#riftday

A CrossXworlds story

© 2025 - 2026 - Kevin W. Burke

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Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES

CYCLE 5 - TURN 17 // TRENDING FEED // TAG: #GLITCHDAY / #RIFTDAY

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Source: Centrecity News 7 - Evening Commcast - Closing Segment

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 17:50 MT

Wide shot of the News 7 Studio, showing an angled desk. Two anchors, a man and a woman, are positioned at it, facing both the camera and each other from a diagonal.

As the segment starts, the reporters are in uncharacteristically candid conversation. 

“Well Mitch, it’s no understatement that today has been a news day like none I’ve ever experienced.”

“That’s right Don, and no sign things will normalize any time soon, based on the sheer scope and scale of this so-called glitchday– or riftday, as some are beginning to call it.”

“You’ve always ended our broadcast with a feel-good story to offset some of the regular news stories, which are often frightening or depressing. Please tell me you have a story like that to offset today’s insanity.”

“Don, I have three feel-good stories today. But in true Glitchday / Riftday fashion, none of them are normal.”

Don sighs.

“We’ll take what we can get, Mitch.”

“Alright… first up, a story of a needy father who became the unexpected recipient of a gift from a generous stranger– A Centrecity man received his SkyGrab meal delivery for free when the SkyGrab hoverboard driver transformed into a glowing dwarf in the middle of the transaction. The driver kept his calm, told the customer to keep his credits and enjoy the meal, then escaped quickly on his hoverboard into SK-42 traffic. As a struggling father of four, the SkyGrab customer said the free meal couldn’t have come at a better time for his family. SkyGrab corporate is cooperating with an official investigation.

“Second, an elderly woman whose faithful dog protected her from harm’s way. The 83 year old woman went out to check her post box when a horde of goblins stormed her yard and began to threaten her with sticks and daggers. The dog rushed to her rescue, barking and scaring off the goblins. The woman had just adopted the dog last month. Animal Control is investigating the whereabouts of the goblins.”

“Finally… a heroic rescue from a traffic accident. When ViewTime personality CentCityCutie encountered a very real and very dangerous dragon in Sky Corridor traffic, she suffered a loss of limbs and may have certainly perished– if not for the intervention of a brave hoverboard courier, himself a ViewTime streamer. Half the NodeNet today watched as Cutie’s daring rescuer, deliveryTimeDave, cut through institutional red tape with his persistent livestream pleading and expert hoverboard piloting. We’re pleased to report that, thanks to his heroism, CentCityCutie is in stable condition and expected to survive.”

“Thank you, Mitch. We all need a lot more Dave after a day like today.”

“Indeed we do.”

__________

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES: AFTERSHOCK

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Source: s/trylWatch channel, seenit NodeNet Forum

Timestamp: C5.T18 - 15:51 WT - One day after #riftday

Subject: You Called Me Crazy – I Am Vindicated!

Posted by: u/grimlingprophet

Hello again, my disciples– and all you smug normies who downvoted my last fortytwo posts about ZetherCorp CEO, Cam Zetherbert, being “a manipulative eldritch elf-thing hiding in human skin.”

LOOK AT HIM NOW. 

A sparkling blue, elf-skin thing running down Centrecity’s executive corridor, screaming to be left alone. 

You mocked me when I said the Synapse Systems CEO Rider Vincent was an alien. 

You mocked me when I said Senator Mitt Connel was an alien plant in the Fed Assembly. 

You mocked me & u/autopods_sukk when we said AutoPod CEO Rylan Mink was an alien. 

You mocked me when I told you there was a secret cabal of aliens controlling the world!

And then yesterday, #glitchday happened. The freaking Pocket Rift opened, or whatever they’re calling it.   

This isn’t even the full list! These are just the highlights!

A high school science teacher who’s a gnome. The Centrecity mayor’s an elf. A freaking SkyGrab hoverboard driver is a dwarf. Even CentCityCutie turned out to be dragon food!

The point is. 

I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE RIGHT IN MY LIFE!!! 

New theory: Their world is collapsing and they’re colonizing. 

Or maybe ours is collapsing and they’re escaping.

Either way–

I TOLD YOU.

I. TOLD. YOU.

Oh, suddenly we’re all quiet now? 

Suddenly I’m not the crazy one?

#Vindicated #IWasRight #ToldYouSo #VictoryLap

67K upvotes

Comments:

- u/SparkAnon: bruh, simmer. u sound like u just ate 6 energy bars

- u/grimlingprophet: THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS. YOU THINK THIS IS NEW??

- u/cutiefansunited: Too soon with the Cutie snark, she’s barely stable. Low blow!

- u/node_surfer77: Bro. Calm down before the corporate lawyers come through your vents. 

- u/JustLemmeCommute: My brother in Maris, you said the same thing about pigeons.

- u/grimlingprophet: THE PIGEONS ARE NANOBOTS

u/GloomyGloom4: this thread gave me an aneurysm

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A CrossXworlds story

#glitchday / #riftday Part I

© 2025 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES

CYCLE 5 - TURN 17 // TRENDING FEED // TAG: #GLITCHDAY / #RIFTDAY

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Source: Internal Gloomsburg Metro Police Department memo

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 06:35 Western Time (WT)

From: Chief Detective Bunning

To: GMPD Squad Leaders

Subject: Possible NodeNet Hack today (C5.T17)

Gentlemen,

I’ve received a tip from the Federated Intelligence Agency regarding rumors of a network wide NodeNet hacking attempt today. 

