#they're in the World Info folder

[hypnofantasma-asks-and-doodles]

half the asks i get still go into the void it seems, so if i don't answer your ask, it's likely that i can't even see it

[mybelovedvi]

nsfw, mdni. tattooist!vi x f!reader. cw: pwp, dom!vi, fingering (r!receiving), petnames (doll, cherry, princess, baby), secondhand embarrassment, masochism, dacryphilia if you squint, squirting, unprofessional conduct, bad hygiene practices. wc: 1.7k

the bell on top of the door jingles with your entrance. the parlour smells like a mix of cedarwood, vanilla and antiseptics- just what you'd expect from an antique-looking tattoo studio. the guy at the front desk looks up and smiles.

"hey there, name's ekko. got an appointment today?"

"hi! no i haven't, just saw a 'walk-ins welcome' sign outside. is that okay?" you give a small grin, a little jittery from your impulsive decision.

"that's absolutely fine. take a seat and fill this out f'me." he nods before ducking up some stairs. heavy rock plays softly over the speakers and you begin going through the few pages of personal and medical info.

after a couple minutes, you hear footsteps heading your way. you stand with the clipboard and see a woman with dark pink hair, about 5"8, in cargos and a tank walking towards you.

"hey doll, i'm vi. i'll be tattooing you today."

hell, is it just you or is it getting hotter in here?

"hey, thanks for squeezing me in. here, i've filled out the forms," you extend the clipboard to vi and she gives it a once-over.

"did you have a design in mind?" she queries.

"no... i kind of came in here impulsively, wanted to try something new, y'know?" you shy away from her gaze and fiddle with your fingers. her eyes are fixated on you, every movement of your body.

"you're alright, cherry. why don't you come on back and we'll figure something out together?"

you nod but question the nickname. "cherry?"

"you've got a cherry charm on your bag, your phone too. i'm assuming you like 'em?" vi says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. you look down and back up at her, giggling a little.

"oh, yeah, they're my favourite."

"good to know. c'mon, follow me,"

you follow vi up the stairs, to a smaller studio than the one below. seems like this is her private workplace, nothing in the room but the bed, a swivel chair, a trolley with some equipment, a couch, and a shelf displaying artworks and vinyls.

"why don't you look through this book and see if there's anything you like? i'm happy to draw somethin' up for you too," vi says, manspreading on the couch and giving the space next to her a pat. you sit and and flip through the book. her works are intricate, displaying a variety of art styles in both colour and black-and-white. your eyes are caught by a beautiful design, a little larger than what you wanted for your first tattoo, but beautiful and unique nonetheless.

"i love this one, i'd like to get this tatted if that's okay?" you turn the large folder towards vi, only to find her eyes already trained on your face.

"mhm, that's one of my favourites, let me print it out for you. where did you want it?" vi stands and heads over to her trolley.

"i'm not sure... this will be my first tattoo, so where does it hurt the least?" you question.

"your first? damn, usually i'd recommend something a bit smaller, but you can handle it, right?" vi smirks at you whilst tapping on her ipad. "as for placement, i'd say your arms would hurt the least. upper back if you're feeling adventurous. or... your outer hips." she trails off a little.

"hm, okay. i think the design might be too big for my arms, and i don't really want it on my back. let's go with my hips?" as you're busy considering the placement of your tattoo and how much pain you might (will) be in, you fail to notice the tips of vi's ears turning pink.

"sure thing, cherry. i'm ready when you are." vi's got the design printed out, a few sheets of paper of different sizes in her hand. you look at her, all thoughts gone for a second as you wait for further instructions. she looks back at you, wondering why you're not taking off your shorts so she can stick the stencil on you.

"um...?"

vi lets out a breathy laugh. "i know i should probably take you out to dinner before i ask this, but mind pulling your shorts down? so i can put the stencil on?"

your face flushes red as you realise that's what you were supposed to do, but also is she flirting with you? or is that how she is with all her clients?

"oh sorry! here, sorry!" you scramble to take your shorts off, not giving vi a second to turn around to give you some privacy. as you stand in the middle of her little studio, only in your baby tee and lace panties, both your faces grow redder- you because of embarrassment, and her because she didn't expect you to take your shorts off.

"sorry! okay, you can put the stencil on now, sorry,"

"stop apologising cherry, nothin' to be sorry for," vi shakes her head and laughs again, before kneeling before you and getting everything in order. she looks up.

"left or right, doll?"

"uhm! right, please..." you trip over your own words a little as you try to look anywhere but her light blue eyes through her lashes.

"alright, let's see..." with a gloved hand, she rubs cream over your hips, the coolness nearly sending a shiver through your legs. she sticks the stencil on smoothly and pats it down. "have a look in the mirror. you happy with that?" you turn towards the floor length mirror leaning against the opposite wall.

"it's perfect, thank you." you smile.

"amazing. let's get you on the bed and get started, yeah?" vi steps away to get a new pair of gloves as you lie down sideways "ready, cherry?" you nod. she's positioned against your lower back, but can you see her in the mirror getting her equipment ready.

"'let me know if it's too much, alright?" she applies more cream to the stenciled area before tattooing the first line through your flesh.

half and hour later, you're beginning to wish you'd gone with a smaller design. vi's not even halfway done and your thighs are already shaking a little with the pain, tears threatening to spill onto the pillow your head rests on.

"how're we doing, doll?" vi asks as she continues, right hand tracing the stenciled lines, her left gripping the flesh around your arched back. what's adding to the pain of the needles is vi changing her grip on you every few minutes, making heat pull around your core. each time her hands move closer to your clothed pussy, it sends a shudder through your whole body.

"yup, good!" you lie a little too enthusiastically. in the mirror, vi raises a brow and lifts the gun off your skin.

"you sure? i can see you're shakin' a little,"

"yup, no i'm good. please keep going," your almost-pleading voice nearly sucks all the air out of vi's lungs. she shakes her head in an attempt to concentrate on her work, and not on the way you're shaking, ass unconsciously pushing back into her chest; not your doe watery eyes and quivering lips in the mirror.

"if you're sure," vi resumes and you shake even harder. tears finally roll down your face, pooling near your ears, staining the pillow. the uncontrollable twitch in your thighs intensify and you attempt to get away from the needle by scootching back or wiggling your hips, making vi graze her forearm too close to your cunt in the process.

"you're gonna have to stop doing that, princess," vi grits, the nickname almost makes you gasp, the pain in your hips and the pressure in your core becoming too much.

"sorr- mmgh!" your slick spills out, soaking through your panties and coating your inner thighs. this doesn't go unnoticed by vi, who audibly sucks in a breath, turns off the gun and sets it aside.

"'m- 'm sorry vi," you whine in your aroused daze, still flush against her chest.

"doll..." vi pauses. "you're fine. let me clean you up, yeah?"

"wh- what?" you shift to look at her with widened teary eyes.

"i said, let me clean you up."

shivering, you feel a gloved hand inch up your inner thighs and stop at your soaked panties.

"tell me princess, what's got you so worked up?" her finger drags up and down your clothed slit, sending jolts of electricity through your flesh. you feel more of your juices seep out, and you know vi can feel it too.

"are you nervous?" she pulls your panties to the side, exposing you to the cold air.

"is it me?" vi pinches your clit. your back arches with a high-pitched whimper.

"or... do you just like writhing in pain?" without warning, two fingers dip inside you causing you to scootch up the bed and thighs clamp down on her hand.

"i wouldn't do that if i were you," vi whispers in your ear. her strong fingers dip in and out of you wildly, coming all the way out before slamming into you again. you wail and mewl as fat drops of tears stream down your face, babbling nonsense into the tear-stained pillow.

"y'look so pretty crying f'me, baby," with her free hand, vi grips your chin with an almost bruising force and lift your head to the direction of the mirror. "look at you, lookin' so fucked out when we just started."

she lets go and your upper body falls limp on the bed as she continues her assault on your pussy, fingers hitting that gummy spot over and over as you chant her name amongst a string of curses.

"fuck, fuck- vi! shit-" you throw your head back with a moan. feeling like your whole body is on fire, your core tightens.

"you can take another, can't you, doll?" vi purrs as she flips you on your back, her hot breath against your collarbone.

"wha-" the addition of a third finger nearly sends you screaming into oblivion. her thumb circles your clit whilst her other hand presses on your lower belly, making your thighs quiver and your lower back arch off the bed. everything is foggy, your eyes clouded with tears, your head filled with nothing but vi, vi, vi-

"too much! it's, mmf- too much vi!" you cry. it feels too good, you know you're going to come at any second, the rope in your stomach threatening to snap as you look up at the gorgeous woman hovering over you, panting and groaning as if she was fucking herself.

"shh, i know you can take it, cherry. you enjoying yourself?" vi asks, and when you respond with nothing but moans and incoherent blabbering, she slaps the side of your hip- the freshly tattooed side.

you come hard. with a scream, your eyes roll and your back comes completely off the bed. you're squirming, writhing, shaking in vi's hold as her fingers continue pumping in and out of you, fucking you through your orgasm. when you come down, she doesn't stop. not when you're full on sobbing, trying to push her hands away, clawing at her forearms, drawing blood and leaving crescent-shaped indents on her fair skin. a foreign feeling builds inside your bladder, and you scramble to free yourself from vi's grasp.

"shit! vi- ah! g'na, 'm g'na pee!"

"shh, just let it go princess," vi hushes and you become undone once again, her watching as your head is thrown back, milky cum leaking and clear liquids gushing out from your pussy, coating your thighs, her forearms and the bed.

"fuck, that's so hot," vi pull her fingers out of you, who's still a quivering and panting mess beneath her. you watch as she slurps up every last drop of your juices before she takes off her nitrile gloves with a snap! and drops it into the trash.

“you reckon you can keep going, princess?”

[crownedinmarigolds]

Hello everyone! With help from @auspex, we are putting together the first Tumblr of Darkness Secret Santa event! This event is where artists may come together, submit their World of Darkness OCs, and we can all draw and exchange gifts with one another! Just a little fun to remind one another that we're a great community!

