#but we're out here having a blast

[teriwrites]

NaNoWriMo 2023: Beyond Alder Creek

Round 2 (AKA the second draft)

Genre | Fantasy POV | 3rd person limited, past tense Setting | A fictional turn-of-the-20th-century town and its counterpart, the fae realm of the Beyond Themes | Human nature, Folklore, Trust, Familial Bonds, Friendship

Synopsis

When Winnie Pewitt first heard about her brother, Bran's, abduction by the fae, she couldn't believe the acceptance of his fate by the townsfolk around her. But when she goes to investigate his last known whereabouts, and stumbles upon a strange man within a faerie ring offering to strike a deal, Winnie runs home without looking back. As the days pass, and Bran's funeral looms over the town, Winnie finds herself turning over the strange man's offer. With nothing more than an idea, a hatpin, and a book on all that's known of the fae realm, the Beyond, Winnie seeks out the faerie ring once more. But this time, she won't be caught unprepared.

Excerpt

Before Winnie, perfectly centered in the ring, stood a strange man. He seemed entirely carved out of gold - no, there was life in his features that even the greatest sculptor could’ve have imitated. It was more like the touch of Midas, a life captured beneath the shimmering hue. His face might’ve been fine, had he the look of a mortal man, but the effect was quite lost in his aureate complexion. “My dear, who might you be?” When the man spoke, his voice was high and rang like a bell. A wide smile revealed a row of gleaming, golden teeth. Had she let herself be caught in shock by the unearthly presentation before her, Winnie might’ve answered him. In fact, she began to, only managing to cut herself off after, “Well, I am - ” His smile stretched slightly wider, and the friendliness in his eyes gleamed suddenly with greed, snapping Winnie out of her reverie. “ - you may call me a friend.” Rather than annoyance, Winnie’s introduction was met with amusement. The golden man’s smile twitched for a moment into a smirk. “Tell me then, friend, what is it you seek?” he asked.

Tag List:

@akindofmagictoo @cecilsstorycorner @howdywrites @happyorogeny @avian-writes

Feel free to ask to be added or removed from the tag list!

#writeblr #wip intro #my wips #my writing #writers on tumblr #nanowrimo #nano 2023 #that's right folks #we're officially back at it again! #I've been doing some final revision notes for the first draft this week #and then I'm hoping this weekend to hit the ground running with an official outline and the plethora of prep work i'll need for november #but we're out here having a blast #i'm really excited to finally get back to work with my little guys #also that tag list is Old and idek who all is still active so please feel free to lmk if you want off or you wanna join

[icannotgetoverbirds]

saw an exclusionist post so here's a reminder

specifically in reference to transmasc lesbians and trying to draw lines in the sand on who can and can't claim the lesbian label, about how being a lesbian is exclusive of loving men, with someone referring to the people they're attempting to exclude as "fandom gremlin transmascs and neo-mogai crazies."

I don't have the spoons for a proper response but i do feel like i need to make something clear.

on this blog we support fucky genders, fandom gremlin transmascs, and neo-mogai crazies. reblog if u love ur fellow fandom gremlin and neo-mogai crazy queers.

#tw ableist language #tw exclusionism #byrd chirps #oh and if you have a problem with this then feel free to sound off in the notes so i can block you #there's a fucking trans genocide happening right now i will NOT tolerate exclusionary politics around good-faith identities #also why the fuck do the labels matter? we're all a bunch of filthy queer degenerates to the people that want us dead anyways! #if you police good faith identities you're a fucking fed and functionally conservative #and yeah if we wanna work together on something basic and/or general i can play nice with you #but there's no way in hell that i'm just gonna allow y'all into our spaces just so you can try and push me out! #if you're a lesbian and you don't want to date enby/genderqueer/multigender folk that's fine! #nobody is saying in good faith that you have to date us! do you realize who you sound like right now? #gee i wonder who else argues for pushing nonconforming people out of their spaces because they think we're predatory - #- and expect them to date us? i fucking wonder! #if you can't handle gender fuckery then don't make it my fucking problem! i'm not out here making it yours! #and no me existing and sharing labels with you is not 'making it your problem' #look you have the general lesbian space. we have the subset of genderqueer/transmasc lesbian space. #you cannot claim to be supportive of enben (including nb lesbians) if that support doesn't extend to genderqueer/multigender folks! #anyways rant over im not here to fucking argue about my right to self determination #that is specifically what i came to tumblr to AVOID. #not gonna link op because i don't wanna put them on blast just. #op if ur reading this. skedaddle. to the person i was following that put it on my dash. skedaddle. #to the person who they reblogged it from. skedaddle. #out. now. i am sweeping you off my front porch with a broom. you are not welcome on this blog #oh and the person who i'm quoting from the notes? that goes double for you. out. #inclusivity #intersectionality

[dredshirtroberts]

oh shit y'all.

i've done gotten invested in Gurren Lagann. we're like 19 episodes deep in this paint and i have been emotionally compromised by the silly mechs.

believe in the me.

