Hey look it's a writing blog. Where I write stories. This is gonna be a thing I guess. What type of stories do I write? ............... good question. To give an honest answer, will range from rant stories, to little short stories, to snippets from larger projects. I dunno man, whatever I feel like sharing I guess Over 18. Exact age can be found if you poke around enough :P Btw, follows, likes, and possibly reblobs will come from my main, @written-in-starlight. Yeet.
Heyo, you can call me Alec or Starlight. I formerly existed here as little-stories-by-lilly (and may still have some links with that url lol), and here’s some of the more common shenanigans you’ll hear me yelling about
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The Astral Chronicles
When Aiden finds a mysterious arch in his best friend’s backyard, he doesn’t expect much. One misstep later, and he finds himself far from home, entangled in the middle of a war for the throne of Astral.
wip intro/wip page/Astral Tag
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Nova
Jay doesn’t remember his past. Will refuses to believe his brother is dead. Aydan has no clue about any of the secrets lurking just beneath the surface of her world.
wip intro/wip page/Nova Tag
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Band AU
James is the lead singer/guitarist of the masked band Midnight Run, while Aiden’s the lead singer of his band Siren’s Call.
AU intro/AU page/Band AU Tag
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To find the full list of WIPs and AUs I’m yelling about at any given point, check out this link
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Open to WBW, STS, and any other themed ask days, even if I don’t make a specific post about it :)
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(Fuck fully worldbuilding this snip lmao, enjoy having no context :P)
The Empress stood tall and still in the dim lighting, her eyes fixed on a point in the distance. From the outside, she appeared calm and collected, unruffled by her surroundings or the situation she found herself in, but it was all the mask she’d been taught to wear from birth because there was nothing she could do but wait as her thoughts whirled uncontrollably with worry and terror.
Finally though, her silent vigil was disturbed by the sound of a door sliding open. She turned, slow and measured, towards the noise.
The [alien] that emerged quickly crossed the distance between them before bowing. “My lady,” they murmured.
“Well?” she asked, allowing just the barest hint of impatience to slip into her tone.
The [alien] stayed low to the ground as they spoke. “We discovered the source of the Heir’s illness, my lady. Poison, enough to be lethal to a leviathan.”
“It was my understanding,” she said, her voice going soft and just a hint icy, “that the protection of the Heart is enough to prevent any ill effect from such poisons even at such lethal doses.”
“Yes, of course,” the [alien] agreed. “But the Heir has not been fully purified yet, which leaves them vulnerable still to several dangers.”
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for just a moment. She had asked for gentleness on their behalf, and it appeared that now that decision was coming back to haunt her. “What does the Heart suggest?”
“Finish the Heir’s purification, all of it, now,” the [alien] answered immediately. “Burn the poison out of them and leave them protected from any further halfhearted assassination attempts.”
Part of her, tiny, quiet, buried so deep she barely noticed most days, begged for another option, anything to spare her child that overwhelming pain. But they were already suffering because of her softheartedness, and she knew better than to take a suggestion from the Heart as anything other than a command.
“Very well,” she said. “But I will bring them to the Heart myself.”
“As you wish, my lady.” The [alien] bowed again, then turned and started back for the door they’d come from. She followed, doing her best to pretend her heart wasn’t pounding in her throat at the thought of what was to come.
The room she entered was the complete opposite to the corridor she’d been in, bright and busy and full of noise. Various machines lined the walls, screens lit and beeping and tended to by more [aliens] that scurried back and forth, chattering in that language that she had tried to pick up in her own childhood but had never been able to figure out.
And there, on a cold metal table in the middle of the room, was the Heir, her precious only child. Their eyes were screwed shut, brow furrowed in pain, and their skin was ashen under the glare of the lights.
She sat at the edge of the table and ran a hand over their hair, brushing damp locks away from sweaty skin. Their eyes fluttered open, barely focusing on her, the silver sheen covering their left eye barely visible until the light shone the right way. “Mama?”
“Yes Inkanus.” She let her hand linger, let them nuzzle into her palm like they had when they were just a baby. “I’m here.”
“Hurts,” they gasped, flinching into her.
“I know.” Carefully, gently, she gathered them into her arms and stood. “The Heart is going to fix everything.”
“Okay.” They settled against her, too exhausted to even wriggle for comfort or the sense of propriety she taught them. She silently whispered an apology to them for her own weakness as she exited the room and began the silent, long memorized trek towards the Heart.
It was waiting for them when they arrived, already in the human-esque form it wore whenever it needed to physically interact with one of them. Though its face like this was featureless, she still felt the full weight of its attention bear down on her when she crossed the threshold.
“Kysha,” it said, its voice echoing through the room and reverberating in her head. “Caelan.”
They stirred in her arms, that deep-seated respect and fear enough to break through the pain and exhaustion.
Before she could more than dip her head, it moved, instantaneously reappearing directly in front of her. “Give them here,” it commanded, holding out arms that looked like they were made of concentrated sunlight.
She did as commanded, carefully depositing them into its arms. As her hands brushed it, for a split second she could see herself through its gaze, just a little girl playing pretend that she was strong and brave, with the source of her weakness lying in the trembling child held between them.
She quickly pulled away, but she let her hand linger on their head and, under its watchful gaze, leaned in to press a kiss to their forehead. “Be brave, my starlet,” she whispered.
“Okay,” they murmured back.
The moment she drew back, it turned away, carrying them across the room. “You may go,” it said. “I will send for you when we are done.”
She knew it expected her to take the dismissal and flee, unable or unwilling to hear them in pain. But it was her fault they were in this position in the first place and she could not let them be the only one to suffer, so she steeled herself and stood firm. “I will stay.”
It paused, invisible eyes regarding her, scrutinizing her thoughts and intentions like she knew it would. “Very well,” it finally said.
She watched them go until they vanished into the gloom on the other side of the room, but even though she was expecting it, she still flinched when the first screams reached her.
(Should this have been posted before ockissweek started? Yes. Did I plot and write it during said week? Also yes. Am I still posting it late? Blame Day 7 XD)
It was close to 2 in the afternoon by the time anybody stirred from the guest room. Somehow, Harmony noted, it wasn’t anywhere near the latest they’d gotten up though.
The first to emerge was a woman Harmony didn’t know, all messy blonde hair and smudged mascara, wearing Jayy’s shirt and not much else as far as she could see. When she caught sight of Harmony, her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with a little giggle.