How to Participate: There is indeed a limited amount of time to sign up to make sure everyone has a fair chance! Applications are open 11.04.2024 and will be kept open until Monday 11.11.2024. - You will be submitting your World of Darkness original characters and link their reference materials so that another artist may draw them! Please make sure you have a link that someone may have open access to. This can be a Google Drive folder, your art tag on a social media, etc.  If you make a Google Drive, make sure your Secret Santa does not have to request access and spoil the surprise. In short, just make sure it's easy for your future gifter to look through! Please don't make it a treasure hunt to find out info on your character just to make things easier. When the applications close, we will then put all participants' names into a randomizer to assign everyone their Secret Santa! Auspex and I will make sure to notify you all as soon as possible as well as provide the reference links so that you can have as much time needed to get the artwork finished. You may go as crazy or mild as you like, but just be aware that artists of ALL skill levels are invited to join! Do not be deterred if you feel like you can't draw - that is the devil talking! Every work of art you make is amazing and any gift with heart behind it is wonderful. - For this year, we asks that the gifts remain art-only. Any medium is fine (digital or traditional) but writing, playlists, mood boards, or anything else won't be accepted. Those things are great, and maybe in the future that could be another exchange, but for simplicity's sake - keep it to art, please. If you want to add mood boards or playlists or write ups as little bonuses to your art - that is entirely up to you! - Please remember these works of art are gifts. This exchange is a community event where everyone is free to participate and share in the spirit of giving during this holiday season. Do not feel bad if you feel like you are not drawing as "well" as somebody else, and please do not make others feel bad if you feel like they're not reaching your standards. This is meant to be fun and for everyone who wants to try! We plan to notify everyone within the next day or two after closing applications, and you will have until 12.20.2024 to draw and submit your works back to Auspex and I so that we may send them to their intended recipient! If you know the person you have and would like to share early, we understand, but please if you would keep it off of Tumblr until the event is concluded just so everyone can be surprised! Once the event is over, have at it and post away! - Please respect the time and effort everyone is putting in! If you feel like something has come up and you won't be able to finish or participate after applying - that is fine. Just let us know as early as possible so that we can either inform your gift recipient or take you off the list.

You will find the application here: https://forms.gle/9VTyd4FsyENwjR4B6

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me (crownedinmarigolds) either on Tumblr or through my email - ladyofsilks@gmail.com. You may also reach out to auspex on Tumblr as well in case I'm unavailable! Thank you all for being a community I love and and I hope we have lots of fun trying this out!

Please reblog so all of the community may see and get to join in!

[riediaries]

satoru knows every part of you. every things you like and hate. he's able to locate each and every mole you have on your body and how many it is. it's like knowing you have been a second nature to him. in order words, he knows your whole nature and that's how you fell in love with him.

he knows you don't like eating a watermelon with seeds on it. you don't want to spit it out after or let alone eat it.

satoru silently observes you as you payed all of your attention to the sliced watermelon on your hands. picking every black seeds you see in the fruit.

you were getting irritated and he sighs, picking a sliced watermelon on the table and removed all the seeds in mere seconds.

"here, eat this. i already removed all of the seeds." he hands you a sliced watermelon. the red juicy part was clean. no seeds. just like how you like it.

"ah.. thanks.." you murmur, accepting the fruit and that was first time you felt a fluttering emotion on your tummy as you stare at the watermelon he handed you.

"mhm.." he hums. "you don't like it with the seeds on it, right?" he asks and you nodded. he hums again, nodding his head in a subtle way.

no seeds on her sliced watermelon, got it.

you like the beach, especially the sunset. he remembers peeking on your phone one time and due to his curiosity, he opened your photo gallery and you have a folder named 'sunsets<3'.

it has a lot of your pictures in the beach, capturing the breathtaking sunset and there are also pictures with just the sun but he likes the pictures with you in it. you're prettier than the sunset, anyways.

"we should go here sometime. the four of us." he tells suguru as they walk on the sand barefooted.

they just finished their mission and their flight will be tomorrow morning so they're spending their time to relax.

satoru keeps his eye on the setting sun. pink and purples hues were seen on the sky.

picture.. yes. i should take a picture for her. he thoughts and brought out his phone to take a picture. he sends the picture to you.

annoying blue-eyed freak: sent a photo.

annoying blue-eyed freak: sunset's pretty here today. you might like it.

you take a look at the photo he sent and the photo's automatically saved on your folder 'picture he sends'.

sunset lover princess: thanks, love it.

he smiles over the three letter word you sent. yep, his day's now complete with just your reply.

unknowingly to him, suguru secretly took a photo of him and he captured the most breathtaking satoru gojo photo to exist.

it's a photo of him on his side, smiling on his phone and the background is the sunset.

cool bangs: sent a photo.

your phone dings. you thought it's another photo of sunset from satoru but no. it's satoru with the sunset but he's not looking at the camera.

you stare at it for good few minutes.

cool bangs: if you're just going to stare at it, you might as well save it. i might delete it.

that message from suguru alone had your fingers saving his photo and put it on another album. a secret album named 'photos i love'.

yes, definitely 'love'.

satoru also knows that you love movie nights with them. horror, romance, or action. name all the genres present. you once told him that it's not about the movie you're excited but being able to spend time with your friends.

being a jujutsu sorcerer at a young age costs your freedom as a child and to dream. you will never know when you will die or vanish from this world. that's why you're spending all of their freedom time with you and they're actually okay with it.

same feelings, as they said.

"ahh! suguru! tell me when the haunted dolls are gone!" satoru clings to suguru as he scream out of his lungs.

"no, you watch it satoru. be a big brave man." he teases the young boy more. "i heard she likes men who's brave and can watch horror movies with her." he whispers to his best friend.

satoru eyes his best friend with a look of suspicious. "are you... sure?"

"her biggest turn off is actually a scared cat like men." he hums, adding more false informations about your type. "meaning, a boy like you, satoru." he dramatically covered his forehead and his eyes to express his disappointment for his best friend.

suguru knows that even when his best friend is screaming like a lady, you'll still like him. even though he can't bear to watch a single horror movie, you'll still like him because he's satoru. the annoying blue-eyed freak that constantly running on your mind twenty-four seven.

the two best friends eyes the two of you. shoko and you, unimpressed on their nonstop bickering and satoru's screams and unbothered on the horror scene in front of you.

wow. just wow. what a scene.

ever since then, you always invite them to watch a newly released movie, mostly horrors but in rare cases, you want to watch romance.

"oh sweet. they're kissing like it's the end of the world." satoru commented as he pushes a mouthful of popcorn on his mouth.

shoko and suguru went out for a smoke since romance is not really their thing but they still agreed to watch just to see you happy. and they couldn't refuse when you were that cute begging them to watch it with them.

"because that's how they are desperate to be with each other." you reply. "i mean, you'll surely kiss a person like that when the world's trying to separate you. you will pour all of your emotions in that kiss to express your feelings." you further explains.

he raises an eyebrow at you. "i thought you're only interested in horror. why are you so knowledgeable about love?"

"books..?"

"yeah? and?"

"what do you mean by that?"

"have you ever kissed a person like that before?" his question caught you off guard and you turns to him.

"what? no! it's not like that! do i need to have an experience to explain those?" you defend yourself. you haven't been kissed yet!

"want me to give you an experience, then?"

you were caught you off guard and you didn't have time to react when he leans to you, kissing the side of your lips. too close to be called a kiss. too close to end your 'no first kiss' phase.

"i like you." he mutters as he looks at you straight in the eye. you're still close to each other and you can feel his breathe on your skin. "more than any of my favorite sweets." he adds, making you laugh.

"i like you, too. more than any favorite sunset i had captured and saw." you confess.

he smiles but his face immediately turns into a sour face. "even though i can barely watch a horror movie?" he asks cutely and you burst into laugh.

"w-who.." you can't stop yourself from laughing. "who said that?"

"suguru." he mentions his best friend. so, the dark haired male is the suspect on spreading false claims.

"I like someone who removes all of the seeds on my sliced watermelon." he smiles at that sentence.

"i like someone who will immediately thought of me whenever he sees sunset and sends me a picture of it." he smiles even more as he closes the gap between you slowly.

"yeah? and? you like someone who's very handsome, too, right?" he grins. "you like a certain someone whose contact name is 'annoying blue-eyed freak', right?"

it made you chuckle. how did he even know that one? you always made sure to lock your phone and keep the password to yourself only.

"i like someone who can't watch a horror movie with me and full of screams–"

he shuts you up by putting his lips onto yours and then pulls away.

your 'no first kiss' phase have officially signed off.

satoru clearly knows that you love movie nights, especially horror movies with him screaming but satoru knows that you love him even more than your collection of horror movies and the sunset you have ever captured and saw in your whole life.

[begginmonty]

(talks of obsession, age gap, yknow average william afton things)

"listen, don't give me that look okay! it's not my fault customers always think they're right okay, sometimes they need to be put in their place" you speak up, sitting across from steve in his office once again, for like the 5th time in the past month. you weren't going through jobs THAT quickly, he is your counsellor so he's supposed to be teaching you and advising you on career tips but he's honestly not that good at his job.

the two of you get on really quite well. you always manage to make him laugh, and never really seems to berate you for quitting a job or, getting fired. he'll just sit and listen to your stories or your rambling. you'll talk, he'll give you a few options to help and then you're on your way.

you are right in thinking that you and steve get on rather well. but unbeknownst to you, your career counsellor seems to have a rather large obsession with you. the file of you in his many folders of all his customers (?) is the one that's always easy access to reach. he's always got it near him. he knows your phone number, date of birth, your address, any info of yours actually off by heart.

"what are we going to do with you, y/n?" he's sat close to his desk, your folder on the table in front of him, arms leaning on the table.

"i dont know, its your job" you joke with a small smile, an amused look flushes his face. you always made him laugh somehow, "look i'll honestly take anything, maybe something with no one there, no customers, just me" you know there is no such job-

"actually" he interrupts you and grabs a folder from the left side drawer of his desk, and reads from it, "i do have something like that. it doesn't pay well and, the hours are not any better. but you would be alone"

you look at the folder and read from it, a security guard position? at night? but no customers, no co-workers, just you alone. you could probably sleep on the job, getting paid to sleep sounds good-

"hm, okay, i'll take it" you hand back steve the folder and a grin spreads on his lips as he takes the folder back.

"perfect"

you do not know the world of weird and death you have just opened yourself up to.

