#ahhh this is fantastic

[prettybbychim]

sunday and gallagher are giving neuvillette and wriothesley if u sucked 90% of the goodness out of them, stuck em in a blender of terrible things and they come out twisted and only vaguely reminiscent of what they once were

[doomrichards]

I commissioned Rachael Stott for Reed Richards kissing long-haired Victor von Doom at C2E2 2024!

Rachael was telling me how when she drew the original long-haired Doctor Doom her gf asked who that was and he looks handsome and now she was also at the con to see this Doom kissing Reed drawn lol!!

I’m glad I got Rachael & Rachael’s gf approval!! ☺️

I hope I remembered the gist of the story haha!!

[thinkanamelater]

[Game Changer - Beat the Buzzer spoilers (sorta)]

Ohh my god I loved Becca going on little adventures around the studio. And everytime Rekha was like WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN

[shaydh]

when you are making a thing and you want to talk about it but you can’t yet 🥲

[hopkei]

ViVi National Treasures~

[guzekna]

[banqanas]

[Eng sub] Yusei Disappearance Incident!

From: Mezamashi TV 20240226 and Fantastics 5th Anniversary Fan Event 20231205

*Archive for both source has ended

[vagueconfusion]

II during Euclid

From the second Chicago ritual

[catmandewz]

friendly reminder that ranpo and poe are in love and kiss sometimes

[queenofbaws]

Hey Queenie! Hope you're having a good weekend :) You *know* I can't resist the chance to ask for some LauraMax writing from you, so... ^^; For the injury prompts: 21 + LauraMax, please? 🥺👉👈

"Please be okay. Please be okay, please be okay..."

The words had stopped making sense an hour ago, if he had to guess. They'd been chopped up and turned to gibberish by virtue of his own tired tongue, but in his head it pattered on and on like the raindrops drumming the dock around him.

"Please be okay, please be okay, pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease be okay..."

The lake wasn't that big. Or at least it hadn't seemed that way when they'd crashed into it earlier in the day, sinking Officer Whatshisfuck's cruiser into what they'd hoped was the deepest part. To get from the island to the shore, you probably had to swim - what - five minutes? Ten? And taking a boat would cut that in half easy, but...but it felt like a lifetime since he'd seen those very first ripples lapping up against the dock.

If that was Laura coming for him (and he knew in his heart that it was, knew in that sappy, gooey way people always seemed to know things when they were in love), she was taking a long time to get there. A long, long time.

There was a smell in the air too, one he kept trying to ignore but couldn't; heavy and ominous, sunken low beneath the green, green scent of forest rain, there was blood. There was death. And not just a little bit.

"Please, please, please..."

He couldn't stop thinking of the footage he'd been forced to watch, the way his hand had lashed out, the way Laura had rocked back, hands clapped to her face and mouth open wide in a scream there hadn't been any microphones to pick up. There'd been enough of her under his nails the next day to prove it had happened, but it wasn't until she'd let him out of his cell that he'd believed it - she'd smiled through the bandages, but all he'd seen was the dark, discolored smudge where her eye had been gouged.

Something similar had happened when he'd woken up in the treehouse: There was a taste in his mouth, not just on his tongue but under it, between each and every one of his teeth. He knew what it was, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. Not head-on. Not yet. Maybe that made him a coward; maybe it made him an optimist.

The boat drew nearer, now a dark little blob against the water. The sky above had gone purple-grey with the first promise of dawn. She was still too far for him to make out.

"Please."

He could've bitten anyone. He could've. But that soft spot in his heart told him it'd been her. It made too much sense, it lined up with his track record: He'd crashed the car, after all, and he'd crumpled in the basement, and he'd taken her eye, and he'd let her down in a million other tiny ways. Why not in this way?

The smell of blood kept getting thicker. The reek of death got worse and worse. It felt like proof the curse hadn't been broken, that he was just dreaming this...but the way he'd gnawed through his lip, his nails, the cuticles of his fingers until they ached and tiny droplets of blood started welling, all seemed to suggest otherwise.

Somehow, he was human despite the moon still hanging over the horizon.

Somehow, the curse had been brought to a close.

Somehow, they'd escaped.

Somehow, Laura was coming for him.

Somehow, she was okay. He hoped. And hoped.

And hoped.

"Pleasepleaseplease..."

The boat came to rest against the dock.

[mexashepot]

"Jews control the media"

Ok why is there not even one musical about ANY of the fascinating events that took place during the era of the 2nd temple then, huh?

[huffle-dork]

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 15: The Bad End

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| You've reached a Bad End (Also on AO3!)

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Jackie lands by himself. Unlike the isolation of the last location, this time he is in an urban area. It's twilight, with bright light coming from windows and street lamps. He's arrived in a small green location, a closed-in park, if it can be called that when Jackie can see all of the corners from where he's standing in the center. And though he's landed without any of his companions, he is not alone. 

"Whoa!" a voice says in surprise. A couple is standing around, under the only big tree in this park-like area. One is a man with brown hair, wearing a jacket and fingerless gloves, and the other is a woman with dyed-blonde hair, wearing an oversized green hoodie. They're both staring at Jackie. 

"So," the woman says, identifying herself as the shouter. "They were right, after all." 

The man nods. "I mean... of course. They're usually right, even if, uh, this hasn't happened before."

Jackie shakes himself out and then jumps as he hears the shout. He holds his hands up and then blinks at the couple. "uh.... who was... right about what? ...Something about me I'm guessing?" He laughs nervously, messing with his hair.

"Yeah." The man laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Our... friend, Sam. They told us you'd be here. I mean, not you specifically, They actually said that it might be one of four people and one of them might be dangerous, but uh... yeah. We know you're from another universe." 

