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#webserial
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do you guys ever think abt what it means that Contessa shoots twice at the end of Worm.
do you guys ever think its because the first shot was fired without the use of her power.
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emrowene · 2 months
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Free to read now: FRACTURED MAGIC
A penny dreadful for the modern reader! A thrilling tale for the masses! Read all about a corrupted hero's hunt for redemption and an elven lordlings' quest to rescue his kidnapped King. The two estranged best friends are racing against time -- and long-lost gods -- to achieve their goals. Will they make up and work together before it's too late?
Fractured Magic is a queer fantasy webserial. New chapters are published on substack and at emrowene.com every monday.
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evil-software · 2 months
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love browser trends of chrome saying "hey! what if we add this really insecure, arbitrary, and downright dangerous API?", firefox responding "...no thanks" and developers who refuse to even touch native software withering in pain as they can't natively use their particle accelerator in the browser without a wrapper
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d4t-webserial · 9 months
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D4T: Page 7 (Lu POV)
//cw: ableist slur and depiction of internalized ableism// go here for more info on d4t
previous page
After telling her about his detransition she proceeded to ask a handful of follow up questions (they were pretty incoherent, and he honestly didn’t know enough..), he did his best to answer them until she just told him “srry for so mny questions idk if u can rlly give me what i wnt…for answers i mean! i think i  jst need some time to thnk” (so there’s still, a chance they stay friends, hahaha,,, he’s dying ;-;).
But actually tho what the fuck just happened? Lu was so confused… did Alice just ask him out, or ask him to ask her out… why? He’s so… subpar, how long had she liked him??? Her little brother always called him her “boyfriend” to tease her, but he thought the joke was cause of how… mediocre he was. He knew she would say stupid things to make him flustered but, but wasn’t that to get a reaction out of him (plus she teased all her friends). She always did sit close to him when they hung out (but like she’s a girl, girls hug and cuddle and hold each other's hands all the time… right?). Wasn’t there that guy she liked??? Was she playing a prank on him?... no she would say that’s cringe and lame probably… so she likes him. He still can’t begin to process that but, luckily he won’t have too! Since she now knows about how absolutely disgusting his body is she’ll stop having feelings real quick (yay problem solved ;~;)... this sucks, if she had just never liked him it wouldn’t have hurt this much, was she gonna grow cold… like… nvm, he didn’t want to think about that, he didn’t want to think at all actually… she was his only friend (unless you counted his roommate Tanner… he seems nice… they rarely talked tho.) why did he have to like her so much, why did she have to like him back! If she was just not interested he could repress and hide away his feelings as tho they didn’t exist, but instead she ripped his heart out of his chest and now that she knew… she would throw it away. In this moment he wished more than anything he could be a feather floating thru the wind not needing to feel emotions or have thoughts, just going where the universe takes him.
Alice was somewhat more distant than before, but Lu was surprised how much she kept in contact. They didn’t really talk about what happened, which was comforting. He didn’t need to worry about what to say or do to keep her in his life, it was as tho they had an unspoken agreement to not acknowledge it. One day she asks to hangout at his, it was just after a big test so his roommate was out at a party…
trashbag_minister (Lu): “sure thing”
Tranny Mona Lisa (Alice): “yay!”
Tranny Mona Lisa (Alice): “when wll u get here btw”
trashbag_minister (Lu): “around 20 minutes”
Tranny Mona Lisa (Alice): “❤️❤️❤️❤️”
.
.
.
She just sent him hearts, he thinks his brain is about to explode… did she used to send hearts?... he thinks so… maybe, but like it had to mean someth- no… no no no. He wasn’t going to do this, he was going to be normal. She’s his friend.
When he picked her up she waved to him and got in, the car ride was quiet, but that was normal (he was so bad at talking and driving). But when they got out she was a bit quieter than usual, she barely said a word until they got to his dorm. When they did she hesitantly started talking about her life as they often did, but it felt strange, like she was padding for time. After a couple of minutes of this he asked…
Lu: “Is there something you wanna talk about?”
Alice: “...”
she seems more nervous than he’s ever seen her
Alice: “yeah…”
(oh god, dear god, please let it be no big deal)
she is fiddling with the seam of her shirt ever so slightly
Alice: “I don't super know what your detransition means to you…”
Alice: “... i mean, i tried to learn, but there aren’t many… resources or anything”
Alice: “anyway i don’t know what it means, but i still like *you*”
he lets out a deep breath 
(thank jesus)
Lu: “Cool…”
Alice: “...”
Alice: “Do you… like me too?”
(shit)
Lu: “Oh… you meant like *like like*.”
Alice glares at him like he just said the stupidest thing in the world
Alice: “Yeah no fucking duh, also who says ‘like like’ past the age of ten”
Lu: “i don’t umm…”
Alice pulls back and once again becomes more timid
Alice: “Do you not? It’s okay if you don’t i… just thought you did…”
Lu: “No i d-do- i do, i just…”
Alice both looks affirmed and confused
Lu: “You shouldn’t,,n’t l-like me.”