#that believes in you #i was gonna say pray for me but that makes me actively uncomfortable so don't do that #but i figured the believe in me thing was fitting #gurren lagann #i don't know how deep this rabbit hole will go for me - but i have a drill so let's find out i GUESS #y'all i did not anticipate this being what happened to me in my 30s i thought i'd found all the anime i was going to be emotionally attache #to in my teens and HERE WE ARE I MISSED ONE I GUESS #i'm having a blast don't let my silly complaints fool you i like to be dramatically angry about things that delight me sometimes #the THEMES the MOTIFS the STORY IT'S TELLING #UGH #SO GOOD #i don't want to hear criticism about it because it's BEAUTIFUL and I LOVE IT #we're watching kill la kill when we get done with gurren lagann and i am SO EXCITED about that trigger knows my weaknesses #and it's goofy faces and tiddies while dealing with really deep subject matter in a ridiculous way #also apparently mechs? wasn't anticipating that one at all i am ambivalent about mechs in general #but BOY HOWDY DID I CRY WHEN DAI-GURREN HAD TO EXPLODE ITS SWORD OFF #anyway... where was i #oh yeah so anyway in case you haven't guessed yet this taking over my brain slowly but surely and i'm sure there will be at least one #attempt at fic in the future for me we'll see how it goes #in the meantime... #oh yeah fun fact #i fucking thought gurren lagann the mech was from gundam and so when i started recognizing it i went THAT'S WHERE IT'S FROM?? but in my hea #because i didn't actually watch gundam i was ambivalent about mechs as stated earlier but of the gundams that one was my favorite #AND IT'S NOT EVEN A GUNDAM I FEEL SLIGHTLY LIED TO BUT IN A GOOD WAY SOMEHOW??? #anyway we're having a super normal one over here don't mind me

[constellationcrowned]

((I want everyone to keep something in mind in regards to this blog and this is going to sound like a general, common sense post (and in a way it is) but it's also hi I'm in your house, whispering into your ear, telling you to call ga//amestop and ask them if they have bat//tleto//ads---, blah blah, basically it's personal too:

With me, regardless of blog or content, both communication and engagement go hand in hand. Communication and engagement needs to go both ways.

I love posting and reblogging memes and calls and will continue to do so but you folks---old mutual or new mutual doesn't matter---need to take the initiative yourself sometimes too. Be enthusiastic. Be spontaneous. Be proactive. I don't want to ask people to write with me all of the damn time nor do I want to chase after people all of the time because if I have to do that constantly over and over again it starts feeling incredibly one sided even when it isn't (because ofc people have lives, specific interests, anxiety, and whatever else which are all things that I deal with myself and I understand how that can stop someone from doing something, but that's how it feels especially over an extended period of time) and I don't need to explain how disheartening and draining that can be.

My seeming to interact with only one person---and for both of my blogs it's @magioffire and we all know that---it's not because we're being stuck up, elitist or whatever inane and incorrect term people want to throw at our feet it's because we engage and communicate. The give and take between us (both from an ic and ooc standpoint) never feels imbalanced or even transactional (I really hate using that word but, again I gotta stress this, that's how this makes me feel) and I have never felt like I needed to chase them down for an interaction or had to fight for a scrap of their time---which feels like a feat bc Blair has a lot of people scrambling at their door---and I cannot tell you how huge that is. That sounds like a huge sweeping thing to say, I know, but I mean it in all of the little ways too. I could post some stupid bullshit on here; not a starter or a meme just a little random muse thought or observation, and 100% of the time here comes Blair telling me what they think or adding on to it or just...whatever. They're here for both me and my muses for the big and small things, whenever I've asked and, more often than not, when I haven't (or couldn't) and that's incredibly important. It's that kind of stuff that makes what we have special and that's putting it super lightly. And yes, our relationship both as friends and as writers has developed over a long time, and we did click immediately that's true, but there's never been any doubt to cast upon the work and effort both of us have put forth.

And this post isn't to say that I'm demanding constant or immediate attention from you all---because, again, we all have lives, health issues, etc, etc, and all of that takes precedence over a hobby as I've said before and will say again and again---but....put some effort into it when you have the capability. Yes, like the calls that I post or send a meme in, absolutely, but also message me on your own and ask a question or shoot a muse a random prompt or just @ me in a post. Show me some enthusiasm and engagement on your end because right now it feels like I'm doing all the work all of the time and that's tiring. I'm tired of handing stuff to people all of the time---I'll keep doing it, obviously, because I need and want to engage on my end and love throwing stuff at people and providing opportunities---all I'm asking for is understanding and reciprocation.

If you can't reciprocate for whatever reason? Tell me.

If you're unsure about something, no matter what that something is? Tell me.

If you need help or even a specific kind of accommodation in order for us to start interacting or continue interacting? Tell me.

Don't just assume that I don't want to write with you or that you can't ask me for things. Don't assume that I'm being a snob or whatever else just because I seem to be paying attention to a certain mun full time because do you know what that actually is? That's friendship. That's effort. That's me giving back what I've been given. That's me reciprocating the enthusiasm, love and creativity that I've been handed, nothing more. There's nothing unobtainable or gatekeep-y about that either, you just need to be earnest and forthcoming with me and I can assure you that I'll return the favor in kind.))