“Whoops, sorry,” she said, sounding absolutely not sorry. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”
“Not their girlfriend,” Harmony corrected, returning her gaze to the laptop in her lap. “I’d suggest changing though. They don’t like sharing their clothes."
“You sure sound awful jealous for “not the girlfriend”,” the woman teased.
Harmony just raised an eyebrow and took a slow sip of her coffee. Maybe once upon a time she would have thrown a fit at this scene, back when their relationship was fresher and she’d still had hopes of reconciling, but by this point she knew how Jayy was and had no patience for how petty some of their flings could get.
Before she had to sincerely contemplate if she wanted to respond or not, Jayy stumbled out of the guest room, shirtless and still looking half asleep. Their eyes locked onto the woman still standing in the middle of Harmony’s living room, and they narrowed for a moment as Harmony saw the living embodiment of a computer loading wheel spinning in their head.
“Hey baby,” the woman said, flashing Harmony a smug smirk.
Jayy blinked a few times, then held out their hand. “I want my shirt back.”
The woman startled for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. “In front of your roommate?” she teased.
“Not my roommate. Shirt.”
That pulled a frown from the woman, but with a huff she complied and pulled the shirt off. Again, if Harmony were a few centuries younger she might have been scandalized, but she was too used to it by now.
“Cool.” Jayy took the shirt back and slipped it on over their head. “Now get out.”
The woman made a face that was reminiscent of a fish gasping for air for a moment. “I—what?”
“Out.” Jayy brushed past her to head towards the kitchen. “Coffee?” they called over their shoulder.
“Last of the pot is here,” Harmony responded, lifting her mug for a second before draining it.
Jayy turned around just in time to catch the tail end of the action and responded by flipping her off. “Asshole.”
“Love you too darling,” Harmony said with the fakest, most saccharine tone she could muster.
The woman finally recovered from her shock and turned on her heel with a huff. Harmony watched her retreat to the bedroom with a small smile, because while she hated dealing with Jayy’s flings herself she did enjoy watching them deal with a grumpy, hungover Jayy. After a few minutes she reemerged in last night’s dress, and with one last glance after Jayy in the kitchen and a scowl for Harmony, she tugged her shoes on and slipped out the door, closing it harder than strictly necessary behind her.
At the sound of the slam, Jayy reappeared. “Where the fuck is your coffee?” they grumbled.
“Look harder,” Harmony said.
“Fuck you.” Jayy crossed the living room to collapse across the couch, landing with their head in her lap. “What’re you doing?”
“Internet stalking our new friend,” Harmony replied, adjusting her laptop so she could still see the screen around their bedhead.
“Mmph. Nerd.” Jayy reached out blindly and slammed the computer shut.
“Rude.”
Jayy ignored her and just used her shoulders to pull themself somewhat upright until they could nuzzle into the side of her neck. “I’m bored.”
“I’m sure if you run you can catch up with your girl from last night.” She knew better than to let them pull her in again, but habit and remnant fondness had Harmony running her fingers through their hair, smoothing out the tangles.
She practically felt how hard Jayy rolled their eyes even with their face buried in her skin. “Too needy.”
“You sure know how to pick them.”
“Mmm.” Jayy’s lips skimmed her collarbone, half a kiss and half nipping at the skin. “What does that say about you?”
“Arranged engagement,” Harmony replied instantly, tugging their hair in an admonishment she knew they would ignore.
“So better than anybody I could ever choose.” Jayy’s mouth wandered higher on her neck.
“I know what you’re doing.” Harmony tilted her head to try and pin them with her best unamused stare.
“And?” Jayy brushed a kiss along the edge of her jaw. “I don’t see you saying no.”
Harmony hummed, letting them bask in the thought of their victory for just a moment before she shoved them off her lap. They landed on the floor with a loud thud and a startled yelp, and she stood with a smirk. “I’ll go make some more coffee,” she said.
“You, my dearest,” Jayy said, dramatically flinging an arm over their eyes, “are an asshole.”
(Hi! Life kicked me in the ass and then this one was stubborn! I'm determined to catch up tho! Have fun with babby Julian! Warnings for injury descriptions and abuse mentions)
Gabi was so ready for her days off. This last stretch felt like it had lasted forever, and now that she was done she just wanted to curl up on her couch and do nothing for at least the next 24 hours. But just as she was getting ready to flop horizontally and do her best impression of a potato in cozy pants, her doorbell rang.
For a few moments, she debated ignoring it. She was tired, and anybody who actually knew her would text her, not show up unannounced at her door. But it was raining out, and ultimately she had what her ex called a “saving people thing” that had led her into the hero side of the medical field in the first place, so with one last wistful look at her couch she went to answer the door.
She wasn’t sure who exactly she expected to see on the other side of the door when she opened it, but it certainly wasn’t Julian shifting nervously on her doorstep, blond hair longer than she remembered and plastered to his cheeks and neck with the rain.
“Hey,” he said, smiling nervously like he wasn’t sure how she would react. “I know it’s been a minute, and—oof.”
Gabi interrupted him with a hug, squeezing him tight. “What the heck are you doing here?”
Julian was stiff for a moment before slowly relaxing and returning the embrace. “I, uh… I need a favor. And you were the only person I could think of, that I trust.”
Gabi pulled back to look him in the face. “You have an entire team you work with.”
“I know.” Julian tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Uh, it’s a… bit of a story.”
“Okay.” Gabi took him by the arm and pulled him across the threshold. “I’m not promising anything yet, but come here, you look half drowned. How long were you out in that rain?”
“Eeeeh,” Julian waved his hand, “however long it took me to walk here?”
“Julian,” Gabi groaned despairingly, looking at the ceiling like it would have any explanation for why he was like this. “Hang on, I’ll get you a towel.”
“Thanks.”
Gabi quickly grabbed a towel from her bathroom and returned to throw it over Julian’s head. “So, not that I care too much since it’s you, but how did you end up finding where I live?” she asked.
Julian fought with the towel for a few moments until he managed to poke his head out. “Phonebook, actually,” he admitted.
“Wait, those still exist?” Gabi asked. “I thought they stopped printing them like, a decade ago.”
“I know, right?” Julian laughed. “But Lodestone has one hanging around his office, and I figured what did I have to lose by checking it?”
“Of course he’s that old school,” Gabi said, rolling her eyes fondly. “Hey, you want anything to drink? Coffee or something? You should get warm.”