My reservations about the Federation’s competence and the reliability of its intelligence go without saying. But in this case, they cited a source in Centrecity that Centrecity PD has confirmed. 

In any case, I’m told the NodeNet has a “backbone.” Some of the key players maintaining this backbone are based right here in Gloomsburg, like CloudWeave Solutions. 

Any targeting of backbone nodes in Gloomsburg could have a detrimental effect on our own intelligence and operations reliability. 

Have your squads review their SOPs on data security and stay alert for any disruption of services. 

We can’t afford surprises today– eclipse days already bring out enough of them.

Chief Detective Bendric Bunning - GMPD #1111

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Source: NodeNet Transit Node, AutoPod Lift Channel

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 09:13 Midalon Time (MT)

commuterPod_jon: Am I losing it? My AutoPod lift choked mid-air like something surged the Lift units, and then all Centrecity sky corridor route overlays on the NavSys flickered red. Now there’s a red notice saying “Satellite Interference – Please Wait.” Lots of personal Lifts buzzing past me no problem, but I’m stuck hanging in the middle of SK-42! I get nothing but autoreplies from AutoPod support– go figure! Anyone else’s AutoPod Lift acting like it’s had a few too many? I’m going to get pay docked for another tardy fee at work. AutoPod better compensate me… One star rating FR!

Comments:

- autopods_sukk: bwahaha i’ve been trying to tell you guys that autopod doesn’t care abt the ppl they transport– ur all just revenue to rylan sable

- metroMom: MY KID IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM I PUT HIM IN AN AUTOPOD BC HE MISSED TEH BUS LIFT?? WHAT DO I DO!

- cityside_bob: Satellite Interference? There’s no solar activity, unless you count the eclipse coming this afternoon. AutoPod’s just excusing their glitchy app!

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Source: ViewTime Video Sharing Node - CommStream - CentCityCutie Channel

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 09:23 MT

The live nodestream starts with a young attractive blond woman in a dressing room. Wearing only a silken cream-colored spaghetti strap camisole and matching tap pants, she’s coyly revealing and then covering her lingerie by swapping sets of outfits hung from clothes hangers in each hand. 

 “Good morning ViewTimers!” she says brightly. “Help me pick my outfit for my lunch date today!”

She swaps the outfits again. 

“Do you like outfit 1? Or outfit 2? Like my livestream and comment below on which one you like best.”

Another outfit switch. 

“Guys, if you were going to lunch with me today, which one would make you want to skip going back to work afterwards?”

She giggles, then turns to the side, holding outfit 1 in front of her, no longer attempting to cover her lingerie. 

“I kinda like the color on this one…” 

She turns the other direction, holding outfit 2 in front of her now. 

“...but this one definitely shows my curves better.”

She drops the clothes hanger for outfit 2, which falls to the floor. 

She puts a finger to her mouth in mock surprise. 

“Whoopsie!” she says. She bends over slowly to pick it up, backside towards the camera, the hem of her tap pants inching up to show slightly more skin below the short lingerie shorts. She looks back knowingly at her Comm camera as she does it. 

She straightens up and covers herself with the outfit again, a self-indulgent smirk on her face. 

“Anyway, wish me luck on my lunch date today– I hear he’s pretty hot, but we’ll see how he measures up.” She rolls her eyes. “If it goes like the usual, I’ll be streaming again when I get back from lunch.” 

She giggles. “But with any luck, you won’t hear from me until much, much later.”

The video freezes with her face in another smirk, then glitches.

*Feed buffering. . . Please wait*

“--happening with my stream today?” she sighs, exasperated. “You’d think this wouldn’t happen to a top steamer like me. Get it together, ViewTime!”

“Anyway, for my premium subscribers, I have a bonus poll in the meantime– If you were my date, which one would you rather see me not wearing later? Vote in the poll and I’ll send one lucky subscriber a random piece of my outfit after I wear it!

“If you’re not a premium subscriber, tap belo–”

*Feed buffering. . . Please wait*

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Source: Palomar / Federation NodeNet Authority - Huracan Hub

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 07:26 Western Time (WT)

Status: Network Degradation Ongoing – expect anomalous behavior.

Comments:

- NomadNet: Buddy of mine in CloudWeave CyberSec says there might be a hack going on.

- Skywatcher_Huracan: Huracan still uses old tribal treaties to regulate Node ingress. Try to hack a bay node and you might trigger a 250-year-old Maklamish safety net. Respect the red lines, or the bots will fry your cred!

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Source: Centrecity Parenting Node Board

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 10:32 MT

Subject: “Can we talk about how many things are tracking us?”

User: mom_of_three

Earlier every single Lift-pod on my street rebooted. Now the laundry drone bots are refusing to give my towels back because my “identity signature is unreadable.”

My husband says it’s “only temporary” but in the meantime, our recycling bin just took itself for a walk without permission! 

Anyone else’s home feeling like a semi-autonomous prison right now? 

Comments:

- palomarPrepper: Respectfully, ma’am… this has been true of Centrecity for the last 15 years. 

- civicWatchPunk: Wait ‘til you learn what SideGrid is doing with your doorbell cams. 

- urban_druid: Those bins always knew too much. Stay alert!

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Source: Owyhee Valley NewsNode, Basindale Province

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 12:43 Highland Time (HT)

Posted by SpudFarm42

NodeNet Auth: Viewer discretion is advised.