#;;ooc: mun muttering #long post #this isn't a guilt trip of any sort (it doesn't even feel right calling it a vent tbh) I'm just being earnest in my point here #I'm tired of constantly pulling teeth (and this is an issue for both old and new mutuals rather than one over the other) #it just....doesn't feel good. there shouldn't be this much of a struggle for *any* of us #and are we all going to end up on the same level as what I have with Blair? No absolutely not and that's not what I'm asking for #the difference between them and you all is the lack of struggle and just...the earnestness to put it mildly #I'm honestly tired of people trying to give me shit for writing w/ them so much because??? why wouldn't I??? #getting mad because I'm having a blast with someone who wants to write with me and actually does/tells me? that's nothing to be jealous of! #in fact you should strive for it yourself!! you could have it all too if you just crawled out of your own hole and thought for a second #I am incredibly fucking lucky and blessed to write with Blair; they've greatly influenced me both as a person and as a writer; #and every day I return that kindness and attention with more (hopefully) great content regardless of what or who we're writing #because they do the exact same thing for me every single day and that should be celebrated #stop wasting time trying to pit people against each other or feeling left out and actually step in yourself #I've said this before and I'll say it again: the main thing holding you back from interacting with me is you #so think about it and just...get over whatever is telling you that you can't and just do the fuckin thing. come have fun

[mindsmade]

i do love that the barbarian intimidation options are always written in all caps ... adds to the immersion

case in point:

somehow it just works

#ooc. #got to tell creepy drider guy to walk off without his lantern just by shouting at him 👍 #now we're 'chugging beer' w our pal thisobald. lovely #it's all downhill from here though bc aerendyl sucks at performance checks #gl pal! go out and protect balance n have a blast while at it! #< the essence of the druid/barb build i feel

[todayisafridaynight]

SORRY I MEANT TO FOLLOW UP EARLIER but I got caught up in talking about The One And Only Thing I've ever added to Jo's backstory and gotten invested in so I lost track of time 😭BUT NO YEAH GOING THROUGH THE LIST WAS A 10/10 EXPERIENCE... I just really enjoy your commentary and seeing your takeaways so I don't need anything In-Depth to have a good time, even just finding out what your faves are is pretty neat; as a guide I definitely think it sells the works while setting realistic expectations overall :] On That Note would love to hear your thoughts on the movie!

LMAO YOU'RE GOOD i wasn't expecting a follow up anyhow so it's alright :]

and im glad the list was enjoyable. i suppose LMAO AGAIN i tried not to go too much into things so my thoughts are relatively sparse (because rest assured i have PLENTY of notes on everything i've seen but i didn't want the thing to be 100 pages long (╯▽╰ ) ) but as long as it gets the job done then that's fine with me:)

OH BUTTHE MOVIE YAYAYA I WATCHED THE CORRECT ONE THIS TIME LMAOOO IT WAS EPIC definitely enjoyed it A LOT and was a really great way to end the series !! again i love the sound design and track and i esp loved the music that played when the team was working out how to sneak into the house of representatives (i've noticed that bitches LOVE acoustic guitars in this series and While Unexpected it works SOOOO good)

the whole Handcuff Bit with inoue still gets me like My Brother In Christ How Long Have You Worked Here BUT I ALSO GET IT. AND ALSO WHEN HE WENT TO ARREST OGATA AND OF COURSE DIDN'T HAVE ANY CUFFS... GIRL I DIED FR...

anyway 11/10 movie SOOO glad you directed me to it LMAO

#snap chats #EPIC movie.... asada getting his ass chased Twice is mad hilarious but also I See Why We're Here.......... WACK... #also i did let out a Cheeky Chuckle when all the SPs were fighting and when eri and yukari were in their spat #eri just lightly slaps her like GIRL ☠️☠️☠️GOOFIEST SHIT. #ALSO THE WAY I RECOGNIZED HORIBE KEISUKE IN THIS MOVIE ??? yes i only know him from kyouen but STILL #very much liked him in kyouen....... but anyways... #RAD movie. Once Again Almost Had A Cheeky Chuckle when everyone broke into The House and everyone Started Blasting #BUT STILL a pretty epic falling action.... #i can never be serious when watching anything though cause when inoue was telling ogata to drop the gun #i just thought back to that fuckin Malk video from like. 2009. where mate's all 'you're like a brother to me' and shit #IRONIC CONSIDERING. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WHOLE SITUATION LEADING UP TO THIS POINT BUT ANYWAY #I'M SO UNSERIOUS SORRY but that's how you know i was engrossed. thats how you know i was invested #and when yamamoto was telling eri he'd want to get slapped by her again I Did Chuckle but also.. Lol But Also Aw #AND WHEN SHE DOES SIX MONTHS LATER SMACKING HIM TWICE IN LIKE THIRTY SECONDS.. ICONIC... PALS EVEN... #strange friendship to some but i get it... #ANYWAY again thank you for leading me to the right movie... very much enjoyed it... #now if i'll be excused... i have a lot to do today OOPSIE ☠️