“I’m not hypothermic Gabs,” Julian said, though he still followed Gabi into her kitchen. “I’m fine. Thanks, though.”
“And when have you ever been the first to admit when you’re not at 100%?” Gabi countered, pulling out a chair to swing it into Julian’s legs. “Plus I doubt you kicked that caffeine addiction of yours.”
“Hey,” Julian said, though without any heat as he grabbed the chair to sit.
“So, coffee?” Gabi said, smiling sweetly at him.
Still, Julian hesitated, refusing to meet her eyes as he hugged one of his knees close. “I shouldn’t.”
“Jules—”
“Gabs, please,” he interrupted.
Gabi sighed and turned away to start the coffee machine. “I think you need to explain why you’re here when I haven’t seen you since you transferred to the combat hero track,” she said.
“Yeah.” The chair creaked softly as Julian shifted a little. “I, uh… I ran into a little bit of an incident the other day.”
Gabi hummed questioningly, turning back to face him as the coffee brewed.
“Yeah.” Julian kept fidgeting, keeping his knee close to his chest even as he worried at the damp denim. “And, uh, I’m not supposed to get hurt, Lodestone’s orders, cause it wouldn’t be good publicity if the team medic is constantly needing to go to the hospital, and this was my own fault cause I was being dumb so he really doesn’t want it getting out that I got hurt, so I haven’t seen any like, medic or anything other than myself, which should’ve been fine, but—”
He cut off abruptly, staring pointedly at a corner of the kitchen. “You know I’m not stupid, right?” he asked.
“Not unless you’ve gotten a lot of head injuries in the past few years,” Gabi said in an attempt to lighten his mood.
At the very least, Julian let out a little huff that could almost be laughter. “So it’s not like I’ve been stupid about this,” he said. “It’s just not healing right on its own, and I just… can’t, anymore.”
“Okay.” Gabi grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and poured the fresh coffee into both. “I’ll take a look and work my magic then?” She wiggled her fingers playfully as she dropped one of the mugs on the table by Julian.
A wave of relief washed over Julian’s expression. “I absolutely owe you dinner or something,” he said. “And an actual chance to catch up, cause fuck I’ve missed you.”
“You don’t owe me shit,” Gabi shot back immediately, “but I won’t say no to catching up over dinner or coffee, whatever you can fit into your schedule. But first,” she leaned against the table and crossed her arms, “what am I working with here?”
Julian grimaced a little, but he uncurled and stood from the chair to hoist his shirt up. Gabi spotted the problem immediately, as the bandages winding around his stomach were already stained with red and yellowish fluid.
She whistled lowly. “What happened?”
“I, uh,” Julian hesitated with a look like he didn’t want to say but knew better than to lie to her. “I may have gotten a little impaled?”
“Julian.”
“In my defense, I wasn’t thinking except I didn’t want Polaris to get hit,” Julian defended himself as he carefully unwound the bandages.
“Great sentiment, terrible execution,” Gabi responded. “At least you would be able to heal them.”
Julian made a face. “Lodestone said basically the same thing.”
“And he’s a team leader for a reason,” Gabi said.
“Yeah, I guess.” Julian wouldn’t meet her eye. Before she could question him about it though, he hissed through gritted teeth as he peeled away the final layers of bandages, revealing the full extent of the injury. It curved along the right side of his abdomen, surprisingly drawn out for what he’d described and surrounded by red, inflamed skin. She could see where he had stitched it closed, but the thread had snapped near the middle of the wound and had torn through the skin in other spots.
“Shit Jules,” she muttered.
“I know.” Julian shifted uncomfortably. “This is probably the sixth time I’ve had the stitches break on me?”
“What the hell are you doing to break them so often?” Gabi demanded.
Julian shrugged and stared pointedly at her ceiling, his cheeks reddening with a blush.
Gabi sighed heavily. “When did you say this happened again?”
Julian’s blush deepened, and when he spoke, his voice was barely above a mumble. “Like… five months ago?”
“Five—!” Gabi stopped and closed her eyes. “You lay the fuck down on that table right now, I’m gonna go grab some gloves and see what I have for pain meds because that is not good.”
“Which is why I came to you.” Julian gave her a wan smile as he pushed himself up onto the table. “Don’t bother with the pain meds though, I took some before I left home and I probably shouldn’t have another dose yet.”
“You are insane,” Gabi said as she turned to walk out of the kitchen, because otherwise she was going to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until the truth came out because why the hell was the smart healer she’d met in medic school sitting in her kitchen with an old, incredibly infected looking injury when he should have been able to treat it himself even if he couldn’t heal it with his powers.
Thankfully, the time away to scrounge up her med kit was enough to calm her somewhat, though the questions never stopped swirling through her brain, so by the time she stepped back into the kitchen she was no longer on the verge of visibly losing her shit. Julian had followed her instructions and was now laying on her kitchen table, his towel from earlier tucked under him.
“Alright,” Gabi announced, plopping her med kit down on the counter. “I’m gonna clean out that infection and any shrapnel you may have missed—”
“It was rebar, I’m pretty sure,” Julian interrupted.
“And any shrapnel you may have missed,” Gabi repeated pointedly, “before I heal you up. Deal?”
“Yeah, okay, fine.” Julian gave her a thumbs up.
“And because I know you’re not stupid,” she continued as she unloaded the med kit, “I want you to tell me how the hell it got this bad.”
“I—” A glance over her shoulder found Julian’s eyes wide and cheeks red again. “Gabs, I told you, it’s just not healing right on its own.”
“You broke your stitches six times,” Gabi stressed as she moved her supplies to his side. “Either you have really terrible quality suture thread, or something else you’re doing is causing it to break.”
Julian didn’t answer, once again looking pointedly away from her so he wouldn’t meet her eye.
“Jules,” Gabi sighed as she slipped on a pair of gloves.
“I’m sorry,” Julian whispered.
“I’m worried about you.”
“I know.”
Gabi waited for a moment, but when he didn’t elaborate, she just sighed and picked up her scissors. “So,” she said as she started snipping at the torn stitches, “how’s being a combat hero?”
“It’s… good,” Julian answered, though she noticed his fingers tapping anxiously at his side. “Different than I expected, I guess. What about you? Where are you at now?”
“Astera,” Gabi answered, noting his avoidance but allowing the shift in focus. “I’m doing part time at the hospital, and then the rest as a field medic. Keeps me busy, but it’s a good thing, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I was bored.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Julian laughed, though he cut off with a wince as Gabi poked a little too hard.
