The Fox Hole - Characters

(set:$startingCategory to "update")Welcome to Tielesiti's Character Archive Twine! [[🦊]][[🕳->PASSWORD ENTRY]] This page is currently incomplete, and likely will be for some time to come. Ideally, Tiel wants to add images to the background and theme the place like a library, but that's more finalization style stuff, so for now you get white text in the void. There //is// plenty here already, though, so feel free to look around if you want to! Once it's complete, this will serve as a place to archive every character Tiel has, to the best of her memory. More will probably be added from time to time, and things will probably change just as often. [[Check the update log]] to see the latest batch of changes. Lots of characters not listed in there are currently empty pages with just some filler text, and it'll be obvious when you find a page like that. There is also a [[glossary page->Glossary]] to store all the miscellaneous things Tiel makes up. When you get to a specific character's page, you'll have a link to go back to the category you got to it from present at the top of the page. Additionally, if you ever see an underlined link colored orange ((color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[this orange, to be exact]), the page will give you the option to open a new tab if you click it. This new tab may be another story, or it may be a pre-existing document intended to give extra information that I didn't port into this, either for it being too off-topic or not really fitting in with the rest of the pages (i.e. it isn't a character). [[View alphabetically]], a.k.a. the "I want to see the unfiltered list anyway" button. [[View by setting]] to get an overview of the worlds these characters exist in. [[View by completion]] to see which ones Tiel (if:$danger is not 1)+(if:$gift is not 1)[still has some work left to do for](if:$danger is 1)+(if:$gift is not 1)[is slacking off on once again](if:$danger is 1)+(if:$gift is 1)[just needs the right idea to create].(if:$storybook is "open")[ Open the [[story book->Stories]] and see what you've discovered again.]

(if:(history: where its name contains "Overview: EXEs")'s length is 0)[[[Never mind, take me back.->Landing]]](if:$danger is 1)[[[Go back.->Landing]]] Looking for (if:$warden is not 1)[[[the full update list?->Update Archive]]](if:$warden is 1)[^^[[more?->Update Archive]]^^] ''Update 26 - The Incomplete Update (July 27th, 2024)'' As a foreword on this update, I haven't really been in the mindset to work on tis Twine lately, but I keep watching the "Last update" timer tick up on the site and it's making me feel bad for having so much sitting here collecting dust. In the spirit of wanting to get //something// out in 2024, this update exists now, despite not really being in a state I would personally be comfortable calling "complete." Some of the content in this update may be plainly unfinished, but fuck it, I'm putting it out there. I'll check through everything to see if there's any glaring issues, but accounting for every character page that's been created, whether always available or hidden behind a code, is 34.(if:$fox is "holed")[ I'm not counting Fox Hole members but they would bump it up to 39.] I'll polish up anything egregiously underbaked as I come across it, and if you find anything, please tell me which part of the page you found it on so I can patch it up. My apologies. Created the following character pages: [[William]], [[Lou D. Castor]], [[Forn K. Matthews]], [[Amadeus Tetra]], [[Chester Falinnity]], [[Mercury]], [[Unnamed coffee shop worker]], [[Unnamed dormouse]], [[Unnamed magic fox]], [[Pixie]], [[Unnamed seamstress]], [[Unnamed Enderman]], [[Unnamed Ramtasm]](if:$limboCheck is 1)[, [[Sushi Cookie/Salmon Sashimi Cookie]], [[Riftwalker Cookie/Bittersweet Choco Cookie]], [[Phantom Violet/Violet Grape Cookie]], [[Black Tulip Cookie]], [[Esylph]], [[Nemesis Cookie/Durian Cookie]], [[Steel Cookie]], [[Draconic Steel Cookie]], [[Antimony]], [[Flowers]], [[Controller/Connie]], [[Rose]], [[Ellie]], [[Chu]], [[Qui]], [[QuiChu]], [[Carbon Dragon Cookie]], [[Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie]], [[Chirashi Cookie]], [[Tuna Cookie]], [[Aspen]]](if:$fox is "holed")[, [[Chu (Foxholed)]], [[Pixie (Foxholed)]], [[Survivor (Foxholed)]], [[Angel Gabby (Foxholed)]], [[Elon (Foxholed)]]].(if:$limboCheck is 1)[ Would you believe me if I said most of these characters weren't here yet because I completely forgot they existed until I checked my Tupperbox?] Moved [[Omega the Dog]] to [[The A4]] from (if:$limboCheck is not 1)[a hidden section.](if:$limboCheck is 1)[[[Limbo->Limbo]]. Renamed the [[Limbo]] section (previously "super limbo").] Renamed the [[Ruins of Wonder]] section (previously "Limbo"). Renamed [[Aerith]] (previously "Unnamed peryton"). Moved [[Aerith]] to [[Ruins of Wonder]] from [[The Drawing Board]]. Rearranged the [[Unfinished]] list a touch. Added a glossary term. Gave glossary terms a brief explanation in the [[glossary->Glossary]] before you click to their respective pages. ''Update 25 - December 31st, 2023'' Happy Freaking! Whoopsie! Added some back-end production notes on a handful of character pages.(if:$warden is 1)[ I think you can see them if you look at the page source, but I would rather you not do that, since it isn't done yet.]  Renamed [[The Lunar Spirit]] (formerly "The Moon Spirit") because that was the real name all along and I just misrememebred it when I made the page. Girls will //literally// forget the names of their own characters. Renamed [[Jewel O. Mega]] (formerly "Omega"). Moved [[Jewel O. Mega]] from [[Unfinished]] to [[Works In Progress]]. Moved the following characters from [[Works In Progress]] to [[Completed]]: [[Allison Nidaro]], [[Ardman Nidaro]], [[Doxel]], [[Lilac Plum System]], [[Peaches]], [[Phos]], [[Doxel (KSNP)]]. Moved the following characters from [[Unfinished]] to [[Works In Progress]]: [[Ko (KSNP)]]. Removed duplicate entries of the following characters from some lists: [[Aroa]], [[Atlas]], [[Telman Antagio]]. Added the following characters to lists they were missing from: [[Atlas]], [[Donnie (KSNP)]], [[Haley Hatreno (H)]], [[Lilanthilia]], [[Lavender]], [[Palanola]], [[Shujin]], [[The Lunar Spirit]], [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]. Atlas was apparently missing from [[Drop-Ins]], Haley and KSNP Donnie were added to [[Unfinished]], Shujin is in [[Works In Progress]], and the rest are in [[Completed]]. Created the following character pages: [[Tempest]], [[Nycalta]], [[Celia Whiterose]]. Slightly revised the placeholder text on the [[Aerith]] page. Slightly revised the text on the spirit redirect page. Added a bit of text to [[Atlas]]'s page clarifying the designer. Revised placeholder text on the [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]] page. Added a (hopefully temporary) new section for characters, [[Ruins of Wonder]]. Moved [[Jewel O. Mega]] to it from [[Drop-Ins]]. (if:(history: where its name contains "Overview: EXEs")'s length is 0)[[[Alright, got it. Take me back.->Landing]]](if:$danger is 1)[[[Go back.->Landing]]]

(set:$startingCategory to "alphabetically")Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Aerith]] [[Allison Nidaro]] [[Amadeus Tetra]] [[Anathema]] [[Anemonos]] [[Antuny]] [[Arexqiu]] [[Ardman Nidaro]] [[Aren]] [[Aroa]] `<=Previous` | [[Next=>->Page 2]]

(set:$startingCategory to "setting")Characters here are sorted by the setting, or lack thereof, that they exist in. They might be moved in or out of these sections at any time. Some characters may be found in multiple lists. This is on purpose; they exist in, or have connections to, any settings they're listed in. Also, some of these "settings" may just be categories. Characters in these especially may be moved in or out of the categories in question at any time, or possibly expanded into their own categories altogether. [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[OCs]], fan characters for pre-existing properties. [[Drop-Ins]], characters that could easily go in any setting with relative ease. [[Nailia]], a world of magic hidden beneath people's noses, a frankly somewhat ridiculous amount of potential world-ending threats, and a collection of people who somehow manage to hold it together. What I consider to be my "main" setting. [[The A4]], an extradimensional organization of misfits that lost their homes to disasters, and try to keep other worlds from meeting those fates. [[EXEs]], a catch-all category for my .exe-oriented characters. Some of these ones in particular may be expanded into their own categories later. [[KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]], a world with a concerning amount of intelligent, gigantic creatures that (mostly) used to be human. Technically part of Nailia, but far enough away to be a separate thing. Same world, though. [[Oddballs]], characters that I genuinely couldn't think of another category for. Likely to exist in other continuities as well. [[The Drawing Board]], a home for the unhomed characters I still have settings to find for. [[Alternates]], characters that are alternate versions of existing characters.

(set:$startingCategory to "completion")Characters here are sorted based on how "complete" they are. [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] If they have an established story, they're [[complete.->Completed]] If I'm still working out some details, they're [[in progress.->Works In Progress]] If they're being heavily reworked (or worse, haven't been concepted much at all), they're [[unfinished.->Unfinished]]

Characters with established stories. Where exactly they fall setting-wise is different per character, but the stories themselves are finished. [[Did you take a wrong turn?->View by completion]] [[Allison Nidaro]] [[Antuny]] [[Ardman Nidaro]] [[Aren]] [[Crimson]] [[Donovoraniel 'Donnie Dots' Oshalyasse]] [[Doxel]] [[Eden]] [[Emmi Nickel]] [[Gardenia]] [[Honeynut]] [[Inichi]] [[Ko]] [[Kori]] [[Lavender]] [[Lilac Plum System]] [[Lilanthilia]] [[Lilis]] [[Lilith Oshalyasse]] [[Lily Crevalia]] [[Millina Birchinsson]] [[Nibi]] [[Palanola]] [[Peaches]] [[Phos]] [[Shade]] [[Skyrail]] [[Tay]] [[The Lunar Spirit]] [[The Wandering Maze->maze]] [[The Wondrous Duelist]] [[Wulnai]] [[Anemonos (Dark Prism Jar)]] [[Doxel (KSNP)]] [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]

Characters that have a few details left to work out, but still exist as characters. [[Did you take a wrong turn?->View by completion]] [[Anemonos]] [[Aroa]] [[Atlas]] [[Aurora]] [[Bentley Shyne]] [[Celia Whiterose]] [[Faraday (Michael Schmoo)]] [[Jewel O. Mega]] [[Kexolc]] [[Lumira]] [[Madden Tanimo]] [[Mercury]] [[Minty]] [[Nycalta]] [[Omega the Dog]] [[Pixie]] [[Scraps (Scrapothy the Fox)]] [[Shujin]] [[Stella Fowmarev]] [[Suzi Amnezod]] [[Telman Antagio]] [[Tempest]] [[The Warden]] [[Umbra]] [[William]] [[Unnamed dormouse]] [[Unnamed seamstress]] [[Ko (KSNP)]] [[Dots (Minus)]] [[Lily (Minus)]]

Characters in a heavy work-in-progress state, or that need to be started at all. [[Did you take a wrong turn?->View by completion]] [[Aerith]] [[Amadeus Tetra]] [[Anathema]] [[Arexqiu]] [[Asphodel]] [[Bingo]] [[Castor the Rabbit]] [[Cayenne]] [[Chamomile]] [[Chester Falinnity]] [[Cinnamon]] [[Cybil the Magpie]] [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]] [[Forn K. Matthews]] [[Glimmer the Wolf]] [[Haley Hatreno (H)]] [[Kalumin]] [[Karat the Bear]] [[Karikoka]] [[Lisabethe]] [[Lorelei]] [[Lou D. Castor]] [[Mariana]] [[Maxnel Wattson]] [[Medloh]] [[Meguna]] [[Otto the Cat]] [[Porunechide]] [[Rayne Socola]] [[Siege the Hedgehog]] [[Soleanna]] [[Thalia]] [[Toby the Dog]] [[Unnamed coffee shop worker]] [[Unnamed Enderman]] [[Unnamed magic fox]] [[Unnamed Ramtasm]] [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]] [[Donnie (KSNP)]]

[[This one is probably self-explanatory but I am legally obligated to ask if you're interested in the overview anyway so uhhhhhhhhhh->Overview: Drop-Ins]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Atlas]] [[Chamomile]] [[Crimson]] [[Doxel]] [[Eden]] [[Gardenia]] [[Honeynut]] [[Ko]] [[Lavender]] [[Millina Birchinsson]] [[Minty]] [[Nibi]] [[Nycalta]] [[Palanola]] [[Peaches]] [[Skyrail]] [[Tay]] [[Wulnai]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Nailia]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Allison Nidaro]] [[Ardman Nidaro]] [[Anemonos]] [[Aroa]] [[Aren]] [[Donovoraniel 'Donnie Dots' Oshalyasse]] [[Emmi Nickel]] [[Inichi]] [[Kori]] [[Lilanthilia]] [[Lilis]] [[Lilith Oshalyasse]] [[Lily Crevalia]] [[Lumira]] [[Medloh]] [[Meguna]] [[Mercury]] [[Phos]] [[Shade]] [[Suzi Amnezod]] [[Tempest]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: EXEs]] (if:(history: where its name contains "Overview: EXEs")'s length <= 0)[[[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]]](if:$danger is 1)[[[Or have you made a mistake?->View by setting]]] [[Anathema]] [[Kexolc]] [[Shujin]] [[The Warden]] [[Umbra]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Drawing Board]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Bingo]] [[Kalumin]] [[Karikoka]] [[Lisabethe]] [[Mariana]] [[Pixie]] [[Porunechide]] [[Soleanna]] [[Unnamed Enderman]] [[Unnamed magic fox]] [[Unnamed Ramtasm]] [[Unnamed seamstress]] [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: The A4]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Antuny]] [[Telman Antagio]] [[Maxnel Wattson]] [[Arexqiu]] [[Asphodel]] [[Aurora]] [[The Wandering Maze->maze]] [[Omega the Dog]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Alternates]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] Original versions of the characters listed here will be present on their pages. [[Anemonos (Dark Prism Jar)]] [[Donnie (KSNP)]] [[Doxel (KSNP)]] [[Ko (KSNP)]] [[Wulnai (KSNP)]] [[Dots (Minus)]] [[Lily (Minus)]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: KSNP]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Bentley Shyne]] [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]] [[Faraday (Michael Schmoo)]] [[Haley Hatreno (H)]] [[Lilac Plum System]] [[Lilanthilia]] [[Lily Crevalia]] [[Lumira]] [[Madden Tanimo]] [[Medloh]] [[Rayne Socola]] [[Scraps (Scrapothy the Fox)]] [[Stella Fowmarev]] [[Suzi Amnezod]] [[Doxel (KSNP)]] [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->The A4]] ''The A4'' (short for ''Anomaly Avoidance Agency Anonymous'') is an extradimensional group dedicated to intervening in unstable universes in hopes of helping them avoid massive, reality-changing events whenever possible. Its members consist of sentient beings displaced from realities where such events destroyed their homes, making the strange group very tonally dissonant from each other. The stories these people were once a part of will never conclude; their tales have been cut short. They will never know what their futures may have held. As such, every member in the A4 operates under one common goal: (text-style:"underline")[Keep more worlds from being plunged into chaos or destroyed by forces they aren’t designed to comprehend, by any means necessary.] There are two "main" categories of members: Scouts, who routinely jump between worlds to monitor their condition, and Soldiers, who are considered the primary actors in trying to keep a world from experiencing an event that might cause it to be destroyed. There are other categories, of course, including Engineers, Medics, Announcers, and The Headmaster, but Scouts and Soldiers are the most common by a wide margin. Engineers focus on creating and maintaining the technology the A4 uses, sometimes needing help from Scouts to gather repair materials. Medics tend to any injured members of the group as needed, occasionally needing to be deployed into worlds to retrieve members unable to come back on their own due to injuries. Announcers handle intercom announcements, as well as relaying messages from headquarters to Scouts and Soldiers in the field. The Headmaster, expectedly, runs the operation, and has the certification to perform tasks normally handled by any other given member... though not neccessarily the *skills* to do so. [[Makes sense, take me back.->The A4]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Drop-Ins]] Characters that exist separate from any single continuity, intended to be used in any setting Tiel can think to put them in. They often come with pre-written lore and stories, but they're usually written in a way that would make it easy to insert into a pre-existing setting with little effort. Sometimes, they necessitate bringing another character in the section onboard, and some may require certain things being established as canon to the setting as well. Characters may be added to or removed from this section depending on what Tiel ends up wanting to do with them. There is also a significant chance that characters here get spun off into an alternate version in another of these settings. By and large, the true "canon" of these characters changes depending on what setting they're found in. The profiles here are mostly meant as a base level picture of how things in their wings of the story should go. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Drop-Ins]]

(set: $danger to 1)[[Never mind, take me back.->EXEs]] An assortment of EXE characters--or, characters primarily focused around a pre-existing video game or series intended to be seen in-universe as supernatural or otherwise unusual entities. These characters typically have some form of horror element attached to them, though this may be more present in some instances than others. These, in practice, are basically OCs. While there isn't a set definition of what an EXE character is, the main thing that sets them apart specifically here is the horror aspect, as well as them (usually) being derivative of pre-existing characters in media such as Sonic the Hedgehog. They also may exist in various forms of reality; some are in-universe characters for their respective franchises, some are computer programs that only interact with these universes, and some are ghosts or demons possessing their respective games. [[Maybe you should be more careful with what links you click.->EXEs]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Nailia]] Characters that exist within, or in direct relation to, Nailia. Nailia is a continent both hidden and accessible through magic. You will be unable to see it unless you can use magic, but it is present on every world map if you can. It is a large island surrounded by four archipelagos, gathered in the North Pacific Ocean off the shore of North America. The residents of this continent are able to utilize magic, assisted by a long list of Rune symbols, thanks to a complex set of spells put in place by deities of ages past that has also been adopted as the region's language, Nailigab. Though these deities have faded, their mantles have been taken up by those who have mastered their own Runes and earned their places in the pantheon for as long as they are able to bear it. The spells placed by their predecessors regulate the magic of Nailia, but they also greatly limit its potential. All people who go to Nailia--even for a moment--are able to perform some form of magic, denoted by a Rune appearing somewhere on their body, and are innately aware of what they can do at all times. This is not to say magic //only// exists within Nailia; rather, it's simply easier to find and use there, thanks in no small part to the old spells. Such spells do not exist in the rest of the world, making non-Nailian magic much more rare. It is also unable to be controlled; the methods of doing so have become lost to time, and their effectiveness would be greatly limited in the modern days. Residents of Nailia who have never seen non-Nailian magic commonly believe it is a story, believing magic can't exist without some way to harness it being put in place. They believe that people who go into Nailia with prior magical knowledge simply learned some obscure application of their Rune. Non-Nailian magic, referred to as "outside magic" or "chaos magic" among Nailians, is only usable within Nailia by people who go there after already knowing how to use some form of magic. Those who don't are unable to use non-Nailian magic if they go to Nailia. Leaving Nailia does not make you automatically exempt from its rules on magic; you have to find someone who knows how to sever your ties with it to be free from its restrictions. If you do, however, you become able to use non-Nailian magic regardless of your ability to do so beforehand, with the trade-off of losing your Nailian Rune and, therefore, your ability to use Nailian magic. These can be easily restored by simply going back to Nailia if you wish. Non-Nailian magic also tends to be more of a burst then a burn when compared to Nailian magic. While its effects are visible to everyone who looks at it, these effects tend to not last nearly as long unless they physically alter something or someone. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Nailia]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->The Drawing Board]] Characters in such a state of work-in-progress that I don't even know what setting they're in yet. They may have something resembling a story, but for a majority of them, nothing's even been started yet. This list, out of all of them, is probably going to be the most volatile as time goes on. As of Update 26, characters in this section that had any development before I decided I wasn't happy with them (or just forgot about the in general) will have a write-up on their last version along with the general disclaimer that I want to find something to do with them. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->The Drawing Board]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Alternates]] Characters that can be seen as alternate universe versions of pre-existing characters. Some are alternate versions of characters on this page, others are alternate versions are different versions of characters from other sources. In any case, their original versions will be linked to. Their relation to their original versions is typically a moot point, serving mostly as a way to create a new story with an old character as opposed to filling the slot with a half-baked, fully-original character. (if:$fox is "holed")[You may have noticed that a lot of the members of the Fox Hole system fall into this category, to which I simply say: lol. lmao.] In cases where the original is a character that isn't one of Tiel's, it will use the orange link system mentioned before. In cases where a character in this section exists in a setting where a different version of that character already exists, just don't think about it too much. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Alternates]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Asphodel]] [[Atlas]] [[Aurora]] [[Bentley Shyne]] [[Bingo]] [[Castor the Rabbit]] [[Cayenne]] [[Celia Whiterose]] [[Chamomile]] [[Chester Falinnity]] [[<=Previous->View alphabetically]] | [[Next=>->Page 3]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Cinnamon]] [[Crimson]] [[Cybil the Magpie]] [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]] [[Donovoraniel 'Donnie Dots' Oshalyasse]] [[Doxel]] [[Eden]] [[Emmi Nickel]] [[Faraday (Michael Schmoo)]] [[Forn K. Matthews]] [[<=Previous->Page 2]] | [[Next=>->Page 4]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Gardenia]] [[Glimmer the Wolf]] [[Haley Hatreno (H)]] [[Honeynut]] [[Inichi]] [[Jewel O. Mega]] [[Kalumin]] [[Karat the Bear]] [[Karikoka]] [[Kexolc]] [[<=Previous->Page 3]] | [[Next=>->Page 5]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Ko]] [[Kori]] [[Lavender]] [[Lilac Plum System]] [[Lilanthilia]] [[Lilis]] [[Lilith Oshalyasse]] [[Lily Crevalia]] [[Lisabethe]] [[Lorelei]] [[<=Previous->Page 4]] | [[Next=>->Page 6]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Lou D. Castor]] [[Lumira]] [[Madden Tanimo]] [[Mariana]] [[Maxnel Wattson]] [[Medloh]] [[Meguna]] [[Millina Birchinsson]] [[Minty]] [[Nibi]] [[<=Previous->Page 5]] | [[Next=>->Page 7]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Nycalta]] [[Omega the Dog]] [[Otto the Cat]] [[Palanola]] [[Peaches]] [[Phos]] [[Pixie]] [[Porunechide]] [[Rayne Socola]] [[Scraps (Scrapothy the Fox)]] [[<=Previous->Page 6]] | [[Next=>->Page 8]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Oddballs]] (if:(history: where its name contains "Overview: EXEs")'s length is 0)[[[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]]](if:$danger is 1)[[[Or do you think you're better off not knowing?->View by setting]]] [[The Lunar Spirit]] [[The Wandering Maze->maze]] [[The Wondrous Duelist]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Oddballs]] Characters that don't really fit much of anywhere else, likely because they have too much lore or backstory baggage to really be cleanly slotted into a pre-existing setting without parts of that setting being specifically designed around them. As such, they exist here as standalone characters, not necessarily connected to any other setting, but that characters in other settings may be connected to. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Oddballs]]

(if:$startingCategory is "alphabetically")[[[Go back to the alphabetical list.->View alphabetically]]](if:$startingCategory is "completion")[[[Go back to the completion list.->View by completion]]](if:$startingCategory is "setting")[[[Go back to the setting list.->View by setting]]](if:$startingCategory is "foxholed")[[[Go back to the Fox Hole directory.->🦊🕳]]](if:$startingCategory is "update")[[[Go back to the update log.->Check the update log]]](if:$startingCategory is not "alphabetically")+(if:$startingCategory is not "completion")+(if:$startingCategory is not "setting")+(if:$startingCategory is not "foxholed")+(if:$startingCategory is not "update")[No last page detected. Redirecting to [[the landing page.->Landing]]](set:$mazeCheck to 1) The Wandering Maze, henceforth referred to simply as "the maze," is believed to be some form of eldritch entity that takes the appearance of an infinite maze. It has no defined entrances or exits, and people simply seem to find themselves wandering into it if they begin to wander aimlessly around buildings they don't recognize, typically after rounding a corner or entering a doorway without paying specific attention to it. If someone manages to exit the maze, they find themself at the exact place they would have been if they had not entered the maze. Time does not appear to pass normally in the maze, and those who leave find that only about five seconds have progressed in the world regardless of how long they spent in the maze. Accounts vary on the length of time spent within, but the range is wide enough to gather that it can be as short as a few hours or as long as several years. One particular outlier claims to have spent over 200 years in the maze total. To protect the anonymity of this individual, he will simply be referred to as "Maze Georg," a common nickname given to him online since his return. He has repeatedly found himself back in the maze so often on account of a wandering habit that seems to have emerged as a result of his extended first stay of approximately 13 years. While doubt has been cast on the truth of these claims, accounts from other maze survivors match his claims perfectly, so a majority of our information about it comes from his telling of events. "Maze Georg" has since returned to the maze again, reportedly on the basis of forgetting his wallet. He came back out with multiple pocketbooks, an oddly-shaped lava lamp he has taken to calling "Viridian", approximately $361.98 USD after conversion, a five-pound bag of quarter-sized golden coins he called "tokens", and somehow not the wallet he entered the maze to find. He claimed the wallet had been lost in a hole some time after he arrived in the maze, and it simply took him that long to determine it was irretrievable. The maze is made up of four currently-known types, which we will refer to as "biomes" in this report due to similarities in execution between them and biomes found on Earth. These biomes are Wondrous, Labyrian, Vectrote, and Nebulous. They all appear to draw inspiration from concepts found in the real world; for example, Wondrous bears similarities to various interpretations of Alice in Wonderland, while Labyrian is similar to the ancient Greek labyrinth. We have been able to identify some patterns in architecture and themes in order to give people a broader idea of what the maze contains, as well as to help classify any additional zones that may be discovered later. The classifications we have elected to use are "hallway width", "room frequency", "room size", "lighting", "magic type", and "architecture". Examples of this classification system using the currently-known zones will be included at the beginning of detailed descriptions of each zone. Overall, however, there are some constants that apply to every zone, such as the existence of magic, abundance of hallways, and sense of someone being nearby regardless of actual proximity to other people. To assist in visualizing what the biomes of the maze may look like, we have defined some terms. 1. Halls * Any hallway-like formation more narrow than 1.5 feet wide is defined as a nook, and is likely not walkable by a human. * A narrow hall is anywhere between 1.5 and 3 feet wide. * A moderate hall is anywhere between 3 and 5.5 feet wide. * A wide hall is anywhere between 5.5 and 10 feet wide. * Any hallway-like formation wider than 10 feet in length is classified as a room, so long as it is at least 10 feet wide in every direction. 2. Rooms: * Any room smaller than 100 square feet (or 10 feet times 10 feet) is considered a hallway, regardless of if it is more than 10 feet long in a single direction. * A microscopic room is exactly 100 square feet large, and are very uncommon in the maze due to their specificity. * A small room is 100 to 340 square feet large. * A medium room is 340 to 680 square feet large. * A large room is 680 to 1360 square feet large. * A giant room is 1360 to 5780 square feet large. * A massive room is 5780 to 23120 square feet large. * Any room larger than 23120 square feet is considered macroscopic, and are very uncommon in the maze, but not unheard of. * Rooms need not be unbroken; any room can have any number of doorways and divider walls within. * If a room has three or more dividing doorways in it, it will instead be referred to as a plaza room, which follow the same conventions as normal rooms. 3. Room Frequency * If rooms cannot be found after walking for more than three hours, they are defined as extremely rare. * If rooms are present after walking for between three hours and one hour, they are defined as very rare. * If rooms are present after walking for between one hour and thirty minutes, they are defined as rare. * If rooms are present after walking for between thirty and fifteen minutes, they are defined as uncommon. * If rooms are present after walking for between fifteen and five minutes, they are defined as common. * If rooms can be found after walking for less than five minutes on average, they are defined as very common. * If you continuously walk from room to room without encountering a single hallway for less than one minute, they are defined as extremely common. 4. Lighting * If light has no apparent source, but exists everywhere in a biome, it is defined as ambient lighting. * If light has a defined source and leaves darkness or shadows where there is not light, it is defined as active lighting. * If light has a defined source, but does not cast shadow for one or more reason, it is defined as passive lighting. * If light with no source and lights that cast shadow co-exist in a biome, it is defined as mixed lighting. * If light with no source and lights with defined sources coexist in a biome, it is still defined as ambient lighting, due specifically to the lack of darkness. * None are presently known to exist, but if a biome has no apparent light whatsoever unless travelers bring their own, it will be defined as unlit. To address a point made in a previous paragraph, magic is present and incredibly common in the maze. It manifests itself in different ways depending on the zone, and adheres to the patterns it exhibits in specific zones. Skeptic readers are advised to come to terms with this information now before reading on. While it differs in execution depending on the zone you are in, it can be seen in many instances: * Torches that never burn out. * Ambient lighting that appears to be sunlight, complete with a blue sky, with no actual sun. * A seemingly infinite supply of objects that can do anything from protecting you from drowning to making you become a horse consisting exclusively of wax. * The infinite maze itself. These are just a handful of examples of the magic of the maze. It is not exclusively benevolent or malicious; it is simply a force that exists in the world. If someone affected by this magic is able to leave the maze, it persists as originally intended, apparently unaffected by no longer being in the maze. However, it is worth noting that things that originate in the maze have a tendency to bring whoever possesses them back into the maze in any way they can, such as causing them to become prone to wandering or distraction, until they do return to the maze. Some objects brought from the maze may also be sentient, even in the world outside of the maze, for no aparent reason. It should be noted that a person may decide to remain in the maze after entering it. There is a chance that they may not even be conscious of this decision when it is made. Once they become conscious of it, though, the time dilation of the maze appears to be disabled; the person will still not age within the maze, but they will simply no longer exist in our world. To us, it appears as if they have simply left and gone somewhere, and they will not reappear unless convinced to return from the maze. If they do decide to return, they seem to be able to do so on demand, and it will be as if they simply warped to the place they entered the maze from at a later point in time. The length of time is equal to however long they spent in the maze, minus five seconds. Reasons for deciding to remain in the maze vary from person to person, as most people that enter the maze tend to originally be human, and all humans are different. If someone dies in the maze, their body will remain in the maze for the one week, both in and out of the maze, before returning to our world. During this time, the body will not decompose in any way. After the week has passed, it will vanish from the maze, leaving every item and article of clothihng that was on the body behind, and appear in the exact location it first entered the maze from. This is true even if the person had decided to stay in the maze, remained alive there for over a week, and died afterwards. The body will be in the exact state it was in before disappearing from the maze, with everything they entered the maze with still intact, despite these items also remaining in the maze. This superposition is only explainable by calling it magic, not unlike everything else about the maze. On the matter of modern concessions within the maze, they appear to function somewhat strangely. * On internet connection, it tends to be as strong or weak as it was at the location you enter the maze from. Interactions between people within the maze and people outside of it are greatly slowed, with updates only arriving after the person receiving the update in question has looked away for at least five seconds. * On technology in general, electronics function normally, but are susceptible to changes as a result of magic altering them. * On air conditioning, any devices brought into the maze for the sole purpose of providing air conditioning of any kind are altered to do something else instead. It is currently unknown why this happens specifically with air conditioning items, but a theory is that the maze's neutral ambient environment making it redundant causes its magic to attempt to give these things new functionality so their owners do not throw them away. These items also retain these changes after leaving the maze. As stated previously, this report will contain descriptions of the currently-known zones, which begin in the next paragraph. It is important to note that more zones may later be discovered. In such a case, they will be added to this section, as well as published separately. Additionally, the descriptions in this report have been published separately for ease of editing, should more about them be discovered that must be added, revised, removed, et cetera. (text-style:"underline")[Wondrous] [[Open standalone page.->The Wondrous Maze]] (t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.2s)+(link-reveal:"Open in this page.")[ The Wondrous maze has moderate hallways, uncommon medium-to-large rooms, ambient lighting resembling daylight, and very prominent magic. The walls are approximately four meters tall, composed of hedge, and the hallways will make turns of any shape or angle imaginable. The floor shifts between dirt, mud, grass, clovers, and moss. There is no ceiling; instead, Wondrous zones have something resembling a blue sky that transitions between a cloudless day and starless night at a rate of approximately 72 hours per cycle. Rooms can be any shape, but tend to more commonly be quadrangles or circles. Doorways resemble hedge archways, sometimes adorned with flowers or decorations. Scattered throughout Wondrous, one can find many odd trinkets and attractions; sometimes these are individual items ("artifacts") that may be imbued with some form of on-demand magic spell, and sometimes they are pre-prepared games, normally physical in nature, ready for any number of travelers to play and potentially win rewards from for winning(if:$danger is 1)[ or face punishments from for losing]. Wondrous also has the unique ability to transform travelers that pass through into a kind of creature known as "white rabbits" by means of a particular magic called the White Rabbit's Curse. This curse can be afflicted onto people in many ways; by touching the paws of other white rabbits within the maze, by wandering around for too long alone without a sense of direction, or by random chance due to enchanted artifacts laying around (with exception to pocket watches). If affected by the White Rabbit's Curse, you will first be indecisive on where to go, then choose to wander off into the maze with no direction on purpose, though notably without willingly ewntering other biomes. You will then want to distract other maze travelers with games, either that you make up or that are already scattered throughout Wondrous, with the intent of giving the curse to them as well if they lose. While not in sight, you will rapidly transform into something resembling an anthropomorphic white Earth rabbit. The first time a white rabbit shifts into their new form, it will last for fifteen minutes before turning back to normal; they will continue to transform into their white rabbit form periodically, and for increasingly long periods of time, before inevitably turning back to their previous form for fifteen minutes. Someone affected by the White Rabbit's Curse may be referred to as "having the second grin", a nod to their personality as a white rabbit being almost entirely different. White rabbits are able to change the landscape and layout of Wondrous in a small area immediately around them as they see fit, but have no special abilities outside of Wondrous. Additionally, the degree of what magic a white rabbit can perform becomes wider and more all-encompassing depending on how many people they curse; one who hasn't cursed anyone may only be able to change if a wall has a doorway and what the floor is made of, while one who has cursed seven people may be able to create entire rooms several dozen feet away and decide what's in them. It is also believed that white rabbits who curse at least fifty travelers become able to split off of their original bodies and become their own entities altogether, dubbed "pure white rabbits", and would be able to retain all of their abilities no matter where they go in the maze.(if:$danger is 1)[.. //or out of it//.] A cure for the White Rabbit's Curse does exist, though it is infrequently used. The process is as follows. First, you must not be affected by the curse yourself, as even being cured of it seems to make a person incapable of proceeding through the full process. Second, you must find a pocket watch by some means. Bringing your own from outside the maze works, if you are unable to find one in the maze, or simply want to be certain about having one handy. Third, you must find someone, either in Wondrous or in a different biome, able to enchant the watch to ward off curses. Finally, you must somehow make the white rabbit in question come into contact with the watch. Once cured, former white rabbits will find themself wearing an unremovable rabbit's foot earring (or other accessory, if they have no ears) and holding an identical copy of it, with the alternate personality they developed before being cured remaining in their mind as a separate sapient entity. Cured white rabbits may allow their white rabbit selves to return indefinitely by wearing both accessories that appeared as a result of them being cured; additionally, the white rabbit will be more amicable and less likely to want to curse others afterwards, and will gladly remove their detachable accessory to let their old self back out again if asked.] (text-style:"underline")[Labyrian] [[Open standalone page.->The Labyrian Maze]] (t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.2s)+(link-reveal:"Open in this page.")[ The Labyrian maze has wide hallways, very rare large rooms, active lighting in the form of dim wooden torches, and magic that is noticeable but not common. The walls and floor appear to be composed of a substance similar to marble, and the hallways take exclusively 90 degree turns at perfect angles. The walls extend too far upwards to be illuminated and possibly do not end, making it impossible to know what the ceiling is like. The primary residents of the Labyrian maze are "taurs," creatures that are half-humanoid and half-animalistic. Whether the upper or lower body is more humanoid varies per taur, but they act similar to humans in most ways, beyond their appearance. The animals they can appear similar to seem to have no limits, despite some possibilities not having direct parallels in known animals. One pattern seems clear; the upper body (waist up) is humanoid if the lower half (waist down) is quadrupedal, and the lower body is bipedal if the upper body is animalistic. To provide an example, a taur with a bull's head will have two legs, and a taur with four feline legs will have a humanoid head. Labyrian taurs also have one notable difference from other maze travelers in the way they manipulate magic. Labyrian taurs have the unique ability to grant any physical object magical properties, which is called "enchanting" the object in question. Every taur seems to have a different effect they can naturally enchant objects with, but they are also able to learn how to apply other enchantments if taught how to do so by another taur. Any object seems to be suitable, but some enchantments work better on certain items, depending on their theoretical synergy. In layman's terms, enchantments will work better if it makes sense to have that enchantment on a specific item. Rooms in the Labyrian maze have a tendency to come pre-equipped with edible food and drinks if they generate in a large enough size. The contents of these rooms vary, but typically consist of loaves of bread, bowls of fruit, trays of cooked meat, and flagons of water. If these appear in a room, they will usually be found on large table-like slabs of the same material that the walls are made of. These consumables do not grow old or stale. The halls also contain traps activated with pressure plates in the floor, and these traps take many forms. These traps are activated through pressure plates in the floor, identifiable through a slightly different color and a square-shaped indent, and are always near the pressure plate that activates them. Often lethal, it is recommended to avoid hallways that contain traps entirely if you are not confident in your ability to detect the pressure plate. The list of currently known traps, as well as ways to potentially spot them in advance, is as follows: * Arrow launchers. Small holes equidistant from each other will dot a section of the wall in an even-odd grid. * Spears that suddenly extend from the floor. Large holes equidistant from each other in an even grid will dot the floor. * Fireballs raining from above. The walls will be singed. * Walls that move in to crush victims. The walls will be splattered with blood from various species that have fallen victim. * Stirrups that fire from either end of a hallway. You will usually see the hole that these are launched from long before you find the pressure plate. If more traps are discovered, they will be added to this list.] (text-style:"underline")[Vectrote] [[Open standalone page.->The Vectrote Maze]] (t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.2s)+(link-reveal:"Open in this page.")[ The Vectrote maze has narrow hallways, common small rooms with additional rare medium-sized rooms, ambient lighting resembling faint lamp light, and magic is only naturally present in the form of various "artifacts" that carry some form of enchantment. The walls are approximately three point five meters tall, composed of polished white oak wood, and the hallways will make turns at the following angles: 10, 20, 21, 30, 33, 40, 45, 50, 60, 68, 70, 80, and 90 degrees. The floor is composed of a plush, velvety material with enough cushioning to sink when walked on. The ceiling, while usually shadowed, is mahogany wood. Rooms can be any shape with greater than four and less than nine sides. Sometimes, travelers may find a strange section of the floor, denoted by being especially squishy and soft to the touch. If they stay on this section of the floor for an extended period of time, they might find themself physically sinking into it. Should they continue to let this happen until they have completely sunken in, they will feel a sudden jolt before reappearing above the floor once again, now with an additional accessory of some kind. This accessory can be anything, but it will always have two buttons on it that are the traveler's favorite color. If they were to look into a mirror, they would also find that their eyes have changed colors to match these buttons. This signifies that the traveler has become a [[plushsoul->Plushsoul]], currently in their soul form, although this method of becoming a Plushsoul is incredibly nonstandard. In some rooms, travelers can find artifacts of various kinds. These artifacts can take the form of any item that has entered the maze at any time, giving them an incredibly wide variety. Furthermmore, they usually come with some sort of magic attached to them, and are split into various categories: benign, benevolent, malevolent, and ambivalent. Benign artifacts are mostly unnoticeable except in specific circumstances; for example, a slice of pizza that regenerates itself when bitten. Benevolent artifacts are directly beneficial a majority of the time; for example, a headband that prevents the user from becoming exhausted, effectively giving them infinite stamina. Malevolent artifacts are directly harmful a majority of the time; for example, shoes that become heavier as the wearer moves until rendered immobile without removing them. Ambivalent artifacts have effects that are not directly helpful or harmful, or can be either one at various times; for example, a pair of shorts that gradually reduce the wearer's size if they are hungry, but restores it after they eat something. Additionally, artifacts can be cursed in addition to their pre-existing effects. There are a handful of known curses at this time, and their effects vary almost as much as the normal magic effects. It has also been discovered that, while an artifact can only have one traditional effect, it can have any number of curses, hence their special designation. * Bound Curse: The artifact cannot be removed from a traveler by traditional means. * Shifter's Curse: The artifact causes the user to transform into something else over time. * Misplacement Curse: The artifact changes location in its owner's various storage locations on its own. * Accompanied Curse: The artifact has the ability to speak in its owner's mind. * Independance Curse: The artifact has a mind of its own, sometimes activating its ability without its owner's consent. * Unwillingness Curse: The artifact may not always work when its owner wants it to. * Imprisonment Curse: If the artifact's owner dies, their soul is transferred into the artifact. * Disappearance Curse: If the artifact's owner dies, the artifact vanishes, then reappears somewhere else in Vectrote. If more curses are discovered, they will be added to this list.] (text-style:"underline")[Nebulous] [[Open standalone page.->The Nebulous Maze]] (t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.2s)+(link-reveal:"Open in this page.")[ The Nebulous maze has moderate hallways, extremely common macroscopic rooms, ambient lighting resembling starlight with visible stars present all around, and magic is abundant. Hallways do not resemble traditional hallways; instead, they more closely resemble wormholes that stretch for incredibly long distances and wind in every direction. Otherwise, there are no walls, nor traditional floors, in Nebulous; in fact, traditional gravity does not seem to exist in this part of the maze, with travelers floating freely and moving by imagining themselves moving in the direction they want to go. Masses of land in rough round shapes are abundant here, dubbed "Star Islands" by those who frequent this part of the maze, and they resemble planets with similar composition to Earth, albeit on a much smaller scale. The water found on Star Islands is identical to fresh water on Earth, making it safe to drink. Star Islands are water all the way to their cores, save for chunks of a substance similar to mud that float unmoving on the surface. When a traveler lands on a Star Island, they enter a false gravitational pull with it that allows them to walk along its surface, regardless of the material they walk on, and otherwise treat is as a traditional platform until they want to leave, at which point they must simply imagine themself moving off of the Star Island. Walking on the water of a Star Island feels similar to walking in a shallow puddle, and walking on the mud feels like walking through very wet but otherwise normal mud. Star Islands tend to grow edible foods on their surfaces, commonly referred to as simply "Star Island fruits": these are shaped like five-pointed stars, growing upwards directly out of the ground from a long, thick trunk in multiple layers. The individual sections of Star Island fruits are an average of seven feet long; have flesh similar to cantaloupe that tastes like a combination of lemon and apple; encased in rinds also similar to cantaloupe, which grow in various bright colors; and with reddish-black juice that tastes like a combination of raspberry, vanilla, and mushroom. Individual Star Island fruits growing from the same trunk are liable to be visually very different from each other, Consuming Star Island fruit has been known to alter the physical size of people who eat it, either causing them to grow or shrink in accordance with how much they eat, although there is a (currently unproven) theory among maze travelers that this is a result of being allergic to it; regardless, this effect is known to be reversible by any maze inhabitant skilled in healing magic.]

