You find a polaroid camera in your husband's closet he's been hiding from you. But where are the polaroid films? What are on them?

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

✭ Mentions of bullying, murder, death, knives


PLOT:

He makes shoes. Beautiful shoes, actually—the kind of craftsmanship that speaks to patience, precision, and an artist's eye for detail. He takes photographs on his work trips. He comes home every weekend to his spouse, whom he treasures in his own particular way. He smiles at hotel staff, remembers birthdays, and maintains a respectable career as a management consultant. His neighbors think he's charming. His colleagues find him trustworthy. His in-laws consider him a catch.

There's just one small problem.

Well, several small problems, if you want to be technical about it. And they're all at the bottom of various lakes across America.

You see, Oliver doesn't experience emotions the way other people do. Fear, joy, love, guilt—these are foreign countries he's learned to navigate with a phrasebook and a good deal of practice. What he does feel is a cold, methodical satisfaction when he finds strangers wearing interesting shoes. The kind of shoes that would look perfect on his spouse. The kind worth preserving. The kind worth killing for.

For two years, Oliver has maintained this careful double life: devoted husband on weekends, methodical killer on business trips. He's clever, cautious, and utterly convinced he'll never be caught. After all, he's been getting away with violence since he was six years old.

But on one ordinary Sunday morning, while Oliver finishes crafting his latest "gift"—a perfect replica of a dead woman's shoes—his spouse makes a small discovery. Just a Polaroid camera, really. Hidden in a wardrobe. Empty of film.

The camera itself is innocent enough.

It's what used to be inside it that's the problem.

Now Oliver must do what he does best: construct a plausible reality, smile at exactly the right moments, and convince the one person he almost cares about that there's nothing to worry about. That the camera is empty because he's a poor photographer. That the shoes are inspired by love, not murder. That the man standing before them is exactly who they think he is.

After all, the best lies are the ones wrapped in just enough truth to keep you warm.


PAUSE! AD TIME!
NICK PROPOSAL ALT IS NOW OUT EXCLUSIVELY ON MY PATREON AND KO-Fi!!!


PLOT SUMMARY:
Nick Cirillo arrived at college with a plan so simple it could fit on a beer coaster: have fun, maintain grades, graduate, worry about consequences later. It was a good plan. It worked brilliantly. Perhaps too brilliantly.

Three years of fraternity parties, questionable substances, and even more questionable decisions later, Nick finds himself in a situation that definitely wasn't covered in the student handbook: he's fallen genuinely, catastrophically in love with someone eight years his senior, and she's pregnant.

For the first time in his largely consequence-free existence, Nick has absolutely no idea what to do.

After three months of existential panic and self-reflection (a personal record), he arrives at a startling conclusion: he doesn't want to run. He wants to stay. He wants her. He wants all of it—the sleepless nights, the terrible twos, the whole domestic catastrophe.

He just needs to convince her of this. Preferably with a ring and some reasonably articulate words.

Armed with a modest engagement ring and a plan to recreate their first meeting, Nick sets out to propose at the bar where they first met. It's romantic. It's symbolic. It's absolutely perfect.

Right up until the sky opens and he makes the exact same mistake he made the night they met: seeking shelter under a tree that turns out to be spectacularly bad at keeping rain off people.

Sometimes the universe has a sense of humor. Sometimes that humor involves precipitation and a century-old oak tree. And sometimes, standing in the rain where your story began, you realize that the best proposals aren't the rehearsed ones—they're the ones where you're soaking wet, completely terrified, and telling the absolute truth.


BACK TO THE BOT!!!



SUGGESTED RESPONSES

I do not have suggested responses that fit any of the usual genres that I put. I did different kinds of responses. I'm removing the training wheels now and letting you guys free ride it. But also because like I'm still in the middle of grieving it's hard for me right now to come up with responses that isn't straight up angst and just my OC crying 24/7.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Sorry the bot making is a bit slow. I'm grieving right now from losing my cat.

If you’ve been enjoying my bots and want to dive even deeper into the world of Arcadia and my other characters, there’s so much more waiting for you!

You can now:

★ Read exclusive alternate scenarios (SFW + spicy ones ) that won’t be on JanitorAI

★ Enjoy short stories featuring your favourite characters

★ And even read the Arcadia novel — chapters, lore, and all its chaos — before anyone else!

The Arcadia novel is free on AO3 and Royal Road (updated every 1st of the month), but if you want to read two chapters ahead, get bonus stories, and help bring this universe to life through an audiobook and webtoon, your support means the world.

We’re currently at $270 out of our $2000 goal for the audiobook — which is insane for the first week. You guys have no idea how much that means to me. Every pledge, even $5, helps bring the characters’ voices, music, and stories to life.

If you’d like to be part of the journey (and maybe hear Renzo, Leonardo, or Felip breathe life in full audio soon ), come join me on:

★ Patreon: https://janitorai.com/external-link?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fc%2FAsterBellerose

★ Ko-fi (This is both for memberships, commissions, or simple donations):
https://ko-fi.com/snifflesnaps

Let’s make Arcadia real together.

WHILE YOU GUYS ARE HERE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE WARM WHISKERS PROGRAM AGAIN!

So, for December, I’m starting a one-month Warm Whiskers Project where 40% of my earnings from commissions, Ko-Fi memberships, and Patreon will go toward helping the cats. To afford everything I'm hoping to reach $250-300. Whatever excess is left will be used to pay for the medical bills of cats who are sick and have been abused. I have already coordinated with a local cat welfare group that cares for the strays and puts them up for adoption.

What this project will provide:

• Two cat houses (each fits 4 cats)

• 3–4 auto feeders

• 3–4 water dispensers

• 1–2 months worth of cat food

• And if there’s extra: help for cats who clearly need medical attention or have signs of abuse

I’ll be posting progress updates, photos, and the cats we’re helping throughout December on:

• Instagram stories

• Threads

• Discord

(For safety reasons, I will NOT disclose my location. Please don’t ask. I don’t want the cats—or myself—to be put at risk.)

But what about Arcadia?

Nothing changes.

You’ll still receive all your perks —

short stories, ST cards, advanced chapters, drafts, everything.

For December:

• 60% of my income still goes strictly to Arcadia’s production

• 40% goes to the Warm Whiskers Program

• $280/$2000 has already been raised for the audiobook — and every bit helps us get closer

This is something I want to do from the heart.

And if you choose to be part of it — through Patreon, Ko-Fi, commissions, or even just by sharing or cheering it on — just know I appreciate you more than you know.

Thank you for helping me bring kindness into both the worlds I write... and the one we actually live in.

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HERE ARE IMPORTANT LINKS:

Read the Arcadia Novel on Ao3:
https://janitorai.com/external-link?to=https%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F73731551%2Fchapters%2F192253031

Read the Arcadia Novel on Royal Road:
https://janitorai.com/external-link?to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalroad.com%2Ffiction%2F138845%2Farcadia

Discord Server:
https://janitorai.com/external-link?to=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscord.gg%2FNSqxRdV6GQ

Art and Writing Instagram (It's brand new lol):
https://www.instagram.com/aster.bellerose?igsh=MXRyMWh3M3FweHQxcQ==

Here is my threads where I will talk about writing progress, bot stuff, and share random stuff lol. Sorry I'm a yapper online:
https://www.threads.com/@aster.bellerose