“Sorry,” she apologized.
“You’re fine.” Julian’s voice was tight though. “It’s par for the course.”
“Still,” Gabi said. “Let me know if you need to tap out or wanna risk more pain meds.”
“Will do.” Julian let out a long breath and shifted a little, visibly attempting to relax.
Before Gabi could do more than [action], the silence between them was broken by a phone ringing.
Julian shot upright instantly, fumbling for his pocket. “Sorry, I can’t—I have to—” His frantic apologies stilled the moment he managed to get his phone in hand, but the panicked look never left his eyes even as he answered. “Hey.”
And Gabi was left staring at him, because of course they’d been trained to recognize the signs of domestic abuse, but she’d never expected to see them in her friend she hadn’t seen in years, sitting on her kitchen table with an injury that might have less to do with his hero work than he was saying.
Julian, meanwhile, had pulled his knees up to his chest again, turning away like she wouldn’t be able to hear him. “I’m fine. I just went to go visit a friend. Yes, I’m still in town. I know—” His breath hitched, and when he spoke again his voice was even quieter and smaller than she’d ever heard. “I’m sorry.”
Gabi had a split second thought that this was a terrible decision that could backfire horribly, but she had never heard Julian sound like that before and she hated it, so before any second thoughts could form she stood and snatched the phone from Julian’s hand.
Julian startled, staring up at her with wide eyes that were a little too glossy and unfocused, but Gabi was committed now as she stalked out of the kitchen towards the door. A quick glance at the screen saw a name she didn’t recognize, of course, he would be stupid if he had his team members in his phone under their hero names, so she just made a note of it and hung up the call before opening the door and throwing the phone as far into the street as she could.
When she returned to the kitchen, Julian was right where she’d left him, sitting there with a shell-shocked look on his face. Gabi really didn’t know what else to do other than wrap him up in the tightest hug she could manage while being careful of his injury. “We don’t have to talk about it yet,” she whispered, “but please, let me know if I can help you more.”
“I’m fine,” Julian said, sounding automatic and rehearsed.
“Bullshit.” Gabi squeezed him a little harder.
And that must’ve enough to break Julian, just a little, because his arms made their way around her back and he buried his face in her shoulder as he took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry.”
(Look, important context before we get into it, this is inspired by a song called 111 Winchester by I the Mighty. Ignore the fact that this is a new wip to tumblr. Carry on lol)
“Why are we here again?” Victoria asked as Finlay slowed to a stop in front of the cemetery gates.
“Curiosity,” Finlay answered, swinging off her bike and wheeling it over to the fence. “Something happened around here, you can’t deny that, and nobody wants to tell me about it.”
“Yes, but certainly there are… other ways of going about gathering information,” Victoria said carefully. “Such as a library?”
Finlay finished locking her bike to the gate and turned to give Victoria a deadpan stare. “And how many new ghosts have we encountered that would willingly hang around a library?”
Victoria’s cheeks colored slightly. “It was merely a suggestion.”
“I know.” Finlay lightly bumped her shoulder against Victoria. “But not everybody loves books like you do Tori. And if we don’t find anything here, the library will be my next stop, I promise.”
“Alright,” Victoria conceded, and she followed Finlay through the open gates.
For the first time since she’d landed on her aunt’s doorstep last week, Finlay felt at home. The cemetery was small like the town it served, quiet and peaceful out in the countryside, and though the names on the headstones were different from the ones back home, it still carried a sense of familiarity that she missed terribly.
Maybe the dead were just easier to be around than the living, no matter where she went.
Finlay shook off those depressing thoughts and set to work. From the entrance the cemetery appeared empty, with her and Victoria being the only visitors, but she knew ghosts weren’t often visible from a distance unless they tried. So she made her way methodically through the rows of headstones, pausing occasionally whenever she or Victoria spotted something interesting.
There had been no vehicles or other bikes out front, which is why Finlay was surprised when she turned a corner and spotted a girl sitting on the ground a ways down the row, knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the freshly turned earth front of her. It wasn’t her presence that startled Finlay, since she was here searching for ghosts, but rather the fact that she was alive. The faded pink tips of her hair burned with a vibrancy that Finlay wasn’t used to seeing in a cemetery, and even her dark clothes were bright compared to the muted tones of Victoria’s dress.
Before Finlay could decide whether or not she wanted to talk to this living girl, the girl glanced in her direction, then did a double take. “Oh,” she said, her quiet voice barely audible over the distance. “You’re not who I was expecting.”
“Who were you expecting, then?” Finlay asked, hesitantly closing the space between them.
The girl shrugged listlessly, her gaze returning to the graves before her. “Dunno,” she admitted. “Parents. Friends, except—” She cut off with a ragged gasp, squeezing her knees closer.
“Oh.” Finlay was close enough now to be able to read the headstones, to see birth dates that were all a little too close to her own and identical, recent death dates. “I’m… sorry.” She never knew how to comfort people, especially considering at home her reputation as “that ghost girl” preceded her and drove others away.
The girl glanced at her again, a little longer this time, like she was sizing Finlay up. “… Thanks,” she finally said. “I’m… Chrissy.”
“Finlay,” Finlay introduced herself and gingerly sat next to Chrissy, not too close but hopefully not too far away like she was scared or anything.
Victoria studied the headstones for a moment, then turned to Finlay and gestured to the surrounding area. Finlay gave her a smile and a tiny nod, grateful that Victoria could continue the ghostly part of this investigation while she, however badly, handled the living part.
Chrissy let out a little huff of laughter. “You must be new here,” she said wryly.
“Yup,” Finlay admitted. “Just got here last week. I’m staying with my aunt for the summer.”
“That explains it,” Chrissy muttered.
“Explains what?”
Chrissy hesitated, giving Finlay another sidelong look. “You haven’t even heard the rumors, then.”
“If you mean whatever the heck happened that people don’t even wanna talk about, then yeah, I guess,” Finlay said. “Or no. Or—” She cut herself off before she could embarrass herself any further.
“Then I’m just gonna rip the band aid off,” Chrissy said, sounding determined and miserable all at once. “Everyone thinks it was my fault.”