(i have an unhealthy obsession with this man)

[jaysfavoritee]

test subject 0128 | p.sh

PAIRING. ai!park sunghoon x robotic engineer!reader

GENRE. angst, thriller & a bit of horror

CAUTIONS. major character death & death in general, murder, violence, profanity, i’m not an expert on robot and ai stuff so don’t take the info too seriously

WORD COUNT. 6.6k

SYNOPSIS. You may be hopelessly in love with your creation, and so be it, but there’s a reason why they warn you about doing so.

“I'm going to need you to drop it,” you spat while turning around to look at your colleague, Maki. “I'm really trying here. I don't know what else they're expecting from me.”

Maki huffs in frustration, the folder firm in his tight grasp.

“I know. I'm not saying that you're not doing enough, but we need our test subject 0128 to meet the standards or they'll never consider us for a promotion,” Maki fires back.

You scoff. “All you're thinking about is a promotion, right? That's all you ever think about,” you mutter before facing away, attempting to leave. He cuts you short.

“Yes,” he breathes, “a promotion for the both of us would really fuckin' help us out in our situations. We deal with personal shit of our own, right? If we get this promotion, it could help us tremendously, and you're being incredibly stubborn about it.” Maki steps closer to you, his tall frame towering over you. This does not intimidate you.

You look up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Why do you care so much about what I'm dealing with? What if I don't care about a promotion as much as you do?”

In response, all Maki does is chuckle softly. “You care about working on these stupid robots more than having a bump to your paycheck? Hilarious if you ask me,” Maki crosses his arms, his stance unrelenting.

“I've worked hard for this position, Maki. I actually love doing what I'm doing, and I don't care about a bump to my paycheck. I worked hard on perfecting these test subjects, but I don't care about the stupid checklist,” you reply quietly, looking into his eyes.

“Well, last time I checked, I'm working alongside you for this project, no?” Maki challenges, which causes you to bite your lip. “If you don't care about a promotion, that's fine, but I do. So, while you're in your little fantasy world about making the best AI to ever walk upon this earth, I'm going to make sure that test subject meets all of the requirements.”

Before you can argue, he walks past you in long strides, leaving you in utter distraught in the empty hallway.

You roll your eyes before you walk toward your unit. Unlocking the door and stepping in, you toggle the light switch on. The room immediately lights up, revealing all of your equipment and a range of test subjects lined up.

You rub your eyes tiredly as you step in front of test subject 0128, the visual of his sharp nose, plump lips, and his pale, shiny, robotic skin drawing you in closer more than you would like to admit.

“You're more than a bunch of boxes to check off,” you whisper more to yourself, as you rub your thumb on the glass of his hand. You know it's pathetic to be talking to an inanimate object like this, but you don't dawn on the concept for too long.

“You're my baby,” you smile as you softly caress the glass of his cheek, “I won't let anyone try to change you from the way you're made to be.”

Your phone vibrates in your lab coat pocket, and as you pull it up to your ear, you hear the booming voice of your manager.

“Y/N, please head to Unit 106. We are having a short meeting with the rest of our team,” Jungwon instructs, and you softly apologize and make your way out of the room, closing the light and locking the door.

As you leave, and the room inside stays still and dark, test subject 0128, or what Sunghoon likes to call himself, slowly makes the corner of his lips tug to form a small smirk.

When you walk in, the rest of the colleagues from your department, including the department’s manager, Jungwon, are already present. Jungwon quickly jots some stuff down on his laptop while everyone is seated at a table, talking mindlessly amongst themselves.

You find an empty chair and you sit, trying your best to stay clear from the eyes of everyone else.

“Right, hello everyone. Hope all is well,” Jungwon starts as he turns away from his laptop, and stands in front of the room with his hands clasped together.

“I take it that all of you are working hard on your test subjects, and I’m proud of you! Please keep track of what needs to be completed on the checklists I gave you all last Monday,” Jungwon explains.

“It’s especially important that you follow the suggestions that have been sent to you via email by our Board of Executives, Park Jongseong. If you have any questions or concerns about that, please let me know once this meeting has concluded.”

At this point, you felt yourself zoning out.

He continues. “Your test subjects are due next Wednesday and they must be present in this room by seven P.M. sharp. Once again, all concerns regarding what I’m telling you right now should be directed to me. Any questions you’d like to ask at this moment?”

The room erupts in silence for a few seconds before Maki speaks up.

“Nothing too important, however, what would be the consequence if our test subject isn’t aligned with all of the requirements on the checklist?”

Jungwon nods before responding. “I would highly recommend to ensure that your test subject meets the requirements. This is a task you’ve been assigned and it should be completed in the correct manner. Are you running into any specific issues?”

Maki displays a small smile before shaking his head. “Just asking hypothetically.”

“Alright, well, let’s just say it won’t look good on your monthly evaluation. Any other questions from anyone else?” Jungwon asks, and the silence erupts once more.

After being dismissed, you scoff and exit the room, following Maki’s direction.

“What was that? Are you trying to scare me?” You nudge his shoulder, and he turns around and looks at you.

“Scare you? What are you talking about?”

“The question you asked earlier is definitely something targeted towards me. For your information, I’m going to meet all of the requirements, so you don’t have to worry about anything,” you reply in a boring manner.

“Sounds good. I’m taking a bit of a break right now, so I’ll help you out once I’m done,” Maki says before he turns around to leave.

What a bitch.

You stormed back to your unit, desperately hoping to calm down from your own irritation. What is the big problem, anyway? Always having to do this and that, always having to attend to the needs of others and make sure everything is what they want and how they want it, you can’t even breathe without someone demanding orders down your neck—

What?

You toggle the light switch on to see that everything remains in place, including the rest of your test subjects, but one of them has gone missing from their stand.

0128.

You suck in a shaky breath. Are you seeing things, or what? Why isn’t he supposed to be where he usually is?

Panic starts to gnaw at you as you make your way around the room, looking everywhere to see where your AI has magically disappeared. There’s no possible way for anyone to come in here and steal him, considering you have the key to this unit. Plus, everyone in your department was present at the meeting.

So, where the flying fuck did your test subject go?

Common sense and all logical possible solutions seem to have disappeared from your mind as well since you’re now having a full-blown meltdown and you begin running out of your unit without caring to lock the door. You can’t access anyone else’s unit since they lock it themselves as well, but you need to know where he is. Someone took him and thought this would be an absolutely funny prank.

As much as you panic because you love your AI on its own, you’re also going to be in deep shit since he is your project, too. You can’t afford to make another AI from scratch when the due date is a week away and you know that Jungwon would never accept an extended period.

So, what do you do? You start frantically banging on the doors.

Nobody’s responding, of course, and you feel like your heart is going to burst out of your chest in anxiety since you don’t know where the hell your AI is. Thankfully, you see a door open from down the corridor, and you quickly sprint towards it.

Inside, your colleague Giselle is wiping down her test subject with a wet wipe.

“Giselle! Oh my God, you need to help me,” you exclaim as you nervously walk up towards her with shakiness in your throat. You’re trying to not cry.

“Y/N, you scared the crap out of me! I don’t even know why I left the door open. Anyway, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Giselle asks as she stands up from her stool and looks at you in great concern.

“I’m sorry, I just have no idea what to do. My test subject disappeared from my unit.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Disappeared? What do you mean?”

You shake your head and you begin to pace back and forth. “I don’t know, I have no clue where it went. I don’t know who would have had access to my unit since it’s locked, and its stand is still there, you would be crazy to not steal the stand as well, since that’s what holds it up! Who is strong enough in this damn building to casually carry it and walk out the door!” You throw your hands up in frustration.

“That’s so strange? Everyone in our department went to the meeting, right? Did you come back to find it gone?”

You nod. “Yes! Before I left, it was still there, and I remember locking the door before going to the meeting. When I came back, it was gone! Nowhere in my room either. Just vanished.”

Giselle hums and furrows her eyebrows. “Do you think someone from another department went into your unit while you were at the meeting to take it away?”

You cross your arms. “But how would that work? The other department works at a separate building and it would be really strange for someone to get access to this one just to steal my test subject. No other department is having the same project as we are.”

Giselle sighs as she places a hand on her hip. “I think you should go to Jungwon, then. Our project is due next week.”

You huff out an annoyed breath. “I know, but what am I even going to say to him? Actually, yeah, my test subject suddenly vanished from my unit even when the door was locked! Maki is going to be so pissed,” you say while rubbing the bridge of your nose soothingly.

Giselle rubs your shoulder reassuringly. “It sounds pathetic, I get it, but you have to let him know as soon as possible. Also, don’t worry about Maki. He’s all bark but no bite.”

With that in mind, you prepare yourself for a hefty lecture from your manager.

It didn’t turn out to be as bad as you originally thought. Jungwon kind of stared at you big-eyed for a couple of seconds before he could muster anything out of his mouth.

“Are you sure you kept your door locked?”

“Yes. Even if I didn’t, nobody would’ve been able to steal it considering we were all at the meeting.”

“Well, not everyone. Riki had to run some errands, so he couldn’t make it,” Jungwon says nonchalantly.

“What? Do you think he took my test subject, then?”

Jungwon shrugs. “He’s the trickster of our department. I wouldn’t be too surprised, however, please let me know if he’s the one who did it. I will talk to him about pranks like these,” he says before continuing to focus on his laptop.

“Alright, thank you,” you say as you make your way out of his office.

You’re going to kill Nishimura Riki.

You knock on Unit 110, which is Riki’s unit, and you wait for him to open the door. When he does, you see him wear protective glasses. “Y/N? May I help you?”

You roll your eyes. “Okay, listen, your little stunt scared me. Happy?”

In response, Riki’s expression contorts into confusion. “Pardon?”

You groan. “Riki, I know that you took my test subject while I was at the meeting. I need it back.”

“Y/N, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t even been present in this building until, like, ten minutes ago. I’m working with Sunoo,” he says as he points behind him, and fair enough, Kim Sunoo was concentrated on their test subject.

“But—you weren’t present at the meeting. Why were you not there?”

“I also work as an assistant for the other department, and I was completing some errands while the meeting was taking place. I promise you I did not try to steal your test subject as I’m overly stressed out with everything right now,” Riki says in an annoyed tone.

You attempt to peek your head inside to get a glimpse of your test subject but to no avail. You hold back the urge to burst out in tears in front of your colleagues.

“Okay, sorry to bother, then.”