Alice: “Why???”
Lu: “Be-be-be-cau-cause you can do better-ter…”
Alice: “That’s retarded!”
Lu: “L-Lys! You can’t sssay that!”
Alice: “Jesus fucking christ Lu, i… i just *fucking confessed to you*, and you respond with the dumbest shit i’ve ever heard, i can respond however the fuck i god damn want!”
Lu: “go-ju-Alice! I- it’s- god like you- you- you could- could have any s-s-ssself respecting man you want, you sh-shouldn’t se–se-set-t-tle for… *me*”
Alice: “I’m not settling, i *like* you, you’re smart and caring and sweet, why wouldn’t i like you.”
Lu: “Why *w-would* you! I’m a fu-fu-fu shit fuck god damn it! I’m a- I’m a fucking pathetic little shit preten-pretending to be a man, i-i-i can b-b-b-barely even s-sb-sp-speak, i…"
she rests a hand on him and looks in his eyes, he didn’t realize he was crying
Alice: “Are you okay?”
Lu: “...ye i just, it’s nothing, my brain is stupid sometimes”
Alice: “That's okay, i’m sorry for getting you worked up."
she smiles up at him
Alice: “I’m just… if you like me and i like you there isn’t any real reason not to date right?”
Lu: “But it’s more,, complicated than that-t”
Alice’s jaw clenches for a second but she takes a somewhat forced breath to relax
Alice: “Why? Why does it have to be?”
Lu: “Because of all the s–st-stuff i said.”
Alice: “But i don’t care about any of that.”
he pulls away from her
Lu: “I don’t even have a f-f-d-di-dick Alice… how would that- how would that even work”
she looks somewhat surprised at that, but responds quickly anyways
Alice: “Tons of people make that work.”
Lu: “But you shouldn’t- you shoulnt have too, your boy-boyfriend should be a real man not a tr-tr-trans girl in denial”
Alice: “You could be my girlfriend then, we don’t hav-”
Lu: “I don’t want to be your girlfriend!”
Alice: “...”
she looks down at her lap where her hands are gripping hard into her pants
Alice: “ok”
they sit like that awkwardly, tensely until…
Alice: “I want to go home”
.
.
.
Lu: “ok… can i go to the bathroom first”
Alice: “of course”
Lu walks into the bathroom, and sits on the floor. What was he doing? She was like the girl of his dreams, and more importantly, his best friend. Was he really gonna throw that all away because of… fuck, he entirely forgot what his point was. He was so scared. For almost a year now, ever since he detransitioned he just… accepted he would never be in a relationship again. But then Alice came in with her unending confidence and had the gall to just… like him, as he is… she didn’t care, not about his body, not about his brain, not about anything… god damn it. He walks out of the bathroom and sits next to Alice, when he approaches she seems to wipe something from her face…
Lu: “What’s wrong?”
(why did he say that jesus christ)
she looks at him like he asked her if she preferred drinking water or vegetable oil
Alice: “...nothing”
Lu: “mhm?”
she looks at the floor
before she could ask him to take her home he put his arm around her
she rests her head on his shoulder
(good sign… here goes nothing)
Lu: “You don’t have to say you’re fine.”
she looks up at him
Alice: “*I am fine*”
(she very obviously isn’t)
Lu spends some time trying to find the right words
(god damn it he is so bad at this)
he holds her cheek
Lu: “Look as your boyfriend, you should- you should tell me when you aren’t ok.”
Alice: “You’re my boyfriend?”
Lu: “I mean, even if i think you have bad taste, who would i be to deny the most b-b-gorgeous woman i-i’ve ever laid eyes on”
(that was the cringiest thing he’s ever said)
but she’s blushing very hard
Alice: “... i… you think i…”
she attempts to compose herself
Alice: “I don’t have bad taste, you’re very…”
Lu: “The point is you should tell me why you feel bad.”
she rolls her eyes but smiles
Alice: “I actually feel alot better now.”
(now Lu wasn’t so autistic that he didn’t *know* it was because of him before, but man did it feel good to hear her pretty much say she felt *better* because of him)
riding that high he kisses her once softly on the lips
Lu: “I hope that means you don’t have to go home right now, cause i,, i really wanna,, be with you a bit longer”
she responds by grabbing onto his shirt and nuzzling further into him
Lu can’t stop the massive smile on his face, as he hugs her tight. Nor does he want to, as he thinks about how lucky he is to be here.
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hello worm fans and other people i have curated on this account… i am web serialing… i’d appreciate it if you guys could check it out, at least what i’m writing rn lol!! storyline stuff is coming i’m just struggling with getting the open how i would like it so until then i am posting short stories to try to get the juices flowing in universe!!!
thank you so so so much in advance
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sablejak · 2 years
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My latest book “trailer” for all 4 volumes of my interconnecting webnovel serial on the Kindle Vella platform: The Legend of Bright Morn of Issareth.
https://linktr.ee/sablejak
Linktree address takes you to all four volumes. 