Shaky Comm video feed: Sunny farmland, mountains on the far horizon. Leafy green crops with white blossoms in foreground. A glowing oval is suspended over the field beyond a barbed wire fence. Locals approach cautiously, long double-barreled firearms at the ready. 

One of the men adjusts his cap after peering into the oval. “There’s nothing here, LaMar… just looks like my field used to, back before we planted spuds. Barren fields and– what the–”

The feed jitters, audio warping, then stabilizes as lava-belching imps and demonoids leap out.

Screams. 

One farmer fires, metal fragments erupting through demonoid flesh.

The feed freezes with a second demonoid mid-leap, claws shredding through a farmer's overalls, with a warped, shimmering pixel block distorting the feed where the demonoid head should be.

Video feed ends abruptly. 

Comments:

- BasindaleContGuard: Emergency Services are en route in coordination with Continental Guard Units. Public is strongly advised to steer clear. 

- thisIsFine: We was told by Owyhee EMS that it was a wildfire that made all them emergency vehicles to evacuate the valley! They didn’t tell us the fire came from some kinda Outworld H’elscape!

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Source: trippr (Node microblogging platform)

presidentshoelaces

reblogged gloomshoe - 3m (C5.T17 14:51 Valmera Time - VT)

OP - justgrlytings - C5.T17

sidenote but like. is anyone else on Abbotton transit feeling extra perceived lately or is that just me

the side-cams on the commuter shuttle were all pointed inward.

inward.

one of them zoomed on me three separate times. i counted.

when i covered my face it immediately panned down to my shoes instead

love to simply ride a train without being subjected to a psychological evaluation, thx :)

sixlenceee - C5.T17

love to simply ride a train without being subjected to a psychological evaluation, thx :)

Louder for the people in the back!

gloomshoe - C5.T17

congrats OP you’ve encountered the behavioral anomaly subroutine

presidentshoelaces - C5.T17

oh sweetie. that thing’s been running for years

it’s just glitchy enough now that it stopped pretending not to stare

13,963 notes - Like - Reblog - Queue

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A CrossXworlds story

© 2025 - 2026 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES: AFTERSHOCK

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Source: PolitEcon - NodeNet longform magazine

Timestamp: C7.T24 - 06:58 MT - Two months, six days after #riftday

Subject: The Oldest Hand in The Room

Byline: Palomaran Affairs Desk | Analysis

It was meant to be a deflection.

In the fifth hour of a strained Armistice briefing, with negotiations stalled and tempers thinning, Illia’s newly designated Elven “Special Agent to Tryl,” Aiani Caladstone, was asked a question that had already begun to circulate beyond the chamber: By what legal authority had the Illian Council on Sovereign Harmony acquired land surrounding Pocket sites across Tryl over the past several centuries?

The premise behind the Tryllian legal inquiry was simple. Illian entities, as non-Tryl actors, had never held recognized standing under Tryllian law. Their land claims, therefore, were invalid.

Caladstone did not dispute the premise.

“If Illian agents have no standing under Tryllian law,” she replied, “then Tryllian law itself has no standing.”

The laughter in the room was audible and immediate. 

To be fair, the Tryllian legal experts were already straining at incredulity since the infamous #riftday events had turned their understanding of the world upside-down. The things of children’s stories— Elves, dwarves, magic, dragons, and the like—had become sudden, brutal reality. That, they had to concede.

But this legal argument, on the other hand, felt like something the Tryllian experts knew more about than some young neophyte PR elf. So the laughter erupted. The sort of laughter reserved for statements so disproportionate they collapse under their own weight.

Laughter that lasted approximately nine minutes. Then the Council backed her up. 

I. The Documents

The Illian Council did not issue a rebuttal. It issued an archive. Not a statement, nor a clarification, but a structured release of authenticated materials spanning multiple centuries of Tryllian development—legal drafts, trade accords, advisory correspondences, maritime sponsorship ledgers, arbitration frameworks.

The implication was not argued. It was meticulously indexed.

Within hours, Tryl’s legal scholars began isolating familiar language—phrases long assumed to be products of early Palomaran governance—embedded verbatim in much older documents bearing Illian seals or signatures attributed to known Council intermediaries. Many of the intermediaries—primarily the long-lived elven and dwarves—still on the current Council body. Even for documents as old as the Federation’s founding two centuries ago.

Within days, challenges were filed. Forgery was asserted.

Within weeks, the legal challenges began to fail. Parchment, ink, and handwriting analysis showed the documents were legitimate—and many of the ancient document authors, in fact, still contemporaries in the current Illian Council.

II. The Federation Layer

The first layer of Palomaran history to give way was the most recent: the Federal Charter itself.

Every Palomaran school child has been taught the origin of the Charter—delgates from the sovereign colonial provinces, loosely allied under the Colonial Compact, had gathered to revise the Compact to address shortcomings with it, and instead emerged with an all-new Federal Charter, soon ratified by the provinces involved. What had long been treated as a uniquely Palomaran synthesis—balancing provincial sovereignty with coordinated arbitration and trade—began to show structural parallels to earlier Council-authored frameworks. Not mere inspiration, or influence...

Continuity. From Council origin.

The office of the High Envoy. The arbitration conventions between provinces. Even the limitations placed on executive consolidation—each had precedent in documents predating the Federation by decades, in some cases centuries.

The prevailing assumption had been that Palomar invented its system of checks and balances out of necessity. The emerging conclusion was less flattering: it had inherited it.

III. The Colonial Compact

Further excavation led to the pre-federal period—the Colonial Compact.