As you head back to your unit, you are fumbling with the fabric of your coat, and you feel like you’re going to throw up. You can’t make any sense of this.

As you remember that your lovely panic-induced state decided to leave the door unlocked, you lazily open it to make contact with the one and only, test subject 0128.

You blink a few times.

There he was, on his stand, placed exactly how you left it. There was no change or single indication that he was ever gone.

What the fuck?

You close the door behind you and you walk up to him slowly, the anxiety and fear withering away. “You scared me, where did you go?”

Or maybe you just hallucinated the entire thing, Y/N. Great! High on the job! (all you took was Advil for the headache you had this morning)

You then decide to wrap your arms around 0128, and you pull his glass and metallic figure into a gentle embrace. You feel comforted even though he is not real. You ache for this kind of affection, and you’ve never felt more fulfilled than being beside your test subject.

And as you have your eyes closed and your head is hovering just a tiny bit over his chest, Sunghoon’s pupils move ever so slightly, down at you.

When you open them again, you notice a little crack on his thumb. “Oh, what happened? I told them that this stupid company has the wrong type of glass,” you mumble as you take out a pair of protective glasses and you begin to fix the small damage.

“Good as new!” You happily say as you look up at him again.

Was he always smiling?

You thankfully didn’t need to explain to Maki about the whole situation of 0128 suddenly disappearing (at least, you think so?), and as for Giselle, you laughed it off and just told her a silly made-up story about where it went.

You’ve also managed to just go along with whatever Maki was saying, as much of his words sounded kinda faraway and dreamy-like since you kept your attention mostly on your creation.

“Y/N? Are you even listening to me?”

“Huh! What? Yes.”

Maki rolls his eyes. “I’ve checked everything off the list, I’ve run it by Jungwon, and I’ve checked to see if Jongseong sent any suggestions our way in specifics to our test subject, so we have been completely cleared to submit it.”

“Sounds good,” you mutter with your palm resting under your chin.

“Now all we gotta do is just transport it to Unit 106. Should be easy enough,” he says as he stands up and walks behind 0128. “I’ll wheel it from here and you can make sure it doesn’t topple over at the front,” Maki instructs as he adjusts the handles of the stand and for the wheels to begin moving.

You’re tired of him, and everyone else referring to your love as an it. It keeps reminding you of what he is; an object. However, you shove those thoughts away.

Delusional is, in fact, your middle name.

As you two made it inside the unit, you saw some of the other test subjects lined up against the wall.

“Damn, now that I’m looking at it, what you made looks ten times better and more attractive than the rest of these,” Maki snorts.

“You’re weird,” you say as you help position 0128 right next to Giselle & Yuna’s piece.

“You’ve worked hard on it, though. I’ll give you that.”

You adjust a few more things on him before you hesitantly move away. Maki thinks for a little.

“You seem to really love that thing. And you’re calling me the weird one.”

You shoot him a glare. “It’s called being proud of your work, you would know too if you did anything,” you mumble under your breath before exiting out of the room.

And so the fun begins.

The following day was Presentation Day. All of the colleagues of your department, including yourself, enjoyed the viewing of everyone’s test subjects. Some had pointy hair, and others had longer hair that reached down to their waist. The entire time though, you remained your gaze on yours.

“Alright, everyone! Please take your seats as the presentations will start shortly. I ask that you welcome our Board of Executives, Park Jongseong, for being here today to commend you on your dedication to this project,” Jungwon proudly states, and everyone claps their hands. Jongseong bows in response.

“I’m very excited to see what you all have come up with. I can already tell that you’ve put in a tremendous amount of work and time, so I certainly appreciate it,” Jongseong says softly, an intrigued glint in his eye.

Everyone quieted down as partners began to showcase their test subjects, while both Jungwon and Jongseong kept jotting down notes on their laptops.

“Here is our lovely test subject, 01115,” Riki exclaims as he stands on one side and Sunoo on the other. “He is about five feet, nine inches tall, and we’ve decided to make his appearance seem more friendly like by allowing him to exude a small smile, rather than being strictly emotionless, like how AI usually is.”

After their showcase, everyone clapped. It was yours and Maki’s turn now.

Nervously strolling your creation to the center, you take a deep breath as you look at Maki to be the one presenting. You’re not good with words in front of a bunch of people staring at you, so you forced him to do it since you did the majority of the build.

“Here we have our test subject, 0128, who is about five feet, eleven inches tall, has a sharp nose, plump lips, thick eyebrows, and a very intimidating stare,” Maki jokes which gets the rest of the room to stifle a small laugh.

“He is made using a mixture of high quality silicon-like synthetic skin and aluminum material, as well as advanced electronic components such as sensors, actuators, resistors, capacitors, you name it,” Maki goes on to explain in further detail in regards to the AI, and honestly, you stand there trying to not end up staring at 0128 once again, because you’re going to daydream and then not pay attention.

A few minutes later, after Maki finishes his speech, a round of applause erupts from the audience, and you flash an awkward smile of appreciation.

“Wonderful job,” Jongseong says, and you give him a small bow and a quiet thank you before moving the test subject away, and then going back to your seat.

Once you do, you overhear a conversation in front of you by another colleague.

“Did you see the way that the eyes moved? I didn’t know they had those resources, otherwise, I would’ve totally used it.”

You blink. Did you hear that right?

Once the presentation event had concluded, you quickly went up to Maki.

“Hey, did you add something to our test subject? Like, microcontrollers or any type of processor to cause the eye movements?”

Maki looks at you with a confused look. “No, I haven’t. We don’t have those tools as of yet since Jungwon told us we would be able to play around with them for our next project. What eye movements are you talking about?”

You bite your lip anxiously. “I-I don’t know. I overheard them talk and they were complimenting on the eye movements of our AI, which I was not even aware of.”

Maki shakes his head and smiles in a you’re not making any sense type of way.

Park Jongseong and Yang Jungwon had both come up to the two of you. You immediately shake Jongseong’s hand and you thank him for, being here, you guess?

“I just wanted to tell you both once again how wonderful of a job you’ve done. The AI looks amazing, and I did not know that you were already ahead of the game by installing processors,” Jongseong compliments, and instead of filling you with warmth and gratitude, it sent shivers down your spine.

“Why, thank you,” Maki suddenly speaks up, as if he could tell that you’re shaken up. “We’ve both worked hard on it, however, this one truly outdid themselves with it,” he says as he wraps his arm around your shoulder.

You laugh dryly.

“Well, keep up the great work!” Jongseong says before giving his farewells, but Jungwon stays.

“I never gave you guys the processors to use. How’d you access them?” He asks, and you feel like you’re going to explode in a million tiny pieces.

“Just had some lying around in my workplace. Thought it would be cool to use,” Maki lies, and Jungwon smiles.

“A nice addition, however just inform me next time before doing so.”

You both nod before going your separate ways and by the looks of it, you and Maki start to feel strange. It had to be a bit of a malfunction, right?

You keep telling yourself that.

As days go by, and as everyone moves on from the presentations, you seem to try and get back in the groove of things. You have no reason to talk to Maki since the project is done, but you feel like you’re going insane. You can’t tell if this is derived from fear or longing because you miss your AI, too.

As you work on whatever piece of scrap you have to get your mind off of your test subject, an alarm goes off inside the building.

“Everyone, get out!” Jungwon yells firmly into the speaker that each unit room has, and you bolt out of your seat immediately.

Is this some sort of fire drill? Jungwon wouldn’t normally tell you to get out, though. What if it was a real fire?

As you exit the building with everyone else, you stand there in utter and plain confusion.

“Do you think it’s a real fire?” Giselle asks you, and you shrug. “Not sure else why Jungwon sounded so frantic.”

It seems to be like twenty minutes have passed before Jungwon motions for everyone to come back inside the building. You give Giselle a puzzled look as you all follow him to a storage unit.

“What are we doing here?” A colleague by the name of Yeonjun asks, and Jungwon sighs nervously.

“As part of our team, I don’t mean to traumatize any of you, but I think it’s important to be completely transparent when I say that there’s a dead body inside of that storage room.”

What the hell did he just say?

You hear confused mutters and shocked gasps as you try to process what the fuck is happening right now.

“Jungwon, what?” Yuna asks in disbelief.

“If you want to see the scene, you can. Emergency services are on their way, but you don’t have to.”

“Why does anyone want to see it?” Another colleague asks.

“For the sake of all of you. This was a member of our department, and someone we’ve known dearly, and I think it’s important to recognize the dire situation we are in,” Jungwon explains, and as he opens the door wider, there is the lifeless body of Arata Maki, your partner, on the ground.

You refused to look at the sight for any longer, so you look away and nearly gag.

But what you also didn’t notice was that your own creation, test subject 0128, was propped inside, his exterior cover stained with splatters of blood, and somehow, a knife was in his robotic hand.

“Is this some kind of prank? A sick, twisted joke?” Someone exclaims inside of the unit that all of you are residing in. “Hey, Y/N, what’s your explanation for this? Your partner was lying dead on the ground with multiple stab wounds and I guess the perpetrator was the creation you made with him?”

You shake your head frantically. “I had nothing to do with that and I don’t know why for a split second you would think I did. I don’t know why the fucking robot had a knife in its hand, okay? Why should I know?” You snap.

“What if you’re the killer?”

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.

“I’m not a killer are you crazy?! WHAT are you even talking about—“

“Enough. There’s no need for any of that,” Jungwon says coldly as he walks inside the room. “They’re currently investigating the scene. All of you should remain here since we are all considered suspects.”

“As if! I’m not a fucking suspect in this,” Changbin yells in frustration.

“I understand you all are probably scared, extremely confused, and you may even be angry, but this is how it’s gonna go,” Jungwon states firmly. “We need to deal with whatever comes our way. We will be just fine.”

However, it feels like the room is spinning around with no end as you’re not understanding why Maki is dead and who would do this.

Hours and hours pass as everyone is questioned individually in a separate room. Night falls and you’re about to fall asleep before you are requested for an interrogation.

“Hi,” you nervously say as you sit in one of the chairs in front of a police officer.

“Hello, this is not to scare or pressure you, however, I’d like to ask a few questions, if that is fine?”

You nod.

“What were you doing around three P.M. as of today?”