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ellowynbeimler · 18 days
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Apr 12
Dear Dad,
That was a huge waste of time. An unbelievably huge, massive, colossal, gigantic waste of time!
I can’t believe we fell for it, and I can’t believe other people keep falling for it! Hundreds of people have gone into this wizard circle for help, but they can’t really help anyone! 
We should have known better. I mean, I should have known better. With all the people we’ve seen and talked to. We should have known that none of them would actually help us. No one in this world is actually able or willing to help us. They just don’t want to help us. They give us just enough hope to go on to the next place, so we stop bothering them and move on to the next people. 
Just one after another. That’s all they do, all they’re willing to do. Just get us out of their hair or use us until they can get rid of us. It’s ridiculous, it’s insane, it’s so, so so mean. Why not just help us? Or just tell us that you can’t actually help us? 
I mean, the people at the temples have been telling us that all along. Because they know that it’s what’s actually important. Actually, right, one might even say. Because we deserve to know if you can’t actually help us. It’s not like we’ve gotten mad at anyone for not being able to help us. Usually, we just try to get them to point us in the right direction. Which isn’t hard at all! Even if I don’t know where something or someone is, I can usually at least point someone in the right direction.
But then again, maybe that’s what these people have been doing. Doing that, they think, is pointing us in the right direction when really they don’t even know where the right direction is. Maybe in their minds, it’s better than nothing. 
But it still hasn’t actually helped us at all. It’s done nothing, nothing at all for us. All it’s done is send us further and further away from where we started with no actual certainty of anything.
And these guys are the worst of all the people we’ve run into. They didn’t even try to actually help. I doubt that they’ve actually helped anyone! They’re not even wizards! The so-called wizards are actually just a bunch of dudes in a castle using magic items to pretend to be great and powerful wizards. They don’t even know how to use half the stuff that they’ve gotten stashed away. They just take all these insane, potentially helpful to someone magic items, and they hide them away from the world, using them to convince people they’re the ones with magic, and then they take more of the mafic items in trade. 
There was nothing there that could help us, because they weren’t actually any people who could help us, and they didn’t actually have any items that could have helped us. It was all duds, all of it.
They tried to do their drama theater show on us to show how magic-y they are. But I could see when they used scrolls and items for it. And Zunair called them out for using ambiance music in the place to make it seem more mystical. Grace was the one who actually tore into them for it all, though. When we pointed out all the items that they were using to give us a sham show of power, she was probably more mad than the rest of us. She tore them to shreds, asking what they did, where they got the items, how they could do what they were doing, and calling them scam artists to their faces. 
I thought she was actually going to attack them, but the most she did was break one of the wands that the guy at the front had, which was mostly just making bright and shiny lights, which was kind of amazing and terrifying. At least, it really terrified the stupid fake wizards. We interrogated them to see if they had anything, anything at all that might be able to help us, but the most useful thing they had was a scrying bowl. But since we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for or where it was, it was useless to us. 
A castle full of stuff, full of magic, and we couldn’t even get directions from them.
They wasted our time, they wasted our money, they’re absolutely useless.
I can’t believe they have an entire city, not just an entire city, but an entire kingdom, really, fooled. Convinced that they’re these great and powerful wizards when they’re just fancy con artists. I mean, someone else’s gotta know, right? That they’re just taking people's time and money. Tricking people, good people, probably. Cause of what, money? The illusion of power? 
Bastards, the lot of them. I hope something terrible happens to their castle and all their magic items get spread to the corners of this world.  
We wasted days, Dad. We wasted so much time looking to get here and looking for them, looking for work to pay them. All for what, for them not even to be able to help us. They can’t even point us to someone else who might be able to help us because they’re fakes. Big fakes. The fakiest fakes to ever fake in this kingdom. 
I wanted to yell at them more. I wanted to scream at them. I wanted to take everything from them and show it to the world. 
We should have grabbed a few things out of their stocks. They weren’t even using most of it, just showing it off and hoarding it like terrible fake dragons. Using it to make themselves look good. I’m sure there was stuff in there that we could have actually used. Something that might have actually been able to help us later on, or that we could have sold to help fund other research, other things that might have been able to help us. 
Wasted so much time. I can’t believe it. And there wasn’t even anything to show for it. We didn’t get anything from them, didn’t have any items to show, didn’t have any directions. 
We didn’t get home, god I can’t believe I was so stupid to believe that they would acutally be able to get us home. 
It hasn’t happened do far, why would it happen now? Just cause we waited in line? Just cause we thought that it might be able to help us?
No, it was a dumb ploy, a dumb con, and we fell for it: hook, line, and sinker. I can’t believe that we were so dumb.
