphones are made to both catch radio waves and be sound-proof/cancelling sounds

- thinks highly of himself just like in canon

- his face recognition sensors are ALL messed up

- sometimes siri-talks people for shit and giggles sometimes it just happens Ok

- Would still scream at u if you touch him

- he has likes and dislikes guys I swear

- Sketch tricks him into believing everyone is doing the things he actually enjoys (won't dare to do em otherwise)

- Is actually chill with the lamp

- Ambivert

- whenever he cooks it tastes artificial lol

- him and Tracey come from the same company but were in VERY different sectors

- Tracey is. Way more human and outgoing than him actually. And they ain't even programmed for it. Colin used to get mad at her for "not following the rules" as an excuse to be salty about it.

- follows standars and expectetions to the letter

[alyss-erulisse]

Morph Madness!

Fixing Exploding Morphs

Marik's Egyptian Choker is currently in production. It is the first accessory I've made that involves assignment to more than one bone and morphs for fat, fit and thin states. So there is a learning curve, and it is during that learning curve that interesting and unexpected things can happen.

As with my other content, I'm making the choker fit sims of all ages and genders--that's 8 different bodies.

Adding fat, fit and thin morphs multiples this number to 27 different bodies.

I'm also making 3 levels of detail for each of these. The number comes to 81 different bodies, 81 different bodies for which I need to tightly fit a cylinder around the neck and avoid clipping.

That's a lot of work. I can see why most custom content creators stick with one age, gender and detail level. At least, they did in the past. Our tools are getting better day by day, and that may partly be because of creative, ambitious and somewhat obsessive people like me.

There are usually multiple ways to solve the same problem. Some ways are faster than others. This I've learned from working in Blender3D. You can navigate to a button with your mouse or hit the keyboard shortcut. You can use proportional editing to fiddle around with a mesh or you can use a combination of modifiers.

If I am going to be creating 81 chokers, I don't want to be fiddling around on each one of them for an hour. I need something automated, repeatable and non-destructive so I can make adjustments later without having to start over from the beginning. I need to work smart rather than just work hard.

This is where modifiers and geometry nodes come in. After you develop a stack to work with one body, the same process pretty much works for the others as well. That is how it became easier for me to model each of the 81 chokers from scratch rather than to use proportional editing to fit a copy from one body to the next.

But I was about to confront an explosive problem…

Anyone who has worked with morphs before probably knows where this story is headed. There is a good reason to copy the base mesh and then use proportional editing to refit it to the fat, fit and thin bodies. That reason has to do with vertex index numbers.

You see, every vertex in your mesh has a number assigned to it so that the computer can keep track of it. Normally, the order of these numbers doesn't really matter much. I had never even thought about them before I loaded my base mesh and morphs into TSRW, touched those sliders to drag between morph states, and watched my mesh disintegrate into a mess of jagged, black fangs.

A morph is made up of directions for each vertex in a mesh on where to go if the sim is fat or thin or fit. The vertex index number determines which vertex gets which set of directions. If the vertices of your base mesh are numbered differently than the vertices of your morph, the wrong directions are sent to the vertices, and they end up going everywhere but the right places.

It is morph madness!

When a base mesh is copied and then the vertices are just nudged around with proportional editing, the numbering remains the same. When you make each morph from scratch, the numbering varies widely.

How, then, could I get each one of those 81 meshes to be numbered in exactly the same way?

Their structures and UV maps were the same, but their size and proportions varied a lot from body to body. Furthermore, I'd used the Edge Split modifier to sharpen edges, which results in disconnected geometry and double vertices.

Sorting the elements with native functions did not yield uniform results because of the varying proportions.

The Blender Add-On by bartoszstyperek called Copy Verts Ids presented a possible solution, but it was bewildered by the disconnected geometry and gave unpredictable results.

Fix your SHAPE KEYS! - Blender 2.8 tutorial by Danny Mac 3D

I had an idea of how I wanted the vertices to be numbered, ascending along one edge ring at a time, but short of selecting one vertex at a time and sending it to the end of the stack with the native Sort Elements > Selected function, there was no way to do this.

Of course, selecting 27,216 vertices one-at-a-time was even more unacceptable to me than the idea of fiddling with 81 meshes in proportional editing mode.

So… I decided to learn how to script an Add-On for Blender and create the tool I needed myself.

A week and 447 polished lines of code later, I had this satisfying button to press that would fix my problem.

Here are the index numbers before and after pressing that wonderful button.

My morphs are not exploding anymore, and I am so happy I didn't give up on this project or give myself carpal tunnel syndrome with hours of fiddling.

Marik's Egyptian Choker is coming along nicely now. I haven't avoided fiddling entirely, but now it only involves resizing to fix clipping issues during animation.

Unfortunately, I'll have to push the release date to next month, but now, I have developed my first Blender Add-On and maybe, after a bit more testing, it could be as useful to other creators in the community as its been to me.

Looking for more info about morphing problems? See this post.

See more of my work: Check out my archive.

Join me on my journey: Follow me on tumblr.

Support my creative life: Buy me a coffee on KoFi.

[trackingcollar]

after almost a FULL MONTH, i got my game to work :D AND I DIDN'T LOSE MY WOLVES.

if you are having this issue, i still don't fucking know what i did but here's everything i did TODAY.

uninstalled onedrive off my computer (not the issue but now i no longer have onedrive on my computer so this is a win)

move all of my game files around just to see what would change SOMETHING either better or worse, and then put them back if it changes something or breaks it further.

uninstall and reinstall this game about 5 times.

every time i changed even ONE thing, i would relaunch. i probably relaunched 30 times. sorry to my steam friends.

go into the STEAM files (not game files. this is my userdata). find the wolfquest game ID and delete all files related to the ID. not the game itself. THE ID

have to reinstall steam because now it doesnt open.

this made my game uninstall, but reinstalling both steam and the game after this Just Worked.

once the game is open and you probably wont have wolves (i didnt anyways), theyre BACKED UP on the server still if you didnt save over them. you should be able to sync up to the server and retrieve them.

if you have the same issues i did - like i said, i have no real idea which one of these things fixed it. whether or not i really needed to mess with my userdata files or if it was simply just steam itself. so i cannot really help in this case, but everything else was SO unhelpful for me i was beginning to lose my mind.

my computer is mid-tier (not the best, but DEFINITELY not low end) with some graphic card degradation (for a billion reasons, but still not low end) but i still do seem to have problems literally nobody else has. onedrive was a big suspect each time i had similar problems, but i had disabled it previously (before i could delete it off my computer) so it never made sense to me and now it is entirely GONE OFF MY COMPUTER. so if this happens again i will know its a steam issue, and not a onedrive issue.

always follow the guides on the website first, but if thatttt doesn't work then try literally anything and everything because it'll be either the game files or steam itself.

jesus fucking christ. never put me through this miserable hell again wolfquest please i beg you

[devastator1775]

Anne's Journey: Two eternal Souls And The Lost Daughter - Chapter 6: Smooth sailing ...into stormy weather

Summary: In this extra long chapter, Anne and Ashley need to find somewhere to sleep, have a phone call to make, deal with some ruffians, have a train to catch and end up somewhere mysteriously familiar.

Also on Archive Of Our Own

“Ahh, A-Anne, please be gentle.”

“Don’t fuss, I know what I’m doing.”

“Is it supposed to feel this- haahh!”

“That sure sounded like it felt good.”

“S-shut – nnmm -shut up!”

“Just relax and let my magic fingers do their work.”

“Innuendo, much?”

Anne looked up from her laptop with a sigh. She had spent most of their time inside the train making changes to their ID chips, just to be safe. “You want us to get flagged as ‘underage runaways’ whenever we try to buy something, or need to check in somewhere?” She asked her friend, who was getting very bored being attached to said laptop. “No? Then let me work. I’m almost done anyway.”

“Ugh, this cable is itchy. What’s it made of? Fiber glass?” Ashley asked, sitting on her hands to keep herself from scratching the data port at the back of her neck. She gave Anne a worried grimace. “Hey, is this gonna work? Editing our ID Chips?”

“Uh, kinda?” Anne could feel Ashley’s gaze trying to burn a hole in her scalp. Anne looked up with a sheepish grin. “Lemme rephrase: when I’m done, we will have overwritten fake identities over our actual ones, but they’ll most likely reset back after a while, since it’s not done with an official program.” Her laptop beeped, signaling that the program had run its course. She gestured at Ashley that she could take out the

“So, what you’re saying ...” Ash let out a sigh of relief when she pulled the cable out her neck port. “-that we’ll need to do this again? Yay …”

“Hey, it’s no fun for me neither, y’know.” Anne groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. Ash hadn’t been wrong about the cable being itchy. “You know, theoretically, to make it really convincing, I should be doing this inside a Cradle Facility. Their computer systems have unrestrained access to the Global Registry. Any changes I’d make there, would be permanent.”

“Yeah, I think we are in enough trouble without us breaking inside a government facility.” Ash grinned and winked at Anne. “A second time, I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah …” Anne mumbled, that warm feeling buzzing inside her core again. She needed to perform an internal diagnostic when she had the time, because it was happening more often. And coincidentally, it happened every time when Ash was looking at h- you know, it is probably nothing, a glitch of some kind. Something completely logical, so there was no need for silly thoughts that messed her head up any more than it already was.

She yelped when a screw hit her on the side of the head. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Back in the land of the living, 2Tone? I’ve been trying to flag down your attention.” Ashley grinned. Anne noticed she was putting her stuff away. “Grab your stuff. The train’s slowing down.”

Almost as to emphasize the redheaded Drones’s statement, the trains brakes suddenly screeched. Anne yelped again when the sudden decline in momentum made her lose her balance, almost making her toppling over. She chuckled nervously as she scrambled up. “It seems you are right!”

“Of course I am!” Ashley shouted, trying to be louder than the screaming brakes. “Tell you one thing: I’ll be glad to finally be out of this bouldering box and get my feet on some more stable ground!”

“Yeah, same!” Anne quickly gathered her belongings, stuffing them inside her travel pack. In hindsight, she really hadn’t realized how boring this part of the plan would have been. They had been hiding in this cargo container for almost an entire day, and the train had only made a few stops, to unload and load on cargo. Luckily for the two stowaways, it seemed that their container hadn’t been on the schedule, so they had been left to their own devices for the entire time.

But there is only so much that they can do inside this limited space, and make sure no-one would find out that they were illegally traveling along. After they had snuck on board, they had taken a long nap to recharge as much of their energy as they could. After that, discussed about what they would be doing next, watched a few movies on Anne’s laptop, or just …talked with each other.

Ashley’s presence had been a boon to Anne, and not only because she was along for the ride. Just knowing that the red-eyed Drone was with her, it just …made her feel safe. She’s always had this feeling around her partner – wow, weird. Why did use that word? – ever since they were little. Anne could always count on Ashley to have her back.

Ashley always had been the one looking out for Anne. Whether it was defending her from bullies who would make fun of her dual-colored eyes, making sure she was taking enough rest between long study sessions, or being a blanket of comfort after she had her heart broken when the girl that she had been crushing on for the better part of a year had harshly rejected her. And Anne knew that the feeling was mutual, and that the strongheaded Drone relied on her as much as the other way around.

