#since hes. well. a ''tech wizard''

[printchar]

now u see it!! ⇨ 💚

[moniquesha]

issues

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Summary: You wait for your new therapist, and you also meet Bucky.

a/n: i can't move on from bucky in tfaws, plus this is just so short and cute and very realistic. then maybe i'll continue exfil tonight if i'm up for it.

You sit in the waiting room, hands folded in your lap, trying not to think about how many therapists you’ve been through already. Four, to be exact. None of them worked. But according to your research, the one you’re waiting for now is the best.. At least by reputation. The internet spoke of her impressive roster of clients: super soldiers, unnamed heroes, people who lived through impossible things. You didn’t care about that. Well, maybe a little. If she helped them, maybe she could help you too.

You arrived early. Two hours early, to be exact. The receptionist barely looked up from her screen before instructing you to sit and wait. So you did. And you’ve been waiting ever since. An hour has passed. Boredom claws at you, but the thought of leaving your perfect spot, of somehow being skipped after the hell of booking this session, keeps you locked in place.

Then, the couch shifts.

A presence. Subtle, but heavy. You don’t look at first, too lost in your own head, but eventually, curiosity wins out. A glance to the side, and Bucky.

Yes, that Bucky.

He looks just as out of place as you feel. Maybe more. In his metal hand, he holds a small bouquet of flowers, fingers idly gripping the stems. You don’t pry. You could, but that would require speaking, and you’re not entirely sure you remember how to do that properly. Others would ask for a picture. Maybe even an autograph. You would too, if you had even a shred of confidence in your system.

But damn.

You live in a world with wizards, aliens, reality-warping stones, and tech so advanced it defies logic. And here you are, stuck in your own head, unable to even figure yourself out.

Embarrassing.

Surprisingly he's the one to speak first.

“You here for Doc too?”

It takes a second for your brain to register that, yes, Bucky Barnes just spoke to you.

“Sorry, what?”

He huffs out a small breath, like he expected that response, like he’s used to people not keeping up with him right away. His fingers tighten around the stems of the flowers for a second before he nods toward the office door.

“Doc Christina,” he repeats. “You waiting for her too?”

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” You shift in your seat, suddenly hyper-aware of how stiff you’ve been sitting this whole time. “Took forever to get an appointment.”

Bucky lets out a dry chuckle. “Yeah. She’s got a long waitlist.” He pauses, then adds, “Worth it, though.”

That means something, coming from him. You don’t know his whole story, but you know enough. Enough to understand that if anyone needs therapy, it’s him. Silence stretches between you for a beat. It’s not exactly uncomfortable, but it’s not easy either.

“Those flowers for her?”

He glances down at the flowers like he just remembered he was holding them. His fingers flex around the stems before he shrugs.

“Nah,” he says. “For someone else.”

You nod, not pushing for more. If he wanted to elaborate, he would. But something about the way his jaw tenses tells you that whoever they’re for, they mean something. Maybe too much.

Silence settles again, but this time, it’s different. Less awkward, more… understanding. Two people waiting for the same therapist, carrying baggage too heavy to unpack in casual conversation.

Bucky shifts in his seat, then glances at you. “She’s good, you know,” he says, almost like an afterthought. “Doc. She doesn’t fix you, but she helps.”

You swallow down something complicated. “Yeah?”

He nods. “Yeah.” Then, a small smirk. “But she’s brutal.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “But.. She’ll help right? Because my healthcare can’t take another beating right now.” you laugh awkwardly, mentally cursing yourself for even speaking too much.

Bucky actually huffs out a quiet laugh. Just a breath, really, but it’s something. He tilts his head slightly, considering you for a moment before nodding.

“She’ll help,” he says, like it’s a promise. “But you might leave every session feeling like you went ten rounds with a heavyweight.”

You grimace, sinking further into your seat. “Great. Love that.”

He smirks, but there’s something softer in his expression now. Maybe he sees a little too much of himself in you. Maybe he just knows what it’s like to sit in this exact spot, dreading whatever comes next. For a moment, you forget who he is. Forget the history, the stories, the headlines. He’s just another person waiting for help. Just like you.

“What are you here for?”

You freeze for a second, caught off guard by the question.

It’s not like you don’t know the answer. You do. It’s just.. saying it out loud feels different. Feels real. You glance at him, expecting impatience or regret for even asking, but he just looks at you. Calm, waiting. Like he actually wants to know.

You exhale, shifting in your seat. “I, uh..” You hesitate, then force a small, awkward laugh. “Honestly? I don’t even know how to sum it up.”

Bucky nods, like he gets it. Maybe he does.

You sigh, rubbing the back of your neck. “I guess I just feel.. stuck. Like my brain keeps running in circles, and no matter what I do, I can’t get out of my own way.” You glance at him, suddenly self-conscious. “That probably sounds dumb.”

Bucky shakes his head. “Hey, it doesn’t.” He leans back against the couch, staring ahead. “Sounds about right.”

You sit in silence for a moment before you finally ask, “What about you?”

His jaw tenses slightly, his grip on the flowers tightening again. For a second, you think he won’t answer.

Then, quietly, he says, “Trying to make peace with a past that won’t let me go.”

It’s simple. Honest. Heavy.

You don’t push, and he doesn’t say anything more.

But somehow, just sitting there waiting, together, feels like a small step forward.

You exhale, staring ahead. “Well, I hope for a better us. In the future. If that's possible.”

There's silence after that, but it doesn’t feel awkward. It just lingers, settling between you both like a shared thought neither of you knows how to put into words.

Bucky shifts slightly, then leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “It will,” he says eventually. “Just takes time.”

You huff out a laugh, shaking your head. “Time’s kind of a pain in the ass, though.”

That earns a smirk from him. “Yeah. That, it is.”

The receptionist calls a name. Not yours, not his. The waiting continues, but at least now, you’re not doing it alone.

Bucky lets out a quiet scoff, watching as someone disappears into the therapist’s office. “Finally, the line is moving.”

You nod, stretching your legs out slightly. “Guess that means we’re one step closer to getting our brains picked apart.”

He smirks, shaking his head. “Yeah. Brace yourself.”

You chuckle, but there’s a nervous edge to it. The thought of actually stepping into that office, of unpacking everything you’ve been carrying, feels heavier now. But at the very least, you’re not the only one feeling it.

After some time, the receptionist finally calls your name.

You exhale sharply, nodding as you stand. Before heading to the office, you turn to Bucky and give him a small smile.

“Hope your girl likes those flowers. They’re beautiful.”

There’s a brief pause, and then because your brain refuses to let you leave without making it worse. You awkwardly add, “Or boy… if you’re into that. Yeah, I’m going.”

Bucky blinks, clearly caught off guard. Then, to your absolute surprise, he actually chuckles, showing his charming smile.

You nod to yourself, as if that somehow saves you from the awkwardness, and turn away. But just as you reach for the doorknob, you hear him say, “They’re for a friend.”

You glance back, and he’s still smirking, shaking his head slightly like he can’t believe you just said that. But there’s something softer in his expression, something almost appreciative.

“Good luck in there,” he adds.

You huff out a breath, gripping the doorknob. “Yeah. You too.”

And with that, you step inside, ready. Sort of.. To face whatever comes next.

a/n: see! cute!

divider from: omi-resources

[milykins]

Hacked

I felt like I needed to redeem myself with Donnie since I’ve had a couple comments where people expressed feeling sad that I had a girl scream and run away from him in a previous headcanon. I thought maybe I should give him something sweet and fluffy. Added some fun quotes as well.

Special thanks to @iridescentflamingo @the-cauldron-witch @avery73 and @sophiacloud28 for all of your help with this story, editing it and helping me with ideas! I hope you enjoy reading it!

Aged up TMNT x Reader

TW: None: Donnie's system keeps getting hacked into and he gets increasingly more frustrated.

“No I’m not playing hard to get! I’m telling you, Sir, it’s not that kind of phone line!”

“It’s always the time for accuracy, Leo.”

“When you put it like that it sounds ridiculous.”

“Let me be the bad-ass for once.”

On the outside, Donatello was the brain, the tech-wizard, the tinkerer. A master of all things technological and a true intellectual able to solve a Rubik’s cube in less than 20 seconds. If it was broken, Donnie could fix it, if it was a seemingly impossible situation, Donnie could figure it out. His three brothers relied heavily on him because he was the smartest, even Leo because there were some questions even he couldn’t answer. This is how it had always been, and he didn’t mind for the most part. He did feel like he was a valuable asset to the team if not a bit overused.

On the inside however, he was the shy one, the introvert, the one who secretly feared being alone forever while slowly descending into madness from his own self-induced seclusion.

Despite Chief Vincent telling them they’d be accepted by society, the collective agreement to stay hidden remained. It had served them well, why mess with it? As they aged into adulthood, it became glaringly obvious. Loneliness, the fear of being forgotten after their father passed on. The crushing reality that he may very well die alone.

He wasn’t like his brothers. Mikey had gotten himself on the scene pretty easily and had made friends and had girlfriends. Raph too, had managed to snag someone, even no-nonsense Leo had. That just left him and he couldn’t help but think. What was the point of having all of this intelligence, creating all of these wonderful inventions, all of the things he’d built… if there was no one but his brothers to share it with?

Donnie acted like it didn’t bother him but secretly he felt it: a sort of crushing loneliness that seemed to stretch on and on. Sadly, he’d sort of given up on meeting someone. It just wasn’t in the cards for him… or was it?

It had started off innocently enough, one day he’d come to work on his computer and noticed something was… off. His desktop looked normal but none of the icons worked when he clicked on them. It didn’t take him long to realize it was a false desktop placed on top of the real one. Odd, he thought. Who had managed to even do this? He’d had the best firewalls and encryptions and security that not even the FBI could crack. Yet, he’d been hacked, someone had hacked him.

He blew out a breath of disbelief, ran a diagnostic and fixed the issue in no time. He did a careful sweep and found nothing else out of the ordinary. He chalked it up to a fluke and went on with his day thinking that was the end of it.

Then it happened again. Upon sitting down in his computer chair he noticed his taskbar was horizontal.

“What the hell..?” He fixed it and upped his security and left it at that.

A week after that all of his icons were replaced with Hello Kitty characters. He was beginning to feel annoyed. Who was doing this, and why? It seemed like they just wanted to mess with him. Frustratingly he couldn’t figure out how they kept getting in. Every time, he strengthened his security it didn’t seem to matter!

He reached his breaking point the following week when he was re-routed to a popular Pokemon meme every time he clicked on something. He was going to find this person and ask them to stop. They weren’t that hard to trace and soon he was purposefully typing a message.

Please stop, you’ve had your fun but it’s getting old

No :)

Seriously, you don’t know who you’re messing with.

Someone who can’t even stop a low-level hacker, clearly.

Who are you?

No one :)

Why are you doing this?

I’m bored, it’s fun

Bored?! How did you even find me? These servers are highly encrypted!

LOL not enough… I was just bouncing around and found them.

Are you with the Foot?

What?! No? I told you, I was bored and saw your shit, and took it as a challenge.

A challenge indeed. Stop this now, this is your final warning.

He broke off their connection then because that had better be it.

Of course, it wasn’t. One boring Saturday night, he was zoned out, totally engrossed in one of his projects. His computer screen flickers a moment. He almost doesn’t see it thinking it’s a trick of the light but it does it again. Curiously, he moved to his computer screen. When he realized what was happening, he actually laughed.

“Seriously? Again?! They have no idea who they’re messing with…”

It was clear that this was same someone who had been hacking him for weeks was trying to get into his system again.

“I’ve got you this time…” His fingers fly over his larger-than-normal keyboard as he managed to secure a one-way live video feed.

“Someone forgot to cover their webcam…” He sang, “Hello, you’ve been hacked by Donatello, I thought I already told you to cease and desist.”

You are absolutely mortified. You’d been doing this for fun, and had no ulterior motives. Truthfully you had been bored and loved a challenge. Yes, you were warned but you didn’t think he would hack your webcam! Immediately, you attempted to hide, hoping he didn’t catch a glimpse of your face.

On his end, Donnie first heard a soft, distinctly feminine gasp and a string of curses. There’s a flurry of movement as you tried to move out of the range of the camera and swiftly stick a piece of tape over it. More shuffling followed, along with the sound of you returning to your computer chair.

He can’t help but feel amused. “There’s no point in hiding, I saw you. How did you think this was going to go?” He waited patiently for you to answer.

You swore softly. The cat’s out of the bag. Swallowing your embarrassment you gingerly peeled the tape off. It didn’t take you long to notice that the video feed only went one way. That was unfair and you intended to change that.

“Sorry…” you murmered. Shit, shit, shit! I’m gonna get you for that!

He took a moment to get a good look at you. Even with the soft lighting of what he assumed to be your bedroom, he could still make out your pink cheeks, flushed flushed with embarrassment and the bridge of freckles across your nose. It was… cute.

“Sorry?” He echoed. “That’s it? You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Do I have to?” You’re trying to keep him talking while your fingers worked their magic. If he could do it… so could you.

“No, but I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me alone. You’ve had your fun, go bother someone else, please.” He replies.

“But I like bothering you.” Almost there… just a few more seconds…

Donnie has to scoff at that. “You don’t even know me.”

“Not yet… there you are!” You cheered as you manage to tap into his own webcam.

In a split-second Donnie had instantly ascertained that she’d been distracting him. To his horror, the little red light of his webcam had blinked to life. Two seconds too long which meant he’d been seen…

“FUCK!” Immediately he cut the power, sending it straight through to your house. He was panicking, he’d been compromised, he was going to have to wipe her computer, all of her hard drives. His heart was pounding and his breathing had quickened as he tried to tamp down the panic he felt. No, maybe he’ll just find her… ask her to keep his secret…? All options were equally bad. What do I do…?!

Luckily, it didn’t take long for that powerful brain of his to think of a solution, albeit a temporary one. His fingers flew over the keyboard once again, restoring power on her side before getting to work.