[unproduciblesmackdown]

no, More active effort, More conscious consideration

#boo we HATE your [the implicit perspective that anything taking less effort / less thought is Good / an Improvement] #and it's like Getting Good at anything. Some element does become easier to navigate successfully? #great so now you can forever move on to devoting more conscious effort to Another element / really further evolutions of the same process #build on whatever understanding. if you realize something you thought was Correct seems not to be? #congratulations: it was inaccurate / too limited all along but now You know that. Better #thinking about [effort] thinking about [communication] means emitting a psychic blast doing all the Languaging of honing ideas #and b/c interactions are two way streets you get no guarantee anyone will listen / put effort into considering what they're picking up #it's a delight when someone Does happen to feel you're worth effort but everyone could be doing that on principle. they are not lol. #some actually not [jfc] comment on an akd interview like #they speak w/such precision they're used to not being listened to or understood like #well we'd have to ask them ofc but i won't even argue w/that concept lol #having One Chance To Get A Word In Ever like but you don't really when ppl misunderstand you which is an inevitability #and then made more likely by any number of factors. including not considering you worth the effort of Trying to understand #if they misinterpreted what you're conveying no they didn't; that's just What You Meant. double empathy style #gotta be out here figuring out The Approach when the outlier is ppl who do Not [only think you're worth effort as An Obstacle] #alleging how when you like urself you will now Earn Friends like the more i respect myself the more idc if i'm Interpersonally Beliked #the interpersonal relationship that Is guaranteed relevant of ''we're both people in the world & so already in relation in just that way'' #i love to Socialize by being in public ''alone'' like clearly no i'm not & like getting to take up my bit of space / do my bit of a thing #while this fits into everyone else also having their presence; doing their thing; is >>>>> being with a group as its nth wheel for no reaso #the effort of what communication works w/what person in what situation #the effort of what navigation of the inherent mutual effect of your sharing [whatever System (like; physics style)] works out best / better #when ppl imagining this are still limiting it to Certain Interactions b/w everyone anytime as the ''ideal''.... #sesame street was out here like. sometimes there's people wanting to be alone / who are ''unfriendly'' & they're still part of things #once again it's like kermit thee frog knows what's up. mister macabee old timey barkeep what should i do #furiosa as well lmao i should watch fury road again. i can sense it #you can't have much of a chitchat with her. and yet

[elytrafemme]

(don’t reblog; heavy content ahead but i tagged accordingly) i think i’m caught in a fucking cycle. before i wrote cough syrup, i was having a psychotic break spanning over the course of six months at a minimum after leaving an abusive relationship, getting into a mutually toxic relationship and then breaking that one off. and now i’m sitting here like an entire year later. in the beginning of a rapidly spiraling psychotic break because i just got broken up with and i’m in what is either a toxic relationship or an abusive one probably the former but fuck. fuck. do you see why it’s all i fucking talked about do you see why i’m so stressed that i can’t fucking work on it by a deadline. because cough syrup was literally a lifeline for me and now i’m in the same place i was before it ever happened. before this ever happened. i don’t even know how to talk to people on here because i was talking to people on here after this all happened and now i’m back at the start. what the fuck am i supposed to do.

#nightmare.personal #negative #vent #neg #tw abuse #abuse tw #i can already hear people saying at least you got out at some point! at least it isn't constant! at least you can still type this post! #there's so many people watching and i need them to leave me the fuck alone #i already know how this is going to end it's going to end the same way every time #i won't go to college i won't stay in this fandom i won't finish this fanfiction #what's the point in doing anything. i'm going to lay in bed blast music and hope the sunrise is nice tomorrow. #i was doing so fucking good. and then another person showed up into my life and i tried to help them. i tried. #and everyone fucking left me and i kept trying and now we're here and i can't go to sleep without having nightmares.

[inkmaze]

had the funniest convo last night where I got "clocked" as either an amab nb or a trans woman, and rocked this person's world w the new fantastical knowledge that afab ppl can take testosterone

#txt #'but... you have a deep voice' ya babe thats the hormones! #'but.. you have an adams apple?' ya babe thats the hormones! #(we're gonna skip by the fact that anyone can have those traits etc etc) #also bragging about how im clockable? like lol. bruh. im having the biggest laugh here. #(also obvi kind of fuck off but im finding the humour here) #cannot belieeeeve theyd say shit like this directly to ppl what the hell #like if they were right and i had been a trans woman like wtf is wrong w u for pointing out traits i have u think are clockable? #thats kinda fuckin transphobic babe! #the fact that they knew what mtf and nb meant but literally was gobsmacked by me going naw im coming from the other direction xoxo #literally had 2 spell it out for them they just did not compute aldjal #and this was another lgbt person? LOL? #anyway this was what my last rb last night was about alfkal #it was a short convo but each message delivered another blast of psychic damage direct 2 my brain

[the-flying-aquatos]

Hrhrhfndf. Honse Riding AU

The Psychonauts are a simple psychic friendly organization that happens to be heavily horse focused. They call themselves The Psychic Saddle Club, a place where psychics can feel at home, learn to ride…they also happen to take in children who aren’t in good home situations. It’s why they advertise so frequently.

Truman’s the leader, the main man, but he’s always more friendly than people expect. Kids who call the number on those pamphlets always expect someone else, maybe Hollis, to answer the phone. And usually she does, but once she has their names, she immediately hands the phone over to Truman. He has a way with kids, considering he has a daughter of his own, and he’s been looking over the children who came to the club before Lili was born.