Ash’s parents divorced ten years ago, and it wasn’t an easy one, nor without its damages. Her mother, Marlene, didn’t hide that she wanted to have any sort of responsibilities regarding her only daughter, something the cruel woman had stated loud and clearly while she knew Ashley was in the room. After the divorce was settled, Marlene left without even saying a single word to her daughter, and that was the last time that Ashley had ever seen or spoken to her mother. And while Franklin did his best, he also didn’t act completely right towards Asheley. The man, in staunch contrast to his ex-wife, was devoted to his daughter and wanted to make sure that she’d never want for nothing, so he’d work long hours. But in doing so, he pretty much secluded himself in his store and spend less and less time with his daughter, who, in the meantime, was hurting much as well.

The Brinkmans had practically taken Ashley as one of her own during the divorce, and in the time afterwards. Anne sometimes wondered what kind of person Ash would’ve turned out if her mothers hadn’t been there to supplement some of the love that the latter felt she was missing. Nor what could have happened if Naomi, who finally couldn’t take it anymore that Franklin was – albeit nonintentional – neglecting his daughter, hadn’t decided to take matters into her own hands. One evening, after she had picked up the two girls from school and dropped them and her wife off at home, she went straight to Franklin’s Store to – in her words – ‘set him straight’.

Anne never found out what she exactly had done or said, but afterwards, Franklin changed his ways and became a father to Ashley again, instead of someone who just forwarded the cash for her education. These days, Franklin still spent a lot of time in his store, often leaving before Ash woke up, but things were a lot better. At the age of 16, Ash had become a very independent and resourceful woman. She often helped out in the store after school, and had shown interest in eventually taking over the store once Franklin retires. But just as often, she would spend time at the Brinkman home

And that’s why’d you never see the two apart. Where one was, the other wasn’t far away. People sometimes referred to them being as ‘close to being sisters’, but that …never felt right, for either of them. Anne knew their bond was unbreakable, but she never could figure out what it precisely was. Maybe one day she could a tag on it, but for now … she was just happy that Ashley was here with her.

“So, what’s the plan, chief?” Ashley asked, hoisting her backpack over her shoulders with a huff.

Anne, suddenly jolted out of her trip down memory lane, cleared her throat, hoping that her companion hadn’t noticed her zoning out. “Right, uh …so, the next train that we need isn’t arriving until tomorrow, so …I guess we’ll just get out and find a place to rest until then.”

“Okay, where do you reckon we should go?”

“I dunno.” Anne said with a shrug. “It’s not like I’ve never been in Faraday City before, you know?”

Faraday City was the Capital of Omega District, one of the more populated districts on Copper-9. It was like one of those cities you saw on grimy detective movies. Big city, a lot of noise, towering skyscrapers in the City Centre, hustlers roaming the streets who eagerly swindled money of unwitting newcomers, tourist attractions that did the very same thing, people everywhere on busy streets, and two small drones in the middle of it. Luckily, they didn’t need to go anywhere near the City Centre and only be in the calmer and more quiet outer parts of the city. That way, they could avoid any unnecessary complications.

Anne rather would have made someplace more …pleasant her midway stop, but this had been the only train that would’ve taken her close enough to the Zeta District without the need of even more stops along the way.

“Aww, my poor Anne, what would you do without me?” Ashley fluttered her eyes at her friend. “You are so lucky that I decided to come with you.”

“Bite me, Radish” Anne bit back, albeit in the same playful tone that Ashley had used on her, sticking out her tongue at her friend.

Ashley chuckled as she whipped out her phone and started looking up the nearest – and cheapest – place for them to sleep. “So …if I’m reading this right, the nearest B&B is …actually not that far. Hey, it’s got four stars. ‘Food sucked, but the lady running the place was very nice and reminded me of my gran-gran.’. “

“Looks like we’re visiting Gran-gran.” Anne joked, steadying herself as the train started to slow down even more. “And don’t forget: if anyone asks, my name is Ruby Porter, and yours is Abbigail Lecter.”

“Just call me Abby, Rubes.” Ashley affirmed with a cheeky grin.

With a final hiss, the train finally came to a complete standstill. Anne opened the door of their temporarily lodgings and peeked out. Whith the coast clear, they quickly left the boxcar without anyone seeing them and headed into the city.

***

It took a bit of navigating through the unfamiliar city, but eventually the duo managed to reach the little Bed & Breakfast. Too bad they hadn’t reached it sooner, because it had started to rain not too long after they had managed to make their exit out of the station. And to make things worse, it had taken the two girls completely by surprise. By the time they had found their destination, they were soaked. They pretty much rammed the door in, in order to escape the weather. The elderly Drone behind the counter let out a small yelp, startled by the sudden appearance of two wet and exhausted Drones, but let out a soft chuckle and greeted them with a warm smile.

“Well, that’s certainly one way to make an entrance.” The old lady chuckled, shuffling from behind the counter to greet her new guests. “Anything to get out of the rain, am I right?”

“We are so sorry for barging in like that, ma’am.” Ashley panted, doubled over and resting her hands on her knees. “Me and my friend got caught in the rain, and-“

“We’re sorry for scaring you, Ma’am.” Anne panted, pretty much steadying herself on Ashley’s shoulder. That run had exhausted her. She might have enhanced strength and speed, gained through mysterious means, but her stamina was still the same. Which wasn’t much.

“Oh, pish-posh, no harm done. And don’t you ‘ma’am’ me.” She wiggled her finger at them, almost like a scolding grandma, but with sparkles of mischief reflected in lilac eyes. “You may call me Madam Layla, and I’m the proprietor of this little respite out of the rain.”

“I’m Abby, Ma’ …Madame Layla.” Ashely began, remembering to use her fake name. She slapped Anne on the back, nearly knocking her over. “This short stack is Ruby.”

“Bite me!” Anne bit back, giving Ash a playful push.

“Well, Abby and Ruby, how can this old lady help you?” Madama Layla asked, trotting back to her counter.

“Do you have a room free for the night?” Anne asked.

Madam Layla furrowed her brow and let out a sigh, scratching her cheek in thought. “Oh, there have been so many guests arriving and leaving today, I can’t actually remember on top of my head. Hang on, let me check my register.” Madama Layla started up her computer, letting out a chuckle. “Never get old, ladies. By the time you reach my age, your memory storage is filled with wonderful memories, but the little things tend to slip through the cracks. Aah, here we go!”

Anne and Ashley gave each other a look, hoping for the best. The only other place they could afford was too far away from the station, not without spending even money on transport. After spending the entire day inside that cargo box, they were longing for something with a bit more legroom …and comfy matrasses.

“Looks like you’re in luck, girls.” Layla said with a warm smile. “I’ve got one room left.”

“Great.” Anne exclaimed.

Madam Layla looked up from her computer with a grin. “It’s only got the one double bed, though, but I guess it’s not going to be a problem, right?”

“Uh, why?” Ashley asked.

“Aren’t you a couple?” The elderly Drone smiled playfully. “I tend to have an eye for the romantic matters in life.”

Anne and Ashley gave each other a look. Their visors both lit up with a blush and they quickly sidestepped away from each other.

“No, just friends!” Anne exclaimed, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Ashley bashfully played with the straps of her backpack. “Yup, j-just friends. Always have been just that.”

“Uh-huh, right …” Madama Layla giggled, but didn’t press on. “Well, may I ask why a pair of ‘just friends’ are in the capital of the Omega District, at this hour and heaving such heavy backpacks with them?”

“Just passing through. We’re visiting some relatives of mine in the Epsilon District, and our train doesn’t come until tomorrow.” Anne explained, trying her very best not to make eye contact with Ashley. Technically, they would need to pass through the Epsilon District to reach the Zeta District, so she wasn’t actually lying about that.

“The Epsilon District, my my. And traveling so far, all on your own?” Madama Layla asked, glancing up from her computer, an almost worried glint in her eyes. “You two don’t look to be much older than sixteen.”

“Yeah, we get that a lot.” Ashley stated with a grin.

“Yeah, we’ve always looked younger than we actually are.” Anne added, hoping her voice didn’t crack too much. “Good maintenance and regular polish scrubs, and all that.”

“Hmmm, is that so?” Madama Layla hummed and took out a scanner. “I still need to scan your ID chips for confirmation, though. Protocol, ‘and all that’.”

“Yup, no problem.” Anne agreed, very happy that she had the foresight to edit their ID chips. Little alternations like name and age wouldn’t be picked up by a standard ID-scanner at a local B&B.

Madame Layla scanned the two of them and checked the result on her computer. After a few tense seconds, she looked up with a smile. “Everything seems to be in order, ladies. Now, just to settle your payment.”

She waited patiently while Anne paid for the room. Once that was done, she shuffled out from behind her counter and gestured towards the stairs. “Your room is on the second floor. Follow me and let’s get you settled for the night, shall we?”

As they followed their host up the stairs, they listened while she laid down some rules. “Now, you’re not the only guests here, so please keep it down after 10pm. I don’t want to hear complaints from my other guests, you hear?”

“No problem.” Ashley grinned evilly at Anne. “This one does snore, though.”

“Har-har, very funny, Abbigail.” The targeted Drone deadpanned with a roll of her two-toned eyes. “Uh, we’ll be leaving very early tomorrow and we won’t have much time. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all, sweetie.” Layla stated. “Just make sure the room is tidied up a bit before you leave, and just drop the key in the little jar on the counter.” She stopped in front a door. “This is your room. Why don’t you get in and get dried off?”

She opened the door to the room. True to her word, it had one double bed, a table, a closet for those who spend more than one night there. Just a regular room with the bare essentials. Just what they needed for a good night’s rest.

“Thank you, Madama Layla.” Anne said with a grateful smile. She was really starting to feel the exhaustion of the trip. She stepped right in and threw her back on the floor, by the heater.”

Ashley was about to follow her, when Madama Layla placed her hand on her shoulder. “Oh, Miss Abigail?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Your friend might believe her own words, but you aren’t convinced by your own at all.” Layla smiled wittingly. “Take some advice from an old lady who has been around the block a few times. Don’t wait too long and take your chance. If you wait until it’s too late, you’ll never stop wondering what could have happened.”

Ashley opened her mouth to object, but …just blushed and nodded.

Layla smiled warmly, patting the redheaded Drone on her shoulder. “Good night, Miss Lecter.” She craned her neck so she could see Anne. “Good night, Miss Porter!” She gave Ashley a final look before she went down the stairs, humming an old love song the former couldn’t remember the name off.

“What did she have to say to you?” Anne asked, taking off her wet jacket and hanging it over a chair.

“Just some more reminders about ‘being mindful for the other patrons’ tranquility, things like that.” Ashley lied. With a content sigh, she flopped down on the bed, spreading her arms in its blissful softness. “Greetings, soft matrass, how I’ve missed you. Never leave me again.”

Anne chuckled, amused by her companion’s antics, taking out her laptop. She placed it down on the little table and stared at it, letting out a sigh, which caught the attention of Ashley.

“Something wrong?” The redhead asked, sitting up.

“No.” A pause. “Yeah, maybe. I was …thinking of calling my parents? They must be worried sick.”

“Oh …” Ashley stood up and walked over to Anne, hugging herself. “Yeah, we kinda left our folks behind, didn’t we?”

“I never asked before, but did you leave a message for you dad?” Anne asked, turning to her friend. “You did leave him something, right?”

“Yeah, a note that I would be sleeping over at your place for a few days. It’s not like he’s been seeing me a lot lately anyway.” She grimaced when she saw Anne’s confused expression. “Pops has been working longer days these last couple of weeks. Like, twenty-four/seven kind of long, and doing these special promos. I think he’s saving up for something for us. Maybe a vacation, or a new car.” She let out a chuckle. “That, or he’s been dating someone without telling me. In any case, until he’s informed otherwise, he won’t be worried about me. That is, if your parents haven’t already put the entire town in an uproar.”