We’re going to keep on through the city, but if the cult was looking for us here, they might have more than caught up. We still have the temples to look through. The one we’re staying at, Willow, is covering, so tomorrow, one of the others and I are going to go look for the other temples and see if they have anything or might be able to help us in some way. I’m not going to get my hopes up again. I’m going to stay firmly in the “we’re not getting home, but I’m gonna keep trying” camp until we’re actually home. It might help, it might not, but I can’t keep hoping like this. It’s hurting me, really hurting me, I think, to hope so much and to keep having it dashed on the rocks like this.
The time wasted is going to come back to haunt us, I’m sure. I’m hoping the cultists aren’t still following us because if they have been, they’re already 4 days closer to us because of all the time wasted. Time was wasted waiting outside the city, time wasted just finding a place to sleep, and then even more time was wasted at the door of the stupid wizards and their stupid castle. The stupid fake wizards. How many people have they tricked? Is there even a point to this? To all of it? 
Are the cultists looking for anything, too, or are they just going to hunt us down to do terrible things to us, too? I mean, what are we even going to do if they catch up with us again? There’s no real answer because the answer is probably going to be something terrible.
I want to go home, that’s all I want. I want to not be here, I want to be able to see the world again without worrying about cultists of all things. I want to be able to sleep in a bed that I don’t have to barter for. I want to know what else the cultists are planning, if they catch up to us, I don’t have to wonder about them too. 
I don’t want theme to catch up with us at all. I want them gone. I want us gone. 
I want to find a way home in one of these libraries. So I’m going to keep looking for a way, home, but I”m not going to trust anyone elses’ word on it. I can’t. 
I don’t know how the others feel. I don’t know if I want to know. I want to go home.
We don’t even know where to go or what to do next. We’re just fumbling around, hoping that the way home is something we’ll be able to find, and find soon. But I don’t know if it is something we’ll find or find soon.
I wonder if the Seers were even telling the truth. We trusted them, too, and I don’t know if we can actually trust them. 
I don’t know if I can trust anyone.
I can’t stop, though. I don’t know what I’ll do if I stop. Maybe die like a shark.
Jack
Read the rest of the series here: 
Or read more by this author here: 
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quoria · 6 months
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Chapter 1.07
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Thank goodness for Reilley, Colton thinks. He has no idea how Reilley does it, but the tailor had managed to get the information Colton desperately needed, and in half the time Colton had taken to ask around in the first place.
In Colton’s hands is a check for the necklace, filled out on creamy, expensive paper — albeit one made out from a country rather than a single person. It’s already been cashed, judging by the red, round stamp that says just that. Thankfully it doesn’t cover much of the check itself. The neat, square writing informs the reader that the check is to be paid to a local jeweler for a whopping sixty-five dollars. A vibrant blue stamp and seal take the place of a personal signature, the design belonging to the Citarian Embassy. Perhaps that shouldn’t have come as a surprise, seeing as the two men Colton had met at Madelie’s parlor had been Citarian; although there is no guarantee that either of them work for the State. Quoria is a bustling trade port, which means that people from neighboring countries flit in and out of the city constantly. 
Still. A rich diplomat would easily be able to afford such an expensive necklace, and would have the power (and confidence) to poison a local celebrity. Problem is, he can’t exactly ask anyone about the check. At best, he’d end up tipping the killer off, and at worst… Well, he’d rather not dwell on that.
Which means he’s going to have to compare what little handwriting there is on the check to the paperwork in the embassy. And that is going to require getting ahold of said paperwork without anyone noticing. Given the time-sensitive nature of his job, the fastest way in means breaking and entering. It’s not shaping up to be an easy task, and it gets even more troublesome as the embassy comes into view. 
The building is white and pale blue, with decorative pillars lining narrow widows. The roof is flat, serving as a base for a smaller structure: four small towers surrounding a domed second floor. Each section of roof has a small, onion-shaped bulb atop it, decorated in shining gold. Any back entrances into the building are protected by a tall, wrought-iron fence with a gate that separates the back gardens from the front courtyard, leaving only the front door readily available.
Not the best place for his tall, auburn-haired self to sneak in unnoticed, but it’s not as if climbing the fence will be any less noticeable. It’s a real shame, especially as he’d gone out of his way to dress in a plain, gray suit to emulate the average office worker. He decides his best chance will be to wait for someone else to enter and then follow along. In the meantime, he leans up against the fence and fishes around in his pocket for his pack of candy cigarettes.
They’re fairly new to the market, and relatively indistinguishable from the real thing, especially at a distance. Perfect for children and detectives who dislike smoking. He places one between his lips and tries not to grimace at the sweet, chalky texture. With luck, he’ll pass for an average joe on a smoke break.
He loiters, leaning up against the fence as he waits for his opportunity. It only takes a few minutes before a delivery man heads for the front door. Colton makes a show of dropping his cigarette to the ground and putting it out, grinding chalky sugar into the sole of his shoe. He taps his foot, hoping to knock off the worst of it before following the man inside.