While the Colonial Compact is mostly a footnote in common historical narratives of Palomar, scholars found here that the Council’s presence became harder to dismiss as coincidence. Trade and labor reforms once credited to pragmatic colonial governance bore hallmarks of coordinated intervention: standardized contract durations, early prohibitions on indefinite servitude, and arbitration mechanisms designed to supersede local authority when disputes crossed settlement lines.

These were not organic developments of a frontier society. They were externally introduced constraints.

More curiously, correspondence between colonial administrators—long archived and rarely examined outside academic circles—revealed a pattern of external advisement. Recommendations, phrased cautiously, consistently aligned with what would later become Compact doctrine.

The advisors themselves were never formally identified. They didn’t need to be.

IV. The Break from Valyra

Beyond the Compact lay the storied Palomaran Revolution—the formal severance from the old Valyran kingdoms that initially colonized the continent.

For generations, this had been understood as a predictable outcome of distance, taxation disputes, and political misalignment. A colonial inevitability. Yet newly surfaced materials complicate that narrative.

Council-linked intermediaries appear in diplomatic margins and trade disputes years before open rebellion—advocating for colonial autonomy in terms that mirror later independence rhetoric almost exactly. Not merely supporting the break once it began, but prefiguring it.

More telling still: earlier Council efforts within old Valyra itself, predating Valyran knowledge of the Palomaran continent.

Records indicate sustained attempts to reform Valyran trade and labor systems—efforts that met resistance from entrenched monarchies and guild structures. Proposals were diluted. Compromises stalled. Structural change failed.

Shortly thereafter, Council-directed attention had shifted west to “discovery” and colonization.

V. The Palome Expedition

At the center of that westward shift sits a familiar name: Pietro Palome.

Long celebrated as the navigator who first charted the Palomaran continent for Valyran powers, Palome’s voyage has occupied a stable place in continental history—ambitious, risky, and ultimately transformative.

Less discussed, until now, is its financing.

Ledgers released in the Council archive indicate that a significant portion of the expedition’s backing did not originate from Valyran courts or merchant houses, but from entities now attributable to the Illian Council’s network.

The expedition, in other words, was not merely permitted. It was enabled.

And the risk in Palome’s voyage must also be necessarily reframed—documents showed evidence that agents of the Illian Council had themselves discovered the continent that would become Palomar in the process of meticulous mapping Pockets and their entrance into Tryl. Framed in this light, the “discovery” of Palomar becomes something closer to a redirection—an intentional pivot away from an unreformable Valyra toward a more malleable frontier. 

A new continent to act as a new vessel for old ideas. But not old to Tryl. Old to Illia, where they originated.

VI. Before the Voyage

The final layer is the least complete, and the most contested.

Fragments suggest that Council engagement with Tryl predates Palome’s voyage entirely—appearing in advisory roles, trade observations, and legal commentaries within late Valyran records. Peripheral at first. Then recurring. Then embedded.

Not as rulers or conquerors. Societal architects, they saw themselves, working from remote halls. 

And not just on the Valyran side of Tryl. Ancient documents, when aligned with Palomar’s indigenous nomadic tribe oral traditions, reveal a collaboration between the Illian Council’s nomadic tribe representatives and Tryl’s pre-Palomaran tribes to foster the concepts of sovereignty of tribal lands ahead of Valyra’s arrival on what would become known as the Palomaran continent.

VII. The Question That Remains

None of this, on its own, proves malign intent. 

Every intervention can be read as stabilizing. Every reform, as progressive. Civilized. The erosion of feudal structures, the limitation of indefinite servitude, the spread of arbitration-based governance—these are, by most measures, improvements.

But taken together, across centuries, a different question begins to assert itself:

Not whether the Illian Council influenced Tryl. But whether Tryl, as it exists, was ever entirely its own.

Caladstone’s remark was dismissed as absurd when it was first spoken.

It is no longer being laughed at.

Comments:

- nodeMatrix: What else isn’t really from Tryl? Next we’re going to find out Illia invented pizza, beer, and pushup bras?

- spark_anon: Bruh, Illian Dwarves invented beer and Illian Gnomes invented pizza, lol. We kept it clean too. Cheese and vegetables, no Tryl meat stack abominations. Pushup bras are 100% on you though.

- grimlingprophet: Since Pietro freaking Palome? Are you kidding me? I’ve been saying they’ve been here for years, but this… this is too much. This goes all the way back. 

- TrylFirstBro: So what, we’re just going to pretend this is fine? They wrote our laws. They shaped the system. Maybe that elf chick was right—none of this is legitimate. Maybe it’s time to build something that actually belongs to us. 

- civitas_legal: If even half of this holds up in arbitration, every land claim near a Pocket is going to be litigated into oblivion. But with Council magic users on every Pocket perimeter… maybe litigation will be less relevant than incantation. 

- dockhand77: “Societal architects, not conquerors.” Yeah? Come down to Crosshaven again and architect your way outta that!

 - blueharbor: Everyone’s jumping straight to conspiracy. The Council pushed labor limits and killed feudal systems. That’s not nothing.

- ironveil: Or they optimized us to be better cattle. There’s a difference.

- midreach_mom: I don’t care who wrote what. I just want to know what’s coming through those Pocket things and why nobody told us! __________ END INTERLUDE

A CrossXworlds story

© 2025 - 2026 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES

CYCLE 5 - TURN 17 // TRENDING FEED // TAG: #GLITCHDAY / #RIFTDAY

__________

Source: Centrecity Press drone footage, Centrecity City Hall

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 15:05 MT

At the Centrecity City Hall steps, the mayor emerges to a podium at the top of the steps, to issue a statement reassuring the public.