You were utterly confused. Two seconds ago, maybe five…? Once the webcam was active, you saw what appeared to be the green, blurred image of his face. Was he wearing a mask? You heard the panic in his voice and the ensuing curse word right before your entire room was plunged into darkness. What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?

Just as quickly, it all came back and your computer was rebooting. Okay… you attempted to type once it was all back up and running but something was wrong. Nothing was clickable, nothing worked save for the cursor on your screen. Furrowing your brow, you kept trying, but to no avail. Then, something finally.

A message popped up on your screen and you wasted no time in reading it.

Apologies, I had no choice but to freeze your system. I promise I will explain everything but I need to do it in person. Meet me here:

There was an address to a building between two cross streets and he was asking you to climb the fire escape to the roof.

At first, you scoffed in disbelief. Hell no, you weren’t going to meet some stranger on a rooftop at some weird location. Did he think you were stupid?

Then, as if your mind is being read, another message popped up under the first.

I understand if this is something you might be uncomfortable doing but my identity and the safety of my family is at stake so I must give you an ultimatum. Meet me or your computer will remain frozen.

You swore softly to yourself. This wasn’t something you could fix on your own and you knew it.

You murmured a sarcastic reply. “Well, damn, I guess I’ll just go die then,”

He was giving you no choice and you needed your computer, not only for work, but it had everything. You considered it one of your most precious items. After a minute you’d made up your mind but you still packed your taser and pepper spray just in case.

Donnie was an absolute bundle of nerves. He’d already arrived at the location and was pacing back and forth while sticking to the shadows. He was berating himself about how stupid this plan was. She wasn’t going to show up, but he’d giving her no choice. He did feel a twinge of guilt but years upon years of lectures from Leo had made him be extra cautious. He couldn’t risk his family’s safety because he was careless.

You were nervous too as you carefully climbed the steps of the fire escape. Luckily, the building was only four floors but you still would’ve liked to take an elevator. Reaching the top, you took a moment to catch your breath.

“I do… computers… not stairs… you better be here.” Upon first glance you don’t see anyone and your annoyance grows. “Hello? Please don’t tell me I came all this way for nothing, I just want my computer back.”

Again, there was no reply.

Talking to yourself you groan. “Fuck… you are such an idiot…”

Donnie was only slightly panicking. To his amazement and relief, you showed up. In his anxious state he did manage to notice you looked kind of pretty despite the frown gracing your features. He felt frozen the moment he saw you but snapped out of it pretty quickly when he saw you about to leave.

“Wait!”

You turned. It was actually him. You recognized his voice prompting you walk closer to the source.

“Hello? If you’re here please show yourself. This is sus enough as it is and I’m already over it.” You couldn’t mask the exasperation in your tone. This was already beyond ridiculous.

Donnie had to admit he found her frustrated tone kind of endearing. In a fleeting thought he’d felt she was someone who could match wits with him.

 “Okay, okay, hold on, I’m coming out. Just… do me a favour and don’t scream, please.”

Arching an eyebrow you repeated. “Don’t scream? What kind of question is… oh.” You saw one extremely long leg and then another followed by a lengthy torso and a very green… okay, that’s definitely not human face. “Oh… so it wasn’t a mask…” It wasn’t as though he was unpleasant to look at though, just different.

He was trying his best to control his breathing, bracing himself for some kind of negative reaction. When none came, he took a breath and spoke, trying to keep his tone as even and neutral as possible.

“You see, when you hacked my webcam, you had unwittingly put me and and the safety of my family at risk… this is why I had to s-see you and why I froze your computer.” He was cursing himself inwardly for stuttering.

You were still trying to find your voice. You had SO many questions and actually still a bit annoyed. “First off… how…? You’re a turtle… I doubt anyone would even believe me… and… second… I didn’t even really see you! It was a complete blur and then you cut my power!” You exhaled as you took another breath. “NOW, I’m seeing you.”

Donnie couldn’t help but flinch a little. “I had to make sure, I had no idea how much of me you did see.” A soft sigh followed before he continued., pinching his skin just below where the bridge of his glasses was resting. “And if you had listened when I told you to stop, we wouldn’t be in this situation, now would we?”

He’s got you there and unconsciously you bite your lower lip. The stubborn part of you, however, wasn’t ready to admit defeat yet. “Well, how was I supposed to know that you were a… seven foot…”

“I’m six feet, eight inches.” He interrupted with his matter-of-fact correction.

Another exasperated exhale from you. “Sorry, six foot, eight inch… turtle man!” emphasizing your point, you gestured wildly at the full length of him with your arms. “Who’s apparently so good at hacking that my entire network is completely frozen and I had to drag my ass across town to beg you to unfreeze it!”

He was a little amused by this, he had to admit as his mouth quirked a smile. “Like, I said, I had to be sure, and might I remind you once again… you were the one messing with me.”

“Yeah! Because you were fun to mess with! It was giving me a chance to practice, and it was just innocent fun, it’s not like I could do what you did! And… AND you wanna talk about an invasion of privacy? You hacked my webcam first!”

Donnie blinked, she was really getting all worked up now, and he was trying not to stoop to her level. He was failing. “I only did it because I didn’t think you’d stop! I gave you fair warning.”

“I would’ve stopped!” He doesn’t believe you at all and you hate that because he’s right, messing with him had been too much fun.

“Really?” he deadpanned.

“Yes,” you stubbornly replied.

There’s no stopping his eyeroll at that. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

She crossed her arms with another soft huff. “Fine, don’t believe me.” A shrug followed. “So, now what?”

The tall turtle paused. Usually, he had all the answers but now that he’d frozen her computer and dragged her all the way out here, he felt at a loss of what to say. “I… I just wanted to make sure you’d keep my secret and not tell anyone.”

“Okay… I won’t.” A simple answer, and a truthful one. You watched as he looked at you a long moment. No doubt wondering if he could trust you or not.

Donnie was actually subtly checking for very slight facial cues to determine whether you were lying to him or not. He could tell that your heart rate appeared to be steady. Your gaze never wavered from his, no dilation of her pupils and no mouth tics either. He believed you.

“Okay.” He finally said. “Thank you. I’ll unfreeze everything once I get home.” He turned to leave. “Please get home safely.”

Wait… that was it? Just like that, he was leaving!? “Wait!” You rushed forward to grab his arm. “Wait… that’s it?”

He looked… confused? He had immediately zeroed in on your hand clutching his bicep and then back to your face. “Yes…? You agreed to not tell anyone so… you probably should… let me go? The less you see of me, the better? I thought you were… angry anyway.”

Reluctantly, you released his arm, speaking softly. “I’m not… that mad, I never was really, I just… didn’t want this to be… it. I feel like I could learn a lot from you.”

You watched as her hesitated, seemingly working through his own inner conflicts at this presented opportunity.

“You could…” He turned back around, facing you once again. “Although, you’re already pretty good, I was actually impressed that you’d made it as far as you did.”

You couldn’t help but puff up a little with pride. “Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself. Maybe I could teach you a thing or two.”

He actually laughed. Like a soft little chuckle with a wheeze, his lips blossoming into a smile. “Perhaps you could.”

You smiled back, that laugh of his was adorable. “I’ll let you go but, Donnie… don’t be a stranger, okay?” You already had known his name from getting into his system so many times.

He spoke your name too, softly. “Okay, I won’t.” He looked a little shy then. “Please, allow me to escort you home. It’s late.”

“How very chivalric of you.” Smiling at him with a nod. “I accept.”

Donnie looked pleased with this turn of events and then a little nervous. “I could… carry you, if you want, it’s faster going by rooftops.”

That was an unexpected offer. and now you hesitated before answering. “Oohkay… what are you, some kinda parkour master?”

He snorted softly with a little smirk. “Something like that, ready?”

When you nod, you’re scooped up into his arms at speed that makes you exhale quickly. Being in his arms and feeling the power they held was… nice.

“Hold on tight.” Is all he says and then he starts running.

Automatically you wrapped your arms around his neck watching as the edge of the building came closer and closer… and then, you were flying. Air shooting past your face at a speed that made your eyes water. Your stomach dropped and you clung tighter as you sailed through the air, landing with a thump on the other building.

“You, okay?” He wasn’t even out of breath, like this was easy for him.

“Yes…! Do you know where you’re going?” You ask a little breathlessly.

“Yep. Hold on, I’ll be there in ten.” He took off again, leaping across to the next and the next.

You had to admit it was probably the most exhilarating thing you’d ever experienced and you were actually a bit regretful when he stopped on the roof of your apartment building. Carefully, he brought you to your feet and pushed those large glasses of his up a bit.

“Here we are.” He was more relaxed now, you noticed and felt glad for it.

“Thanks, I appreciate you bringing me back.”

He offered a shy smile then. “You’re welcome. I dragged you out there, the least I could do is make sure you get home safely.”

“That is very much appreciated.” Feeling a bit shy yourself, you paused before heading in. “I’ll see you around.”

“For sure.” Donnie had found he didn’t want to leave yet either, he wanted to make sure you entered the apartment safely.

Heading in, you waved to him before closing the door behind you and took a deep breath. Wow… that really happened. That was incredible! You could barely contain your excitement as you went back to your apartment.

Once Donnie arrived home, true to his word he freed up her system and felt proud of himself for handling things the way that he did. He blew out a breath, leaning back in his chair a moment while lacing his fingers behind his head.

*bing*

He glanced at his screen to see his computer icons dancing and an unseen song playing in the background.

Ninja, ninja, rap, ninja, ninja, rap, go go go go. Go ninja go ninja go! Go ninja go ninja go! Go go go go!

Donnie snorted softly to himself and quickly typed a response.

Back in your apartment, your computer screen suddenly became flooded with memes. Mostly turtle ones of course and try as you might there was no containing your giggles and snorts as you watched them take over your screen. You liked him; there was something very endearing about his quiet shyness mixed with his sharp wit.

Typing back, you take over his screen once again. You took a breath and pressed enter. This was a big chance you were taking but you couldn’t help but feel a connection with the tall, lanky turtle man.

Go on a date with me

Check box yes or no

No rush

Donnie froze, his fingers twitching slightly as they hovered above his keyboard. She wants to go out on a date? With him? He had a mild panic attack for a moment and read and re-read the message at least ten times.

His cursor hovered over the ‘yes’ box. Come on Donnie, throw caution into the wind for once. When are you going to get another chance like this?

Making his decision finally, he clicked his mouse button.

Yes

You couldn’t hold your excitement as you blew out a breath of relief.

He said yes.

The End

@danceingfae @thelaundrybitch @iridescentflamingo @redsrooftopprincess @ninnosaurus

@the-cauldron-witch @thepinkpanther83 @avery73 @adebauchedsloth @sophiacloud28

@definitely-canon @scholastic-dragon @truffle-reblogs @fyreball66 @yorshie

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Since Skully is a former student in NRC, what is his dorm? I'm not sure which dorm suits him especially he doesn't seem to fit Scarabia and Savanaclaw. Ignihyde has a reputation of introvert students which suits Skully but not with the technology. He also seem to want to follow halloween tradition like Heartslabyul.

The other possibilities is that he was Ramshackle dorm member before it got disbanded or another dorm that was remove years later.

[Referencing this post!]

They don’t state Skully’s dorm, just that he graduated hundreds of years ago. At one point in part 5, he is told about which dorms the (SSR) NRC students are from and seems to the name of the school?? But it’s not clear, he just sort of repeats the names of the dorms after the NRC boys say them.

We currently know that Pomefiore is “the oldest dorm”, implying that the other dorms were established later. Fans speculate that the relative age of the dorms is related to the original movie’s release in the real world, but this has yet to be canonized and doesn’t give us in-universe ages. Thanks to Ramshackle falling into disrepair, we also know it’s possible for dorms to fall apart and be forgotten. However, no one seems to know what happened to Ramshackle, meaning whatever led to its disgrace likely happened a LONG time ago. NRC itself has been well-established since Lilia first received his invite 500 years ago.

Since Skully graduated “hundredS of years ago”, the shortest length of time possible would be 200 years ago, but as long as 900-1999 years ago too. (Not over 2000 years ago because then the dialogue may have been “thousands of years ago”.) It should be noted that the Mirror of Darkness only started to see use as a student selection and dorm sorting method 100 years ago (see this post). lI personally think Skully must have attended NRC closer to 200-400ish years ago, due to him not using old offensive terminology like “witch” and “wizard” to refer to mages (terms which seemed to still be in use 500 years ago). He studied at NRC before Crowley was headmaster as well, but we don’t know how long Crowley has been headmaster for exactly… so that doesn’t help us.

This all means it’s possible some dorms didn’t exist in Skully’s time and processes that are common nowadays weren’t in place then. However, it seems like Scarabia, Savanaclaw, and Diasomnia might have been around, since Skully says them. Again though, not clear. If we go with the theory that the dorms’ ages correlate with the irl film release dates and Skully doesn’t recognize Diasomnia, Scarabia, or Savanaclaw, then that means the only dorms around at the time were likely Pomefiore and Heartslabyul.

For the sake of ease, let’s just assume all 7 dorms plus Ramshackle are candidates for Skully. After talking it over with some friends, these are the dorms considered:

Heartslabyul — How strictly the rules are followed varies significantly by dorm leader; Riddle is very stern whereas previous Heartslabyul dorm leaders were not. For Skully, Heartslabyul could have been a fit because of his general whimsical behavior + his sternness when it comes to adhering to his own concept of Halloween.

Pomefiore — His general polite mannerisms remind me a lot of Pomefiore. And again, Skully’s penchant for upholding tradition could also easily slot him here instead of Heartslabyul, since Pomefiore had a stories history. Pomefiore is also the “most likely” dorm for him to be in, since it was around for the longest. Finally, Skully seems to have some knowledge of poisons and potions (a key trait of Pomefiore students) despite being a first year, as he feeds a sleep-inducing drink to Jack. (Bcjssjwhekw It’s also just funny to picture Mr. Crusty Lips and Gap Teeth in the Beautiful Queen’s dorm… Vil would be so mad 💦)

Ignihyde — Skully is very Idia-coded in his general despair, gloom, and Halloweebjness. It was mentioned in the ask that he doesn’t seem to be tech savvy, but I think this could be explained; depending on when Ignihyde was established as a dorm, the technology of “back then” might have been very different than the very modern high-tech version of the dorm we know today. By “ye old day” standards, Skully could be considered up to date. It could also be that his tech skills weren’t mentioned in detail in the story because they weren’t relevant.