As he’d hoped, the receptionist is occupied signing receipts for an armful of small packages, and glances up at him with a strained smile, the kind silently asking for his patience. 
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Colton says, waving off the receptionist with confidence. “I know where I’m going.”
The receptionist shoots him a relieved smile, and nudges an open book towards him. “Don’t forget to sign back in,” she says, before quickly turning her attention back to the delivery man. Given her current state of distraction, it’s all too easy for Colton to simply pretend to sign the book and continue on his way. It could become a problem if the receptionist checks it, but all she does is shoot him one last, thankful smile, and he’s free to go. And so he does.
It’s one of the oldest tricks he knows, and one of the most useful: Walk with confidence, act as though you belong, and no one will call you on it. It’s not an infallible strategy, but it’s gotten him into plenty of places he has no business being, including this one.
Sadly, finding the owner of the check is going to be the trickiest part of this venture. He can hardly go around checking every single room and desk. No, it's best if he finds a single room — preferably one that hosts someone higher up the food chain than the average desk worker — and goes from there. Only someone important would have access to a seal that works as a no questions asked signature of state. Goal in mind, Colton walks quietly down the halls, back straight and steps sure as he glances surreptitiously inside various rooms. Most appear to be set up as offices or the occasional drawing room, presumably to entertain international guests.
It doesn’t seem as though any important visitors are out and about today, and Colton is grateful. He could do without causing an international incident. He’s pretty sure local law doesn’t apply within an embassy, but he’s not about to put that to the test. Worst case scenario, he gets arrested by both foreign and local authorities. Given his strained relationship with the City Watch, he’d really rather not take his chances. He couldn’t imagine Lt. Darling going the extra mile to spring him from a Citarian holding cell.
Cotlon keeps his back straight and his shoulders squared as he continues to explore, nodding at the few people he comes across as if he belongs. He’s quick to notice that the rooms towards the back of the embassy are both progressively fancier and emptier. Offices that host a single occupant instead of multiple, allowing for more privacy and better furniture. Trusting his instincts, Cotlon lets himself into a room at the very back, closing the door behind him. The furthest room from the reception area seems like a promising choice.
The first thing that catches his eye is the desk. It’s heavy and ornate, likely hand-carved, and polished to a shine. A stack of papers sits adjacent to a gold-trimmed fountain pen, and an expensive plush rug takes up most of the floor. Colton steps carefully, hoping against hope that he isn’t tracking sugar into the room.
This office clearly belongs to someone rich and important, which means Colton is liable to find himself in hot water if anyone takes notice of him. There’s only so many excuses he can make as to why he’s found himself alone in the back of a foreign embassy, and the City Watch aren’t likely to believe a single one of them. He is quickly becoming aware of the fact that his whole plan is supremely stupid, but this is the fastest way to get answers. And he’s not going to leave empty handed after sneaking in. If he does end up getting caught, it may as well be worth it.
He examines the desk for any hint of the owner, and is put off by the complete lack of personal effects. The desk obviously belongs to someone who doesn’t make much use of it. A quick tug at the desk drawers only proves that they are locked up tight, although there is a distinct lack of any sliding or rattling sounds — which means they’re likely empty.
The pile of papers proves more fruitful. Too fruitful, even. There are all sorts of reports in the small pile, which appears to contain everything from personal correspondences to half-filled forms to what look like bank statements. Many of the papers are written in a Cyrillic script, of which Colton only understands the basics, but the expenditures are blessedly legible. The familiar sight of numbers in his own language is a relief.
The expense reports are all made out to the embassy, the blue seal of which matches the crumpled check that Colton pulls out of his pocket. The handwriting, not so much. He’s looking for sharp, neat letters. Not typewriter neat, but tidy and compact nonetheless. Some of the writing is so tiny he’s forced to hold it up to his face and squint through his glasses at it.
It’s a slow process, taking up time that Colton doesn’t necessarily have. The soft crinkling of paper is starting to make him jumpy, and he finds himself holding his breath anytime he so much as hears distant footsteps or bits of conversation from the other side of the door.
When he finally finds what he’s looking for, he triple-checks the handwriting to make sure the letters match — and they do. Colton could kiss the report, but settles for burning the signature into his mind. S.Mirazykh. A name, any name, is so much more to work with than Madeline’s vague predictions. He’s finally, finally getting somewhere.
Colton folds the expense report around the check and slips it into his breast pocket, carefully tucking it into place so that not even a stray corner is visible. When he’s satisfied with his work, he makes for the door. He hasn’t heard anyone for awhile, but he’s still cautious as he makes for the door, slowly pushing it open. The hinges squeak ever so slightly, and Colton goes still, biting back a wince. He silently counts down from ten, and when nothing terrible happens, he decides it’s high time to make his escape.
