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no time to think of consequences by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Critical Role: Exandria (Web Series), Critical Role: Campaign 2 - The Mighty Nein (Web Series)
06 Apr 2026
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Summary
Yasha’s back slams against the rain-damp earth, and it doesn’t hurt as much as she should expect it to.
It wasn’t her brightest idea to jump out of the tree. In her defense, she is nine years old and full of electric energy, and the Skyspear left her unattended. Besides, it’s her tree to climb – there are not many children among the Dolorav, and even if there were, none of them would be tall enough to reach the lowest branches. Yasha must have spent at least two whole days sitting in this tree braiding wildflower crowns in the last month. She isn’t good at talking to people. (She isn’t even very good at making flower crowns.) So it’s not like anyone was going to stop her.
Also, she needed to know if the dream was real.
or: Long before her adventures with the Mighty Nein, Yasha tries out her wings for the first time.
Critical Role Fem Fanwork Fest Day 1: pre-canon / childhood
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people eventually learn, if they know her long enough, that pearlescentmoon lived through the end of the world.
this is common knowledge of the evolutionists, a shared reality. the world broke with them all locked inside, with their admin held somewhere far away, and they barely escaped with their lives. the watchers were the ones who did it.
a select few will learn more.
or: pearl is traumatized in a way the others are not and she will not tell them why
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you'd be surprised to find how much was in your mind by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Life Series | 3rd Life SMP Series
02 Feb 2026
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Summary
Violence leads to angst.
Pearl narrowly dodges Gem’s sword as it slashes down towards her. She ducks her whole body behind her shield and shoves it forward, pushing Gem back as hard as she can. Gem’s feet are planted to the ground with unnatural strength, but Pearl manages to drive her back a few steps, just enough to slip away and get out from against the wall. “Just hold on. I don’t wanna hurt you, okay? We’re gonna fix this. We just–” She leaps aside as Gem lunges toward her. “We gotta figure this out. You and me.”
or: The Watchers overstep their authority and try messing with fate, but the players are ready to fight back for each other.
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- Part 19 of it's killing me to love you
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Whatever the poor creature is, she is coded broken.
She is not a Player, nor even a spectator. She does not speak, but words leave her mouth anyway – strings of letters connected into words connected into sentences she doesn’t know how to translate. She moves unsteadily through space. Her eyes see nothing but gray fog. She does not dream.
Why is she there?
She recognizes phonemes over time, then words, clumsy but real enough. She cannot speak them, but she knows them. She tries to hold them in her mind as her mouth speaks. Hello is for the start of interactions. Thank you follows You are. When she hears name, her voice says Merl.
She is Merl. Merl is there.
or: i have been thinking about that #FreeMerl sign that a developer put in the background of the merl ai
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“Pearl.” Gem giggles and rests her chin on Pearl’s shoulder. “C’mon, I’ve seen you play this game! Get in the spirit with me!”
“Gem, I’m not in the mood.” Scarlet Pearl’s knife has become somewhat of a carrot murder weapon.
“See, that’s the spirit I’m talking about–”
“Gem, I told you to leave me alone!”
Definitely-Not-Scarlet Pearl whirls around to face Gem, still holding the knife tight in her hand. Gem notices for the first time that her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy. “Please just let me make my soup. I don’t want to play along.”
or: Pearl's Past Life is haunted by her past life. Gem doesn't know what to make of that.
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creature, you're part of this loving game by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Life Series | 3rd Life SMP Series
05 Nov 2025
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Gem throws an arm around Pearl’s shoulders. “Your task is no longer important.” She takes her secret book out of her inventory and tries to balance it on Pearl’s head, only to be thwarted by her antennae. “Please take this in. And then give it back to me after you’ve read three pages.”
Pearl pokes Gem’s antler in return. “Y’know what, that’s fine. I was failing at it anyway.” The universe can wait to hear her problems some other time. “Wait, three pages? Why’s everything got to be three pages these days?”
“I’m sorry,” Gem giggles again. (Curse that darn laughter. Pearl went too long without hearing it before, and now that it’s back, it’s doing its same old excellent job at putting her at ease. Pearl can’t resist it.) “It had to be very specific.”
So Pearl takes the book, and she reads it. And then she slams it shut and stares at Gem with something between exasperation and stunned shock.
or: Gem leads a boogeyman army, and for once, everything on the Secret Life server is completely normal and fine. Completely.
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- Part 18 of it's killing me to love you
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even under any other name by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Critical Role: Exandria (Web Series)
22 Oct 2025
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Summary
Across the room, the Orphanmaker continues her uneasy rest. The Inevitable End is surprised she isn’t asleep by now. She’s watched her take some heavy hits today, even the same ones that she herself managed to shake off. Maybe that’s what Obann has chosen the Orphanmaker for – her resilience. Her ability to withstand a barrage of attacks and not flinch about it. The fact that she can keep getting back up, never truly harmed.