Ramshackle — It's possible that Skully was a member of Ramshackle when it was still a dorm. This could explain why Skully gravitates to Yuu in particular and calls them kindred spirits. (However, it also lends to the eerie fan theory that Yuu, too, is dead.) Some fans have also pointed out that in the photo of Skully was saw in the game, he is wearing the same Nightmare Suit that he wore in the book, just without the dark circular lenses. They then speculated that the Nightmare Suit is very close to what Ramshackle dorm uniform's might have looked like. The stitches definitely match the "ramshackle" name, and the colors don't match any other dorm we know of. (In canon, Skully saw the Nightmare Suit in his dreams and recreated it himself; he is quite proud of it.)

Those are all my thoughts for now. Maybe Skully can give us more details when we get his SSR card next Halloween. Until then...!!

[n0t-evenhere]

Alright, here is part one of the horror binary star x reader series. This is just the beginning. Setting up the scene and give life to the people in the story! So, enjoy. Drawing at the end! I like to illustrate my stories, a scene or two! Just one this time.

⚠️ warning: manipulation⚠️ (the list will grow later on in the future chapters.)

The star at night

Part one: Setting up

The “warehouse” hummed with chatter and plotting as you entered the familiar confined space. You always called it the warehouse but it wasn’t really a grand warehouse that most would imagine. It was just a storage unit. A place where old cameras didn’t work as the signs say they did, low pay, and few people. In short, calling it the warehouse felt like an inside joke. The orange shutter slid down with ease as you lowered it to the ground softly. “Well look what the cat drug in.” A familiar voice expressed with joy. Without turning around you knew it was Joe. Turning around he was already waiting for you to embrace and so you did. “You’re late Snat.” Snat was a code name he gave you. Short for snatcher. Joe pulled away with a hardened stare. Chastising you with his eyes. “You can’t keep being late. I expect better from you.” He definitely was getting on to you. “Joe, lay off my love.” The voice of Carol carried in the space. “I’m sure work didn’t let you go early with all the sick people you told me about. Especially having to deal with that traffic after.” She stated with a smile and a wink making you smile.

Carol and Joe were older, Joe being 63 and Carol being 65. Joe had silver hair cut into an undercut with spiked hair on top, he maintained his physique well, wrinkles, crows feet, laugh lines, the whole bit. He definitely has good genes and takes good care of himself. Thick hair, all the good stuff. Carol had a very similar circumstance, good genes. Her hair was grey, a bob that curled at the ends, framing her thin face nicely. She was just as fit too. It was amazing how well they rubbed off of each other, been married for about 43 years. Met young through friends, been together since then. Almost a fantasy in this day and dating pool.

Joe and Carol were like your second parents. About three years ago, you moved to the city for reasons you still didn’t really want to acknowledge. You didn’t want to remember nor share. Money was hard to come by but the new start was worth it to you. Desperately needed. You don’t even remember how you met them, you just remember how safe they made you feel. Cared for when you had no one else. The married couple invited you to dinner, movies, and eventually bringing in the people who were part of the group as hangouts. Then after a few months, you were told about the heist group. What they did behind the scenes. At first, you were upset, they were such nice people. A good group of people but they stole some serious things of high value. Jewels, paintings, all of it. Eventually, you were convinced to join it. Offering to make your life better, have money to pay rent and have what you want in life. Slowly, you eased into the role of being the snatcher. Moreover, eventually you felt a thrill from it. An adrenaline rush that made you feel alive. The feeling of getting away with crime made you feel on top of the world to some degree.

“You should take it from her paycheck for her tardiness.” Kent said flatly, earning a glare from you. “Easy there, no need to shoot daggers at me, it’s just a suggestion.” Kent sighed with his hands up feigning innocence. Kent was your worst enemy but also your best friend. Like an older brother that bothered the fire out of you any chance he could get. He’d been here long before you, 36, and his job was the look out. “You are a jerk.” Mary said, punching him in the shoulder, making you laugh in return. Mary was our tech wizard. Smart and sweet. “Come have a seat, we’ve been waiting for you. Even brought a charcuterie board.” Carol beckoned you to the empty seat. The snacking and plan run down beginning.

“This is our biggest project yet.” Joe started with excitement evident in his tone. Looking at Carol, her crowd feels becoming more defined with the smile on his face. As if there was a small secret between them. More than just a loving glance. “Mable’s Museum.” He dropped the title like a bomb shell. Your jaw dropped and you swear you heard Mary gasp audibly. “Seriously?!” Kent exclaimed. “That’s a seriously tall order. That place is popular and there is a lot of valuable stuff there. Like, that’s crazy.” Carol chuckled. “We’ve been planning this one for a while.” Another glance between the two. You can’t help but wonder, if something more was actually happening behind the scenes. It was undeniable that there was something else.

Joe continued on, “tomorrow is the night we execute it.” Mary chirped in, “isn’t that really soon? Too soon?” Joe shook his head. “Of course not, I have full faith in this team. We can do this with ease.” Mary nodded, not seemingly fully convinced. Carol picked up where Joe left off. “This museum had many exhibits, medieval, paintings, statues, and many other valuable things. However, there is only one thing that we are after. In the hero exhibit. The mask of the retired hero, Steel Sheriff is there. Well take it. It sells well.” Brows furrowed, you inquired, “what about the NAHA? Wouldn't they be all over that if it went missing?” It seemed like a very ambitious thing to go after…no. A foolish thing to go after. “We don’t have to worry about that. As soon as we obtain it, we have a buyer who will meet up with us. We'll take it directly to them.” Joe assured you and the rest of the table.

Somehow, that didn’t bring you peace. Just an odd sinking feeling you couldn’t quite explain. “So, Mary, you’ll be in charge of redirecting the cameras.” Carol began speaking as she pulled out the layout of the museum on a large piece of paper. Placing it on the round table. “We’ll stick to this middle hall, directly accessed through the front of the museum. The cameras are here, here, and here.” Carol’s slender finger glided across the paper with ease and confidence. Joe picked up the conversation. “This is the exhibit, there are a total of seven cameras in the room. I’ve circled them for you. You’ll need to hack the severity system and make it a looping video if we can. Covering our tracks. The night guard doesn’t do too good of a job of guarding. Sleeps often. Two very long naps. He’s only awake one hour out of the night. That’s what we’ve observed, so it should be easy. Is your Roel clear?” Mary nodded, “Got it.”

Carol's gaze shifted to settle on Kent. “Okay, you are the look out, you will watch the front and down the hall. That’s it, keep it tight and do not wander.” This was serious, really tight. No room for failure. “Sure thing, don’t wander. Got it.” He gave a smile and thumbs up. Joe spoke up, regarding you. “You, are going

To help Carol get the mask. I will be watching outside, patrolling the outside of the building. We’ll start at 1:30 am sharp. Be. On. Time.” Kent let out a snort. “Better make sure (y/n) can do that. You know…since she’s got a “normal” job and better things to do.” Rolling your eyes you retort. “Well at least she I’m not unemployed and living in my moms spare bedroom cause I blow through my money.” Kent went quiet making you feel a small hint of guilt in your chest. “Please, you aren’t children.” Carol sighed. “Dismissed.”

Just as you got up to leave, so crackers and pepperonis in hand Joe whistled to snatch your attention. “Not you. You stay.” Without missing a beat Kent erupted into a series of ooooohs and aaaaahs as if you were in trouble. Mary giggled in response. “Out you two. We’ll see you tomorrow.” The shutter door slid up and the two left. Once out of earshot, you speak up. “What is this about?” You ask them. The two look at each other before settling their attention on you. Joe began “I wanted to be the one to tell you. Wanted you to be the first to know before the other two.” Brows furrowed in contrition you reply. “Tell me…what exactly.” There was a moment of silence before your world shifted. “Laying all the cars out on the table, this is our last heist. It’s time for us to retire. We are hoping to rekindle our relationship with our daughter and…we think you should take over.”

Your mind drew a blank, sure, it made sense. Quit, retire, try and fix the relationship of their kin. Their daughter, they only spoke of her seldomly. She didn’t agree with their thieving lifestyle. There was a whole screaming fight that ended poorly. So, about four years ago at eighteen their daughter, Carmella, left. As far as you were aware she lived in the same city. That was all fine in your eyes, made sense but you leading? Taking control of the whole group? Planning all future heists? That was a big pill to try and choke down. “Uh, okay…I…me lead? Sure, retire, that's fine but me? Take your place? That’s a huge role to fill. I don’t think I can do that.” You argue your view.

Carol looks at you with a loving gaze. Darling, you have been with us for a while now. We’ve been teaching you everything from the start. Everything that we know. In the past few years you’ve even surprised us with your own skill and quick thinking.” Joe nodded in agreement. “Don’t seek yourself short. You are art, quick, and we know you would do absolutely everything in your power to keep everyone safe. In your care, we just know that you are a leader.” Their words were kind, heck, they made you feel as if you could do anything you wanted but, there was still doubt in your heart and mind. Before you could respond Carol whispered. “I need to see my daughter. My Carmella.” Those words, the pleasing look in her eyes made your heart overcast with guilt. How could you say no? Who are you to deny them what their hearts desire? Pushing down the uncertainty you agree. “Okay. I can do it.” Joe smiled. “Glad to hear it. Don’t worry too much. We won’t throw you to the wolves. We’ll be on call, help with planning if needed.” Carol nodded, In agreement. “We knew you wouldn’t let us down. Dismissed.” She finally dismissed you from the meeting.

As you began your small journey to your car while nibbling on the pepperonis that left a greasy feeling on your fingers, you were left with confliction. Tomorrow was a hefty task, and leading is a huge shift in your world. You l or them though, you owe them right? They gave you so much when you needed it. Of course you would do it. They needed you.

Earlier that day 10:01 pm

Ray slid the sweatpants up his waist and adjusted accordingly. The shower was much needed after todays to-do list and side mission on the way. Interviews, rescuing people from a hostage situation in some bank, and the cherry on top? Hershel was trying to convince him to take another trainee. Long day. Ray didn’t put much effort into dinner. He craved simplicity tonight. What was more simple than a sandwich? The sandwich wasn’t fancy,just spinach, ham, and whatever else he felt like. Wolfed it down and called it good. He felt tired. He craved rest, good thing his day off was tomorrow.

Cleaning up after himself, Ray brushed his teeth and finished up his night routine. Today was done. No more suffering. Ray stilled in the middle of his room. The space was minimal. He never cared to make his home a home. He’s hardly home anyway. Bland was the word he would use to describe it. It was quiet. A sweet contrast to the constant noise of the day. Tonight, everything seems a little quieter outside. Usually off putting but, he’ll take it anyway. Maybe the city does sleep sometimes. However, in the quiet there was something deeper. Loneliness. The kind of loneliness that grip at his very flesh daring to pull him apart if he thought about it too much.

Before Ray could shove the feelings out of his heart and mind, his phone rang. An obnoxious sound that he dreads, more so than usual as of late. “You can’t be serious,” Ray said aloud to himself, his voice and chest filling with annoyance. Grabbing the phone he sat on the edge of his bed, the bed dipping with a small squeak. “Yes?” He already knew. Hershel. “To things, I’m sending you the file on

The trainee for you to look over. I want you to reconsider.” Rats pushed his hand through his hair before resting both of his elbows on his knees. “What else.” If Ray at least pretended he’d look over the file, give it a few days, say no. They would give the trainee to someone else. Hopefully.

Hershel spoke again. “I need you to work tomorrow's night shift.” Anger immediately bubbled up in his chest, burning in his stomach. “No. Tomorrow is my day off. I am not clocking in.” Hershel didn’t miss a beat, “exactly Ray, your day off. Not night.” There was a silence before Ray cursed under his breath at the audacity. Ray could easily snap this old man’s neck like nothing and call it a day. He could help the smirk on his face at the thought before replying. “Why should I Hershel?” He inquired with challenge. “People are getting or comfortable Ray. Crime rate is on the rise again. We need another “accident” to reel it back in.” Ray grimaced, the implications are clear. This is the last thing he wanted to do. It was more work than he wanted to put in. Was it even worth it? What if he wanted to let it all go. Let chaos ensue?

“I’ll give you the next two days off.” Hershel bargained. Ray knew better than to believe that empty promise. “Try again.” Ray felt frustrated, and didn't even try to mask it in his tone. A sigh came from the other side of the phone call. “I won’t put you on night shift for the next two nights and I’ll push your interviews and photoshoots back two days as well. That should be more than fair.” Ray considered for a moment. It was as good as he could get so, might as well take it. “Fine.” With that, he hung. Up and let the device float over or the nightstand as he laid. In his bed. So much for a day off. He thought before drifting to sleep.

(Unshaded)

[badgeredwrites]

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’s ɴᴏᴛᴇ: Holy shit. Look at me starting strong with a stalker Barty… And considering I am the self-proclaimed love of his life, I thought it was fitting. Anyways, this is a concept I’d definitely love to explore in the future. Let me know what you think! ᡣ𐭩

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: Exploration of Stalking & Obsessive Behaviors, Mentions of Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotional Manipulation, Brief Abusive Parental Relationships

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 657

⋆｡°✩ Concept: Stalker!Barty

Alright, so, I finished reading Lights Out by Navessa Allen recently and since my mind automatically goes to everything Marauders related, I asked myself: Out of everyone in the Marauders Era, who would most be like Josh?

The only person who came to mind was, of course, none other than Barty Crouch Jr. There are several reasons for this… Let me explain.

Imagine:

Modern AU where technology becomes prevalent in everyday life, including in the wizarding community.

Barty Crouch Jr, the son of a well-known politician who favors his public image and reputation over everything else, having absolutely no online presence due to his father’s strict rules.