Among the staffers and security detail behind him, two of them begin to glow with faerie fire auras as their glamours fade, their disguises falling. 

The crowd clamors, some screaming. 

Turning to see the source of alarm, the mayor lights up as his illusion also falls, leaving his elven appearance.

Security bots whirl in confusion. One glitches, tazing the glowing staffer, who goes down in convulsions. 

The mayor raises his arms, pleading. 

“I mean no harm! I was placed here a century ago–”

Someone throws a bottle.

The security bots deploy shields, but half are protecting the mayor and half are containing him. 

The press drone spirals off course, video glitching as its telemetry systems hang.  __________

Source: Gloomsburg Live News 5 Commcast Update

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 13:07 MT Medium shot, anchor desk. News anchor Jerb Williands faces the camera. His posture is rigid, his voice measured. 

“Earlier this afternoon, Live News 5 aired a brief live segment filed by one of our autonomous field units, Nori, regarding events in the Woodrock district. 

“That segment contained language and framing that did not meet our editorial standards. In particular, the report engaged in speculative descriptions and unverified characterizations of individuals involved in an ongoing incident. 

“While the video footage captured by the unit does depict unusual environmental and situational conditions, claims made on-air regarding off-world origin, non-human identity, or extraordinary capabilities have not been independently verified at this time.

“It is not the role of Live News 5 to speculate, sensationalize, or draw conclusions while facts remain incomplete. The live feed was terminated as soon as production staff became aware of the deviation from journalistic standards. 

“For clarity: During the recorded exchange, the individual interviewed appeared cooperative, did not initiate hostile action toward civilians, and was engaged in what authorities have described as an ongoing public safety response. 

“We regret the confusion caused by the earlier broadcast and reaffirm our commitment to accurate, responsible reporting– especially during moments of public uncertainty.

“Further updates will be provided as confirmed information becomes available through official channels.”

Jerb pauses briefly, a faint shake of the head, then continues into the next segment.  __________

Source: Gloomsburg Metro Police Department Press Release

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 13:17 WT

Due to widespread incidents involving unstable spatial anomalies, localized atmospheric phenomenon, and undocumented biological incursions, residents are strongly advised to remain indoors unless an evacuation notice is issued.

Do not approach glowing individuals. 

Do not approach autonomous police dog units exhibiting erratic behavior. 

Do not approach shimmering distortions, dimensional apertures, sphere-like mirages, or any object producing harmonic vibrations, regardless of their perceived beauty.

Stay tuned to official channels for emergency information. 

__________

Source: Gloomsburg Metro Police Department internal memo

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 13:20 WT

[Yellow sticky note appended to Gloomsburg Metro Police Department Press Release, above] 

Chief,

If you ask me to issue one more absurd press release simultaneously confirming and denying the terrifying reality of today’s unusual events, I’ll retire to private detective work.

– Det. Bendric Bunning 

__________

A CrossXworlds story

© 2025 - 2026 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES: AFTERSHOCK

__________

Source: NodeBuzz - NodeNet longform magazine

Timestamp: C7.T17 - 06:58 MT - Two months after #riftday

Subject: The Transformation of CentCityCutie [selected excerpts]

By now everyone on the Chirperverse is aware of the spat this weekend between documentary filmmaker M.L. Lesse and tease influencer CentCityCutie. But it was this exchange of chirps between them that brought full circle just how far Cutie has come since her rise to notoriety on the NodeNet:

@mllesse: “@centcitycutie was never serious about her take on the Illia Rift issue, it was always branding for her. Her sudden change in position can't be taken seriously now.”

@centcitycutie: “@mllesse is still salty over the time I refused his DM request for more revealing pics than I share publicly.”

This wasn't just a clapback, it was a flashback– to a simpler world before the Pocket Rift, and a simpler Cutie before her foray into policy.  

When she began accumulating followers, Cutie– whose real name is Corinne Weller– might have appeared indistinguishable from any number of NodeNet influencers. But her social node savvy has resulted in a huge base of both male and female followers. Her strategic pivots in content emphasis have been based on engagement– including her previously most successful emphasis on dating and her ironically lonely relationship status. And her careful control of what images she releases and how they’re used, has managed to leave that enormous follower base always wanting more. 

It’s no surprise that Cutie’s tragic Centrecity Sky Corridor run-in with a dragon on the now infamous Riftday event would generate a largely empathetic response from the general public. But Cutie didn’t stop at empathy. 

That event became a catalyst for a number of transitions Cutie has made:

From sexy tease influencer and lonely relationship blogger to “cyber body positivity advocate.” 

. . .

Once her condition was stable, though, Cutie quickly pursued all options available to her to address her impromptu amputee status. Given the net worth her online empire had accumulated, her options were much wider than the average person– including the artificial limb augmentations she chose. 

She didn’t keep her choice quiet either, from documenting her journey in the discovery, selection, and augmentation process, to the post-augmentation glamour photos she released– her new augment limbs carefully positioned to obscure parts she never discloses. 

Even in this, she was still strategically toeing the line she’d always walked– always teasing, never revealing. 

From famously single, to quietly off the dating scene, to in a relationship with her rescuer. 