They take in kids of all ages, have separate dorms on each side of the land for the specific age groups. It’s a safe place for kids on the run, a home to psychics of any age who need a safe place to live, the horses are just a bonus. Everyone earns their keep, the littler children of course aren’t required to, but the slightly older kids and up all have specific jobs to do. Keeps the place running.

Their pride and joys are their competitive riders. Both young and old. It’s how they get most of their funding, by winning competitions. Their young riders are the “junior agents”, though they’re called junior riders here. Specifically, Lizzie, Norma, Adam, and Gisu are their competing team, and often the twin Natividad sisters will tackle most of the solo competitions, two by two. Sasha and Milla are their main riders on the older side, Milla is especially skilled, however she takes a lot of her time to train the kids, as well as look after them, and Sasha shares this job, more the training than the caretaking. The “campers” are too young to participate in the big competitions, but they have their own little events, and they do indeed do a lot of actual camping, riding out into the more people-less areas of the land is a favorite activity of the kids. 

Frazie read those newspapers and magazines ever since she was a little girl, and one evening, her baby brother came to her because he couldn’t sleep. She decided to share her secret, her obsession with him, and he was just as amazed as she was. All these old stories about people like Compton Boole forming an intense psychic bond with horses of all things, or of Otto’s attempts to use psitanium to amplify the zoolepathy of the other psychics so they could achieve that bond, and the more recent tales of young Milla Vodello dominating the riding ring as if she’d been riding a horse since she was born. They snuggled up together every night from then on, reading those stories against the better judgement of their parents.

Then they found a pamphlet for the club one night, easy for them to snatch up and bring to their hiding place, they read all through it, it was practically an invitation for anyone anywhere to come to the saddle club, to live there. And there was a phone number on the back of it. The duo spent the next day dwelling over the most difficult choice of their lives, keeping it as well hidden as they could, until late into the night, they decided...and they packed their bags.  “There’s a phone booth out in the town nearby.” Frazie tells him as she grabs his hand, “Me and Dion saw it when we were food shopping earlier. We’ll use that to call them.” And she walked him out into the town, ready to burn somebody alive with her pyrokinesis if they dared to try anything, even if she didn’t have good control of her powers. They made it, and she dialed the phone, talking nervously as she held Razputin’s hand, soothed by Truman’s gentle reassurance that everything would be okay.  “Where are you right now?” He asked, “I’ll send Ms. Vodello to get you, stay put.” “Do you think it’d be alright if my pony Sugarcube came along? She’s very tiny, almost the size of a puppy.” Sugarcube fit snug inside Frazie’s bag, and she was welcomed with open arms to the stable.

Frazie and Razputin had never been in a car before, but Milla made the experience less terrifying, her voice was sweet and gentle and she seemed to know just the right questions to ask. Her heart was warmed seeing Frazie so excited to go, to see Raz so excited to meet other kids his age. They would have to adjust to being apart more than they ever have been, but there will be time for them to be together.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #psychonauts au #my au #The Psychic Saddle Club Au #I have a lot of brain ideas #there is plenty of angsty stuff but also just lots of good vibes #Im still trying to figure out where the thorny towers crew and loboto would go #idk maybe they're just vibing in the town #I feel like we're gonna tone down Nona's situation bc it's not as entirely serious? #like its still pretty fucking bad but not flooding an entire country levels of bad #the campers are just a bunch of little guys and Raz gets to share a room with Lili #Bobby Zilch being a little asshole and Raz just: #'I will go find my older sister.' #mean older sister who's dating the prodigy girl privileges #I forgot the name of the cowboy kid #J.T. I think #he'd have a fucking blast here #Dogen is too nervous to ride a horse so he helps Morris out on the sidelines #Chole finds a weird little horse and declares it her alien horse #important to note that pretty much all of the junior agent kids came to the club when they were little #practically raised by the staff #same applies for a couple of the campers

[queen0funova]

In my dorm standing in front of the window watching leaves flutter past and students stroll along thinking yeah this is why I'm here

#you belong here #I love you all to Fragments #This was a nice serene moment #but I need to get started on my homework #I get to go out for dratini community day after so that's a win #yeah #we're gonna have a blast everyone

[cloudshapedpatch]

okay be honest peanut gallery, do y'all think it's weird im going out with my fourth grade boyfriend

#i mean we were nine when we started dating the first time #yeah there was multiple times stay with me here #we broke up when we were 12 so we had a pretty good run #but also we were in middle school so there wasn't anything to note #the second time was like a month when we were 15 #and then another few months when we were 16 #anyway now we're 19 #he's picking me up tomorrow to watch his band practice and then i'm doing his little sister homecoming makeup #which also im besties with his little sister she just turned 16 and she's a blast #and then we're going out to see some live music later this month (he's also picking me up then) #and is it weird im getting butterflies? #third time was not the charm so why would we try a fourth time #but also like we're adults (sort of) and know what we want a little more #on one hand am i really gonna date this same person again there are SO many fish in the sea #but that little romantic part of my brain makes me think about the poem he slipped in my locker in 7th grade and what if i found the one #that's silly i can't even legally drink yet how would i know that. how would i know that without actually dating him to see #we're both single right now. and have expressed how much we are tired of dating strangers and would rather date someone we're friends with #am i looking into it too much?!?! #my brother said he has no game and is surprised that he's still in the running #he bought me a stuffed toy from walgreens on our first date and that was it for me ig #cori rambles #urg #and if ANY of you say anything about him being in a band: yeah i get it i have a type #shUT UP #lovely mumblings

[annabelle--cane]

"the magnus protocol had a whole ARG beforehand? what?"

yes! it did!