Anne nodded, turning back to her laptop, contemplating her options. Should she just call and let them know she was alright, but risk herself of being tracked again? But the thought of her parents gnawed at her insides. Then, in the corner of her eyes, she saw that the room came with its own phone, and that gave her an idea. She grabbed the phone from the stand, took out some cables and other devices out of her backpack and started to put them together.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Ashley asked, genuinely confused. “I don’t think Madame Layla is gonna be pleased we’re messing with her property.”

“Don’t fuss, I know what I’m doing.”

“Are ya?”

“Shhh!” Anne plugged in the last cable, and …stared at the phone in her hand. She sighed deeply and sat down on the nearest chair.

“Anne?” Ashley walked over, concerned. “You good?”

“Yeah, just …this is going to suck, isn’t it?” Anne winced.

“Probably …” Ashley rubbed the back of her head. “What are you gonna say to them?”

“Dunno …something, I guess?” Anne’s core was buzzing, both of stress, but also with a certain excitement. She turned to her laptop and with a few command lines, activated a program on her computer. A timer appeared on screen. Good, her program worked ...a little too well. Her location was being scrambled, but judging by countdown, it would only give her a several minutes before someone – be it police or whoever the hacker was – could trace them. Still …time enough to let her parents know she is alright … and to find out if they called the police on them yet. She grabbed the phone and gave Ashley a nod. “Okay, here’s goes nothing.”

She took a deep breath and started to dial in the number of her house.

She pressed the dial button.

It was making connection.

It was ringing.

Someone picked up.

“Hello?”

Anne’s core jumped when she recognized Hazel’s voice. Her voice sounded …tired and exhausted. She could only imagine in what state her parents were right now.

“Mom, …It’s me.”

There was a loud squeal. “ANNE! Honey, I am so happy to hear from you! We were so worried! where are you?! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Mom, I-“

“Naomi, what are you-?” A scuffle sounded on the other end of the phone, with Hazel apparently wrestling to keep possession of the phone.

“Gimme!” A new voice sounded on the other side. It was Naomi, who evidently had managed to secure the phone out of her wife’s hands. “Anne?”

“Hi, Momma …” Anne gulped, recognized that tone of voice her momma was using at the moment. She had heard it enough whenever she – and often with Ashley – had gotten into trouble.

“Anne! Elliot! Brinkman! You are in so much trouble, you don’t even know! You’ll come home this instant, and maybe – maybe – you’ll only be grounded until you graduate college!” Naomi threatened. “And that’s a big ‘maybe’!”

“Mom, I can’t.” Anne had trouble keeping her voice even. She wasn’t scared, but …this was hard on her. Never in her life had she ever thought that she would have to hurt her parents in such a way.

There was a soft sob on the other end. Naomi spoke again but this time, her voice sounded …broken, desperate and on the brink of crying. “Anne, my baby girl, please, please, please, come back home. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I know I can do better. I will be better. Just …come back. You will have anything your heart desires, just come home to us!”

Anne’s lips quivered, and a digital tear ran down her visor as guilt and regret filled her core. “Momma, I promise it’s not you. It’s me.”

“Anne …please …”

“Omi, how about you let me talk with Anne for a while? Go sit down, please.” Hazel’s voice sounded soft and cautious. After a few moments of silence, Anne could hear how the phone exchanged hands, and a moment later she could hear her other mother. There was a deep breath, and a slow exhale on the other side of the line. After a few seconds of silence, Hazel’s voice spoke up. “Anne …are you somewhere safe?”

“Yes.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Are you in danger?”

Anne chewed on her lower lip. She couldn’t really answer that one, because she didn’t know for sure. She had been monitoring her laptop, just in case that the hacker would show their head, but …nothing. So, she wasn’t in danger right now, so could be honest about that. “No.”

A sniffle and a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the Creators.”

Anne sighed, leaning back in her chair. She took a deep breath. “Have you …told anyone about me yet?”

There was a long silence, followed by a heavy sigh. “No, no-one knows, for now. We …figured we’d wait until we heard from you.” Hazel admitted. Anne could hear Naomi say something in the background, but she couldn’t understand it. There was a dry chuckle. “Well, I wanted to wait. Naomi wanted to call in the military, but I managed to convince her to wait …even if I had to convince myself as well.”

“So, why didn’t you?” Anne asked. She was genuinely surprised about this.

“We almost did, but …something in your message told me that we’d better wait for you.” Hazel took a deep breath. “Honey, what did you do? All those things you said on your message …about your birth parents. Are you really sure that they are…?” Her voice trailed off.

“I am.” Anne stated with all the fake confidence that she could muster. It was so much harder than she feared it would be. Her entire being was screaming at her to return to her mothers. To hug them, to say sorry and promise to never leave them again. But she knew that she couldn’t. She felt Ashley grab her free hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Anne squeezed back, turning briefly to the redhead to give her a smile.

“Sweetheart, why did you need to do it in this way? Why didn’t you tell us that you were doing this …investigation on your own? Why didn’t you inform us?” Hazel asked, her voice cracking. Anne could imagine her pacing around the living room, chewing on one of the ears of her glasses. “We could’ve gone through the proper channels, instead of this …journey you’re taking. Why all this risk? Why leave in the middle of the night? Why the secrecy? You said that Ashley had been helping you. What will we tell her when she asks for you?”

“Ashley, right …” Anne winced. There it was. She looked sheepishly at Ashley, who immediately understood what was happening. “About that …”

Ashley grabbed the phone out of Anne’s hands, and nervously cleared her throat. “Uh, hi, Mrs. Brinkman. It’s m-”

Anne couldn’t hear what was exactly being said, but Hazel’s voice was suddenly loud enough that she could hear it from where she was sitting. Ashley winced, holding the device a few inches from her audio receptors. She chuckled nervously, placing the phone back against her head. “Anne didn’t do anything. Technically, I roped myself into this situation. I didn’t really give Anne a choice in the matter.”

Ashley stayed silent while Hazel spoke again. She suddenly winced. “Please, don’t tell my dad. As far as he knows I am staying over at you guys, and-“ She hissed when Hazel shouted again. This lasted for a few moments, with the red-eyed drone patiently listening, her expression getting guiltier and guiltier by the second. After a few moments, she sighed and handed the phone back to Anne. “She wants to speak to you.”

Anne placed the phone against her ear. “Mom?”

“Is it not bad enough that you are doing this?” Hazel asked, her tone of voice exasperated and tired. “Ashley is with you?”

“At least I’m not alone, huh?” The sigh that came out of her mom’s mouth told Anne that the latter was not amused. She glanced over to her laptop, to see how her program as faring. She still had a bit of time, but she needed to wrap this up soon. “Mom, I’m running out of time here, so …”

“What? No-no-no! You are not going to continue this foolish journey!” Hazel sounded panicked, and Anne could hear Naomi scrambling up from wherever she was sitting to join her wife at the phone. “Anne, you need to come home! We’ll go to-“

“Mom, we can’t!” Anne didn’t want to raise her voice, but she needed to get the message through. “When I was investigating, I had to hack into …” she paused for a moment. She thought it better not to tell them that she hacked her way into private information. “When I had to access some sensitive data, someone …. someone immediately tried to stop me, to trace me.”

“Trace you? What are you-?”

“Mom, think about it.” Anne jumped up from her chair. “How you guys found me as a baby. The inaccessible data in my core. The report about my birth parents’ death that turned out to be fake. Someone trying to stop me when I’m getting close …it must be connected. I can’t put you guys in danger, so I need to do this alone.”

Ashley cleared her throat, but Anne ignored her.

“She can’t be serious.” She could hear Naomi mutter incredulously. Hazel must’ve put the phone on speaker. “Anne, you-“

“There’s another thing …” Anne interrupted her. She took a deep breath. “Something …weird has been happening to me. Something I can’t explain.” Her eyes caught her reflection in a nearby mirror, somehow looking distorted from her angle. “I’m changing, and if it’s connected to my birth parents …I need answers, and I really, really hate to say this, but …I can’t find those answers when I’m home with you.” 

She could hear Naomi letting out one of those typical mother-sighs. “This is ridiculous! Hazel, please tell our daughter-”

Hazel interrupted her wife with one surprising word. “Okay…”

“What?” Naomi cried out.

“What?” Anne agreed. “Mom, are you-“

“Anne, darling, I know when your mind is made up, and when it’s like that…well, it’s not like we can stop you now, can we? So, for now …we’re going to let you do what you think is best. Just …the both of you, be careful and promise us you call us soon?”

“I promise.” Anne let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Thank you, mom.”

Naomi sure wasn’t convinced. “Hazel, you can’t …this can’t-“

While Naomi and Hazel were arguing, Ashley tapped on Anne’s shoulder. She pointed over to the laptop, where she noticed to her displeasure that the timer was nearing its end. She was running out of time.

“Mom, momma, I …I need to go.” Anne felt he heart clench.

“WAIT!” Naomi cried out, and Anne could hear how the phone got snatched out of one hand into the other. “Anne …”

“Yes, Momma?”

“We love you. So much!” Naomi exclaimed, her voice soft and genuine.

“I love you too. Both of you.” Anne whispered. She glanced over to the timer. It was nearing zero. Her thumb hovered over the END CALL button. “Bye …”

She ended the call.

The sound of her mothers voices vanished, replaced with silence.

A sob escaped her throat.

The phone clattered to the ground, and Anne buried her face in her hands, sobbing while Ashley wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

Back in Rivetdale, the same thing happened. The moment that the call ended, Hazel’s legs gave out, and she would’ve crumpled to the floor, if not for Naomi catching her in time and letting her down gently.

The two mothers sobbed silently in each other’s arms, clinging to one another like they were afraid they would lose each other as well.

“Oh, Hazel …” Naomi mumbled with a broken voice. “Why did you -?”

“Because …she is right, Omi.” Hazel stated, pulling away from the hug to caress her wife’s cheek. “We can’t help her with this. She needs to do this on her own.”

“Out little girl is out there all alone, Hazel.” Naomi sniffled.

“She’s not alone.” Hazel smiled gently. “She has Ashley with her, and you know that she wouldn’t let anything happen to Anne. And our daughter is smart enough for the both of them. As long as they’re together, they’ll be fine.”

“I guess that’s true.” The pink-haired drone mumbled. “It’s just …, she is my baby.”

“Mine too, silly.” She took her wife’s hands in her own, squeezing them softly. “We’ve always known that this day would come. It was always a matter of time that our little bird needed to stretch her wings and leave the nest.”

“But why this early?” Naomi asked, sniffling again. “And for …people that left her behind? Drones she’s never met, that she doesn’t know? Why does she need to know who her birth parents are? Weren’t we enough?”

“Of course we were.” Hazel wrapped her arms around her wife and hugged her tightly. After a few moments, she broke away from the embrace, her expression serious. “But …Anne had a point. We’ve always known that something didn’t add up about the way she came into our lives. How she ended up with the two Drones that longed for a child of their own, the missing data in her core, the report about the supposed death of her supposed birth parents, …it was always …too convenient.”

Naomi nodded weakly. Hazel had a point. Neither of them had ever said it out loud, but …they’ve always had known that Anne’s circumstances were …too unique. She let out a heavy sigh. “I guess you’re right …” She admitted. “But …why now? Couldn’t it have happened a few years later? And without these drastic actions?

“I know, Omi.”

“And what did she mean that she was ‘changing’?”

“I don’t know, but …” Hazel chewed on the inside of her cheek. “She’s always been special, our Anne. She always seemed to …advance so quickly.”