This began as a tease in the immediate aftermath of her recovery: A pale, barely-stable Cutie livestreaming from her MedArc bed to introduce her viewers to her brave rescuer– who didn’t even know who Cutie was. Die-hard Cutie fans were delighted to see deliveryTimeDave’s live bedside reaction as he innocently loaded Cutie’s channel on his Comm, and watched his face go from raised eyebrows, to flushed cheeks, to quietly pocketing his comm device, reverting to concerned questions about her medical condition. 

. . .

Another tease came at Cutie’s appearance on the Auren Montrose Show. Initially a solo interview, Auren covered Cutie’s recovery, her cybernetics, how her life changed, and the cost of being a symbol. And then, to the surprise of both Cutie and Dave, it became a couple’s interview, as Auren’s team arranged with SkyGrab corporate to put Dave on a delivery at Auren’s studio backstage. 

. . .

[Cutie and Dave, helmet still awkwardly tucked under his arm, seated together on a studio couch facing Auren and the audience.]

Dave: “So yeah, as soon as the dragon was distracted, I swung in there and pulled her out of the AutoPod wreckage, got her to a safe place where I could do triage care on my board. The livestream picks up from there.”

Auren: “You didn’t help her just so you could go viral.”

Dave: [Shakes head]

Auren: “You didn’t know who she was.” 

Dave: [Flushing] “Not until she told me, in recovery.” 

Auren: “You just delivered.”

Dave: [Shrugs]

. . .

Auren: “Prior to this, Cutie, your channel had been focused on dating and relationships. So many NodeNet fans– and literally all of my staff– have been dying to know: Are the sparks we’ve been sensing between the two of you for real?”

Dave: [Flushes, cradles his helmet, looks at Cutie.]

Cutie: [Smiles, meets Dave’s gaze, rests a hand on his shoulder.] “What’s real is that Dave is an amazing person.” 

Auren: “I don’t want to add fuel to the fire, but your answer doesn’t do anything to dispel the rumors.”

. . .

More curated disclosure came– not by what she said, but what she didn’t say– Cutie quietly stopped streaming date setups. Her tease streams became more tame– less fan service, more fashion. Speculation ran rampant. 

. . .

Finally, in a career first, Cutie revealed something fans had been asking for– in a joint livestream between Cutie and Dave, they publicly announced they were in a relationship. 

. . .

From largely apolitical to outspokenly anti-Illian influencer, embraced by a growing public anti-Illia movement. 

After their relationship announcement, deliveryTimeDave’s channel content continued as it had always done, albeit less frequently. Cutie’s channel shifted dramatically, but this time not based on engagement. To the contrary, many of her fans protested as her livestreams dropped wardrobe changes and picked up the talking points of the rapidly growing TrylFirst movement. 

She called her accident unnecessary, her loss of limbs preventable, and targeted the “secretive and deceptive” agenda of the Illian Council on Sovereign Harmony as their role in the Pocket Rift– and in Tryllian affairs for centuries– began to be understood.

Two comments surfaced the most frequently from fans on all her posts: “Angry isn’t cute,” and “Shut up and tease.”

For groups like the TrylFirstBros– a loose, aggressively online nationalist movement– Cutie was heralded as brave. Fights in the comments section became common between the original “fashion & relationship” fans and her newfound anti-Illia fans.

. . .

From being in a celebrated relationship, to signs of relationship strain, to painfully single again.

Crucially, the person who appeared to be increasingly uncomfortable with the anti-Illia company Cutie began keeping, was deliveryTimeDave– Dave Fieldsmith. What started as Dave avoiding appearance in any of Cutie’s streams that weren’t solely focused on their joint activities, turned into Dave actively ducking questions about his thoughts on Cutie's activism. Then came the leak of a 3rd party video taken of Cutie and Dave, in a public but secluded space where they clearly thought they had privacy. Although the audio was undiscernable, the strain in their expressions was clear. 

The final straw came after the Crosshaven Pocket incident, where the appearance of a so-called “rogue” Pocket and members of TrylFirstBros– who were there protesting Crosshaven’s known, stable, Illia-protected Pocket– collided into a display of Tryllians exercising heinous violence against unarmed, presumably innocent Illians. The type of violence that had been quickly condemned by Tryllian leaders following the Pocket Rift incident, and had agreed to cease as part of the armistice agreement that had followed with Illia. 

Cutie quickly disavowed any affiliation with the TrylFirstBros and spoke out against violence from either side. But within the week of Crosshaven, she made a tearful livestream announcing a break-up after her 6-week relationship with deliveryTimeDave– over “philosophical differences.” 

Back to teasing, Cutie let slip a comment, “you think you know someone, and then…” but changed the subject and wouldn’t elaborate. 

Dave was also tight-lipped about it, completely avoiding the topic on his delivery livestreams, which have become increasingly infrequent. 

. . .

From the NodeNet’s most influential activist in the anti-Illia movement to a neutral analyst and commentator. 

Following the Crosshaven incident, and Cutie’s subsequent disavowal, Cutie’s ViewTime Channel and other social node accounts went silent for two weeks– nearly forever in NodeNet influencer time. 

When she emerged, she issued an even stronger disavowal of the TryFirst movement– “I won’t be your mascot” – and in true Cutie fashion, announced another pivot. She would still comment on Illia and Tryl relations, as she had been. But this time as a neutral commentator with a focus on opposing oppression and authoritarianism in any form, regardless of world origin, party, or affiliation. 

“People are suffering from this conflict, just as I suffered, and most of them are innocent victims, just as I was. I can’t look at their suffering indifferently just because of where they were born or what they look like.”

. . .