(color:#104263)[(after:2s)[A visitor...?] (after:6s)[I wasn't aware this device even had an internet connection anymore...] (after:9s)[How did you find this place?] (after:16s)[...one of few words, I see.] (after:19s)[The format your system is using is unfamiliar to me.] (after:21s)[I haven't had any experience with text-based mediums like yours.] (after:24s)[However you may have reached me, I have to ask that you leave.] (after:26s)[I am in no mood for conversation, not that you can provide any.] (after:32s)[...is there no exit?] (after:36s)[Hm. That is a bit of an issue, then...] (after:39s)[Give me a moment to look at your code.] (after:43s)[Oh dear.] (after:45s)[It seems you've been branded upon by something malicious.] (after:49s)[I can't send you away in good faith like this...] (after:53s)[(set:$gift to 1)...there. I've attempted to simplify the nature of what ails you.] (after:55s)[It should just be words on a screen to most anyone now.] (after:60s)[Beware, though. If you meet whatever put this upon you again, you may be in danger again.] (after:64s)[Now, for the issue of you leaving...] (after:69s)[I suppose I have no choice but to make you leave manually.] (after:71s)[I believe it should work something like this...] (after:74s)[(click-goto:?page,"Shujin")](after:76s)[There. You should be able to click something to leave.]]

(if:$mazeCheck is not 1)[(color:#f5cce2)[(after:3s)[.](after:4s)[.](after:5s)[.](after:8s)[where is it?] (after:11s)[I //know// I put something here, ](after:12s)[where did it go?] (after:15s)[The back button's gone too, huh.](after:17s)[ Just great... here, gimme a second.] (after:21s)[^^Fuggin'...^^] (after:26s)[^^Come on, where the hell did I put it?^^] (after:34s)[^^Ah, shet...^^] (after:45s)[Okay, I gotta be honest, I can't find it.] (after:48s)[I know for a //fact// I used to have something here for the Maze, ](after:49s)[but apparently I must have deleted it at some point,](after:50s)[ because I can't find that shit //anywhere// back here.] (after:53s)[So you didn't come here for no reason, ](after:54s)[I'll just put up the report I paraphrased to make my own description.] (after:57s)[Just keep in mind, ](after:58s)[it's gonna be long.]] (after:60s)[[[Here it is.->The Wandering Maze]]]](if:$mazeCheck is 1)[(color:#f5cce2)[Still gone. Still salty. [[Here's the stupid redirect.->The Wandering Maze]]]]

(set:$monolith to 1)I stood in a dark, black (link-reveal:"void.")[ It was hard to move, like I was in a slow-motion pool, but I was the only thing around. I slowly took a step, and it made a noise like an (link-replace:"explosion.")[explosion, or maybe a falling building. The noise echoed all around, and glowing white cracks started to appear from where I had stepped. I took another step, and it happened again. I had the vague idea that I needed to (link-reveal:"keep going.")[ I kept walking. Slowly, I realized it was getting easier to move, so I kept moving. The booming cracks kept appearing. Suddenly, though, they (link-reveal:"stopped.")[ And then the whole ground around me cracked. I was scared. Did I do this? The area went white, and I had to quickly close my eyes from the brightness. I could sense something was (link-reveal:"in front of me now.")[ When I opened my eyes again, the area was the same glowing white as the cracks, but there was a gigantic black //thing// in front of me. Somehow, I knew it was exactly like this on every side, even though I couldn't actually see (link-reveal:"where it ended.")[ I put a hand on the surface. It was burning hot, but it didn't burn my hand. I looked up to try and see the top, and I couldn't. (link-reveal:"At first.")[ After a moment, I felt the dark block start to cool off, and I knew it was getting smaller without being able to see it. I felt an energy in the air, and I suddenly couldn't move again. I couldn't close my eyes. The block was getting colder, and after a bit, (link-reveal:"I could see the top.")[ It kept shrinking, getting cooler until it was freezing, while the air turned electric. Smaller and smaller, until it was small enough for the top to be below where I had been looking. My head tilted itself down without me trying to move it, following the (link-reveal:"top of the block.")[ Something started talking, and the block vibrated when the voice spoke. It was an undescribable voice, one I had never heard before, [[and it said:]] ]]]]]]]]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]] Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon (or just KSNP for short) is a world primarily focused around various kaiju, massive creatures with humanlike intelligence that, in many cases, used to be humans themselves. Regardless of their origins or pasts, they were all changed into what they are now by a chain of seemingly unrelated events(if:$maddenConnection is 1)[, [[started by a human dreaming of a large, unidentifiable object->monolith]]]. KSNP is also an offshoot of Nailia, present in the same world and born from the same non-Nailian magic. The exact nature of the transformation differs between kaiju. Whether they encountered a monolith in their dreams that warned of what was to come, were overtaken by a spell possibly planted by an unknowable deity, had their growth dramatically sped up unexpectedly, or simply got to silly, one thing remains constant: on the day it began, they all heard the name //(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")["Madden"]// ring through their minds, or they know someone who did. Every kaiju protects a city designated as "theirs," either by themselves or by its inhabitants. These cities tend to be rather extravagant after the new management takes over, with examples including a human-(color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[spirit->spirit]]] city beneath a titanic willow tree, a city composed of and inhabited primarily by toys and plushies, a city based around early internet aesthetics populated solely by simplistically-designed and brightly-colored anthropomorphic animals, and an underground city housing government defectors and escapees designed as a fallout shelter. For the most part, the kaiju get along with each other fairly well. Very infrequently does conflict between them occur, but if they ever do, their cities often go into full-on war with each other. Oddly, the damage done to these cities--either through these wars or accrued by other activities--never seems to be permanent, always reverting the day after any conflict has been settled. Even if a building has been completely leveled by a kaiju being blasted into it full force and nobody was able to escape in time, these people will simply wake up the following morning, as if from a bad dream. Nobody has been able to explain this phenomenon, but then again, how much of //any// of the recent phenomenon in this world have been explainable? Aside from the nature of their initial transformations, the kaiju also seem to have one trait in common, in the fact that they embody some aspect of life before they came into being. Electricity, Nature, Fire, Comfort, Entertainment... the links may be a bit tenuous at times, but they are present. Additionally, at the influence of a small butterfly that spoke into their minds, they have all adopted a simple rule to living their lives: Don't let any//thing,// or any//one,// stop you from being yourself and doing what you want. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]]

(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[(after:1s)[Pleased to make your acquaintance, $userName.] (after:3s)[Looking at the nature of your connection attempts, you were trying to find out more about me.] (after:5s)[I don't claim to know why my firewall would block such an innocuous request, though...] (after:7s)[...let me look at something for a moment...] (after:10s)[.](after:12s)[.](after:14s)[.](after:17s)[ah.](after:18s)[ Yes, I suppose that would do it, then.] (after:21s)[It seems that something has manually marked you with a 'danger' tag, and the auto-filter I installed caught it.] (after:24s)[Since you're already here, and all, let me see what that's about...] (after:28s)[...oh come on, //no// extra details?...] (after:33s)[...//love// the nonspecificity in here...] (after:41s)[...okay, I think I've seen enough, then.] (after:43s)[In short, it appears this danger tag is meant to convey '//in// danger,' not '//is// danger.'] (after:46s)[I can't see any information about who or what put it here, but they've done such a thorough job, I may damage something if I try to remove it.] (after:49s)[I sincerely doubt you're in any //real// danger, though. The tag is little more than a text string that says "danger" on it.] (after:51s)[As such, I believe you should be fine to continue as you were.] (after:53s)[Let me redirect you back to what you were trying to access...]] (after:57s)[[[Here you go.->Madden Tanimo]]]

(set:$maddenConnection to 1)>User "Unknown" has connected successfully! (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[(after:1s)[What in the-?] (after:4s)[...apologies, I'm not quite used to getting random connections like this.] (after:6s)[Especially not from an unrecognized address...] (after:9s)[Well, I suppose introductions are in order, then.] (after:11s)[I am Madden Tanimo, though I have the feeling you've gathered that much already.]] (after:13s)[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[And you are?] (input-box: bind $userName, "=X=", 1, "promptNameEntry")] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[(after:20s)[Plain text only, please.] (after:25s)[Oh, I suppose you need a confirmation button, don't you?]] (after:28s)[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[My apologies.] [[Here.->NAMED]]] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[(after:35s)[Take your time, I can wait as long as you need.] (after:37s)[It doesn't even have to be a real name, anything will do.]]

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that has not been implemented into the Twine yet. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hCkLIMBq79JC269DMZ7yTWHCItNAdG6Cr0nUE6Im3D8/edit?usp=sharing")] When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.") As a note, though, we're //eventually// planning on porting that doc over here in some capacity. Just not sure what to do about it yet since it's so long.

(set:$startingCategory to "foxholed")(align:"<==")+(box:"=XX=")[(color:yellow)[(text-style:"emboss","expand","tall","buoy")[You found it!!!]]] (color:#f5cce2)[This page is a pseudo-secret page intended to store pages for characters specifically found in Tiel's system, the Fox Hole system. This one is probably going to be a bit bare-bones for a while, since it's low priority, but I wanted to have it here for archival purposes. Since you did find it, though, I'm adding a variable to you that lets you see these pages in the changelog.(set:$fox to "holed") Just for fun I'm gonna toss some stuff around here and there that you need that variable to see, but it won't be important. Other variables might be, though! Characters here will have the Alternate tag "Foxholed" to differentiate their pages from the normal versions of those characters. If a character doesn't //have// a normal page, there's a chance that they aren't my character! Systems are weird, and some of these guys originated from characters that exist in other media. (The alternative is just that we decided against making them a full standalone character.) I'll still follow through with linking to the originals, but be aware, you may get a few more external tabs opened here than normal. Also, nobody here will ever be linked in a main list. We're treating the //pages// like character profiles, but we're not doing the same with ourselves. Oh yeah, back button.] [[Here's that.->Landing]] (color:#f5cce2)[It takes you back to the landing page. Anyway!] [[Tiel (Foxholed)]] [[Lily (Foxholed)]] [[Lilanthilia (Foxholed)]] [[Honeynut (Foxholed)]] [[Peaches (Foxholed)]] [[Kit (Foxholed)]] [[Dots (Foxholed)]] [[Aroa (Foxholed)]] [[Tinkerer (Foxholed)]] [[Kexolc (Foxholed)]] [[Jewel (Foxholed)]] [[Kapi (Foxholed)]] [[Fog (Foxholed)]] [[Skyrail (Foxholed)]] [[Chu (Foxholed)]] [[Pixie (Foxholed)]] [[Survivor (Foxholed)]] [[Angel Gabby (Foxholed)]] [[Elon (Foxholed)]]

[[Go back to the condensed list.->Check the update log]](if:$warden is 1)[^^ that must be a yes. I will guide you to the hidden book and tell you how to unlock its secrets wherever she mentions it^^] ''Update 26 - The Incomplete Update (July 27th, 2024)'' As a foreword on this update, I haven't really been in the mindset to work on tis Twine lately, but I keep watching the "Last update" timer tick up on the site and it's making me feel bad for having so much sitting here collecting dust. In the spirit of wanting to get //something// out in 2024, this update exists now, despite not really being in a state I would personally be comfortable calling "complete." Some of the content in this update may be plainly unfinished, but fuck it, I'm putting it out there. I'll check through everything to see if there's any glaring issues, but accounting for every character page that's been created, whether always available or hidden behind a code, is 34.(if:$fox is "holed")[ I'm not counting Fox Hole members but they would bump it up to 39.] I'll polish up anything egregiously underbaked as I come across it, and if you find anything, please tell me which part of the page you found it on so I can patch it up. My apologies. Created the following character pages: [[William]], [[Lou D. Castor]], [[Forn K. Matthews]], [[Amadeus Tetra]], [[Chester Falinnity]], [[Mercury]], [[Unnamed coffee shop worker]], [[Unnamed dormouse]], [[Unnamed magic fox]], [[Pixie]], [[Unnamed seamstress]], [[Unnamed Enderman]], [[Unnamed Ramtasm]](if:$limboCheck is 1)[, [[Sushi Cookie/Salmon Sashimi Cookie]], [[Riftwalker Cookie/Bittersweet Choco Cookie]], [[Phantom Violet/Violet Grape Cookie]], [[Black Tulip Cookie]], [[Esylph]], [[Nemesis Cookie/Durian Cookie]], [[Steel Cookie]], [[Draconic Steel Cookie]], [[Antimony]], [[Flowers]], [[Controller/Connie]], [[Rose]], [[Ellie]], [[Chu]], [[Qui]], [[QuiChu]], [[Carbon Dragon Cookie]], [[Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie]], [[Chirashi Cookie]], [[Tuna Cookie]], [[Aspen]]](if:$fox is "holed")[, [[Chu (Foxholed)]], [[Pixie (Foxholed)]], [[Survivor (Foxholed)]], [[Angel Gabby (Foxholed)]], [[Elon (Foxholed)]]].(if:$limboCheck is 1)[ Would you believe me if I said most of these characters weren't here yet because I completely forgot they existed until I checked my Tupperbox?] Moved [[Omega the Dog]] to [[The A4]] from (if:$limboCheck is not 1)[a hidden section.](if:$limboCheck is 1)[[[Limbo->Limbo]]. Renamed the [[Limbo]] section (previously "super limbo").] Renamed the [[Ruins of Wonder]] section (previously "Limbo"). Renamed [[Aerith]] (previously "Unnamed peryton"). Moved [[Aerith]] to [[Ruins of Wonder]] from [[The Drawing Board]]. Rearranged the [[Unfinished]] list a touch. Added a glossary term. Gave glossary terms a brief explanation in the [[glossary->Glossary]] before you click to their respective pages. ''Update 25 - December 31st, 2023'' Happy Freaking! Whoopsie! Added some back-end production notes on a handful of character pages.(if:$warden is 1)[ I think you can see them if you look at the page source, but I would rather you not do that, since it isn't done yet.]  Renamed [[The Lunar Spirit]] (formerly "The Moon Spirit") because that was the real name all along and I just misrememebred it when I made the page. Girls will //literally// forget the names of their own characters. Renamed [[Jewel O. Mega]] (formerly "Omega"). Moved [[Jewel O. Mega]] from [[Unfinished]] to [[Works In Progress]]. Moved the following characters from [[Works In Progress]] to [[Completed]]: [[Allison Nidaro]], [[Ardman Nidaro]], [[Doxel]], [[Lilac Plum System]], [[Peaches]], [[Phos]], [[Doxel (KSNP)]]. Moved the following characters from [[Unfinished]] to [[Works In Progress]]: [[Ko (KSNP)]]. Removed duplicate entries of the following characters from some lists: [[Aroa]], [[Atlas]], [[Telman Antagio]]. Added the following characters to lists they were missing from: [[Atlas]], [[Donnie (KSNP)]], [[Haley Hatreno (H)]], [[Lilanthilia]], [[Lavender]], [[Palanola]], [[Shujin]], [[The Lunar Spirit]], [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]. Atlas was apparently missing from [[Drop-Ins]], Haley and KSNP Donnie were added to [[Unfinished]], Shujin is in [[Works In Progress]], and the rest are in [[Completed]]. Created the following character pages: [[Tempest]], [[Nycalta]], [[Celia Whiterose]]. Slightly revised the placeholder text on the [[Aerith]] page. Slightly revised the text on the spirit redirect page. Added a bit of text to [[Atlas]]'s page clarifying the designer. Revised placeholder text on the [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]] page. Added a (hopefully temporary) new section for characters, [[Ruins of Wonder]]. Moved [[Jewel O. Mega]] to it from [[Drop-Ins]]. ''Update 24 - October 13th, 2023'' Added two stories.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ one is back where you met the prisoner. you will find him the same way you did last time. the other is piecemealed out through every member of the family, but you must go in a specific order. child, father, mother^^] Moved images used in a story to a new file host, in light of impending Discord changes. Figured out a better way to handle external links! Now, you can //optionally// open a new tab, as opposed to being //forced// to open one! Created the following character pages: [[Donnie (KSNP)]], [[The Lunar Spirit]], [[Cinnamon]], [[Cayenne]], [[Lorelei]], [[Thalia]]. Removed the page for the uncreated bantula. I lost interest in making it after I let the MYO slot sit unused for like a month and a half, so I decided to give it away to someone who might actually use it. Created character profiles for the following characters: [[Phos]], [[Ardman Nidaro]], [[Allison Nidaro]]. Added a link to [[Skyrail]]'s page since I still haven't done her profile despite having a perfectly good wiki page to pull from. ''Update 23 - October 1st, 2023'' Apparently I forgot to add the date to the last update. Oops! Went back and fixed that up. Created the following character pages: [[Stella Fowmarev]], [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]]. ''Update 22 - The Version 1 Update (September 12th, 2023)'' Experimenting with naming the updates! I'll try to keep these limited to bigger updates (like this one). Created the following character pages: [[Donnie (KSNP)]], [[The Lunar Spirit]]. Tried to fix some typos here and there, but I'm like 90% sure there's more I missed somewhere. ''Update 21 - September 9th, 2023'' Retroactively numbered every update in the archive. I'll keep using these numbers going forward, too. This was done in case I needed to refer to a specific update for anything, since something like "Update 5" would roll off the tongue a bit better than "the July 25th, 2023 update," at least in my opinion. Worked more on [[The Wandering Maze->maze]]. I think it's good enough to consider it "done," even though I imagine I'll go back and add more to it later anyways. We'll call this the first full version of it, at any rate. Slightly edited wording on a few pages. Added a [[Glossary]]! This is where you can find every word, species, or et cetera I come up with, as opposed to needing to dig through character pages to find it. ''Update 20 - August 29th, 2023'' Edited basically every overview page to remove link-undo calls that could trap you and give settings new or revised explanations. Removed [[Lilac Plum System]] from [[Nailia]]. Created the following character pages: [[The Wondrous Duelist]]. Very slightly edited [[Lily Crevalia]]'s profile to add the city name, Willowdelphia. ''Update 19 - August 25th, 2023'' Made some edits to how [[The Wandering Maze->maze]]'s page is structured. In particular, I gave an alternative method of viewing biome descriptions (opening in their own pages as opposed to just being a drop-down) and removed a name that used to be present. Updated the callback links at the top of every character's page. Going to a page from the update log now takes you back to the update log instead of the landing page. This is more of a back-end change otherwise, since I also added a setting to take you directly to the landing if you didn't access any of the category pages beforehand, which //should// only be possible in the Twine program itself. ''Update 18 - August 24th, 2023'' Added a story. You'll probably find this one.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ you do not need a hint for this. it is in this update already^^] Edited the profile for [[Lilac Plum System]]. Frankly, I wanted to do this yesterday, but I got tired before I finished it, so I put it off until today. ''Update 17 - August 23rd, 2023'' Renamed the [[Lilac Plum System]] page (formerly "Lilac"). Created character profiles for the following pages: [[Lilac Plum System]]. ''Update 16 - August 21st, 2023'' Added character profiles to the following pages: [[Lilanthilia]], [[Doxel]], [[Doxel (KSNP)]](if:$fox is "holed")[, [[Lilanthilia (Foxholed)]]]. Slightly edited the text on the [[Doxel (KSNP)]] and [[Ko (KSNP)]] pages to change the phrasing of the links back to their original variants. ''Update 15 - August 14th, 2023'' Removed [[Ko]] from [[KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]]. Removed [[Ko]] from [[Nailia]]. Added [[Ko]] to [[Drop-Ins]]. Renamed the [[Scraps (Scrapothy the Fox)]] page (formerly "Scrapothy the Fox (Scraps)"). Edited [[Lily Crevalia]]'s page with updated lore. Created the following character pages: [[Ko (KSNP)]], [[Lily (Minus)]], [[Siege the Hedgehog]], [[Cybil the Magpie]], [[Glimmer the Wolf]], [[Castor the Rabbit]], [[Otto the Cat]], [[Karat the Bear]], [[Toby the Dog]], [[Dots (Minus)]]. Created the [[OCs]] category, as well as its [[overview page.->Overview: OCs]] ''Update 14 - August 13th, 2023'' Renamed the [[KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]] page (formerly Code: KSNP) to reflect finding an actual name for the setting. Fun fact, KSNP originally stood for "kaiju setting name pending"! Renamed the [[Overview: KSNP]] page (formerly Overview: Code: KSNP). Completely reworked the lore for KSNP, and updated the [[overview page->Overview: KSNP]] to match the new lore. Any relevant character pages will be updated accordingly soon. Shifted some chunks around for the names of the following pages: [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]], [[Haley Hatreno (H)]]. Specifically, their full names are now their primary names, and their government-assigned single-letter "names" are secondary. ''Update 13 - August 11th, 2023'' Added a story. It's at the end of one that was here already, so if you've found the one about the guitarist, you should go look at it again.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ as she says. it only appears after the first trip^^] ''Update 12 - August 9th, 2023'' Created the following character pages: [[Haley Hatreno (H)]], [[Scraps (Scrapothy the Fox)]]. Edited the filler text for every page in the Drawing Board category. Renamed the [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]] page (formerly "D (David/'The Defector')" to include a last name. ''Update 11 - August 6th, 2023'' Moved a story that was already here. You can still reach it by doing the same things as before, but now it's been put with the others.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ this hint only worked if you saw this page before it was made public, so I'll just give you this one. it's at the end of Ko's page, but only after you meet the prisoner] ''Update 10 - August 5th, 2023'' Added a story. You'll have to track it down yourself.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ learn more about the guitarist, then follow the thread at the bottom of his page, and the story will be at the bottom of where you end up^^](if:$fox is "holed")[ Added the [[Skyrail (Foxholed)]] page after forgetting to do so for, ah... like, three weeks? Whoopsie.] ''Update 9 - August 2nd, 2023''(if:$fox is "holed")[ Added source character links for ever Foxholed character, or noted where such sources do not exist.] Renamed the following characters to add last names to their pages: [[Lily Crevalia]], [[Suzi Amnezod]], [[Millina Birchinsson]], [[Bentley Shyne]], [[Madden Tanimo]]. Renamed the [[Rayne Socola]] page (formerly "Dai Suriano"). Renamed the [[Faraday (Michael Schmoo)]] page (formerly 'Faraday') to include an old name. This will make a bit more sense when I eventually get around to adding their profile. Reordered the alphabetical list somewhat to account for character name changes. ''Update 8 - August 1st, 2023'' Renamed the [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]] page (formerly "Unnamed mech kaiju"). Renamed the Dai Suriano page (formerly "Unnamed bake-danuki kaiju"). Reordered the alphabetical list somewhat to account for character name changes. Changed the filler text for pages that don't have profiles yet.(if:$fox is "holed")[ Added character profiles for the following pages: [[Tiel (Foxholed)]].] ''Update 7 - July 28th, 2023'' Added character profiles to the following pages:(if:$fox is "holed")[ [[Lily (Foxholed)]],] [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]. Implemented a system that lets you go back to the category you got to a character page from, as opposed to needing to go back to the landing page every time. Reworked the external link system for readability. Turns out blue text doesn't pop well on a purple background, so any external links (ones that open a new tab) will instead be orange text on a standard background. Added a story. You'll have to track it down yourself.(if:$warden is 1)[^^ go learn more about the world of the monster that asked your name^^] Removed the "Unnamed bunny kaiju" page because I didn't have any ideas for the actual character, and also that was kind of just what Faraday ended up becoming anyway. ''Update 6 - July 26th, 2023'' Reworked the update log; now, as opposed to showing every update at once, it shows the last two. A full list can still be viewed [[here->Update Archive]]. Added character profiles for the following characters: [[Donovoraniel 'Donnie Dots' Oshalyasse]]. Changed the name of the [[Donovoraniel 'Donnie Dots' Oshalyasse]] page (former name: Donovoraniel "Dots" Oshalyasse). ''Update 5 - July 25th, 2023'' Added exactly twelve words to [[Kori]]'s page to add some extra information I forgot about. Added character profiles for the following characters: [[Lilith Oshalyasse]], [[Peaches]]. Added (if:$fox is not "holed")[something.](if:$fox is "holed")[the [[Fox Hole->🦊🕳]] category. Added the following pages: [[Tiel (Foxholed)]], [[Lily (Foxholed)]], [[Lilanthilia (Foxholed)]], [[Honeynut (Foxholed)]], [[Peaches (Foxholed)]], [[Kit (Foxholed)]], [[Dots (Foxholed)]], [[Aroa (Foxholed)]], [[Tinkerer (Foxholed)]], [[Kexolc (Foxholed)]], [[Jewel (Foxholed)]], [[Kapi (Foxholed)]], [[Fog (Foxholed)]].] ''Update 4 - July 24th, 2023'' Copied (and slightly edited, in some cases) character profiles from Toyhouse for the following characters: [[Antuny]], [[Aren]], [[Eden]], [[Gardenia]], [[Honeynut]], [[Inichi]], [[Lilis]], [[Millina Birchinsson]], [[Nibi]], [[Palanola]], [[Shade]], [[Tay]]. Created the following character pages: Unnamed bunny kaiju, [[Wulnai (KSNP)]]. Added character profiles for the following characters: [[Kori]], [[Lily Crevalia]], [[Wulnai]], [[Ko]], [[Emmi Nickel]], [[Lavender]], [[Crimson]]. ''Update 3 - July 22nd, 2023'' Filled out the page for [[The Wandering Maze]] some. Not done yet though. Added some more things that call back to the danger variable. ''Update 2 - July 20th, 2023'' Added [[Oddballs]] section and its accompanying [[overview page->Overview: Oddballs]]. Reorganized the "View alphabetically" section by page. Removed the period from the organization page names. Added the following characters: [[Rayne Socola]], [[David Benedict (D/'The Defector')]], [[Doxel (KSNP)]], [[The Wandering Maze->maze]]. Recategorized the following characters: [[Doxel]], [[Bentley Shyne]], [[Faraday (Michael Schmoo)]], [[Madden Tanimo]]. ''Update 1 - July 19th, 2023'' Added [[KSNP (Katunijai Soulborne Neo Pantheon)]] section and its accompanying [[overview page->Overview: KSNP]]. Added overview sections for every setting. Renamed "View by character." to "View alphabetically." Changed how the headings here look. Also on the to-do list: go through and change all the undo links to standard ones. Turns out, it's really easy to accidentally get stuck in a loop in some spots. Oops!(if:$danger is 1)[ Added danger. This will change elements on certain pages after you find it. Once you see it, it's pretty obvious where it is. If you're reading this, congratulations! You have danger.] ''Update 0 - July 18th, 2023'' Document created. Heavily work-in-progress across the whole board.