However, despite this, he’s drawn to muggle technology and since his father is not only emotionally absent but also neglectful, he’s essentially left to his own devices. Which gives him the perfect opportunity to explore his interest in tech (and develop an anonymous online persona—we’ll come back to this in a moment).

Canonically speaking, Barty is one of the most brilliant people in the Harry Potter series. He was sorted into Ravenclaw and received all twelve O.W.L.s. Not to mention, he was also able to live as Mad-Eye Moody under Polyjuice potion for months without being detected.

With this information in mind, it’s safe to say he would be quite skilled in the field of technology. It wouldn’t take long for him to hone his abilities.

Now, back to the anonymous online persona, I feel like it would be safe to assume that Barty would have quite the rebellious streak. He, truthfully, could not care less about his father’s reputation. However, in order to avoid the man’s wrath (because let’s be real, Bartemius Sr was most definitely an abusive piece of shit) and with the growing popularity of masked accounts online, he seizes his opportunity to participate in the trend.

This ultimately leads to him becoming one of the most popular accounts, but the attention he garnishes is nothing more than an ego boost to him. That is until someone eventually catches his eye.

Personally, I’ve always thought that it would be possible for Barty to have undiagnosed Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), which can lead to obsessive tendencies (extending towards platonic relationships, not just romantic).

This man would also be the type to have avoidant attachment issues due to the lack of care regarding his emotional needs as a child.

So, when his attention is caught by this individual online, his thoughts are literally consumed by them.

Through the usage of technology and his vast understanding of it, the stalking would start small. With a quick search about them online he would be able to start compiling information regarding their interests, the locations they frequent, their personal relationships, etc.

Of course, this behavior would quickly escalate.

Remember, Barty has an anonymous online persona. Nobody—not even his closest friends—knows of the identity behind his masked account, so this would give him a major advantage. He would have the ability to “coincidentally” appear in the places this individual visits most often.

Which, in turn, allows him to develop a personal relationship with his victim.

Unfortunately for Barty, due to his struggles with BPD, I do believe he would find it difficult to establish a relationship with them at first. After all, he’s quite standoffish person when it comes to new people.

However, equipped with the knowledge he gained through his online stalking, he would be able to use this to his advantage to slowly gain their trust.

In my opinion, it would only be when he establishes a bond with his victim that the monitoring begins.

Perhaps he gifts them something small, such as a key chain or hair clip that actually has a tracker inside of it… Or, once he finally is invited over and places inconspicuous cameras around their home, allowing him footage from every angle.

There are honestly so many things that could be done with Barty as a stalker (and I intend to explore them all).

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

oh, hi! look here again-

So I've had this question in my head for days and decided to ask

because my brain couldn't take it anymore

so your modern teachers au was the first fanfic and because of it I met you and this chase young and first ninja ship

so I would like to ask

Do you intend to bring more fanfics in this universe? and maybe if you could you could give some curiosities about the au

of the other characters who were? wuya, daishi

jack spicer (this one in particular since I love jackie boy), nomi

(from the pragagonistas if you want too.)

and a question that I really have - Hannibal Roy Bean

and the wizard and the sorceress exist in this au? If so, what are they?

I have to admit that I may have once imagined Hannibal as a crime figure but I realized that it didn't make much sense.....

well that's it! I hope you are having a pleasant day when you see this

If not- get better!

XOXOXO! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Oh, but it makes me blush, that your first introduction to My Immortal Soul was Mentors AU! This AU is kinda of my selfish indulgence AU (like most AUs are lol), but it makes me happy you liked it enough to check out the rest of my stuff! Thank you. 🤗❤️

There are actually a few fics that I sorta planned out for this AU. 😌😌 There are around 2-3 stand alone one-shot ideas in the same universe, loosely following Chase and Norisugi's relationship. One of them is about some students following them on their 'date' outing! 😁 Basically a fun 'Randy and Xiaolin Monks + some others spying on their teachers' idea, haha. ;) The other ideas are addressing both of their pasts and how it affects their current relationship with each other.

No idea when I'll write those out, tho! I'm in a bit of writing block right now sadly. 😴 😭 But I will gladly share some headcanons/backstories for some characters, since you asked so nicely! ❤️

Wuya & Dashi - they are both Professors in the same University, with Wuya teaching Business Analytics and Dashi being a Workshop Instructor (specifically Restoration and Preservation of Artifacts Workshop which would explain his connection with Chase, since they are both in Archeology/History business of sort) and as I hinted in the fic: they have a past relationship with each other! Their current relationship status is complicated, but they have separated and gotten back together on multiple occasions. They often behave like mortal enemies on campus (mostly from Wuya who behaves like she despises Dashi at times), so a lot of students are often confused if they are fighting or flirting, considering Dashi's non-confrontational and cheery/flirty personality. Amongst their mutual friends (like Chase), they just behave like an old gossipy married couple, haha.

Jack Spicer - Jack is a student at the Uni, an undergraduate in Business department and a Teaching Assistant to Prof. Wuya, but its actually not by his own choice! Since Jack is a genius in many aspects, Uni is pretty easy for him and originally he planned to fast track through fields that are of interest to him, like engineering and connected fields, but his parents interfered. His father said that the only way Jack can pursue his own interest in engineering is to also get a degree in business first (for the sake of family business), and since he had connection in Uni and with Wuya, he ensured that Jack did not slack off and that Wuya kept an eye on him. Ironically enough, through Wuya, Jack met Dashi and through his workshop he burnt a lot of his engineering/creative energy, which made him interested in artifact restoration and archaeology and all the tech that is involved in it. In a way, Dashi became his mentor, along with Wuya. (Yes, sue me but i like my little pseudo family. ;) ) Also! With his new interest in Archaeology, he discovered Chase Young and became a fan of him, because he is like a real life Indiana Jones but cooler and more handsome, lol. Because of that he really wants to become Chase's TA, but because of his father's and Wuya's agreement, it won't happen. Aside from that, Chase also never wanted any assistants.

NinjaNomicon - Nomi became an orphan around their late teens, but through sheer determination and will, they reached great heights in their academic pursuits. So much so, that they managed to send themselves overseas from Japan to study in a good University. However after arriving, they felt a bit overwhelmed, which caused some discontent in their life, as they tried to find some direction. After first year of Uni, they realized that they had trouble feeling passionate about subjects and choosing their majors and classes. One of the Professors, Norisugi, noticed their struggle and suggested a Mentor/Mentee programme, and his own help. Their shared land of origin and Norisugi's understanding of Nomi's struggles really helped Nomi find their course and balance and allowed the two of them to become very close, to the point that after finishing Undergraduate courses, Nomi asked if they could become Norisugi's TA, while they finished their Master's degree.

Hannibal Roy Bean - one of the fic ideas i had was actually related to Chase's past and how Roy was involved with it. So, since I don't want to spoil the (very) possible future fic, I will just say that Hannibal Roy Bean? Definitely not a good person in this universe. But he held a position of authority/mentorship in Chase's past, and they had a relationship that soured, thanks to the fact that Roy is an evil bastard, lol.

Sorcerer & Sorceress - like with Roy, both of them were part of Norisugi's past, though it is much less fleshed out in what capacity. But I can say for certain that whatever their relationship with Norisugi was, and their actions, caused him to leave his family back in Japan and move all alone to America, to where his best friend Plop Plop was. So it's safe to say, that they were not great people either. ;) (Why, yes, I have a little bit of angsty ideas for my boys' pasts lol).

And that's about it.

[iamnmbr3]

I honestly hate that it's framed as The Wizards Are Hiding From The Muggles For Fear Of Persecution like. No.

'They're scared of magic' the magic you're using to kill and torture? The magic you're using for dominance of other sentient species?

Also. The Muggles don't know they're there. The wizards make sure of that.

Yeah.... Honestly the whole Statue of Secrecy is just weird because wizards are so much more powerful than muggles. The explanation that Hagrid gives to Harry about why wizards are in hiding sounds like JKR didn't think her world building through very well propaganda made up to conceal the truth.

Wizard supremacist ideas are pretty common, even among people who aren't as extreme as Lucius Malfoy. And remember, that until the end of book 5 even Lucius was an extremely influential and well respected member of wizarding society. Yes, he kept some of his most violent ideas to himself, but very obviously he was able to openly voice a lot of what he believed and influence policy without significant backlash. Instead, it's people like Arthur Weasley who are looked down for being weird because they like muggles too much (and even Arthur doesn't truly see muggles as equals).

So given all of that it strains credulity that someone like Lucius wouldn't have been all 'you know what? let's just enslave the muggles.' This leads me to suspect that some muggles must have developed ways to fight wizards. Maybe they allied with other magical creatures or developed tech or got ahold of magical artifacts like the cursed necklace from book 6 that you can use to kill a magic user even if you don't have magic yourself. Perhaps muggleborns who sided with their muggle heritage were even the source of some of these means of fighting wizards, hence the fear and distrust of muggleborns among pureblood supremacists. I mean, using the same principals as the opal necklace, Hermione could probably make a gun with cursed bullets that a muggle could use to kill a wizard, if she wanted to.

This, combined with the fact that there are a LOT of muggles, could be the real reason that wizards exist in hiding and covertly influence the muggle world and make sure to wipe everyone's memories. I mean, they clearly have contact with muggle governments. I doubt Fudge is reporting the British Prime Minister out of the goodness of his heart because he cares about Muggles so much. There could well be a treaty of some sort. Yeah the Prime Minister doesn't know anything about it when Fudge shows up, but that's probably because his staff figured he'd be more receptive to the 'so magic is real actually' intelligence briefing AFTER meeting fudge.

The fact that wizards go to such lengths to conceal their presence and wipe people's memories suggest they are worried about what will happen if they get caught. Wizards are able to use their powers to maintain dominance by hiding their presence and influence and making sure that most people remain ignorant of their activities, since if they openly tried to just enslave everyone or openly went around treating muggles like animals, everyone would be able to band together and stop them...kind of like a less evil version of Russia now I think of it.

So yeah. They're in hiding not because muggles persecute them but because they want to get away with persecuting muggles.

[the-booty-crusader]

All right fellow DC fanfic enjoyers, I require help with my writing in a Tim Drake (but he’s Diana and Bruce’s kid) fanfic.

Say an angry group of superheroes and demigods decided to kick Hecate, Goddess of Magic’s ass (maybe kill, maybe just beat her so bad she can’t stay a goddess etc)

Who would make a good candidate to take her place among the cast of DC magic users (or perhaps as one person suggested, “tech wizards”? I might have a fun idea but it also feels a bit… over the top considering the rest of the fic, so any ideas are welcome!

I’ve considered Zatanna and Raven, but idk if they’re a good fit since their role in the story has been near 0 and John Constantine… well… NO. Klarion same and I think Nabu might be a bad choice too, any of the chaos vs order magic users are a bad pick. Other than that I don’t really know that many… help?

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Robin Sloan’s “Moonbound”

On June 20, I'm keynoting the LOCUS AWARDS in OAKLAND.

Robin Sloan has a well-deserved reputation as a sparkly, fizzy writer, the kind of person who can tell a smart/smartass story infused with fantasy-genre whimsy but grounded in high-tech, contemporary settings (think here of Charlie Jane Anders' gorgeous All the Birds In the Sky):

https://memex.craphound.com/2016/01/26/charlie-jane-anderss-all-the-birds-in-the-sky-smartass-soulful-novel/

In Moonbound, a new, wildly ambitious solarpunk novel published today by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, Sloan moves out of his usual, daffy, high-tech/high-weird Bay Area milieu and catapults us 11,000 years into the future, to a world utterly transformed and utterly fascinating:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374610609/moonbound

Moonbound's protagonist is a "chronicler," a symbiotic fungus engineered to nestle in a human's nervous system, where it serves as a kind of recording angel, storing up the memories, experiences and personalities of its host. When we meet the chronicler, it has just made a successful leap from its old host – a 10,000-years-dead warrior who had been preserved in an anaerobic crashpod ever since her ship was shot out of the sky – into the body of Ariel, a 12-year-old boy who had just invaded the long-lost tomb.

This is quite a move. This long-dormant, intelligent fungus originates a thousand years into our own future, long after the climate emergency had been (miraculously, joyously) averted and has arrived in a world ten millennia years even further down the line. It must orient itself from its position inside the nervous system of a 12-year-old, and we have to orient ourselves to having an 11,000-year-distant future explained by an intelligent fungus from 1,000 years into our own future.

This is doing fiction in hard mode, and Sloan nails it. The unraveling strangeness of Ariel's world is counterpointed with the amazing tale of the world the chronicler hails from, even as the chonicler consults with the preserved personalities of the heroes and warriors it had previous resided in and recorded.

And in this curious way, we learn of the history of the chronicler's world, and of the strange world so far into the future that Ariel lives in – and becomes incredible consequential to.

Start with the chronicler's world: on the way to solving the climate emergency, the human race figured out how to cooperate on unimaginably massive projects (for example, addressing the world's runaway carbon problem). This pays huge dividends, ushering in a period of thrilling innovation, as humans and the nonhuman intelligences they have constructed collaborate to explore out planet, our solar system, and – thanks to a faster-than-light breakthrough – our galaxy.

A crew of seven are dispatched to the ends of space with great fanfare – but when they return, they are terrified and full of grim purpose. Something they met out there in the galaxy has convinced them that humanity must never look to the stars again. They blanket the planet in a cloak of dust and establish a garrison on the moon from which they destroy any attempts to leave the Earth.

This triggers a savage war against these seven "dragons" and their moonbase. The chronicler's warrior – the one who was entombed for 10,000 years before being discovered by Ariel – was shot down on a last-ditch attempt to destroy the dragons and their base on the moon.

Flash forward 10,000 years. Ariel lives in a weird, medieval-type village, albeit one in which the peasant-types all wear high-tech performance all-weather gear…and the animals all talk. It's a very strange place – there's a sword in a stone, a wizard in a tower…and an airstrip.