The pink-haired Drone nodded solemnly. Throughout her life, Anne had surprised them many times with how quickly she seemed to learn new things. “Spoke her first word before even transferring to a Toddler frame, knew how to walk in the same month that she got her toddler body, always picking up these new skills with minimal effort, … she’s our special girl, alright.”

“Yeah, she is …”

“I still don’t like it, though.” Naomi stated, squeezing her wife’s hands.

“In any case, no matter how much we don’t like it, it’s too late to change anything now.” Hazel stood up, pulling her wife to her feet as well. “All we can do now, is decide our next step. How are we going to explain her absence in school?”

“And Franklin?” Noami added. “He might be busy with his shop lately, and he thinks she’s sleeping over but he’s going to want to see her someday. We can’t just say ‘oh, they’re sick and you can’t see them right now’.”

Hazel’s eyes lit up, an actual lightbulb appearing in her visor. “We’re going to do just that!”

“I think I’ve lost you.”

“Do you remember that epidemic that went around, when we were doing our residency at the hospital?” She asked. “It mostly targeted teenage drones, because of a very specific coding in their system?”

“Oh yeah, that virus that spread through the teenagers’ inbuilt wireless transceiver. It took months before a successful vaccine patch was created.” Naomi recalled. “What does that have to do with this?”

“Well, variants of the virus tend to pop up, every now and then, right?” Hazel stated suggestively.

Something clicked in Naomi’s cognitive sub-routines. “Oh, you mean to say-?”

“Yep, our daughter and her friend – in an attempt to download a movie that hasn’t come out yet – accidentally uploaded a similar type of virus into their system, and are now bedridden. In order to curb the spread of the virus, Ashley needs to stay with us for the time being.” Hazel explained, her eyes twinkling with mischievous intent. “We – meaning, you and me – are showing symptoms as well, and we are required to quarantine ourselves, just in case. Fortunately, it seems it’s not that severe of an infection, so we’ll just have to wait until our anti-virus patch has run its course.”

“That sounds …” A grin spread on Naomi’s face. “… quite clever, actually.”

“I have my moments.” Hazel stated proudly. “It would explain why Anne and Ashley are absent from school, why no-one can see them, and Franklin would be assured that his daughter is in good hands. It would give us, at least, a few weeks before anyone would suspect otherwise.”

“But, Hazel, you still need to fill out a report for the hospital.” Naomi warned. “If they found out you falsified reports, you can lose your medical license.”

“That’s why I will be the one who’s name will be on the report.” Hazel explained. “There is no need for the both of us to get into trouble for this. I’ll take the fall. You can claim emotional blackmail or something, and-“

“Nuh-uh! No way! I am not letting you take the blame alone.” Naomi interrupted, grabbing her wife by the shoulders and looking intently into her visor. “It’s our daughter, so it’s our ruse, and we will face the consequences together.” She held up her hand, showing the ring, the one that Hazel had slipped on her finger so many years ago at their wedding. “In sickness or in health, remember?”

Hazel smiled warmly at her wife, pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately. Once they finally broke away, she giggled while caressing Naomi’s cheek. “The things we do for our child, right?”

“Wouldn’t do it any other way, Babe.” Naomi grinned, but soon her expression changed to a saddened one. She let out a sigh, resting her chin on her wife’s shoulder. “I hope she’s alright.”

“Me too, Omi.” Hazel nuzzled softly against Naomi’s cheek, a digital tear running down her visor. “Me too.”

***

An hour had passed since Anne had called her parents. An hour since Ash had suggested that they’d go to bed and get some sleep, so they would be rested for the following day. An entire hour that Anne just stared at the ceiling, her mind racing with thoughts and doubts.

She let out a heavy sigh. “Ash?”

A sleepy groan. “Hmmm?”

“Are we doing the right thing?”

The bed shifted as Ashley rolled to her side. “A bit late to ask that, don’t you think?”

“What if mom was right, and we could’ve just …done things another way, instead of trekking across the planet, chasing a pair of ghosts?” Anne asked, rolling over to face her friend.

“We could’ve …” Ashley sighed, reaching out from under the blanket to grab Anne’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “But wouldn’t you just end up in the same situation, wondering if you made the right choice?”

“Maybe …” Anne squeezed her eyes shut, digital tears dangling in the corner of her eyes. “I just …feel so guilty right now. I’m putting my moms through hell, all because I-“

“Because you want to know the truth, and because you felt it would be the safest way for them.” Ashley planted her hand softly on Anne’s cheek, smiling softly. “And I’m here, in case you need a shoulder to lean on.”

Anne smiled softly, resting her own hand on top of Ashley’s. “I know, Ash.” She whispered. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

“Wouldn’t anywhere else I’d rather be than here, Anne.” Ashley whispered back, blushing faintly.

They fell in silence, just staring at each other for a few moments, before Anne shuffled closely against Ashley’s frame with a content sigh. The latter, slightly taken aback, slowly wrapped her arms around the smaller Drone and pulled her close against herself. She gasped when Anne gently nuzzled against her, but after a few moments she recollected herself and rested her chin on top of the raven-haired head. A few moments later, she noticed that Anne had fallen asleep, her breathing calm and regular. Ashley smiled, taking the chance to let her fingers run through Anne’s hair, smiling warmly.

“Don’t worry, Anne.” Ashley whispered softly, caressing her cheek with a finger. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She planted a kiss on top of the sleeping Drone’s head, who just stirred in her sleep, but didn’t woke up. Ashley just giggled softly and closed her eyes as well, relishing in the warm feeling that she was feeling deep inside her core. A few moments later, she, too, had drifted into the land of dreams.

***

Morning came all too soon, with Ashley deciding that the best way to wake Anne up …was to tickle her, which quickly erupted into a brief pillow fight. Once they had had reached a cease-fire, gotten themselves dressed and all packed up, they went downstairs. Madama Layla was standing behind her counter, beaming when she saw the two young Drones come down.

“Ah, slept well, my youthful Dronelings?” She asked.

“You’re up early.” Ashley noted, handing over the key to their room.

“Oh, I don’t need much sleep anyway.” She let out a chuckle, turning around to hang the key away. “I take more than enough naps during the day. You’d be surprised how much free time I have, standing behind here.”

“Thanks for letting us stay.” Anne thanked, genuinely grateful that they had somewhere safe and comfortable to rest. “You know, without reservation.”

“Oh, pish-posh, wasn’t nothing.” Madama Layla waved the thanks away. She suddenly gasped, clapping her hands together. “Before I forget, dearies, you mentioned yesterday that you were going to take the train to Epsilon District? I assume you arrived in the station not too far from here, and you’d go there today, too?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, there was something nagging me about that, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.” Madama Layla explained. Her expression turned regretful. “And that’s when I remembered: Due to maintenance on train tracks going out of that particular station, all outgoing trains, including the ones you would have to take, are rerouted through the Central Station in, well, the City Centre. And that’s not the only bad news, unfortunately.”

“Oh no …” Anne could feel more bad news coming.

“Let me guess: the schedule has changed too?” Ashley asked, having come to the same conclusion as Anne.

“I’m afraid so, darlings.” Layla admitted, looking very apologetic. “I checked this morning, and I’m sorry to say: the earliest train heading towards that direction left half an hour ago.”

“Oh, sonuva glitch …” Anne cursed under her breath.

“Language, dear.” Layla scolded casually, but her expression soon turned to a reassuring smile. “I do have some good news, though. Next train is this afternoon, so you’ll have more than enough time to get yourselves there. There’s a bus stop right outside that will take you straight to the Centre.”

Anne sighed, somewhat relieved that their plans hadn’t completely gone off the rails. She figured that spending a few hours playing tourist wasn’t that bad of a detour, even if she didn’t like it. “Thank you, Madama Layla.”

“Yeah, you’re an awesome lady.” Ash stated with a wink.

“No problem, dearies. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your trip” Layla smiled. She waved them goodbye as they walked out the door. “Such nice ladies. Polite and friendly.” She raised an eyebrow as she heard a faint rumble in the distance, letting out a sigh. “Too bad that the weather isn’t too kind on them. I do hope they aren’t caught in the rain again.”

***

The drive to the city Centre had been surprisingly quick, and it hadn’t taken them long to find the Station and buy tickets for the train they needed. As Madama Layla had told them, the next train wouldn’t arrive for several hours, so they had decided to wander around, and stock up on some snack for the road. In that time, a storm had started to make itself known.

“Man, they do not have good weather here!” Ashley stated dryly, as she looked up to the darkening sky.

“Well, the weather app says it’s not gonna rain, it’s just gonna-“ Anne let out a surprised yelp when a lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, nearly dropping her phone on the ground as she jumped. She blushed, slightly embarrassed by her outburst. “- do that … Don’t laugh.”

“I’m not laughing.” Ashley mumbled, trying her best not to crack a smile.

Anne rolled her eyes and hooked her arms into Ashley’s. Even with the storm rolling in, the streets were busy, and Anne didn’t want to lose sight on her companion. Sure, that was the only reason she did that, as surely it was the very same reason that Ashley secured her arms tightly as well.

Yup, completely logical reasoning by the two of them.

About an hour after they had arrived, the clouds above them had darkened even more, to the point that they were blocking out the sun and shrouding the city in a grim, cold ambience. It would be hard to believe that it was still morning. The streets weren’t that crowded anymore. In fact, it almost seemed like Anne and Ashley were some of the few that actually ventured out. The dark atmosphere together with the near-deserted streets made Anne feel uneasy.

As they were walking - looking for some shop Ashley had read about in a ’10 places you need to visit when visiting Faraday City’ blog - she suddenly felt a shiver go down her spine, making her glance over her shoulder. She had the feeling that someone was following them. Was it her imagination? Maybe it was just her nerves talking. She yelped when Ashley suddenly yanked her into another direction.

“Hey, let’s cut through here.” She said, leading the two of them into an alley. “I think we can reach the Hot Topic Emporium faster.”

“How do you know? You’ve never been here.” Anne tried to pull the two of them away from the foreboding alley, but it seems her enhanced strength was abandoning her right now. That was another thing about her powers. Her healing powers were always active, but her other enhanced abilities seemed to come and go, depending on the situation. Maybe it was a subconscious thing, because she didn’t want to damage Ashley in any way. But, alas, into the alley they went.

Not noticing the two figures that were following them.

The deeper they went into the alleyways, the more they realized that they were heading into the bad part of town. No streetlights, most windows were boarded up and it didn’t seem like anyone was living in this part.

“Okay, I’ll admit, I was wrong.” Ashley mumbled sheepishly. “This isn’t going anywhere I think we’d like to be.”

Anne let out a tired huff. “Yeah, let’s just head back, and-“

“You ladies lost?” From behind a dumpster came a scruffy looking Drone, hands deep inside his pockets and his gaze fixated on the two girls. “Because, I could be a very courteous guide …for a fee.”

Anne immediately sensed something off about the guy. Alarm bells – quite literally – were going off inside her head, and she tried to grab Ashley’s hand, but the latter took a confident step forward. She has never been one to let someone intimidate her.

“Nah, no need, buddy. We were just leaving.” Ashley stated, giving him a fearless glare. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

They turned around, but their exit was being blocked by two other Drones, one big and burly, the other lean and fidgety, but both looking as scruffy as the first one. They chuckled as they made the two of them back away, back towards the first Drone, who let out a sly chuckle.

“I think you don’t realize what’s happening here, Red.” He stated, casually strolling over to them. “This is my hood, and anyone who passes through here needs to pay a toll. You know, to repay me and my associates here for allowing you the usage of our turf. Ain’t that right, boys?”