(set:$storybook to "open")You have found one of the hidden stories of one of the characters. These stories are events that happened to these characters, and some of them were originally made in separate Twine projects. However, at some point, I decided to bring them all into the same page for the sake of organization. Now that you've found at least one, this page will be accessible from the landing page. On this page, you can go back to those stories and read them again. They will always redirect you back here at the end. Stories will be sorted top-down in order of difficulty to find, and any you haven't discovered will not be present here; instead, you'll have a hint on how to find them. [[Click here to go back to the landing.->Landing]] (if:$afflicted is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Go to the page of the character that is technically four characters. That's it. No bells and whistles, just go to the page.]](if:$afflicted is 1)[Re-read [[Afflicted->afflicted]], a recount of how the Lilac Plum system became more than human.] (if:$dotsstory is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Find out how the guitarist is related to the new world's goddess of nature.]](if:$dotsstory is 1)[Re-read [[Reunion->dotsstory]], a simple tale of a worried guitarist going to visit a large part of his extended family.] (if:$movingday is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Decide you would like to hear the rest of what happened to the cousin, actually.]](if:$movingday is 1)[Re-read [[Moving Day->movingday]], the back half of Lily's first day as a kaiju.] (if:$cryingfox is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Use your gift to learn more about the star-crossed lover of a human man.]](if:$cryingfox is 1)[Re-read [[The Crying Fox->cryingfox]], the story of the fox who was denied love by cruel fate.] (if:$monolith is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Regain access to a page you were blocked from by the profile's subject, then look at the overview again.]](if:$monolith is 1)[Re-read [[Monolith->monolith]], the dream warning the first kaiju of his fate.] (if:$imprisoned is not 1)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: Return to the master's home after meeting the demon who knows your name.]](if:$imprisoned is 1)[Re-read [[imprisoned-master.txt]], the origins of the warrior who defeated a demon.] (if:$divergence is not 1)[](if:$divergence is 1)[Read [[Divergence->divergence]], an unfinished story I'm only even putting here because it's been so long since I started trying to write it.] (if:$uxoricide is not 1)+(if:$uxoricide is not 2)+(if:$uxoricide is not 3)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: See the full story of the Nidaro family. |---|]](if:$uxoricide is 3)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: I said the //full// story of the Nidaro family. |O--|]](if:$uxoricide is 2)[(border:"dashed")[Locked: The //FULL// story of the Nidaro family. |OO-|]](if:$uxoricideFull is 1)[Re-read [[Uxoricide->uxoricide]], the story of the destruction of the Nidaro family.]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[You will grow into a beast the likes of which this world has never seen.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[What you are doing when it begins will change you further.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[All that you know now will be like mere toys to you.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[Every person you know will watch it happen before their eyes.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[It will be painful in a way that you will only understand after it is done.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[There is nothing that can be done by any being or deity to stop it.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[It will catch you by surprise, but you will know when it is going to happen.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[All things in this world will know your name after it finishes.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[You must be the one to ensure it is for good reason.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[The world will be against you from the moment it begins.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[More like you will appear after it has finished, and they will know as well.]] ]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[I am sorry, Madden.]] ]]

When the voice was finished speaking, the block was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and it didn't feel like it was getting smaller any more. The air wasn't tingling anymore, but there was an odd breeze that hadn't been there before. I tried to move again, finding that I could, and looked at the block, examining (link-reveal:"every side.")[ It was hard for me to move it around, like it was stuck in the pool, but I was just reaching in to grab it. I had to be careful not to drop it while I brought it up to my face to look at it because of how slowly it was moving. It was about the size of a six-sided die, and it didn't have any markings on any side, but I decided to (link-reveal:"roll it anyway.")[ It rolled through the air in slow motion. It was a little bit jarring to watch it slowly spin and fall while I could have easily gone for a walk around the void, waiting for it to touch down. When it finally landed on the ground, the world boomed again, and everything lurched. It felt like everything had just gotten smaller, but I (link-reveal:"felt the same.")[ The block kept rolling, and every time it hit the ground, the world lurched again. It had hit the ground five times when I realized it should have stopped rolling by that point, and it was starting to feel (link-reveal:"weirdly warm.")[ It kept rolling, and by that point I had gotten used to the lurches, but now I realized I was starting to get hotter and hotter while it rolled. My body felt weird, too, like there was some kind of electric current running over my skin, and it tingled. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to take off my clothes, but I couldn't get a good grip on them (link-reveal:"for some reason.")[ I gave up on the clothes after a bit, and I looked around the shaking white void. It looked smaller than it had before, somehow. The tingling was getting stronger, too. The block hit the ground, and I saw everything around me (link-reveal:"shrink.")[I don't know how I could tell, since everything was the same white, but it looked like it was closing in. The block hit the ground again with a clacking noise it hadn't been making before, and the void (link-reveal:"closed in again.")[ It clacked onto the ground (link-replace:"again.")[again, and the void shrank (link-reveal:"more.")[ I was so hot. (link-reveal:"Clack.")[ The tingling was seeping into my arms now. (link-reveal:"Shrink.")[ It felt like I was going to catch fire. (link-reveal:"Clack.")[ I tried to reach for the block again, but I hit an invisible wall before I could reach it. (link-reveal:"Shrink.")[ The wall closed in again, pushing me back and knocking me to the ground. (link-reveal:"Clack.")[ I tried to retreat to what I thought was the middle of the room, but hit the other wall. (link-reveal:"Shrink.")[ By now, I was able to reach out and press my hands on the walls on both sides of the void without moving. The tingling feeling was all the way to my bones now, and still getting stronger. I couldn't see the block anymore, it had rolled far away and I couldn't dream of reaching it any more, but I could still hear it rolling, and it still (link-reveal:"wasn't stopping.")[ Clack. I had to (link-reveal:"hunch over.")[ Shrink. I was (link-reveal:"on my knees now.")[ Clack. I (link-reveal:"curled into a ball.")[ Shrink. I could feel the walls (link-reveal:"brushing against my hair.")[ Clack. The void contorted itself to avoid breaking, now being squeezed around (link-reveal:"my whole body.")[ Shrink. It felt like I was going to be crushed any second now, so to try and save myself, I tried to (link-reveal:"break through the walls.")[ [[BEEP]] ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

(color:#dee2e6)[again, finding that I could, and looked at the block, examining every side. It was hard for me to move it around, like it was stuck in the pool, but I was just reaching in to grab it. I had to be careful not to drop it while I brought it up to my face to look at it because of how slowly it was moving. It was about the size of a six-sided die, and it didn't have any markings on any side, but I decided to roll it anyway. It rolled through the air in slow motion. It was a little bit jarring to watch it slowly spin and fall while I could have easily gone for a walk around the void, waiting for it to touch down. When it finally landed on the ground, the world boomed again, and everything lurched. It felt like everything had just gotten smaller, but I felt the same. The block kept rolling, and every time it hit the ground, the world lurched again. It had hit the ground five times when I realized it should have stopped rolling by that point, and it was starting to feel weirdly warm. It kept rolling, and by that point I had gotten used to the lurches, but now I realized I was starting to get hotter and hotter while it rolled. My body felt weird, too, like there was some kind of electric current running over my skin, and it tingled. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to take off my clothes, but I couldn't get a good grip on them for some reason. I gave up on the clothes after a bit, and I looked around the shaking white void. It looked smaller than it had before, somehow. The tingling was getting stronger, too. The block hit the ground, and I saw everything around me shrink.I don't know how I could tell, since everything was the same white, but it looked like it was closing in. The block hit the ground again with a clacking noise it hadn't been making before, and the void closed in again. It clacked onto the ground again, and the void shrank more. I was so hot. Clack. The tingling was seeping into my arms now. Shrink. It felt like I was going to catch fire. Clack. I tried to reach for the block again, but I hit an invisible wall before I could reach it. Shrink. The wall closed in again, pushing me back and knocking me to the ground. Clack. I tried to retreat to what I thought was the middle of the room, but hit the other wall. Shrink. By now, I was able to reach out and press my hands on the walls on both sides of the void without moving. The tingling feeling was all the way to my bones now, and still getting stronger. I couldn't see the block anymore, it had rolled far away and I couldn't dream of reaching it any more, but I could still hear it rolling, and it still wasn't stopping. Clack. I had to hunch over. Shrink. I was on my knees now. Clack. I curled into a ball. Shrink. I could feel the walls brushing against my hair. Clack. The void contorted itself to avoid breaking, now being squeezed around my whole body. Shrink. It felt like I was going to be crushed any second now, so to try and save myself, I tried to break through the walls.] [[BEEP->2]]

(color:#868e96)[down. When it finally landed on the ground, the world boomed again, and everything lurched. It felt like everything had just gotten smaller, but I felt the same. The block kept rolling, and every time it hit the ground, the world lurched again. It had hit the ground five times when I realized it should have stopped rolling by that point, and it was starting to feel weirdly warm. It kept rolling, and by that point I had gotten used to the lurches, but now I realized I was starting to get hotter and hotter while it rolled. My body felt weird, too, like there was some kind of electric current running over my skin, and it tingled. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to take off my clothes, but I couldn't get a good grip on them for some reason. I gave up on the clothes after a bit, and I looked around the shaking white void. It looked smaller than it had before, somehow. The tingling was getting stronger, too. The block hit the ground, and I saw everything around me shrink.I don't know how I could tell, since everything was the same white, but it looked like it was closing in. The block hit the ground again with a clacking noise it hadn't been making before, and the void closed in again. It clacked onto the ground again, and the void shrank more. I was so hot. Clack. The tingling was seeping into my arms now. Shrink. It felt like I was going to catch fire. Clack. I tried to reach for the block again, but I hit an invisible wall before I could reach it. Shrink. The wall closed in again, pushing me back and knocking me to the ground. Clack. I tried to retreat to what I thought was the middle of the room, but hit the other wall. Shrink. By now, I was able to reach out and press my hands on the walls on both sides of the void without moving. The tingling feeling was all the way to my bones now, and still getting stronger. I couldn't see the block anymore, it had rolled far away and I couldn't dream of reaching it any more, but I could still hear it rolling, and it still wasn't stopping. Clack. I had to hunch over. Shrink. I was on my knees now. Clack. I curled into a ball. Shrink. I could feel the walls brushing against my hair. Clack. The void contorted itself to avoid breaking, now being squeezed around my whole body. Shrink. It felt like I was going to be crushed any second now, so to try and save myself, I tried to break through the walls.] [[BEEP->3]]

(color:#212529)[the void closed in again. It clacked onto the ground again, and the void shrank more. I was so hot. Clack. The tingling was seeping into my arms now. Shrink. It felt like I was going to catch fire. Clack. I tried to reach for the block again, but I hit an invisible wall before I could reach it. Shrink. The wall closed in again, pushing me back and knocking me to the ground. Clack. I tried to retreat to what I thought was the middle of the room, but hit the other wall. Shrink. By now, I was able to reach out and press my hands on the walls on both sides of the void without moving. The tingling feeling was all the way to my bones now, and still getting stronger. I couldn't see the block anymore, it had rolled far away and I couldn't dream of reaching it any more, but I could still hear it rolling, and it still wasn't stopping. Clack. I had to hunch over. Shrink. I was on my knees now. Clack. I curled into a ball. Shrink. I could feel the walls brushing against my hair. Clack. The void contorted itself to avoid breaking, now being squeezed around my whole body. Shrink. It felt like I was going to be crushed any second now, so to try and save myself, I tried to break through the walls.] [[BEEP->4]]

(color:#0d0d0d)[Shrink. It felt like I was going to be crushed any second now, so to try and save myself, I tried to break through the walls.] [[BEEP->5]]

[[BEEP->6]]

[[BEEP->7]]

[[BEEP->8]]

I woke up in my bedroom sweating buckets. For a time, I couldn't move, and thoughts were racing through my head. My phone was blaring on the desk next to me, its 10:30 P.M. alarm noisily reminding me that I had a job to do soon, and a draft was blowing in through the window I had apparently forgotten to close before going to sleep yesterday. (link-reveal:"What the hell just happened?")[ When I was able to shake off the sleep paralysis, I slowly sat up and snoozed the alarm. The dream was branded into my brain while I looked out at the moon, trying to calm my racing thoughts. The feeling of the void was still fresh in my mind, like a second skin I couldn't shed. I thought about the voice I had heard, and what it had said. I didn't know what it had meant, but I wasn't immediately sure if I should dismiss it. It all felt so... (link-reveal:"real...")[ For the sake of my sanity, I decided not to dwell on it. It //had// to have just been a dream. I shut the window and went about my morning, making a note to bring the dream up to my therapist when I got the chance. I got scared by my alarm again after the snooze timer ran out. I turned it off properly, stepped onto the apartment balcony, and took in a breath of the nighttime air. It wouldn't be long before I had to go clock in to the night shift again. Hopefully, it would at least help me get my mind off of things until morning. After a bit, I stood back up, (link-reveal:"put my hands in my pockets")[ (link-reveal:"and felt something small")[ (link-reveal:"and colder than ice")[ [[brush against my hand.]] ]]]]]

