Dreamer's Riot

Miss Asher has turned entirely hostile. It is strongly recommended that a second professional be granted clearance for her treatment. I will do what I can in the meantime, as required by Chromatic policy. But circumstances limit the effectiveness of my continued care. Client has been nearly desponde

Violet Asher was violent, dangerous, and monstrous. Prolific and theatric in the pain and death she caused. And she should have been stopped the second she made it to Chromatic Academy. She wasn’t. Because even the people who hated her chose to be complicit in her crimes. —Daisy Whitaker, Cruelty in

What are the pitfalls of practicing law in the apocalypse? Well, that depends... To whom? Neither the police nor the average prosecutor seem bothered by the end of the world. In fact, they seem to like the change. Before—in the old world—there was a lot more red tape. Now they can be as reckless as

Hedron live longer than people do. It’s just a fact. Even at the same category and degree, and with equal constitution. Human hedron are no exception, and we still haven’t figured out why. All the clarity in the world, and even a violet lancer can’t outlive a cyan hedron. Eliminate outliers—like the

There are dozens of theories about the end of the world. Thousands, if you count conspiracies. But I tend to favor the idea that the world ended because we are all morons. Not on purpose, like some people think. I do believe someone is responsible. Or was, when they were alive. But I doubt this is w

I have no idea what the Ashers are up to. I don’t know their goal, and I have no way to find out. But I know how many people have died in service to it. That’s reason enough to give our lives to stop them. —A. Whittaker, Attributed Every muscle in Violet’s body was screaming when she finally stopped

Strictly speaking, it is expected that one yellow lancer can overpower several yellow hedron. The logic behind this is simple. A trained, sapient, and armed human should easily defeat a mindless beast. Even if they have similar levels of power. This has worked in the past, on occasion. But my advice

I will never understand why the Cruel Ivy Killer has fans. I mean, I understand the mystery. I understand she was beautiful, and funny, and her talents were interesting. I do get that a dangerous, powerful, and mostly amiable woman is interesting. But haven’t they read what she did to people? Why do

Why don’t we always bring lower categories to higher nests? This is a common question from people with comfortable homes. Students often grow more in a few days in a nest than they do in years of school. Especially if that nest is a higher category than they are. The reason is simple. Because if we

People often complain that talents don’t seem fair. Some talents offer incredible power at no cost. Others have terrible costs or incredible risks. The vast majority of civilians have at least one talent that is effectively useless. Or not useless, but so specific that it almost never comes up. I ha

The problem with investigating crimes, after the apocalypse, is simple. Everyone has fuckass magic powers now. Closed-room mystery? Nope, magic powers. Perfect alibi? Yeah, I’m gonna go with magic powers on this one. Oh, magic powers have never been able to do that before? Gee, I wonder if it’s diff

Callings are a strange thing, aren’t they? Impossible in every way, yet mundane ever since the end of the world. I suppose everything feels normal when the air chokes you and crystal turns prey into predators. Callings fascinate me regardless. They are clearly tied to the end of all things, just as

Nothing fosters cowardice quite so well as confidence. The more certain a man is of his own supremacy, the more terrified he is of anything that might challenge that perception. —Karen Gresham “How's that? Is your head feeling any better?” Angelo asked. Violet blinked a couple of times, then exhaled

There is a simple reason for our ignorance. Why the world ended, and why no one seems to know what happened. I don’t mean the various conspiracies of government cover-ups or mysterious cults. Those are anything but simple. I am referring to the basic reality. There are no records of what went wrong,

Hi everyone! I think about 1 million years ago, I promised a bonus chapter in exchange for signing up for my newsletter! A vote took place, and a topic was chosen, and then I took forever to finish it. This was partially a time issue. Keeping up with the main story and writing bonus content at the s

Everyone knows the best lies have a kernel of truth. This is one of the most basic tricks of deception. But it’s not the most important factor at play. More than basing it on the truth, a liar needs to understand the person they are deceiving. What do they care about? What details will they latch on

The Cruel Ivy Killer didn’t make mistakes. She was meticulous. She was calculating. And she always had a plan. Anyone who says otherwise is just full of themselves. —Ash Jasper, Cruel Ivy Fan Club Website “Hey, is that Violet already? Wait... Oh, fuck...” Guy said. His enthusiasm quickly gave way to