“That’s right, Slick!” The lean one answered.

Big ‘n Burly just grunted.

Ashley wasn’t impressed, she walked up to the Drone named Slick, her arms crossed. “Not gonna happen, pal. Me and my friend are just gonna walk away, and you just keep pretending you’re a big shot, alright?”

Slick’s crooked grin turned to a scowl, taking a step forward to get right into the redhead’s face. “Are your audio receptors on the fritz, or are you just dumb?” He growled. “Drop the backpacks, hand over any money you have on your person, or …” He snapped his fingers.

Next thing Anne knew, the burly guy had his arms around her tightly. Before she could even shout to let her go, the lean guy held a knife against her throat, giggling coldly.

Slick chuckled evilly, enjoying the shocked expression on Ashley’s face. “Or I’ll let my boys work out some anger issues on your short girlfriend over there.”

Anne wanted to shout, but Burly slapped his hand on her mouth, muffling her. Anne tried to squirm out of the thug’s grip, but he had too much of a hold on her. Her enhanced strength was failing her. She felt something heat up inside her core, like an ember wanting to become a flame.

“You let her go, right now!” Ashley growled, grabbing Slick by his dirty vest. “Or I’ll-!” She gasped when a knife appeared just an inch away from her throat.

“You really are dumb, if you not realize that I am the one holding all the cards, pretty girl. “He grinned, letting his gaze go up and down Ashley’s body, a dark glint in his eyes. “But I could be persuaded to let both of you go …if you let me have a little fun with you.”

Ashley’s eyes narrowed, but still didn’t show any fear. She spat at the guy, leaving a glob of saliva on his vest. “Go defrag yourself, you big, ugly, sunova- OOMPHF!”

The red-eyed drone doubled over, falling on her knees and holding her stomach while letting out painful coughs. Slick just laughed, something his buddies eagerly joined in with. He kicked her knees, knocking her completely on the ground.

“Now, why did you have to be so rude, red?” Slick growled. “Now, I’m going to have to teach you a lesson. Maybe after that, you’ll be a bit more eager to exchange some quid pro quo.”

The flame inside Anne’s body started to grow larger. She balled her fists, letting out a muffled growl. Something was stirring inside her. Something …primal. She breathed deeply, anger starting to replace any fear, or any other emotion, until it was all that she could feel.

“Now that you are a bit more cooperating …” Slick chuckled darkly, grabbing Ashley by her hair and pulling her up. “Let’s have that fun, shall we?”

Ashley screamed.

Something inside Anne snapped. It was like a veil of red fell over her vision, completely blocking out her sight. It was almost like she blacked out. It was like a mad, euphoric madness took over. All She didn’t know what was happening. she knew was that her friend was in danger, and she needed to act.

And needed to pay.

“A--e!”

They would pay.

“--ne!”

She’d stop them.

“--op!”

Tear them ap-

“Anne!”

The shout brought her back to reality, bringing her out of the darkness. With a gasp, Anne froze. The world was blurry. She was trembling. She was out of breath. The primal anger inside her was starting to fade.

A voice spoke up, cautious and soft. “Anne?”

Anne spun around towards the voice. She saw Ashley, sitting on the floor, looking at her with a mixture of fear and confusion. Slick, who had been standing next to her just a moment ago, was now lying motionless against the dumpster. For a moment, she thought he was dead, but the [REBOOT Y/N?] message on his visor showed that he was just unconscious instead.

She winced when she felt a sharp pain in her hand and gasped when she saw that Slick’s knife was currently lodged deeply into in. With a grunt, she pulled it out, staring at her hand as it started to heal before oil could even start flowing. In a panic, she threw the knife out of sight.

“A-Ash? What …what happened? Where are-” Anne muttered, confused about the situation. She looked around, and to her surprise and even bigger confusion, the two other thugs were unconscious too.

Ashley cautiously stood up, but seemed almost …reluctant to approach Anne. “You ... you don’t remember?”

“No.” Anne took a step in Ashley’s direction, but froze when the latter took a step backwards. “I …I blacked out, and now …! Did I do this?”

Ashley nodded, cautiously approaching her distraught friend.

“How?”

“You …you went berserk, or something. It was like you were possessed. I’ve never seen you act like that. You were cackling and all that.” Ashley explained, hugging herself, nervously eyeing Anne. “You took those two out first.” She nodded towards the two unconscious goons, before turning her gaze towards the equally knocked-out Slick. “You moved so fast; one moment you were standing over those two, and then …BAM! Next thing I know, this guy gets knocked backwards, but not before he tried to defend himself by stabbing you. How did you do that?”

“I …I don’t know what came over me. I saw that thug hurting you, and it made me so angry. “Anne explained, stammering and anxious. “I felt …something inside me, like something wanted to get out and protect you. And when you screamed …I blacked out. And, and …are you okay?”

“Nothing a little rest, and some nano-mending cream can fix.“ She took a cautious step forward. “Now …are you …okay?”

Anne stared at her trembling hands, her breathing quickening, her vision starting to blur again. “No, no, I’m not.” A sob escaped her throat, as digital tears rolled down her visor. She looked up at her friend, desperation and hopelessness in her eyes. “I’m scared, Ash. What is happening to me?”

Ashley, finally overcoming her apprehensive state, quickly closed the distance between her and Anne, and wrapped her arms around her distraught friend to hug he tightly.

“I’m so sorry, Ash.” Anne whimpered, burying her head into Ash’s neck. “I tried help you sooner, but-“

“It’s going to be okay, Anne. It’s over now.” She whispered, nuzzling her cheek against Anne’s. She pulled away, holding the latter’s head between her hands and smiling warmly. “Whatever it was, I’m happy it happened. You saved me. And in the most badass way possible. Even that X-eyes thing you had going on was cool!”

Anne took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Ash was right. It was over. She had no clue what that berserk mode – or however she needed to call it – was about, but she and Ash were safe. Now, if only they could get out of here, before –

“Hello, this is Officer Rook!” A new voice called out, noticeably getting closer. “People heard fighting over here! Is anyone hurt?”

“Oh no!” Panic washed over Anne’s core. Police? Now? How could they react? How could they explain this? If they found out that she had done this, they-

It seemed that Ashley had noticed Anne’s panic, because she grabbed the latter by the shoulders and made her look at her. She smiled reassuringly. “It’s going to be okay, Anne.” She said, indicating that Anne had to sit down on the ground with her. “You saved our butts, now it’s time for me to do the same.”

“But-“

“Hey, talking ourselves out of trouble is my specialty, remember? Just …play along.”

Anne nodded and waited for the officer to get to them. She hoped that whatever tale Ash was going to spin, they would believe it.

***

A little while later, Anne and Ashley found themselves in the Police Station, where the officers had brought them, after they had thrown the still unconscious thugs in the back of a police cruiser. They were currently sitting in the office of one Chief Brick, who had been taking their statements.

The officer twirled his moustache, humming as he went over their statement again. “So, Miss Lecter, Miss Porter …if I understand you correctly, you were just wandering around the city, seeing the sites, when you decided to take detour through the alleyway we found you.”

“Yessir.” Ashley confirmed.

Anne nodded. That part was true.

“And then, those three fine examples of high school dropouts stopped you, and tried to mug you for all your possessions.”

The two nodded again. Still true.

“And when they decided to get handsy, you-“ He pointed a pencil at Ashley, who was pushing an ice-pack against the side of her head. “-decided to – how did you say it – ‘kick their sorry butts into next week?’

Anne shrunk inside herself a bit. That part …was not true.

“Pops always told me: ‘if a guy doesn’t want to listen to a ‘no’, maybe he’ll listen to a fist to the jaw.’.”

“Sounds like a smart man …” Officer Brick stated, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Still, quite a feat for someone on her own, taking out three guys like that.”

“Yeah, I’m stronger than I look.” Ashley stated proudly, flexing her arms. “Courtesy of martial arts training, and a bit of my pops’ side of my coding. He used to be a construction worker, and his body was modified for heavy lifting. My arms got the same treatment when my body was being constructed.”

Anne had to stop herself from smirking. What Ash was saying was true, minus the thing about having martial arts training – she only had done a few lessons, and then got bored of it. A lot of people underestimated her when it came to strength.

Officer Brick turned to Anne. “You have been quiet, Miss Porter.” It was not a question.

Anne squeaked and chuckled nervously. “Oh, …still a bit shaken up, I suppose.”  

“Well, who wouldn’t?” Officer Brick sighed and leaned into his chair. “It was a good thing that your friend was there with you.”

“Yeah.” Anne turned to Ash, smiling softly when the latter winked at her.

There was a knock on the door, which opened to reveal the officer that first had helped Anne and Ashley, Rook. “Chief?”

“Yeah, Rook?” Brick acknowledged. “How are you three sleeping uglies? Did they have anything to say about all this?”

“They are awake, but they don’t seem to have any memory about their altercation with these young ladies. Seems they memory drives got knocked out of alignment and wiped out the last three hours of their lives.” He stated, standing to attention. “We did find several grade-A magnets on their person, and their breath reeked of gasoline, though.”

“So, these guys were probably stoned out of their minds, when they decided to hold up these young ladies?” Brick asked.

“It’s a high possibility, Sir.”

Brick turned to Ash and Anne. “Are you still sure that you don’t want to press charges?”

Ashley and Anne shook their heads.

“Well, in that case, I believe I’ve heard enough.” Brick decided. “We’ll charge them with possession of illegal substances, and we’ll chalk your actions up as ‘rightful self-defense’ and call it a day. Just a bit of paperwork to sign, and you may be on your way.

“Really?” Anne asked incredulously. She hardly could believe that they had gotten away with this. She eagerly grabbed the report and signed it, handing it over to Ashley for her to sign as well. “Thank you so much.”

“Just doing my job, young miss.” Brick stated with a smile. “About that …didn’t you say that you had a train to catch? To Epsilon district, if I recall correctly?”

“Oh sh-“ Anne checked the time and groaned. “And it seems like we’re going to miss that train.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Brick stated with a smile, his moustache wiggling. He turned to the other officer. “Rook, would you be so kind to escort these young ladies to the station?”

Anne and Ashley couldn’t believe their luck. Not only did they get to leave without any sort of problem, they also got a free ride. Seems things were looking up for them. With a little help of a loud Police siren, the two Drones managed to catch their train just in time. They had taken seat in a mostly empty wagon, where they could freely speak without anyone listening in on them.

Anne still had no idea what had happened to her. She still had no memory of what happened during her blackout, only what Ashley had told her. Obviously, this was linked with her powers, but this one …this one scared her. She couldn’t forget the fear in Ash’s eyes, after her attack. What if the next time it happened, it would make her turn on Ash.

She didn’t want to hurt her.

She couldn’t.

she wouldn’t.

She’d make sure of it.

One way or the other.

***

A few hours into their train ride, Anne found herself staring out the window, while Ashley was sleeping beside her. They had ventured into Epsilon District a little while ago, and it would still take a few hours before they’d arrive in Zeta. From there, they’d take a bus or something to Little Diodeton. And once there …

Suddenly, she got nearly thrown out of her seat when the train’s emergency brakes activated. Ashley fell out her seat with a scream. Judging by the distant sounds from other wagons, other passengers had the same reaction. A few moments later, the train came to a halt with a hiss.

“What the **** happened?” Ashley asked aloud, her profanity blocker bleeping out her swear word. “I was having the most amazing dream, and suddenly I’m on the ground!”

“I don’t know.” Anne groaned, scrambling up while pulling her friend up with her. “Some kind of accident, maybe?”