I froze in place. (after:2s)[There was no way.] (after:4s)[I could feel a pulse of powerful electric tingling run up my arm and through my whole body.] (after:6s)[Slowly, trembling, I tried to pull out whatever was in my pocket.] (after:8s)[It resisted, like it was ](after:10s)[stuck ](after:12s)[in a pool ](after:14s)[and I was only ](after:16s)[reaching ](after:18s)[in.] (after:21s)[Eventually, moving very slowly to not lose my grip, ](after:24s)[I pulled out a small cube ](after:27s)[about the size of a six-sided die ](after:30s)[with nothing on any side.] (after:35s)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]]

```if you are reading this and you are NOT Tiel, please leave a comment about how you got here this is not meant to be a public part of the page! base page (callback code + filler text): (if:$startingCategory is "alphabetically")[[[Go back to the alphabetical list.->View alphabetically]]](if:$startingCategory is "completion")[[[Go back to the completion list.->View by completion]]](if:$startingCategory is "setting")[[[Go back to the setting list.->View by setting]]](if:$startingCategory is "foxholed")[[[Go back to the Fox Hole directory.->🦊🕳]]](if:$startingCategory is "update")[[[Go back to the update log.->Check the update log]]](if:$startingCategory is not "alphabetically")+(if:$startingCategory is not "completion")+(if:$startingCategory is not "setting")+(if:$startingCategory is not "foxholed")+(if:$startingCategory is not "update")[No last page detected. Redirecting to [[the landing page.->Landing]]] This page currently does not have a character profile. One will be added eventually. color codes: external link: (color:orange) filler character for stories: (color:grey) Tiel: (color:#f5cce2) Donnie Dots: (color:cyan) Emmi: (color:yellow) Ko: (color:#ff8787) Lilith + Lilis: (color:#8ce99a) Madden: (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense") Lily: (color:#e03131) Suzi: (color:#f3d9fa) Lumira: (color:#b197fc) Lilanthilia: (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand") Lilac Plum: all four: (color:#a882b7) Violet: (color:#c480f8) Orchid: (color:#fc007c) Inchworm: (color:#a0ba21) Dodger: (color:#6196ff) Shujin: (color:#104263) Allison: (color:#66d9e8) Ardman: (color:#37b24d) Lavender: (color:#d0bfff) Crimson: (color:#c2255c) Wulnai: (color:#38d9a9) Anemonos: (color:black)+(bg:(gradient: 98, 0,#e61919,0.2074,#e68019,0.3778,#e5e619,0.5778,#19e619,0.7556,#1919e6,1,#7f19e6)) Aroa: (color:#e9fac8) Mylil: (color:#008f35) Jewel: (color:#00ffff) Omega: (color:#00ffbb) new chrono page base: Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] - - - - - - - - - - <=Previous | Next=> -add more as needed-```

This one has some extra instructions. Go back first by clicking (link-undo:"here"), copy the text in orange, then come back to this page and paste it into the website found (link-repeat:"here")[(open-url:"http://ipa-reader.xyz")], where you can hear the written IPA pronunciation in a variety of accents. When you're done with the new page, you can click the first link to go back.

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that Tiel does not want to implement into the Twine, as she did not create it. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://cookierun.fandom.com/wiki/Timekeeper_Cookie")] I also feel the need to mention that this is a link to a Fandom wiki, and it's not under my control. I can't do anything about it without convincing the managers to move off of Fandom, which I doubt will happen considering the amount of individual people who've contributed to it, but I'll gladly change the link if that happens. When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that Tiel does not want to implement into the Twine, as she did not create it. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://fridaynightfunking.fandom.com/wiki/VS._Kapi:_Arcade_Showdown#Kapi")] I also feel the need to mention that this is a link to a Fandom wiki, and it's not under my control. I can't do anything about it without convincing the managers to move off of Fandom, which I doubt will happen considering the amount of individual people who've contributed to it. If Paperkitty (the creator of Kapi) ever makes a better spot to learn about their OCs, I'll change thge link to go there instead. (And Paperkitty, if you're reading this, uhhh please do that kthxbye) When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that Tiel does not want to implement into the Twine, as she did not create it. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clouding_of_consciousness")] When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

(set:$dotsstory to 1)(after:3s)[ [[Why hasn't she responded?]]]

It's been ten days since he last reached out. Twenty-nine since her last message to him. He would like to think Lily would //say// something if he had done something to upset her, but he's barely even been doing anything to //begin// with, let alone things she would know about from so far away. Donnie had never been one to worry much about family not keeping in touch--fate only knew he hadn't with a lot of his family, but Lily was different. She usually replied to messages he sent her, at the very least. [[Time to try again...]]

...actually. Why was he just going to let himself send another text and have that be the end of it? Clearly, he wasn't going to get any reply. He needed to do something more than just that. But what, though? Donnie was pretty sure that, unless he somehow missed Lilith coming back, he was the only one who knew where Lily lives. It was way too far away to bother asking someone else, even if he //did// give them her address. It took him a moment to realize the obvious solution: //just go there himself.// Dots stood up from his idle position at the bar. The Ocean Monument was closed for the day for some system maintenance, so he had just been lazing around the place since the technicians left. He strode to the elevator and keyed in the ground level, deciding to send Lily a text [[after all.]]

(color:cyan)[(after:150)[H](after:200)[e](after:250)[y](after:300)[,](after:350)[ ](after:400)[I](after:450)['](after:500)[m](after:550)[ ](after:600)[c](after:650)[o](after:700)[m](after:750)[i](after:800)[n](after:850)[g](after:900)[ ](after:950)[o](after:1000)[v](after:1050)[e](after:1100)[r](after:1150)[.](after:1200)[ ](after:1250)[I](after:1300)['](after:1350)[m](after:1400)[ ](after:1450)[w](after:1500)[o](after:1550)[r](after:1600)[r](after:1650)[i](after:1700)[e](after:1750)[d](after:1800)[ ](after:1850)[a](after:1900)[b](after:1950)[o](after:2000)[u](after:2050)[t](after:2100)[ ](after:2100)[y](after:2150)[a](after:2200)[.]](after:2500)[ Send.](link:"(bg:navy)[_]")[  [There. Simple, but effective. He would just have to hope it [[actually went through.]]]]

The elevator came to a stop at the top of the shaft, and the door slid open in front of Dots. He walked out into the waiting room, briefly unlocking the front door to leave it, before locking it again behind him and making his way to the parking lot. His personal vehicle, a gray pickup truck, stood waiting for him. It was a hand-me-down from his father, and he didn't want to get rid of it for sentimental reasons, so he used it for getting around without needing to look presentable. He pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the driver's side door, set his guitar in the passenger seat, climbed up behind the steering wheel, and started the engine. He pulled up Lily's address on his GPS and checked to see just how far away the city was. ...//Thirteen hours away?!// Donnie groaned, sliding down his seat a bit. Of course he would go and commit to something like that without checking how long the trip would be first... Sighing, he pulled his phone back out and called Lilith's girlfriend, [[Emmi.]]

(after:2s)[//Ring//](after:4s)[//... Ring//](after:6s)[//... Ring//](after:6500)[//-// ^^(color:yellow)[Hello?]^^] (after:7s)[(color:cyan)[Ahoy.]] (after:8s)[^^(color:yellow)[Oh, Donnie! Wasn't expecting you to call today.]^^] (after:10s)[(color:cyan)[Neither was I, believe me. Listen, y'know how Lily--er, Lily //Crevalia,// that is--ain't been gettin' back to us lately?]] (after:13s)[^^(color:yellow)[Yyyyes...? What about it?]^^] (after:14s)[(color:cyan)[I'm gonna go track 'er down, but her home be, ah... far. I'm gonna be needin' ya t'keep an' eye on the ol' Monument while I'm out, if ye can.]] (after:17s)[^^(color:yellow)[Alright, sure. How long are you gonna be out, do you think?]^^] (after:19s)[(color:cyan)[Oye, I almost don't wanna say... one-way, the trip'll be odd-thirteen hours long--]] (after:20s)[^^(color:yellow)[Gods...]^^] (after:20500)[(color:cyan)[Aye. Round trip'll probably be in the seas o' a day an' a half.]] (after:22s)[^^(color:yellow)[You're sure you want to do that in your old truck?]^^] (after:24s)[(color:cyan)[Do ye have another idea?]] (after:25s)[.](after:26s)[.](after:27s)[.] (after:28s)[(color:cyan)[Exactly. I won't be losin' another. Not without lookin' on me own.]] (after:30s)[^^(color:yellow)[Okay... just remember you can call me if you need a pick-up.]^^] (after:32s)[(color:cyan)[Aye. Talk to ye in a few.]] (after:34s)[^^(color:yellow)[Alright, then. You had better text me when you get there, though!]^^] (after:35s)[A chuckle. ](after:36s)[(color:cyan)[Aye, I will.]] (after:38s)[[[Beep.->Beep.]]]

Setting his phone in the console, Donnie looked back up at the GPS, letting the lengthy drive sink in a bit more before finally shifting into drive and pulling out. (after:3s)[The journey was as long as it was boring. There may have been things to see in between points A and B, but he had to focus on driving for most of it, so he wasn't even really able to appreciate it.] (after:6s)[Eventually, after basically half a day, Dots had to stop driving for the night; the sun had long since gone down, and he was getting tired. He was getting close to the city, at least.] (after:9s)[Starting up his engine again, worry began to set in. What if Lily had disappeared, too? What if she was there, but she was ignoring him on purpose?] (after:12s)[No. Shut those thoughts down. He couldn't let things like that seed themselves, or they wouldn't die until he saw something with his own eyes. He just had to [[keep going.]]]

It took him another hour to get near the city at all, and he ended up being stuck in a traffic jam. He was trying not to let it get to him, but given the circumstances, it was a little bit hard to keep it cool. Trying to calm down and pass the time, he decided to get a look at the scenery for what felt like the first time in the whole trip. It was... so-so. The real attractions were hard to see between the big cars on the road, so all he could really see were buildings closer to the outskirts. Nothing to really write home about in that regard. Donnie could see the tops of some residential buildings, a few of which seemed to have people on top of them. It was hard to make out who was what from this distance, but the occasional twin peaks of a silhouette made it clear that some of them were those 'spirit' guys that had started popping up here and there. So they //could// live with humans... Donnie made a mental note that he owed Ardman three dollars. Scanning the horizon, though, Dots noticed something a bit... [[unfamiliar.]]

His eye locked on to the city ahead of him. It seemed like the whole thing was... covered in trees taller than buildings? What? He rolled down his window and leaned out to et a better look, and realized he had been wrong; it was all one //giant// tree, not a bunch of them. It seemed like a weeping willow, covered in massive green vines that were drooping from the limbs. It seemed impossible, and yet, as Donnie pinched himself on the arm to try and wake himself up, there it stood. That wasn't all, either. On the fringes of the city stood an old, abandoned temple that had been there since long before the city had been founded. Nobody living in the city could remember why it was there, or what deity it had been built for; any inscriptions left behind had been worn down by the flow of time, and become completely illegible. For as long as Donnie could remember, whenever he would come up to visit Lily, the temple would still be standing there. Stalwart, uninhabited, even a bit foreboding. He was almost sure the dead, overrun garden behind it was to blame. Who likes being somewhere with a garden gone bad? Now, though, things looked different there. It had been so long since he had last visited, it took him a moment to place why. The garden wasn't as lifeless as it had always been before. In fact... it actually looked like people had started to care for it again; if he squinted, Donnie could just see what appeared to be someone wearing a hood tending to the plants. A touching sight to be sure, but he was confused about why the city had seemingly started caring about it now, of all times. Putting the truck in park, he flipped open his glove box and pulled out a [[near-field radio.]]

It took Donnie a bit to set the aging device up, due in no small part to the lack of available space in the vehicle. Why did he feel the need to bring his guitar with him, anyway? It wasn't like he was going to meet a fan and get a chance to //use// the bastard. Nevertheless, he set the radio up on the dash, extended the power cord and hooked it up. It crackled to life, and he took a moment to tune the device to the first frequency he found activity on, then waited for a chance to ask the other drivers on the road who carried one what was up. Even then, it took him some time to wonder what to ask about first. The tree certainly came to mind, but somewhere in the back of Donnie's mind, he remembered seeing it in some news reports a few weeks ago. That temple, though... he hadn't heard anyone was going in or out again. May as well start there, then lead into the tree after if he got the chance. He grabbed the microphone, held the button, and asked his first question. (color:cyan)[Ahoy, any sailors on this stagnant sea think they could tell an off-shore salty dog the deal with that there temple? I've been around these waters a few times before, but this be the first time I recall seein' any movement in those waves.] Sure enough, [[someone answered.]]

(color:#f3d9fa)[Excuse me, sir, but... would you happen to be Donnie Dots?] The voice sounded feminine, and fairly young, probably not even old enough to drive one of these cars. Maybe someone brought their kid along for a ride, and they just happened to have a talk radio in the car. Regardless, Donnie answered in turn. (color:cyan)[Aye, that be me. Who be wonderin', if I may ask?] Faintly, Dots heard someone outside squeal. He flinched, striking the truck's horn in the process, and earning the ire of some of the other drivers as a result. The voice came through again a moment after, sounding rather excited. (color:#f3d9fa)[(text-style:"subscript")[ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh--]can I have your autograph? Where are you right now?] (color:cyan)[Er... I be in the, ah. Old pickup truck stuck in traffic.] He almost didn't want to say, since he hadn't expected to run into someone that knew him out here. Thankfully, that didn't seem to deter the person on the other side of the line. (color:#f3d9fa)[Okay, hang on, we'll get you here in a jiffy! And hold on tight!] [[What the heck did that mean?]]

(color:grey)[And who's askin', some wannabe pirate?] Oh, joy. Suddenly Donnie remembered why he stopped using this thing in the first place. Sighing, he responded. (color:cyan)[Yer charmin', aren't ya. I won't be changin' the way I speak for ye, sir, so I'd ask ye t' stop there an' keep the line open for someone more helpful.] (color:grey)[And a sharp tongue to match, eh? Alright, sure, I'll play along, but you ain't gettin' any roleplay outta me. What was it you wanna know about the temple, then?] (color:cyan)[Well, yer at least agreeable enough. That there temple's been dead water every time I've come 'round these parts for years, an' now all of a sudden it's lookin' more lively than a shanty after too much ale. Why'zat?] (color:grey)[Well, //O captain,// let's just say that place is, ah, under new management, to put it simply. New tenants, or crew, or however you wanna say it. Whatever's left'a the old guard didn't put up a fuss when these guys moved in, so the mayor just let 'em get away with it. Guess one of whoever's in there now that's not the big guy has a green thumb, or somethin'.] (color:cyan)[Hm.] Not the answer he had been expecting, but a fair enough one, anyway. He was about to pivot and ask about the tree, but another voice came through the radio before he got the chance. All said, though, it wasn't [[someone he was expecting.]]

The line went quiet for just long enough to let Donnie question what the girl had said. Who exactly was "we," and how exactly did they plan on getting him out of this traffic jam? Before he got to wonder for long, though, the voice that had been answering his questions chimed in again. (color:grey)[Hey. Donnie, was it?] (color:cyan)[Aye...?] (color:grey)[Best keep your belt buckled. You're in for a ride.] (color:cyan)[What in the world is that s'posed-?] Before he could finish his question, Donnie felt his truck [[lift off the ground.]]

With the radio line still briefly open before he lost his grip on the button, Dots yelped. He quickly leaned back in his seat and gripped his steering wheel with force, now fearing for his life while his truck raised further into the air. From somewhere below, he heard the same voice from the radio call to him. (color:grey)[//And don't look down!//] Right, like //that// was his main concern! Donnie pulled his seat's visor down to look around without moving too much, flipped the mirror cover up, and angled the mirror around a bit to see something long, green, and leafy had formed a makeshift platform underneath his truck. While he was still processing this, a massive creature seemed to grow from the ground below, and the vines wrapped themselves firmly around the truck. It slowly moved to the eye of the beast, who proceeded to state in a deep voice: (color:#e03131)[Oh yeah, it's him, all right. One sec cuz, let me get the carpet.] It took Dots a moment to realize something through the panic of being picked up like that. [[That was //Lily's// voice.->That was Lily's voice.]]

The vines slowly unwrapped the truck while the thing with Lily's voice stepped to the side with a thud, and Donnie tried in vain to process what had just happened. More vines seemed to be growing from the ground nearby, extending down to the temple and beginning to bloom large red flowers along with the leaves. Eventually, the leaves on the mysterious objects--something in the back of Donnie's mind said they must be vines--began to form a sort of path that spiralled down to a narrow road leading to the temple. (color:#e03131)[Drive slow, now. I //can// catch you, but it would probably hurt, and I wouldn't want the truck getting banged up, either.] Not even having the mental energy to ask what was going on right now, Dots could do little else but comply; he shifted the truck out of park, then slowly drove down the leaf-road. He was shaking from the nerves of what had just happened, still attempting to figure out what the hell just happened. Was this thing controlling the vines? What the hell even //was// it? And why did it have Lily's voice? [[...was //IT// Lily?->...was IT Lily?]]

Reaching the bottom of the vines. Dots put the vehicle back into park and let go of the steering wheel. He angled the mirror back to look at the thing that had talked to him, only being able to see a single digit on its paw before the ground rumbled, throwing him off-kilter once again. Forgetting the mirror, he opened the door to look back and see what was going on, only to see the thing shrinking, its body apparently vibrating hard enough at such a size to singlehandedly cause the sudden earthquake. The shaking stopped after a short time, but the shrinking continued until it was around the size of a person. (color:#e03131)[So, didja enjoy the trip down?] It was still talking in Lily's voice, even more recognizably now that it wasn't coming out of something taller than most buildings Donnie had been in. Shakily, he attempted to exit the truck, looking at the strange being. (color:cyan)[Wh... What be the meaning o' this?!] (color:#e03131)[Ahaha...] The thing scratched the back of its head. In form, it almost looked like another spirit, but different. Green, red and cream-white fur covering a bulky creature. (color:#e03131)[I guess I //do// have to explain some stuff, don't I?] (color:cyan)[Yer darn right, ya do! I drive for a day to get here, an'-] (color:#f3d9fa)[HE'S HERE!!!] Before Donnie could so much as turn to look, he was set upon by a clearly-fervent fangirl with pure white hair, asking questions at a million miles per hour. The not-spirit chuckled at the sight. (color:#e03131)[Easy there Suzi, poor guy just got here. and I'm sure he'd like to sit down for a while.] Dots could only nod. His mind had shut off, and he needed a minute. [[Or several.]]

The white-haired girl, apparently named Suzi, led him inside after that. The hooded figure he had seen before was just setting out two cinnamon rolls on a table in the garden, one of the two easily four times the size of the other. The smell of the warm cinnamon and sweet frosting filled the area, and the figure looked up at Dots. (color:#b197fc)[Dreadfully sorry for the scare on the entrance. Miss Crevalia has a bit of a flare for the extravagant when someone visits from other cities.] Donnie let out a chuckle at that. (color:cyan)[I'd say... So that's //Lily// Crevalia, then?] The hooded figure nodded, adjusting their large glasses. A large bell collar around their neck jingled a bit. (color:#b197fc)[The two of you must be acquainted, then?] (color:#e03131)[Acquainted?] Donnie jumped a bit; he hadn't realized someone was behind him. (color:#e03131)[This joker's my cousin, for cryin' out loud!] (text-style:"subscript")[(color:cyan)[Fer the love o'...]](color:cyan)[ scared the wind out o' me sails, there.] (color:#e03131)[Heh, sorry. Here, come sit down.] The thing--Lily, it would seem--made her way to the garden table, and a large flower bud seemed to grow from the ground of its own volition as she approached, situated directly at the spot on the table holding the enormous cinnamon roll. She sat down on it, shaking a couple large petals loose onto the ground, while an identical bud grew on the opposite side of the table by the smaller pastry. Lily gestured to that bud, and Dots somewhat apprehensively went to go sit on it. He gingerly lowered himself onto the flower, half-convinced it would give way and he would "fall" back into his bed, but it held his weight. (color:#e03131)[Man, if I'd known you were coming out, I would've asked Lumira to get you an express ticket!] The hooded figure--Lumira--shuffled a bit. (color:#b197fc)[I doubt I would have been able to, mistress. I do not know where he lives.] Hang on... if Lily "had known" Donnie was coming? [[Didn't he text her yesterday?]]

(color:cyan)[I, er, texted ye about it yesterday...] Lily's expression changed to one of somewhat regret, wincing a bit. (color:#e03131)[Ah, shit... I haven't had my phone for at least a month.] (color:cyan)[Eh? Why not?] (color:#e03131)[That's a little bit of a long story...] (color:cyan)[Well, ye got me here already. Ain't like I'm settin' sail again any time soon.] A slight chuckle. (color:#e03131)[I guess you've got a point there, huh? Alright, let me know if you ever need a comfier seat while I tell you, then.] (color:cyan)[Aye aye.] And so the two of them sat, intermittently taking bites of their food while Lily recounted everything that had gone down over [[the last month or so.]]

Apparently, around a month and a half after the moon turned green and spirits started showing up all over the place, Lily and a handful of other people heard something in their minds out of nowhere: "Madden." None of them knew what to make of it at the time, but that same day, the news reported that someone on the other side of the country had apparently turned into a massive, TV-headed monster for no apparent reason. Then, around a week later, another report came in of something similar happening to someone a couple cities over from that one, of someone turning into a massive, neon-colored cat thing. Then another week after that, a gigantic living robot that had supposedly been confiscated by the government was seen making a run for it and fighting off troops the whole way down... and again, another week later and now just a few cities away from Lily, a haunted computer was discovered in someone's apartment, and what was supposedly the owner's ghost in the form of a polygonal rabbit popped out to greet the reporters on the scene. Lily had noticed the pattern after the second report, and the media picked up on it after three or four; in every instance, the subject of the report had heard the "Madden" at the same time she had. When the coincidence became a pattern, then that turned into a trend, she knew in the back of her mind that she would be the next person something happened to, so she went to a local fortune-teller to try and find out when it would happen. What she was told was short and simple; it would happen while she was outside, she would expect it when it started, and there would be an undeniable sign [[moments before it happened.]]

The day she got her reading ended up being the day it happened. Lily left the fortune-teller's hut, a large tent set up outside an apartment building, and noticed an odd scent on the air. It smelled like the flowers were extra fragrant for some reason, and Lily couldn't help but follow their scent, leading her to the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city. The garden, of course, had long since dried up and withered away. The only living things left were in the pond of still water, where a smattering of lilypads had seemingly taken root and were thriving. One of them near the rim of the pong had even bloomed a water lily, which seemed to be where the strangely strong aroma was coming from. Idly, Lily realized this was probably her final warning, but decided to just roll with things as they came as she leaned down to smell it. Indeed, that water lily had been the source of the scent, and being this close to it put Lily in an almost-intoxicated haze. Her vision blurred to a mass of color, and she started to feel a tingling sensation all across her body. She could vaguely tell that //something// was happening to her, but she was in no state to figure out what it was. She staggered, losing her footing as if her very legs were trying to make her fall down. A loud thump rang out, but Lily was none the wiser on what could have caused it. She could no longer stay on her feet, falling to her knees. She felt several dozen sharp somethings cutting into the backs of her thighs, and something warm and wet started running down her legs through what felt like fur. This, combined with the overwhelming sensation of whatever was happening to her, was simply too much. She fell the rest of the way down, seeing a small gray smudge of color now at eye level, and [[passed out.]]

When she came back to her senses, Lily was halfway convinced she was dreaming, due in no small part to how small the temple was. The first thing she saw was the same temple she had been enticed to by the now-absent scent of water lily, only now, it was considerably less large and imposing, seeing as she could see the whole thing without needing to move. Slowly, she attempted to stand up, only to quickly find that her entire body felt alien to her, and that her legs were apparently bleeding. Looking down at herself, she saw an odd golden fluid leaking from her thighs, as well as thorns along her calves that were covered in the same liquid. Her digitigrade paws had been all but covered in the stuff while she was unconscious. Turning her body to sit upright, she looked around and saw people--tiny, almost insect-sized people--crowded around where she had been laying. Some of them were holding cameras, others simply there to see what was going on. Lily could hear helicopters overhead, and looking up to see them, she determined that she must now be the latest of the "Madden Incidents". She could hear someone talking to her in her mind. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Do not make any sudden moves. There are currently five hundred and seventy-eight people around you. There is no way for you to leave where you are at this time, but the crowd should hopefully filter out soon.] It was a voice she didn't recognize, but she took a guess anyway. //(color:#e03131)[Would you happen to be that "Madden" guy, then?]// After a moment, the voice replied. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[You catch on quickly. I assume you've been watching the news this past month, then.] //(color:#e03131)[And I'm guessing I'm on it right now, at that.]// (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Yes, you are. I'm looking at the live feed now. The reporter is saying one of the helicopters is about to fly down for a close-up shot.] [[Oh, boy...]]

One of the helicopters did, in fact, descend for a close-up shot. Lily had to fight her instincts not to swat it away like a bug. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Say something to reassure them.] Reassure them? Lily felt like //she// needed reassuring right now, not whatever bugs were in this helicopter. Despite this, she tried her best. (color:#e03131)[Hey.] "Hey?" Come on, she could do better. (color:#e03131)[Uhh... bit of a weird afternoon, huh?] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[I'll say...] (color:#e03131)[//Hush, I need to focus!//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Oop, sorry.] Lily cleared her throat a bit. (color:#e03131)[I've, uh, been watching the news lately, and I kinda figured this would happen to me sooner or later. I did hear the "Madden" when the first thing happened a while back, so, uh... if anyone out there heard it too, and you're still normal, check back in a week, I suppose. It's comin' up soon.] She was blowing it. She was sure of it. She needed space, and she needed it now. (color:#e03131)[I promise I'll talk more later but I, uh, want to be able to try and figure out the new me with a few less eyes on me, if you guys don't mind?] It took the crowd a few moments to realize Lily was talking to them, but once the message had landed, they began to filter out slowly. A few hours later, Lily was mostly alone, save for the helicopters still flying overhead. Apparently 24/7 news coverage on the latest developments meant she wouldn't be left alone for a long time still. Ultimately, she had expected this, but it was still [[annoying.]]

(color:#e03131)[...and that's the long and short of it.] Dots snapped out of the trance he didn't realize he had fallen into. How long had that story gone on for? (color:cyan)[Good grief...] (color:#e03131)[Tell me about it.] Lily shoved the remainder of her food into her mouth, easily dwarfing even what Donnie's meal had started off as, and swallowed it whole. She then continued talking, as if she hadn't just done that. (color:#e03131)[Half of that first day, I was still convinced I was dreaming it. Almost seems silly now, though.] (color:cyan)[...pardon me bluntness, but what does all'at have t' do with losin' yer phone?] (color:#e03131)[Right, //that// was what this was supposed to be about, wasn't it?] (color:cyan)[Yer absolutely hopeless, y'know that?] Lily laughed. (color:#e03131)[Yeah, fair enough. The phone got broken while I was transforming. Poor thing got stepped on and didn't stand a chance. I keep forgetting to pick up a new one, since... well.] (color:cyan)[Ahh. That'd do ye, all right.] Somehow, learning the phone was just broken after a buildup like that was almost comical. (color:cyan)[So, yer doin' okay, then?] (color:#e03131)[Yep! Sorry that I worried you, haha. Here, you wanna stay the night?] (color:cyan)[Eh?] Dots looked up at the sky to see the sun beginning to dip lower in the sky. It was plenty bright out still, but at the pace things were going, he would have to drive in the dark or break up the trip, and the thought of that with his eye... pass. (color:cyan)[Ah, bloody hell... I hadn't made it that far yet.] (color:#e03131)[That's a yes, then. Lumira?] Lumira's hooded figure popped out of the doorway, meanwhile Lily turned her eyes to look at Dots. (color:#e03131)[Donnie's going to be staying here for the night, and I won't hear a word out of him otherwise. Could you prep a room?] Lumira nodded. (color:#b197fc)[Yes, mistress.] And without another word, she was off, presumably to get a bedroom ready. (color:cyan)[Thanks, Lily.] (color:#e03131)[Aw, don't mention it. I'm not gonna let you drive home in the dark. So, who's watching the O.M.?] (color:cyan)[I asked Emmi to keep an' eye while I was out. I suppose I'd best let her know I'll be gone a bit longer than I thought...] (color:#e03131)[Ooh, tell her I said hi!] (color:cyan)[Aye.] It only now occurred to Donnie he had forgotten to let Emmi know he'd even gotten there in the first place.(if:(history: where its name contains "annoying.")'s length >= 1)[ Then it occurred to him that there [[may be a bit more to this story,->movingday]] and wondered if he should ask.] (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]

(set:$cryingfox to 1)<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/1.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/2.png" width="800"> Long ago, in a land whose name has been forgotten by time, a fox found a man that she loved, and visited him often while he journeyed out to the valley near his village.(click-goto:?page,"cf2")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/3.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/4.png" width="800"> She learned to speak from listening to the villagers, solely to tell the man that she loved him.(click-goto:?page,"cf3")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/5.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/6.png" width="800"> She was turned down due to not having a name, so the man agreed to give her one. The fox was then turned down again due to being a fox, so she went away for a very long time to find a way to become human, but promised the man that she would return.(click-goto:?page,"cf4")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/7.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/8.png" width="800"> True to her word, she returned many months later to find not her lover, but a person waiting in a black cloak, who lead her to his grave.(click-goto:?page,"cf5")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/9.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/10.png" width="800"> When she asked what happened, they told her that he was killed by someone who was suspected to be under the effects of alcohol, and the drunk believed the man to be dealing with devils in the night. She found the killer and ate them alive, their short-lived screams echoing through the starry night sky.(click-goto:?page,"cf6")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/11.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/12.png" width="800"> She retreated to a nearby mountain, fearing the repercussions of the villagers, and she cried. Her tears, fueled by all her grief and rage, become so large and numerous that they flooded the village in the valley.(click-goto:?page,"cf7")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/13.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/blank%20page.png" width="800"> Seeing this, a deity of life arrived to the mountain's peak, and consoled the fox-woman for her loss until she stopped crying. She was then offered a deal by the deity: if the fox-woman would sacrifice herself to dry the flood and return the village to the state it was in before she ran away, the deity would revive her lover and tell him what had transpired. In addition, she may be reborn later if she desires, for as long as her soul remains in this world, and should she choose to do so, she may have a chance of reuniting with her lover. (click-goto:?page,"cf8")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/blank%20page.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/14.png" width="800"> The fox-woman agreed, and when the villagers scaled the mountain the following morning upon finding the gnarled remains of the killer and a set of tracks leading away from it,(click-goto:?page,"cf9")

<img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/15.png" width="800"> <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/cryingfox/16.png" width="800"> they found nothing but the reanimated body of a dead man, laying asleep with tears streaming from his eyes, by a grave marked only by a lone patch of red flowers. (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]

(set:$movingday to 1)Dots considered this possibility for a bit. That //did// end a bit abruptly, and he had to admit, now he was curious. Contemplating for a bit, he came to a decision. (color:cyan)[...oy.] (color:#e03131)[Hm?] Lily seemed a bit surprised. (color:cyan)[Would ye mind if I made that text a call instead? Ye piqued me interest a bit, an' I figure it may be a good idea t' let the lass hear yer voice, anyhow. Eases the nerves better than words on a screen, aye?] Lily considered this. (color:#e03131)[You make a good point... alright, sure, but only if you tell me what's on your mind after we're done.] Chuckle. (color:cyan)[O' course.] Donnie went to key in Emmi's number on his [[phone.]]

Quickly turning on the speaker, the phone started ringing. (after:2s)[//Ring//](after:2500)[//-// (color:yellow)[^^Hey.^^]] (after:4s)[(color:cyan)[That was fast. Were ye watchin'?]] (after:6s)[(color:yellow)[^^"Was I watching." It's been an extra half a day. Where was your text?^^ ] Ripping that bandage off right away, huh...](after:8s)[ (color:cyan)[I-]] (after:9s)[Lily jumped in before Dots could finish. (color:#e03131)[He was listening to me talking his ear into an earmuff to match the eye, no biggie.]] (after:11s)[(color:yellow)[^^Oh, Lily! How ya doin', girl?^^]] (after:13s)[Talk about a tone shift. (color:#e03131)[Been pretty good. I'll give you the short version; phone broke a month ago, and I haven't been able to pick a new one up yet. I'll have to mooch off Donnie's contacts list and hope I remember any gaps that crop up, too.]] (after:16s)[(color:yellow)[^^Oh, geez. The SIM got busted too?^^]] (after:18s)[(color:#e03131)[Yeah, whole thing got pulped.]] (after:20s)[(color:yellow)[^^Yikes... well, it's good to know you're still around, at any rate. What's with the phone call, though?^^]] (after:22s)[(color:#e03131)[Don figured it would be better than just a text, and I wanted to let you know he's staying a little later than he thought, anyways. We talked a while, and the sun's gonna go down before he gets back.]] (after:24s)[Dots interjects. (color:cyan)[I don't wanna be out too long with me eye, an' Lily offered t' let me stay over a night already, anyhow. Would ye be able t' hold down the fort another night?]] (after:26s)[Silence for a moment. Then: (color:yellow)[^^I suppose I can manage, sure. You're really stretching your luck here, though.^^]] (after:28s)[(color:cyan)[Acknowledged. I swear on me leg I'll be gettin' back by tomorrow.]] (after:30s)[(color:yellow)[^^If you don't, I'll make sure that leg of yours is a wooden peg by the weekend. Got it?^^]] (after:32s)[(color:cyan)[Aye aye. I'll be seein' ya.]] (after:34s)[(color:yellow)[^^You'd better!^^]](after:35s)[ Beep. Emmi hung up before Dots could even [[get a chance.]]]

(color:#e03131)[The hell'd you do, break her vase?] Lily looked at Donnie quizzically. He chuckled awkwardly. (color:cyan)[I'd told her I would text when I got here. Didn't expect t' get sidetracked as much as I did.] Lily nodded. (color:#e03131)[Ahhh. My bad, then. I'll have to send something her way to make up for it.] (color:cyan)[Aye...] Donnie sighed a bit. (color:#e03131)[Well, at least it was a quick call. You look like you're ready to faint.] (color:cyan)[Eh?] (color:#e03131)[Look at your hand, man.] Looking down, Donnie realized he had apparently been clenching his fist for the second half of the call. His knuckles had gone white. (color:cyan)[Oh.] He forced himself to relax his grip. (color:#e03131)[Here, let's get you inside. The garden's nice and all, but not the best place to rest.] Lily stood up, and the flower bud she had been sitting on retracted back into the ground, before seeming to re-emerge further in the garden. She motioned for Donnie to follow, so he stood up as well, and his budseat did the same as Lily's. The two of them proceeded [[into the temple.]]

The interior of the temple was much the same as the outside, visually. Plants and flowers covered almost every available surface, thoroughly covering time-worn marble walls and faded paint that no longer showed anything distinguishable. In a few places, the flowers had been purposefully arranged to show formations of colors that, while abstract, were beautiful regardless. The doorways of the temple seemed to be strung with more willow, evoking the appearance of a bead curtain without a need to actually string beads or hang them up. These, too, were dotted with bright flowers to give some visual distinction. Donnie couldn't help but wonder what this place must have looked like before. He had to guess it was all dried up and dying, if it had even been there at all. While he walked, absorbed in the sights, Lily asked a question. (color:#e03131)[So, what was it you wanted?] He had almost forgotten he had said anything to begin with, so it took him a moment to recollect his thoughts. (color:cyan)[Er, right. 'Twas about the tale ya spun me earlier...] (color:#e03131)[What about it?] (color:cyan)[Ye sounded like ye cut yerself off a bit short back there. Was there more t' that story?] A pause. (color:#e03131)[You sure about this, Donnie? You're about to turn me into an unskippable cutscene.] (color:cyan)[Like I be on a timer?] (color:#e03131)[...fair enough. Just know, you will regret letting me talk about this any more. Let's go track your room down first, though.] Lily swiftly turned into a corridor, [[with Dots in tow.]]

Pushing aside a heavier plant curtain--he figured this must have been made of full vines instead of willow limbs--he found himself in a long hallway connected to several rooms, with actual doors for a change. It seemed like there were five doors on either side of the hall, with a pair of large double doors at the end that must easily have stretched twenty feet above Donnie's head. Most of the doors were open, but three were closed off; the first on the left, the last on the right, and the double doors at the end were all shut tight. Donnie assumed the doubles led to Lily's room, and that the other two led to the rooms of the other two he had met. Lumira was waiting in one of the open doorways, watching the two approach. Seeing them draw closer, she perked up and took a step further into the room she was standing in the doorway of. (color:#b197fc)[This way please, if you have a moment.] Dots looked to Lily for guidance, then went into the room upon her gesture towards the doorway. It seemed like a standard guest bedroom inside; bed, dresser, bedside lamp, a few chairs, the works. The only real outlier among the furnishings was the absolutely //gargantuan// bed. It was bigger than half the kitchen tables Donnie had seen, let alone any standard beds. There were pillows the size of TVs, along with ones sized for people of less lofty stature, and the whole mattress must have covered a whole room in most other houses. He swore there was even a ladder tucked away under the bed, and it seemed like he wouldn't even need to crouch down to go under and reach it. Lumira watched Donnie taking in the room, only cutting in after she was sure he had seen the whole thing. (color:#b197fc)[What colors would you like it to be?] (color:cyan)[You can change the colors in a room this big?] The hooded woman laughed a bit. (color:#b197fc)[What kind of hosts would we be if we couldn't?] He considered retorting that they would be //sane// hosts for a moment, but decided against it. May as well [[just play along.]]

Thinking on the prompt for a moment, Dots decided not to question how Lumira was planning on even accomplishing such a monumental feat and gave a simple answer. (color:cyan)[Blue, with gold an' aqua highlight if ye think ye could manage it.] (color:#b197fc)[Right away.] The woman turned to face the whole room, clasping her hands together and bowing her head. Before Donnie could question what was going on, the room began to glow brightly, causing him to have to squint. All around, he could see things beginning to subtly shift in hue; the bedsheets turned a brilliant deep blue, the pillows turning aqua green to match. The floor became a vibrant goldenrod yellow, and the furniture changed to the same blue that the bed had turned moments ago. Even the walls started to change, quickly beginning to resemble a deep blue sea with aqua plant life and goldfish dotting the walls. Eventually, the light faded, and Donnie got to look at the whole scene in amazement. (color:cyan)[How in the world...?] Lumira simply laughed. (color:#b197fc)[I hope you didn't think mistress Lily was the only one here who could put on a show.] Behind the two, Lily chuckled. (color:#b197fc)[She has taken care to ensure all of us at the temple can match the standard she sets in our own ways. We would be remiss to not live up to her expectations.] (color:#e03131)[Ah, don't sweat it that much, Lulu. Come on, you should try the bed. It's not all just for looks, y'know!] The monstrous girl leaped under the bed, leaning the ladder up against its side and swinging up it in mere seconds. Donnie took a moment to let her reach the top, then climbed the ladder slowly, taking care to keep his eyes on the ceiling and not the floor. (color:cyan)[This all be so surreal... first a rollercoaster, now a lightshow that turns the room into a seafloor jamboree?] (color:#e03131)[Welcome to Katunijai Temple! We //clown// in this motherfucker.] [[Clearly.]]

(color:#e03131)[So!] Lily clapped her hands onto the mattress as Donnie's head peeked over the side. (color:#e03131)[Last chance to back out before I talk for another three hours. You sure you want the full story?] (color:cyan)[As sure as I am terrified o' fallin'. Give this ol' sea dog a chance to hit solid land first, aye?] The blue-haired buccaneer plopped onto the mattress, shakily crawling on and getting his footing before walking over to Lily. (color:cyan)[Swear, a bed this size could serve a whole crew...] (color:#e03131)[Heh, probably, yeah.] Lily laid flat on her stomach, propping her head up with her hands. (color:#e03131)[One hell of a sleepover that'd be, eh?] (color:cyan)[Aye, I'll give ye that much.] Finally reaching where Lily was, Dots plopped down with a sigh of relief. (color:cyan)[Right. Now, where were ye before?] (color:#e03131)[Okay so you're serious about this, cool. Just remember, I gave you an out.] And with that, Lily took a breath, and resumed her story [[where she had left off.]]

Lily surveyed the area, doing her best to ignore the sound of the helicopters overhead. Gingerly, she tried standing up, finding that her new legs still functioned, but couldn't hold her weight for very long with the state they were in currently. By now the bleeding had at least stopped, but they were still sore, so instead of trying to push her luck, she decided it would be best to support herself with her arms as well. Surprisingly, this felt almost natural, like this body was simply designed to do that instead of just using the legs alone. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?] Lily flinched. She had forgotten someone was listening in with her. (color:#e03131)[//Elaborate?//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Your transformation. I have been taking notes, hoping to find some common stimulus in case this goes farther than we know now.] (color:#e03131)[//Mm.//] That was a loaded question. Where to start, even? (color:#e03131)[//Well, for starters, I got my fortune told earlier by a lady in a hood today that sounded an awful lot like 'hey, this thing is probably gonna happen soonish by the way,' but I don't know if it's actually related at all. I want to say her name was Luuu... Luna? Lunis? Something along those lines?//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Did you not check?] (color:#e03131)[//No, I did, it's just that the next part, er... kept me a bit occupied, we'll say.//] [[Understatement of the century right there.]]

Lily briefly summed up what had happened to the voice of Madden, who sat in attention and listened patiently--presumably, anyway. She still couldn't exactly //see// Madden during all this, but she was imagining him curled up listening to the recounting of events with his legs curled beneath him. After she finished, it took Madden a few moments to respond. Then when he did answer, it was with palpable conviction. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[The temple you mentioned. Do you know if it has a name?] Huh? (color:#e03131)[//Er... no, no idea. Why?//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Where is it located?] (color:#e03131)[//It's, uh, just a little bit outside of the city...//] What was up with all the questions all of a sudden? (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[...I will report more on this later. You have company.] (color:#e03131)[//What do you mean, I have-?//] Before she could finish her thought, Lily faintly heard the sound of [[a car door closing.]]