"oh so I need to have participated in this whole big thing to actually understand the podcast?"

not at all! from the official post-mortem put out by RQ, "while the ARG was not something that was necessary to participate in to understand the magnus protocol, it was designed to contain a wealth of background story and context that would enrich any player's listening experience."

"a wealth of background context that would enrich my listening experience 👀👀👀 how can I learn about this?"

SO glad you asked. sadly, many of the materials made for the arg have been taken down since the game ended 😔 (ex., the official OIAR, magnus institute, and bonzoland websites. (edit ii: I found partial wayback machine captures! see below) though @strangehauntsuk is still up!), so we're a bit low on primary sources, but in terms of learning about what happened:

for a starting point, I would really recommend this video by @pinkelotjeart

it's super accessible, it was made in real time as the game progressed and follows the solving and revelation of clues as they happened, it hits all the major points of the mystery and moments of community insanity while eliding some of the nitty gritty puzzle grinding, 10/10 would recommend.

here's the official summary put out by RQ, and I'd recommend reading through this once you've already gotten a basic handle on the flow of the story and the basic connections between major clues and events. it's got some fun behind-the-scenes info and lays out the thought process behind the puzzles in simple terms

here's the full masterdoc of all puzzles and resolutions put together in the statement remains discord server. masterdoc my absolute BELOVED, masterdoc my bethrothed, masterdoc my soul mate. I'd recommend this as a second port of call after the above video as it either contains all details about the puzzles or links to other expanded docs that do.

here's the narrative summary doc that lays out all the plot and lore discovered in three pages of plain prose. if you just want to get to the good bits as fast as you can and get blasted directly in the face by contextless lore bombs, this is the doc for you. if you don't want to start with the video, I'd say this is another good entry point.

once you've got the lay of the land, some of the game materials that I found particularly interesting include:

the in-universe east germany expat usenet forum, with all content translated into english. most of it is irrelevant space filler with occasional extremely sus lore, but I still found it fun to read through. love to soak in some fictional forum drama.

chdb.xlsx, the spreadsheet of the names of all the children the protocol 'verse magnus institute was studying/experimenting on. EDIT: here is a version of the sheet without any annotations and with all of the names in their original order, kudos to @theboombutton for catching that the commonly shared copy had the order swapped around.

klaus.xls, a (very corrupted) spreadsheet with what looks like the classifications of a bunch of old OIAR cases.

EDIT: have a few more saved materials from the game that I forgot to include.

an in-universe audio ad to apply to the OIAR that ran before archives episodes and kicked off the whole game.

an in-universe video ad to apply to the OIAR, this one is an official upload that's still up from the game itself. you can subscribe to the OIAR's official youtube channel today, if you so chose.

the robo-voicemail greeting from the OIAR's phone line.

EDIT II:

here is a wayback machine capture of the OIAR's official website.

here is a wayback machine capture of the bonzoland website.

(pretty sure both of the above captures just archived the home pages, though I haven't tried clicking all of the links. I'd say they're still worth looking at, the home pages give a good window into the vibes.)

once you start poking around in these documents, you'll find a bunch of links to others with further information, the materials I've included here just contain what I feel to be the most relevant details to getting a broad feel for the whole game. once again, huge shout out to the statement remains server, I was barely in there as the ARG was in progress and only ducked my head in every so often to find links like these. true mvps of the fandom.

#gonna pin this for a bit because every day I get 2-5 asks saying 'there was an arg? how do I learn about it?' #tmagp #video #marina marvels at life

[femonologue]

Many years ago, I was wandering around downtown Ottawa with my best friend. We ran into a friend of his who offered us some hash (it sucked), then said there was a really good house party nearby if we wanted to go. We were like, yeah, sure. So that's how we ended up at some completely fucking random person's house.

I look around to ask if my friend knows anyone here and he's simply gone, as is his friend. And this isn't some red solo cup hangout; this is a party. There's people counting out pills on the kitchen counter. I am clearly neither as cool nor as drug-savvy as the kitchen people, so I back away and instead wander aimlessly into the living room, which seems to give off more of a chill vibe.

A bunch of people are seated in a circle on the floor. One of them is fiddling with a big wad of newspaper or something. A really cute grunge girl with piercings and tattoos scoots aside to make room for me, so I sit down.

"What's that," I ask her, gesturing at the newspaper wad.

She gets a really big smile on her face. You know the smile. It's the I'm About To Watch This Innocent Soul Get High As Fuck smile. "You've never smoked a tulip?"

"What's a tulip?" I ask.

"It's like if a joint was also a bong," she replies. "You gotta try it."

"Alright," I reply, a little uncertainly. This will not be my first encounter with weed. I am more comfortable with the janky newspaper bong than I am with whatever the fuck is going on in the kitchen. Besides, this girl is really cute and I would like to have a friend here now that my existing friend has turned into vapor or been transported to the Upside-Down or whatever the hell happened to him.