She is harmed, though. That’s why she’s resting. No explanation quite makes sense.
The Inevitable End pushes away the thought. No matter. Obann has chosen them both for a reason, and as long as they are both under his command, she supposes it is not her place to question it. She tries to return to her meditation, but her focus wanes. Something is off. It takes her a moment to recognize the sensation as hunger. It’s lucky, then, that they are at ease for the night.
or: For the first time in centuries, the Caedogeist begins to realize that living weapons have personhood, too.
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Pearl’s tears fall suddenly, without much hope of holding them back. “The bottles were supposed to despawn.”
This time, Cleo doesn’t argue. “Do you want to tell X?”
“I’ll put in a bug report. It’s not big.” Pearl reaches a hand out to take the note back. “It’s just… it felt like it. Just for a tick.”
or: After coming home from Limited Life, Pearl accidentally stumbles into some painful memories. Cleo gets it.
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The word for Santa Perla’s domain is translated from old Gilded Helianthian texts as “purity.”
It’s odd, Gem thinks. Worshippers of the saint are known for vibrant colors, dirt under fingernails, laughter and paint and shouted song. The Farmer Queen was benevolent and loving, but nothing about her seemed quite pure, not in all the old stories. It’s a mystery Gem can’t quite make sense of when she arrives in the kingdom she will call Dawn. And that’s after she finally wraps her head around the fact that in this world,
her best friendher partner in crimeher something-more-than-friendher Pearl has ascended to godhood. Even in this new world, everything about her is a little weird. At least that’s familiar.or: Gem has discovered Empires, and Pearl is a goddess, and it is far too easy to pray to her.
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Normally, Gem wouldn’t care this much about technology.
Sure, knowing how to use the WorldEdit mod to speed up complicated builds will be a useful skill — that’s why she came to the WorldEdit workshop in the first place — but she didn’t mean to get invested in getting every command perfect on the first try. It shouldn’t be important to her.
It’s just that she wants to be impressive right now, because she’s standing next to the prettiest woman she’s ever seen.
or: Gem and Pearl meet for the first time at a build workshop. It goes... unexpectedly.
my piece for the gempearl zine!
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It doesn’t truly click for her until the night after session three. Pearl has never asked what worldwalking entails, but she knows Gem can… go places at night, somehow. That night, as Gem sleeps, her body goes translucent. She rolls over and kicks her feet over the side of the bed, resting her head in the center of Pearl’s chest. A peaceful smile spreads across her face. Pearl lies on her back and tries to focus on the campfire-warmth Gem’s body always carries. She can hardly even feel the weight of Gem’s body. Gem must be somewhere nice, she knows. Maybe back home.
It’s nights like this that Pearl is forced to really feel what she realized last time around. The Life Series will always be a game to Gem. She cannot be contained by code locks or firewalls. Whatever happens, she could just… leave. She stays by choice.
It must be nice.
or: the one thing pearl fears most is the one thing gem can never understand
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“Gem.” Katherine laughs in exasperation. “We’ve been here for almost ten minutes.”
“I know, I know. But I really do want… Katherine, Pearl’s so good at picking out gifts for people. I need to get her something that’s just as good. Come on, it’s really important to me.”
It takes Katherine a moment to realize, but… “You’re blushing.”
Gem blushes one shade deeper. “No, I’m not.”
or: During a day at the Hide and Seek Beach, Gem seeks Katherine's help with finding the perfect souvenir for her crush.
mcyt yuri week 2025 day 2: beach day
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Every time, Pearl whispers, "I’m sorry. I should have known this would happen." Every time, Gem whispers back, "Don’t apologize. That‘s not how this works."
The routine is familiar by now. It is always GeminiTay’s base. It is always PearlescentMoon knocking at the door.
And then Gem awakens from sleep in a place that is not home anymore.
or: Pearl's mind often sends her back to a dark place, but Gem is always there to comfort her – at least, until Gem's body does the same.
mcyt yuri week 2025 day 1: confession | roleswap
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There’s the softest prickle of something like electricity against Beau's skin.
Someone is holding her now – not the corrupted creature that was once Obann, but an ally reaching out to help. Whoever it is holds Beau close and pulls her free of Obann’s grasp and gods, they’re so warm and they’re the only warmth left and Beau needs them not to let go and they don’t and even without any of her senses, Beau knows her savior is Yasha.
or: Beauregard Lionett does not die at the hands of Obann the Punished. She has a guardian angel to thank for it.