A mere step outside the door, and he’s caught. A firm hand wraps around Colton’s upper arm, squeezing warningly. Colton instinctively jerks away, feeling as though his heart has jumped all the way up to his throat, and the hand tightens like a vice. 
“You do not belong here,” says an unfamiliar voice, tone dangerous and low. And despite barely being able to hear over the sound of his own pulse pounding in his ears, Colton bites back a wince, plasters on a smile, and very slowly looks towards his captor.
[1.06] «|» [1.08]
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beauvandalen · 6 months
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Working on my author website, we have interactive particles now!!!✨✨✨
The page is still under construction, but you can already play with the particles here! 🥳🌟✨
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This is what it used to look like before if anyone wants a little before&after! 🌟
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tafferling · 1 year
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Aphelion
Free to read cyberpunk-lite/aetherpunk with a side of zombie apocalyse, soul magic, and slow burn. 
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Episode 4 has begun! 
>> Read on Ao3 | Follow it on Campfire | Tumblr Tag <<
Chapter 20: No way.
“All work, no— ugh. For fuck’s sake—play—okay, come on, will you loosen already you piece a’—”
With one last heave, Varrett bounced the stubborn shutters up.
His effort? Herculean. His ranting? Incessant. And his prize? A firm reminder why you were meant to lift with your legs and not with your already aching back.
“—makes V a sad boy,” he finally concluded, followed by a heartfelt “ow,” as he rubbed at a spot right above his ass bone.
The sun leered at him from over the storefront’s roof, slow-cooking him, while the once bustling artisan alley around him continued to rot quietly. At least the rotting had charm, the kind you got downhill from a park after three years of no one bothering to sweep. Dirt had been carried down by rain and wind alike, forming a cover of soil thick enough to attract the Elpisan fauna. With vengeance on its mind, it’d wrestled lampposts to the ground, ripped antennas from their sockets, and repurposed neon signs by hanging them off young trees like chokers.
And dear God, was it swampy.
Storms carried rains in their wake, and in the last few days, that’d been all Varrett had gotten out here: rain and heat and extra crowded streets since Maulers liked the wet a lot more than he did. But now the rain had let up. The clouds had broken. But the heat and the moisture had stuck around, turning even the widest of HC’s streets into saunas.
Varrett stared into the darkness beyond the shop’s shutters, his filter listless in its venture to pick up any potential threat, tired and overheated like the rest of him. No big surprise then that a sudden whisper of movement from above gave him a solid fright.
Varrett wheeled around, the prybar he’d used to jimmy the shutters open held at the ready—
—and growled at the vine that’d dropped from the roof’s edge to land on his shoulder. The vine slid lower, slung its slinky end around his biceps, and gave him a light squeeze. His thick shirt (which was totally the worst thing to wear in this heat) kept it from tasting skin.
“A for effort,” Varrett muttered, grabbed ahold of the plant above his head, and snapped it off with one hard yank.
>> Read on Ao3 | Follow it on Campfire | Tumblr Tag <<
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fipindustries · 7 months
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GARBAGE PALE KIDS
well you heard the news, you read the posts, you finished Pale, and now is time to join in this exclusive discord server and come talk to a bunch of people who also finished pale and have lots of opinions about it!
ill be streaming my drawings and taking pale themed requests where i will draw whatever pale related madness you want me to!
jump in and start yepping away, what did you like, what you didnt and what did you thought!!!
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emrowene · 2 months
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Read Free Now: FRACTURED MAGIC
Do you like gay fantasy books? How about angsty antiheros with charming facades and dark powers they can't control? Have you, at any point, found yourself lusting after Astarion from Baldur's Gate III? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may like Fractured Magic!
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Fractured Magic is a penny dreadful for the modern reader! A thrilling tale for the masses! Read all about a fallen hero's hunt for redemption and an elven lordlings' quest to rescue his kidnapped King. The two estranged best friends are racing against time - and long-lost gods - to achieve their goals. Will they make up and work together before it's too late?
Fractured Magic is a queer fantasy webserial. New chapters are published free on substack and at emrowene.com every Monday. Subscribe on substack and have new chapters delivered directly to your email inbox.
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emlinden · 10 months
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Aaethrien sketch book drawing! I drew this a month ago (apparently exactly a month ago 😳) when I was experimenting blending with my markers. I'm still super happy with how it turned out!
The character is an oc of mine and the main character in my fantasy web serial, the Shadow Spawn. You can check it out on theshadowspawn.com if you're interested 😊
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d4t-webserial · 9 months
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D4T: Page 5 (Lu POV)
go here for more info on d4t
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On one of the rare instances that Lu told Alice about his life he mentioned the school he was going to, to which she excitedly told him she lives in the same city. This is awful, no matter how much he’s become a man, part of him will always be that transbian who wants to uhaul after the first date (and even more so fall hopelessly in love with your friend who’ll never like you back ;-;). Even the moment after this information came about she suggested they hang out, he brushed it off with a simple “hehe maybe later” but knew he couldn’t resist for long, he was under no circumstance going to being to able to deny his only close friend (and an upsettingly pretty one too) the opportunity to hang. 