The most dangerous type of hedron are the old hedron. That sounds silly to say, but it’s true. One of the ancient, immortal hedron that don’t seem to need food to survive. The ones who generate enough clarity to subsist on it forever. These hedron are almost always violet, and always deadly. The sec

There are a number of theories about how hedron interact. We know they hunt and kill each other. But they also have a strange kind of hierarchy. Once one hedron has attacked another, they will fight until one dies or escapes. But before they are attacked? One hedron will always assume a subservient

Why do we all have a color for a name? The answer to that question is incredibly simple. It’s also none of your business. —Cyan Asher, Interview Violet leaned her head against the wall of the dilapidated house and looked out into the mist. A large yellow crystal had conveniently grown into the wall,

Fiction always looks to the disabled and the different for villains. “Hurt people hurt people,” they loudly proclaim. And sometimes that’s true. But in the real world, we don’t usually put evil people in padded cells. We put them in corner offices and give them quarterly bonuses. —Vernon Vale, Inter

Didn’t ask. —Ivan, Panacea Blue “Look, Lyle. I know you are used to being the brilliant detective. The man who solves the crimes police can't solve. It's your entire identity, and I don't think that's even a bad thing. This is the biggest case either of us has ever worked, and I know it must be hard

There is not now, nor has there ever been, any evidence that the Asher Family is tied to crime in Prism City. —Detective John Knight, Public Statement Lyle leaned back in his chair and read through the statement a third time. This was easily the biggest break they'd had so far, but he couldn't work

People often forget, in their stories, that Violet Asher had a C average in school. Stop telling stories like she was a genius. Yes. She was clever, when she needed to be. She was quick, and she used her talents to great effect. But she was no smarter than the average person. Some people are remarka

Yes. I am certain of it. Beyond the shadow of a doubt. The evidence is clear and undeniable. And we have already made an arrest. I have found the Cruel Ivy Killer. —John Knight, Public Statement John Knight leaned back in the worn office chair and scowled at his files. He had a few promising leads,

Fear itself is not the only thing you need to worry about in the mist. But it will make every other danger far deadlier. If you are too afraid to raid a nest, my advice is that you don’t. Leave. Desert the lancers. Find a quiet settlement and change your name. Just do not enter a nest while terrifie

For the last time, I didn’t “stalk” Aubrey. We had a fight. Couples do that, you know. Fight. It’s just that most usually do it without all the baseless rumors. People say I abused her, but there was never a mark on her body. Never a bruise. Not so much as a scrape. They say I followed her, but this

Don’t worry! We only let kids fight the apocalypse monsters when we really need to. Or really want to. Or if one of the adult lancers is on vacation. But hey, several of these kids volunteered, so it’s fine. I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal about all of this. —Nicholas Starr, Prism Ci

A “suspect” isn’t, like, the person the evidence leads to. It’s honestly just the least powerful person connected to any given crime. You know? —Kassie Lockwood Lyle was furious. He rested his head against the window of the train, closed his eyes, and let himself get lost in thought for the duration

It’s funny how red blood didn’t interest the police enough to force the issue, isn’t it? After all, who cares if a Category Red is murdered? Or an orange. Or a yellow, or a green. Why would that be enough to push back against Bouvier? As always. Blue blood is the only thing our protectors care about

Callings are not balanced like classes in a game. There is no thumb on the scales, and no care put into keeping the world fair. Some callings are simply better than others. They grow faster. They have more useful talents. They don’t force you to cut holes in all your shirts. The world isn’t fair, an

The world is ending a second time. Most people don’t notice this. And when they do, they don’t realize how widespread the problem is. They simply assume it is a local tragedy. Or an unfortunate oddity. Few realize it’s happening all over the planet. I can hardly fault them for this. Especially if th

Men in positions of authority are easy to wound. Especially if they are proud of the fact. All you need to do is fail to be impressed, and they will never recover. —Violet Asher Violet understood why Demetri had been so amusing. He’d hardly had the demeanor of a person facing death. Or, he had. But