(beauyasha week day 5: healing)
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could be nerves, could be butterflies by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Critical Role (Web Series)
30 May 2025
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Beau’s eyes flick over to the guitarist, who mutters something indistinct to Molly as she adjusts her chair and microphone. Beau doesn’t know her, either. She’s tall and very pale, with messy jet-black hair that fades to white at the tips. Her clothes are all black save for the white angel wings printed on her hoodie. Her makeup is uniquely messy, but her eyeliner is knife-sharp, and her guitar has lightning bolts printed on it. Beau has never seen anyone like her before. It takes her a moment to realize she’s staring.
Jester, however, notices immediately. “Ooh, someone’s making heart eyes…”
“I am not,” Beau says. “I respect a goth girl with a good sense of style. That’s all.”
or: At Trostenwald High's annual Battle of the Bands, freshman Beauregard Lionett can't stop staring at one particular goth guitarist onstage.
(beauyasha week day 4: band au)
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Beau wakes up screaming.
Next to her, Yasha stirs and sits up. There’s a moment of mutual panic — possession, kidnapping, assassination? — but Yasha gets her bearings after a moment and sees Beau still there beside her, breathing heavily, physically safe and sound. “You okay? You’re okay. Okay.”
“Oh, gods.” Beau buries her head in her hands. “Oh, gods. I cannot handle this shit right now.”
Yasha puts her hands on Beau’s shoulders. “What— what happened? Is everything alright?”
or: Beau still has nightmares about the Nein's most horrifying adventure. Yasha is there to help her through a particularly bad one.
(beauyasha week day 3: nightmare)
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Beau’s starting to feel like a part of things for once. And also… Beauregard Lionett is many things, but subtle is not one of them. She knows damn well that the whole group can see her crush on Yasha Nydoorin – tall, quiet stage-tech goth guitarist Yasha Nydoorin with unique makeup and flowers in her hair – from a mile away. Yasha is not a fan of crowds or noise or staying in one place for extended periods of time, but by some miracle, Molly managed to convince her to join them for once. Beau has to admit she’s pretty happy about that. (Even if she keeps fucking up every attempt at conversation with her.)
or: Beau and Yasha, both terrible at acting like normal humans, attend a carnival with their friends.
(beauyasha week day 1: high school au)
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it's growing faster than you've grown by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Life Series | 3rd Life SMP Series
19 May 2025
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There is much to Watch on a night like this, but the Watchers can’t seem to take their eyes off of their little caterpillar.
She’s curled up on her bed with her hoodie off, revealing the stardust and scars dotting her skin. Wrapped in her arms is the Watchers’ new champion. Both women have the same peaceful expression on their faces. They talk and giggle in voices too soft for the Watchers to hear.
The Watchers stay anyway.
or: Gem's curse is broken, which is a comforting development for the players... but not so much for the beings who placed it.
Series
- Part 17 of it's killing me to love you
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i think we're still turning out by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: Life Series | 3rd Life SMP Series
27 Apr 2025
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Pearl puts her hands on Gem’s shoulders and looks her in the face, truly able to study her expression for the first time since Secret Life began. The portal matter in her eye is still there, as are the glowing stars twisting up her arm and face, but they aren’t growing anymore. They don’t look hungry. They’re simply a piece of her now, just as sharp teeth and wolfish claws manifest on Pearl’s scarlet form. The games leave marks. The players adapt. They make the broken beautiful.
“You like the look?” Gem says with that same sunshine smile Pearl’s missed so dearly. “It’s starting to grow on me.”
“It suits you.” Pearl takes Gem’s hand – soft, warm, familiar. She squeezes it. Gem squeezes back.
or: With healing and memory restored to the server, Gem and Pearl finally get the chance to admit their feelings to each other.
Series
- Part 16 of it's killing me to love you
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i know who i am now, and all that you made of me by pixel_the_alien
Fandoms: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series
04 Feb 2025
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Gem gazes into the void. Its power is no longer comforting. It weakens her instead of bringing her strength. It always has. Until she faces it, it always will.
let it hurt, the Listeners whisper. let it be what it is. fight through it. you will come out the other side whole.
Let it hurt, Gem repeats to herself. Fight through it, GeminiSlay. Tell a new story.
GeminiTay, fighter and champion, worldwalker and unnatural creature, creature of undefinable love, reaches into the void. She wraps her hand around its core, clenching it in her fist. She will take its power for herself now. With a final deep breath, she takes in the darkness and lets herself see it for its true nature.
or: Gem finds her memories, faces the past, and takes her agency back once and for all.
(this series should be read in order!)
Series
- Part 15 of it's killing me to love you