Finlay blinked. “Why? I mean—” she added, realizing again too late that this was probably a touchy subject, “you don’t have to—I’m just—I really—Ugh.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I… like working out mysteries. And this is one, to me at least, and you’re the first person who’s told me really anything, but obviously it’s an awful thing that happened to you and I got too excited. Sorry.”
She glanced over to find Chrissy staring at her, but rather than the usual annoyance or disgust, she just looked… perplexed.
“Thanks,” she finally said. “I… That’s more than most of them have given me, and they’ve known me my whole life.” She jerked her head in the direction of town.
“That sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” Chrissy said wryly.
Finlay turned her attention to the grass beneath her, picking blades of grass to shred apart. Curiosity bubbled beneath her skin, but she really didn’t want to push Chrissy too far, not when this was the closest she’d come to having a living friend in years.
Ultimately though, the headstones in front of her demanded attention. Five fresh graves. Five people their age.
“Your friends?” Finlay asked carefully, nodding at the headstones.
Chrissy nodded. “More or less. My friends. Her boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s friends. You know how it goes.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t.
Chrissy took a deep breath, almost like she was steeling herself. “One of his friends knew about this abandoned house, way out on Winchester Drive. Stole some booze from his parents. Told the boyfriend to invite all us. Dumb teenager stuff, ya know?”
“Yeah.” Finlay had watched enough TV and heard enough gossip at school to know the stereotypes at least.
Chrissy shrugged, though her attempt at casualness was ruined by the way her lip trembled and her eyes shined bright. “Place went up in flames. I got found wandering a couple miles down the road, smelling like gasoline. By the time they found the place, it was too late.” She took a shaky breath before continuing. “All the evidence was circumstantial, so I didn’t get charged with anything. Not that that changed anybody’s minds though. I’m the only one who made it out, so…” She trailed off.
“That’s not fair,” Finlay argued. “You told them it wasn’t you and nobody believes you?”
“Because I don’t remember,” Chrissy snapped, her voice sharp. “I can’t say I didn’t set that fire because I don’t know. I don’t remember what happened after we started drinking. I don’t know how I got out while the others didn’t.” She stood abruptly. “But I wish I hadn’t. It’d be easier for everybody that way.”
“Hey, wait—” Finlay scrambled to her feet, but Chrissy had already whirled around and was stalking away, pink-tipped hair flying out behind her. “Chrissy!”
Chrissy didn’t turn around. Finlay didn’t chase after her, unsure of what exactly had gone wrong.
Victoria appeared at her shoulder with an expression that said she’d heard most of what happened. “So?” she asked quietly.
Finlay watched Chrissy go until she disappeared past the cemetery gates, then she turned to look at Victoria. “I think I know what our next stop is gonna be.”
“Is there any chance I could persuade you to perhaps look this place up before you go rushing in headfirst?” Victoria asked in that tone of voice that suggested she already knew the answer but needed to at least check for her own sanity’s sake.
“Nope,” Finlay answered. “Except on a map, since I have no idea where the road even is.”
“Of course,” Victoria sighed, though Finlay knew by now that it was nothing more than a token protest.
Elouise leaned casually against the retaining wall. “Just give me a name and I’ll go kick some ass,” she offered.
For a moment, only silence greeted her words, but then finally she heard a soft, shaky laugh. “You’d get in trouble though.”
“Only if I get caught,” Elouise said brightly. “I could even get Calix to help, and you know they’re the best at being sneaky.”
“Don’t tell Calix, please.” Her voice had gone even smaller and quieter, if possible.
“Oh honey.” Elouise gave up any pretense of casualness and jumped the wall. Ivy sat against its base, curled in tight on herself with one of Calix’s sweatshirts wrapped around her shoulders and her braids covering her face like a curtain.
Elouise took a seat next to her and lightly bumped shoulders with her. “You know you’re practically their little sister, right?”
“I know,” Ivy mumbled into her knees. “I just don’t want them to worry or get in trouble because of me. Or you,” she added almost belatedly.
“They’d have to catch us first,” Elouise said with wholehearted confidence, because between her and Calix she was sure they could come up with a clean plan that would give them plenty of plausible deniability when fingers inevitably started pointing to place the blame.
Ivy huffed. “They’re already in detention every other day cuz they keep getting dress coded, and I’m surprised you’re not with them half the time.”
“Cause I know better than to get caught fighting outside of school sanctioned events,” Elouise said, poking the tip of Ivy’s nose through her braids. Ivy scrunched her nose at the gesture. “And just cause administration hates their hoodies doesn’t make them an immediate suspect if a bully were to, say, end up covered in sparkly green slime.”
She caught sight of the barest hint of a smile from behind the braids, which was as good of a success as any here.
“So, whataya say kiddo?” she continued.
But Ivy stubbornly shook her head, any trace of that smile disappearing into a frown.
“Alright, okay,” Elouise conceded. “How about this then. You got anywhere you need to be today?”
Ivy hesitated for a moment, staring at Elouise like she was trying to read her mind, but eventually shook her head again. “No.”
“Good.” Elouise hopped to her feet and held out a hand to Ivy. “Cause I know something fun we can do instead to cheer you up. Just, maybe don’t tell Calix, cause I think they were planning on surprising you for your birthday.”
“What is it?” Ivy asked carefully, though she reached out and accepted Elouise’s help to stand again.
“That, my dear,” Elouise said brightly, twirling her around briefly before lifting her so she could clamber over the retaining wall, “is going to remain a surprise until we get there.”
Ivy turned, reaching to help Elouise up, but Elouise was already grabbing a hold and swinging her leg over the top of the wall.
“Race you back to the parking lot?” she asked as she rolled to her feet.
Ivy pouted. “No fair, your legs are longer than mine.”
“I’ll give you a head start.”
Ivy considered it for a moment, brushing her braids back out of her face. “Okay,” she said and took off running. Elouise grinned and waited a few moments before taking chase.
(This boy is a stubborn butt about giving me ideas I swear lol)
My breath fogs in the air as I breathe, but not even the cold is enough to drive me back inside. Above me the stars hang in the midnight blue sky, close enough that I could touch them but lightyears away, burning bright and hot and shining coldly through the mist of my breath. The constellations chase each other across the horizon as the world turns, so slow I can barely catch it happening.
The snow crunches off to my side. I don’t tear my gaze away from the sky, but I tilt my head towards him so he knows he won’t startle me.
“Up there with your stars?” he asks as he joins me in leaning against the side of the dark house.
I hum and nestle into him, grateful for the warmth even if I could handle the chill. He wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to the side of my head and lets the silence settle.