Even as the chronicler is trying to make sense of this anachronistic muddle, Ariel is marching towards his destiny. In short order, he finds himself in fear for his life, and then – for the first time in his life or the life of any other villager – Ariel leaves the village.

This kicks off the road-trip part of the novel, a real bildungsroman that sees Ariel, the chronicler, and a whole Wizard-of-Oz's worth of road pals (including a rusty tin-man type robot who is part of a hive mind of thousands of other robots all over the world; oh and a talking beaver) (oh, and a dead guy) (and there's an elk with a symbiotic beehive in its antlers that dribbles a stead stream of honey down its muzzle).

My editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden once articulated a theory of how science fiction works: you have the world, which is a kind of grand thought experiment, and you have a protagonist, who is a kind of microcosm of that world. Think of the world as this big, heavy gear, and the character as a much-faster-spinning gear that meshes with the world, spinning and spinning, pushing the world inchingly around a full revolution:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/26/aislands/#dead-ringers

The chronicler is a perfect microcosm of this strange world, where dozens of great civilizations have arisen and fallen – the ruins of a great society of hyperintelligent rats turns out to be very useful on one part of Ariel's quest – and where the dragons brood overall, a menace in the sky that the Earth's inhabitants have all but forgotten, but whom the chronicler can't ignore.

Sloan is really having a lot of fun with his talking animals; his transdimensional gods; his space-maddened, murderous lunar AIs. On the way, he's doing all kinds of really cool tricks – like asking us to really sit with the idea of giving moral consideration to the nonhuman world, including "beings" we currently think of as inanimate objects. This is a great riff:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/07/more-than-human/#umwelt

Sloan's debut novel, Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, mixed the tropes and sensibilities of tech culture with a beautiful, escapist fantasy, a "curious little magic shop" tale that was absolutely delightful:

https://memex.craphound.com/2012/11/16/mr-penumbras-24-hour-bookstore-the-perfect-nerdish-fantasy/

And with Sourdough, Sloan's second book, he took that same fascination with the numinous (and with nerdy, obsessive hobbies) to the microscopic plane, with a tale of microorganisms and mystery:

https://memex.craphound.com/2017/09/05/sourdough-a-delicious-story-about-nerdism-and-the-flesh-by-robin-mr-penumbra-sloan/

Moonbound delivers Sloan's third – and best! – fusion of fantasy and science fiction, delving deep into the meaning of personhood, language and moral agency with a road-trip story that visits a dazzling collection of wildly imaginative settings and societies in an epic quest to slay the dragons on the moon.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/11/penumbraverse/#middle-anth

[snips-fics]

Thick Skulls

@summer-of-bad-batch Week 2 | Main Prompt: "Tattoos" and Week 2 | Bonus Prompt: "I am seldom wrong."

Cross-posted on Ao3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66680824

Rated: G | no romantic relationships | Words: 671

“Are you absolutely certain that this is what you want?” Tech studied the sketches as they walked, absentmindedly keeping pace with his brothers. “From what I have read, it’s wiser to start with something smaller and located somewhere less visible—and less painful.”

“Visibility is the point!” Hunter said. “Why go through the trouble to get something that’s always covered by our armor?”

“I see. All the same, your particular designs and placements of choice are…concerning.” He held up Hunter’s drawing in the hazy light of the polluted city they were traversing. “Inking almost fifty percent of your face in one session is incredibly ill-advised. Large-scale shading is lengthy and painful, especially on sensitive body parts like the face. Not to mention that its size would make removal difficult. This,” he tapped the sketch of a face covered entirely on one side with a black skull design, “is extreme.”

“We are extreme, Tech.”

(He couldn’t exactly refute that, not without being hypocritical. Regs had been giving him a wide berth since his final piloting evaluation the month before.)

Hunter held up his helmet, showing off the new paint that already mirrored his desired tattoo design. The squad had just settled on their color scheme, and he was more enthusiastic about it than anyone. “Just think how wizard a skull would look with this paint job.”

“Supposed ‘wizard’-ness aside, I feel the need to remind you that your enhanced senses will make the experience of getting tattooed especially painful. You’d do well to minimize that with something smaller.”

“Skull,” was his brother’s one-word rebuttal.

Tech couldn’t stifle a frustrated sigh. Of all the people he could have been tasked with dissuading, it had to be the two most willful clones ever created.

He held up the other sketch and addressed Crosshair. “While you wisely opted for a small, simple design, you picked perhaps the worst possible location. I have read that the skin around the eyes is one of the most sensitive areas for a tattoo. What’s more, any number of complications are possible: a blowout of ink, infection due to unsanitary conditions, or even puncturing your eye. We are unfamiliar with this tattooist, and if an accident were to happen, you would run the risk of a permanent eye injury.”

“A very sunny thought,” Crosshair said, looking almost bored.

Tech frowned at the sniper. “Given your specialty, I would expect you to take that into heavy consideration.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve weighed and measured it and all that. We’re doing this.”

“Understood.” Dissuading any of his batchmates was a lost cause once they’d set their course. They were almost to the tattoo parlor; practically past the point of no return for either Hunter or Crosshair. “I assume you’ve at least hydrated in preparation like I advised?”

Crosshair scoffed. “What do I look like to you?”

“Frankly? The human incarnation of a dried kelp strip.”

“And you’re the human incarnation of a wet blanket.”

Tech wanted to argue, but just then, they reached the tattoo parlor. If he hadn’t already been protesting to a brick wall, he was now.

The establishment seemed sanitary enough. Tech interrogated the owner while his brothers consulted one of the artists about their sketches, and was satisfied to learn that the inks were prepared with distilled water and the needles were properly cleaned after every use. At least Hunter and Crosshair weren’t likely to get infections from their tattoos.

“Have you heard enough, or do you need to run a background check on everyone in this shop?” Crosshair demanded after Tech had peppered the artists with questions about the possibility of an allergic reaction to the inks, which was thankfully unlikely. “We have to be back at base in a few hours.”

He supposed it wouldn’t do to rush the artists. For the second time in less than an hour, Tech gave a long suffering sigh and relented. “For the record, you will both regret this.”

Neither of them listened, of course.

Hunter blacked out halfway through.

[levi-venn]

Accolades - Part One

Timeline: Pre-Order 66 Era Bad Batch

Summary: Hunter turns official accolades into something more meaningful for his brothers.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three Available on AO3

Clone Force 99 never accepted accolades. It wasn't their thing. After all, they were created specifically for the missions no one else could do. Being rewarded for it seemed pointless.

And Hunter didn’t disagree…

…but when accolades were assigned, he always ended up sneaking out after his brothers had settled in for the night to speak to Commander Cody. 

The conversation was always the same.

“I’m sorry your brothers couldn’t make it…again,” Cody would say, handing the medals over.

“Yeah, well, they’re tired from the mission.” One of many excuses he had given Cody during this war.

“Tell them that, on behalf of myself and the generals, 'Keep up the great work, soldiers.'"

“Will do, Commander.” Hunter always said this with a smile. 

Cody returned that smile. They both knew Hunter wouldn’t relay the message. They both knew these medals weren't for his brothers, they were for Hunter.

Hunter had a painted box full of medals and ribbons for each of his brothers.

There was a digital skull skewered by a lightning bolt on Tech's box.

A bomb with a happy face for Wrecker.

And a skull with a crosshair vector over one eye for his youngest brother.

Recently, he added a box for Echo too. He went with a blue handprint for his newest brother, to honor Echo's old armor before the Separatists took nearly everything from him. 

With the exception of Echo’s box, Hunter had been filling these boxes since they were cadets. Their earliest medals had simple accolades from simpler times:

“Fastest Swimmer” - Tech. 

“Most Bullseyes in 60 Seconds” - Crosshair. 

“Feats of Strength” - Wrecker. 

“Leadership and Valor” - Hunter

The accolades shifted after graduation. They came from dangerous missions that ended in violence. Assigned to a bad batch of clones who were somehow expendable, yet the only ones who could survive these impossible situations.

This last mission had taken their toll on the whole squad. Too many clankers, not enough intel, they won the day, but throwing medals at them felt like an insult, even if Cody's appreciation was genuine.

Hunter wanted to turn those medals into something meaningful.

And so, Hunter sat on his bunk, a small laser tool in his bandaged hand, etching over each medal with his own accolades for his brothers.

Tech was awarded “Shooting the most clankers while slicing an AAT-1 and throwing barbed insults at Echo”.

For Crosshair: “The most WIZARD precision shot through a tank’s barrel while spitting a toothpick in a clanker’s eye”.

Wrecker received: “The loudest laugh while mowing down four dozen clankers and eating a hamburger simultaneously”. Hunter still didn’t know where he got that burger.

And finally for Echo, “The most somersaults during a stealth mission while throwing barbed insults back at Tech”

Hunter hesitated over his own medal, as he always did.

Giving himself accolades never sat right.  He could never think of anything, anyway.

So he wrote what he always wrote: “This medal is awarded to Hunter for being the proudest oldest brother in this Badass Batch. I love you guys.”

He tucked the medal away in his own box, a skull with cross-vibroblades beneath it, and tucked it under his mattress with the other boxes.

One day, this war was going to be over.

And on that day, Hunter planned to give these boxes to his brothers.

He couldn’t wait to see their faces.

[homestuckreplay]

d&d robot wizard named Intellibeam Laserstation

(page 1555-1572)

It’s feeling so Act 2 up in here because we are seeing a couple of kids try to figure out Sburb mechanics while being equal parts competent and silly.

But first, a revelation that Jack Noir has ‘a policy of handing out a REGISWORD and a HITLIST to just about everyone who enters your office’ (p.1555). This is in my homestuck jokes hall of fame because it’s a sudden punch of absurdity that adds to the plot and characterization, instead of detracting from them. I think the jokes that don’t hit for me tend to be when a character uses a phrase format or SBAHJ reference that feels out of character for them to say, or when a joke replaces what could be a character moment (for example, p.444). This joke contributes to Jack’s amorality and clear-headedness while inciting disproportionate violence, and preserves PM’s character arc, since it’s significant if she’s the only recipient of this hitlist who actually carries it out.

It sucks that the Queen keeps Jack locked behind a desk watching other people when he has this much flair and style. He should be on the stage. Also I cannot imagine the damage PM would inflict upon Jack if she saw him open that package that isn’t addressed to him. That’s a MAIL CRIME and I for one am not even curious what’s inside until the package reaches its ADDRESSED recipient.

Dave and Jade are a fun combination of Sburb players, because Dave has no concerns with playing the game ‘correctly’ and is willing to go with whatever makes things easier, while Jade has the inventor’s curiosity and wants to exploit hacks and glitches to advance as fast as possible. And Dave may have made fun of Jade for her ‘goofy modusses’ (p.382) but he is definitely benefiting from them now. Jade doesn’t play many games (p.442, 1400) but has spent her whole life engaging with Skaian technology, which is essentially ‘tech that functions on video game logic’ [sidenote: this definition made me decide that the sylladex is also 100% Skaian tech] so I think this helps her intuit how Sburb works.

The ability to alchemize the alchemiter feels right and correct. Alchemiter upgrades and add-ons allow for more complexity in the mechanics without needing more machines than would be practical to work with, just like how Sburb’s Atheneum (p.620) can store previously carved totems so that it’s not necessary to retain the physical objects. It seems like if enough machines are combined into one, the physical steps (moving around, handling and carving cruxite and cards) will be eliminated and the whole process will be automated. On a story level, it allows for power scaling as an upgrade can be anything, and there’s less concern for the time and space that a task takes – small developments like this and the suggestion of transportalizers between planets (p.1531) are still expanding the scope of the story.

I think a portable alchemiter would be a great next step. Gotta have a punch card for a little backpack and then Dave can carry this around while exploring his planet and he won’t end up like John, in a land of copper giclopses far away from weapon upgrades.

But what I love about Sburb is that it doesn’t care if an update is helpful. It lets the players make bad and nonsensical decisions and incorporates them into its logic. It’s open world and if you want a blender or a GameBro bust on your alchemiter then you can. It’s the difference between a game that makes an error sound if your strength is too low to equip the Ultra Greatsword and a game that lets you equip it and then just be a shitty fighter.

Dave struggling for space on page 1563 made me wonder about the smallest space needed to play Sburb. Its name suggests a full house, but a large room, like a well kept studio apartment, might have room. But a dorm room or houseboat or RV or nursing home or hospital simply would not work without modifications, and the idea of playing Sburb in unconventional living spaces is really interesting to me. Maybe if I write fanfiction it will be about that since it seems outside the scope of the comic at this point.

There’s no WAY we find out what the intellibeam laserstation does any time soon – this reveal is definitely getting saved, which leaves room for speculation! ‘Intelli’ comes from intelligence or intelligible, ‘beam’ and ‘laser’ both suggest a highly precise and advanced ray of light, and ‘station’ is a designated place for an activity (or a regular stopping point, and now I am imagining a train station for lasers). So, this is intelligent light, light that can shape and direct itself according to what it’s needed for? Or it’s light that can itself be used as a resource or material, a place for creating light or building with it? Light is a theoretically infinite resource, so could tie into Skaia’s ‘unlimited creative potential’ (p.422). It could even be involved in creating constructs – things with an intelligence of their own – giving lategame players the ability to alchemize their own light kingdom agents to combat the dark.

[sarcasticace]

What if (and i realized this might not fit within the confines of the 3-episode per act structure, but stay with me) Viktor stumbles upon the golem that would be Blitzcrank. Partially buried somewhere in the area that would become his commune. Uncovered as they started cleaning up the place. Maybe we pretend Caitlyn's strike team caused a bit more pollution than they were hoping. Some actual consequences. Maybe now under martial law, they use it more from time to time. Just to eliminate major threats. Only sometimes... and it's for the greater good. They're actually helping Zaun when you think about it. Trust them. don't trust them. Viktor knows the golems were used pre-ventilation system to help out. Not just with the Gray, but with general toxic runoff. Can't just 'stop' polluting the undercity, but they might as well clean up after themselves. So thoughtful. Viktor fixes them up. Going back into some science and mechanical engineering. He's been out of touch, but aided with some hexcore magic, baby Blitzcrank is working great! Not the Blitzcrank we know though, but he's getting there. Sometimes, Viktor sends Blitzcrank out on his own. Clean up some areas in the undercity. Maybe encounters Isha once or twice. Maybe she doodles on them. But Blitzcrank isn't quite Blitzcrank just yet.