The PA system came to life with a series of beeps, and a voice spoke out. “ATTENTION PASSENGERS! DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS TRAIN CAN’T CONTINUE Its DESTINATION. PLEASE EXIT THE WAGONS AND ASSEMBLE BY THE ROAD. EMERGENCY BUSSES HAVE BEEN CONTACTED TO BRING YOU TO THE NEXT STATION; THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!”

“Guess we’re getting off here.” Ashley mumbled in an annoyed tone as she collected her backpack.

“Seems like it.” Anne agreed, feeling just as annoyed as her traveling companion. As she stepped out, scanned her surroundings. They were in the middle of nowhere. Just the train tracks, light indicating a city in the far distance, and a forest behind them …which somehow seemed familiar to her despite never have been in this District before.

As they walked over where all the other Drones were assembling, she felt a jab in her sides. She gave Ashley an annoyed look, but the latter seemed to be preoccupied by something else. “Wow, look at that!” She said in awe, pointing over toward the front of the train. Other passengers were looking in the same direction, also impressed by whatever they were seeing.

Anne gasped when she noticed what everyone was looking at. The tracks …were bend. Not a bit, but …. almost like someone had tried to rip them out of the ground. They were sticking out, like one of these miniature car playset tracks.

“Wow, indeed.” Anne mumbled. “What could’ve caused that?”

“Tectonic shift? A drunk guy with a tow cable?” Ashley guessed. “Whatever it was, I wouldn’t want to – Anne?”

Anne had stopped listening. She was staring at the forest behind them. The longer she looked, the more she got the feeling …that she had been there before. Like an old memory, but …that would be impossible, right?

Almost in a trance-like state, Anne started to walk over to the forest.

“Anne, what are you -?” Ashley hissed, quickly following behind her.

“I don’t know …” Anne mumbled. “It’s like something in that forest …is calling me.”

“Did you hit your head when the train stopped or something.”

“I’m serious, Ash.” Anne picked up the pace, her core buzzing with excitement. The snow crunched beneath her feet as she ran. “There’s something here.”

“ANNE!”

Anne ran until she reached the edge of the forest, and kept running. She jumped over fallen logs, pushed branches out of her face, nearly tripped over roots that’d grab her feet. She didn’t care. She felt something was close. Something was guiding her, pulling her into this direction. If she could just find what it was, she’d-

She skidded to a halt, her mouth falling open. A moment later, Ashley, out of breath and very annoyed, joined her. She opened her mouth to complain …and just kept her mouth open, in awe of what she saw. They had arrived in an open clearing, a field with beautiful flowers that only thrived in snowy environments. She looked up to the opening in the trees. The stars were out in full force this night, and the sky that was littered with sparkles and light reflected in her visor.

“It’s beautiful …” Ash exclaimed, a smile slowly growing on her face. “I’ve never seen so many flowers in my life.”

“Yeah …” Anne slowly walked over to the middle of the clearing. She felt a strong sense of familiarity. She felt …sadness. Confusion. A warmth. The sound of a buzzing core. From the deepest parts of her memories, she could hear a voice.

‘Momma is here. See? Momma is here.’

A gasp escaped Anne’s throat as a realization hit her. Was this …

“Ash, I think …I think I’ve been here with my birth parents when I was a baby.” Anne said softly.

No reaction.

“Ash?”

She turned around, and noticed that Ashley was staring at something. Her eyes were hollowed, and her expression was frozen in …terrified horror. With a cold feeling building up in her core, Anne slowly turned around, scanning around to locate the thing that her friend was looking at.

And froze when she saw it.

In the trees.

There was someone in the trees.

A yellow X.

A blue light.

There was a sound, like a buzzing that slowly reached its highest pitch.

A flash of blue.

Something flew across her, nearly hitting her. She could feel the heat on her cheek.

The air tasted of copper and electricity in her mouth.

She heard something – someone – hit the ground.

She spun around, and saw to her horror that Ash was squirming on the ground, clearly in pain.

“ASHLEY!” She ran over to her fallen friend. Ashley’s entire body was sparking, her visor was glitching and so was her voice. Her screams came out distorted and broken.

And then she fell silent, her visor black and empty.

“No-no-no! Wake up, Ash! Wake up!” Anne shook her friend, but there was no reaction. It was then that she realized that their attacker was still there. Anne didn’t think, she just needed to act. She needed to run. Get back to the train. Get help. NOW! She hoisted her friend of the ground and threw her onto her back.

She started to run, and screamed in surprise when a blast impacted not too far from her.

She needed to be faster.

She looked behind her. The figure had vanished from the trees. Where were they? Had they left?

And then she heard something above her, and a shadow passed under them.

Anne picked up the pace.

She needed to go faster.

She heard another charge building up.

Faster!

There was a flash.

Something hit her. She felt an excruciating pain travel through her entire body. She tripped and fell to the ground, dropping Ashely as well. Anne rolled on her back, squirming and cramping up. The pain was so much, she couldn’t even get herself to scream. Her interface showed her a warning.

[WARNING! SYSTEM OVERLOAD! SHUT-DOWN IMMENENT!]

Barely able to keep her eyes open, she saw a figure flying above her. A figure that was getting closer.

There was a thud, and an impact made the snow twirl around the figure.

They were very tall.

In their hand, they held a rifle or some sorts. Or …was it a rifle instead of a hand?

Their visor showed a large, yellow X.

Their mouth was stretched in a wide, sharp grin.

“Got you, creep!” The figure growled, and Anne realized that it was a woman.

Anne tried to say something, but she felt herself becoming weaker and weaker. It wouldn’t be long, and she’d be …

The unknown female Drone took a step forward, knelt down and grabbed Anne by her collar, pulling her closer to her face.

“Now, I give you one chance to tell me. What have you done with –?” The rest of the sentence was a horrified gasp. She released their grip, and Anne fell on her back with a groan. The woman’s visor changed. The yellow X blinked away, showing a pair of yellow eyes, looking at her with surprise and shock. Before Anne completely lost consciousness and darkness overtook her, she could hear the woman say one final thing.

A name.

“Anne?”

Her name.

[sunnynoki]

We don’t talk a lot - We haven’t talked in probably about a year or so now, since I left the fandom space we met in. I’ve changed usernames since then - I went by Wheat on discord. Sorry I’ve been so distant. I never knew how to talk to you since it’s been a while.

Even still, I want to tell you that you were important to me, and still are. I wish we could talk more. I want to talk about your new interests. What are you into these days? I’ve been getting into some older games these days, but I’ve been missing pokemon a bit. I want to get back into it. Do you still draw Sky? I never asked you about them with as much detail as I wanted to. I was always worried about being too intrusive, but I regret that now. Your OCs are really imaginative. I know you’re into tensura now, right? Season 3 is coming out soon. I’m excited for that.

I want to get to know you again. I don’t know what happened with whatever you left behind, and I don’t know if this is a weird message to send, but you’re important to me and I want to let you know that you are. I wouldn’t be who I am if you weren’t there in the beginning. Thank you for being you.

i dont know how to talk either. every sentence i say either feels fake or self centered, selfish. and dont worry about being distant; it happens, especially when interests change. i dont blame you.

youre important to me too. i wish we could talk more. im not into much right now. i just feel empty. i gave up su/bmas, after everything. it was too much, not knowing who i could trust not to fucking ship them, or think its ok in any circumstance. yet sometimes i still crawl back to the tag, despite blocking it a while ago. i dont touch anything though, just look. it doesnt bring me joy anymore. i think im finally letting it go. i dont know how i feel about po/kemon yet. its kinda just. there. maybe im just feeling particularly apathetic right now.

i don't really draw anything right now. i dont know if i can go back. it was my only hobby, yet my therapist said that it wasnt enough, even when i was at my lowest. well, at the time. ive set a new low score at this point. i dont want to draw. i don't know what id draw. i dont think i can. my computer is kinda a no mans land at this point. i don't really touch it anymore. im glad you liked sky though. i never understood why she garnered so much attention. i could never write a good enough character for her. she was a mary sue in that way, with no real character flaws, let alone the... everything else. either way, like i said, im glad you liked her regardless. it means a lot. the attention i got because of her made me really happy.

like i said, im not really into anything right now, but i guess tensura would be regarded as an "interest." im... looking forward to season 3. i read one of the light novels thats going to be adapted a month or two back though, so i guess its gonna be a moment before i get to "new" content.

i dont know if theres anyone to get to know anymore. i was already in a depressive episode before this disaster, now i dont know if theres any going back, if theres any way to recover. it isnt a weird message to send, and its appreciated that you care for me but. im not sure if i can trust anyone again. im not sure if i can even trust myself. even in the aftermath, the people i thought i could trust either no longer talk to me or still interact with those who hurt me. i guess its selfish to ask them to cut off those friends too. but ive always been selfish. self centered. egotistical.

regardless, im glad i had some positive impact despite my mess of a personality. thank you for your words

[sarndonic]

My ramblings on RE: Death Island

Y'all RE: Death Island opened in PH cinemas today and here are my thoughts on some of the scenes. Leaks have been going around on TW since this morning, so I'm dividing my ramblings into four sections.

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

Can confirm:

-Definitely Jill's time to shine. Everyone was like..."If there's Jill, there's hope..."

-She even has a big ass plasma rifle scene (probably a tribute to re3r)

-Movie more or less confirms that Jill has met Leon and Claire before. Their first scenes with Jill were like "hey, how's it going?" situations.

-Chris and Claire sibling interactions! We haven't been blessed with those since Code Veronica, nice.

Want to clear out:

-Pertaining to an early leak which caused quite a ruckus on TW: Maria was climbing over Leon like a koala to a tree during their fight scenes, but never once did he flirt with her or anyone else for that matter. He even called Maria "Arias' bitch" who could finally be with her Dad again after she died by Leon's hands. Kinda brutal coming from Leon if you ask me.

-This Leon came in with a luggage-ful of cringey but kinda funny one-liners. He reminds me of Damnation!Leon and I didn't sense any undertones of depression in him! Though he still hates his job (he refers to it as just a "living"), Leon seems to be in a much better place this time around. This scene literally happened:

Leon blurts out a one liner

Jill musters up an Oscar-worthy "Ugh...really?" reaction

Jill, probably:

Want to add:

-Movie was about how people respond to trauma differently. Dylan practically experienced the same sh*t as the main cast in RC, but he had chosen to side with the villains.

-Really nice to see this new model of Leon in action, doing re4r-esque stunts. That was kinda missing in ID, tbh. Also Leon and bikes look hot together, but can never be good news.

-Other character relationships in a nutshell, for those who are interested.

Jill and Leon -> This was definitely their buddy cop movie. I know people like to bully Leon for being "dumb" or for whatever reason, but Jill clearly respects his skills the same way Leon respects hers.

Jill and Chris -> Movie makes it clear that Chris absolutely cares about Jill. You can interpret it as both platonic and romantic (not very much so on the latter, though). I love Chris' "Welcome back!" line to Jill in the end and their little fist bump.

Chris and Leon -> I'd say they're like old co-workers who definitely know how to defeat BOWs. That's about it. They are mostly in action scenes together, with very little dialogue.

Rebecca and Claire -> Had great moments of nerdiness together (I mean that in an affectionate way), but very few action scenes compared to the other 3 mains. 

Can't say much about the other character combos, tbh. There was no mention of the ID conflict bet Leon and Claire. They have very little interactions in the film, probably less than a min. of dialogue? Just Leon saying Claire's name when they saw each other for the first time in the film (not even sure if that was Chris or him even), and then a scene where he ordered her and Rebecca to go mess around with the computers (ala ID).