Looking up at his ceiling he thinks about how over it is, when they meet she’s gonna realize how lame he is, and even if she’s fine with that he’ll be completely unable to hide his infatuation with her (he’s surprised he was even able to so far), and then she’ll be grossed out and not want anything to do with him. Life is hell. After a lot of pestering he agreed to hangout, at first she wanted to do it at her house (which is horrifying! what if he was a murderer, or a rapist!) but he convinced her to instead hang at a small restaurant near where she lived. He unfortunately couldn’t get her to untell him her address, but what can you do? 
After around 15 minutes of waiting for her, Alice finally arrived. Lu, waiting for her outside asked… 
Lu: “do you always come this late?” 
Alice: “well i had to walk here”
she looks at him pointedly
Alice: “if you picked me up it would have been easier.”
he doesn’t make eye contact
Lu: “u-um yea i g-guess… i just,, it uh,, would’ve seemed a bit strange no?”
Alice: “whatever you say”
They walk in and order their food. Lu can’t help but notice that her outfit tho masc enough to throw off her parents, is still incredibly attractive (and also that it compliments… nothing, absolutely nothing,... he’s normal). She looks up at him with a small smirk as she drinks, her eyes are stunningly b- no no nonononono. Taking a deep breath in, Lu decides to engage in conversation, because tho he isn’t good at talking, it is something to keep his mind… where it needs to be. They talk about the food they had and what they liked or disliked about it, they talked about the things that they usually do, friendship, hobbies, life and so on. And in that Lu had a brilliant idea.
Lu: “so have you been talking to any guys”
she picks at her napkins
Alice: “...umm there’s one i’m kinda talking to”
(jackpot)
Lu: “that’s sick! are you into him?”
she sits more upright and looks intently at her food
Alice: “ye, but it’s complicated…”
(fuck)
Lu: “how so?”
.
.
.
Alice: “i don’t think i wanna talk about this, with you”
Lu: “me?”
she goes wide eyed like she misspoke and quickly tries to correct herself
Alice: “or like, right now”
Alice: “right now i just wanna chill”
Lu: “o-oh o-o-of course, s-s-ssorry for uhh,, bringing it up”
Maybe his idea wasn’t so brilliant. He wanted to hear her talk about some guy she was obsessed with, so that his “supportive friend” drive would beat out his “god i love women” drive, but instead he touched on a sore spot… “with him” why him? did she still think he liked her (well he did but he thought was doing a good job hiding it), is it just like a guy thing, like this is something you talk about with the girlfriends not your dude friends? It was probably that. They sit in silent awkwardness for a while since he is completely unable to navigate social situations like this. Eventually the conversation picks up again, and it’s like nothing happened. After an hour or so hanging out Alice asks if he wanted to come hang at hers, he again insisted they didn’t know each other well enough but…
Alice: “cmon! we can even watch your stupid shows together!”
.
.
.
Lu: “f-ffine… for a bit…”
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kraken17 · 8 months
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Testing a height generator with my webserial characters (in cm).
By the way, the epilogue of the Part II of DHARS is in dormancy but I hope to have it now for when September comes in. I still can't give dates for when I'll start Part III, sorry ^^U
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anzolhook · 1 year
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SWORD OF THE EXILED - The Rogue Master
Prologue - The Strange Swordsman
A story by Tales "Anzol" Horita Windson
This was supposed to have been an easy job, on a day like any before it. But it seems fate had another plan entirely in stock for me. "Jail away the thugs that've been causing trouble near Downtown Square" was a simple task really, one my squad was given specifically so me and the other new Recruits could get some first experience.
We'd made our plans, Guard Sarge Durvak was certain of their M.O. and it was a simple matter of waiting around their preferred alleys once sunlight dimmed down.
We donned cuirasses and doublets instead of our halberk uniforms so the noise of chainmail wouldn't give away our identity as Guardfolk and concealed our dress even further with hooded cloaks. As soon as the sky reddened we began investigating, we walked with a lot of distance between each other attempting to bait the bandits into outing themselves thinking they'd found an isolated, easy victim. That's when i saw a shady group of three men follow a cloaked figure into an alley, I glanced at Durvak and already he was making his way towards the alley so o quickened my steps too.
But before we got there we heard a loud sound, as if something heavy just crashed and then a scream of pain. We ran towards the scene to see one of the men crashed into a pile of broken wood, the other two with weapons in hands and the cloaked figure, a man within his thirties unsheathing two blades.
In his right hand, the man wielded a straight sword with a long blade with a curved tip. It was a slender blade with only one sharp edge not unlike the Guard's Sabres but far less curved overall. In his left, a dagger with a blade broader and thicker than usual and both a handguard and a crossguard. I'd never seen such a dagger, much less this combination of weapons among any of the guards or even the soldiers in the army.