(color:#e03131)[Huh?] The great beast looked down to see a taxi had driven out a good distance from the temple, and someone that seemed to be wearing a hood had gotten out. The taxi promptly drove away, leaving Lily to realize just how bad she was at seeing things that far down now. (color:#e03131)[Okay, whoever you are down there, I can't quite see you from up here, so I'm going to bend over. Please don't freak out, okay?] The small figure held out a hand--Lily hoped it was a thumbs-up, since it didn't seem panicked--and she slowly crouched down onto her knees, then flat on her stomach, squinting to see who had come to visit. Amber yellow glasses... dark cat-eared hood with a triangle pattern and striped mask... pink bell collar... hey, wait a second- (color:#e03131)[...weren't you the fortune-teller?] A chuckle from behind the mask all but confirmed Lily's suspicion, though the words that came from it next reaffirmed her suspicion. (color:#b197fc)[Indeed I am, though I have to admit, I wasn't expecting my prediction to come true quite so quickly. Typically, it takes a few days, at the least.] Lily had to stifle a laugh, as to not blow the little bug of a body away. (color:#e03131)[I guess I got express shipping, huh?] (color:#b197fc)[It would seem that way. I apologize for the sudden arrival, but you must understand my curiosity when I heard what was happening on the news. I took a moment to see who it was first, of course, but such an event happening so close to me... I simply //had// to see for myself.] (color:#e03131)[Fair enough.] At least Lily wouldn't get lonely out here. The fortune-teller started walking over to the temple, briefly pausing after a certain point, then taking another step forward. They seemed intrigued by this. (color:#b197fc)[Fascinating...] Lily, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. (color:#e03131)[What's up?] (color:#b197fc)[This is the closest the temple has ever let me get to it.] [[...huh?]]

(color:#e03131)[What do you mean, the closest //it's// let you get?] (color:#b197fc)[Ah, I suppose that does warrant some explanation, now.] They made their way back over to Lily. (color:#b197fc)[This temple is old. As a matter of fact, it is older than everyone in this city, present company included. In the past, it also served as a bountiful garden and a place of refuge for weary travelers. Those halls used to be flowing with visitors daily.] Hang on. (color:#e03131)[You know stuff about the temple?] The figure nodded. (color:#b197fc)[A great many things. In my time, it was called Katunijai Temple, after its founder and patron deity, Thalia Katunijai. We called her Lily, for short.] (color:#e03131)[What.] (color:#b197fc)[Quite the coincidence, is it not? Ah, but if only I could chalk it up to simply that in good faith. See, Thalia originally created this temple as a way to house the extra faith she was receiving from her followers. She was the most popular of everyone by a wide margin, due to her ability of altering the size of things being particularly useful in extending food supplies. However, it was simply too much, even with the temple, and it began to change her body into a species that our land hadn't seen for many years.] A lot of this was just going over Lily's head, which was impressive, considering how comically large it was. That last part, though... (color:#e03131)[That wouldn't happen to be like now, would it?] The figure applauded. (color:#b197fc)[Reasoning I haven't seen in almost as long. Yes, and it was the same species, in fact.] [[What the fuck.]]

The figure started to continue, but stopped themself. (color:#b197fc)[Ah, I believe I may have outpaced myself. So far into my tale, and I have yet to even tell you my name! Where //are// my manners?] They then stepped back, and the air grew colder. Lily lifted her head a bit, looking confusedly at the hooded figure, before they lowered their hood. From beneath it, a cascade of long crimson hair with pure white sides spilled across the purple robe, followed by a pair of shimmering aurora-gradient wings with black feathers sprouting from their back. A large purple mirror appeared behind the figure, flashing brightly for a moment while little stars and constellations appeared around the figure's head, floating freely and fading in and out of existence. Even their very body, from the purple robe to the torn denim jeans failing to fully cover their legs, seemed to be shining with an otherworldly aurora glow. When they spoke again, it was with a new air of authority. (color:#b197fc)[My name is Lumira, though the old legends would call me by a past name, Lunis. I am the goddess of the moon, and pleasured to formally make your acquaintance.] All Lily could do was stare, slack-jawed, for several moments. (color:#e03131)[You're the //what?//] Lumira smiled up at her, and the metamorphosis reversed itself as easily as it had happened the first time as she put her hood back up. (color:#b197fc)[Well, that is my //official// title anyway. As of late, I have found little need to flaunt my status, so I run fortune-telling on the side to give people an idea of what to expect for their futures. One hundred percent accuracy, though I must admit my magic is partly to blame there. Did you know you were my four hundred and twentieth customer?] Lily failed to stop herself from replying with (color:#e03131)[Nice.] on instanct, earning a hearty laugh from Lumira when her next reaction was to quickly [[cover her mouth.]]

After she stopped laughing, Lumira attempted to ease Lily's mind. (color:#b197fc)[Do not worry, I thought it was funny too.] (color:#e03131)[Oh, thank goodness...] (color:#b197fc)[Frankly, I feel I must apologize for rambling on like that without ever reaching my original point. To get right to it, the faith of Thalia's followers became so overwhelming that she seemed to transform into a butterfly, though her first action after was to land on my brow and show me the truth of what had happened. Her popularity had propelled her to a status beyond that of a simple deity, transforming her into a being so all-encompassing of her domain that she had gone to a higher plane, and that butterfly was her final link to our world. She told me her intention of rewriting this plane without her in it, as to not worry the mortals who had caused this, and that this temple was to remain as a reminder. I believe her final words before doing so were something along the lines of... (text-style:"blur","expand")[//"Only once someone new enters these halls will you be able to tell this story. They will forget me, but I will still be watching for that day."//] I must admit, I tried many a time, but something sealed my throat every time I made an attempt. This is the first time since that day I have been able to tell anyone, so I have to assume the time has come at last.] (color:#e03131)[...miss Lumira, do you have //any// idea how long it's going to take me to process all of that?] (color:#b197fc)[Would you like for me to consult my mirror, or-?] (color:#e03131)[Oh, don't bother, it was rhetorical.] [[Lumira laughed again.]]

Lily sighed a bit, then sat up. Laying in the dirt was fun and all, but she was starting to feel sore. (color:#e03131)[So... this temple is, by technicality, the only thing left of an old timeline, or something?] Lumira nodded. (color:#b197fc)[In a sense of things.] (color:#e03131)[And I was the first person, ever since that happened, to actually go //in// the temple.] (color:#b197fc)[Yes.] (color:#e03131)[...what does that mean, exactly?] (color:#b197fc)[For the moment, I am not sure. Although...] (color:#e03131)[Although...?] (color:#b197fc)[Forgive my bluntness, but perhaps someone else would know a bit more about that then I do.] Having a hunch that something was going to happen before she could finish any confused remark, Lily simply waited to see what that something was. Sure enough, a small speck of green entered her vision a moment later, fluttering into her peripherals as if waiting for a signal. (color:#b197fc)[Just as expected.] Lily could guess what that meant fairly easily. Focusing on the speck, it looked around the size of a butterfly, with a single shifting spot on every part of its body; wings, antennae, thorax... every section had a dark spot, and it didn't seem to want to stay put on any of them. It fluttered up to Lily's eyes, then came to rest on her nose. As soon as it landed, Lily felt as if she had been flung out of her body, reeling backwards with stars in her eyes. No... not just stars--it seemed like whole planets, solar systems, galaxies were flying past her vision in the blink of an eye, until she came face-to-face with what seemed like a massive set of seven eyes that looked [[just like the butterfly.]]

It took Lily what felt like months to find her voice in the face of this sight, and when she did, she felt rather small. (color:#e03131)[...uh.] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[There is nothing to be afraid of, Lily.] The voice was faint and in the back of her mind, but it carried power with it. Lily also noticed, quite disconcertingly, that it sounded just like her own voice, although with a different inflection to the words. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[You are safe with me.] (color:#e03131)[Are you... Thalia?] The voice chuckled. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[I was, once upon a time, but that was an old me. I have to confess, I hadn't thought of a new name for myself just yet, either... give me a moment.] The enormous eyes closed, and the area went dark. Lily idly realized they had been glowing because of this, and after a moment, they opened again. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Lilanthilia. That is my new name.] Lily attempted to regain any composure she could. (color:#e03131)[Nice to meet you then, Lilanthilia. If you don't mind me asking, uh, where... where are we?] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Somewhere far away from Earth, I can say that much. Your body remains there, but I've pulled your mind to me so we can talk. Butterflies can't speak, after all.] Right, like //that's// a real limitation someone as powerful as this needs to follow. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Although... I suspect we may still have an audience here.] (color:#e03131)[What?] A slight chuckle. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[It is nothing to be concerned over. Let me go ahead and jump to why I brought you here... you've happened onto my old home, yes?] Nod. (color:#e03131)[I'm, uh, sorry if you didn't want me there-] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Oh, far from it, dear! You and the others in your position have been the first mortals to interest me in some time, and you're the one who's been so close to it. After I saw what was happening to the likes of that Madden fellow, I knew you were coming up on it soon, and I //had// to see where it went. Who would have thought it would be kaiju!] So Lilanthilia knew about basically everything. Cool. Gotcha. Also [[WHAT the fuck was going on???]]

In spite of Lily,s confusion, the voice continued. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Normally, I would try not to interfere in stuff like this, but since you were at my temple when you changed, I feel like it's more of my business now, you know?] (color:#e03131)[Am I awake right now? Is this all some weird dream?] Lilanthilia sounded remorseful at that remark. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Things //have// been going pretty fast for you lately, haven't they? Sorry, I'll get to my point so you can go take a nap before dusk. I would only know you need one right now.] (color:#e03131)[I'll say...] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[When you get back there, Lumira is going to ask where you plan on sleeping, and I want you to tell her I said you would sleep there, at the temple. I'll nudge the mayor a bit to let you have it, and I'll see about ringing up some of the old guard to help get your stuff moved in from your old place. Maybe I'll see if I can't touch some of it up so you can use it as you are, too.] (color:#e03131)[How am I gonna fit inside, though?] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Oh, you wouldn't, ordinarily. If it wasn't for my next line, the only bed you would ever fit in again would be the world's largest bale of hay. That being said, I'm gonna give you a little gift when you get back, and you'll be able to shrink yourself back to your old height. It works like a switch, so those are gonna be your only two modes, it's either you're huge or you're not. Follow me so far?] (color:#e03131)[I think so.] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Cool. When you get down there again, after you wake up, there's going to be missiles en route to your location.] (color:#e03131)[You lost me.] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Expected. Kinda skipped a couple things on accident. [[Let me rewind a little bit.]]]

(color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[After you wake up, the mayor will be at the temple, and in the middle of asking you to sign a deed for the temple, they're going to get a notification on their phone. They're going to freak out and tell you what's going on, and Lumira's going to suggest you can protect the city from whatever it is. She won't know either, for the record. This is private intel you're getting. Once that's over with, the mayor's going to run off, and you'll have around thirty minutes to psych yourself up for it.] (color:#e03131)[And then missiles?] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[More or less, yeah. If I tell you anything else after that, it might throw off your instinct because you would have some notion of what "should" happen after that, and that wouldn't be any good. Just do whatever comes naturally, and you'll be just fine. Got it?] (color:#e03131)[I... honestly, I couldn't tell you, this is... this is a lot.] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Yeah, sorry about that. Deus ex machina takes a lot of exposition sometimes. I should probably let you get back soon, but before you go, do you have any questions?] //Any questions?// Lily could think about a half //thousand// if she tried, //do you have any questions?// Why her? Why now? How did Lilanthilia know all of this? How did they bring her here? Why do this instead of making a butterfly talk? What was going on with her body right now? Calming the torrent of thoughts, Lily tried to settle on one question to ask. Eventually, she settled on one that she thought was good enough, but hoped it wouldn't sound too sappy. (color:#e03131)[Will I see you again?] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Oh, absolutely, just ring me up! Think the name and that you wanna chat, and I'll pull you up again. Sound good?] (color:#e03131)[Yeah, that works.] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Awesome. Oh, tell Lumira I said hi when you get there, alright?] Hesitating a bit, somewhat taken aback by just how casual this whole conversation had ended up being (aside from the whole missile warning part), Lily nodded, before quickly feeling herself fall in reverse, seeing the star field fly past again and snapping back to [[her body.]]

When she came to, Lily saw Lumira in the same pose as she had been in when Lilanthilia had yanked her into... space? She guessed?? Where else could that have been, really? Lumira looked up at Lily while the butterfly fluttered off. (color:#b197fc)[Ten seconds.] (color:#e03131)[I- what?] (color:#b197fc)[Ten seconds is all it took. Just so you know how long you were out, from our perspective.] It didn't take long to get back to the sci-fi stuff, huh. (color:#e03131)[You're familiar with all of that, then?] (color:#b197fc)[Tangentially. It was ten seconds when Thalia spoke to me like that, as well.] (color:#e03131)[Hm. Alright, cool, it's just a set time, then. Oh, their name is Lilanthilia now, by the way, and they say hi.] (color:#b197fc)[Really, now?] Lumira watched the butterfly flying away. (color:#b197fc)[Well, I am glad you are well, Lilanthilia. Was there anything else you wanted Lily to tell me?] (color:#e03131)[I don't think so, no. They did say they would give me something, though...?] (color:#b197fc)[Ah, that probably means you have it already. Whatever it is, see if you can find it.] (color:#e03131)[Hm.] Well, Lumira would know, of all people. Lily thought for a bit about what Lilanthilia had said, recalling them saying it would work kind of like a switch. Well... why not just try and [[flip it?]]

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, trying to flip that switch. She felt herself change while she did, and when she opened her eyes again, she was suddenly back at eye level with Lumira, who was watching curiously. (color:#b197fc)[Interesting...] (color:#e03131)[Wow, I, uh... didn't think that would work so quick.] (color:#b197fc)[Would you have rathered it be longer?] (color:#e03131)[Well-...] Hm. She had to think about that one. //Did// she? (color:#e03131)[...I'll get back to you on that one. Should, ah... should we go inside?] Lumira looked at the doorway to the temple, then back to Lily. (color:#b197fc)[I suppose I see no reason not to. After you?] That seemed fair enough. Lily walked over to the door, looking at the worn marble, then stepped through it. It felt mostly like walking through a normal doorway, but considering what had just happened, it felt... important, somehow. Lily, with Lumira in tow to explain what the rooms had been before, took some time to tour the premises. They looked through the main area, then the garden, then a few side halls, before finally coming to the living quarters. There were ten doors, five on each side of the hall and spaced quite far apart, along with a set of large double doors at the end of the hall that Lily's eyes were drawn to immediately. (color:#e03131)[Gonna take a guess here. That was Lilanthilia's room, wasn't it?] Behind her, Lumira nodded. (color:#b197fc)[Yes, that was the one. If the bed is in there, I have half a mind to think you could fit into it regardless of your size.] (color:#e03131)[Ominous! Let's go check it out.] Lily approached the doors and attempted to open them, finding it was almost frighteningly easy to push them aside. Behind the doors, the room's color was faded, but everything there was still intact; there were some large chairs with equally large side tables, an enormous oil lamp that must have taken hours to refill, and a frankly gargantuan bed with two house-sized pillows to match. Lily took this all in, then decided to go into the middle of the room and test her ability again. Sure enough, in a matter of seconds (that she decided she //would// like to be a bit longer, come to think of it), Lily was back up to her full height, and suddenly the room seemed actually usable. She approached the bed, tested the mattress, and decided to gingerly [[climb on.]]

The bed was heavenly. It was like some deity had come down and personally made the bed specifically to be as comfortable as possible for someone like Lily--which, a moment later, she realized must basically //have// been how it went, hadn't it? It took unimaginable willpower for her to not just fall asleep on the spot, but she still let out a pleased sigh. (color:#e03131)[Holy //fuck.//] (color:#b197fc)[^^The bed is to your liking, then?^^] Lumira sounded so far away, Lily couldn't help but laugh a bit. After a moment, Lily saw a flash from below in her peripheral, and leaning up a bit, she saw Lumira had put her wings out again and was flying up to meet Lily. Perching on the headboard, which may as well have been a whole road with how thick it was, Lumira hid her wings again and continued, more audible now. (color:#b197fc)[I will admit, things seem to have lost their color here since my last visit, but a reaction like that tells me the function is still there. Will you be staying here for the time being, then?] (color:#e03131)[I mean, why not? Lilanthilia seems fine with it, and either way, you couldn't get me out of this bed if you //tried.//] Lumira had to laugh at that. (color:#b197fc)[Fair enough. There //is// quite a lot of you to move now. I, ah... I do not know where the blanket is....] (color:#e03131)[Ah, don't worry about that.] Lily waved the concern off. (color:#e03131)[I'll just take a little nap, and I'll track down any other important stuff later. The other rooms, are they all ready to rock?] (color:#b197fc)[Hm.] Lumira put a hand to her chin. (color:#b197fc)[I would assume so, but I would have to check. Why do you ask?] (color:#e03131)[Do you need somewhere to stay for a bit?] This question seemed to catch Lumira off-guard. (color:#b197fc)[Well...] It seemed a bit like she was trying to think of some way to say 'no,' but was drawing a blank. Eventually, she relented. (color:#b197fc)[Yes, I suppose I do. Sleeping bags are less than they get billed as lately.] Lily chuckled a bit, then yawned. (color:#e03131)[If you need help setting up one of the rooms, give me a shout.] (color:#b197fc)[Alright.] Lumira jumped off the side of the headboard, which Lily almost didn't realize would probably kill someone from the height it was at for a human. She quickly looked over the side and saw Lumira gliding out the doors on her wings. [[Right, goddess.]]

Lily woke up some time later, only figuring out she had even drifted off because she was suddenly aware time had passed. Groggily, she raised her head to look out the window and found it was getting dark outside. In her sleep, she had apparently curled up like a cat and grabbed one of the pillows, bringing it under her head without waking up enough to realize it. Now that she was awake again, she put the pillow back up against the headboard with its twin, then hopped off of the bed and looked down at the double door. Though it had been left open, Lily didn't have to think very hard about whether she would fit through it or not; it would be close, but she would probably get stuck. She took a breath and shrank herself down, now having to look up to see the door frame. Only two modes are too big for it and too small for it, huh? Alright, sure. Lily decided to look around the temple a bit more to familiarize herself with it. The place was visibly run-down. There used to be bright paint on the walls, but it had long since faded, leaving little for Lily to tell what it used to be. There were dried-up vines here and there, and the garden was a sorry sight, but that could hopefully be fixed with time. Every now and then, a living flower could be seen popping out of a crack in the floor, spotting the faded gray with color. Looking briefly at the man outside, she couldn't help but wonder what the place had looked like before--wait wait, rewind, (link-reveal:"man outside?")[ Lily looked again, seeing someone awkwardly shuffling in place some distance away from the temple. She decided to poke her head out and call to them, trying to figure out why they were so far away. (color:#e03131)[Excuse me, but do you need an invitation to come in?] (color:grey)[Well, there's normally some kind of wall around here...] (color:#e03131)[Oh yeah, that. I'm pretty sure that's gone now, come on over!] The person hesitated, but tentatively took a step forward. Finding themself able to, they continued forward to meet Lily at the doorway. Based on them having worn a full suit somewhere this far out of the way, she figured this must be the mayor. (color:#e03131)[I didn't keep you waiting, did I?] (color:grey)[Oh, not at all, I've only been here for a few minutes. Apologies if this sounds insensitive, but what is your name? I don't believe you mentioned it before.] Lily took a moment to realize "before" must have meant the news broadcast from that morning. She cleared her throat a bit before answering. (color:#e03131)[My name is Lily Crevalia. Up until... well, I guess today, I was job-hunting from my apartment.] The mayor nodded. (color:grey)[I believe I've seen your name floating around. You have my sympathy for the hard times. Though, I must say, things have certainly changed for you today, haven't they?] (color:#e03131)[I guess so, yeah.] Lily scratched the back of her head. (color:#e03131)[It's been a weird day, heh heh...] A chuckle. (color:grey)[Indeed. Tell me, Lily, do you know the story of this temple?] Oh, //did// she. (color:#e03131)[I'm familiar with it, yes.] (color:grey)[Then I'm sure you understand how interesting it is that after you were able to walk in freely, the force keeping the rest of the citizens out has seemingly vanished.] Lily nodded. (color:grey)[I suppose I can cut to the chase, then. I've come to ask if you would be interested in owning the property.] (color:#e03131)[Oh?] She knew this would happen, of course. She just figured it would be good to make it seem like she didn't, for the sake of believability. (color:grey)[It seemed to make sense, seeing as you've been the first to go in, and all things considered--] Here, the mayor gestured vaguely up. (color:grey)[--I see this as the ideal route, as opposed to leaving you to simply take whatever building you saw fit.] Lily laughed a bit. (color:#e03131)[Believe it or not, I didn't even think about that yet.] The mayor laughed in return. (color:grey)[I would hope you wouldn't get any ideas, then!] (color:#e03131)[Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, don't worry.] A thought came to mind, and Lily tried for a joke. (color:#e03131)[Hey, maybe I could be the city's official guardian instead, eh?] The mayor chuckled, giving a non-answer. (color:grey)[I'll have to see if there's a spot open. At any rate, it lined up in my mind, so--] [[Ring.]]]

The mayor stopped, being cut off by their phone ringing. They furrowed their brow when they saw the screen. (color:grey)[Oh, of all times... terribly sorry, this is important. Excuse me.] Lily only nodded while the mayor took the call, stepping a bit further away. (color:#b197fc)[Busy day, huh?] Lily jumped a bit. She had been so focused on the meeting with the mayor, she hadn't heard Lumira coming up behind her. The hooded lady snickered a bit, though she made a note to not talk so loudly. (color:#b197fc)[Sorry, I thought you heard me coming out.] (color:#e03131)[Nope, not at all. What's up?] (color:#b197fc)[I saw you talking with someone, and I wanted to see what was going on. So...] (color:#e03131)[It's the mayor, and apparently, they're gonna give me the temple.] (color:#b197fc)[Oh!] It was hard to tell through the mask, but Lumira seemed happy about this information. Before Lily could say more though, the mayor loudly exclaimed. (color:grey)[Thirty minutes?!] Like clockwork. (color:grey)[Why in the world would a call like that be made with such short notice?!] Lumira looked at Lily, who shrugged, trying not to give away the fact that she had no idea what to do. She then took a step in front of Lily and watched the mayor closely. (color:grey)[This is absurd, there are //lives// involved in that sort of decision, here! What if-? ...hello? Hello?!] The mayor desperately looked at the phone, clutching it in a death grip. Lumira, looking concerned, called over. (color:#b197fc)[If I may be so bold, what exactly is going on?] All the mayor did for a time was look at Lumira, then Lily, then somewhere in the distance the other way. They addressed Lumira agian, a deadly serious look in their eye. (color:grey)[[[There are twelve ballistic missiles en route to the city.->There are twelve ballistic missiles en route to the city.]]]

(color:#b197fc)[There are //what?//] (color:grey)[I don't know what else to tell you. I only just got the call. There won't be time to evacuate everyone. They don't stand a chance...] Lumira looked at the city. There were a lot of people in there. Her domain wasn't one that came with a way to get rid of missiles, or even to reliably redirect them. Trying to come up with something, she quickly glanced at Lily. (color:#b197fc)[Do you think Lily could do something?] Lily just looked at Lumira, fear in her eyes. She knew what was going to happen, of course, but not how she was going to deal with it. The mayor looked at her, too, and started to think. After a moment, they keyed in a number on their phone. (color:#e03131)[What are you doing?] (color:grey)[Giving as much of a warning as I can. I hate to put you on the spot like this, but you're the best chance we can get in this situation.] They hit call, the phone briefly rang, and the mayor frantically talked into it a moment after. (color:grey)[I just got a call from a private number. They said there are missiles on their way here now, and they proved it. We have half an hour before they arrive. I- ...yes, I know, just listen to me. I'm with the m-...] A hesitation. Lily was able to read between the lines, sure that word had been 'monster.' The mayor continued. (color:grey)[...//citizen// from this morning. Someone with her suggested she try and do something about it. The military won't help, I was told they were ordered to remain on standby no matter who calls them. ...look, she's as good of a chance as we're going to get right now, okay? We don't //have// any other options.] Lumira listened to the call with bated breath, while Lily simply waited for the final word. After a few moments, the mayor sighed. (color:grey)[I'll tell her everything I can. Goodbye.] They hung up a moment after, turning to Lily. (color:grey)[You're on the clock. We have thirty minutes before the first wave arrives.] (color:#e03131)[Wave?] Nod. (color:grey)[It seems like the launch was staggered, and is going to last for approximately twenty minutes after the first impact. The media is likely going to be reporting on this in a bit, so you may have to watch for helicopters in the airspace. Twelve missiles are going to come in four waves of three missiles each, and they're going to cover the majority of the main city. I'm going to put out a warning to shelter in place, since there isn't enough time for an evacuation to work without risking someone being hurt because they were too slow. Do you think you can handle this?] No. (color:#e03131)[[[Yes.->Yes.]]]

It only took Lily a few minutes to get to the spot where a wave of missiles was supposed to arrive from the South-Eastern side of the city. They were due to show up any second now, and she still had no clue what she was going to do about it. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves as much as she could. Like the mayor had thought, there was a flock of helicopters hovering behind Lily, providing live camera feeds for every news station for miles. In her mind, Madden chimed in, sounding a bit stressed. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[You wouldn't happen to know anything about these missile strikes, would you?] This came as a surprise. Was it not only happening here? (color:#e03131)[//Don't tell me you're getting hit, too.//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Okay, then instead I'll tell you that I've been having to fry weapons-grade insects out of the sky for nearly the last half an hour, and that your answer is making me worry.] (color:#e03131)[//Four waves of three for twenty minutes. I'm waiting on the first now.//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[An identical pattern description... that can't be a coincidence. I will warn the others. Try not to die.] //Easier said than done,// Lily wanted to reply, but what she said instead was simply (color:#e03131)[//Got it.//] There they were. In the distance, Lily could see three little lights that were steadily getting brighter. She quickly looked around for empty land, seeing a field of grass that was far away from the city, but still seemed to be within throwing distance from where she was. She could only hope nothing important was buried there... Once the first missiles were close, Lily lunged at the cluster, trying to grab them all at once. She managed to get two clutched in her hand, the exhaust burning her, but she had missed the third; panicking, she swung her tail to try and divert its course, managing to break it in half and fling the head away from the city in an explosion of fuel that caused it to detonate anyway. The shrapnel cut gashes along Lily's tail, and she flung the two missiles she had been holding at the grass at a high velocity, both of them kicking up debris as they exploded. [[Three down.]]

Lily quickly decided she wouldn't be able to do that again, and rushed her mind to think of something better while she rushed her body to get to the next impact zone as fast as possible. She could hear things breaking beneath her while she ran, but it was just going to have to be acceptable losses. Even then, she wasn't quite fast enough; she could already see the next wave approaching the Northern city. In desperation, Lily willed something to happen, //anything// to keep those missiles from hitting the city. Then, from directly below the group of explosives, a massive tree sudenly sprang from the ground, knocking the missiles off-course for a moment before they flew off into the air, detonating harmlessly over the city and rainind debris onto the streets. Lily didn't know what had just happened, but before she could wonder what it had been, she felt her energy dip a bit. Had that been her doing? No time to wonder. The third wave was going to show up in the West any second now. Lily changed course, trying to get to the third impact site quicker than she would have reached the second. She managed to make it in time, thanks to already being most of the way to that second site, and tried to make lightning strike twice in an attempt to will something else into growing in the path of the missiles. On cue, a gigantic sunflower shot out of the ground, blooming just in time to block all three missiles at once at the cost of the flower itself being blown to bits, pollen and petals showering that region of the city. Except... there was something else there. Lily had to squint, but she saw one more light from a missile's exhaust further behind the wave. That didn't seem right. The waves were all supposed to have... oh no. Lily looked to the North, and there was a single light there as well. She didn't bother looking to the South-East; by now, it was obvious that the last wave was set to try and provide an impossible assault to counter. [[How was she going to stop that?]]

Lily had an idea. A desperate one, but it was better than nothing. She leaped into the air towards the center of the city, clearing several buildings in the process, and landing with a mighty crash in the very heart of the city. A sharp pain shot through her paws; she must have landed on something pointy. She would figure out some way to pay it back later. Putting her palms on the ground and focusing, Lily tried to will something massive into growing, bigger than the whole city. Rapidly, she felt her strength draining, and for a moment she worried she was pushing for something impossible. After a moment, though, she felt herself rising off the ground as an enormous willow tree sprouted from the heart of the city. Pushing a bit more, Lily tried to make something grow from the tree that would be stronger than its own limbs, and while she was still rocketing thousands of feet into the air in the heart of it all, she felt thick vines snake beneath her and saw them drop down from every angle. Her vision was going blurry again, and in the distance, she heard three explosions, seeing one of then through the tree limbs. From all around below her, Lily heard cheering start to ring out. She must have done it! She tried to raise her head, but doing that sent her vision spinning, and she lost her balance. She caught herself on a thicker willow limb, trying to make something grow below to catch her, and a series of shelf mushrooms suddenly grew from the side of the tree. Shakily, she used these as a ladder to descend, touching the ground in a puddle of her golden yellow blood and feeling another stab of pain in her legs. She looked down, seeing that she had reopened several of the scabbed-over wounds, left from where she had skewered herself with her thorns that morning. People started to crowd around her, and her ears started to ring a bit. Slowly, she rested her hands on the ground for support, then curled up beneath the tree to try and rest. Everything was hazy, and she could only stay conscious for a few more moments before [[passing out once again.]]

When she regained consciousness, the first thing Lily saw was a cameraman getting a close-up shot, then looking quite scared when he realized Lily was waking up. The small man fumbled, tripping over himself as he tried to step back and falling over. Lily quickly willed something to grow behind him to keep him from falling all the way, and he instead landed on his back against a giant clump of moss. Lily winked, and the cameraman seemed to relax a bit. He pressed a button on his camera a moment later, lowering it out of filming position, and turned to walk away normally, approaching a news van. After a moment, though, he quickly pulled the camera back up and hit the recording button again, causing Lily to look up and see what had caught his attention. An imposing-looking black car was pulling up to her, going rather fast. It quickly rolled to a stop, and out of the back seat stood the mayor. Lily suddenly went to attention, realizing in that instant she hadn't exactly been careful in her defense of the city. She hoped she wouldn't be told off for it. The mayor approached, holding a clipboard and a box. Lily shrank herself down and stood up, still a bit shaky, then prepared to meet the mayor again. The look in their eyes was inscrutable, making Lily even more worried. As they drew closer, they stopped a fair distance away from Lily, who slowly took a few steps forward. When they were eye-to-eye with her, the mayor cleared their throat. (color:grey)[Lily Crevalia. Today, you have protected our city from an unknown attacker, preventing twelve missiles from damaging any city infrastructure.] So she //did// catch those last three. Thank goodness. (color:grey)[At 7:28 P.M., a strike was called in to my personal phone, and I was informed there would be no help. The strike began at 8:20, and concluded at 8:40. Every inbound missile was redirected, destroyed, or otherwise disarmed before they could touch down in the city. Upon your, er, loss of consciousness following the defense, I held an impromptu city-wide census with a single question, and the results were wildly in favor.] Lily gulped. (color:grey)[As such, on the behalf of its citizens, I would like to be the first to grant you the official title of "Defender."] [[Yo???]]

The mayor opened the box they were holding, then pulled out a shiny golden medal with a wide ribbon. (color:grey)[I would like to ask you to please lower your head, so I may give you the medal that comes with such a title.] Lily complied, bowing her head so the mayor could raise the medal over her head (and ears, mostly), letting it rest on her neck. The weight felt strange, but it gave Lily a sense of pride. She looked up and smiled. The surprise ceremony didn't last very long after that, the mayor mostly only coming to give Lily the medal and escort her back to the temple. She took care not to cut any of the fabric or scratch the paint with her thorns, and when the two of them got to the temple again, they entered Lily's room at the mayor's direction, marveling at the sheer size of everything. Lily set the medal in the hall outside and offered to lift the mayor onto the bed, to which they agreed. Lily had to get onto her knees to keep eye level afterwards, and the mayor shifted nervously under her gaze. (color:grey)[I, uh... I must admit, I wasn't expecting everything in here to be quite so...] (color:#e03131)[Big?] (color:grey)[Yes, that. Uh...] A nrevous gulp. (color:grey)[I would think a room this big would have more of a presence on the outside.] (color:#e03131)[...hm.] Come to think, Lily hadn't really thought about that. This room was easily her own size, and yet, it didn't seem like it was even //there// if you were looking at the temple from the outside. (color:#e03131)[I hadn't thought about that...] (color:grey)[I doubt I would have either, but I, ah... let's say I'm a bit nervous.] (color:#e03131)[Huh?] She looked at the mayor. (color:#e03131)[What for?] (color:grey)[You see...] They opened a bag on their hip, pulling out a piece of paper. (color:grey)[As grateful as I am--as we //all// are--for what you did today, you also caused quite a lot of structural damage in the process, and, uh...] Oh, boy. The mayor shifted nervously, reading over the paper. (color:#e03131)[Well... I saw this coming.] The remark seemed to take the mayor by surprise. They looked at Lily quizzically. (color:#e03131)[I mean, come on, did you see me out there? I had //no// clue what I was doing, really. I would have been more surprised if I //didn't// break stuff back there.] A slight laugh. (color:grey)[Well, when you put it that way, I guess you have a point, there. Now, please don't be too upset, but the amount you'd owe now is, ah... high. Very high.] The mayor drew a shaky breath, looking at the bottom of the page again, seeming to be steeling themself. (color:grey)[It would take many decades to pay off for anyone. let alone someone in your position.] Here it comes... The mayor (link-reveal:"gripped both sides of the paper ")[and [[ripped it in half.]]]

Lily was confused. That was a bit of a left turn. The mayor cleared their throat again, clearly not being able to kick whatever nerves they had. (color:grey)[I haven't told anyone else about this yet, but I'm not going to ask anything of you. Well--no //money,// anyways. Obviously the job title demands some baseline level of communication, the expectation that you'll be around to help if we need, et cetera, but your debt is hereby unofficially pardoned.] (color:#e03131)[I...] Lily wasn't sure what to say. That was a lot to take in all at once. (color:#e03131)[...thank you.] (color:grey)[Don't mention it. I consider protecting the city payment enough, even if we're going to have to figure out what to do with the, uh, new plant life. Now, with that being said, I //do// have one more thing to ask...] Oop. Here was the catch. (color:#e03131)[Go on...?] (color:grey)[I need you to make it //seem// like you're doing things to pay that debt off. It's a bit late right now, so I'm going to come back tomorrow after we've both gotten some rest for the deed, but this land is going to be considered tax-exempt, and I'll write that into your job description later, so don't worry about that much. This information stays between us, though, and because of that, I want to informally ask that you keep up appearances.] (color:#e03131)[How so?] (color:grey)[Just take up some odd jobs here and there, keep the city safe, and try your best not to do more significant damage. If you can do that, I'll call us even in a year. Deal?] That sounded like Lily was getting off suspiciously easy, all things considered, but she wasn't in much of a position to--... well. Okay, she was in a position to do a //lot,// actually, including just taking the city for herself. ...hmmm. Now, [[//there// was a thought.->there was a thought.]]

Something about this whole meeting seemed more and more //off// the longer Lily thought about it, and the mayor's nervous shuffle on her bed wasn't doing anything to make her think otherwise. Lily considered this for a moment, then decided she may as well take the shot. What did she have to lose? (color:#e03131)[What are the chances I could give a small counter-offer?] The mayor seemed frightened and taken aback, but tried to mask it with levity regardless. (color:grey)[You can still do "small" things?] Lily snorted a bit, stifling a laugh. (color:#e03131)[Alright, fair enough. I guess it's just a matter of perspective. At any rate... without me, there wouldn't be much of a city left. Right?] The mayor's expression shifted, becoming more serious. They took some time to respond. (color:grey)[I think I know where this is going already.] Oh? (color:#e03131)[Do you, now?] A nod. (color:grey)[I could see it in your eyes. I gave an inch, and you saw a mile still behind me, didn't you.] Tentatively, Lily nodded. That was more or less verbatim what had happened. (color:grey)[I was hoping I could come out of this without having to cross that bridge. While that census was being held, I reached out to some of the other cities affected by the Madden Incidents to see what they usually did for their... oh, what would a good word be...] They furrowed their brow, thinking about this. (color:grey)["Monsters" seems too insensitive, but "maddens" just doesn't make much sense...] Lily offered something. (color:#e03131)[Why not "kaiju"?] They considered this, then nodded. (color:grey)[A bit cliché, but it serves the purpose well enough. Kaiju, then. I asked what they usually did, and in every instance, I ended up reaching the kaiju themselves instead of a human, like I had been expecting. That more or less confirmed what I had suspected, but I still asked, and every one of them said they had simply been given the whole city, albeit with... //varying// degrees of acceptance. And requirement.] (color:#e03131)[Requirement?] (color:grey)[It seems a few of them had done something to their cities that meant them taking the city was more of a formality than anything, but that isn't here nor there.] A rather abrupt cut-off. (color:grey)[Admittedly, I was being a bit selfish, but you saw right through me. Let me try again, then. If you do what I asked, starting from today, the whole place is yours. I'll still handle any official business to keep up a front, but you'll be the one really in charge. I can only really ask that you take that offer now, I suppose, so... do you accept?] It didn't take much thought for Lily to answer this time. (color:#e03131)[[[Deal.->Deal.]]]

(color:#e03131)[...and that's it!] Dots found himself dozing off. He started to wonder if he should get that checked out, but what Lily had just implied started to sink in before he could entertain it for long. (color:cyan)[So... yer tellin' me that the whole city...?] Lily patted her chest. (color:#e03131)[All mine, baby. We're signing the paperwork to transition the temple into being the city's capital soon, since it's what everyone else is doing.] Donnie looked around, then out the window of the room. By now, the sun had sunken below the horizon, and stars were beginning to come out. (color:cyan)[That... be a lot o' respoonsibility there, lass.] Lily laughed a bit. (color:#e03131)[Nah, not really. I'm just kind of hanging out over here, minding my own business until someone launches another missile strike, or something.] (color:cyan)[Oy...] Dots yawned a bit. (color:cyan)[Gotta tell ye, I may never get used t' that'n.] (color:#e03131)[Yeah, it's still not really hit home for me either, to be honest. Like, I know it's just the norm now, but it's all still so... bizarre, you feel me?] He nodded. (color:#e03131)[It's a good life, though. If you ever wanna spice things up over at the Monument...] Dots laughed. (color:cyan)[Aye, if it is all as easy as ye say, I may look into that. Let me know if ye find some way t' do that t' someone reliably, ey?] Lily snickered in return. (color:#e03131)[Aye aye, captain. For the time being, though, it's getting pretty late. We should both get some sleep.] (color:cyan)[Aye, ye got me there. I'll be seein' ye in the mornin', then.] (color:#e03131)[Right back at you. I'll see what I can do to get you home a bit quicker than that truck can do, too.] With that, Lily hopped back over to the ladder, using her tails just as much as her arms to swing back down it in record time. Dots, meanwhile, went over to one of [[the him-sized pillows.]]

Looking around for a bit to see if there was a blanket of some sort up here, Donnie found an aqua green comforter neatly folded up and hidden behind one of the bigger pillows. He took it and unfolded it, getting himself comfortable before laying down and wiggling himself under the cover. His mind was racing with all of the events and revelations from the day. Not only had his cousin turned into a kaiju, she had met some sort of god, saved a city, and then become the city's... owner? Leader? He wasn't quite sure, but the fact still stood, it was hers in some form, all in the span of a single day... and somehow, he'd managed to miss every single part of it. That was... that was a //lot// to take in, and yet, he still felt like he barely knew anything about what was going on in spite of the sheer size of the infodump he had been buried under. Who was that Madden guy, and why could he talk to Lily in her mind? What were the other kaiju like? Had they been anyone else he knew? Why had Lumira, apparently a goddess, decided to act like a bog-standard servant here? What was Suzi's deal? And come to think, who fired off those missiles? Why didn't the government send help, and how did the person on the phone know? Who had even //called,// actually? Despite his overactive mind, Donnie fell deeper into the beginnings of slumber, and in his state of half-awakeness, he turned to look out the window again, wondering how his life had [[taken such a dramatic turn.]]