-That character with a special mention in the early leaks -> It was Chris talking about Piers from re6. Unfortunately, there were no surprise appearances from other fan-fave characters. 

-The ending was your classic "heroes staring into the sunset after one hella fight" cliche, but t'was nice nonetheless haha

Overall:

It's everything you expect from a Resident Evil movie. Campy and with a weak plot, but gets redeemed by featuring a sh*t ton of welcome fan service (both good and bad). I like it better than Vendetta. 

Supposedly a 10/10, but that licker scene was a disservice to Jill, so 9/10.

[infernalmellifera]

it’s totally fine if not but would you ever consider posting some info on how you made your mirage head?id love to cosplay v2 but im lost on how to go about the construction of it lol

HI I LOVE THIS QUESTION AND I WAS ACTUALLY HOPING TO MAKE IT THIS MIRAGE MONDAY ANYWAYS!!! 🩷🤭

🩷Mirage Monday: Construction and Process!🩷

I dont have pics of the template, but if i ever remake it ill be sure to make one sorry ;; BUT before even constructing, ive found that making a small doll-sized prototype! (and fun bonus, if you dont lose yours like i did, you can use it with your monster high dolls!)

The line going straight across the horizontal center is a score line (not cut all the way through) to assist in shape! it helps to give it that little edge to it without having to glue it! i also scored it to make the rounded parts at the bottom of the neck and the inset of the eye :)

each side is its own panel, except the front that is composed of 5 panels (left and right sides, center top, chin, and under chin( and the optional stem, that i ended up ditching because it dug into my neck.

after hot gluing all the pieces together, i filled in the seams with clay foam, but that step is completely optional when working with sharp edges. after that, i spray painted it white (which i regret! it wont get the smell out of the cardboard!!!) as a base coat, but id suggest just using white gesso or white acrylic paint to help get that vibrant colors on. i used acrylic paints for the colors and a light shine finish on top! but if you wanna bypass that step, you can totally use glossy acrylics :)

the face mesh!! mine is made from patio screen, but if you can afford it, there is a mesh made specifically for prop heads that would look better !! acrylic paint also works great here. shown above is my first draft for the face that i ended up ripping off and starting over for, so be prepared to either have two in case you mess up, or start by drafting it out on plain paper to see if you like it.

theres a piece of foam at the chin for stabilization too! i put a headband on the inside for the same purpose, but ive found my hair is too long to actually use that without a wig cap, so its a little obsolete and i push it to the back while wearing it. it kinda hugs the back of my head and stabilizes it decently….. but honestly you could get that same effect with just the foam.

lastly, the mechanics!! i am by no means an engineer by any means, i just happened to have extra LEDs. The Eye is made of LEDs set into two painted ribbon spools glued on top of the mesh screen with a painted fabric-like plastic sheet (from a wig bag) to diffuse the light (and that little extra circle is just a piece of paper) .

in the back of it, i have a little switch! it comes from a pack of string lights from the dollar tree, but i had to dismantle the battery pack because the LEDs only work with 9v batteries (sad!) so i had to figure out how to make a 9v battery cover out of the AA battery pack. its a bit cheugy but its functional! if youre planning on wearing it for a long time, totally install a computer fan!!!! it gets super sweaty in there (ew!) even though the entire face is ventilated :p

i am the worst person to ask about soldering, but im positive you could find a pretty good tutorial on youtube :,) my lights run from the back battery, to the left light, to the right light, and ends at the eye (mostly because the lights had input/output on both sides and the eye did Not).

if ive missed ANYTHING, feel free to ask me in comments, reblogs, asks, or DMs!!

[isa-ah]

man i had a fuck of a nightmare last night

an old friend and i had moved out to japan together to kind of start over and get a new lease on life. we got a ground story apartment that butted right up against a college, & i found out pretty quickly that someone i grew up with was attending! she introduced me to her best friend, and thats where stuff kind of hit off.

her friend was this cute little latina girl with huge dark eyes and curly hair (my greatest weakness) and i, being terminally weak and single in my dream, immediately invited her over to hang out. she kind of giggled abt it and followed me over to our apartment while we made small talk and once we walked in, the buddy i was living with hops up immediately like oh? you brought over a friend? thats so exciting and kind of swarmed her. not in a bad way! shes just a very strong personality and can be an acquired taste. that said, this girl i brought over was really shy and kind of folded under the attention so i pulled her into my room for some. privacy. to talk.

and it was a lot of fun honestly. we really hit it off. she asked me if i could fix something wrong with her laptop so i was messing around with it while she did this little scavenger hunt for pieces to put together a 3D puzzle she was really interested in. it was nice. id crack jokes and shed like giggle and flush and i was like oh i am KILLING this until i turned around to ask her a question about her computer and realized shed left my room at some point and the 3D puzzle was only one piece away from complete, laying on my bed.

i went to find the last piece and then trailed out with it in my hands to find her and realized my roomie was talking her EAR off and shed been shooting me sos texts about it. i came around the corner where i could hear them talking and only my roomie was there, looking dejected and sunken into the couch. i was like, whered she go? and she said i dont know. i dont think she likes me very much.

i gave her a little pep talk while we waited, assuming shed run back to her dorm or over to the corner store to get something. but gradually nearly a week passed where we didnt hear back from her. upon asking, her friend hadnt either. concerned, my roomie and i gathered up all the stuff shed left (including her whole laptop) and stuck them into the living room closet so theyd be safe when she finally returned.

we slipped into my room to discuss it because we were both really starting to worry when the shadow cast from my window shifted and i spun around to see just the very top of her curly little head poking over the windowsil. thinking she was checking to see if we were home, i JUMPED up so relieved, but was knocked back by the force at which our front door SLAMMED open and SLAMMED shut.

we looked at each other like whwhhhh why do you think she did THAT...? and held our breath as we heard her stumbling footsteps across the carpet and then a clattering of things pulled off the closet shelf in the living room. so shed come back for her stuff. thats good, right? thats a good thing? but as i pushed the bedroom door open to ask if everything was okay, the living room was empty. the closet door was swaying but everything else was still.

my roomie and i glanced at each other again like oh. uhm. okay. and as were trying to figure out what had just happened, i hear her voice, wavering from within my bedroom calling for me. so i book it like holy shit, are you okay? but my room is likewise empty.

and again, from behind me this time, i hear her shy voice as if from under water, call for help.

we pulled the apartment apart but we couldnt find her anywhere. her stuff was still sitting untouched on the top shelf of the closet and her phone was off. and slowly, realizing she wasnt here in any way physically, my roomie and i sat down. & i just remember her saying slowly, quietly, "i dont think shes okay, isaiah." before her jaw fell open and a horrific foghorn blared out of it.

waking me up.

brother i lost so much sleep after that. idk. idk. felt bad

[brilokuloj]

I've been trying harder lately to not be paranoid and assume bad faith in others, so I have chosen to believe that people who post "eww, humans" might not consider how their sentiment impacts people who are already hurting. Frequently, I think they are posting it because of their own bad feelings and struggles, and don't think about how that would make their friends and community feel.

In fact, a lot of the "human bodies are bad" sentiment revolves around how human bodies are impractical (disabled bodies are negative), sex is nasty and genitals are weird (transitioned bodies are negative)...

So, if I may, here are things I think we need more of:

Human positivity, or at least tolerance, especially of the gross and yucky and boring parts

Furries/aliens/robots/etc who love their human partners (and the focus is NOT on how cute or sexy the nonhuman is for doing so). Relationships that are mutual and not a Connecticut Clark joke.

Humans from an alien but not negative perspective

Nonhumanity as not a better but simply alternative experience

and I guess probably this far in you're already thinking "most media is human-positive" but MCU dudes and anime boys are like pugs to me, they can't live.

Characters that live without prosthetics, or get feasible or life-impacting ones, rather than Cool Robot Parts; aesthetics (or sex factor.) should not justify or make up for a disability; a character that makes you think "gee, I wish they would cut my arm off!" is not disability representation. I have experienced people listing Junkrat as proof they could be attracted to me as a mobility aid user.

Humans will not destroy machinery, no robot uprising, but rather they maintain the mutual relationship they've always had (and less of using robots as a stand-in for autism representation. My God.)

Many human women were computers before machines were computers. I just think this is cool and not really explored :(

Top surgery scars that are not like cool perfectly-symmetrical explosions or jagged teeth. Get a tattoo if you want, but a lot of the time scars are raised and shiny, which I rarely see either.

I doubt anyone in the world enjoys their period, but they're frequently pointed to as "proof" that humans aren't worth being. If your periods make you lay down on the floor and want to kill yourself for a week, you seriously should see a doctor if you can. I didn't know until it was way too late that I had other options, because periods are too yucky to candidly discuss and no one told me it wasn't normal.

Testosterone gives you acne. Spironolactone makes you need to pee more. There's a lot of unexpected things like that, and they are not objectively gross or sexy; they're just things that happen, that deserve to be discussed.

Fursuit poodling (having uncovered skin in a partial fursuit). It's not gross, it doesn't 'break the magic'. Fursuiting is sweltering exhausting work, and real humans are inside them, and they deserve to be appreciated.

It can be really hurtful to blithely say that human genitals are disgusting, especially in front of people who may want to one day pursue affirmative surgery. If someone personally doesn't like dongs, I wish they would just say that. Jeez.

Nobody is "better" for having an aversion to human bodies for whatever reason. I understand personally that it can be isolating, especially if those reasons are trauma-related. But turning your sexual attractions into a matter of you being "better", or a clubhouse, is not really coping with it. Disgust is not a judgment of morals or quality. It's an emotion, and one that can be very hurtful to people who are already getting hurt.

Because nothing is Good or Bad. It just is what it is. Judging people's right to exist and be depicted, based on sex appeal or morality (or god forbid, purity, which I've seen more of recently, somehow completely ignoring the religious abuse connotations) is... messed up.

And to make this post not just me complaining, you can share your creations or ideas that you feel like apply, if you want :)

[savventeen]

I JUST BINGED YOUR ENTIRE “THANKS FOR PLAYING” AND I HAD TO STOP MYSELF FROM CRYING IN THE LIVING ROOM AND GODDAMN I GOT SO MANY QUESTIONS/IDEAS so here’s a dump lmao

AND SPOILERS ‼️‼️

and be honest if you honestly don’t have any idea or want to leave it up for interpretation

dino’s friend recommended it to him and he recommended it to mc right? well what happened to that friend/person?? i bet they are alive because they sent that game to 13 people before 3 am so the lady in the closet doesn’t get to them 🤭

if mc didn’t mess around and acted seriously in the game, would the outcome have changed? or was it always the gamemaster’s intention for the player to fall into obscurity?

how come dino remembered the mc? power of love??? or because he knew about the game (im pulling stuff out of my ass)?? or he has an android phone in this au 🧐

what if the pfps for the “AIs” are actually previous victims

so if you actually finish the game against all odds everyone is released (if they aren’t dead) hmmmmm sequel merhaps?? jk

imagine the only clue left about the players existence is the goddamn phone bill for texting 💀

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MC????? wait that’d be really sad if the mc was actually still alive but dino couldn’t recognize them as “mc” but knows they exist somehow uGH

i know you wrote this story for fun so these don’t need to have answers/comments but please provide any extra tidbits of info about this concept it’s so interesting 🙏🙏

SKLJDFLKSDJF OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING????? AND IM SO HONORED HOLY SHIT I WILL DO MY ABSOLUTE BEST TO ANSWER WHAT I CAN 😭💜

also you are not the only one with questions so I'm going to do my best to answer them all here!!!