Skip ahead a few episodes, Jayce literally claws his way out of that pit. That's when he encounters Blitzcrank. Scares him at first, but Blitzcrank is a friend. They is friend shaped. But there's something... different... about them. Something more. The way they reacts to Jayce. The way they moves. The way they follows along when people talk. Blitzcrank helps Jayce reach the peak where they both encounter Wizard Viktor.

Fast forward. We're reaching the finale. The enforcers have captured Blitzcrank.... somehow. Actually, I got it, Blitzcrank was helping Jinx, Vi, and the gang. As he's not fully sentient yet, Viktor didn't have a connection with him, so he was unaffected when Viktor was shot through the heart. When everything was going to shit, Blitzcrank's programming was like... welp, time to go. And tries to help everyone escape, but then everything got worse. In addition to Jinx, Blitzcrank was taken into custody by the Enforcers. They were gonna trash them, but Jayce intervenes. Jayce knows them. This is blitzcrank, a friend, but... not as he remembers them. Anyways, Blitzcrank is under custody. There's a moment of peace before the war happens. Calm before the storm. To relax, Jayce begins tinkering with Blitzcrank. It's been so long. It almost seems like forever ago since he was in the lab, creating Hextech with Viktor. And he's just so curious about Blitzcrank. He notices Viktor's handiwork immediately. Jayce replaces some old tech with modern hextech. Leaving a bit of Viktor's improvements behind. But Blitzcrank won't turn on. Huh. Strange. Jayce ponders this for a moment, but then his attention is drawn to his hammer. Not his hammer, the other him, but still... his hammer. Both originally built as tools. To help people. Now used as a weapon. To hurt and kill. He's made so many weapons. More than he ever intended. Hextech was meant to help people. Oh! An idea. There must be one here somewhere. Jayce finds a hexcrystal. Places it within Blitzcrank's core. And Blitcrank, finally, awakens. New to this world. Equal parts Jayce and Viktor. Their final creation together. Not a weapon, but intelligent life.

Blitzcrank follows Jayce around. If anyone asks, Jayce reprogrammed Blitzcrank. Personal bodyguard. No one questions him. They've got no time. Blitzcrank is present when Viktor arrives. At first, he hardly gives Blitzcrank a second glance. And they are left behind when Viktor takes Jayce upwards. That's a long way up, but Blitzcrank has to follow. They… want to follow. Strange. They wants? Blitcrank tries making his way to the top. The big boy tries so hard. But what's this? Someone is hurt. An unconscious body on his way to the top. Blitzcrank was programmed to help Zaunnites, but.... that's not it. Something more. They... want to help. They will help.

Just when all hope seems lost. Viktor is about to win. In comes Ekko to save the day. But he's not alone. Blitzcrank is there too. Following after Ekko on their short, heavy legs. Oh, sweet boy. They’re trying their best. This is still very much Ekko's fight. Not going take away from that. Ekko is the MVP after-all. Hero of Arcane.

Perhaps Blitzcrank saves Ekko, just once, before getting overwhelmed. They helped a little bit. On impulse, let's say, Viktor's mannequin doll-soldiers tries to assimilate them. And it... works? Viktor connects to Blitzcrank. How strange, but he can't actually control him. He's kinda just... there. Well, doesn't matter, he's captured Ekko too now and nothing can- [rewind] Ekko just disappeared. Where did he... oh, there he is and he's throwing the concentrated power of time at my face.

Epilogue time. Jayce and Viktor are gone. Maybe dead, maybe in another plane of existence. Who knows? That's sad, but Blitzcrank is okay. They return to Zaun. Maybe they’re welcome by the Firelights. Who's to say? But Blitzcrank knows that's where they belong. Patrolling the streets of the undercity. Helping people. Just like their dads wanted. Zaun has a long path ahead to becoming the greatest city Valoran has ever seen.

What do you think? I know Blitzcrank being the lovechild creation of both Viktor and Jayce isn't anything new or original, but I think I came up with something fun that could fit within Arcane canon. You know, if you just... pushed it into place real hard.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Worth the Risk

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

As I write this description, I am EXTREMELY tired. So forgive me if I skip the usual chat about the chapter writing process and go straight to the summary fhsdjakl After sneaking into the IRIS facility last chapter, the guys wait to see if the proof they found is able to drive IRIS out of Mirygale so they can return. Meanwhile, Distorter appears again with a vague statement: Return to Mirygale now, or else. The group debates what to do. Enjoy! :D

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

———————

“I didn’t even know Internet cafes still existed,” Jackie said, leaning close to the computer monitor. “In the year 2019? Who even uses these places?”

“You’d be surprised,” Anti said, calmly scanning the website he’d pulled up. “Not everyone has reliable Internet or access to a computer or smartphone. Even in this day and age. Case in point: we’re here.”

“Well... we kinda have... special circumstances.” Jackie glanced around as he said that. The cafe was pretty empty around them, except for a couple teenagers gathered around one monitor and a couple scattered adults each with their own computer. The monitors are lined up on long tables, and the air is hot from all of the running CPUs, the scent of coffee at war with the smell of electronics. A cloudy afternoon sky lets in little light through the wide windows.

“Fair enough,” Anti muttered. He frowned, not satisfied with what he was seeing, and opened up another webpage in another tab.

“Whoa, how’d you just do that?!” Jackie gasped.

Anti couldn’t help but laugh a little. “If you click a link with the middle mouse button, it opens it in another tab in most computers.”

“Middle mouse button?”

“The scroll wheel. I’m surprised you don’t know any of this.” Anti grinned. “If you click the scroll wheel on a blank page, you can also get this smooth scrolling thing. Watch.” He did just that, moving the mouse up and down. The webpage scrolled in accordance with the movement.

“God, you’re a wizard,” Jackie mumbled.

Anti laughed louder. “I’m not. I just picked up a lot of stuff from experience.” The smile faded from his face as he actually read the webpage now. “Hm... no news about IRIS here, either.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jackie said. “It’s only been a day since we sent the footage.”

Yesterday, Anti and Jack had gone to the library to use their computers, spending the whole afternoon uploading the footage from the camera to a hard drive that the group had bought during the tech-buying spree a few days ago. From there, they sent the raw footage to various news sources. Just about as many as they could find before the library closed. They also printed out screenshots, copied photos, did just about everything they could to get backups, and this morning Jack and Stacy had gone to send packets of the physical copies to other news sources. They also sent both digital and physical copies to the Mirygale police, since Detective Kikelomo had said she’d start an investigation into IRIS.

This all might’ve been a bit overkill, but none of them wanted to take chances. They knew that some news places might think the whole thing was a big prank. But they needed someone to take them seriously. Otherwise, IRIS would still be a threat.

“Y’know... have you thought that... maybe this plan won’t work?” Jackie whispered, not wanting to say it out loud. “I mean, just because IRIS’s experiments might be exposed, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll forget about us.”

“...Yeah, I know,” Anti agreed, his voice just as quiet. “But the plan’s not to take them down forever. We just need to get them to leave us alone long enough for us to deal with Distorter. And like... these guys seem like the type to avoid taking risks. That detective lady is probably our best bet. If IRIS knows that a city is onto them, they’ll pull out, at least for a little bit.”

Jackie nodded. “I guess that’s all true.” He laughed a little. “Good thing Schneep ran into her, right?”

“Hrm.” Anti grumbled wordlessly.

“What?” Jackie looked at him, rolling his desk chair a bit closer to Anti’s. “What is it? You don’t like her?”

“No, it’s not just that.” Anti shook his head. “It’s just that... She happened to be in town? The town that’s at least an hour’s drive from where she lives? In the exact same shop that Volt and Jackson went to? At the exact moment the two of them went out? It’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it?”

Jackie blinked. “Well, look at it this way. Why would she plan to be there? What sort of nefarious scheme required her to run into Schneep and promise to investigate IRIS for him?”

“I dunno. Maybe IRIS hired her.”

“Well if they did, it’s a good thing we sent the recordings and photos to people besides Rachel,” Jackie pointed out. “Besides. I don’t think that’s IRIS’s style, anyway. They’re a lot more... direct.”

“...true,” Anti admitted. He opened another tab on the browser and typed in another address. “So... what if it was Distorter? We know he doesn’t have to be nearby to...” He trailed off. “Y-you know. To... do his thing.”

Jackie shuddered. “That’s true. But Schneep and JJ are very experienced in spotting the signs of Distorter’s control. It’s not exactly subtle. They would’ve realized she was different.”

“...yeah.” Anti nodded slowly. He was quiet for a minute, searching through the site he’d pulled up. Then he whispered, “Thanks.”

“Thanks?” Jackie repeated, confused.

“For, uh... keeping me grounded, I guess,” Anti mumbled. “I have... problems with that.”

Jackie was silent. Then he nodded. “No problem.”

They continued to read and search for a while, but after about an hour, they had to give up. It seemed like one day wasn’t enough time for news to arrive. It also didn’t help that they were being charged every thirty minutes for using the computer. The two of them paid for their time in cash, then headed out onto the street.

“The library didn’t charge me and Jack for using their stuff,” Anti muttered. “And we had to use their special computers with editing software and shit.”

“Well the whole point of the library is to offer things for no cost,” Jackie pointed out. “An Internet cafe is not the same. We could’ve just gone to the library again, you know.”

“No. They might’ve realized I was there two days in a row,” Anti said stubbornly. 

“I don’t think the library cares about how often people visit,” Jackie laughed. “In fact, I think they’d be delighted to see you there so often. That’s probably good for, uh... numbers, or whatever.”

Anti grumbled some more. “I just don’t want to stand out. I already look pretty distinct. Even though the streaks in my hair are really fading.”

“You’ll be fine,” Jackie said, nudging him. “But if you’re really so concerned, that cafe didn’t cost that much, really.”

Anti grunted noncommittally. 

They walked down the street until they reached the bus stop. It was a nice bus stop, actually. There was a little metal structure with a bench inside and plants on the roof—a good way to bring some green to the otherwise dull gray urban landscape. Jackie checked the schedule hanging on the inside of the stop. “Alright, if all goes well, the bus will be here in five minutes,” Jackie said. “Probably closer to six.”

“Cool.” Anti folded his arms and leaned against one of the metal support poles. He idly watched the few cars going down the street, eyes flicking back and forth.

Jackie sat down on the bench. “So... uh, how have things been?”

“I dunno.” Anti shrugged. “Same as you, really. How have things been with you?”

“Well... I’ve been worried about Marvin,” Jackie said. “The whole, you know... ‘time freeze having an effect on him’ thing...” He sighed. “He’s been acting weird since then, have you seen it?”

“Not really...” Anti started to say, then trailed off. “I mean... I guess a little. He’s been kinda quiet, maybe?”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah, that! He’s not really talking to anyone that much. Even JJ. I wonder what’s going on.”

“He’s probably having some existential shit,” Anti said. “That’s what always happens in time travel stories. Or to people with time manipulation powers. You start to wonder about the nature of stuff. And in Marvin’s case, do you think that if Volt and Jackson hadn’t been with him, he’d have just disappeared?”

Jackie shuddered. “I don’t want to think about that!”

Anti grinned. “When I was younger, I wasn’t much for reading, but there was this one series I remember very distinctly about time travel. One character could pause time, though as the story went on she began to lose control of the ability and could only stay in the normal flow of time by holding onto another character. She ended up defeating the villain by letting go of the second character, grabbing onto the bad guy, and disappearing into a void together. Then her molecules pulled apart and she disappeared from the timeline.”

“Jesus fucking hell!” Jackie blinked. “How old were you when you read that? Cause if you were a kid, that’s pretty dark and intense!”

“I thought it was cool.” Anti chuckled. “Besides, kids love that dark shit. But yeah... I wouldn’t let Will read that series until he was at least thirteen. Wish I could remember the name of the books, though.”

“I-I-I really hope that sort of thing wouldn’t happen to Marvin...” Jackie muttered.

Anti blinked. “Well, I’m sure... I’m sure it wasn’t like that. From what he told us when you all got back, I bet... I-I bet he would’ve just snapped out of the spell.” He hunched his shoulders. “...sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“No, it’s fine, really!” Jackie said hurriedly. “I just... it’s not what you said, it’s just me being all anxious and stuff.” He smiled at him hesitantly. “I’m sure Marvin would’ve been fine too. JJ seemed to think he would be... eventually.”

“Yeah. Jackson’s the magic expert, listen to him.” Anti nodded. He continued to watch the cars, his vision blurring a little as his eyes lost focus. “I don’t think we should use that spell again, though. Unless we really have to.”

“Oh yeah, no, definitely,” Jackie agreed. “I think Marvin’s been a bit scared off from experimenting with his cards for a while... which is actually... kind of sad, I think. I mean, he seems to really like those cards. I guess cause they’re a connection to his life before Distorter got involved. Though that’s just me guessing, of course. I-I mean, aren’t they also the reason he got transported to this time in the first place?”

Anti didn’t answer. Something was... off. He’d seen something on the other side of the road. But when he tried to focus on it, he couldn’t quite make it out. In fact... he couldn’t quite make anything out. It all felt so... distant all of a sudden.

This immediately put him on alert—but even that alert felt distant. “Jackie,” he said quietly. “Something’s wrong.”

“Huh?” Jackie looked over at Anti. His eyes widened and he gasped. “Anti! Your eyes are bleeding!”

Anti inhaled sharply, wanting to feel more distressed from that news than he actually was. He reached up and touched his face. A single drop of blood had fallen from one eye, tracing down his cheek. “He’s here.”

Jackie shot to his feet. “W-we have to get out of here!”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys, I had a dream about him,” Anti said idly.