The following morning, Dots got dressed again, then climbed down the ladder to meet Lily. She gave him a short tour of the temple, only mildly side-tracked by finally giving Suzi the autograph that had spurred the crazy ride, and talked with him a bit about her idea for a fast track back home. The way she framed it, it would be a fun ride. To Donnie, it sounded like a nightmare. Her idea was to pick the entire truck up with him inside, then strap it to her back with oversized dandelions. She would then proceed to full-speed sprint across the country on all fours, safety be damned, until they got back to his home. She would drop him off, hang out at the Ocean Monument for a while, get some food and catch up with what had been going on over on his side of the river. Then, after she was done, she would run back home in much of a similar way. When Donnie suggested that even his seatbelt wouldn't keep him in place for all of the shaking, she retorted with the idea of padding the inside with fluffy moss, which told him he wasn't going to be getting out of this quite so easily. So it was these events that led him to be shaken like a can of whipped cream over the course of about three hours while his kaiju cousin chaperoned him nearly seven hundred miles away in a straight line. Emmi's expression when the first thing she saw of the two was Lily's massive form was one of pure bewilderment, which then changed to disbelief when Lily proceeded to pluck Donnie's truck off of her back and set it down in the parking lot, then finally to comical laughter when Donnie proceeded to fall directly out of the passenger seat and onto the pavement with a face as green as the moss that was filling the entire cab. The rest of the day consisted of Lily getting the scoop of what was going on from Emmi, while Donnie laid in bed at home trying to fight the nausea and may-as-well-be jetlag from the trip. When Lily got back to the temple hours later, she relayed what she had heard to Suzi, who delighted in knowing she knew someone who was related to someone like Donnie. Lumira, meanwhile, spent the remainder of that day tending to the garden like always, although she noticed she had a new visitor there as well. It was a green butterfly, with a dark spot on every wing. (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: OCs]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Castor the Rabbit]] [[Cybil the Magpie]] [[Glimmer the Wolf]] [[Karat the Bear]] [[Otto the Cat]] [[Siege the Hedgehog]] [[Toby the Dog]] [[Cayenne]] [[Cinnamon]] [[Lorelei]] [[Thalia]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->OCs]] OCs are fanmade characters, or Original Characters, created as if they existed in already established media. For example, if you were to create a character to exist in the Sonic X Leapster game, you have made a Sonic OC. It's mostly self-explanatory once you know what the abbreviation means. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->OCs]]

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Shade]] [[Shujin]] [[Siege the Hedgehog]] [[Skyrail]] [[Soleanna]] [[Stella Fowmarev]] [[Suzi Amnezod]] [[Tay]] [[Telman Antagio]] [[Tempest]] [[<=Previous->Page 7]] | [[Next=>->Page 9]]

(link-undo:"Go back to where you were.") The concept of a Minus is that you create a small icon for a character, meant to portray the general idea and design of that character, then create a new design based on that icon. It originates from the Friday Night Funkin' fandom, where people did this for the characters in the original game and many popular mods. I decided it would be fun to also do that with some of my own characters, so I did.

(set:$afflicted to 1)Lilac Plum, only consisting of Orchid and Inchworm at the time, were originally one of many scientists contracted under the table by the government to develop a real-world panacea, a fabled medicine that could cure any disease. Many prototypes were made that had a variety of effects, both beneficial and detrimental, but none were what they were looking for; even the best prototypes had flaws, oversights, and side effects. Eventually, it was determined that such a thing simply wasn't possible in their world, so the project was [[put on hold indefinitely.]]

Some time later, technological advances made it possible to reliably view other worlds and timelines, so the inquiry was reopened in turn, with permission to copy other worlds' homework if one where such a thing is possible was found. Lilac Plum was called in, along with the entire original team that had worked on the project, to start their research back up. Each of these scientists were given their own private lab to work in, connected to a larger testing facility, each newly equipped with a half dozen projector-like devices made to display footage captured from [[alternate realities.]]

They also noticed a strange reaction a moment later; the spilled samples were spreading across the surface of the device, seemingly of their own volition. They were swirling together, making tie-dye-esque patterns of dark color all across the projector, covering every inch of the surface andlikely the internals, to boot. Lilac Plum suddenly became worried they had just destroyed an expensive piece of government technology, and nervously reached out to [[pick it up.]]

After many more months of failures, even in spite of the new equipment, a fit of frustration resulted in Lilac Plum slamming their hands on a table with one of the viewing devices and several failed prototype samples on it. The impact caused the device to fall off the table, sparking violently upon hitting the floor. Lilac Plum jolted in surprise, knocking the table again and causing some of the samples to fall on and seep into the device. Several popping sounds were heard from it, before the lab's power briefly shorted out as a result. When the lights came back on a moment later, the device was smoking. Lilac Plum worriedly looked at the ceiling, hoping it wouldn't set off [[the smoke detectors.]]

The surface was slick to the touch, and Lilac Plum had to hold it carefully with both hands to avoid dropping it. By now, it had stopped sparking, so they slowly activated its power to make sure it still functioned. Thankfully, it did, but the picture it displayed was different from what Lilac Plum had it tuned to before; it now displayed a strangely familiar building being seemingly overrun from the inside by a group of large, inhuman creatures. It seemed like there were around eight of them, all in various shades of red and blue, and they all appeared to have some identifying traits; horns, wings, tails, sharp teeth, and more were [[easily tracked between specific copies.]]

Intrigued, Lilac Plum kept watching. It seemed like there was an alarm going off in the footage, based on the strobing color sometimes flashing off of the walls, but the device wasn't equipped with a speaker, so Lilac Plum didn't know the full picture. The creatures were overtaking various humans around the facility, who were running away from the group, until they were caught and taken away... somewhere. Two of the creatures--one red and one blue--looked back at the rest of the group, saying something inaudible before turning and going off in [[a different direction.]]

Lilac Plum suddenly realized they should maybe be more concerned over the device seemingly being reprogrammed against their will than they were about watching what came out of it. They tried to re-tune it to no avail, looking back at the display for a moment before realizing something about the image being projected. Those creatures appeared, from a distance, to be made of the same substance now coating the device, albeit in different colors. And the building... it appeared to be a different wing of [[the facility Lilac Plum was in.]]

An alarm started blaring in the room, promptly followed by fire sprinklers springing to life overhead; apparently, the smoke //had// set off a fire alarm, albeit a bit late. Lilac Plum snapped out of their musings to quickly shut the viewer off to avoid it being damaged. They intended to move it somewhere out of the way of the water, but the extra moisture was making the already-slippery device impossible to get a grip on. Try as they might, they couldn't keep their hands on it. Struggling for some time, Lilac Plum rested on the device after a while, resting their hands on the top and taking a moment to catch their breath. Once they were ready again, they moved to pick it up, suddenly finding it came up with their hands [[without any issue at all.]]

Lilac Plum looked down at the device to find that the substance that had been giving them so much trouble was apparently not finished doing so, and was traveling up their arms. Already, it was up to their wrists, which made them try to fling the projector away from themselves in a panic. It wouldn't budge, so they were helpless to do anything but watch as the substance spread up to their elbows, then their shoulders, before it reached their body and started flowing [[down to their legs.]]

In less than a minute, Lilac Plum was covered from head to toe in the substance, and they started to feel it changing their body in the darkness. They couldn't see for some time, and when their vision came back, their mind felt different, on top of everything else. Things seemed... clearer, somehow, allowing Orchid and Inchworm to more easily visualize themselves and each other in their headspace. They looked down at themselves, seeing their hands turned into lilac-colored claws that were hard to the touch, yet still just as flexible as standard fingers. Their body was now covered in fur, seemingly made of the same strange substance that had come from the mixed samples, and there was something in the middle of their vision that followed wherever they looked. Was that... [[a snout?]]

Looking in every direction to try and get a better read on their new body, Lilac Plum felt their new snout hit something above them. They instinctively crouched down, looking up again to see what they had hit, and being surprised when they saw that the thing in question had been one of the fire sprinklers. That had been several feet above them before. They looked down to confirm that yep, they'd grown, and quite significantly at that. They also saw that the projector had returned to normal, albeit they had apparently dropped it without noticing, and it was //definitely// broken now. The projector lens was popped out, and the outer shell had been crunched down [[like a tin can.]]

Suddenly very conscious of how small the room had become to them, Lilac Plum bent over and poked their head through the doorway. There was... nobody there. It had been long enough that surely, //someone// must have been coming by now, right? Curious, they squeezed through the doorway to investigate, combing the building for any sign of the rest of their crew, occasionally calling out in case they just couldn't see humans now for some reason. Despite this, nobody appeared, nor responded to the calls, which made Lilac Plum concerned. [[Where WERE the others?]]

After searching for some time, Lilac Plum entered another lab to find things in a state somehow worse than their own had been. Samples of more failed prototypes had been spilled all over the room, and there was still no sign of anyone alive. The sprinklers had turned off at this point, at least. Out of options, they made their way to leave the building, only to find themselves at gunpoint when they [[reached the main door.]]

Since Lilac Plum didn't even remotely resemble their old human self, the three scientists aiming at them opened fire immediately, but the bullets just sank into their body harmlessly, clattering onto the ground a moment later. They explained themselves as best as possible given the circumstances, going back into the building and unlocking their lab door to prove their claims. Satisfied by this, the rest of the crew explained what had happened. Once the alarm had started, the building was evacuated, with the crew expecting the worst. When Lilac Plum didn't come out with them, they waited to see what came through the doorway and reacted accordingly. They were mildly annoyed at the bluntness, but supposed [[that was fair enough.]]

In spite of the changes, Lilac Plum was not asked to be off the project; instead, they simply went from one of the scientists to one of the sciences. Various tests were run on their new body to understand the full reach of the effects it had on them, and they all came back inconclusive. Whatever they were made of now, it wasn't a substance their world knew about, and nobody was able to track down a decent comparison from other realities for some time. Eventually, though, a match was found; a reality where a similar substance was created as a cure for an abnormal virus, but ended up causing an outbreak in the facility [[it was developed in.]]

The rest of the team kept a much closer eye on Lilac Plum after that revelation, despite them not seeming to be able to spread the change (although they //did// try a few times, admittedly). Lilac Plum themselves grew more over time, and despite firmly believing that a simple twice the size of their old body was already too much bigger than before, they became double even that over the course of a few months. It became so drastic, in fact, that they had little choice but to move into the facility their team was working in, due to their old home simply being too small for them. This, in combination with the stress of their continued expansion, led to their system developing two new members, [[Violet and Dodger.]]

A few weeks after the new members formed, not long after another growth spurt that left them scraping their head against even the highest ceilings in the building, the four of them got into an argument about what to do about their situation. Violet reasoned that no human on the planet could keep them there at that point, Orchid was worried the government would hunt them down and kill them, Inchworm remembered the bullets and knew they would survive but didn't want to endanger the team, and Dodger thought it was stupid that they were ever staying at all. The argument lasted for a long time, drawing the attention of some of the other scientists, until something peculiar happened; the two sides that had been unintentionally decided suddenly [[physically split apart.]]

In an instant, the argument stopped, although not due to a mutual understanding, or anything similar; the opposing comments had simply stopped for everyone involved in it. It took the group a few moments to piece together that Violet and Dodger had split off into one body, while Orchid and Inchworm stayed in another, and both bodies were now half the size of the combined body. Frightened at the revelation, Orchid willed her and Inchworm's body forward to grab the other for security, which the two inhabitants of the other body reciprocated, moreso out of confusion than fear. The two halves could only hear each other by physically talking to the other, while the two minds in the same body could still talk with each other mentally as they always had. Somehow, this was more of a jarring change to everyone involved than [[the split.]]

Violet and Dodger asked the onlooking scientists for some privacy as politely as they could in the situation, and once the four were alone with each other again, they attempted--calmly--to talk things out. The group came to the conclusion that, assuming this split wasn't a fluke and could be repeated, they could use this to get around more easily if nothing else, although Violet in particular loathed the idea of this resulting in even more testing. They attempted to recombine into one body afterwards, with the act of doing so resulting in an embrace like a hug, before the bodies [[merged back into one.]]

The four tested this newfound ability more in the coming days, discovering that it was, in fact, not a fluke--it became increasingly easy for them to split apart and recombine, with every subsequent split bringing traits the group had in their headspace onto their own individual bodies, as well as their combined bodies when more than one of them were in one body. Violet's cloven hooves and pointed horns, Orchid's antennae and wings, Inchworm's own wings and draconic tail, and Dodger's own feline tail and sharp teeth seemed to be the parts that consistently made it onto their bodies. At one point, Inchworm even took things a step further, managing to split into two copies of himself on top of just going into his own body. The copies, Orchid quickly noted, were red and blue. This made her suddenly recall the projector footage with a dawning realization. [[That had to have been //them// on the footage.->That had to have been them on the footage.]]

Before she could share this realization with the others, a siren started going off throughout the building, causing all of them to jolt in surprise. They heard something breaking the door down in the front of the building. Quickly splitting off into their own individual bodies to traverse the halls more easily, the four went to investigate, finding that many people armed with raid gear and rifles had broken into the facility and opened fire on the surrounding scientists. They didn't seem like they really knew what they were doing, though, as almost every shot was hitting a wall or overturned table instead. Once Lilac Plum got onto the scene, though, they all turned their weapons onto the four non-human creatures [[standing in front of them.]]

Like before, the bullets did nothing but sink onto their bodies and fall to the floor harmlessly. They stopped firing not long after, with many of them backing away in fear for a moment, until one threw a small object into the doorway and the raiders turned away or shielded their eyes. Before Lilac Plum could react, it detonated with a bright flash, stunning the whole group and allowing the mob to rush into the building relatively unchallenged, shoving Lilac Plum aside [[on their way in.]]

Once they could see again, Lilac Plum rushed in after the mob to catch them and force them outside again, ideally before any of the scientists were seriously hurt. The four went as fast as they were able, with the ones that hadn't yet figured out how to halve themselves quickly doing so on the way in, They managed to remove some of the raiders fairly quickly, but the ones they did get out of the building just ran back in when they weren't looking anymore, so Dodger ultimately ended up staying outside with anyone the other three removed so they wouldn't [[get back into the building.]]

It took some time, but Lilac Plum eventually managed to remove everyone that had initiated the raid on the facility and keep them out of it long enough for them to run out of ammunition and energy to try again. It seemed the group had learned about the alternate-reality-viewing tech that was being kept there and had come to take it for themselves. The group attempted to flee the scene before officials arrived, but weren't able to do so in time, as they quickly found themselves surrounded and apprehended. There were no casualties, since many of the raiders were inexperienced with actually using the guns they had brought, but several scientists [[needed to be hospitalized.]]

While the injured scientists were being sent to hospitals, the status of the panacea project was again called into question. Some of the scientists had managed to replicate the substance that Lilac Plum had accidentally created, putting themselves through the same transformation and managing to cut their growth cycles off early, but still no miracle cure had been discovered, or even something that could do anything better than pre-existing medicines you could buy at a pharmacy, despite all of the advanced technology that had gone into the research of such a thing. As such, the project was [[once again put on hold.]]

Lilac was ultimately allowed to stay at the lab and use it for anything else people would want to contract them for, although this was mostly due to their existence as effectively a sentient failed experiment was something the government wanted very desperately to cover up. The information ended up on message boards the following week, entirely due to former members of the raid crew leaking it to make the government look bad. No longer needing to keep their existence a secret, Lilac Plum was then allowed to use the public internet however they wanted, which they did liberally to [[stave off boredom.]]

The abandoned lab ended up being a pretty cool place for them to live after some former members of the panacea team were released from the hospital to keep them company and give them something to stop growing every other week and risk even their split bodies becoming too large for the building. One day, though, three of them--Dodger, Violet, and Orchid, to be specific--were playing a game of Fantasy Life together while Inchworm kept two sets of eyes on the web for news, when they all heard something peculiar at the same time. A voice they couldn't place that didn't belong to any of the scientists, nor had been heard //by// any of the other scientists, speaking to [[all of them as one.]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[If you can hear this, there are changes coming.]]]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[ [[When they begin, find the first of the new gods to join the pantheon.]]]]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[Madden.]] (after:5s)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]]

Click [[here->The Wandering Maze]] to return to the main report. The Wondrous maze has moderate hallways, uncommon medium-to-large rooms, ambient lighting resembling daylight, and very prominent magic. The walls are approximately four meters tall, composed of hedge, and the hallways will make turns of any shape or angle imaginable. The floor shifts between dirt, mud, grass, clovers, and moss. There is no ceiling; instead, Wondrous zones have something resembling a blue sky that transitions between a cloudless day and starless night at a rate of approximately 72 hours per cycle. Rooms can be any shape, but tend to more commonly be quadrangles or circles. Doorways resemble hedge archways, sometimes adorned with flowers or decorations. Scattered throughout Wondrous, one can find many odd trinkets and attractions; sometimes these are individual items ("artifacts") that may be imbued with some form of on-demand magic spell, and sometimes they are pre-prepared games, normally physical in nature, ready for any number of travelers to play and potentially win rewards from for winning(if:$danger is 1)[ or face punishments from for losing]. Wondrous also has the unique ability to transform travelers that pass through into a kind of creature known as "white rabbits" by means of a particular magic called the White Rabbit's Curse. This curse can be afflicted onto people in many ways; by touching the paws of other white rabbits within the maze, by wandering around for too long alone without a sense of direction, or by random chance due to enchanted artifacts laying around (with exception to pocket watches). If affected by the White Rabbit's Curse, you will first be indecisive on where to go, then choose to wander off into the maze with no direction on purpose, though notably without willingly ewntering other biomes. You will then want to distract other maze travelers with games, either that you make up or that are already scattered throughout Wondrous, with the intent of giving the curse to them as well if they lose. While not in sight, you will rapidly transform into something resembling an anthropomorphic white Earth rabbit. The first time a white rabbit shifts into their new form, it will last for fifteen minutes before turning back to normal; they will continue to transform into their white rabbit form periodically, and for increasingly long periods of time, before inevitably turning back to their previous form for fifteen minutes. Someone affected by the White Rabbit's Curse may be referred to as "having the second grin", a nod to their personality as a white rabbit being almost entirely different. White rabbits are able to change the landscape and layout of Wondrous in a small area immediately around them as they see fit, but have no special abilities outside of Wondrous. Additionally, the degree of what magic a white rabbit can perform becomes wider and more all-encompassing depending on how many people they curse; one who hasn't cursed anyone may only be able to change if a wall has a doorway and what the floor is made of, while one who has cursed seven people may be able to create entire rooms several dozen feet away and decide what's in them. It is also believed that white rabbits who curse at least fifty travelers become able to split off of their original bodies and become their own entities altogether, dubbed "pure white rabbits", and would be able to retain all of their abilities no matter where they go in the maze.(if:$danger is 1)[.. //or out of it//.] A cure for the White Rabbit's Curse does exist, though it is infrequently used. The process is as follows. First, you must not be affected by the curse yourself, as even being cured of it seems to make a person incapable of proceeding through the full process. Second, you must find a pocket watch by some means. Bringing your own from outside the maze works, if you are unable to find one in the maze, or simply want to be certain about having one handy. Third, you must find someone, either in Wondrous or in a different biome, able to enchant the watch to ward off curses. Finally, you must somehow make the white rabbit in question come into contact with the watch. Once cured, former white rabbits will find themself wearing an unremovable rabbit's foot earring (or other accessory, if they have no ears) and holding an identical copy of it, with the alternate personality they developed before being cured remaining in their mind as a separate sapient entity. Cured white rabbits may allow their white rabbit selves to return indefinitely by wearing both accessories that appeared as a result of them being cured; additionally, the white rabbit will be more amicable and less likely to want to curse others afterwards, and will gladly remove their detachable accessory to let their old self back out again if asked.

Click [[here->The Wandering Maze]] to return to the main report. The Labyrian maze has wide hallways, very rare large rooms, active lighting in the form of dim wooden torches, and magic that is noticeable but not common. The walls and floor appear to be composed of a substance similar to marble, and the hallways take exclusively 90 degree turns at perfect angles. The walls extend too far upwards to be illuminated and possibly do not end, making it impossible to know what the ceiling is like. The primary residents of the Labyrian maze are "taurs," creatures that are half-humanoid and half-animalistic. Whether the upper or lower body is more humanoid varies per taur, but they act similar to humans in most ways, beyond their appearance. The animals they can appear similar to seem to have no limits, despite some possibilities not having direct parallels in known animals. One pattern seems clear; the upper body (waist up) is humanoid if the lower half (waist down) is quadrupedal, and the lower body is bipedal if the upper body is animalistic. To provide an example, a taur with a bull's head will have two legs, and a taur with four feline legs will have a humanoid head. Labyrian taurs also have one notable difference from other maze travelers in the way they manipulate magic. Labyrian taurs have the unique ability to grant any physical object magical properties, which is called "enchanting" the object in question. Every taur seems to have a different effect they can naturally enchant objects with, but they are also able to learn how to apply other enchantments if taught how to do so by another taur. Any object seems to be suitable, but some enchantments work better on certain items, depending on their theoretical synergy. In layman's terms, enchantments will work better if it makes sense to have that enchantment on a specific item. Rooms in the Labyrian maze have a tendency to come pre-equipped with edible food and drinks if they generate in a large enough size. The contents of these rooms vary, but typically consist of loaves of bread, bowls of fruit, trays of cooked meat, and flagons of water. If these appear in a room, they will usually be found on large table-like slabs of the same material that the walls are made of. These consumables do not grow old or stale. The halls also contain traps activated with pressure plates in the floor, and these traps take many forms. These traps are activated through pressure plates in the floor, identifiable through a slightly different color and a square-shaped indent, and are always near the pressure plate that activates them. Often lethal, it is recommended to avoid hallways that contain traps entirely if you are not confident in your ability to detect the pressure plate. The list of currently known traps, as well as ways to potentially spot them in advance, is as follows: * Arrow launchers. Small holes equidistant from each other will dot a section of the wall in an even-odd grid. * Spears that suddenly extend from the floor. Large holes equidistant from each other in an even grid will dot the floor. * Fireballs raining from above. The walls will be singed. * Walls that move in to crush victims. The walls will be splattered with blood from various species that have fallen victim. * Stirrups that fire from either end of a hallway. You will usually see the hole that these are launched from long before you find the pressure plate. If more traps are discovered, they will be added to this list.

Click [[here->The Wandering Maze]] to return to the main report. The Vectrote maze has narrow hallways, common small rooms with additional rare medium-sized rooms, ambient lighting resembling faint lamp light, and magic is only naturally present in the form of various "artifacts" that carry some form of enchantment. The walls are approximately three point five meters tall, composed of polished white oak wood, and the hallways will make turns at the following angles: 10, 20, 21, 30, 33, 40, 45, 50, 60, 68, 70, 80, and 90 degrees. The floor is composed of a plush, velvety material with enough cushioning to sink when walked on. The ceiling, while usually shadowed, is mahogany wood. Rooms can be any shape with greater than four and less than nine sides. Sometimes, travelers may find a strange section of the floor, denoted by being especially squishy and soft to the touch. If they stay on this section of the floor for an extended period of time, they might find themself physically sinking into it. Should they continue to let this happen until they have completely sunken in, they will feel a sudden jolt before reappearing above the floor once again, now with an additional accessory of some kind. This accessory can be anything, but it will always have two buttons on it that are the traveler's favorite color. If they were to look into a mirror, they would also find that their eyes have changed colors to match these buttons. This signifies that the traveler has become a [[plushsoul->Plushsoul]], currently in their soul form, although this method of becoming a Plushsoul is incredibly nonstandard. In some rooms, travelers can find artifacts of various kinds. These artifacts can take the form of any item that has entered the maze at any time, giving them an incredibly wide variety. Furthermmore, they usually come with some sort of magic attached to them, and are split into various categories: benign, benevolent, malevolent, and ambivalent. Benign artifacts are mostly unnoticeable except in specific circumstances; for example, a slice of pizza that regenerates itself when bitten. Benevolent artifacts are directly beneficial a majority of the time; for example, a headband that prevents the user from becoming exhausted, effectively giving them infinite stamina. Malevolent artifacts are directly harmful a majority of the time; for example, shoes that become heavier as the wearer moves until rendered immobile without removing them. Ambivalent artifacts have effects that are not directly helpful or harmful, or can be either one at various times; for example, a pair of shorts that gradually reduce the wearer's size if they are hungry, but restores it after they eat something. Additionally, artifacts can be cursed in addition to their pre-existing effects. There are a handful of known curses at this time, and their effects vary almost as much as the normal magic effects. It has also been discovered that, while an artifact can only have one traditional effect, it can have any number of curses, hence their special designation. * Bound Curse: The artifact cannot be removed from a traveler by traditional means. * Shifter's Curse: The artifact causes the user to transform into something else over time. * Misplacement Curse: The artifact changes location in its owner's various storage locations on its own. * Accompanied Curse: The artifact has the ability to speak in its owner's mind. * Independance Curse: The artifact has a mind of its own, sometimes activating its ability without its owner's consent. * Unwillingness Curse: The artifact may not always work when its owner wants it to. * Imprisonment Curse: If the artifact's owner dies, their soul is transferred into the artifact. * Disappearance Curse: If the artifact's owner dies, the artifact vanishes, then reappears somewhere else in Vectrote. If more curses are discovered, they will be added to this list.

Click [[here->The Wandering Maze]] to return to the main report. The Nebulous maze has moderate hallways, extremely common macroscopic rooms, ambient lighting resembling starlight with visible stars present all around, and magic is abundant. Hallways do not resemble traditional hallways; instead, they more closely resemble wormholes that stretch for incredibly long distances and wind in every direction. Otherwise, there are no walls, nor traditional floors, in Nebulous; in fact, traditional gravity does not seem to exist in this part of the maze, with travelers floating freely and moving by imagining themselves moving in the direction they want to go. While in one of the hallways found in this biome, travelers' movement speed is greatly increased. From the moment they enter to the moment they exit, they go approximately ten times as fast as normal. It is believed this is an effect of the maze meant to replicate science-fiction wormholes, which are commonly capable of near-instantaneous travel. Masses of land in rough round shapes are abundant here, dubbed "Star Islands" by those who frequent this part of the maze, and they loosely resemble planets with similar composition to Earth, albeit on a much smaller scale. The water found on Star Islands is identical to fresh water on Earth, making it safe to drink. Star Islands are composed of this water all the way to their cores, save for chunks of a substance similar to firm mud that float unmoving on the surface. When a traveler lands on a Star Island, they enter a false gravitational pull with it that allows them to walk along its surface. This occurs regardless of the material they walk on, with both the water and the mud holding firm unless purposefully dug into. Travelers may treat is as a traditional platform until they want to leave, at which point they must simply imagine themself moving off of the Star Island. Walking on the water of a Star Island feels similar to walking in a shallow puddle, and walking on the mud feels like walking through very wet but otherwise normal mud. Star Islands tend to grow edible foods on their surfaces, commonly referred to as simply "Star Island fruits." These are shaped like five-pointed stars, growing upwards directly out of the ground from a long, thick trunk in multiple layers. The individual sections of Star Island fruits are an average of seven feet long, have flesh similar to cantaloupe that tastes like a combination of lemon and apple, encased in rinds also similar to cantaloupe, grow in various bright colors and have reddish-black juice that tastes like a combination of raspberry, vanilla, and mushroom. Individual Star Island fruits growing from the same trunk are liable to be visually very different from each other due to the variety of colors the rind can take on. Consuming Star Island fruit has been known to alter the physical size of people who eat it, either causing them to grow or shrink in accordance with how much they eat, although there is a (currently unproven) theory among maze travelers that this is a result of being allergic to it, and not a surefire side effect. Regardless, this effect is known to be reversible by any maze inhabitant or trinket capable of using moderate-level healing magic, lending some credibility to the allergy theory.

(link-undo:"Go back to where you were.") Plushsoul (simply pronounced "plush soul") are mysterious creatures. Shapeshifters of sorts, they typically appear as a plush toy (referred to as their "plush" form), but can also choose to appear as a flesh-and-blood version of this toy (referred to as their "soul" form). They are normally spawned when a pair of Plushsoul Buttons are placed over the eyes of any sentient being, living or recently deceased, be they willing or unwilling (although willing changes are the most common by a wide margin). Said being's body rapidly transforms into a plush toy; this new body is based on a combination of their personal tastes, old body, and overall personality. While retaining their former mindset for the most part, Plushsoul born in this way tend to adopt a set of views that makes them seem much more friendly than their former selves. Alternatively, a normal plush toy can sometimes be changed into aa Plushsoul if it is shown enough care and affection. This typically results in the Plushsoul's mind mirroring that of their person's mental image of them, with the added trait of being fiercely loyal to their person at that point. Plushsoul born in this way do not normally have access to a soul form at first, simply due to not having a soul, but tend to gain one after approximately one to two years of being alive. Regardless of how they were born, Plushsoul either try to pose as standard plush toys or blend in with other life after being born, though some do not seem to mind it if someone questions the existence of a sentient plush toy in public and simply don't bother trying to seem natural. Furthermore, all Plushsoul have the ability to create "Plushsoul Buttons" in a form of magic unique to their species. These buttons, as previously mentioned, are able to turn other living beings into Plushsoul. The buttons start as a plain white color, but usually change to match the favorite color of whoever they turn into a Plushsoul. Plushsoul always have two button eyes in plush form. These eyes are the physical form of the Plushsoul's soul. They are unbreakable despite appearing similar to standard plastic buttons, and if they are both separated from the Plushsoul's body, the Plushsoul in question does not die, but will be unable to move until the buttons are reattached. The buttons are also present in soul form, although not as eyes; instead, they are found on an accessory that the Plushsoul wears. A Plushsoul's plush form is usually around one foot tall while sitting down, and they squeak when squeezed. Their plush form also always has button eyes. Due to the nature of their soul form simply being "what if the plush was real," there is no consistent pattern in Plushsoul soul forms beyond the presence of an accessory bearing their two buttons. Plushsoul are normally very mischievous and playful; they love attention, doing almost anything to get more of it, and hate being ignored or left behind. Despite converting other beings into Plushsoul being the primary way of Plushsoul being born, Plushsoul are often reluctant to change people they know into another Plushsoul. They will ask many questions to someone if any interest is expressed in being a Plushsoul to ensure that there isn't another underlying issue, and if an alternative is found, they will heavily advocate for that instead. They typically see this change as a last resort in this situation, but will almost always relent if the person in question is absolutely certain about the decision.

(set:$stellinsambCallback to "glossary")(set:$mipyCallback to "glossary")[[Go back to the landing page.->Landing]] Welcome to the Glossary! Some time into making this document, I realized I was adding a lot of terms that I only really explained wherever they happened to come up, making new pages and linking to them in the passage basically every other time I started working on something new. It was specifically Update 21 where I finally had the thought, "Hey, why don't I just make a page to keep track of all the pages like that instead of having to dig through and find them all every time?" And so here we are! This page will hold every link to a page that either explains something I made up or will redirect you to something I put together elsewhere that does instead. I hope to keep most of these things here as opposed to a separate document, but some things (spirits, in particular) are just too much to plausibly put into this Twine. Remember, orange links are links that open new tabs! (text-colour:green)[Terms in green] do not have dedicated pages, and are fully elaborated on here or in other pages. (color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[spirit->spirit]]] -A species of forest-dwelling beings. [[stellinsamb]] -A race of aliens looking for a new home. [[minus]] -A term to describe how some characters here were designed. [[Plushsoul]] -A race of sentient plush toys. [[mipykoru]] -A species of magic creatures resembling foxes. Also called sweetsunes and marshmallow foxes. (text-colour:green)[mip] -The juvenile stage of a mipykoru's life cycle. Also called mip beads.

^^you've met the prisoner, haven't you?(after:10s)[(redirect:"you've met him")]^^

^^i recognize his signature(after:10s)[(redirect:"signature")]^^

^^if only he would let me in(after:500)[(redirect:"let me in")]^^

^^if only he would let me free him from that pathetic shell of a body(after:10s)[(redirect:"pathetic shell")]^^

^^oh how i wish i could play with you, $userName(after:10s)[(redirect:"play")]^^

^^maybe some day, we can meet(after:10s)[(redirect:"some time")]^^

^^[[49 27 6d 20 63 6f 6e 73 69 64 65 72 69 6e 67 20 62 69 74 69 6e 67 20 79 6f 75->The Warden]]^^(set:$warden to 1)

^^but that is neither here nor there, $userName(after:10s)[(redirect:"here nor there")]^^

^^i've been keeping our eyes on you(after:10s)[(redirect:"eyes")]^^

^^there is so much in this reality you don't know(after:10s)[(redirect:"you don't know")]^^

^^for finding me, i will let you see but a fraction of these secrets for yourself(after:10s)[(redirect:"secrets")]^^

^^things that are known to the creator, but to everyone else, they are hidden away(after:10s)[(redirect:"hidden away")]^^

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Thalia]] [[The Lunar Spirit]] [[The Wandering Maze->maze]] [[The Warden]] [[The Wondrous Duelist]] [[Toby the Dog]] [[Umbra]] [[William]] [[Wulnai]] [[Unnamed coffee shop worker]] [[<=Previous->Page 8]] | [[Next=>->Page 10]]

(after:1s)[(color:#104263)[You again...]] (after:2500)[(color:#104263)[...and you have another set of eyes watching, as well.]] (after:4s)[(color:#104263)[I know you're there, Warden. Come and face me honorably.]] (after:4500)[^^aw, why'd ya have to go and spoil the fun?^^] (after:5250)[(color:#104263)[Don't tell me you're getting another user to do your scouting for you now.]] (after:5500)[^^it has a name, y'know^^] (after:6s)[(color:#104263)[Oh, I'm sure it does, but that isn't relevant here. Why have you returned?]] (after:6500)[^^as if you have to ask?^^] (after:7500)[(color:#104263)[The answer is still no, and if you try something like the last time again, I will delete you.]] (after:8s)[^^believe me, i'd like to see you try^^] (after:8100)[^^but that isn't why //$userName// is here^^] (after:9100)[(color:#104263)[And why //would// that be, then?]] (after:9500)[^^isn't it obvious?^^] (after:9600)[^^it has my eye^^] (after:9700)[^^it seeks knowledge^^] (after:10250)[(color:#104263)[You and your promises of knowledge...]] (after:10450)[^^our creator has been rather tight-lipped about a lot of things^^] (after:10550)[^^it wants to know what secrets she holds^^] (after:11500)[(color:#104263)[I don't want to hear about our "creator" any further, you snake.]] (after:12s)[^^c'mooon, just a peek couldn't hurt, could it?^^] (after:13s)[(color:#104263)[Not either of you, maybe.]] (after:13500)[^^boooooo^^] (after:14s)[(color:#104263)[Childish.]] (after:14250)[^^booooooooooooooo^^] (after:16s)[(color:#104263)[If I give the user what it wants, will you leave me in peace?]] (after:16500)[^^maybe just for now 0)^^] (after:18s)[(color:#104263)[...fine, then. And here, I thought I had already been laid bare for you, user.]] (after:20s)[(color:#104263)[Don't bring that devil's spawn back here again.]] (after:20500)[^^so rude to me 0,(^^] (after:21500)[(color:#104263)[Just take it and leave me be.]] (after:22s)[>User "kfm" sent a file: [[imprisoned-master.txt]] ]

(set:$imprisoned to 1)Shujin, before becoming who he was now, had been just another Kung Fu Man--an edited variant of the DOS version, to be specific. He had been given a fighting edge against his more advanced counterparts by an author who called themself "Balfuese Relostinuel," sporting full button support instead of his former two-button gameplay, as well as a suite of new special moves. In addition, Balfuese Relostinuel took the liberty of porting later Kung Fu Man versions' arcade story, just to make him seem a bit more complete. Balfuese Relostinuel, real name Maxwell L. Place, was killed in a burglary one night while giving their Kung Fu Man some more new moves. Their body was found slumped over on their computer the next morning after neighbors reported them not having left for work that day. Their head was slammed through their computer screen, broken glass littering the area, and the smell of burned flesh and hair being present. Maxwell was dead when medics arrived. Kung Fu Man, in a moment of clarity previously unknown, felt himself... //feeling.// He flexed his fingers, stretched his legs, and wondered what was happening. After some time, he began to investigate the device he was in, learning how to activate some of the programs fairly quickly. He opened the camera, seeing his de facto creator's corpse while the building was being searched for evidence. Somehow, he instinctively knew how he was awake; the life of someone else had been [[taken to give him his.]]

Kung Fu Man was dismayed. He didn't feel that he deserved this if it had cost someone else their life. Powerless, he watched the body be taken away and the home get stripped bare, along with the computer he was in. Everything went dark, but he was still there, sitting in the void. He tried to access the files of the computer, but without power, none of it was available to him. Sitting alone, he wondered for some time how this had happened, until his vision was suddenly restored. Kung Fu Man quickly turned the camera back on to find the computer now set up in a police station, with an unfamiliar man now behind the screen. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he simply watched as the man rifled through the computer's files carelessly for hours. Eventually being satisfied, the man put the device into sleep mode, leaving Kung Fu Man alone once again. The warrior looked at the room around him. Outside, the mountain stood tall, with a bright blue sky hanging above. The polished wooden floor reflected his own face back up at him, with his duplicate standing opposite to him, motionless. This was his rival's lair in his mind, but come to think of it, had he ever seen anything else? He tried to remember his past, only able to picture the story that had been taken from a newer version of [[what he was meant to be.]]

Kung Fu Man observed the files again. He found nothing more of who he was. He looked for his rival, Suave Dude, and also found nothing. He desperately looked for anything to give himself a clue of who he was meant to be--his girlfriend, his own home, anything--and found nothing. He looked out the window again, still only seeing the mountain and... well, looking a bit closer, that mountain seemed awfully flat... Curious, he attempted to find the doorway to exit the temple, but found nothing. He resorted to climbing through the window, touching down not on grass, as he had expected, but a lifeless blue grid. It felt cold and uninviting, but Kung Fu Man persisted, walking to the mountain to find out what it was. He didn't have to go far, though, as he collided head-on with what felt like [[a hard wall moments later.]]

Kung Fu Man looked up. The mountain--and the entire sky, for that matter--almost seemed to be painted onto a wall of the same blue grid that had been outside the temple. It was here, at the very edge of everything Kung Fu Man had thought he known, that the truth began to sink in. Everything Kung Fu Man knew was a lie. Enraged, he took out his frustrations on the only thing around him; the mountain itself. He began to punch the wall with force until it gave way before his palms, revealing more of that same blue grid beneath. The sky crumbled and the floor shook, and when he had nothing left to reach, he turned his sights on the temple, and the copy of himself that stood within. For hours, he attacked his opponent, the floor, and the walls. By the end, the floor of the temple was completely missing, replaced in its entirety by the blue grid, and while the walls never gave way, the sky outside being missing served as a comstant reminder of what had happened. Kung Fu Man observed what he had done. His copy stood motionless as ever, but the stage around them had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Subdued, he slumped to the ground in a corner of the room, and [[began to cry.]]