The stars burn away overhead, bright and cold and solitary. The snow reflects the starlight like a thousand galaxies condensed into a few square feet. Pressed against my back, he burns hot like the sun, eclipsing the stars to become the center of this little universe I’ve settled into.
When I glance at him, I find his eyes locked on me with the same intensity I’ve been giving the stars. Even after so long, it’s still enough to make me blush, and I immediately wriggle out of his hold and push his face away. “Dork.”
He laughs. “It’s not my fault you’re the prettiest thing out here.”
“Dork,” I repeat, turning away so he hopefully can’t see how flushed my cheeks are.
He just catches up to me and twirls me around, laughing over the sound of my startled yelp as I land in his arms again. “As long as I’m your dork,” he murmurs.
I roll my eyes at how utterly cheesy he is even as I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. “Of course.”
“Perfecto.” He kisses me back, pulling me along to sway in time with the soundtrack constantly playing in his head.
I follow his lead and let him spin us through the snow, a sun and his lucky star falling into orbit to dance through the galaxy together.
I have decided that for me, the phrase "rotating my blorbo" will now refer to placing them into a rock tumbler and letting that spin around to polish them <3
It wasn’t often that the Chameleon was allowed to assist in hero work. She heard the things her teachers said about her when they thought she wasn’t listening, about how she was too “volatile” and “dangerous” to be around civilians, despite her best efforts to prove otherwise.
So on the rare occasions that she did get to work with other heroes, she reveled in the chance to escape the school for a little while, to see the sun and the sky again after so long. Such as now, when she had done her job well and the villain had been captured and in the chaos that followed she could slip to the edges of the commotion without notice.
Hovering on the outside of everything like this, basking in the sunlight and keeping an eye out for the teacher that had accompanied her out here, she had the thought that she could probably run away without anybody noticing, just for a few moments. It was a dumb thought, but right now nobody was paying attention to her. It would be so easy for her to just slip away and explore for a little bit. It wasn’t really running away if she came back, right? It was just a taste of the outside world, a few moments of freedom, then she’d be back before anybody would notice. Surely she wouldn’t get in trouble for that?
She took a step back and shifted a little smaller and younger looking. Nobody so much as looked her way.
Another step. Another shift. She was getting close to the yellow tape that separated the civilians from the heroes. A few heroes lingered along the edge to stop any brave or curious civilians from crossing the line, but they weren’t looking behind them.
She took a deep breath and shifted to her usual form. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she turned and darted under the yellow tape.
She heard yelling behind her, but they didn’t immediately catch up to her and grab her, and since they’d already noticed and she was going to get in trouble she decided to make it worth it, so she kept running. As she wove between the civilians gathered around the tape, she kept changing her appearance over and over until she settled on features she didn’t think she’d used before. Hopefully it would be enough to extend her few moments of freedom.
And after so long being stuck in that school, freedom was… a lot. She loved the feeling of the wind in her hair as she ran, having the space to stretch her legs, and nobody snapping at her for being too excited or shifting wrong or failing to meet their invisible expectations. But at the same time, every civilian who glanced her way sent a spark of fear shivering through her, and even the time she’d spent out here so far wasn’t enough for her to be used to so much light and noise and people again.
She paused at a corner, panting hard to try and catch her breath. She couldn’t see any of the heroes or her teacher following her, but it was hard from her vantage point at waist height to most people, and she could just grow taller to get a better view but she hated doing that and nobody was forcing her to right now.
Nobody could make her do anything she didn’t want to right now.
She giggled to herself at the realization and turned to keep going, only to run straight into a civilian who’d snuck up behind her. She yelped and stumbled back as he tumbled with a hiss.
“Uh.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d interacted with a civilian. “I’m… sorry?”
For a long moment, the civilian just stared at her, his blue eyes scanning her face like he was trying to recognize her. But just as she started to squirm uncomfortably and debate just running off, he smiled and pulled a mask out of his pocket to cover his mouth.
“No problem,” he said, and she immediately recognized the tone of voice that meant he was using a vocoder. “No harm done, hey?” He shifted to kneel in front of her. “My name is Julian. What’s yours?”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t want to give him her hero name, but she didn’t remember her old name, the one she’d had before being given up to the school.
Julian waited a few moments for her, but when she still didn’t speak, he leaned in close. “Look,” he said lowly. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but if you’re running from something, or someone, I can help you.”
She blinked at him, her heart racing just a little faster. Running from something? Well, she was technically, but she’d planned on going back, once she’d had her fill of the outside world. But did she want to? Did she have to? Could she just keep running forever and never go back, never give up this taste of freedom?
“Chameleon!” That was a voice she recognized, louder than she’d expected and closer than she’d hoped. She flinched a little closer to Julian and saw something flicker in his expression.
“I can help you,” he repeated and he held out his hand to her. “But it sounds like you’re going to have to decide quick.”
She didn’t want to go back.
So she slipped her hand into his and nodded.
Julian gave her what she though was a smile behind the mask and stood, never letting go of her hand. “Come on,” he said. “I think I have a plan for getting rid of your pursuers.”
“But they’re heroes!” she protested, though she made no move to stop Julian as he took off in the direction she’d been heading. “And you’re just a civilian!”
Julian laughed and ducked into an alleyway, tugging her with him. “You’ll find we’re a lot more alike than you think,” he said with a wink. “But before we get to that, you go on ahead, okay? I’ll take care of things here.”
“I—” Julian slipped out of her grip, and she stumbled forward a few more steps before she realized the alleyway was a dead end, and she turned to confront Julian only to find he had vanished.
Betrayal flooded through her, stinging deep as her teacher appeared at the end of the alleyway, flanked by a hero she only vaguely recognized. She should have kept running on her own. She shouldn’t have trusted him. At least then she maybe could’ve had a chance to actually run away.
“Chameleon,” the teacher said, her voice gentle in a way she recognized meant she was in big trouble. “Come here dear, it’s time to go home.”
Did she have a choice? The only way to run was past them and she couldn’t fight both of them, and Julian was probably long gone by now. The only choice she had at this point was just to prolong the inevitable.
Before she could decide though, a shadow dropped behind the teacher. A split second later, she and the hero both collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. To her surprise, it was Julian who stepped over their bodies to rejoin her.
“Now that that’s taken care of,” he said, “how about we get out of here so we can chat about what you want to do next?”