I watch as one person holds the newspaper joint-bong upright and holds a lighter over the top while another gets beneath it, tilting their head back to take a puff. Apparently smoking this Cheech & Chong monstrosity is a two-person job.

"Oh," I say, looking at the fist-sized knob at the top of the wonky newspaper joint. "Yeah, it does kinda look like a tulip." Grunge girl smiles at me.

I watch as the tulip is passed around the circle, along with the lighter, and hits are cooperatively taken. It reaches grunge girl, who takes a huge puff and holds it for an extended moment before exhaling an impressive blast of smoke. She smiles expectantly and holds the tulip up for me, preparing to spark the gigantic meteor of dank that makes up its tip. By this point I have completely forgotten about my missing friend. I only care about making a good impression on grunge girl. I tilt my head back and hit the tulip like a smokestack.

It is the following morning. I am sleeping between a couch and a wall. I'm not positive that this is the same house I was just in. My memories are gone. Someone is yelling at me: "dude! Dude! Wake up, dude!"

I sit up. My mouth tastes like cigarettes. I do not smoke cigarettes. "Wha," I ask the yelling man, who I am quite confident I have never met before in my life.

"We're going on a quest," he tells me, gravely. "You have to come with us."

I look around. Neither my friend nor his friend are anywhere in sight. I also do not see grunge girl anywhere. I shrug helplessly. "Okay."

We embark from this house. I learn that the destination of this quest is Tim Horton's. This is a relief to me, as coffee and a donut sounds really fucking good right now. Somehow, the route to Tim Horton's takes us past the Governor-General's residence, which everyone else in the group loudly heckles on the way past. I do not know what the Governor-General has done to raise their ire, nor do I particularly care. I trudge along with my hands in my pockets, pleased to note that I still have my wallet, phone, and keys. I fervently wish that I could remember anything about last night. Maybe I talked to grunge girl. Maybe she's why my mouth tastes like cigarettes. The tulip tasted nothing like cigarettes.

I am asked about my politics. I voice my frustrations with corporate corruption, the pay-to-win electoral system, the lack of transparency and accountability. This is met with great approval. The guy who was yelling at me claps me on the back. I get the impression that we became friends last night. I don't recognize his face. I do not know his name and he definitely does not know mine. I behave as though we're friends anyway. We are comrades on a quest.

By the time we make it to Tim Hortons, the gaggle of stoners I'm walking with have all run out of energy and/or attention span. People order snacks and break away in pairs or solo, to call for rides or plan the day's events or just vegetate and wait for the drugs to leave their systems. I look around and find that my nameless friend has also gone to the Upside-Down. As I wash the cigarette taste out of my mouth with coffee, I unsuccessfully try to remember whether I saw grunge girl smoking tobacco at any point. I remember nothing. That tulip was so fucking powerful that it instantly sent me a whole day forward in time.

Alone in the city, I try to call my best friend and get no answer. I walk to the nearest bus stop, catch a bus most of the way home, and call up my parents to ask for a ride back. They ask where my friend is. I tell them that I have no idea; we went to a house party and I don't remember anything else.

When they pick me up from the bus station, they ask me some very safe, nonspecific questions, and seem to relax when I describe what little I can remember. It isn't until years later that I realize they were probably terrified I'd gotten rufied or something, and were so relieved to learn otherwise that they didn't even bother chiding me for smoking myself unconscious in an effort to impress a strange woman. In any case, they were probably happy to find out that I did, in fact, like girls; I suspect they had been privately wondering whether I was gay.

After getting home, I finally manage to get my best friend to answer his phone. I discover that he tried the kitchen pills, spent most of the night crossing the entire city on foot, and crashed at his cousin's house. He sounds like shit. I tell him that he should have tried the tulip, instead. He fervently agrees with me.

I never see grunge girl again.

That's okay, though. She got to see a clueless stranger get fucked the entire way up on some ungodly strain of giga-weed, and I got smiled at by a cute girl, and then I got to go on a quest. Wherever grunge girl is, I hope she's happy. I hope she's smoking the fattest fucking blunt and smiling as some kid passes out behind a couch.

#I have no idea what to tag this. if you need me to tag it as something just tell me I guess

[irisintheafterglow]

kid megumi starts a fight. you and satoru finish it.

being fresh out of high school while simultaneously taking care of a second grader was an interesting experience, to say the least. today was no different.

"oh my god; he what? i'll be there in a second, fucking hell," you sputter as you all but shoot upward from your desk, sweeping the post-mission paperwork to the side and grabbing your car keys from the bedside table. the car makes strained vrooms while you impatiently pump the gas pedal, accelerating down the street like a bat out of hell. swerving into the nearest parking space you could find, you forcefully swing open the door to the front office to find satoru waiting in a plastic chair. he mutters an exasperated oh, thank god under his breath before standing and taking your hand, leading you down the hall to the principal's office.

"is he okay?"

"he's fine, i promise." you look at him skeptically, remembering all the times megumi was "fine" yet had scrapes that satoru didn't know how to clean up. "i'm serious. i saw it myself. the nurse cleaned up his nose and iced the hit on his face."