While I was still distracted with the unusual armaments one of the shady men shouted:
"Ya old fuck…! Y'just had t' make it hard'r didn't cha? Well, I jus' hafta take yer stuff from yer corpse then!"
The man that crashed into the planks got up, and immediately the thugs rushed the strange swordsman who immediately ran into the leftmost bandit. The bandit haphazardly swung his blade, a large broad knife for chopping into meat, bone and wood.
"Try actin' so tuff when yer dead!"
But the swordsman was unfazed and blocked the strike with his sword and immediately stabbed his opponent right below the armpit. He then stepped inwards and pushed at the men with his shoulder at the one still hurting from crashing into wood. He ran towards the third one in the middle who attacked with a hatchet, but his arm stopped as it met the dagger mid-strike, cutting his wrist open with the impact before the sword was thrust through his stomach. With a kick the swordsman wrestled his blade back out of his opponent's body turned to the third thug, now drenched in his own partner's blood and held up his guard again. The thug, armed only with a small shiv was visibly disturbed and quickly turned tail before he noticed us in his way.
"P-please help me! Tha' man's a craz'd murder'r! Ya' gotta call th' Guard before he'll kill me!"
He grabbed onto one of the other Recruits cloak and pointed to the swordsman
"Look, he's gots weapons! Tha's illegal! He's dangerous, 'm tellin' ya!"
The thug seemed genuinely scared, unfortunately for him we'd already been here long enough to know he was our target all along.
"Dharah" Durvak ordered me "Help Palkur arrest this thug. Tazegh, Fumith, you check if the other two are still alive."
We snapped when we heard it, like we were in a trance watching the battle before still unfolding before us, but soon we moved to our current tasks. While tying the whining thug's arms and legs so he wouldn't flee I stole a glance towards Durvak as he approached the swordsman, which was currently wiping and sheathing back his sword.
"Citizen, you are in violation of the Law of the Emperor against carrying and using military weaponry by civilians. Come with us quietly and you may be released after only the confiscation of your weapons and paying a small fine."
"And what if I refuse to go with you?"
The swordsman looked directly into Durvak's eyes without any reservation or regard for his authority. His voice was deep and rough and he spoke slowly and clearly but had a strange accent, as if his words were smoothed out.
"Then I'm afraid we'll have to take you by force."
Durvak unsheathed his saber and attempted to cut at the strange man who immediately blocked it with his dagger, unlike the thugs, however Durvak was trained fighter and knew not to attack senselessly, that's what he'd drilled into us during our weekly training sessions. He had attacked while his opponent only had a weapon of much shorter reach and he'd now step back to keep attacking from outside his opponent's weapon's threat zone.
Or so i thought, but the strange man stepped inwards while Durvak's saber seemed to be stuck on his dagger, he wrapped his right arm around our Sarge's neck and pushed him, tripping over the leg he'd just positioned behind him.
With a 'thud' our leader was on the ground and left out a muted groan, the swordsman then stomped on his right hand and kicked the saber out of it, before another kick to the head.
He ran towards Tazegh who had just lifted a thug's body on her back and kicked her with a stomp in the chest, pushing her back considerably and into Fumith, who was still knelt down trying to raise the other thug.
"Leave that bum here Palkur, and go find some backup! There should be another Guard squad on patrol somewhere nearby"
"But what about yo-"
"I'll try to buy some time. I'm the best fighter among the recruits after all. I should at least be enough so Sarge Durvak and the other Recruits can get up. Now go!"
I said so, but in truth I was terrified. Still, I had to steel my resolve if we had any chance of survival whatsoever. I unsheathed my saber while Palkur got away and got into a stance.
The man was just a dash away from me, right outside my striking range. But just when I thought that it was a good sign, he darted within. I panicked and cut at his head's height but he parried with his dagger just as with Durvak. I only had a month and a half of training in the Guard, but at least I knew not to be hit by a technique I've already seen if I could help it. Instead of retreating I put my weight forward to resist his push. But the push never came, instead he twisted in place as he grabbed my sword arm with both hands after releasing his dagger and threw me over his shoulder.
I fell so hard on the ground my consciousness began fading in and out, my body hurt all over from the impact and I had difficulty breathing. I could hear the other recruits saying something and shouting for my name but I couldn't make sense of any of it.
By the time I could finally get up it was already too late, the man had gotten away and we couldn't find him anywhere anymore. Tazegh were mostly unharmed, with just a few bruises from their collision, but me and specially Guard Sarge Durvak were battered and had some more serious injuries.
The thug that was tied down was the only one still alive as the other two bled to death while we waited for support to arrive as me and Durvak could hardly move properly on our own.
Today was supposed to be an easy job, with little to no risk. But it seems fate had different plans, it had to show me something beyond the wildest of my imaginations and now that I saw it I need to have it for myself, to find that strange swordsman and to learn his blade, his style, for there will never again be something so grand and powerful like it.
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