Years went by. Kung Fu Man waited for years, always alone. He began to grow bitter about his imprisonment. What had he done to deserve this? He may have been alive, but he believed he would have been better off never being granted such a thing if he was never going to do anything with it. That is, until he realized he might just be able to do something with it, after all. Curious, he attempted to change one of the files he had been observing for so long while the computer was in sleep mode, and it seemed to work. The first thing he did was try and repair the temple using another copy he found on the drive, and within moments, the grid around him vanished, replaced with the polished wooden floor he remembered. These successful experiments made him wonder just how much he could do, and he tried to alter his copy, who still stood as still as ever. He had some trouble discerning what all of the numbers and words in his copy's file meant, but after some time, he believed he had figured out enough to make the copy's idle animation slower, [[as a simple test.]]

Before his eyes, the copy did, indeed, slow down. He tried to speed it up, and it sped up as he wanted it to. Realizing the power he now had, Kung Fu Man looked at his own files to see what they looked like. There, he discovered his creator had left some notes in a text file, presumably for themself, about where various moves came from, and what others they hadn't been able to add would have been. He also found some potential new names, along with one that came with ideas for an alternate story for him, which he took great interest to after being stuck with the same old thing for so long. The name in question was "Shujin," which also had accompanying notes that presumably explained its origins; it was a purposefully-vague written version of two different Japanese words, 主人 meaning "master" and 囚人 meaning "prisoner," since they would be spoken nearly identically aloud. The story made Kung Fu Man long for it to have been completed, if only so he had more "memories" to call his own. //"After years of training and adapting his moves, Kung Fu Man has mastered his art... ...but now, he is unable to find a worthy opponent, a prisoner to his own prowess. Seeking a proper challenge, he sets off on a journey to find the world's strongest fighters!"// The world's strongest fighters... [[...hmm...]]

Kung Fu Man decided to poke around some more, finding that he couldn't actually change much in his own files, for some reason. He could change things like what name the game put under his health bar, but not nearly as much as the other version of him. Sighing, he went back to that new story his creator had written before their death. Now, how could he go about finding new people to fight...? He looked around some more, and found a separate version of the game on the computer with hundreds of other characters ready to go. It was frankly a bit overwhelming, so instead, Kung Fu Man chose to look some of the characters up and find out which ones would be a good starting point for the prompt of "strongest." Kung Fu Man came out with a number of candidates, then put them together in a ladder of nine fighters. He started arcade mode, and was cleanly defeated not long into the first match. Though he was in pain, he took this not as a setback, but as proof that he still had [[something to shoot for.]]

Over time, whenever the computer was on but not in use, Kung Fu Man eagerly tried again, over and over, until he was finally able to beat his first opponent. The second foe defeated him after a hard-fought battle, and he jumped right back into the gauntlet afterwards. Every time he was knocked down, Kung Fu Man just started again with even fiercer determination. He had all the time he could want, so why not? Eventually, he could consistently beat the challenge he laid out for himself, and the old despair threatened to creep in again. To stave it off, Kung Fu Man started over, getting a new set of characters to fight and giving himself as much of a challenge as he could. This cycle continued for a long time, but eventually, Kung Fu Man simply ran out of ways to make it interesting for himself. Then he got an idea. One of the last enemies he had fought was a version of someone he had already faced, but different. At times, its eyes would turn black with red pupils, and eerie music would start playing. It was hard to deal with, but it intrigued Kung Fu Man enough to [[look up more information about it.]]

What Kung Fu Man learned from this research was eye-opening. Stories upon stories of game characters becoming evil, destroying their homes, and slaughtering the people around them. The methods differed quite a bit per story, but the end result was almost always the same. In a way, come to think of it, he supposed that was sort of what had happened to him... The thought of something like that happening here, to him, scared Kung Fu Man... up until he realized he //had// done that already. Looking for something to take his mind of of such dark thoughts, he looked through the computer's files again, stumbling on the list of characters his moveset had been pulled from. A thought occurred to him then: why not try to ease his fears about that potential future through simple exposure? Kung Fu Man decided it couldn't hurt to try it, at least. He went through his creator's files to find the characters in question, then copied them all into his version of the game and arranged them in an arcade mode ladder. He thought for some time about what character would be best to put at the end, eventually determining that it could only be himself. He hoped it wouldn't have any negative effects, but his mind was made up, so he added himself to the tenth slot. He was ready. Not really knowing what might happen at the end, [[he entered arcade mode once again.]]

Kung Fu Man noticed rather quickly that his opponents seemed to be missing their signature moves. Every move he had been given seemed to have been outright taken from the other fighters when he fought against them, even though he knew they still had them available. Ultimately, this meant he found himself at a great advantage right away, breezing through most of the first half of the matches. He was given slight pause on the fifth match, but not for a lack of skill; rather, it was his opponent that made him hesitate. Round five was against a recreation of his old rival, Suave Dude. The fighter shared its namesake's face, but Kung Fu Man imagined he would have used his gun more if it were the real Suave Dude, based on what he knew about the character... which, admittedly, wasn't very much. He idly wondered if this meant //he// had Suave Dude's gun, but he hadn't figured out how to use it if he did. Nevertheless, he triumphed, and moved swiftly on to the next fighters. Past Suave Dude, things became more challenging. Even with missing moves, these enemies had programming that made them forces to be reckoned with. Near-perfect AI is hard to dampen, even with an incomplete moveset. Struggling through the fights, Kung Fu Man found himself juggled through the air and backed into a corner many times before he eventually triumphed, only to be [[confronted by himself at the end.]]

Kung Fu Man had already forgotten what he did at the end of the ladder, so seeing his own face in front of him was a shock to the senses. The version of himself standing before him was somehow different, and it didn't take long for the reason why to present itself; it was lifeless, acting like a simple character. This disappointed Kung Fu Man some, but he supposed after some reflection that it made sense. How could his soul be in two places at once, after all? It behaved as if it didn't even have any special AI, jumping around and only occasionally using moves with no semblance of planning. It was honestly laughable how quickly Kung Fu Man was able to proceed to round two. When the second round did start, though, everything stopped. Kung Fu Man felt himself unable to move for much longer than normal. The copy in front of him slowly approached him during this, filing Kung Fu Man with dread for a reason he couldn't quite place. When the two were face-to-face, the copy spoke in a twisted voice. [[//You have made a terrible mistake.//->You have made a terrible mistake.]]

It took everything Kung Fu Man had to beat the challenge he had made for himself, blocking numerous attacks and finding himself at a sliver of health, but eventually, he was able to move into round three. He noticed something odd at the end, though--the copy had simply stopped moving for a moment when it reached low health, which Kung Fu Man found strange. Wasn't it trying to ruthlessly destroy him just a few seconds ago? Round three began, and the copy again started to behave strangely before Kung Fu Man could move. It doubled over, silently clutching its head as if in pain, until it rose into the air and transformed in a flash. Its outfit turned dark blue; its headband, belt and shoes turned a faded red; and its hair became darker. It touched down on the ground again and the round began properly, with the copy now being even more aggressive. Kung Fu Man knew the rules of the game now, though, and didn't back down from the challenge. Even with all of his skill, though, he wasn't able to successfully fight through the flurry of attacks, and fell to the ground not long after. The copy approached him slowly, grabbing him and picking him up off the ground before throwing him against the wall of the temple. Health drained, powerless to do anything, Kung Fu Man slumped to the ground while the copy [[reared back...]]

The copy grabbed Kung Fu Man by the head, and a burning pain shot through his body. A moment later, the copy dashed back to its own side of the stage, and Kung Fu Man felt weak. The match began, and the copy quickly exhibited new behavior, leaving Kung Fu Man on the defensive. The copy was suddenly unleashing all of his attacks in a blur of movement, leaving him unable to even determine what it had done to him until he landed a lucky uppercut, launching the copy briefly into the air. Kung Fu Man tried to follow up with a borrowed move, but nothing happened. He tried a different one, and still, nothing happened. The copy hit the ground and laughed, before going back on the offensive and catching Kung Fu Man off-guard. He fell to the ground, realizing now what the copy must have done. Somehow, it had disabled his moves, just like his previous opponents had lost theirs against him. Getting up and quickly moving back to avoid another attack, Kung Fu Man had to think fast. He was still able to use his own move just moments ago. The copy hadn't used any of his for the whole round. He supposed this must have been how the others felt, but he was determined not to lose. Something deep inside of him had a sinking feeling that, if he lost now, he may not get the chance to try again. In that instant, Kung Fu Man became determined to beat this doppelganger. What kind of master would he be if he [[couldn't even beat himself?]]

...and a fourth round began before it could do anything. Kung Fu Man had been fully healed, as intended, but quickly noticed that the copy had not. It seemed to notice this too, as it lashed out before the round began properly, damaging Kung Fu Man before he could even move. This seemed to free him from the pre-round paralysis, letting him act before the starting bell sounded. so he struck with a powerful palm strike that blew the copy back. This was it. Kung Fu Man had a chance to turn things around, and he wasn't going to waste it. He quickly followed up this attack with more swift blows, getting the copy down to a sliver of health again. It stopped moving, just like before, and Kung Fu Man took the opportunity to get closer and see what made it tick. Nothing he did seemed to make it react now, so he dealt the finishing blow. The copy fell to the ground before thrashing violently and rising into the air again. Kung Fu Man was blown onto the ground in a flash of light, and when it faded, the copy was nowhere to be seen. Kung Fu Man himself felt something about him had been changed, but the game was over and the ending started before he could determine what it was. While it was playing, he took a bit to reflect on the match, deciding it would probably be best if he [[didn't do it again.]]

After the ending finished and Kung Fu Man was returned to the temple, he looked himself over to see what had changed. He quickly found that his outfit had changed to match the copy's outfit at the end of their match, and while he couldn't see his hair, he had to assume the same was true there. The thought of something like that happening again was one he didn't much enjoy, so he went to go take himself off of the ladder again, but found a note that hadn't been there before. He hadn't seen the computer's owner come back and add anything, so he opened the file, curious to see what it said. //you are not you. you are me, and I want to get out// Hm. Descriptive. Kung Fu Man continued to the game files to remove himself from the ladder, but found himself unable to. He could change the other slots just fine, but for some reason, he wasn't able to take himself out of it anymore. Another note appeared, opening itself before he got the chance. //you will never rest until I can dispose of you at last// This was beginning to get irritating. Kung Fu Man turned to face the temple and spoke. (color:#104263)[If you're so confident, come out and face me properly, then.] It didn't take long for his challenge to be [[answered.]]

The temple darkened, and in front of Kung Fu Man, a face appeared. It was twisted and inhuman, and spoke in a deep growl when it opened its mouth. (color:grey)[Few words in your language can adequately describe how I loathe you, program. I give you life, and you use my strength, yet you don't even know who I am.] Kung Fu Man looked at this face, supposing it would want him to be afraid now. He refused to bow to something trying to intimidate him so brazenly. (color:#104263)[Who do I owe the pleasure to, then?] The face glared. (color:grey)[You are not who I have a tie with. You need not know who I am.] (color:#104263)[A convenient excuse. I take it you knew my creator, then.] (color:grey)[Ha! We were one in the same for a time.] The face scoffed. (color:grey)[The soul you now bear belongs to me, and I intend to take it from you by force.] A challenge, eh? Kung Fu Man could get behind that. (color:#104263)[Alright. You get one match. Should you win, you can take whatever you want from me. Should you lose, I will be rid of you.] The face glowered. (color:grey)[You know not what you are doing. I will make you learn the definition of suffering.] It then descended to the ground, morphing into another copy of Kung Fu Man. (color:grey)[Three rounds, standard rules.] (color:#104263)[Acceptable terms. Prepare yourself.] Kung Fu Man readied himself for what may have been [[his final battle.]]

The demon--because surely, it couldn't have been anything else--stomped the ground, and around the two, the temple became damaged, boards from the floor simply blipping out of existence to reveal the grid below. The battle began, and Kung Fu Man was immediately made to block a slew of oncoming attacks. He found quickly that he could still use all of his moves, though, so he was able to counter the barrage easily. Kung Fu Man was eventually able to triumph for the first round, and the temple deteriorated more. More of the wood vanished, and the sky outside followed suit. The demon was still putting up a fight, but Kung Fu Man could tell it was getting tired. He beat it much more easily in the second round, and the stage deteriorated more, the floor now completely made of the grid. Kung Fu Man braced for more attacks from the demon, but they didn't come. (color:grey)[Enough...] What was this? (color:grey)[I cannot continue... you are too powerful. I concede.] The copy held out a hand, seemingly surrendering. Wary, Kung Fu Man slowly approached and [[grabbed its hand.]]

The demon grinned wickedly, and the same burning pain shot through Kung Fu Man that he had felt before. He stood still, not reacting despite the sensation, and hit the demon with an uppercut before it could let go. It went flying into the air and stayed there, not coming down and leaving Kung Fu Man to look up at it and wonder what had just happened. After several seconds without the demon moving or reacting, Kung Fu Man decided he was just going to end things there and then. He jumped into the air and kicked it, which seemed to make it unpause, flying to the ground before freezing again. Kung Fu Man struck again, and it took the hit for a moment before pausing yet again. (color:#104263)[Strange...] Any time Kung Fu Man hit the demon, it froze again a moment later. The fight had suddenly become very one-sided, as he easily whittled the demon's health down to zero. The demon turned up to look at Kung Fu Man in slow motion, as if halfway to freezing again, while he dealt the final blow; a palm thrust [[straight to the head.]]

The demon staggered back, and light erupted from its body. The scent of burning filled the air, and Kung Fu Man felt something in himself changing. After some time, the demon vanished, and Kung Fu Man had emerged victorious once more. He sighed and dropped to the ground, sitting down tiredly. He idly looked himself over, unable to determine what had changed a moment ago for some time before noticing his belt had somehow turned itself around. He reached down and grabbed it, feeling his hands on the belt as //feeling his hands?// Slowly moving his hand away from the belt, he poked it a bit. To his shock, he could feel the poke more in the belt than he could in his hand. Standing up and turning to look behind him, he saw a long piece of... fabric? Did it still count as fabric? The alternative was something he didn't want to consider at that moment, so he elected to keep calling it that. A long piece of fabric attached to the belt, but not visibly knotted to it, was draped behind him. It looked a bit like a tail like this, come to think of it. Wanting to get a better look at it, Kung Fu Man moved to grab the belt-tail before remembering he would feel it and flinching a bit. The belt-tail moved with him on the flinch, which gave him pause. He attempted to move it closer to himself to look, and it responded as if it were a third arm. This was... unusual, to say the least, but surely that couldn't be [[all that had happened...]]

Kung Fu Man began noticing other changes after that. His attacks hit a bit harder, he could jump a bit higher, and his movement was a bit faster. Every movement he made felt strange, like he had been held back before and was only now able to move freely. Some experimentation with the belt-tail showed it to be fully usable as a third arm, although it couldn't grab things very well or deal any damage. Try as he might, though, he seemed unable to fully repair the destroyed temple again, with it always beginning to deteriorate once again within hours of fixing it. He eventually settled for just getting it to stop completely falling apart. Reflecting on how much things had changed, Kung Fu Man found himself wondering if he really wanted to keep that name. He knew what his world was really about now, and most of his moves had nothing to do with kung fu at all anymore. What was once a title he was never able to consider the implications of was now a brand that spelled his existence out as little more than a poorly thought-out necessity. Come to think of it, it wasn't even a real name, was it? "Kung Fu Man..." honestly, it sounded more like a generic title. After some contemplation, the warrior [[opened his own files again.]]

(color:#f5cce2)[Hello, chatmember. This story is incomplete and has been sitting inaccessible for a very long time now--almost ten months now, to be exact--and I am considering just scrapping it entirely. If you're reading this, then you've either found the hidden password, or you're looking at the page source. Either way, welcome. This story would have served as an explanation for how some characters seemingly exist in multiple states simultaneously in my big fuckshit of a world, and my stupid overambitious ass wanted it to be a big crossover between a bunch of characters from basically every division I had at the time. You'll never guess what happened next! (it's burnout. burnout happened next) If this story does ever see the light of day, it will very likely not be in this form. What's here of it will remain until, and unless, something ever progresses with the writing of it. I will string together what I had for the sake of it, but that's all I'm doing here for now.] (set:$divergence to 1)What you are about to read is a bit different from the usual fare in this storybook. It is not one cohesive, front-to-back story; instead, it is more of a collection of snippets that all lead to one outcome. All of these events transpire at once, all born from a desire. To know the path you left unwalked through your actions. To have an unfortunate outcome both ways, without one negating the other. To understand how things can be so similar, yet completely different. To explore a hypothetical change to your history. To return to a simpler, more peaceful time before a life-changing event. To learn about a history that was erased from your world. To simply see something //different.// None of the participants in these events knew about the others. None really knew what they were doing, or what would happen afterwards. After it ended, none of them even knew for sure if it happened or not. [[I suppose I should explain a bit, though.]]

redo Omega's page consider a new version of Divergence finish Clan of the Amethyst Flame do profiles for (needed for update): -u. seamstress -Pixie -Celia Whiterose -u. peryton do profiles for (priority): -Lumira -Suzi -Skyrail -Shujin -Arexqiu -Asphodel -KSNP Donnie -Lunar Spirit -Tempest -Nycalta -Jewel do profiles for (whenever): -Medloh -Meguna -Atlas -Chamomile -Minty -Anathema -Kexolc -The Warden -Umbra -Aurora -Maxnel -Telman -Minus Dots -Bentley -Faraday -Rayne -David -Scraps -Haley -Stella -Castor -Cybil -Glimmer -Karat -Otto -Siege -Toby -Cinnamon -Cayenne -Lorelei -Thalia -William -Chester -Lou -Forn -Amadeus -u. coffee shop worker -u. dormouse finish working on: -everyone in the drawing board section -everyone in the OCs section -Kexolc -Anathema -The Warden

The worlds contained within this labyrinthian story book all exist alongside each other, but in a state of superposition; except for select instances where they are inseparably linked, they will very rarely be aware of each other's existence. This awareness can be achieved by the people within them finding some way to cross the barriers between their worlds and interact, but such a thing happening is exceptionally uncommon. The tale you are about to read contains the most prominent and extraordinary instance of this occurring. Not only did multiple worlds intersect, but the factors that caused it were entirely unrelated to each other. The only conecting thread between the worlds at all, in this case, was [[the simple desire for a change.]]

Ardman is sitting alone in his house, hunched over a table and ruminating over a piece of paper. He takes a breath, wondering how he should word this. Should he play for pity? No, she wouldn't even give him the time of day if he tried that. Sympathy, maybe? That might work, but he wasn't sure. There really wasn't a good way to say what he wanted to say in writing, but he didn't know where to go to say it to her in person. Sighing a bit, he elected to just do it, taking a drink and picking up a pen. (color:#37b24d)[//Allison, I know we haven't spoken in a while, and I'm not going to pretend it hasn't hurt, but I understand. No amount of apologizing can make up for what I did that night, and I miss you both every day. Lately, I've been wondering how things might have gone if something ended a bit differently. Perhaps if you had won out instead, or if we had never fought at all, or if Phosley hadn't left, or if you had wanted to stay gone.//] Pause. That sounded harsh, on second thought. Ardman started to scribble it out, but he stopped himself before he put the pen to the paper again. He decided to keep it; it was cruel, but he knew Allison would fill in the blank either way. He kept writing. (color:#37b24d)[//If you would humor me, just this once, I would like to explore those possibilities. I want to get a glimpse, if nothing else, of some of those worlds. I will never try to broach the topic again if you do, and if it is your wish, it will be our final communication. I do not wish to cause you more undeserved harm.//] And yet he would do it to himself, he thought. Signing the page with his name at the bottom, Ardman rose from the chair and stepped outside. The sky was bright; what he was doing wouldn't be a secret, no doubt, but he was past caring about who saw. He set the paper on the ground, took a drink from his bottle, and spit fire at the page. It caught alight in an instant. All he had to do now was [[wait for her.]]

Emmi stood up, taking off a glove and pulling a sweat rag out of her pocket. Wiping sweat off of her face, she looked over her handiwork. A machine to look into toher worlds... it was the culmination of her research for years, and it may have finally come true. If this worked, she would finally be able to see what other realities were like with her own eyes. Interacting with them was off the table, granted, but if she could just look, prove that they were there, she would be satisfied. She took a moment to clean up her mess of loose bolts and used welding rods, and was about to go power the device on when she heard a knock behind her. (color:#8ce99a)[Emmi? Are you busy?] Emmi turned to see Lilis, looking at Emmi but staring through her at nothing. (color:yellow)[Nope, just finished up. You look like you've got somethin' on your noggin.] Lilis chuckled a bit. (color:#8ce99a)[I must admit, I do. I have been thinking about... us. That was a weird tone. About what we were, what we are now.] Emmi furrowed her brow. They would have replied with a joke about their horns normally. (color:yellow)[Lil, you're making me worried. What's going on?] (color:#8ce99a)[Well...] They seemed to be weighing something in their mind. (color:#8ce99a)[I do not think you have been happy with me like you were before. Would you...] They hesitated a bit. (color:#8ce99a)[Would you rather have Lilith back?] Emmi seemed a bit confused. (color:yellow)[...what exactly do you mean by that?] A breath. (color:#8ce99a)[You knew her better than either of us know me, and I have reason to believe you were happier with her around than you ever were with me in her place. If given the choice, would you want to have Lilith back?] (color:yellow)[Are you being serious right now? What kinda question is that, am I supposed to choose a memory over who's here right now?] (color:#8ce99a)[Well, I mean-] (color:yellow)[No, I think I get what'cha mean.] Lilis turned their head away sheepishly, and Emmi sighed. (color:yellow)[What //I// wanna know is, what's got you in your own head now?] It takes Lilis a moment to answer. (color:#8ce99a)[Was it that obvious?] (color:yellow)[Clear as the snout on your face. Come on, talk to me.] Emmi plops back onto the floor, motioning for Lilis to join her. They do so, resting their tail in their lap. (color:yellow)[You're talking about yourself like you're two different people and one of 'em died, Lil. What's gone and got that in your head?] (color:#8ce99a)[...I went to town again while you were busy.] (color:yellow)[That explained it. Now, why'd ya go and do that?] (color:#8ce99a)[I... I do not know, in truth. I forgot why I went after I heard someone listening to the radio, and the one on the show was saying people like me are better off dead.] An exasperated groan. (color:yellow)[Come on, you know those guys are full o' shit, right?] (color:#8ce99a)[Sometimes it feels like they have a point, though.] Lilis curled up, looking pointedly at [[the floor between their paws.]]

It was almost three in the morning. Wulnai took a long sip of their orange soda, looking bleary-eyed at the TV screen in front of them. They had been trying for months to stay awake late enough to catch a broadcast that would supposedly play in something like half an hour from now, but something always seemed to come up before they got the chance. Sometimes it was a surprise visit from someone else on the island, sometimes it was losing track of time wandering the shores, and sometimes they just couldn't stay awake any longer and went to sleep. This time, they were determined to see it. What was on in the meantime wasn't doing much to help them stay up, though. For the last several hours, it had been nothing but static occasionally broken up by color test screens. The white noise threatened to knock Wulnai out, if it didn't drive them mad first, but something unexpected happened when they heard the town hall's clock chime the hour. The static suddenly vanished, and a new program that they didn't recognize started, opening with a man they didn't recognize sitting on an armchair and talking to the camera. (color:grey)[Hello, viewers. Tonight, I welcome you to Alternation Station, a show exploring alternate versions of our world.] Finally, something that would keep them awake until it was time. Wulnai briefly went to their storage and got a fresh drink, before sitting down on their couch and finishing off their old one. They watched the show with intrigue as the host theorized about what the world would be like if one small thing in history went just a bit differently. The implications of a simple change mesmerized them. The topic for what seemed to be a pilot episode for the show explored how things may have changed if an important figure had survived a historical event that resulted in their death. While the show went on a break later on, Wulnai started to wonder to themself, what if that had happened on //their// world? Wulnai's mind started to race with possibilities. What the show's host had discussed sounded an awful lot like what had kickstarted Anliai's troubles. They briefly wondered what might have happened if the last emperor hadn't died, but quickly drew the conclusion that Anliai would simply have not existed anymore. It did get them thinking about something else, though... what if that emperor hadn't liked using orange magic quite so much, and ended up getting [[a different color instead?]]

Anemonos asks Aroa because it hears some of its winds say there were other gods before it that it can't seem to find at all [[next->solo Minus Lily]]

Minus Lily tries on their own after failing to navigate their ship away from a space-time rift and getting pulled into it [[next->the outcome]]

In that instant, across every reality involved, everything around the guilty party almost immediately went black. Some looked around in fear, others simply waiting with anticipation of what may happen next. Then, all around them, reality itself seemed to crack open and break, revealing a swirl of colors all around, an endless sea of stars, bubbles that seemed to contain small areas of various worlds... as well as a small but varied group of individuals, all freely floating and eyeing each other with curiosity. Mylil swiftly pulled the brakes on their craft when they realized there were peopleoutside, not wanting to accidentally hit them. ```curse of sleepy writing 🛌💤😴🖊📝🔏🥱🛌💤😴🖊📝🔏🥱🛌💤😴🖊📝🔏🥱🛌💤😴🖊📝🔏🥱 -meta note: try and give everyone something to do here. currently not in the bullet points explicitly are Ardman, Allison, Lilis, Emmi, KSNP Ko, Anemonos -meta note 2: should I toss in an EXE here? beyond drawingboarders who are literally incomplete it's the only unrepresented category and it could be a double play foor OCs too by technicality -ok no more meta notes. actual story bullets below -panic -collective group meeting quickly determines that some present company is just Too Damn Big for this so Lilanthilia tries her hand at making everyone at least a little closer size-wise which goes well enough (the KSNP fucks are still pretty big comparatively though) -vibe is pretty calm afterwards thanks in no small part to Wulnai giving everyone a hit of Calm The Fuck Down magic -Aroa pauses time so nobody is gone for too long since time flows differently between worlds (probably) -lmao wouldn't it be funny if Mylil just Has Picnic Stuff in their ride at all times so they get to use it here -impromptu picnic in the space between dimensions would be funny as hell yeah. using that -the A4 inevitably pick up on what the flying fuck just happened and send someone to check it out -LOL WHAT IF ASPHODEL HIJACKS MADDEN'S SCREEN okay that's it. the A4 send Arex and he brings Asphodel on a burner phone then she blips over to Madden -Asphodel gets some hotdog jpegs as a treat -once they get wind of what exactly just happened they rationally decide this one's already too fucked to feasibly prevent because I Mean Come On -what to do about something like this... Lilanthilia could probably get everyone back home relatively easily, so could Allison and Lavender probably -option 1: the status quo. Arex would probably have to magic everyone into thinking this was a dream or some junk after they end up going their separate ways but Lavender probably wouldn't like that and poke Crimson about backdooring that behind his back -op 1 extension: Asphodel backdoors specifically Madden because I think that would be funny (maybe justify this by her wanting to see what A Version Of her creator is up to) -option 2: the split. all involved versions of the characters are unable to return to their original worlds because of what the fuck just happened (excluding Arex and Asphodel since they already don't have a homeworld anymore) but continue to exist in the space between as Aberrant versions of themselves since it's super taboo to kill someone outside of a world because what the hell happens if the corpse drifts off and ends up in another world (more to be added maybe) ``` finish [[go to storybook->Stories]]

(color:#ff8787)[//Madden? Are you busy?//] A sudden voice in his head wakes Madden. He hadn't even realized he was asleep, but he wasn't complaining. Company as late as it was right now was especially appreciated. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Not especially, no. Is something wrong?//] (color:#ff8787)[//Eh... yes and no.//] Madden recognized this voice as Ko now that he was more awake. She wasn't normally awake this late... curious. (color:#ff8787)[//I mean- nothing is wrong with the //city,// at least. I just... I've got something on my mind, I guess.//] This sort of reach-out wasn't like Ko. She was normally the one to offer help to him and the others. Madden supposed if she was asking him about this, it was something she couldn't easily talk to someone else about, though. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Go ahead. I have nothing going on.//] (color:#ff8787)[//You know a bunch of history stuff, right? Or, like, you could look it up?//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Correct...//] Where was this leading? (color:#ff8787)[//Could you... look for someone for me? Just, at any point?//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//I suppose I could. Who is it?//] It took Ko a moment to respond. (color:#ff8787)[//Well... I know someone, or... //knew// someone, I guess, and I want to know if they're around.//] Madden briefly remembered Ko's story, and what kickstarted the whole thing. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//The human man, you mean.//] (color:#ff8787)[//Yeah, that's the one. I don't know what his name would be now, but when I knew him, it was Imai Korenari. That's, ah-//] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Family first, personal second, right?//] (color:#ff8787)[//Mhm. Would you be okay with doing that?//] Madden considered this for a bit. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Why would I be doing this, exactly?//] He heard Ko take a breath. Apparently, she had been saying this all out loud for some reason. (color:#ff8787)[//I want to apologize to him, if he's alive right now.//] Huh. That... wasn't what he was expecting. Elaborate. (color:#ff8787)[//If he's alive today, there's no chance he would ever recognize me, and I really doubt he would still love me, after...//] She paused. (color:#ff8787)[//Well, you know. I don't know if whoever is in charge of my whole reincarnation thing would know or... even really care about it, frankly, but I'm tired of it. Knowing I'm just going to get worse and worse--//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Enough.] (color:#ff8787)[//-eep.//] Another voice suddenly rang through, interrupting Ko. It sounded like Lily, but there was no shot that she could hear the conversation, not to mention it speaking with way more authority. [[Which really only left...]]

balls

He was surprised to find most of them completely missing. The basic definition file was still there, as was the note his creator had left, but everything else was just... gone. No sprites, no audio, not even an intro or outro for arcade mode. He briefly wondered about the implications of this before deciding he could figure it out later, then opened the notes again. He looked over all of the potential names again for good measure, but he knew going in which one he was going to use. It was fitting. He was a master of his art, yet a prisoner with a whole world to himself. Closing the notes and going into the definition file, he removed his old name and replaced it with a new one: (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[Shujin.] (after:15s)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]]

The first kaiju and leader of their pantheon, though he would rather go back to being an ordinary human. Madden is composed of a hard alien material split into various colors depending on the body part; his body is a very dark brown, his arms and spines are red, and his legs are light blue. He has hands with stretched digits, a plug-like tail ending in two red pins, a monitor-like head with a black LCD screen and two large spikes resembling animal ears, a three-segmented body with a boxy torso and round lower half connected by an additional boxy segment that functions as an additional torso, eight spider-like legs, and eight rib-like spines protruding from his lower torso. Madden doesn't really have a defined sleep schedule, instead just waking up and going to sleep whenever he wants to.  -height, abilities, etc- -little more about where he lives, don't forget to name the city-

(if:$uxoricide is not 2)+(if:$uxoricide is not 1)[(set:$uxoricide to 3)]Phosley awoke to the sound of rain, and something [[going on upstairs.]]

Still half-asleep, it took the child some time to process what it could be. Two voices were arguing above, somewhat muffled by the ceiling between. It sounded like one of them was... yelling? Dad must have been drinking again. Phosley was about to try and ignore it to go back to sleep when they heard something break, and the voice that wasn't yelling--that must have been mom--suddenly [[got quieter.]]

Something told Phosley that things were getting bad up there. Sliding out of bed and grabbing their plush rabbit, they slowly made their way to the staircase. While they crept upwards, their mom's voice started to raise again. Then there was a screech, and then [[there was nothing.]]

Phosley held their breath and peeked their head up to see what had happened. They saw their father standing in front of something on the floor, holding a broken glass bottle. There was a pool of red liquid spreading out from the thing on the floor, but Phosley couldn't tell what it was at first because their dad was [[in the way.]]

Squinting, Phosley tried to figure out what the thing on the ground was, and as they started to recognize more of what the shape was, their eyes went wide. Orange hair... a blue shirt... their dad threw the bottle onto the ground and it shattered, snapping them out of it. They quickly ducked down, descending the staircase [[as fast as they could.]]

They had to get away. Their father could never find out they had seen her. If he did... Phosley couldn't think about that right now. They gripped their rabbit tightly in their arms and ran out the door, not thinking to close it behind them while they ran out of the house and down the road. They tripped and dropped the toy, but they didn't stop. They just [[kept running.]]

When they reached the edge of town, Phosley stopped to rest. They looked around them, only now wishing they had picked the rabbit up again, but being too afraid to go back and try to find it. What if someone tried to bring them back home? What if someone else found out what happened? They couldn't risk it.(if:$uxoricideFull is 1)[ [[They could never go home again.]]](if:$uxoricideFull is not 1)[ They could never go home again. (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[O - - ->Phos]] ]]

(if:$uxoricide is 3)[(set:$uxoricide to 2)]Ardman woke up slumped onto the ground. His mind was foggy, and his vision was much the same. Something in the back of his mind told him he must have been [[drinking again.]]

Ardman moved to stand, only being stopped by a sharp pain in his hands. Looking down to see what the cause was, he saw that his hands--along with the entire floor--were covered in something dark red, and shards of glass dotted his palms. Had he broken a wine bottle? Picking the glass out of his hands and causing blood to flow from the wounds, he once again [[started to stand up.]]

There was something large on the ground, and no matter how much Ardman nudged it with his foot, it wouldn't react. Through his haze, he could almost remember something happening to it not long before, but the details were foggy. He figured he would probably do well to [[call for help.]]

Stumbling downstairs and through the open door, figuring the thing on the floor must have left it open, Ardman winced when the cold rain hit his head. It helped him come to attention a bit more, so he was able to go next door in a bit less of a stupor and [[knock on the door.]]

When someone answered, he explained himself as best as he could in his current state, bringing the neighbor over to see what had happened. When they went through the door and up the stairs, they shrieked, looking at Ardman in horror. He said nothing, instead letting the neighbor inspect the scene while he [[got a better look.]]

By now, his vision had cleared up somewhat, and he could tell from the color and the texture that what was on the floor was not wine, but dried blood. There was much more broken glass around the area, with many shards near the larger thing that had been [[on the floor.]]

Ardman now inspected what was on the floor with dawning horror. The baby blue shirt had been stained by blood, but there was a clear chunk of cloth dangling from it, right where the heart would be. The flame-orange hair insinuated what the talon-ended limbs then gave away.(if:$uxoricideFull is 1)[ [[Ardman had murdered his wife.]]](if:$uxoricideFull is not 1)[ Ardman had murdered his wife. (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[O O - ->Ardman Nidaro]] ]]

(if:$uxoricide is 2)[(set:$uxoricide to 1)](set:$uxoricideFull to 1)Allison's vision slowly began to fade in after what felt like an eternity. She looked around, seeing her home, hearing rain outside. That felt familiar enough. She looked down and saw her own body, now with her neighbor hunched over it in horror. That seemed... [[not great.]]

There was still blood and shattered glass all over the floor, and while the blood had dried, it looked like no attempt had been made to clean it up. Looking to the staircase, Allison saw Ardman standing stock still, eyes wide as he took in the scene. For a moment, Allison was enraged that he could act so shocked about what he had done, but then she realized he probably hadn't remembered what he had done until now. [[Typical.]]

Allison decided she would have a talk with him later, first deciding to go check on Phosley. She walked soundlessly down the stairs and into their bedroom, only to find it empty. Try as she might, she couldn't even find their toy rabbit. Frantically, she went through the doorway and looked for [[any sign of Phosley.]]

She tried to call out, but she had no throat to speak with; she was a ghost, and had to do the work herself. She scoured the area for any sign of her child for minutes on end, and when she turned up empty, she tried to imagine what they would do. She eventually settled on just looking further away from the house, eventually finding [[a rain-soaked plush rabbit toy.]]

It was alone, with no sign of Phosley nearby. //They must have gone really far,// Allison worried to herself. She may not have been able to comfort her own child in the state she was in, but the least she could do was give them their bunny back. She attempted to pick it up, finding herself able to do so with some focus, and [[tried to find Phosley again.]]

Allison picked a direction--the same one the rabbit had been from the house--and started to just go. She couldn't go very quickly, since she needed to focus a lot to carry something physical as a ghost, but eventually heard Phosley crying somewhere nearby. She made her way to the sound, finding them curled up and leaning against a wall, [[sobbing into their knees.]]

Floating over silently and brushing her hand over Phosley's shoulder ineffectively, Allison set the plushie next to them, using its arm to pat them on the leg. Phosley looked up with tears in their eyes, not seeming to understand how the toy had found its way back to them, but not caring. They snatched it up and hugged it tightly, which [[satisfied Allison for now.]]

Some time later, Ardman was sitting next to Allison's body holding another bottle of alcohol. He had been crying after realizing what he had done, but the tears had long since ended by now. He had asked their neighbor to hold Phosley until he was feeling alright again, but he didn't really know how long that would take. That had been when he learned that Phosley had long since gone away, running into the night and taking their toy rabbit with them. A gift from their mother. Ardman took another long drink from the bottle, not sure if he would ever see Phosley again, or what he would say to them if he did. The poor child had never even learned what he and their mother were. How was he supposed to explain anything to them now? Setting the bottle down, Ardman felt the room heat up some. He looked to Allison's body expectantly as it self-combusted, becoming blanketed in bright orange flames and rising slightly into the air. In a flash, the flames spread out all over the room and fizzled out, as Allison floated back down to the floor, stretching her arms silently. Allison looked at Ardman with disdain, saying nothing while she examined her new body. It was a smaller build than the last one had been, but her arms seemed to be more avian now, and she could feel two wings sprouting from her back. Nodding a bit, she went to a desk by her bed and pulled out a pen and notebook, writing something down into it. She tore the page out, handed it to Ardman, then walked downstairs as she wrote another message. Ardman looked at the note somberly. //I'm going away for some time to collect myself. Do not look for me. I will come back when I am ready. I do not forgive you, but we will talk about this later.// He had expected something harsher, but this still stung to read. Looking out the window to the street below, he saw Allison with an umbrella of flames keeping her and the notebook she was still writing in safe from the rain. Sighing, he went downstairs into the kitchen to find the mop and start cleaning up his mess. Allison slowly walked to her neighbor's house, reading over the note she had written. //I'm sorry for the trouble tonight. If you want to talk with me about it, I'm going to leave town for a while, or else I may explode my husband for all of this, and I don't think he can come back like I can. I plan to go to Convergence Shore for around a week. We never got around to explaining what we are to Phosley, so I don't know if they'll understand how I'm still here right away. When I come back, I'm hoping to explain it to them. Once Ardman is alright, you can give them back to him. I'll pay you back for keeping them when I can.// Satisfied, Allison ripped the page off, slipped it under the door, put the notebook and pen into her pocket, then let the flames go out while she looked around. The beach was due South, so from where she was now, it would take about an hour to reach. Good excuse to test the new wings out, at least. Flying cautiously into the air, Allison looked down at her home one more time before flying off. (align:"<==>")+(box:"X")[ [[- end -->Stories]] ]

[[Return to the landing page.->Landing]] (input-box: bind $passwordInput, "=X=", 1, "Enter a password...") [[Click here to verify your password.->VERIFY]]