"he got hit in the fucking face?" your jaw drops in shock and you quiet your voice to a hushed whisper outside the principal's office door. "what the fuck happened that he got punched in the-"

"fushiguro's guardians, please come in. we're ready for you," an irritatingly nasally voice calls from inside and it takes all of your willpower not to blast the door open until it's shredded to pieces. megumi's principal sits behind an obtrusively large wooden desk, with the boy sitting by one end and two empty chairs at the other. you immediately drag one of the chairs over to sit by his side, but a wrinkled hand stops you. "please sit across from him, not beside him. he must receive proper punishment and that begins with accounting for his own actions," the principal instructs you and you catch satoru's jaw clench in restrained anger. he wanted to tear the principal's head off for telling you what to do, especially since it was regarding megumi.

"i'll decide where i want to sit, thank you," you reply with forced politeness, sliding the chair next to a defeated megumi. he scoots as close to you as he can and links his pinky finger in yours. it's small, but you know he's trying to manage his anxiety along with yours. satoru shrugs indifferently at the principal but shoots you a proud wink when no one is looking. "they cleaned you up, yeah?" you ask megumi softly and he nods, wincing slightly when your knuckles lightly brush the bruise on his cheek. "i'm sorry, baby-"

"fushiguro instigated a fight with three sixth grade students, all of them older than him. we believe he may have developed issues dealing with his emotions, specifically anger," the principal informs you and you make a great deal of effort to wipe the glower from your face. "student witnesses say that he struck first, and-"

"do you know why he started the fight in the first place?" your eyes narrow on the scrawny, shriveled man behind the oversized desk and he shrinks away slightly.

"no, b-but we believe that violence should not be-"

"violence or not, shouldn't you be responsible for understanding why this occurred outright?" your voice is strained and tense, slightly shaky with repressed anger. you stare daggers into the old man's sunken eyes and catch satoru watching the whole scene with pride. here was a man who knew nothing about a child you considered your own, trying to argue that he started a fight for no reason when you knew megumi would never harm a bee, even if it stung him. before you're able to start a physical fight with the idiot school official that probably saw more board meetings than actual students, satoru's voice cuts in.

"forgive me, but i don't appreciate your tone-"

"we'll be sure to properly discipline him at home, sir," he states emotionlessly, and you wordlessly thank him for wrapping the meeting up quickly. after a few more glares and aggressive signatures on paperwork waiving the school of any responsibility for megumi's injuries, you walk out of the office with satoru's arm around your shoulders and megumi's hand grasping yours. "alright, firecracker. you fizzled out yet or do we need to take you to a kickboxing class real quick?" he presses a tender kiss to the side of your head, clearly unbothered by the way you barreled through that ridiculous meeting.

"put me in an empty field away from people, and i'll make a kickboxing class look like a fucking knitting circle," you mutter vengefully as satoru chuckles under his breath.

"alright, megs. you gonna tell us what happened or are we actually going to need to get you a therapist?" megumi glances off to the side, irritated, but you squeeze his hand once in reassurance that, no matter what happened, you'd figure it out together.

"they were hurting tsumiki," he says quietly and both you and satoru freeze, looking at each other in careful understanding. "she was saying it was just a joke, but i caught her crying while we were walking home."

"so, you decided the best option was to fight them," you say slowly. satoru's hand rubs loving circles on your shoulder and you ask the question you've been holding onto since he called. "well, did you beat them?"

"i did, and that's why everyone is so angry," the boy shrugs and you huff a tired exhale. "are you mad at me?"

"no, megs. i'm glad you defended your sister, but i wish you'd told us what was going on before acting on your own."

"yeah, we could have helped you," your boyfriend whispers and you elbow his stomach lightly. not yet, you mouth to him. let's drop him off first.

"the kids said they were going to get my parents involved. is that why you're here?"

"yes and no," satoru says, opening the car door for you as you slide into the passenger seat. he could have warped back to the school, but he'd silently indicated that he wanted to drive all three of you back. "yeah, we're here to come get you; but, unfortunately for those shithead kids-" you turn to face him in the backseat, a conniving smile creeping onto your face.

"we're not your parents, and we're gonna need those kids' names."

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

#gojo x you #gojo x reader #gojo x y/n #satoru x you #satoru x y/n #satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru x y/n #gojo satoru x reader #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #jujutsu kaisen x y/n #jujutsu kaisen x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader

[gamebunny-advance]

Ain't That Just The Way...

Well, fixing Heart and Soul for errors has turned into completely changing the 3rd major scene and thus also the ending.

#it's kinda going back to my original-original idea #originally tenten was never supposed to engage in combat with the security bots #he was supposed to just keep avoiding them until they escaped into the piano room #it just turned into violence because also in the original idea he got away from the surrounding bots by: #breaking a window and scaling the building up to the next floor #but i figured this would be way more dangerous to yinu than just blasting them from a safe distance #alternatively they escaped into the air duct but i can only get away with so many cliches before it's just a bad story ya know? #i haven't cut all of the action #i think it'd be too boring if they didn't get into *some* trouble #but we're probably not gonna have any real violence anymore (except that one moment at the end. that's crucial) #i think this new scene is still kinda fun though #i just have to re-figure out how to get them from *here* to the piano room