Of course, this has not settled well with the TrylFirst movement, whose comments on her content have quickly gone from laudatory to predatory, with demands to “pick a side,” and inferred threats if she picks the “wrong” side.

. . .

With her track record of pivots, there’s no telling where Cutie will go from here. But one thing is clear– whether she’s in a camera’s focus, a dragon’s jaws, or the TrylFirstBros’ crosshairs, don’t count Cutie out. 

__________

A CrossXworlds story

© 2025 - 2026 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES: AFTERSHOCK

__________

Source: Centrecity Tribune news article 

Timestamp: C5.T19 - 08:15 MT - Two days after #riftday

The Centrecity City Council has appointed City Councilor Jornaton Gallwraith as Acting Mayor of Centrecity. The action was ratified in the city council session held last evening, Tuesday, Cycle 5, Turn 19. The action followed a vote of no-confidence that Gallwraith called for against the sitting mayor, who had been revealed as an Illian agent the previous day, in the midst of a rash of similar revelations triggered by the so-called Riftday events on Monday, C5.T17.

As CEO of the security services company Gallwraith Security (GallSec), Jornaton Gallwraith had been involved in Centrecity’s security concerns at the private business, financial service, and government level for over a decade before his successful bid for his position on the City Council 4 years ago. 

Regular city elections had just concluded earlier in Cycle 5, resulting in the re-election of both Gallwraith as City Councilor and the now-outed Mayor. The city council plans to announce an emergency election schedule in the next council session.

__________

Source: Tryl Associated Media (AM) raw news feed segment

Timestamp: C5.T24 - 12:05 WT - One week after #riftday

Moderator: “…and now, Illia’s official statement.”

[Multiple feeds auto-sync. Audio levels fluctuate for the first few seconds. Aiani steps forward to a lectern. She waits. The room quiets. She leans forward– too closely– to the lectern mic.]

Aiani Caladstone: “Uh, hello–”

[Mic feedback squeals. Aiani repels from the sound, looks side-stage for guidance. Side-stage, a gnome in a brightly colored shirt pantomimes grabbing a mic and moving it away. She imitates his motion with the mic and then leans back into a more natural stance.]

Aiani: “Hello, my name is Aiani Caladstone, of Morinar, in Illia. Councilor General Isilhuine of the Council on Sovereign Harmony has asked me to speak on behalf of the Council.”

[She looks around, a split second of hesitance, then clears her throat and continues.]

Aiani: “Last night, the Huracan Continental Guard forcibly entered what the Council recognizes as Illian-owned private property, located at the Woodrock Apartments here in Gloomsburg suburbs. They succeeded in temporarily overwhelming Council security forces and led an armed incursion through the Gloomsburg Pocket into Illia. 

“Once in Illia, Tryllian forces lost coordination and were quickly subdued by the Council Guard. The incursion was pushed back out through the Pocket, and away from Illian-owned property. 

“I understand the fear and anger surrounding last night’s events. I will answer any questions that I can, as honestly as I can. I apologize in advance if I misuse any of your protocols.

Reporter (Gloomwire): “Ms. Caladstone, can you confirm whether there are Illian forces occupying the Woodrock Apartment complex, and whether there are Huracan Continental Guard personnel being detained against their will?”

Aiani: “Thank you. I– I want to be very clear about this. There are no military forces occupying Woodrock. This is first and foremost an apartment complex with Tryllian human civilians living here. There also exists a long-established presence of Council security, science, and arcane experts here, assigned to monitor and safeguard the Pocket itself and the surrounding civilian structure.”

[A pause. She nods once, as if confirming her own phrasing.]

“As for the members of the Huracan Continental Guard who crossed through the Pocket– yes, several of them are being held in Illia. They are not being harmed. Medical care is being provided and they are being treated as protected detainees under Council charter accords.”

Reporter (TrylNow): “Detainees. So prisoners.”

[A ripple moves through the room. Aiani exhales, then answers anyway.]

Aiani: “They are being held to prevent further loss of life on either side. This engagement is not something the Council sought or initiated, but we responded with the restraint appropriate to the circumstances.”

Reporter (independent NodeNet feed, off-mic): “Restraint with magic.”

[Aiani’s gaze flicks towards the sound. She doesn’t smile.]

Aiani: “Yes, with magic.

“Deliberately non-lethal magic, despite significant provocation and–”

[She stops herself, forcing a smile.]

Aiani: “–despite the imbalance of conditions created by the intrusion.”

Reporter (Gloomsburg Live News 5): “Are you saying Tryl forces were unprepared? Or that they were set up to fail once they crossed over?” 

[Aiani hesitates– just a beat too long. Cameras click loudly in the pause, lenses zooming in on her. A sentiment index flickers across the press pool HUDs: CONFIDENCE -12%.]

Aiani: “What I am saying is that Illia is not Tryl. The rules– physical, energetic, ecological– are different there. Entering without coordination, without shared safeguards, was dangerous.”

[She leans forward, hands visible on the lectern.]

Aiani: “Remember, Tryl initiated this incursion, not Illia. We have spent centuries preventing exactly this kind of misunderstanding from turning into a catastrophe. The events of last night show why that caution existed.”

Reporter (Gloomwire): “So you’re saying the secrecy was justified.”

[Aiani blinks. This question lands harder than the last.]

Aiani: “No. That isn’t what I said.”

[Another pause. Shorter this time.]

Aiani: “I’m saying that secrecy and sudden force are both poor substitutes for cooperation. And right now, cooperation is the only path to keeping people alive.”

[She straightens, visibly bracing herself on the lectern.]