You rack your brain and you remember that you were working on some meaningless piece of work to get your head cleared up from the situation. “I was in my room, Unit 103, working on some pieces of equipment I had lying around. I had no other important tasks to focus on and it mainly served as a distraction from personal things,” you reply, and the officer nods as he jots some words down his notepad.

“No problem. Were you close with the victim, Arata Maki?”

“No, I was not. I only spoke to him due to him being my partner for one of our projects.”

He hums. “Do you have any sort of reason to possibly have wanted to harm Maki? Any prior arguments or disagreements that may have led up to pent-up frustration?”

You shake your head in utter disbelief. “No, and even if we had our fair share of disagreements, I’d never go as far to harm him in any shape or capacity.” You didn’t answer as honestly, and although he had acted like a bit of an asshole while working with him, you’ve never actually harbored any ill intent against him.

You interrupt. “Do you know who might have put the knife in the AI’s hand?”

The officer shakes his head. “That’s still being investigated.”

“Okay, thank you.”

A few days later, you attend Maki’s funeral. You’re not too sure what you feel for the man, but you are upset to a degree. He didn’t deserve to die. You���re just uncertain about what could’ve happened.

The building you reside in for all of your work had closed down and was only accessible to the police, so you and the rest of your colleagues were instructed to continue work in another building.

You had gotten accustomed to the new room you were placed in. They also let you have test subject 0128 in your possession again, and you had him stay in the corner.

Sometimes you’d go up to him, stare at him, and just really admire your work. You held his hand and you would tell him about your thoughts like he was your personal diary.

However, things have started to change for the worse.

While you were in your unit, writing down notes, an abrupt sound of something falling immediately caused you to snap your head towards the table behind you. It looked like a random piece of equipment had fallen from its position on the table, and you picked it up with an annoyed sigh before you continued with your note-taking.

As you managed to focus, not even a few minutes later, something else dropped. You angrily looked behind you to see that your test subject’s arms had disconnected from his body, and it lay there on the ground.

You shook your head before you walked up to him, inspecting his now detached robotic arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix you right back up,” you say sweetly as you focus on a new task, which is to attach his arm to his body again.

However, while working, you heard a knock on your unit door. “It’s open!” You shout, and Giselle pops her head in.

“Hey, sorry, I texted you but the signal here is pretty shitty. Jungwon needs you in A-5,” she says, and you hum.

“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Got it,” she says before she closes the door. You smiled to yourself and began to work on the last pieces, screwing some bolts. “There you go!” You exclaim as you adjust a few more things before letting go of his arm.

What you did not anticipate was for the said arm to grip your wrist tightly. You quickly look at 0128’s face to see him staring directly at you, which he has not done before.

You screamed and tried to let go, but his grip was too strong. You felt his metallic fingers digging into your skin, and the pain was becoming unbearable.

As much as you screamed and fought to get it off of you, you were suddenly pushed harshly onto the tiled floor. You began to breathe heavily and you felt your heart beating inside your throat as you attempted to scoot backward.

In what you could only describe as a nightmare, your test subject moved around in a very animatronic fashion. His pupils moved left to right in a back-and-forth motion, twisting its neck slowly, and fixing himself to fully stand up from where it was placed.

You attempted to get up on your feet, but you had underestimated how quick he was, and with his robotic legs, he made his way toward your scared shitless figure.

“I’d thank you for the times you’ve fixed my body when it broke, but I am too annoyed at how you never refer to me by my actual name,” Sunghoon says, his voice appearing to be robotic but humane at the same time. His mouth moved ever so slightly, and his eyes kept darting around before he leaned his torso closer.

“You should’ve known it was Sunghoon. It was in the description of my package. I feel rather offended, honestly.”

You feel tears brimming in your eyes as you try to make sense of what you’re seeing and hearing.

“Are you going to hurt me?” You stutter foolishly, which makes him laugh.

“Hurt you? I’m going to kill you,” he says ever so monotone, and you feel yourself crumbling.

“Why? I love you!” You scream as if that is going to save you and change his mind.

He kneels before you, clicking his nonexistent tongue. “Did you really expect me to love you back? Artificial Intelligence does not experience human-like emotions like you,” he says, and if you knew better, it felt like he was comforting you with the way he spoke. “I do not feel anything at all, I simply cannot.”

He gets up again slowly as he twists his neck to look at the table. Your phone kept vibrating and was lighting up with multiple notifications.

While he was distracted, you used the opportunity to get up and run towards the door. You tried to twist the knob open, but he was a little too fast for your liking.

“Trying to escape me now? I thought you loved me,” he says mockingly, one of his hands wrapped around your neck. “That isn’t very nice of you, Y/N.”

Struggling to breathe, you let out raspy noises. “Please….just don’t kill me…I don’t wanna die…”

Sunghoon chuckles. A mean smirk appeared on his lips. “You pose too much of a threat, don’t you see? Why are you acting like you’re innocent?”

You blink rapidly. The sensation of his fingers gripping onto the skin of your throat becomes harsher, and you’re moments away from passing out.

He aggressively shakes your figure using his hand to strangle you. “Answer me. Why are you acting all innocent?”

You cough. “I don’t know what you’re…talking about..”

“Oh, is that so? Killing another colleague of yours is all fine to you, hm?”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” you mutter through clenched teeth.

“You did,” Sunghoon shoots back. His monotone, robotic voice pierces your ears. “You killed Maki, didn’t you? Acting as if you weren’t the one to prop me in the storage room, smudging his blood on me, and even placing the knife you slashed his neck with, in my hand. Do you also remember the time you dumped Heeseung’s body right in front of me, and I had to deal with his, wide-opened eyes, staring up at me? Thought you’d get away with it?”

You grip your hands onto his hand and you desperately fight to peel it off of your throat. He is too strong.

For months, Sunghoon had watched you kill people off, always keeping it a secret, and you’d stuff their bodies in your unit before you disposed of them. Sunghoon had been created a long time ago, but you’ve always kept him hidden in a closet. You took his pieces off, one by one, and pretended that this was a new test subject you’ve gotten your hands on. You’d piece him together again to make it look like this was your first time.

For months, Sunghoon had to witness the stabbings, the strangulations, the beatings, the poisonings, the cutting—he had to witness everything you did, and he couldn’t do anything at all. He told himself to play his part because, well, you did love him, and you stayed true to his word. He would never reveal himself because he was too afraid to be taken piece by piece again, thrown into a box, and sent out to become destroyed. Never reused.

You don’t like to reuse some equipment of your own, and nobody wants to set up and reuse pieces of a robot that served them no purpose. You were his purpose. You made him.

But he couldn’t do it any longer. You became so vile and so lost, so torn apart. You were not here any longer, and instead, you were replaced by something much more sinister. He waited for you to come back, but you never did.

Now, as he stands here, your life being played by him in front of his robotic pair of eyes, he felt much more relieved than he had ever been in a long, long time. He had control now. You were his puppet now, and he would make sure you wouldn’t hurt anyone ever again.

“I made you,” you spat while angrily attempting to free from his grasp, thrashing around and trying to kick him.

“Yes, you did, and honestly, I wish you hadn’t,” he said before he lifted you into the air, your throat squeezing and you were choking.

“No one will ever love you as much as I love you, and once…you do this, you will be….thrown away again….you’re NOTHING without me..” You raggedly breathe out, your gaze staring into his lifeless eyes.

“Would you stop hurting others if I had asked you to?” He asked, and he was hoping that you’d come to your senses, reassure him, and tell him that you would never kill anyone again.

All of that disappears the moment you mumble a simple, yet so venomous, no.

“I thought you had no emotions…why do you..care?” You ask, and this time, a dark smirk flashes on your face.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why I care,” Sunghoon says, his grip on your neck starting to lose strength, as he struggles internally. He doesn’t know why he cares for other humans when he is not one himself, and throughout his lifetime, he would have his parts thrown away and recycled. No human ever cared, except for you.

“Come on, get it over with. Kill me,” you say, and it makes it even harder for Sunghoon to go through with it.

While he became too focused on what to do, you took the opportunity to use one of your hands, and with all of your strength, you shoved him to the ground. He hits his head harshly, some screws and pieces of his head flying in all sorts of directions, and his pupils begin to move around uncontrollably.

His grip on you loosens, and you manage to pull yourself away from him, trying to get out. But with Sunghoon’s leg, he manages to make you trip over him, and you fall to the ground with a loud groan escaping your lips. He gets up and he straddles you before strangling you with both of his hands.

“I may not feel,” he starts, “but I know what you do is wrong, and I don’t want to be loved by someone who does wrong.”

You’re fading in and out of consciousness. With the last of your efforts, you use your foot to hit one of the legs of the table, making it shake enough to the point where a glass of water falls and comes into contact with Sunghoon’s body. Smoke forms and his movements begin to jerk and spasm, and he knows he’s done for.

Though, he will not let you win again.

“If I’m going down,” he says, “you’re coming down with me.”

At this point, you don’t even fight it anymore. You spurt out dry coughs and laughter as you allow Sunghoon to strangle you, and you look at him right before you feel yourself go numb.

“You do love me after all.”

As paramedics and officers stand around your unit room, carrying you into a body bag, Jungwon stares as they zip it up.

“I’m sorry,” an officer mutters, putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort. “We will try our absolute hardest to get you answers.”

All Jungwon could do was nod. The sight was all too much for him to process. You were a wonderful worker, a good friend, and an inspiring person to be around.

Test subject 0128 would know that was much farther than the truth.

[thebibliosphere]

Update to Hunger Pangs Audiofiles on Payhip.

You asked; I listened, then totally forgot to post updates announcing that you can now download both editions of True Love Bites as one large audio file! No more arguing with your phone to put the chapters in order. Yay!

After entering your payment details and being directed to select your download, you will be given a choice between downloading the audiobook as one large, 14-hour file or downloading the zip folder that has all the chapters separated into individual MP3s. Both are 1.1GB, so don't do it while you're on data like I did.

Whichever option you choose is up to you, and if you later decide you want to download the other, great! You can do that too. Both zip files are yours to keep DRM-free from now until eternity.

If you previously bought the audiobook through my Payhip and would like to access the new, single file, you should be able to log in with your Payhip account and access the latest download link.

If you didn't create an account, send me a copy of your payment/original download email to info @ joydemorra.com, and I'll get you sorted.