She gaped at him for a moment. “Are you a villain?” she asked, and it was probably a stupid question but it was the only thing she could think to say with her pursuers thrashing awkwardly where they’d fallen at the entrance to the alleyway.
Julian laughed. “Nope,” he answered. “I’m a healer.”
She wasn’t sure she quite believed him, but before she could say any more, a portal popped up next to them.
“And that’s our ride,” Julian said lightly, turning to face her. “Coming?”
She still had so many reservations, but this had been her first taste of freedom in what felt like forever, and Julian was offering her so much more. So, when he held out his hand to her again, she took it and followed him through the portal into something new.
(I can't say Basil's been dethroned for this one, cuz he hasn't held this spot for every year I've done this lol)
Bee woke to a soft rattling outside her window. For a few moments, she dismissed it as just the wind or something else as innocuous as that, but then she registered the insistent presence nagging at the back of her mind and any hopes of brushing it off and going back to sleep were dashed.
She grumbled as she rolled out of bed, making damn well sure he knew how inhumane being awake at this time of day was, then shoved her window open and stuck her head outside.
Zack met her gaze from the ground, one eyebrow quirking with amusement. “Morning.”
“If your brother figured out another way to jumpstart the apocalypse, I’m ending him myself,” Bee warned as she leaned against the windowsill.
Even from this distance, Bee caught Zack’s wince, and it was even harder to miss the sharp feeling that radiated across the link they had. Ugh, yeah, touchy subject, bad joke.
Before she could form the apology though, Zack waved it off. “You’d have to get in line,” he answered, his voice a little shaky but still light. “But no, nothing like that. Come down?”
Bee slumped further against the windowsill. “Zack, it is the ass crack of dawn and we’ve already stopped the end of the world, what the hell do we need to be up to now?”
“Trust me?”
And goddammit she did, even if she didn’t like the implications she was getting through their mental link.
Still, she let out a dramatic groan even as she straightened up. “Fine. But you owe me boba.”
“Deal,” Zack said instantly, like it was a negotiation and not a hostage situation. “And put on a swimsuit.”
Bee doubled back to the window. “It’s dawn.”
“I mean, if you wanna wait, we can,” Zack said. “But then there will be other people at the beach, and I figured you didn’t want observers.”
Bee groaned and melted dramatically against the windowsill. “I hate you,” she muttered.
“See you in five,” Zack answered.
Bee flipped him off and reluctantly resumed getting ready to walk into hell.
By the time she stepped outside several minutes later Zack had migrated to waiting for her in the driveway, drifting back and forth on his bike as he idly scrolled on his phone. Normally, Bee would join him on her skateboard, but she was still feeling petty and vindictive about the early hour so she instead hopped up onto the pegs attached to the back wheel and leaned against his shoulders. “Giddyup,” she said brightly.
Zack, other than staggering under the sudden weight, took the whole thing in stride and just pocketed his phone before pushing off to navigate down the street.
They spent the ride in silence. Despite her grumblings, Bee couldn’t help but appreciate the peace and quiet of the early morning and the cool breeze tangling through her braids, especially without the weight of the impending apocalypse that had been hanging over them the past few days.
Zack’s quiet, on the other hand, stemmed from the whirlwind of emotions Bee could feel through their link. She couldn’t blame him though, considering it had been his brother’s death that kickstarted the apocalypse, and now he was alive and okay again and, from the brief interaction she’d had with him, absolutely pissed at Zack about all of the above. And as much as she wanted to, Bee had no idea how to console Zack about any of it, since she was firmly in the camp that Jesse was an asshole whose opinion was irrelevant.
When they finally reached the beach, Bee hopped off the back of Zack’s bike and settled in to glare at the water while he parked it. Turning around and walking away was becoming more appealing by the second, except for the fact that it was Zack.
“It’s not gonna be that bad,” Zack said, nudging her with his shoulder before tugging his shirt off.
“I’ve gone this long without learning to swim and it hasn’t been a problem,” Bee argued.
Zack gave her his best unamused stare as he walked backwards into the water. “Do you want to nearly drown again?”
“As if you’d let me, now that you know,” Bee shot back.
Zack didn’t let up. “Just because we know the general shape of the next few days doesn’t mean every detail is going to be the same. And I’d rather not take any chances.”
“Uuuuugh,” Bee groaned dramatically. “Why do you have to have a point?”
The corner of Zack’s mouth twitched with a grin, and he paused waist deep in the water and held out a hand.
“I still hate this,” Bee pointed out, but she reluctantly began to shed the clothes she’d thrown on over her swimsuit. “And you’re buying me breakfast too.”
“Fair enough.”
Leaving her things by Zack’s, Bee reluctantly crossed the sand to dip her toes into the very edge of the water. It lapped at her ankles, cold and sinister and threatening, but Zack was still waiting with his hand outstretched, so she took a deep breath and closed the distance between them to take it.
Zack took a step backwards, pulling Bee with him. “Trust me?”
The last time she’d been in this lake, it had been with cold shock and water filling her lungs as she fought to get back to the surface. But even then, it had been Zack who’d grabbed her and pulled her to air and safety, who’d made sure she wouldn’t drown even before he’d known that she couldn’t swim.
So, as his other hand curled around her elbow with the silent promise of safety, she took another deep breath and nodded. “Okay.” And with that, Zack smiled and pulled her off her feet and into the water with him.
if you like a character long enough you begin to lose the plot a little. just made my nonbinary wizard lactose intolerant and allergic to some sunscreens. okay
Alec knew that if he got caught, he would be in so much trouble. But barely anybody ever paid attention to him during these meetings, and his dad was distracted right now, and even his Uncle James usually let him wander a bit as long as he checked in occasionally. All he had to do was get back before his uncle started to suspect anything, which would be easy enough. Just a quick peek around the Earth Kingdom, and then he’d be right back.
A breeze rushed past as Alec pushed further into the trees, rustling the leaves overhead and catching at his hood.
“Hey!” Alec clutched at the fabric so it wouldn’t fall and pointed at the wind. “Don’t snitch on me!” He wasn’t sure if it really could, but considering how his dad so unnervingly always knew when he was getting in trouble, he wasn’t willing to dismiss the possibility.
Almost as if it understood him, the wind swirled around him, knocking his hood off before darting away between the leaves.