Aiani: “That is why the Council is prepared to negotiate immediately for the safe return of all personnel, and for clear boundaries around the Pocket going forward.”

Moderator: “I will take another question.”

[Three hands shoot up. The room noise spikes]

Comments:

- TrylFirstBro: Pausing to try to get her story straight– confused or lying? Hard to tell with that funny accent. 

- DeepGlitcher: Bro, elf chicks are kinda hot, not gonna lie. What’s with that tunic though?

- nodeMatrix: They’ve always been here. We’re just now starting to find out how deep the deception goes. 

- spark_anon: She makes a lot of sense to me!

- Fishdell_neighbor: This happened 2 miles from my house… There goes the neighborhood!

- sentiment.ai_beta: Trending polarity: 61% distrust. Engagement spike in Huracan province.

__________

A CrossXworlds story

#glitchday / #riftday Part II

© 2025 - Kevin W. Burke

__________

Note: The following interlude takes place between the events of Episodes 15 and 16.

TRYL NODENET ARCHIVES

CYCLE 5 - TURN 17 // TRENDING FEED // TAG: #GLITCHDAY / #RIFTDAY

__________

Source: Gloomsburg Live News 5 Commcast Update

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 11:56 WT

A smiling corporate anchor face, audio lagging with jitters in the feed:

“ –receiving reports of strange rainbow or aurora-like sightings in the sky over the Gloomsburg metro area. Our weather expert Chid Ponallo responds. Chid?”

“Jerb, it’s not uncommon for coronal displays in the sky during eclipses, especially on a solar eclipse by the Whole Moon. Between those and the near dusk conditions as totality approaches, it’s easy for the eyes to play tricks on you. The Federated Weather Service is saying they’re seeing an uptick of these kinds of sightings across the west coast of Palomar today, but officials note that reports like this are not uncommon during eclipses. They’re recommending everyone just sit back and enjoy the celestial show. With proper eye protec–”

The feed stutters, then resumes with the anchor chuckling mildly and turning back from the weatherman before it cuts.

Comments:

OnePalomarScot: Weirdos always come out of the woodwork on eclipses. Nothing new!

Fishdell_neighbor: It’s not a freaking rainbow, Chid! And it’s definitely not some corona in the sky. It’s like a fireworks display running through my neighborhood streets and it gets bigger as it goes west towards Woodrock. Something ain’t right!

__________

Source: Private Comm clip, NodeNet Message Board

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 13:58 MT

Handheld Comm footage from a street in Pontestreit. A young woman in front of the Comm’s camera is pointing at a small crowd gathered to watch robot sentry dogs doing a coordinated dance routine in a city square behind her, catchy music playing through one of the sentry dog’s loudspeakers. 

“See I’m telling y’all,” the young woman says,”this might look cute now, but when NexusDynamics gets contracts approved for metro police departments or Continental Guard units, these dogs– they gonna be armed, and y’all won’t think it’s so cute–”

A ripple in the air blooms into a plasma flash between the woman and the city square, and then a circular aperture opens there, stretching into a bright oval with a crystalline aura around the edges. Within the aperture, a perfect Illian countryside shows. Sunlit, much brighter than Pontestreit’s smoggy skies. Too bright. Practically golden in comparison. 

The footage turns shaky.

“Wait– Holy Strike, you see that?” says the young woman. 

Gasps from the crowd of pedestrians. 

Behind them, the NexusDynamics sentry dogs lose formation, coordination collapsing, one of them circling erratically, nose down on the pavement.

One pedestrian steps towards the opening. 

“Yo, I wouldn’t go there!” a male voice calls out, from behind the camera. 

One of the sentry dogs rushes the entry, beating the man through. 

A hideous screech sounds from the Illian side. A spray of sentry bot chunks and pieces erupts from the opening. The crowd stumbles back. 

One of them yells, “No! Is that a–?”

Feed cuts.

__________

Source: Solmont_SalonCam (NodeNet live stream)

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 12:02 WT

A woman stares into her Comm selfie cam, adjusting her makeup. A salon storefront window behind her shows a city street with moderate pedestrian traffic passing by. 

“So after you get the base coat of eyeshadow, go in with the eyeliner…”

Behind her on the sidewalk, a man fumbles with his shopping bags as a multicolor aura of light flares up around his figure. His skin turns a pale blue, his ears are suddenly elongated, and his eyes turn obsidian-black.

The woman stops, staring at her Comm camera display.

“What’s wrong with my Comm–?”

She turns to look behind her, and screams.

“OH MY STARS– He’s blue! He has no pupils– He has NO pupils!”

Onlookers in the street panic, pointing and shouting. 

The man bolts as they start to encircle him. 

Comments:

 - spark_anon: #glitchday, y’all! Probably some smart filter she didn’t even know she had installed.

- normlUser: That’s no cam filter! 

__________

Source: Comm Cam clip from Sundown Province University student dorm

Timestamp: C5.T17 - 15:08 VT

A rogue Pocket snaps into existence in a residence hall corridor– just blinks into existence like a door of light slammed open. 

Two students walk right into it, mid-conversation. They vanish. 

Half a heartbeat later, one of the students staggers back through, clothes smoking, hair singed. He screams that the ground on the other side is boiling.

A molten wave of green fire surges out of the threshold of the Pocket entrance. Just as quickly as it had opened, the Pocket clamps shut again with a scraping sound, like metal folding. 

“Jerry!” the smoke-singed student screams, “Where’s Jerry?!”

__________