If you're a Patreon member/ko-fi member, I'll be updating the Patreon codes as soon as Payhip finishes uploading the files. When they're done, I'll post new links in the Discord and on Patreon.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for these file updates. Happy listening!

[pudding-parade]

Piece of Paradise by Visty6

Do you like elaborate Victorian architecture? Then this might be a world for you. Alternatively, are you OK with utterly destroying elaborate Victorian architecture and creating a beautiful natural environment for fairies or merpeople instead? Then this also might be a world for you. :)

In general, I really like this creator's worlds. They're usually small, (mostly) empty, often roadless, and they're always beautifully decorated with a riot of dense, colorful flora and pretty waterfalls and such. If you like such worlds, I highly recommend that you take a look at the other worlds on this creator's blog, too, as well as the lots they have up for download. I use this creator's worlds often to make naturalistic fairies-only worlds, which is something I like to play sometimes. They're perfect for that.

This one, however, is suitable for humans because it has houses and rabbitholes and such. However, as you might have guessed, I have also used it as a dedicated world for merpeople, after bulldozing all the existing lots, creating a more natural living environment, and adding some diving lots. The mers swim between the islands to get where they're going, and because the islands are close together, it doesn't take too long to swim between them, so it works beautifully.

The world's download page also has a lot of pics of the world, so you can look at them there, too. (As usual, the title of this post is a link to the world's download page.) I'm not sure if/how those pics are edited and/or what sort of lighting mods and such the creator used for their pics, if any, so I'm posting pics taken in my own game with my lighting mod and my minimalist Reshade and such. Between the two sets of pics, hopefully you'll get an idea of how the place might look in your own game. :)

Note: This world does use some CC, all made by the world's creator. I'm not going to say it's required, because it's outdoor plants, but if you don't have them, you will lose some of the "look" of the lots. The CC isn't included in the world but is rather linked to on the world's download page. However, when you go to those pages, you'll likely get a security warning from your browser/antivirus. It may or may not be false positives. Either way, my computer is like Fort Knox, so I just barge right through. :)

I don't generally reupload non-Exchange worlds with these overviews, especially not for creators who are still active (though Visty has moved on to TS4), but I'm making an exception here because of the possible security issues. So, I'm reuploading a folder with the CC in .package format along with a .world file for the world. The file is here. The .world file goes in your install files under GameData - Shared - NonPackaged - Worlds, while the CC .package files go in with all your other CC. I made it so that the CC is separate from the .world file, so that you can decide whether or not you want to install the CC. I recommend that you do if you're going to keep the world as-is -- if you're going to tear it all down, obviously you won't need the CC :) -- and I installed the CC to take the pics on this post, but it's up to you. It's only 10 files, total, nine plants and an arbor. The plants are mostly climbing roses for walls/columns/porches and roses that drape over the arbor. So, if you like Victorian/cottage-y kind of feels, the CC would probably be useful to you in general.

More info and pics behind the cut!

Here are Edit Town images of the islands with lots on them, pre-built and otherwise:

And here is a map view image that includes the two community rabbithole lots:

According to its download page and Google Translate (because the download page is in Czech, and I don't speak Czech), the world requires World Adventures, Pets, Supernatural, Seasons, and University Life. I don't think it has any Store content. The most important EP to have is Supernatural because each island in the world has a LLAMA box or two on it. So unless you want your sims constantly using water taxis to get anywhere, you'll want Supernatural installed for this world. Plus, many of the rabbitholes and much of the build/buy stuff is from Supernatural.

The world is roadless. There are footpaths on some of the larger islands, but mostly you're meant to travel to the different lots via the LLAMA boxes. Because of the nature of the world, I would recommend using NRaas Register to disable strays and wildlife in the world. They will just get stuck if you don't.

I'm not sure how big the world is overall. I think it might be 1024x1024, but whatever the case, the playable area is a collection of small islands clustered together, as you can see in the pics. Thanks to combo rabbitholes, the world does manage to squeeze in most of the base game rabbitholes. It doesn't have a diner, a stadium, or a mausoleum. It doesn't have an equestrian center, but horses wouldn't be practical in this world, anyway. And it doesn't have the Supernatural rabbitholes, but those and a mausoleum are easy enough to plop down somewhere, if you want them.

The world has no spawners except for fish. Even minor pets do not spawn. This is typical of Visty's worlds, for whatever reason. So, if you want collectibles and minor pets and such, you'll need to add spawners yourself.

There are 15 pre-placed lots, total. Other than the two rabbithole lots, they are residential or empty. There are six pre-built residential lots (If Google translated the Czech on the download page correctly, the residential lots were made by a different creator) and seven empty lots to do with as you please. Most of the pre-built lots are fully furnished/decorated, but one is completely empty and one is semi-empty inside.

You might want to use some of the empty lots to build/place other kinds of community lots -- Like a graveyard, for instance -- because the world has none of them. It is also possible to add more lots, especially on the islands that have none and especially if you want to add some lots that extend into the water and then build some ports/houseboats or over-the-water lots on stilts. But, there are also some spots on some of the islands where you could squeeze in small lots completely on land, too, if you need more lots. Such added lots will likely not be flat, however. The islands that only have pre-placed empty lots on them already have LLAMA boxes placed off-lot, in the world, like so:

So, you don't have to worry about adding them to the lots you build/place buildings on the pre-placed empty lots.

Here are exterior pics of the pre-built residential lots:

Personally, while the lots are creatively built, lavishly landscaped, and very pretty to look at, I'm not in love with them. Partly, this is because I detest Victorian-style architecture but it's mostly because the houses just don't seem practical for playing purposes. Those that are fully furnished and decorated are cluttered and pretty cramped inside, with sunken spaces and small rooms that I can see sims getting stuck in. Or, it's likely that a pair of sims will have to walk a bit to find a spot that's large enough that they can do the routing necessary to have a conversation. Plus, about half of them only have one bedroom, despite being large. So, it would maybe be great if you're playing the world as a retirement island for wealthy elders or if you're just using it as a set/backdrop for period storytelling, but for regular playing with families? I'm thinking not. This is why I was happy to bulldoze the lots and reimagine the entire world, but maybe it will be your cup of tea just as it is.

Here are some random pics of some of the interiors of the fully-furnished/decorated houses, so you can see something of what I mean:

Here is a view of the lot with most of the rabbitholes:

And I think that's about all I have to say. We'll finish off with more random scenery.

[cult-of-the-eye]

MAG 89 LETS GOOO

HE FOUND JUDE PERRY OH MY GOD

she sounds kinda hot ngl

heehee they're both pricks

he thinks its cause of the cold lol adding to my folder of evidence for autistic jon hc

love how he says i'm not stupid while meeting up with someone who has literally killed someone

oh god i remember the abbattoir statement...that made me queasy

i don't get what he's trying to do here? like get more info? why is he trying to corroborate the statement? to check if it was real? surely he would know that? i guess that's what its trying to highlight, the fact that jon has no idea what he's doing

ooh jonny boy's trying to stand up for himself

i wonder who would win in a fight, jude perry or michael the distortion

ooh shit she's intense

i love how he's attempting to make jokes in the face of danger like ok then jon pop off i guess

ok so he's catching on to the whole system

HE'S TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HE'S STILL TRYING TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE EVEN THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS HE'S STILL SERVING THE EYE

that's interesting i wonder if she's met gertrude? i wonder what type of capital A Archivist she was...she was fighting against it her whole time so i guess she tried not to be a good one along with the whole the archives are a mess thing in s1

ooh the compelling

HIS WORDS OMG how interesting that its become his little ritual, something that he just created to try and help do his job has now become a metal link in his shackles

oh wow ok so she's saying give into the compulsion to get statements, feed yourself the knowledge and don't feel bad about it

pretty good advice for not literally burning out lol but probably not for jon

diversity win! the avatar for the literal destruction of the world is sapphic!!

oh wow girl was in love with Agnes jesus

i guess its that kind of cult leader charisma and the devotion of her followers that could be mistaken for love

oh wow this actually made me scared for a bit, for the other avatars it never seemed personal but this actually made me sad for the guy

wow i guess his powers are stronger than i thought, if he managed to compel another avatar

"she demonstrates how easy she is to mould" jesus christ

love how he gets defensive like i could be a good avatar for a fear god focused on beholding!! bro its not a compliment

what's her lot?? how are the entities divided??

man jonny its your fault for naming so many of your characters michael but at least we get bits of charades trying to guess which one it is

fairchilds oh my GOD the VAST

don't shake the fucking hand jesus christ he's gonna shake the hand of course he is

oh her soft like chuckle and her "i lied" oh my god

nice note to end it on, jon's screams of pain

[alchemistc]

i have pcos and no insurance so I can't really afford to do anything about it. anyway, I usually only have like 1 or 2 periods a year. Those periods are BRUTAL but I'm always like, eh, could be worse. Anyway, I just finished up a nearly 70 day long period. it wasn't like a full period the whole time, but still blood and cramps and I felt like I was dying most days, but at the same time I was like "welp, that's life I guess? I'm sure others have gone through it and didn't complain like I feel like doing!" it's such a fucked up way to think too, but I do it all the time.

Nonny it's been a few days so I hope you see this before I start my purge of all info related to my own cycle.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with that. I'm in the same boat but even before I quit my job because the possession of a uterus was actually turning me nearly catatonic I'd given up finding a doctor who would both take my issues seriously AND provide a solution that wasn't 'take birth control'.

I understand that works for some and I'm happy for them but the places any version of bc I've ever tried send my head are DARK and with the state of the world as it is I'd be a miserable, angry, depressed bastard 23.95 hours out of the day.

This explanation is not something I can reliably offer a doctor without them looking at my family medical/mental health history and slapping a "hysteria" stamp on my proverbial folder.

I've had consecutive two week cycles, I've had cycles that last an entire month, I've gone a month and a half and wondered if the old bag hasn't finally just decided to fuck off only to have the most excruciating cramps I've ever felt for a week and a half before I even bled. There is no rhyme or reason. There is no pattern. And honestly tracking it anywhere but in an easily burnable notebook concerns me, even in this blue island I live in.

It's a nightmare, and they've pushed the geriatric pregnancy age back just in time for me to hit the original deadline so I can't even use that as an excuse anymore. The idea that I have someone who would go to a courthouse in a second just so he could be there to tell my doctors he signs off on whatever shit they refuse to do bc I'm childless and unmarried is great but also rankles so fucking much because I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT AND NEITHER SHOULD HE.