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“It, uh... felt private,” Anti said slowly.

Jackie threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “I’d be more mad if I didn’t know you and your habits. Come on!” He grabbed Anti by the arm and pulled him out of the bus stop. Anti stumbled, trying to run but having difficulty, his body feeling disconnected from his mind.

The thing on the other side of the street laughed. “Don’t worry... I’m not really here,” said a voice.

Jackie froze for a moment. Then stiffened and started to run down the street, pulling Anti behind him.

“Not even going to listen to me, are you?” Distorter made a tut-tut sound. It wasn’t clear where his voice was coming from. It was just... there. “That’s not fair, Jackie.”

“H-hey! Leave him fucking alone!” Anti shook his head, trying to push past the fog. He focused on the grip Jackie had on his arms, on the way the air passed through his nose and mouth. Things started to come a bit more into view. Focus! He wouldn’t let this bitch control him! “What are you even doing here?! Just fucking with us?!”

“I wanted to tell you something,” Distorter said.

“Don’t listen!” Jackie continued to pull Anti down the street, but Distorter’s voice remained around them.

“Maybe it’s better to say, I want to warn you,” Distorter continued. “I’m starting to miss you guys, you know? I think you should hurry back. Or else... something might happen.”

Anti stopped. Jackie tried to keep running, and yanked Anti’s arm painfully in the process. “Ow! Fuck!”

“Sorry!” Jackie stopped as well, glancing back at Anti apologetically. “But—what are you doing?! He can’t actually do anything, you know!”

Distorter laughed. “I can do a whole lot. Just because you guys are far away doesn’t mean I’m powerless. For every day you don’t come back, something will happen. I’ll be generous. You’ll get to have the rest of this day. Then, tomorrow morning, something will happen... and it will be all your fault.”

And then, abruptly, everything shifted. Anti blinked, finding himself once again aware and present in the world. He shook his head, then looked at Jackie. Jackie stared back with wide eyes. “He can’t... mean that, right?” Jackie whispered. “It has to be a bluff.”

Anti just stared back, a grim expression on his face. “We have to tell the others.”

———————

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us about that dream?!” Jack, usually pretty calm, seemed kind of pissed by this news. Anti and Jackie had gathered everyone up in the apartment’s living room, telling them about Distorter’s sudden appearance—and Anti told them all about the dream he had with him. “I was literally right there! I checked on you! Opportune moment to say something!”

It does seem like something we should’ve known, JJ added tentatively.

“Look, we had more stuff to think about after that,” Anti said. “We had the whole IRIS time freeze shit to deal with. It kinda just slipped my mind. Besides,” He looked at Jack. “I wasn’t going to say anything in front of Will. I know he’s a strong kid, but he’s still a kid. It would freak him out to hear I had a dream where Distorter tried to claw my throat out.”

Jameson shuddered, his hand going up towards his own throat. Marvin, sitting on the sofa next to him, patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

“Well... yeah, that makes sense,” Jack mumbled. “Sorry. I just... that seems really important.”

“I can’t believe him hearing about me upset him so much,” Stacy said, looking off to the side thoughtfully. “Well... actually, I can believe it, since it sounded like you just kept pushing him. That wasn’t the smartest thing to do.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally,” Anti said. “Maybe some part of me wanted to get under his fucking nerves, even.”

“...probably not the best idea,” Jackie said, agreeing with Stacy.

“Look, can we focus on the most recent problem?” Anti asked. “The guy tried to threaten us. He basically said ‘come back to Mirygale or else.’”

“Or else what?” Rama asked. “Is he going to attack us?”

“If he is, it will not be physically,” Schneep muttered. “Even though he cannot be hurt by most things, we still outnumber him by a great deal. As long as we are all together, he cannot hurt our bodies. Our minds, however...”

“Do you think he’ll go for the kids again?” Jackie asked quietly, glancing down the hall towards the bedroom where Will and Michelle were. The adults had asked them to stay out of this conversation, saying it was ‘grown-up stuff.’ Will hadn’t really been happy about not being included, but he went with it. Michelle was just happy she could make him play with her while the adults talked.

“I... don’t know,” Anti admitted in the same quiet tone. “There’s always a chance. Or there’s a chance he’ll use his powers on us. Like... what happened with you, Jackie, that day at the park.”

Jackie shivered, and Rama walked over to his chair, putting their hands on his shoulders. “We won’t let that happen again,” they said.

What he’s planning to do doesn’t really matter, I think, JJ said. What matters is if we’ll cave to this demand to return back to Mirygale. We still don’t know if it’s safe there. IRIS might swoop in and grab us. In fact, for all we know, Distorter might WANT them to do that!

“That’s crazy,” Jackie said. “IRIS is very interested in Distorter, I don’t think he’d want to risk a run-in with a potential enemy.”

“Well... he definitely took advantage of me being locked in there,” Anti muttered.

“That is different, though,” Schneep said. “That is merely making the best of a bad situation... er, the best for him I mean. I agree with Jackie, I do not think Distorter would go out of his way to get IRIS involved.”

“Yeah!” Jackie nodded. “I don’t know what IRIS’s plans are for Distorter and the house on Aspen Street, but knowing what we know now, it can’t be good. At very best, they’ll hurt a lot of people by throwing them into the house’s weird pocket dimension. Distorter knows that and wouldn’t risk it.”

Do you think IRIS is powerful enough to contain him? Jameson asked.

“Yeah, what do you think, Jackie?” Stacy asked. “You, uh... have the biggest history with them.”

Jackie bit his lip, looking momentarily ashamed of his past decision. “...maybe. They’d struggle with it, and I can definitely see him escaping a few times and causing damage along the way, but he’s still just one guy, you know? IRIS has him beat on numbers alone. And... I think they’re trying to prepare for anomalies like him.” He glanced at Schneep.

Schneep folded his arms and glanced to the side. “That is true...”

“Maybe we could pit them against each other somehow.” Anti grinned.

JJ tilted his head. If IRIS caught Distorter, maybe they would leave the rest of us alone...

“I... don’t think they would,” Stacy said slowly. “I mean... you guys have magic and stuff. I don’t think they’d forget about that so easily.”

Jameson’s shoulders slumped. I know... I suppose it’s just wishful thinking. Again, Marvin patted his shoulder. He hadn’t said a word this whole time, but he’d always be there for his friend.

“We will keep that idea in mind if we need it, though,” Schneep said. “For now... what could Distorter possibly do to us if we do not return to Mirygale? Should we risk him finding some new way to hurt us?”

“Why does he even want you guys to go back there?” Jack asked. “He’s not... stuck there, is he?”

“Nah.” Anti shook his head. “He was able to go all the way to that IRIS place to break me out. I know he was physically there, I saw the weird claw marks he left behind. If he could go that far, he could reach here. It’s almost the same distance, just in the opposite direction.”

“Hm.” Jack frowned. Something moved in his hoodie pocket, and he looked down. “Sam?” Sam squirmed out, flying into the air nearby. “They say that they feel like if we don’t go back soon, something bad will happen. But also that something bad will happen when we do go back.”

“Wow, that’s very helpful,” Anti drawled.

Sam flew over to him, a streak of green light through the air, and smacked hard against his shoulder.

“Ow!” Anti rubbed the spot they hit. “God, it’s like being hit with a bigger-than-usual paintball. I get it, though. Sorry, Sam, I know you’re just trying to help.”

Sam bobbed up and down, and Jack laughed. “They said, damn right!”

Anti burst into laughter as well. “Who knew something so cute could swear?”

“They’re also flattered that you think they’re cute,” Jack reported as Sam flew back over to him, settling on his shoulder this time.

“Well, as unspecific as that is, it is good to know that both our options are bad,” Schneep muttered. “So now we must simply decide which is worse.”

Rama pursed their lips. “In my opinion, the worst thing we can do is bring the kids closer to danger. And I don’t think taking them back to the city where this thing lives is the best idea. A-at the same time, though... I know Michelle’s been missing her friends from school.”

“She wanted to start playing football this fall...” Jackie said quietly. “Hard to do that when we’re hiding from IRIS.”

But that brings up the point of IRIS again, Jameson said. Even if we return to Mirygale, we probably can’t go back to things as normal until we’re really sure that they’re gone. So... we’d still be in hiding for a while regardless. It’s just more risky to be hiding in Mirygale, closer to all their centers of operation.

Rama nodded slowly.

“Perhaps this is an empty threat?” Schneep wondered. “What can Distorter really do to us when we stick together? Historically, that has been the best way to defeat him. He cannot affect all of us at once—and he cannot affect me at all anymore.”

“I really doubt that it’s empty,” Anti said. “But... we agreed to take care of IRIS before we did anything with Distorter. Cause we’re not gonna be able to do fuck all if we’re hiding from them. We should stick to that idea.”

“Yeah... the last thing we want is to get caught again,” Jackie said slowly.

Stacy shrugged. “I’m good with whatever you guys want to do. Though I’m not really in any hurry to get close to him again, so... there’s that.”

So we’re all in agreement, then? JJ asked.

“U-uh...” Marvin coughed, clearing his throat a little. Everyone started in surprise and glanced at him. “M-maybe... I coul’... use my cards?” He offered hesitantly. “See... into the possible futures?”

Jackie blinked. “Do you... really want to do that?”

“If... it’s easiest,” Marvin said quietly. “We coul’... know what’s comin’.”

“Marvin, please do not force yourself to do something you are uncomfortable with,” Schneep said softly.

“I-I’m not—!” Marvin started to protest.

“It, uh, definitely seems like you are, sometimes,” Anti said. “You’ve been real fucking quiet lately. Something’s bothering you. Probably what happened at the IRIS place. Like, obviously we don’t know what’s going on in your head, but you’ve been acting different ever since then.”

Jack nodded. “This has all been a lot of pressure, you know? And what happened with your cards was... really scary. I-it’s okay if you’re feeling off. You don’t have to feel obligated to help.”

Marvin glanced back and forth between the two of them, then slumped back against the sofa. “Fuck you, McLoughlins,” he muttered.

Jameson grinned slightly. They’re right, though. We’ve all been worried about you.

Marvin sighed. “I’m... I’m jus’ t’inkin’ about a lot.” He twisted his hands in his lap. “T’is... is a lot of... power. I-I want to help. To... use it to help.”

“Thank you for that, Marvin,” Schneep said. “Truly. But you do not have to.”

“You can do whatever you want,” Jackie added. “But just... we want you to be comfortable. With yourself. And your cards. And just in general.”

“Mm-hm.” Marvin looked at his hands. “I... jus’ want to help.”

Jameson nudged him. Don’t force yourself to, though. That’ll just hurt you in the long run. Remember what you’ve told me about spreading myself too thin? Same idea here.

“I guess you’re right.” Marvin smiled hesitantly. “I... I-I guess I won’ use my cards. But... I wonder if we shoul’... go back to Mirygale. Jus’ in case.”

“...we’ll give it a couple days,” Anti said slowly. “See if something happens.”

The others all nodded. It might be a bit risky, but going back to the city felt even riskier. They would wait, and hope nothing bad happened in the meantime.

———————

Over the next three days, Anti kept returning to the library and the Internet cafe to repeatedly check for any news on IRIS, each time accompanied by one of the others. Jack again, then Jameson, then on the third day, Schneep. It was a bright, sunny morning when the two of them took the bus to the library together. “Hm... this place does not look much like a library on the outside,” Schneep said as they walked in.

“It’s the architecture, right?” Anti said. “You usually think of libraries as... classical, for some reason. Not modern and urban like this. It’s like someone attached metal pillars to a metal box and plopped it in a concrete square surrounded by artsy shit.”

Schneep chuckled. “That is exactly what it looks like. And I think people think of libraries as classical for two reasons. One, that sort of classic architecture is considered intellectual, probably because of the association of it with the Renaissance and the rise of ‘modern science’. Two, we are old, and that is what libraries looked like when we were little. Perhaps as more modern libraries are built, younger kids’ views of libraries will broaden.”

“Hm.” Anti shrugged. “I guess. I never really explored a lot of libraries growing up. The only one I really knew was the one attached to my secondary school. And then, when I was, like, a young adult, I had other shit going on.”

“Really?” Schneep tilted his head. “This... is probably the most I’ve ever heard you talk about yourself.”

“Hah... I’m trying to make an effort with you guys,” Anti said. “Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Of course not.” Schneep chuckled.

As the two of them talked, they walked into the library and took the elevator up to the second floor. There were computers on all stories of the library, but Anti had noted that the ones on this floor seemed a bit newer than the others. They walked past the round help desk (where Anti grabbed a temporary library card) and the shelves of books, reaching the three rows of computers on tables. Looked like no one else was here today, except for one woman going back and forth between a computer on the end of a row and the nearby printer, fussing over them both.

Anti sat at the far end of the bottom row, powering up the computer there. It asked for his library card number, and he entered in the one from the temporary card. “Hm... do they just hand out cards these days?” Schneep asked. “It has been so long since I went to the library.”

“No, these are just for internet access,” Anti said. “See how this is flimsy?” He waved the temporary card back and forth, showing how it flapped. “They mass-print them out, and each one only works for a day. Maybe a couple days. I don’t remember.” He quickly opened up the browser and went to the same websites he’d been checking recently.

“Fascinating,” Schneep said. “It is very handy that they just hand those out. I saw a sign for free chargers on the way in as well. Fascinating. Fascinating. Fascinating. Fascinating.”

“You good, Volt?” Anti glanced at him.

“Y-yes.” Schneep shook his head slightly. “I am just... feeling a bit off. I think it has been too long since I took my medicine, you know?”

“Hm... another reason to go home soon, I guess,” Anti muttered.

“I-I will be fine,” Schneep said. “Don’t let me distract you.” He dragged over a chair from another computer so he could sit next to Anti. “Now. Local news sites? I use those quite often myself.”

“Yeah, you were the one who gave me some of these addresses,” Anti said.

“Oh. Right.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Anti looked at him again, concern on his face.

“Yes, I am sure,” Schneep insisted. “Just continue to scroll through the page, please.”