[for anyone who hasn't read it yet and wants to know wtf we're talking about, you can read the entirety of my .|X| THANKS FOR PLAYING |X|. smau here!]

*cracks knuckles* alrighty buckle up folks time to try and answer some questions and take a deep dive into savv’s personal TFP lore here we gooooooooooooo

[putting it all under a readmore bc it got long af and also i didn't realize how hard it would be to translate the lore in my brain into words??????? i somehow didn't realize how oddly complicated it is??? like writing all of this out in any kind of semi-coherent way was SO HARD sdkjfsdlkjf]

~ Was it all a dream? (this one was asked by @junhui-recs)

Sadly, no. 😭 In the reality of this fictional universe, a tragedy very much did happen and Dino and MC are very much suffering from it 🥲 (I will not stop you from imagining that it was all a dream tho, we all have different ways of coping dklsjfsklj <3)

~ What's the main purpose of the game? Why are they doing this? (this one asked by @diamondyjh)

OKAY SO to start off you need to know that this au was heavily inspired by an episode of a podcast called "The Magnus Archives", specifically the episode “Binary” (transcript here). [If you're a fan of horror, I highly recommend giving the episode a listen/read, it's delightfully creepy — you don't need to have listened to any of the other episodes to understand it (just stop at the ending 'supplemental' part)]

The episode goes into detail about this sort of digital urban legend/creepypasta/copypasta about a guy named Sergey Ushanka who, long story short, tried to upload his brain/consciousness into a computer because he was afraid of death and wanted to try living forever virtually. There are tame versions of how he did it and other much more brutal ones, but basically "Sergey Ushanka" is a prank that various coders/programmers like to pull when making chatboxes in which you could talk with "strangers". It would start out normal and then steadily devolve into something creepy. This paragraph taken directly from the episode transcript sums it up very nicely:

"But then the responses start to break down, become more sinister, and keep referring to how much pain Sergey is in. Eventually, the only response the bot gives you is screaming and pleas to be released. The idea is that the chatbot is Sergey Ushanka’s mind, and he doesn’t like being in a computer nearly as much as he’d hoped."

So the idea that I stole from the episode essentially was: but what if it was real? What would the reality of being turned into cold, unfeeling data feel like? Agony is what the episode posits. Here is a list of phrases that the Sergey in the episode uses:

cw: vague body horror, blood mention "the angles cut me when I try to think" / "it peels my mind like knives" / "it feels like thinking through cheese wire" / "there's no feeling, but the no feeling hurts" / "it's cold without blood" / "the maze is sharp on my mind"

My next thought process was: What happens after? If someone were able to survive this process and were somehow able to keep any kind of agency, how would that person try to get out of the digital hellscape that has now become their existence? After knowing what it feels like to become distinctly inhuman, wouldn't they do anything to feel human again?

And how do we feel human? How do we find connection with each other and our humanity without ever having to come in contact with another person?

Stories. Fiction and non-fiction alike, we are all connected through storytelling, by finding feeling through other people's words. The thing about stories, though, is that they aren't messy in the same way that actually feeling our feelings is. That being human is.

So what does all of this have to do with the purpose of the game?

Essentially, when it's all boiled down, in this universe the story of Sergey Ushanka is real, and in this universe he is trying to gain his humanity back by stealing that of others. He started off with stories, with whatever online libraries and resources and archives he could find across the internet. And while it wasn't even close to enough to satisfy him, to get rid of any of the pain he was constantly experiencing, it was enough for him to learn, to grow, to realize that if he wanted his humanity back, he needed to go to the source.

So he started stealing real people from the real world, with all of their messy feelings and emotions and humanness.

That is the purpose of the game, why "they" are doing this. (pls don't ask the how bc i don't have an answer for that, just -waves hands- you know, insert your supernatural/sci-fi explanation of choice sldkflksj)

~ Did all the other characters from the game also get pulled into it the same way reader did? (asked by @diamondyjh) / What if the pfps for the “AIs” are actually previous victims

Short answer, yes to both! (Longer answer in the next question lol)

~ Who are those other people? (asked by @junhui-recs)

Essentially, the other characters/bots/whatever you want to call them are a kind of amalgamation of all the previous players who got sucked into the game. Once someone's been... let's call it absorbed, whatever parts of themselves are left after the process basically get shoved into whatever "character" they fit best, sometimes different pieces going to different characters.

And while the pictures could just be random ones, I like the idea that they're taken from the most recent players that got absorbed :')

~ Why was Changkyun evil? (asked by @junhui-recs)

Well, the main reason he was "evil" was because he's, y'know, a part of the game and the game is trying to steal people's souls or whatever. As for why he's mean, that's because he's trying to trigger an emotional reaction. The more messy, human feelings that are happening at the time of absorption, the better :').

~ Dino’s friend recommended it to him and he recommended it to mc right? What happened to that friend/person??

"i bet they are alive because they sent that game to 13 people before 3 am so the lady in the closet doesn’t get to them 🤭" SJKDFSKLDJ this made me snort, so thank you 😂

BUT to answer your question, in the story, Dino says that Yeonjun gave it to him and that he got it from "a friend of a friend of a roommate". Because the absorption and the consequent complete erasure is such a big process, not everyone who plays gets sucked in. In fact, most people who play don't get sucked in. Which is why Yeonjun is totally fine! (And why the friend of the friend of the roommate, aka this universe's irl Changkyun, is not 🥲)

~ If mc didn’t mess around and acted seriously in the game, would the outcome have changed? Or was it always the gamemaster’s intention for the player to fall into obscurity?

This one's a little bit complicated. It's kind of a yes and no situation? Generally speaking, the game isn't looking to ensnare every single person who plays because 1) it takes A Lot Of Effort to take/erase a single person, and 2) the game needs to spread to other people somehow, thus it needs people to play it and then tell other people to play it too.

For MC specifically, though, it's hard to say. How they played the game didn't matter so much as how they reacted to the game, specifically the first phase(s) of the Mnemosyne Protocol. The whole point of the game is to get big, messy, emotional responses, so if MC hadn't had such a big reaction, the game probably would have turned out differently. That being said, if MC had played the game as blandly as possible, the game might not have ever decided to test out the Mnemosyne Protocol, so. *shrugs* Do with that what you will lol.

~ So if you actually finish the game against all odds everyone is released (if they aren’t dead) hmmmmm sequel merhaps?? jk

Sadly, nothing special happens if you finish the game 😭 Plenty of people finish the game and pretty much go "huh, that was cool I guess" and then move on with their lives after telling their friends about it. This can be said about all four games mentioned actually, since we only see one of them get played.

As for a sequel... almost certainly not 🥲 I'm not going to give a hard no/no forever, because who knows if I'll end up getting another idea/get suddenly struck with inspiration, but... it is Extremely unlikely. Another story in the same universe??? ...still not likely, but slightly more likely than a sequel lol.

~ Why is Dino the only one who remembers reader? (asked by @diamondyjh) / How come Dino remembered the mc? Power of love??? Or because he knew about the game (im pulling stuff out of my ass)?? Or he has an android phone in this au 🧐

I almost want to make the answer "bc he has an android" because that is So Funny to me like sldkfjsldkjfslkjdf amazing 😂

But no, that's not the case lmao. And while I am a huge sucker for the Power of Love being an unstoppable force (ESPECIALLY when it's non-romantic love!!!), the reason Dino and only Dino remembers is thanks to sheer luck and a glitch.

So, in episode 28, MC drops their phone when meeting their brother and in episode 29 we see the alert ".|| MNEMOSYNE PROTOCOL COMPLETE ||." show up on a cracked screen.

The final phase of the Mnemosyne Protocol is the erasure portion, and the reason players get erased instead of just like, disappearing is because their "essence" is basically being transferred from reality into this digital realm of Sergey's existence. And reality, because it's now lacking an entire person and their history, just kinda... rewrites itself to make sense with the missing gap. Think of it as the universe doing like a sort of reverse autocorrect.

But because MC's phone got broken in the middle of that transfer, there was a slight glitch in the process. A glitch wherein Dino, because he was on the opposite side of the globe when this was happening, got accidentally missed in the autocorrection process. If he had been in Korea (or heck, anywhere within a few thousand miles) when this happened, he would have forgotten MC as well.

So long story short, Dino was just extremely (un?)lucky 🥲

~ Where is reader? (asked by @junhui-recs) / WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MC????? Wait that’d be really sad if the mc was actually still alive but dino couldn’t recognize them as “mc” but knows they exist somehow uGH

Well, sad news here friends. Most of what's left of MC is now stuck inside the game. They got absorbed and are now a part of Sergey's dataset and will be used/distributed into "characters" as needed.

Notice that I said most. Because, thanks to the glitch, the part of them that was connected to Dino didn't get transferred properly, and now that part of them is kinda stuck — it no longer exists in the real world, but it also didn't get fully absorbed into the game.

Which leads me to the next question:

~ Did reader turn evil and try to pull Dino into the game or is it the game itself being evil and impersonating reader to lure Dino in? (asked by @diamondyjh)

When I wrote the original version of this, the answer was a kind of combination of both — MC had gotten absorbed and corrupted by the game, so while it was the MC reaching out, they were doing so because it was what the game wanted.

But in this version... It's actually neither! Which I think would normally be a good thing but I think in this instance actually just makes this sadder oops.

So, the epilogue isn't the game impersonating MC and it isn't an "evil" MC trying to lure Dino in, it's actually just the part of MC that got stuck during the glitchy transfer. This is why the messages show as being from "Unknown" instead of the phone number associated with the game. And the reason what's left of MC asks Dino if he wants to play a game is because that's the only way it knows how to connect with anything anymore.

Basically, this sliver of MC that's left is experiencing what the original Sergey went through when he first "uploaded" himself, but instead of reaching out to anyone through a chatbot for help, it's reaching out to the only thing it "remembers" about humanity — Dino.

...I honestly didn't mean to make this story any sadder than it already is and I'm glad that the epilogue by itself just reads as spooky/freaky as hell instead of, well, this. 🥲

~ If Dino plays the game, will he be reunited with reader? (asked by @diamondyjh)

It pains me to say that there is no longer an MC for Dino to reunite with 😭 The part of them that got absorbed by the game is, well, a part of the game now. And the piece of them that's left and trying to reach out to him? Well, like I said, it's just a piece.

There could potentially be a chance for him to find some closure here, but that's about it I'm afraid :')

And now because I want this to end on a more lighthearted note:

~ Imagine the only clue left about the players existence is the goddamn phone bill for texting 💀

It becomes the next biggest conspiracy, that there's someone (or a group of someones) out there completing the world's next biggest scam by raking up random people's phone bills and somehow finding a way to steal the profit lmao

~ Some last thoughts from savv:

If y'all made it all the way to the end of this... holy shit I applaud you sldkfjsdlkjflksjdf LIKE!!!

thank you for taking the time to read all of this?????? it's not even fic it's just me rambling and making things Even Sadder??????

i also want to say that i'm a believer that 'canon' is whatever was posted in the story itself and that anything else is just headcannon, even if it's from me, the author. so if you don't like/don't agree with anything i've said here, feel free to ignore it!! fill in any gaps/questions you have in the way that makes your reading experience the most enjoyable!!

but yeah tHANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING AND I HOPE THESE ARE SATISFACTORY ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS AND IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE/HAVE A RENEWED DESIRE TO FIGHT ME MY INBOX IS OPEN SDKLJFSLKJFLSKFJSLKD