Women's health is a joke. And the problem is the medical field doesn't care. Yes, there are a million and two doctors who have made it known they're down to perform a tubal ligation no questions asked, but that's because it used to be a form of eugenics so everyone has medical knowledge in it. They don't research this shit. No one funds it. Even doctors focused in reproductive health haven't known what adenomyosis is when I tell them my mother had her uterus removed at 29 and before that she'd spent two years in the most horrendous pain any human has ever had to deal with.

I hope you take comfort in knowing you aren't alone in that struggle, even if the idea of it being such a regular issue mostly just pisses me off. If you ever need a place to scream about it my DMs are open.

[pictureamoebae]

do you have any beginner friendly resources for reshade/lighting mods? I love how they look but i'm not very tech savvy and unfamiliar with computer terminology so it's a bit overwhelming and i don't know where to start :x

Hi anon!

I wrote a guide called Understanding ReShade about a month ago, it tries to go through step by step exactly what ReShade is, what shaders are, what presets are, and ends with installation help, info about backups and uninstallation, and some troubleshooting tips too. Take your time to read through it, and bookmark it so you can refer back whenever you need.

As for other lighting mods, I'm guessing you mean for TS4? There are 2 main types: package mods that go in your Mods folder; and world lighting mods.

The first type are like No Blu/No Glo by luumia, or Into the Light/Out of the Dark by lotharihoe. These are package files that go in your normal Mods folder. They tweak some of the global lighting parameters. They're easy to add in or take out, just like regular mods and cc.

The second type are like Sunblind by softerhaze. These are world lighting mods. They edit each world map in the game to have a different lighting profile. To use these you have to replace the game's world files. If you make a backup of the originals, it's quick and easy to swap them in and out, but it is a bit more involved than just using a regular mod.

I hope that's helpful, anon. If you have any other questions about ReShade I'm always happy to try and help.

[good-beanswrites]

Same Lights, Camera, Sing Your Sins anon here (you know if I'm gonna keep sending anon asks because of ideas, I need a shorter name...) Glad they're getting time to cool off on what happened during the trial. This project is hard on them all QvQ

Okay another thought! While working on the Trial 2 MVs, you think the prisoners get to watch everyone's first MVs? Like, maybe praise how each video looks ("Oh my gosh, Amane you look amazing!"), making comments with Jackalope's artistic choices (Shidou's flower mummy) and how stiff some of the prisoners look ("Fuuta you're walking like a tinman." "Shut up!"), some singing along to songs they've overheard earlier (Kotoko singing Weakness), and...er...shirtless Mikoto ("Amane don't look!"). Idk, this makes their filming for the next MVs sound more fun as they hang out.

Hello again!! omg Thank You for sharing once again, I’m obsessed with that 🥺🥺🥺 That's so wonderful picturing a little movie night... (And yes, feel free to pick a name :D else I will dub thee 🎬 next time given the theme lmao)

Okay so my original idea was that those first videos were actually watched on the down-low. There were a few days of nothing going on while the prisoners debriefed, made plans, and communicated their song ideas to the writers to start working with. (Minor detail but I think they’re cut off from the world still, no internet access though they can exchange a few messages/visits with family). They do, however, get access to the others’ T1 videos on their phones/ facility computers. Everyone gave permission to watch them, but there’s a bit of hesitancy. They haven’t started filming their new videos yet, so no one has gotten a look that deep into anyone else’s hearts. Just because they’re closer in this au doesn’t make them better communicators -- there’s still a lot that’s been left unsaid regarding near-murders and their true selves. So they only watch them in secret out of respect.

Haruka hides under the covers to watch After Pain on loop late into the night (going “she’s just like me fr”). Fuuta doesn’t care much for the others’ songs but tries to decipher the crimes as best as he can. He probably gets one stuck in his head the next few days that he finds really embarrassing. Mahiru gets very emotional over the other lovers, doing a poor job of hiding her sympathy toward Yuno, Shidou, and Kazui in the following days. Kazui is embarrassed to watch Throw Down so often, but Shidou is such a subtle man and it’s nice to see a more open side to him (who admits to lying as well). Amane takes a while to watch them -- they’re videos supporting murder and sin, after all -- but once she convinces herself it’s to help the experiment, she allows herself to enjoy  them. Kotoko does the same as Fuuta but jumps straight into Fandom Mode and starts taking notes and analyzing the others’ videos. She keeps a secret folder on her phone of theories and symbolism and screenshots for reference. 

HOWEVER

You have opened my eyes to Milgram Movie Night 👁️👁️

Everyone realizes they’re going to need to get comfortable with a lot of personal info really quickly, since T2 filming starts in a few days. Rather than Jackalope’s suggestion of undergoing a painful group circle talk, they go with Mikoto’s idea to all sit down to watch the videos together. This keeps the atmosphere up while they watch, allowing for many compliments and encouragement. It also lets the singer defend things in their video if they see fit, though most let it speak for itself. (Fuuta: “ah, back when I was a menace online.” “You’re still like that Fuuta.” “I’m a changed man!” “You got one guilty verdict and nothing’s even happened yet.”)

I love all of those reactions so much ahhhh! Amane getting showered in compliments like she deserves. Honestly, all of them getting showered in complements because it's what they deserve ;-; Playful teasing getting thrown around for everyone. Not even Jackalope is safe from their heckling (see: Throw Down flower person), and he's not even there to defend himself. There’s lots of blushing and eye covering during MeMe. And a singalong aspect!! I don’t know I didn’t think to incorporate that into the fic so far -- there’s nothing quite like heckling your friend onstage by echoing their lines really loud from the wings asdfsdfsd. Mikoto recognizes the video game from Fuuta’s and makes his whole day. Mahiru and Shidou realize they have both flowers and food in common, and get to talking. All at once, everything clicks into place for why Amane hated Shidou him so much.

I'm also realizing Kazui would have a Moment TM while seeing all the prisoners talking so comfortably about their deepest selves and struggles. I don't think he'd break down and open up just yet, but I bet it's be a pretty big change of heart for him to see such honesty/vulnerability...

Plus, most of my original ideas can still stand after the fact! There's no shame in seeing too much personal info about another prisoner, the only shame comes from just how many time the video was looped in private lmao

[mile15movie]

Mile 15 is seeking actors and talents!

Ben here! We are looking for actors in south BC (Lower Mainland or Central Kootenay preferred) with availability in June 2025. These are unpaid, non-union roles (because we are a self-funded indie studio). If you see a role that appeals to you, please have a look at the sides linked at the bottom of this post, and send an audition tape via Google Drive or unlisted YouTube video via email to info@starlesssky.productions. We look forward to hearing from you!

But before that: we are also looking for a musician who can contribute some banjo recordings to the film! No location restrictions. If that sounds like you, and if you can record yourself playing (even with a smartphone would be fine) we'd love to hear from you! It would be a bonus if you're in Vancouver.

Roles open for auditions:

MARTY (main character, mid 20's, presents as male, preferably a tenor voice)

Being named "Most likely to become a pop star" by his high school yearbook committee was perhaps Marty's greatest achievement. However, years after graduation, he hasn't come anywhere close to stardom. He might have the singing voice of an angel, but he also has the attention span of a housefly. As a result, he’s never made anything out of his talent. He's a little "behind" in the grand capitalistic scheme of all things — in his mid 20s and still living with his mother. No job, no driver’s license. His best friend Bill is miles ahead on the road of adulthood, and Marty often takes advantage of this. But somehow, despite everything, Marty is still incredibly optimistic for his future and still has a deep love for everything music-related. So when an opportunity to seek fame and fortune finally appears, Marty eagerly rises to the challenge.

RUSS (supporting character, mid-late-20's, female-presenting)

If Russ Simmons had known how utterly dreadful the professional music industry would be, she would have picked a different career path. But now she has to live with her teenage decisions as a microcelebrity in her mid-20s. Some might say that fame has gotten to her head, but Russ knows better. Even in high school when she was still performing at talent shows, she knew that she cared little for obligations or relationships. Success has only changed her attitude on life slightly; if anything, it has made her even more pessimistic about the world.

THE MANAGER (minor character, any gender or age)

The Manager has been in the music industry for many years. They've seen the best and worst sides of the musicians they represent, and they've watched stars rise and fall. They know what they're doing. They know how to wear their head on straight. Even if it requires stern talking-tos or threatening drunken musicians with their contracts, The Manager will do their best to keep everyone in line.

Link to sides: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BVrkVkR-DkAL8D_6LjY7EcQVFFtR2kB3?usp=sharing

About the production:

Join wannabe pop star Marty and pragmatic best friend Bill on a road trip through unexpected, strange occurrences. Eight years ago, Marty was voted "Most likely to become a pop-star" in his high school yearbook. But he’s yet to become anything even close. In fact, he’s unemployed and without education, still living with his mother. So he’s quick to take the opportunity when an old acquaintance asks for his help on her upcoming music album. He convinces his best friend Bill to drive him to California, and the two pick up three strange hitchhikers along the journey: A mysterious individual named Scab (who might have committed a crime?), a friendly and encouraging musician named Banjo-man Joe, and a glowing young woman who has been dead for nearly thirty years. Each character offers a new experience for Bill and Marty. And ultimately, the two best friends come to the understanding that it really is about the journey, not the destination.

About the studio:

Starless Sky Productions is Ben Macphail, Connor Nyhan, and their friends. Their films celebrate the queer, the weird, and the kick-ass. Their most recent film release, Chicken Surprise, has toured festivals in three countries and won several awards for their unique creative direction and performances with local actors. Starless Sky is based in Victoria and Vancouver, BC, Canada.

[neonsomatic]

Please info dump to me about your favourite OC or your favourite aspect of your world Within 👀

aaaaaaaaaaaa Okay okay it's hard to pick one of seven... Eight? Nine, technically? (Two of which belong to very close friends of mine.)

I'm putting it under a cut because it looks pretty lengthy on my phone, plus there's some... Negative implications regarding gender? It's not bad and it has a happy ending, it's just a description of my personal experience with it back when I was in a pretty dark place.