It doesn’t matter how kind someone seems. It doesn’t matter how understanding, or how gentle, or how caring. You don’t know a person until you’ve seen someone they care about outed as an abuser. The quality of a person’s character will face no greater test. They will protect the vulnerable or they w

There is a myth that the red district is filled with children and sad sacks. Like laziness is the only reason someone might age without reaching orange. This belief is popular because comfortable people are often extremely stupid. There are thousands of callings with different growth rates and metho

The Cruel Ivy Killer isn’t an unprecedented danger to Prism City. He barely makes an impact at all, truth be told. As far as crime and death per capita, I mean. People are afraid now. Not because this is the first killer to walk their streets. But because this is the most sensational killer they’ve

What would happen if the immortal toad wanted to break through the coral nest? The same thing that would happen if Santa Claus did, I suppose. The toad may or may not be real, but that scenario is just as realistic either way. The oceans are massive, and that particular legend could be anywhere in t

I understand the point of the districts. But isn’t it all just an illusion? Anyone who wants to make a living has to spend their life visiting higher districts than their category. Anyone who lives in these districts can almost certainly bypass the walls in one way or another. Privacy for the lower

The amount of work we put into recreating the old world is a chain around our necks. How much clarity is fed to copying relics of the past? How much manpower is wasted recreating the pleasures of a dead world? We live in a new society now. We have the opportunity to create new art. New inventions. A

Miss Asher is clearly holding something back. Rather than her initial hesitation to open up, she seems to have something she actively wants to keep from me specifically. I worry she may have taken recent rumors to heart, and is allowing public opinion to affect her ability to open up during sessions

Our city wouldn’t function if citizens could never enter lower-category districts. It also wouldn’t function if anyone was allowed to do so regularly. This is what these tools are for. We don’t enchant tools to dampen perception exclusively as a way to contain criminals. It’s simply the only way off

The Cruel Ivy Killer doesn’t do anything by accident. Everything he does is careful and calculated. He is playing with us. Sending us messages with his kills. Never take anything for granted, and always assume there is a deeper meaning behind his choice of victim. This is how we catch him. We interp

Personally? Yes. I think Violet cared about Kiera. Do I think she cared about her as an equal? Do I think she ever truly respected or valued how Kiera genuinely felt about anything? Of course not. But in the manner of a person with a prized possession? Yes. Violet cared deeply about her best friend.

We've created too much division, so everyone with a moderate outlook feels like everyone’s enemy. But I’m just trying to be reasonable and measured. Everyone throws the phrase “serial killer” around, but can any of us really be sure that’s what he is? Maybe the Cruel Ivy Killer has a good reason for

Guilt is for the poor and the powerless. A Category Red is guilty the moment they are accused. But a violet? A blue, even? There is no evidence worth taking their power from them. Authority protects authority, even if they hate each other. There is a sick solidarity among the strong. Because the mom

I am trying to protect my students. Not from consequences, but from death. Everyone in Prism is terrified of the Cruel Ivy Killer. I understand that. For a brief moment, everyone my lancers protect have to live in fear. But these brave students are training to face that fear every day. It is my job—

The most persistent mistake I see in adaptations of Violet’s story is her characterization. It is a common belief that there were only two versions of her. The monster who was about to kill someone, and the overly sweet girl that everyone could trust. Whenever she is shown alone, she is portrayed as

Hedron are not always a danger to us. Sometimes, they even keep us safe. The most obvious example is this school itself. Chromatic Academy rests right on the bay, yet there is no danger from the horrors of the oceans. This is because of the violet coral nest. The same which blocks off the bay from t

You’re wrong, John. I don’t know how many ways there are to tell you this, but you are wrong. The Cruel Ivy Killer couldn’t manage this on his own. Mostly on his own? Maybe. But entirely? No. No, something isn’t lining up. There is at least one person protecting him. And if we find out who, we find

You trust me, don’t you? —Violet Asher Violet Asher Category [Yellow] Calling <Reaper> Degree {1} Attributes Agility (297) Constitution (162) Dexterity (258) Endurance (182) Perception (383) Resistance (219) Strength (133) Bloodlust (676) Violet read her new attributes for the third time that day. S