Okay, long story short, I got sucked into an AU of Free Runner that subsequently consumed my mind, rot and all. I’ve been working on it for about a year now and am planning to make a book series, and because of the nature of the AU I feel it’s necessary to have a separate blog to ensure the two timelines don’t cross over accidentally.
So if you like mafia!AUs, questionable morality and historical revisionism conspiracies, this may be just what you need.
I’ll make this into a master post later.
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StarHearts is an alternate timeline of the Azil multiverse where millennia passed and new civilizations rose, but some things never changed--including human and synth conflict. When fate decreed the Old World's time had passed and its relics woke to find themselves lost in a sea of unfamiliar faces, how would they survive when no one was there to show them kindness between the fear? Faced with taking survival into their own hands for decades, what could one human hope to achieve when competing with the pain left to fester under the metal and wire?
I swear I'm not dead, my blog was just in hibernation for... Reasons. But! I return with news!
Free Runner is on hiatus due to simply not having the time to work on it currently but StarHearts has expanded... Exponentially. I've been pouring all my spare time into the project and come away with a massive bundle of stuff I want to dole out when I sort it out.
StarHearts is going to be a book series, currently sitting at 5 possible novels to make sure everything gets touched on correctly, and I have a prequel comic scripted as well as plans for companion illustrations or a comic to the novels. To that end, I'm going to post non-spoiler content as much as possible.
Accompanying this, I have writing samples and special bonuses on my Kofi! (It also helps me to save up for moving out because holy shit I need to get out of here.) My AO3 has some of the early draft chapters and a special free peek at select Kofi drabbles if you want a taste of what's planned~
Anyway.
Look forward to updates and later, the opening of the Ask Box for the squad! Thanks, all!
There was no more fitting scene to set than a wet street lit up by lamps and traffic lights that slowly shifted between red, yellow and green, a pulse of life between gray facades and darkened windows. The rain itself was a cold drizzle, the kind that seeped into the bones and lingered long after drying off, smearing makeup and flattening hair into an unrecognizable mess. Not that she cared how bad she looked at the moment.
Jenyl waited, eyes lingering on the reflections of the street lights as her heart drowned out the misting roar of distant traffic and raindrops. I’m doing this, she told herself, waiting for her feet to take a step off the curb on their own. I’m doing this.
A faint echo of frantic instructions hummed in her mind, the voice not her own and far less calm. “Go there. Talk to the bartender, but be subtle. Everyone that knows, knows, and there are eyes everywhere.”
Despite the damp weather, she found her throat to be very dry when swallowing, taking her pride with it. Lifting her gaze, the human followed the lamp lights as they wiggled in the puddles to the large spotlight of color across from her. Up, up, up she slowly panned her gaze, water rolling down her temples into her eyes-–the mascara burned a bit, mixing her tears with the rain until they couldn’t be told apart. What is this, a movie? she wondered but with no sense of humor to ease how pathetic she felt, standing in the rain alone, waiting for something to happen so she wouldn’t have to act on her own accord.
Blazing bright as lightning with navy lettering, she read the sign of the only building open and operating at this insane hour of night.
The Calm Before Lounge.
The irony was not lost on her as her breath shook–-from cold or nerves, she couldn’t tell-–but her time to wait had run out. Standing under the awning between her and possible safety was a large man, bald, also human though only just. Even from across the street, she’d managed to catch a glint on his left arm that told her it was mechanical, the color of charcoal and ice; it made her gaze at her right hand for a moment, the seams and joints criss crossed with beautiful inlays and filigree marks, color matched to her own skin so it would blend in at a distance–-subtle, but no less artificial. Might be a good talking point if he won’t let me in, she mused, knowing it was very nearly the last hour and many places stopped admitting newcomers then. He’d already spotted her some minutes ago, so any more delay would only increase her suspiciousness–and her odds of being stopped.
It had to be now.
I have to do this.
Taking a long, deep breath, Jenyl squared her shoulders, slicked her hair back from her face, checked the road, and stepped forward. The drop from the curb was barely anything but her gut churned nonetheless, threatening to empty itself despite there being nothing inside to evacuate. There was no way she’d have been able to eat, had she thought to. Not with the anxiety burning her veins.
The bouncer’s gaze, hidden by black lenses she assumed had a screen behind them, followed her with a slow turn of his head. Now safely under the awning herself, Jenyl paused to wring out her hair, tousseling it into some semblance of style as she settled into her decision. Once she flipped her ‘do into place, making effort to dig out her only compact from the clutch gripped in her left hand to clean up the awful coon eye the rain had given her, the bouncer spoke, which she hadn’t expected.
“‘Bout time you came over,” he said with a deep but shockingly gentle tone. “Started to think you were a ghost.”
Letting herself laugh, Jenyl gave her best disappointed smile–-smiles make the lies go down easy. “It starts to feel like it. My friends said they’d meet me here for a last crawl but now I’m thinking they went to bed without me.”
“Lousy friends then,” the tall man uttered, giving his new arrival a proper once-over-–both for door keeping reasons and his own curiosity.
A human woman, just shy of six feet, soaking wet and barely hiding her shivering. Hair flocked on the sides but grown long down the middle, past her shoulders, of a dark blond or light brown color too sodden by rain to get a clear idea of the texture for. Her makeup was ruined by waiting, but she didn’t seem to have much to begin with-–not that she needed it with the intense cyan irises she had. Any extra anything would be overwhelming if it had to compete with those beauties-–though he found her lip stain to be just enough, a touch of deep pinkish red that had his eyes jumping between her eyes and mouth when she spoke or blinked.
Under other circumstances, he’d be keen to let her in for free just for being nice to look at even if it was close to closing, but he hesitated. Something felt off. Five years in the business gave him insight, whether he knew it or not, and when he didn’t feel right he listened.
So the bouncer took another moment to assess this late comer. Just enough that her smile wavered–-she knew he was checking for something and she shifted her weight from one leg to the other to shake the unease. “Is there something wrong?” her voice wondered softly, still trying to be playful. “Am I too late to go in?”
It was there in the way her clothes shifted on her body, where they sagged and crinkled when they should cling and stretch as if the outfit was just a bit too large for her. In the way he realized the shadow of her cheekbones was not a clever use of bronzer but a genuine gauntness, as if she ate only saltines and tonic water for a long period. In the way he understood why she was there an hour before closing, waiting in the rain.
He’d seen it all before.
“Nothing of the sort, miss,” the man finally said, Jenyl’s shoulders relaxing as he stepped aside and lifted the rope in front of the door. “Go ahead in, no cover.” He nodded to the entrance, Jenyl’s hands pausing as she made to pull out the cash for the fee, her heart thrumming where it sank into her gut. “Go talk to the bartender, get yourself a hot toddy and warm up. On me.”
It was casual, done from behind a playful tilt of his sunglasses, but the wink he offered spoke volumes as the soggy girl entered the dim lounge and felt swallowed by its red, gold and navy interior. He knew she lied. She knew he knew.
She’d have to thank him if she ever found a way back safely.