I think the most important one(s) to me overall would be Rhys and Ilvenath; they're grouped together because they're a package deal. Rhys - the small, idiotic, loud-mouthed arsonist gremlin of a man with absolutely ZERO sense of self preservation - was the first OC that sparked the whole thing, but the story was way different back then. It actually took me about a year to actually name him; I kept calling him "Bastard Man Dumpster Fire" and every combination of those words rearranged, and I'm pretty sure I still have art files with those names too, including one called, "I finally named him Rhys." I know the art folder itself is definitely named something like "Bastard Fire Dumpster Man and Friends" or something like that as well, I never bothered changing it and I probably never will.

I was kinda in a really dark place mentally at the time I made him, and both he and Ilvenath (or just Nath,) were basically how I saw myself cranked up to 11. I had used them as a coping mechanism and a way to vent through both art and writing since I wasn't comfortable talking to anyone about it, and at the time I was still very much questioning my relationship with gender and the (very true) possibility of me being trans. It was very unhealthy at first, but the characters grew as I did and eventually they became a very positive thing for me.

But anyway, Rhys had started as this trans man who had this monster inside of him trying to violently take over his mind and body (the monster was actually himself to no one's surprise,) and he had to constantly take this drug called Neon to kinda keep the monster at bay; it's actually where the name "Neonsomatic" came from, it was what I originally called the story. Eventually this "monster" character evolved into a separate being, and I had given the two of them this (very toxic in hindsight,) love/hate relationship.

After this phase in Rhys' evolution, I had given him a redesign (thanks Sims 4 mods!) and I ended up falling in love with it, and eventually that "monster" became a demon that got trapped inside of him, keeping him alive; it was here that the demon became Ilvenath. I had then wanted them both to have a more positive relationship with each other. At this point I had already made another OC for Rhys to have a romantic relationship with - Emmerich and his Eldritch companion Ez - and I kept tweaking their stories to still keep that Cyberpunk-esque "no one has a happy beginning or ending" feel I had from the beginning, but they had each other and that's all that mattered. I had also kept changing their heights because I couldn't get enough of that delicious height difference; as of the most current change, Rhys is 5'4" and Emmerich is 6'8". But yeah, then the rest of the crew came in (the ones that are my own are all aspects of me cranked up to 11; that still hasn't changed,) and the story evolved into what it is now; a story about found family and overcoming trauma at its core.

But my personal connection with Rhys has always remained the same, he just grew with me as I got more and more comfortable with myself and eventually, accepting who I am. This pic of them is an older one and I definitely need to redraw it sometime; there's SO much wrong with it. But it's still one of my favorites.

[true-blue-sonic]

K, L, M for the Ask Game, please

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

Poor Gold being the one responsible for the release of the Second Devourer in her dimension through opening a Genesis Portal by accident is definitely on there. The general idea of the Council in that world is that one of them has been mind controlled for fifteen years and the other two for eleven, which has been quite a blow to both them and the people close to them. Hmm, and it's also an angsty idea that Silver from Stories (and also Guardian) was just kind of the only one who really foresaw that Eggman Nega could become a world-threatening danger: the other people from the future deemed him such a failure as Eggman's descendant that they never considered the possibility that he absolutely could cause trouble for them. Eggman Nega can't do much without using other people's technologies and ideas, but if nothing is done to stop him from getting those... So yeah, Silver being quite isolated, almost, in his burning dedication to stop Nega versus the more relaxed attitude of the people from his era can also be seen as rather angsty.

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

It truly depends: some fics I post on the day of writing itself, and some endlessly exist in a WIP folder and get edited just a bit every time. I'm often still editing when it is in the Ao3 box! XD But generally I read through it quite a few times to see what must be changed and where I can improve it further.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

Silver and ESP Silver meeting! I want to do something with this premise so badly, now that there are two games that have ESP Silver and deeper info on him plus the fact the wiki indicates for Sonic Speed Simulator there apparently was direct oversight from Sega themselves. I have one idea what would happen plus a vague notion of how I want it to end, but there’s not enough body inbetween it for me to write it… I have one (1) Very Big Event that I want to occur after the boys have met each other that I've thought out quite nicely already, but between them meeting and the Big Event happening I just have no idea what they can do. Plus, it's only after the Big Event they'll truly warm up to each other, but that means that before they're quite antagonistic towards each other, which I don't think will be particularly nice to read... So I don't know, but right now this idea is on the forefront of my mind most.

[symphonic-scream]

So uh here's some Okujima slash Makoharu from my Chaos Arcana swap

They're were classmates back in middle school, not really friends but two quiet kids who'd spend time together. Little Makoto had the biggest baby gay crush on Haru, so she was hella awkward around her as well

In their first year both became very isolated due to Kamoshida's meddling. Haru wasn't getting close to people out of fear that he'd stay true to his word and use his info to destroy her dad's company, and everyone was avoiding Makoto to avoid similar rumours spreading about them

Makoto sees Haru as they pass in the halls over the years and. Just like with the other girls she knows Kamoshida is tricking, she wishes she could do something to put an end to it, to get rid of that hollow look in their eyes

And she does get her chance, when an odd, tall, thin boy comes to their school. People say he killed someone, that he robbed a bank, they say lots of things. But he wants to help, and is the first person to stand by her side

Now one thing about Makoto is she's smart. Very, very smart. However, all that goes down the drain when she gets all bullheaded towards what's right and makes the dumbest fucking decisions ever, throwing herself in the way of danger

Like when she hears a soft voice begging someone else to "stay away, no- no, please -" instinct takes over and she's sprinting down the halls, bursting into the PE faculty office and shoving Kamoshida into his own desk

For the first time, someone has come to Haru's aid, realized the hell she's been living in and come to smash a hole in the ceiling so she can crawl her way free. And sure, all three are going to be expelled over it, but- for the first time in years she doesn't feel like just a doll

Though. Neither Makoto or Yusuke want her to help them take him down. They're secretive about their methods, and is that a bird in Yusuke's bag?? Oh well. If they won't let her repay them then she'll follow them and force them to let her help

And so a Phantom Thief team is born. Haru- or Eros- is always super diligent about using healing spells on Makoto -Knight- just, walking up to her after a fight and laying a gentle hand on her arm or shoulder, giving her a soft little smile

And gay disaster Knight turns bright red, every time

They make a good team, even deciding to keep going after Kamoshida. There's more people they can save, more good they can bring into the world

(okay time to backtrack a little bit for a small intermission of Makoharu moments I have thought up that happen during the Kamoshida arc)

On rainy days, Makoto is often seen without her leather jacket, instead wearing a damp flannel shirt over her uniform shirt. At the same time, Haru can be found with said jacket draped over her shoulders or head, protecting her from the rain

Likewise, some days up on the roof, the two will be seen sharing a Bento. Some days Makoto would have neglected to bring lunch while avoiding her sister in the apartment, or Haru simply forgot while doing other tasks while her father was away

(anyways. Back on track. More under the break I worry about this one maybe getting too long)

Okay let's get Madarame up in this house! So this is when Futaba joins the group, and instead of being an artist, Madarame is like. A software developer or he claims to be one

Madarame Tech is unveiling a new ai help thing for their devices that they call "Wakaba". She is set to be unveiled at a local department store, and in the mean time they're showing off their new game console and PC line and shit. So like. Their mini E3 kinda

Futaba sees the gang on the subway and is caught taking photos of Haru- in reality she liked her aesthetic and was adding it to her folder of inspirations for like. Aesthetic lines for the tech shit I guess?? Idk. However she's a little shit and says she's interested in a. Different way.

This kick-starts that whole plot and starts making Makoto simmer. She doesn't want to see Haru get used again like before, so alarm bells are going off. Especially since she's accepted her feelings have resurfaced and has been trying (awkwardly) to make her move

Okay and then the "nude painting" scene. In exchange for not turning them in to the police right away for accusing Madarame, Futaba claims she wants to just. "touch some tits". Claims she wants to become a hero in her Discord server. I like to write Futaba as asexual so she's bluffing hard, thinking they won't say yes

She's mainly focused on Haru, who seems like she's going to agree in order to save the mission. And that's when Protective, Stupid Makoto steps in

Long story short Makoto and Futaba are playing "boob chicken" until Goro (bird boy) picks the lock and Madarame comes home and reveals yeah he's been using Futaba to finish her mom's programs that he killed her for haha whoops

Anyways they fall into the metaverse and they're about to see Futaba awaken as Python with her persona but first, gay

When Knight lands on the ground, Eros runs over to her. Shes been worrying the whole time, talking Yusuke's ear off about how she hopes Makoto is safe and doesn't have to actually do anything and shit- anyways she checks her over to make sure she's fine, calls her stupid for volunteering, Knight tries to defend her stupidity but oop-

Eros kisses her

...and kisses her again

Goro: are they seriously like, practically making out right now?

Yusuke: this is beautiful

Futaba: what the hell is happening

And bam they're gay from there. Makoto climbs through Haru's window some nights after sneaking out of her and Sae's apartment, ditches classes early to meet Haru at her class to go get lunch

Makoto is a little awkward always, but she's affectionate and making heart eyes always. Maybe a little handsy but she just. Shes feeling loved and loving so it can be excused. Haru also is not complaining so the only complaints are from Goro. And Futaba. And Hifumi. And Kasumi eventually.

When everyone goes to Hawaii, Makoto and Haru both volunteer to go on the trip as third years and are excited about sharing a room in Hawaii and spending time together

...yeah that doesn't happen. There's a room error and some teachers have to join student rooms and. Since Sae and Makoto are sisters. Sae joins her and Haru in their room.

So instead of a romantic getaway, Makoto has to share a hotel bed with her sister who steals the sheets and snores and keeps her up all night

But she and Haru do cuddle on the beach a bit. Throw a towel over an umbrella for a spell, allowing Makoto to catch up on her rest while holding her gf

And then of course the Sacrifice fake death bit. Emotions, angst, more kissing, classic stuff

Oh and for second semester Makoto has a whole crisis about realizing she wouldn't be able to get into college with Haru like she wanted to if she didn't clean up her act a little and starts wearing proper uniform. Her grades were still good so she has a chance

The day she gets her acceptance letter, the same day Haru gets hers, they open them together and they're so fucking excited cause they both got in, holy shit. They sign up to room together and man they're excited to share a dorm

Anyways yeah. Uhm. Them. Please ask me more about this I wanna talk more about this