“Hmph.” Alec shook his head and pulled his hood back up, making sure his hair was properly covered because he wasn’t about to spill the beans on the fact he was part Flame when his dad said they wanted to keep it a secret for now. Once he was sure he was covered up again, he continued his way deeper into the Earth Kingdom.
The Earth Kingdom was very different from the Sky. Where Alec was used to wide corridors and open courtyards designed for wings and flight, the Earth Kingdom was full of trees that grew close together, some leaving barely enough space for Alec himself to squirm through, much less somebody with the additional bulk of wings. That, along with the deep brown of the trees and the leaves that covered his view of the sky, made the kingdom feel small and cramped, like one of Alec’s hiding spots that he knew Eli couldn’t fit into anymore with his wings.
Alec wiggled through a bush and winced as the branches scraped his skin and snagged at his hood. It was… interesting, for sure, but he was getting tired of fighting to find a path, plus his uncle would probably expect him to check in soon, so he paused in the sunshine breaking through an unexpected gap in the trees and turned around.
“Well, what do we have here?”
Alec yelped at the sudden voice and whirled around. From the shadows of the trees on the other side of the clearing emerged three People of the Earth, maybe a few years older than Alec. He hadn’t even noticed them with the way they blended into the foliage around them.
The leader of the trio stepped forward, amethyst eyes glinting in a way Alec didn’t recognize. “It looks like Flame is starting to get bored since they can’t fight the Sky anymore.”
Despite the little voice in the back of his head that sounded like his dad telling him to let it go and go back, Alec puffed up. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
The Earth boy laughed. “Quit the innocent act Flame spy.”
“I’m not Flame, and I’m not a spy,” Alec said stubbornly. “I’ve just never been to the Earth Kingdom, so I wanted to explore a little bit.”
One of the others scoffed. “That hood isn’t fooling anybody, Flame.”
“I’m not Flame!” Alec insisted. “I’m Sky!”
“As if,” the Earth boy said, rolling his eyes. “You really expect us to believe anybody in the Sky would have a kid with Flame, especially after what happened to their king?”
Alec knew he wasn’t supposed to tell anybody outside of the Sky who his dad was. His grandma said it was cause of tradition, while his dad and uncle said it was for his own safety. But right now, he didn’t care about dumb traditions or his dad’s worrying, because he was right and they needed to know that.
Before he could even open his mouth though, the ground trembled beneath him, knocking him off his feet. The other two snickered as the leader closed the distance between them to stand over Alec with a smirk. “So, little Flame spy,” he said, “now the question is, what do we do with you?”
A shadow passed overhead, blocking the sun for a moment, and that was all the warning they got before the wind picked up with a howl, whipping leaves into the air that blocked Alec’s view of anything past a few inches in front of him. It died down just as quickly, and when the dust settled there was someone else standing over Alec.
His dad stood between him and the Earth boy, ragged wings stretched wide and tattered feathers bristling. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively soft in the way Alec knew meant he was really mad. “I would suggest you keep your hands off of my son.”
With a flutter and a rush of air, Uncle James landed next to Alec and crouched down. “Are you hurt?” he asked lowly as he helped Alec back upright.
“’M fine,” Alec muttered, shame flooding him and heating his face because he wasn’t supposed to get caught and now he was going to be in so much trouble.
His dad looked over his shoulder, blue eyes raking over Alec like he didn’t believe him, but his feathers stopped rustling so much. “I apologize for my son’s intrusion upon your kingdom,” he said, gaze moving to somebody behind Alec.
“No harm done,” said a new voice, because of course Alec couldn’t be lucky and they had to get the Earth Queen involved in his little adventure gone wrong. “Though it does seem a few conversations about how we handle exploring children are in order.”
“And about not exploring other kingdoms without permission,” Alec’s dad said, finally folding his wings. “Thank you for your assistance Jewel. I’d better get him home before he causes any more incidents.”
“Of course,” Queen Jewel said with a nod before turning to Alec. “I look forward to officially meeting you in a few years.”
Alec nodded hesitantly, which appeared to be enough to satisfy her as she turned to the trio of her People. With the dismissal, his dad headed for the other side of the clearing, where a pair of Earth guards stood.
“Your Majesty,” one said. “We will escort you back to the meeting area.”
“Thank you,” his dad answered, glancing just briefly over his shoulder to make sure Alec was following him. He was, cause it wasn’t like he wanted to stay any longer in the Earth Kingdom, plus Uncle James had a hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn’t wander off again.
As they made their way back through the Earth Kingdom, Alec sped up a little so he could grab his dad’s hand. Once his dad looked down, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”
His dad just sighed and squeezed his hand lightly. “We’ll talk about it when we get home.”
“Okay.”
~
(I don’t feel like properly writing it but when they get home)
Aiden: *hugs Alec so hard the poor boy can barely breathe* Don’t ever do that again I was so scared
It is once again time to start prepping for my favorite time of the year :D
FebruarOC!
What is it?
FebruarOC is a character challenge taking place in February, where each day corresponds to a letter A-Z. The goal is to pick a character whose name starts with that day's letter and do something for them, like snippets, character intros, moodboards, art, whatever your heart desires lol. If you don't have a character for a specific day, make one up! Or take this as an opportunity to finally name that poor nameless character sitting in your pocket lol.
FebruarOC was originally started by notllorstel for artists on Tumblr (original post can be found here), with a sidenote for writers that I jumped on. I'd love to see more people getting involved, especially since it has kinda died off in artblr, since this is really one of my favorite events :D
So, hopefully I'll see some of y'all come February! Have fun!
Sometimes you get sucked into a pit of fanfic and every song is about the fanfic now.
And then when you manage to crawl out (somewhat), you remember "oh yeah, Band AU!" and the angsty song is happy again cuz Theo is being an absolute gremlin during it XD
It is once again time to start prepping for my favorite time of the year :D
FebruarOC!
What is it?
FebruarOC is a character challenge taking place in February, where each day corresponds to a letter A-Z. The goal is to pick a character whose name starts with that day's letter and do something for them, like snippets, character intros, moodboards, art, whatever your heart desires lol. If you don't have a character for a specific day, make one up! Or take this as an opportunity to finally name that poor nameless character sitting in your pocket lol.
FebruarOC was originally started by notllorstel for artists on Tumblr (original post can be found here), with a sidenote for writers that I jumped on. I'd love to see more people getting involved, especially since it has kinda died off in artblr, since this is really one of my favorite events :D
So, hopefully I'll see some of y'all come February! Have fun!