Anti scrolled. “It’s easier to Control F and search for IRIS, you know. But yeah, no harm in being thorough—”

Schneep inhaled sharply. He pointed at a line on the screen. “A-are you seeing this?!”

Anti blinked. He hadn’t really been focusing too much on all the headlines, but now he leaned forward. The headline read: Fire at Local Coffee Shop Almost Burns it Down. It was accompanied by a picture of a building with soot-stained walls. A building that looked familiar. “Isn’t that... the shop you worked at?”

“Latte Lake,” Schneep said idly. “Y-yes. So... it is real. C-can you click on that?”

“Yeah.” Anti did so, and both of them leaned forward to read intently. Apparently a worker said that she might’ve left a stove in the back on when she closed up shop. ‘I was... in a daze [that night],’ the quote read. “That—that is Jennifer,” Schneep muttered. “We often had the same shift. She was always very focused. To the point of being a bit intense about the closing-up procedure. She... she would not... leave a stove on. Even if in a daze.”

Anti stared at the text on the screen, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He returned to the main page of the website, using the Control F command to start searching for specific phrases. Addresses, place names, people names—“Oh my god.” Anti clicked on another headline. “What’s the name of Jameson’s stage manager, again?”

“Darla,” Schneep said. “I think.”

“That’s what I thought. Last name?”

“I-I do not know.”

Anti bit his lip. “Me neither. But look at this.” The headline read, Car Accident Leaves Woman Injured. The article listed the woman’s name as Darla Knight. He used the same command to search the phrase ‘stage manager’—and found it listed as the woman’s occupation. “Oh my god.”

Schneep inhaled sharply, his eyes going wide. “That—there are—look! Th-the statement from her, she mentions she is ‘in a daze.’”

“‘It was like my body stepped into the road on its own’,” Anti read, that feeling of dread growing in his stomach. “Oh my fucking god. Shit. Shit.”

“Th-this could be a coincidence, right?” Schneep asked hesitantly. “A coincidence that... two people we know back home... have been caught in tragedies...”

“Do you know the names of any people Jackie works with?” Anti asked.

“Ah, there is Dr. Green, I think? I cannot remember his first name right now. B-but Jackie’s hospital is Mirygale Saint General, remember?”

Anti was already searching that up. After a bit of scrolling, he found a single article—dated from three days ago. There was a theft of supplies at Mirygale Saint General Hospital. They were looking for suspects, but it was still early. Anti would bet that they’d find the culprit to be someone Jackie worked with frequently, though. “This is what Distorter meant,” Anti whispered. “We thought he’d target us. But... h-he’s making it hard for people back home...”

“A-are we sure?” Schneep asked.

“Look at the dates on these! This hospital thing was the morning after Distorter made that threat. Then the car accident was the day after, and the fire was this morning!” Anti shook his head. “Three times is too much to be a coincidence.”

Schneep sat there, staring quietly. Then he shook his head. “I-is there any news about IRIS?”

“Nothing I can see,” Anti said, quickly scrolling. He searched up IRIS, using both the Control F command and the website’s built-in searchbar. “Nothing at all.”

Schneep stood up. “We have to go home. Not to the flat. To Mirygale.”

“I... I think the others will agree,” Anti said quietly. It was still a risk, but... their friends were caring people. They wouldn’t let others suffer for their choices. He logged out of the computer, then stood up. “We need to tell them right now.”

...

A few hours later, a large group of people—mostly adults, but accompanied by two young kids—boarded the train across the country, the line heading north.

They couldn’t avoid it any longer. They had to take the risk.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals - Hunt The Sky

Hello friends! It's been a Hot Minute since I've done one of these (6 months, in fact), but finally we're back with a super cool and complex video to talk about!

(If you wanna see my other Voiceplay Visuals posts, go HERE, and if you missed my musical breakdown of Hunt The Sky, go HERE)

Hunt The Sky was released on the 13th of June, 2025 (or the 14th of June if you live in Australia or New Zealand, like myself), and was not only arranged by Layne, but also co-written by him! He and Tony Wakim (former VoicePlay member and co-owner of Pattycake Productions, together with Layne) wrote Hunt The Sky as VoicePlay's first ever original song! (Well, I'm pretty sure they have at least one original Christmas song, and they had some originals back when they were 4:2:Five, but this is their first proper original in many years, and the first to get a music video!). And who else could they invite to collab for their first proper original than J None, who's basically still an honorary member anyway? (And hopefully, one day, might join the group permanently again?)

There are some other credits in the description to acknowledge - Layne, for example, is also credited with creative direction and editing - but I shall leave the rest for within the post itself! So without further ado, Let's Get Into This!!!

Dragon Counter: 1 (Yes, I've decided to count how many dragons are seen in this video, because while not).

Shoutout to Eli for once again being the tech wizard that he is, and creating all the cool visual effects for this video! He used Unreal Engine, which is the same computer program that he used for My Mother Told Me and for Valhalla Calling, but honestly this is some of his best work yet imo. Like damn, he can do all this, and do lighting design/lighting tech, and sing????

I love that it even got the detail right of the dragon's pupil contracting/getting thinner as it opens its eye, before then dilating slightly.

(More below cut!)

Dragon Counter: three 2

What a freaking CHOICE it was to have Geoff be the very first person we see and hear in this song. Like goddamn they're pulling no punches!

Behind Geoff, we have a body of water illuminated by an Aurora Borealis, (certainly nicer than the background he had for My Mother Told Me!), and off to the right, there's a viking ship, which maybe has a fire on it, so either a viking funeral ship, or simply a ship which has caught on fire from a dragon attack.

Dragon Counter: 4

Also in regards to the dragon flying in the background behind Geoff in the previous shot, I like that the video also adds in the sound effect of the dragon flapping its wings as it comes closer to the foreground, just to make it that extra bit immersive!

Well there's definitely some fire in Cesar's shot!

In the background is a small village, and behind that I believe is a fjord? I can see some mountains and a bit of water where some ships are.

Does that coat look familiar? It should! It's now been worn by every current permanent member of VoicePlay! (Yes, I am in fact going to make a post dedicated to it at some point). Layne wore this coat (with the embroided arm cuff and the thin fluffy grey trim going down) in both My Mother Told Me and Valhalla Calling, as his appearance was pretty much identical between those two videos, but now the coat has been handed off to Cesar! (But he does also appear to be wearing an extra fur cloak thing on top of it)

Additionally, the dark grey glossy "chestplate" thing is I think something that J wore in Valhalla Calling and My Mother Told Me?

(If you want side-by-side comparisons of everyone's appearances in the three VoicePlay viking videos, see my photo collage HERE!)

Lots of water in the background here! In fact it even kinda looks like it could be the same body of water as seen in Cesar's background, but just further down the way.

Dragon Counter: 5

Dragon Counter: 6 (I like this one as it gives me Night Fury vibes (yes I'm a HTTYD fan, and an animation loyalist/purist specifically!))

And again you can hear sounds of the dragon flying through the air! (Pretty sure it's not on the main audio track, and thus I'm talking about it here instead).

Also I just realized now that these shots (dragon-Layne-dragon) are fully on beat, which is cool!

No water to be found here, but there's fire both in the foreground and in the background!

I like the blue colour of Eli's tunic(?) - immediately made me think of Astrid ngl

(Shoutout to Tony for costuming btw)

I also actually kinda like how Eli's left foot is partially obscured by a small rock, and his right foot is hidden entirely by a large one that he's standing behind! It adds a bit of extra "depth" to the scene!

Fun fact: 11 days before Patrons received Hunt The Sky, we were given a sneak peek image, but the screenshot only showed close-up images (head to torso) of J, Cesar, and Eli. No backgrounds were shown, and no shot of Geoff or Layne either. Honestly it was probably for the best - we would have lost our dang minds had we seen what Geoff looked like ahead of time 😂

Us Patrons who get to watch monthly webchats did know that there was an arm tattoo involved (Geoff told us how much of a pain it was to fully remove), and so I was excited to see what it was, and boy it didn't disappoint! It's an incredible design, but man oh man it would be such a pain if somebody were planning to make fanart based on this video! (*cough cough*)

Also this is the most facial hair we've seen Geoff have in a VoicePlay video, and the most natural facial hair he's had for any video! (i.e., that ain't fake!) It makes sense - of course a fearsome, rugged viking man wouldn't be clean-shaven! (As much as I think Geoff looks very nice in Valhalla Calling ^^;) (Geoff was quite keen to shave as soon as he could after he was done filming his parts though - the beard was apparently driving him a little crazy, lol)

Dragon Counter: 7 (and again, a bit of dragon noises here!)

You can't see any water in the background here, but you can see a boat, so I'm assuming that there is in fact water back there (and hey! no fire!). But another cool thing about his background is that in some shots, there are flashes of lightning in the top right area where the clouds are!

I just realised that J's shoes are actually just regular black boots (and very shiny ones at that), but they're just partially covered by the furry leg warmer thingies (which kinda look like the same ones that Eli also wears in this video, and in fact absolutely could be the same pair, as everyone's parts were done one-by-one, so no two people were in full costume at one time).

Also goddamn how many different fur coats/cloaks have VoicePlay worn for different videos? Excluding That Specific Coat(tm), I'm not sure if there's any fur thing that has ever been reworn by anyone!

I'm not really sure what the proper term is, but I love the design at the front of the wide "belt" thing that J's wearing. It's got dragons (or at least some sort of serpent creatures) on it, and then Nordic runes around the border of it!

In terms of appearances, the thing that's remained most consistent with the guys across the three videos (or two, in Cesar's case), is their makeup, but particularly for J and Cesar. As usual, Rick Underwood was credited with makeup design, but he wasn't actually the one applying the makeup on set this time! That credit goes to a woman by the name of Alexis Rios, according to the video description. I was surprised to not see him at all in the BTS video for this, and to see someone else doing the makeup instead, but I think I've heard that he's been employed by Universal Studios to help with the new Epic Universe theme park? So that's definitely pretty cool. And hey, Alexis did a great job! Totally nailed the assignment!

I can't really capture it in still images, but this is a cool moment that I wanna talk about regardless. On the first "no rest till we hunt the sky" There's a shot of Cesar, starting to raise his left hand, and then there's a shot of Geoff, raising his left hand from a slightly higher position, like continuing the same motion!

(56 seconds in and already at 13 pictures!)

Dragon Counter: 7 (I also quite like this shot!)

Dragon Counter: 8 (and a fire-breathing one this time!)

Oh and yes, elephant in the room: Layne has long hair extensions in this video! Somehow it has not changed Layne's appearance whatsover, at least not to my brain/eyes ����

Dragon Counter: 9

I'm no weapons expert, but it's probably not the safest or the most effective method to hold an axe so close to the blade, right? Also I've heard of dual-wielding swords, but dual-wielding axes? Is that actually a thing? It doesn't seem very practical, but I guess it looks cool, if nothing else (though there've definitely been Patrons joking about how most of guys look like they've never handled a weapon in their life 😂)

I wanted at least one shot of all five of them together in this post, and I like how in this video, the order that they're all shown in doesn't always stay the same! And usually the person who's doing the lead vocals at the current moment is put in the middle if they have all 5 of them on screen!

(And by sheer luck/coincidence, this positioning/lineup order is identical to the thumbnail for My Mother Told Me, except with Cesar instead of Jose of course)

The first time I saw this, the reaction my brain had was basically just "!!!!!!!"

I think back to my Voiceplay Visuals for Seven Nation Army, where I said that I would've loved to see Geoff swinging his sledgehammer at stuff (well I called it a bat, but y'know). This is a totally different vibe, and totally different look for Geoff, but hey, I'll certainly take it!

(Fun fact: he actually threw his axe at Layne! (Layne was holding up like a pillow I think? (or a board) to protect his face, so he was fine, and it's just a prop axe, obviously)

Oh and the sound in the video of Geoff throwing the axe is not actually a stock sound effect! Layne couldn't find a sound that suited what he was looking for, so he just... did it himself! Y'know, as you do! (He also did a couple of the sound effects in Valhalla Calling)

Imo, a world where dragons exist is a world where a B0 subharmonic is fully audible to the human ear*, and in that world, if I heard something like that come out of someone looking like this, I'd probably start running away very quickly, or at least hope to gods that I wasn't an enemy of his!

*(very low subharmonics are often very quiet sounding without any microphone usage and/or post-production editing. It's not really a skill issue or anything like that, it's just physics of sound waves and stuff, combined with our hearing limitations).

Dragon Counter: 12

Eli: "Hey Layne how many dragons do you want in this video?" Layne: "Yes."

Dragon Counter: 13

Shoutout to Layne btw - of course everyone killed it with the acting in this, and Layne's always been great at doing "crazy eyes", but I reckon he really stepped up the fearsome-ness vibe for himself in this video compared to MMTM and Valhalla Calling 😁

Fabulous cloak toss!

(Cesar was also brilliant with the character acting in this - 10/10 no notes 👌)

Cesar doesn't just have red on his forehead btw; it's also partially on his ears! (And apparently it took quite some time and effort to fully be removed!) (It's kinda funny because red is also Cesar's "Grundel" colour!)

(Oh and I like the use of "shaky cam" during parts of this video for extra impact!)

Final Dragon Count: 14

A great ending shot honestly

And that's Hunt The Sky! Y'know this year I've been thinking about how I've just been waiting for a 2025 VoicePlay cover to really come and fully blow me away and knock me off my feet, and well, I got one! I found it! Boy did they ever deliver!

Honestly this is gonna be hard to beat in terms of my favourite VoicePlay cover for 2025. Like unless they do another Disney song cover this year (*cough* Gaston *cough*), this might easily remain in my top spot for the rest of the year. And hey, I'll let you in on a little secret: this is not the last VoicePlay original planned! We might not get another till like 2026 maybe. idk, but we will definitely get at least one or two more at some point!

Anyway, here's hoping I get to do at least one more Voiceplay Visuals post before the year is out, because these take A While to make, sure, but they're also really fun to do! So until next time! 👋