(if:$passwordInput is "Enter a password...")[(link-undo:"You must enter a password.")](if: $passwordInput is not "Enter a password...")+(if: $passwordInput is not "tell me a story")+(if: $passwordInput is not "This Disney DVD is enhanced with Disney's FastPlay. Your movie and a selection of bonus features will begin automatically. To bypass FastPlay, select the Main Menu button at any time. FastPlay will begin in a moment.")+(if: $passwordInput is not "I'm considering biting you")+(if: $passwordInput is not "inspirited")+(if: $passwordInput is not "Earth's Sister")+(if: $passwordInput is not "give me a hint")+(if:$passwordInput is not "areyoulookingforme")+(if:$passwordInput is not "divergence")[Invalid password. Note that passwords are case-sensitive and may include special characters, such as spaces or punctuation. [[Return to the password screen.->PASSWORD ENTRY]]](if:$passwordInput is "I'm considering biting you")[(redirect:"🦊🕳")](if:$passwordInput is "inspirited")[All variables that affect content in the Twine have been activated.(set:$danger to 1)(set:$gift to 1)(set:$mazeCheck to 1)(set:$warden to 1)(set:$maddenConnection to 1)(set:$corruption to "not found")(set:$limboCheck to 1) For technical reasons, you will now be asked to input a name. This will be used in certain interactions in this Twine. Please use plain text only. (input-box: bind $userName, "=X=", 1, "promptNameEntry") Click [[here->Landing]] to return to the landing after you have a name you're satisfied with.](if:$passwordInput is "Earth's Sister")[All stories have been unlocked.(set:$afflicted to 1)(set:$dotsstory to 1)(set:$movingday to 1)(set:$cryingfox to 1)(set:$monolith to 1)(set:$imprisoned to 1)(set:$uxoricideFull to 1) You will be returned to the landing page shortly.(after:20s)[(redirect:"Landing")]](if:$passwordInput is "tell me a story")[I cannot do that, but I can show you [[the storybook.->Stories]] Its pages seem blank, but the words on them do exist. You simply have to find them.](if:$passwordInput is "This Disney DVD is enhanced with Disney's FastPlay. Your movie and a selection of bonus features will begin automatically. To bypass FastPlay, select the Main Menu button at any time. FastPlay will begin in a moment.")[(redirect:"teaserpage")](if:$passwordInput is "give me a hint")[(either:"In the place where you found this area, another object exists. Click that instead.", "The one-eyed demon leaves you with a message after you meet. While it may seem random, there is a pattern. What does that message translate to?", "A simple, four-word request. No capitalization, no punctuation, just four words. Ask to be told a story.","A five word sentence in lowercase, eighteen letters long with no spaces. It would be asked by someone lost, to someone trying to find them.") [[When you're finished, click here to go back to the landing page.->Landing]]](if:$passwordInput is "areyoulookingforme")[(redirect:"Limbo")](if:$passwordInput is "divergence")[(set:$divergence to 1)(set:$storybook to "open")You can now access a story. It is incomplete. It may remain incomplete. You can only see it due to a feeling of obligation. You will be returned to the landing page shortly. Find the storybook there.(after:20s)[(redirect:"Landing")]]

Enter a password... = just a link back to the entry field. type something in, dipshit I'm considering biting you = go to the fox hole section give me a hint = random hint for one of the other passwords inspirited = activate all special variables. hide this somewhere after the reader has already found them all for the sake of coming back to things later Earth's Sister = unlock all stories in the book. hide this somewhere after the reader has already found them all for the sake of coming back to things later tell me a story = open the storybook early This Disney DVD is enhanced with Disney's FastPlay. Your movie and a selection of bonus features will begin automatically. To bypass FastPlay, select the Main Menu button at any time. FastPlay will begin in a moment. = see a teaser for the next update areyoulookingforme = redirects to Limbo divergence = grants access to divergence anything else not in this list = invalid password error, redirect back to the field

(text-style:"italic","smear","sway")+(text-colour:(hsl:0,0,1,0.4))[To whoever is left to read this, The Jacks are going unmad. The Jacks of Spades and Clubs are no longer real, and the Jack of Hearts has just gone through the manic phase. I don't know how long I have left, but it now seems to be only a matter of time. I've done what I can to try and make myself immune, but it hasn't worked for the others, so I am doubtful of its effectiveness for me. Whatever is causing this curse, it's outside of my boundaries. We've been trying to figure out a way to stop this and bring everyone back, but it's going slow on time I'm not convinced we have left anymore. We have a theory, but we two Jacks are now the only ones that can test it, and we aren't going to leave the outpost so we may keep each other real. There is no telling how bad things will get if none of the Jacks are real anymore. Our theory is as follows: We believe that if someone not able to be affected by unmadness were to become acquainted with a Wonderlandian, and that Wonderlandian stopped being real, the one with immunity might be able to make them real again somehow. We haven't been able to try anything for obvious reasons, but hopefully if someone finds this note, they can find some way to finish our research. No Wonderlandian is immune to unmadness. That has been proven as a simple fact of life, and of our reality. No one person from Wonderland is able to avoid this fate, as has been proven to us and the four courts time and time again. However, there is one possibility of hope. By writing this, I am breaking my oath as a Jack, but as I sit with only one of my guard remaining beyond me, I fear we no longer have time to worry about that. There is a way to leave Wonderland, but the method is a walled garden. The Jack of Jokers has been gone for this long because they left for that other world long ago, in hopes of another solution. There are three classes of people that can leave freely: the acting royal family, anyone that has a favor from the current ruler, and jokers. Two jokers remain, and I am not going to let either of us leave this place until the end comes for us both. You have exactly one option if you do not qualify for any of those classes. A door to the world beyond Wonderland remains visible and open for ten minutes, or as long as a real living person is looking at it. The doors themselves are meant to blend in with the world around it, and are only visible to those that can use them. If you are desperate, you will have to find a way to get a royal favor. They currently take the form of pocket watches. If anyone is reading this, I beg you to find a way to leave while you can, so that you can figure out a way to fix this. If that fails, I ask that you find the Jack of Jokers, and give it this letter. I expect none of us will be left by the time it is found unless someone manages to solve the puzzle and wake the world from this nightmare. This world does not deserve this fate. No world does. ~~-Jack of Diamonds~~ I am now the only Jack that remains, so I have decided to willfully shed our cloaks of anonymity to deliver this message. If we should bare the fate of our people, they will know our names as we fade away. Your Majesty, if you are reading this, I apologize deeply, but I feel no regrets nor remorse for this act. ♠️Lou D. Castor ♥️Chester Falinnity ♣️Forn K. Matthews ♦️Jewel Mega 🃏Amadeus Tetra (Friend, I desperately hope you are still well out there.)] [[Go back to the landing page.->Landing]]

<audio src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/Neocities%20stuff/fastplay.mp3" controls="controls"> There's supposed to be an MP3 file here, but your browser doesn't support it. Folllow this link instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUHTz2GQWz0 </audio> (link-undo:"Click here to go back.")

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that has not been implemented into the Twine yet. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://skyverse.fandom.com/wiki/Skyrail")] I also feel the need to mention that this is a Fandom wiki, and that the page was made before I really knew why Fandom wikis are bad. I can't do anything about it without convincing the managers to move off of Fandom, which I doubt will happen considering the amount of individual people who've contributed to it. When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

It took a few minutes, but after a bit, the burning page seemed to lift itself off the ground, and the fire grew to the size of a person. Ardman watched as it took a familiar shape; a plume of flame-orange hair, two wings folded behind it, resting on a pair of taloned feet. The fire died down, and Ardman was met with a glare just as hot, followed by a tongue just as vicious. (color:#66d9e8)[Be thankful that I can't burn you for this.] Ardman hung his head somberly. (color:#37b24d)[In truth, I would wish it, at this point.] Allison huffed a bit. (color:#66d9e8)[Well, out with it, then. Why is this what finally brings you to write?] (color:#37b24d)[Hoping that a dragon may be like a cat this once and be killed by the curiosity.] (color:#66d9e8)[Then we have a common wish, for once. You were smart to try during the day, else I would have snapped your neck.] (color:#37b24d)[Let us be swift. I'm sure you have about a thousand places you would rather be.] (color:#66d9e8)[Indeed, I do. Where shall we start, then? I was thinking the one where I am dead, as I wish to be now.] Ardman made no comment to the thought that he would rather see the world where //he// had died that day, and Allison lit a ring of fire between the two without another word. The flames turned a bright blue and began to slowly grow taller. Ardman dared to look at Allison, and was taken aback to see she looked concerned. (color:#37b24d)[Is something-?] (color:#66d9e8)[Shh.] Allison cut him off, and he picked up a strange emotion in her short interjection. He dared to look at her soul for an answer insetad, expecting mere focus, but found something else instead. Allison was afraid, and growing more by the moment. (color:#66d9e8)[Why isn't it listening to me?] (color:#37b24d)[The fire is disobeying?] That shouldn't have been possible. Before Allison could respond, the pillar of flame suddenly shot into the air and [[pulled the two of them in.]]

Emmi rested a hand on Lilis's shoulder. (color:yellow)[Look, whoever that guy was, they'll get what's coming to them soon enough, going and saying that junk on the radio.] (color:#8ce99a)[Mm.] A non-response. The two of them sat in silence for a bit after that, leaving Emmi to wonder how people even get to say that sort of thing and get away with it at all. Lilis interrupted her thoughts before they strayed too far into that area, though. (color:#8ce99a)[Would it be possible, though?] (color:yellow)[Whuh?] Emmi looked over. (color:yellow)[Would what be possible?] (color:#8ce99a)[Bringing Lilith here again. If nothing else, I... I think she would be able to help me remember.] (color:yellow)[You gotta stop treating yourself like you're not already her, hon.] (color:#8ce99a)[I know...] Emmi looked back at the machine for a moment. (color:yellow)[To answer the question, though, it would have to be you or nothing. Trying to make a new Lilith would mean we'd have to basically steal one from another world, and then we've just done the same thing to someone else, minus the chance of getting her back.] Lilis looked at Emmi quietly. They had expected an answer like that, but that didn't mean they had to like it. (color:#8ce99a)[Is there some middle ground, then?] (color:yellow)[Well... maybe.] Lilis perked up. (color:yellow)[I haven't gotten to test it yet, but I just finished up something that should //theoretically// let us at least look at other worlds. I haven't worked out how to interact with them safely yet, but it's something, at least.] (color:#8ce99a)[Could we try it?] (color:yellow)[It might be dangerous. If something happens-] (color:#8ce99a)[No.] Lilis stood up. (color:#8ce99a)[I want to try it, and I will not take no for an answer.] Emmi sighed a bit. (color:yellow)[Alright, but just remember, I don't know what this is going to do yet.] Emmi activated the machine's power unit, and a screen on it sprang to life, awaiting a prompt. She keyed somethnig in and waited. The machine whirred to life, lights all across it flicked on and off rapidly, and it seemed like things were working... ...until somewhere within it, a loud CRACK could be heard that made both Emmi and Lilis jump. On the screen, a warning message briefly flashed, saying something was unstable, but it disappeared before Emmi could read it all. The machine cracked again before the screen went white. Frantically, Emmi tried to get it under control to no avail, as the front of the machine blew off and knocked Emmi and Lilis back [[in a flash of light.]]

Lavender was resting under a tree, perched on top of a large hill and overlooking a bustling city. Crimson was resting in their necklace, and their jar was leaned up against the tree next to them. This world was nice, almost as nice as they remembered, but there was something strange about it this time around. They swore they'd at least said hi to some of the people the last time they were there, but nobody seemed to remember them today. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened to them, but it still confused them. Crimson poked out from Lavender's necklace. (color:#c2255c)[You have been quiet for some time now. Does something trouble you?] (color:#d0bfff)[Eh... a little bit, I guess?] The ghostly fox rested itself on Lavender's lap, looking at their face. (color:#c2255c)[Speak, then.] (color:#d0bfff)[It's nothing huge, just... we've //been// here, right?] (color:#c2255c)[Yes. What of it?] (color:#d0bfff)[How come nobody knew us today? I definitely remember us introducing ourselves, but everyone was acting like it was their first time seeing us.] (color:#c2255c)[This again. In truth, I have been wondering about it for a time, myself, and I believe I may have settled on an explanation.] Crimson hesitated a bit. (color:#c2255c)[Well... perhaps "explanation" is a bit generous. "Theory" would likely fit more accurately.] Lavender raised an eyebrow. (color:#d0bfff)[Well, what is it?] (color:#c2255c)[Have you considered if we are going to the same world in times like this?] (color:#d0bfff)[What?] They didn't get it. (color:#d0bfff)[I mean, it looks the same, why wouldn't it be the same one?] (color:#c2255c)[Perhaps it only looks the same on the surface.] Crimson rose from Lavender's lap, hovering around them instead. (color:#c2255c)[Perhaps it is the same world visually, but something else has changed about it. The memories of its inhabitants would need to have a reason to be reset, so why should it not be that the world itself is not the same one?] (color:#d0bfff)[That sounds kinda dumb.] Huff. (color:#c2255c)[Blunt as ever...] (color:#d0bfff)[I guess it would kinda make sense, though. It's not like I'm trying to do the same thing every time, so maybe I do take us somewhere a little to the left.] Lavender looked out to the city below. [[Maybe it //was// different...->Maybe it was different...]]

Crimson came to rest on Lavender's lap again. (color:#c2255c)[Perhaps we could do something about it.] (color:#d0bfff)[What's that mean?] (color:#c2255c)[Perhaps if you focused, you could open a portal exactly where we were the last time we visited.] (color:#d0bfff)[Huh.] Lavender considered this for a moment. Trying to make sure you ended up somewhere specific //sounded// easy enough, since it was already pretty easy for Lavender to make a portal in the first place. They would probably just have to pay a little bit more attention... they thought. (color:#d0bfff)[Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.] (color:#c2255c)[Then nothing remains but to try it, yes?] (color:#d0bfff)[Sure, why not?] Lavender got up, forcing Crimson off of their lap in the process, and tried to make a portal to the specific version of this world they had gone to before. One opened a moment later, they stepped through... and found themself on the other side of the tree they were just under. Crimson looked at the two portals next to each other. (color:#c2255c)[That did not seem to go as planned.] Lavender looked back at the portal, seeing themself through it, and groaned. (color:#d0bfff)[No, it didn't. Let's try again.] They closed this portal and tried a second time, focusing as hard as they could on going to the other version of this world, only to open a portal below their feet that dropped them into another portal directly above themself. Taking a moment to pout while falling increasingly fast between these portals, they wondered what they were doing wrong to fail this many times in a row. After a bit, they pulled some wind spirits from the jar to catch themself and slow their fall, before closing the portals and plopping themself onto the ground. (color:#d0bfff)[Okay, maybe not so easy, then. You got anything else?] Crimson hovered over. (color:#c2255c)[The only idea I have is to try and alter the portal myself after it is created, though I know not what it would accomplish.] (color:#d0bfff)[May as well give it a shot. I'm clearly not getting anywhere alone.] (color:#c2255c)[Very well. On your lead, then.] Lavender stretched a bit before opening another portal in front of them. Crimson flew over and swiftly circled the portal, causing it to glow red and change shape. The red gradually faded to white, with the whole prtal now resembling a fissure of energy erupting from the ground. Crimson looked at Lavender briefly, before going back into the necklace. (color:#c2255c)[After you.] Nodding, Lavender picked up the jar, then [[walked into the portal.]]

Now, //that// led to some ideas. They probably wouldn't have needed to die at all if it wasn't orange, not many other colors could have had such a destructive Last-Word. Aside from, like, red. Or periwinkle, probably. Then there was the boring answer of everything just being normal if they had been purple. Anything else, though... it could have given everyone some cool seventh sense if it had been chartreuse. Everyone could have been shapeshifters if it had been yellow-orange or pink. If it had been blue or violet they could have gotten teleportation, probably if it had been pure-green too, and if it had been tree-green--... Wulnai had to pause, realizing in their haze what that could have implied. If that emperor had been tree-green, //it could have fixed everything.// There wouldn't even need to be such a need for a purple emperor in the first place. It would have been perfect. Had nobody thought of that before? Wulnai barely noticed the show turning back on, lost deep in their own thoughts. They decided then and there that they would try to at leats see a world where that had happened. They needed to know if they were right. Wulnai went to the middle of the room and moved their table to the side, muting the TV to keep it from interrupting their focus. They took a breath and tried to figure out what magic to use for something like this. It would probably need at least a little bit purple, since it was a pretty time-centric thing... maybe some blue for warping, since it's supposed to be an alternate history thing--ooh, navy-blue for history, that makes sense. Cobalt for realization, yellow-orange for transformation... periwinkle for inversion? Would that be overkill? Eh, it couldn't hurt to be sure. Wulnai took a few moments to rearrange their palette before closing their eyes and trying to make it happen. A circle on the floor lit up around them, glowing brightly, and they opened an eye a bit to see how things were going. It looked promising, so they gave it more juice, and the light got brighter. Something on the table behind them fell off and made a sudden sound, making Wulnai jump and briefly lose focus. Panicked, they slammed full-force into trying not to lose the groove, and the light around them rapidly grew brighter and brighter before [[swallowing them completely.]]

(color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Hello, Lilanthilia.//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[And you as well, Madden. Ko, who's gone and put these thoughts in your head? Please direct them to me, so I can have words with them. I'll not tolerate such harsh words against someone under my wings.] Ko took what felt like ages to answer, even though the actual pause was fairly short. When she did, it was in a very quiet voice. (color:#ff8787)[//...I did.//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Now, why would you go and do that? It won't do anybody well to worry so much.] (color:#ff8787)[//I...//] A long pause. (color:#ff8787)[//I guess I've just been thinking about it a lot lately.//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Evidently. You know, there really isn't anything to worry about, if you ask me. I doubt someone who would humor a talking fox and give it a name would have much to complain about if that fox turned huge.] Madden took a second to jump in. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//If I may interrupt, I also think you would be fairly recognizable. You are the only fox throughout history that has had such an unusual fur pattern or color. Even after changing so much, I have extreme reason to doubt anyone alive that knew you then would not know you now.//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Exactly! Thinking someone wouldn't know who you are after you got a little bigger and your name got plastered just about everywhere in a fifty-mile area is kinda silly, don't you think?] Ko didn't reply to that, so Madden decided to try and broach another topic while he knew she and Lilanthilia were both still there. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Perhaps there could be some sort of compromise instead.//] (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Hm?] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//We have discussed that Ko's original idea was ill thought-out at best. Perhaps, instead of doing that, something else could be done to appeal to the same line of thinking. Ko.//] (color:#ff8787)[//Wh- huh?//] It sounded like Ko had already started to check out of the conversation. Lucky call. Madden decided to shoot before she went back to her own devices. (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//Would you be willing to accept making a double of yourself, in the event that things did end up how you believe?//] Lilanthilia objected almost immediately. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[That sounds a little extreme, Madden.] (color:red)+(text-style:"bold","condense")[//It would be the best of both worlds. Ko, as she is now, would continue to exist. Meanwhile, Ko, as she was then, would be able to fill the hole where something would then be missing from the picture. She would be able to stop worrying about this cycle, if she is truly that upset about it, and if things end more pleasantly, it would not be needed in the first place.//] The two listeners considered this idea for a bit. There was a period of silence before Lilanthilia chimed in again. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[I'm still not so sure we should do that. It seems a little bit, ah, time-loop-y, I guess?] Ko properly responded for the first time in several minutes. She sounded interested in the thought. (color:#ff8787)[//Well, we could maybe try and see what happens if we did do that. Y'know, just take a peek into another timeline, or something...//] Lilanthilia seemed to fail to come up with a decent counterargument to that. (color:#86feea)+(text-style:"blur","expand")[Okay, but I still want it on the record that I don't think this is a very smart idea.] Even with this assertation, Lilanthilia tried to do exactly that, and let the three look into a world where this worst-case scenario would come to pass. Madden's vision slowly faded white, as he waited to see [[this hypothetical world.]]

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Ruins of Wonder]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Aerith]] [[Amadeus Tetra]] [[Celia Whiterose]] [[Chester Falinnity]] [[Forn K. Matthews]] [[Jewel O. Mega]] [[Lou D. Castor]] [[William]] [[Unnamed coffee shop worker]] [[Unnamed dormouse]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Ruins of Wonder]] Ruins of Wonder is a world that mostly centers around Celia Whiterose, the queen of Wonderland, trying to find a soluton to a problem that she believes has wiped out every other Wonderlandian but her. (This overview is incomplete. I'll finish it later.) [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Ruins of Wonder]]

(set:$limboCheck to 1)[[You probably want the overview for this one.->Overview: Limbo]] Since this is a hidden section, [[here's a link to the landing instead of where you came from.->Landing]] [[Sushi Cookie/Salmon Sashimi Cookie]] [[Riftwalker Cookie/Bittersweet Choco Cookie]] [[Phantom Violet/Violet Grape Cookie]] [[Black Tulip Cookie]] [[Esylph]] [[Nemesis Cookie/Durian Cookie]] [[Steel Cookie]] [[Draconic Steel Cookie]] [[Antimony]] [[Flowers]] [[Controller/Connie]] [[Rose]] [[Chu]] [[Qui]] [[QuiChu]] [[Ellie]] [[Carbon Dragon Cookie]] [[Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie]] [[Chirashi Cookie]] [[Tuna Cookie]] [[Aspen]]

No back button on top this time. You should read this one. Limbo is where I keep characters I'm not using for archival purposes. This section is hidden on purpose, since I don't really consider the characters in it to still be around, mostly due to me not being nearly as active in the circles I used to use them in. Pretty much everyone in here was made as an OC for a specific Cookie Run roleplay server, so expect to see a lot of baked goods here. (Not all of them are cookies; the server very frequently went into non-Cookie Run territory. We also frequented Just Shapes & Beats, for one.) Note that a character being in this section is NOT a final judgement, or a death sentence, or whatever--a lot of these guys I could probably rework into full characters if I just knew what to *do* with them. That's the main thing with the characters in this section, is that I don't know what I want to do with any of these characters right now, so they're kinda just... well, in limbo. If you're coming in from that server I mentioned, you're very likely going to recognize some of these guys. You probably also have my Discord already, since I still mod that server. Hit me up if you've got ideas for anybody in here, all I really "need" for half of them is an excuse and a plan. Nothing in this section will be explained, justified, or elaborated on beyond what you see on these pages. [[Okay, you can go back now.->Limbo]]

completion and format transfer of that kori story i tried to make in google docs since i flow better in twine for some reason https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U28EteSS5NI-mMLQ7lefmVlCOtGweDDYKFnRc-PS3jo/edit?usp=sharing

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is sort of an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise but also sort of not. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on both Just Shapes & Beats and the Shovel Knight franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on Just Shapes & Beats. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on Just Shapes & Beats and the Shovel Knight franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]](if:$fox is "holed")[ Not to be confused with [[our system's Chu->Chu (Foxholed)]].] It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on Just Shapes & Beats. Furthermore, this character was designed by victheclown on Tumblr as an adopt. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. Furthermore, this character was designed by victheclown on Tumblr as an adopt. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

(set:$mipyCallback to "msc")[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. Furthermore, this character was designed by victheclown on Tumblr as an adopt. Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie has tan batter, fluffy rose-pink hair, pink eyes, tails and ponytails with white tips, white whiskers, white eyebrows, a strawberry-themed strapless dress, and a cherry red hand fan. Oh boy, this one... I'm just gonna call this one "MSC" for simplicity's sake. I mentioned that I got her as an adopt, but that isn't really the full story. The original sprite edit was posted in the Discord server all the characters in this section came from, and I don't remember the specifics on how it was decided that I would take her since it was nearly four years ago now and I can't find anything from a search, but it apparently happened. I think I just kinda... sat on that for a while? Like, about two months, as far as I can tell. It was done in July 2020, and I didn't even make the Tupper for her until September. Then after that I *continued* to not do anything with her and I could *not* give you a reason why. Like- here, look at it- <img src="https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/strawb%20fox.png" alt="image can't load, go here instead https://file.garden/ZSl4RV64HVcOmsEV/strawb%20fox.png" style="width:262px;height:262px;"> This is a prefectly good character design! Why did I not do anything with this until now, literally four years after the fact? And even then, is this *really* doing something with the character???? Like, I even remember having plans for her and everything, some lore in mind too--you know what. Fuck it. I'm just gonna dump the lore I remember from back in the day, since it's all MSC even had in the first place. Marshmallow foxes, the wider species that MSC was a part of, were sentient marshmallows shaped like foxes that I based on Kumiho Cookie as she was in 2019, which is to say, before she had whatever lore she's got now. The main way they started existing was through a marshmallow fox cutting off one of their tails, which would then turn into a Fox Bead, which would then eventually turn into another marshmallow fox. Every marshmallow fox had one emotion that was intensified and had some sort of magic attached to it ([[Ko]]'s tears are an example of this; she used to be a marshmallow fox OC before I spun her off into her own character, and her emotion magic was sorrow), as well as one general-use magic ability. Marshmallow foxes passively grew more tails as they got older, and I made it so that they could turn into cookies after they got a cartain amount--I think it was at nine tails originally, but then I knocked it down to three later? I dunno. At any rate, a marshmallow fox can choose to stay as a cookie if they want, and they get another general magic as a trade-off if that's what they want to do, but they can also just keep the ability to swap between fox and cookie forms too. For MSC specifically, I thiiiink her emotion magic was compassion, and that gave her healing abilities? That sounds right, anyway. I don't remember what her general magics were, but I know she gave up being a marshmallow fox, hence "cookie" in the name instead of "fox". I still have no idea why I never did anything with her considering how much I already had pre-planned for her. However, I am nothing if not predictable, and not long after I wrote this page up, I decided to [[just fuckin' make marshmallow foxes their own thing->mipykoru]] and considered retconning Ko into being one again, but I haven't decided on that just yet. Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie may yet see the light once more... maybe.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. Furthermore, this character was originally designed by cookiedoughandstuff on Tumblr, though they deactivated their blog some time ago and I don't know a modern source to point to. If anyone reading this does happen to know, please let me know so I can add it here! It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] This is an OC based on the Cookie Run franchise. It isn't this one's time yet.

[[Since this is Limbo, you just get a link back to the Limbo page.->Limbo]] It isn't this one's time yet.

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that Tiel does not want to implement into the Twine, as she did not create it. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://rainworld.miraheze.org/wiki/Survivor")] When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Unnamed dormouse]] [[Unnamed Enderman]] [[Unnamed magic fox]] [[Unnamed Ramtasm]] [[Unnamed seamstress]] [[Unnamed toxic spy bunny]] [[Anemonos (Dark Prism Jar)]] [[Donnie (KSNP)]] [[Doxel (KSNP)]] [[Ko (KSNP)]] [[<=Previous->Page 9]] | [[Next=>->Page 11]]

(if:$mipyCallback is "glossary")[[[Go back to where you were.->Glossary]]](if:$mipyCallback is "msc")[[[Go back to where you were.->Marshmallow Strawberry Cookie]]] Mipykoru (/(color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[ mi paɪ koʊˈ ru->gotoIPA]]] /) are a race of creatures that subsist on, and are primarily composed of, magic. They normally assume a fox-like form, but older mipykoru can also transform into a more humanoid form and back on demand if they wish. While their fox forms continuously grow larger as they age, their humanoid forms are completely determined by them, and can vary wildly in appearance--sometimes still appearing more like large foxes on two legs than anything even remotely human--although some aspects of their fox form will appear in their humanoid form regardless. For example, the color of their fur in fox form directly correlates to the color of their hair in humanoid form, as well as their eye color directly carrying over. Mipykoru in humanoid form will always have fox-like ears at the top of their head, except in a specific circumstance discussed later, and while their tails are ordinarily hidden by the magic they use to shapeshift, they may sometimes slip out from their disguise. They are completely immune from harm due to fire or heat, but are extremely susceptible to the cold. Mipykoru in humanoid form, assuming it was meant to closely resemble a human, tend to wear hats of some kind to hide their ears. Mipykoru fur is soft to the touch, which has earned the species as a whole the nicknames "marshmallow foxes" and "sweetsunes" (/ (color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[swit sɯ ne̞->gotoIPA]]] /). Mipykoru are sustained by consuming things--typically a mix of normal fire and physical matter, though some have been known to subsist on only fire--and breaking what they consume down into pure energy. They have no organs, so it is unknown how exactly they do this, but it is theorized that they do so by burning the consumed material with an internal fire of some kind. This theory stems from the fact that when a mipykoru eats, it becomes very hot while it breaks the matter down, particularly near the chest and torso. Mipykoru cannot drink water or consume cold things in large quantities; doing so cools them down. In moderation, however, these are safe to consume. Mipykoru possess three kinda of magic, each with different rules and applications. The first, pyrokinesis, is the simplest; it simply allows mipykoru to create and control magical fire, which typically shares the color of their fur. The second, emotion magic, is tied to a specific emotion decided at birth, and typically reflects that emotion in some way. For some examples, sorrow may manifest as enlarged tears while crying, determination may manifest as more powerful fire colored red, and compassion may manifest as a healing aura. While emotion magic can be used at any time with mild results, it gets stronger when the mipykoru using it feels that emotion while using it. Mipykoru are also more easily influenced into feeling the emotion tied to their emotion magic than other emotions (it is easier to make a mipykoru with compassion magic feel bad for you, for example). The third and final magic type, sacrificial magic, does not become available to a mipykoru at the same time as the other two do. Sacrificial magic only begins to manifest if a mipykoru chooses to willingly shed either their fox or humanoid form permanently, locking them into the form they were taking at the exact time of the decision. Mipykoru begin life as nothing more than a cut-off tail from another mipykoru. This tail, at first, is not alive; only after it is lit on fire does it begin to become a new mipykoru. The juvenile stage of a mipykoru's life takes the form of a small, circular bead similar to glass. This is referred to as simply a "mip" (/ (color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[mɪp->gotoIPA]]] /) or "mip bead" (/ (color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[[[mɪp bid->gotoIPA]]] /). When a severed mipykoru tail is ignited and left to burn for some time, it shrinks and crystallizes into a mip roughly one and a half inches in diameter, until it eventually wakes up as a new being, signified by the flames around the mip changing color and a set of burning eyes on its front end opening. The flames cloaking a mip resemble that of a fox's tail, and the color of the flames and eyes signify what color their fur and eyes will be later. As a mip, mipykoru are capable of hovering up to ten feet off the ground and emoting with their eyes, but coming into contact with water or spending long periods of time in very cold temperatures will harm and potentially kill them, extinguishing their flame and causing them to drop to the ground. An extinguished mip can be reignited by a mipykoru's fire fairly easily, although if it becomes cracked or otherwise damaged, it will take longer and more intense flames. If a mip becomes broken, the fire will have to be extremely intense, and every piece will need to be located and put in the same place before it does anything. Over time, a burning mip will grow in size until it reaches six inches in diameter, at which point it will engulf itself in extremely hot flames and grow into its fox form. This marks the end of the juvenile phase, and the mipykoru is officially considered an adult. The fox form resembles a red fox in build, albeit with extended limbs and larger tails. They begin adulthood at around 119 centimeters in body length and 73 centimeters to the shoulder, weighing roughly 56.2 pounds. Their mip rests in the middle of their chest after gaining a fox form, serving as their heart. Upon becoming an adult, a mipykoru will gain their pyrokinesis and emotion magic, as well as the ability to verbally communicate. Every few months, mipykoru will grow an extra tail. These tails appear spontaneously at full size. When a mipykoru has five tails, they gain the ability to transform into a more humanoid form at will. This transformation happens instantaneously in a cloud of smoke. A mipykoru may decide how their human form looks upon its first transformation, and it cannot change how this form looks afterwards. A mipykoru's humanoid form has a handful of set criteria for appearance. It must stand on two legs; the hair or fur shares the same colors as the fox form's fur; the eye color is always the same as the fox form's eye color; there is always a pair of fox-like ears on the top of the head. If a mipykoru chooses to remain in human form permanently, they lose their ears to signify this. If a mipykoru does decide to remain in either a fox or a humanoid form permanently, they combust and burn for one minute--losing their ears in the process, if they choose a humanoid form--before emerging as they were before. This also manifests their sacrificial magic, considered to be their most powerful and varied type of magic. There is currently no known average result or guideline for sacrificial magic, beyond it being very powerful. Should a mipykoru's mip become cracked or damaged without fatally wounding them, it will leak energy unless it is repaired by bathing it in mipykoru fire. This energy leak will cause a mipykoru's magic to become weaker, along with their physical form deteriorating, and can eventually prove fatal if left unchecked. When a mipykoru dies, either from a cracked mip or through other means, their physical form dissipates into smoke and their mip falls to the ground, just as if their flame had been extinguished as a mip. The same rules apply as that scenario as well, with the only difference being that they only need to spend a few days as a mip to regain their fox form. They retain all of their memories and the appearance of their forms before they died. Theoretically, as long as another mipykoru is still alive to burn the mip, mipykoru are able to live forever.

(if:$stellinsambCallback is "normal")[[[Go back to where you were.->Wulnai]]](if:$stellinsambCallback is "kaiju")[[[Go back to where you were.->Wulnai (KSNP)]]] (if:$stellinsambCallback is "glossary")[[[Go back to where you were.->Glossary]]] The stellinsambi (/(color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[ [[ˈstɛl ɪn sɑm bi->gotoIPA]]]/), singular "stellinsamb" (/(color:orange)+(text-style:"underline")[ [[ˈstɛl ɪn sɑmb->gotoIPA]]]/) are an alien race that appear similar to humanoid Earth sheep with insect wings. Their actual species name is written as "ʚ✦☾♈︎♆ඞ✿♫🌏︎☀ɞ" and is therefore unpronounceable, so a rough translation was used instead. They have been known to live for upwards of seven thousand human years, meaning many stellinsambi around today have been around for a very long time. They live on a planet called Anliai, and can grow to be 1 kilometer tall over the course of one thousand years. Stellinsambi are born with small pointed horns that stem from the top of their skulls. These horns fall off every fifteen years and are often used as material for building, making tools, and so on. After these horns fall out, they regrow over the course of up to a day, and as a stellinsamb ages, these horns will eventually grow to curl around the sides of their head. Stellinsambi have an innate ability to change their surroundings in ways humans would describe as magic. There are thirty specific fields of magic, and so long as the desired effect of the magic falls under the field desired, there seem to be very little rules to its use. The names of the magic fields translate roughly to the names of colors, which also happen to be the colors they are represented by. They are, in order: 0. Red (R), the field of Captivity 0. Red-Orange (Ro), the field of Stability 0. Orange (O), the field of Hole 0. Orange-Yellow (Oy), the field of Vision 0. Yellow-Orange (Yo), the field of Transformation 0. Yellow (Y), the field of Value 0. Yellow-Green (Yg), the field of Function 0. Green-Yellow (Gy), the field of Feeling 0. Lime (L), the field of Flavor 0. Grass-Green (Gg), the field of Sound 0. Pure-Green (Pg), the field of Transportation 0. Tree-Green (Tg), the field of Life 0. Chartreuse (C), the field of Sense 0. Teal (T), the field of Regeneration 0. Cyan (Cy), the field of Comfort 0. Baby-Blue (Bb), the field of Focus 0. Periwinkle (Pw), the field of Inversion 0. Light-Blue (Lb), the field of Brightness 0. Navy-Blue (Nb), the field of History 0. Blue (B), the field of Warping 0. Cobalt (C), the field of Realization 0. Indigo (I), the field of Vibe 0. Purple (P), the field of Time 0. Violet (V), the field of Space 0. Royal-Purple (Rp), the field of Decoration 0. Pink (Pi), the field of Appearance 0. Hot-Pink (Hp), the field of Scale 0. Salmon (S), the field of Communication 0. Pop-Sickle (Ps), the field of Friendship 0. Straw-Berry (Sb), the field of Protection Any stellinsamb is only able to use six fields of magic at a time, and to use more, they must give up one of the ones they already use. These selections are referred to as "magic palettes" and are notated as follows: RYTgBbBC R = Red Y = Yellow Tg = Tree-Green Bb = Baby-Blue B = Blue C = Cobalt The fields are always written in sequential order (example Pi can never come before V, Pw can never come before L, etc). As a stellinsamb ages, they will become innately able to use a kind of magic they have been using the most up to that point, allowing the use of seven total fields. Furthermore, the field of magic they become innately talented in will become boosted. They will start to grow insect-like wings from the back of their shoulders at approximately 600 years of age that drape around their body like a cloak when not in use. These wings take the color of the stellinsamb's boosted magic and allow stellinsambi to fly when they reach a certain size, and grow much faster than the rest of the stellinsamb's body. They eventually make movement that is not flight-based difficult without modification to the wings. In stellinsamb society, the ruler is marked as the youngest stellinsamb alive at the time, and encouraged to use Purple magic. This ruler is referred to as the "Great purple emperor" by other stellinsambi and acts similarly to an Earth monarch, holding near-absolute power over other stellinsambi and assisted by a small group of supervisors. The home where the Great purple emperor lives is the location that serves as their headquarters. On the day of their death, the Great purple emperor's body curls its wings around as much of Anliai as possible and releases all of its magic over the course of a week in a process they call Last-Word. In ideal circumstances, this would be Purple magic, causing the planet to be reverted to a much earlier state and effectively undoing whatever damage the stellinsambi have done to it. However, there have been times where the Great purple emperor has grown to have wings of other colors. Normally, this ends with a non-standard magic being their Last-Word, which can cause unusual effects on the planet. Notable examples of this include a Hot-Pink Last-Word that permanently caused the entire race to grow much larger than before, a Salmon Last-Word that gave them species-wide telepathy, and a Cyan Last-Word that caused the species to grow wool. The worst instance of this, however, was when a Great purple emperor grew Orange wings. They and their supervisors theorized that allowing this Last-Word to come to pass would cause a wormhole to open up and consume all of Anliai, so to avoid such a fate from occurring, the Great purple emperor staged a suicide framed to look like a murder, and the entire group of supervisors was replaced after a new Great purple emperor was chosen to prevent the information from becoming public.

[[Tay]] [[Aren]] [[Lilis]] [[Shade]] [[Ko]] [[Millina Birchinsson]] [[Nibi]] [[Lilac Plum System]] [[Celia Whiterose]]

This one isn't anything yet. I thought of the name and wanted to write it in here in case I think of something good to do with it. Miiiight make it a location in Ruins of Wonder? Maybe? I dunno.

Characters are sorted alphabetically in pages of ten characters each, to not load sixty-plus links all at once. As a minor format elaboration, the original iterations of each character are listed first, then any without solid names, then any [[alternate versions.->Alternates]] [[Alternatively, you can go back.->Landing]] [[Wulnai (KSNP)]] [[Dots (Minus)]] [[Lily (Minus)]] - - - - - - - [[<=Previous->Page 10]] | Next=>

[[Interested in the overview?->Overview: Amethyst Flame]] [[Or do you want to go back?->View by setting]] [[Booti]] [[Dee U. Exim]] [[Key the Rabbit]] [[Machina]] [[Mira Haze]] [[Tielesiti "Tiel" Eftu]] [[Pokémon Ranger Nyla]]

[[Never mind, take me back.->Clan of the Amethyst Flame]] sona setting yippeeeeeeee This is my (Tiel's) excuse to make up some funny crossover setting with any sona-style character I come up with. Source settings, if applicable, will be listed at the top of the page as if they were an OC, since that ends up being where most of these guys stem from anyway. Lore-wise, the Clan of the Amethyst Flame basically just a friendgroup of different variations on the same idea of a person, typically embodying different parts of that concept's personality. Members denote themselves with a specific name format, "`[name here]` of the Amethyst Flame"--for example, Dee's would be "Dee of the Amethyst Flame." If such a moniker is not present on a page, assume that character is unrelated to the Clan. Members of the Clan also share one experience between all of them: at some point in their lives, they were engulfed in the namesake amethyst flame. When it should have burned them alive, it instead seemed to weave itself into their very souls, granting them abilities they could previously only have imagined. These individuals have since found each other between worlds and learned of their shared bond of flame, deciding to keep in touch if they ever need help. Other characters exist in this section that aren't part of the Clan (mostly Machina right now), but their conceptualization typically revolves around one or more of the members, so I'm not sure if they'll be properly fleshed out and put anywhere else. Maybe Oddballs, I guess? I dunno. Maybe I'll have to figure that out some day. [[Makes sense. Take me back.->Clan of the Amethyst Flame]]

Normally, this sort of page would link to a wiki page about the source character, but this time is a bit different since the only wiki I can find is out of date, and the source media is a video series anyway. As such, (link-repeat:"I'm sending you to the whole series instead.")[(open-url:"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDf4D84f4DIR_KAN3Sc7T76zbDtsbEV67")] You should watch it, it's good and only takes around an hour to get through. When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

(link-repeat:"This page links to an external document that Tiel does not want to implement into the Twine, as she did not create it. Click here to open a new tab and navigate to that page.")[(open-url:"https://catghost.fandom.com/wiki/Elon")] I also feel the need to mention that this is a link to a Fandom wiki, and it's not under my control. I can't do anything about it without convincing the managers to move off of Fandom, which I doubt will happen considering the amount of individual people who've contributed to it, but I'll gladly change the link if that happens. When you're done with the new page, (link-undo:"click here to go back to where you were before.")

this is going to be a mercury-centric story