"I'm Stacy," the woman says. "This is Chase."

Jackie blinks more, "Oh... okay well... that makes this a whole lot easier then. That's... a relief." He does looks pretty surprised to see Chase and Stacy but- he really should be getting used to this by now, huh? He points to himself with his thumb, putting his other hand in his jacket. "I'm Jackie. Nice to meet ya both."

Chase laughs again. "Yeah, I can see it. You look like how our Jackie looked." 

Stacy glances around. "We shouldn't stay in one place too long," she mutters. "If there's supposed to be four of you, we need to find the other three. I hope Sam was right about where they'd be. I hope that our teams can find them." 

"Jack can check on them," Chase says, looking to the side like he's looking at something invisible. "Right? Okay, yeah. No, go on, the sooner the better." 

One of the nearby street lamps flickers, a few sparks flying off from the bulb. "Sorry, you're probably really confused," Stacy says to Jackie. "But we can talk while we walk."

"Uh... yeah- massively but, that'd be grand." Jackie says, looking around anxiously. "...I also don't like how you said... 'looked'. But.. I feel like that'll get explained? Hopefully?"

Chase sighs as they start to walk. "Yeah... um. So. I don't know how things work in your universe, Sam didn't explain that, but here we have, uh... someone. We can't say his name, that draws his attention, but he's like--like a living glitch." 

"That doesn't really explain much," Stacy points out. 

"Look, it's hard to explain. Basically, this guy started out by haunting me and my friends, a-and then, somehow, he learned how to mind control people. We call it corruption. Our Jackie got corrupted, a-and then the rest of us did. And then he started moving on to corrupting other people, too." 

"There's a small group of us who know about this," Stacy adds. "We're stuck in hiding, trying to figure out a way to fix this. Recently, though, we did make a breakthrough. We might be able to uncorrupt people, a-and Sam says that if we uncorrupt the rest of Chase's friends, we can go after him directly."

Jackie listens with wide eyes, "...oh... woah. That's... that's like super intense right off the bat." He pushes his hair back and takes a shaky breath. "Okay so... wait-" He looks at Chase, "did you get... corrupted too? you said- the rest of us did. I'm assuming you mean like... me, you, henrik, jj and ...marvin?"

Chase hesitates, then nods. "Y-yeah. I did. I just got freed recently, actually." 

"The first time something like that happened," Stacy adds. 

"A-and you're right, it was the five of us," Chase says. "Our friend Jack was put in a coma... though, uh, apparently he... broke free of it? I-it's hard to explain." 

"Basically his mind is wandering around as a ghost," Stacy explains. "With similar powers to him." 

"A-and sorry for all the intensity," Chase adds. "I just... don't know what he would do if the corrupted found you and your friends. So we have to go fast. Wh-where do you guys usually appear? Sam told us possible locations, but They weren't sure."

“Well… I guess now we know it’s possible…” Jackie mumbles, nervously playing with his hoodie strings. “Um… I dunno- usually near… others like us. Which if like- the rest of them are corrupted… that’s really not good-“

Stacy inhales sharply. "Yeah. No. Not good." 

"Most of them don't even leave the Place all that often," Chase mutters. "Oh. Uh, that's like... a pocket dimension. Where the corrupted have their main base." 

"We'll get you back to our hideout first," Stacy says. 

“O-Okay…” Jackie replies quietly, looking pale. God… could these corrupted guys be more powerful then bro and Alt? And maybe even Mag? That’s… terrifying to think about honestly. He sticks close to Stacy and Chase, eyeing the shadows like anything could pop out at them- holding Alt’s pocket knife he still forgot to give back. 

The group walks up to an alleyway, walking into it. There's a door tucked away here, one that looks like it hasn't been opened in years. Stacy opens it up, revealing a staircase going downwards.

Jackie blinks at the entrance, looking around. “Woah- okay… gonna ignore how that’s very creepy.” He follows them down. 

"You get used to it," Stacy says. 

There's a camping lantern hanging on the wall just where it starts to get dark. She grabs it, turning it on. The staircase ends, and a rough stone tunnel leads ahead into the darkness. 

"There are tons of caves under the city," Chase explains. "Entrances all over for, like, spelunkers and urban explorers and shit. But not all the caves are mapped, so that's where the group hides out." 

Jackie whistles, impressed. “Damn- hope nobody has claustrophobia.” He mutters.

"They open up eventually," Chase says. "But yeah. Marvin would hate it here."

“…Alt might too. He’s been kinda… weird about tight spaces lately. But… if it’s the only safe space I’m sure he’ll understand.” He shakes his head, “Alt’s one of my friends by the way. The other is Chase- like you. But he also goes by Bro Fantastic- he’s a superhero. So… hopefully he’ll be okay…”

Chase laughs. "A superhero? Bro, I'd love to be a superhero. The Jackie here was actually doing some vigilante work before--he didn't have any powers but it's the closest thing to a superhero we had. His day job wasn't that exciting, though, just food delivery. Then Hen was a doctor, a surgeon, Marvin did stage shows, JJ... is a bit complicated, he did some work from home, and Jack made videos on YouTube, let's plays." 

"This guy made YouTube stuff too," Stacy says, nudging Chase. "Throwing stuff around the house." 

"Trickshots! They were... averagely popular."

“Hey! I’m a YouTuber too! I do parkour- recreating stuff from comics and movies.” Jackie says with a grin. “Man… always so weird to see so many places have stuff similar but… we’re the odd ones out. It’s always hard to imagine my lads the way yours are.” He laughs. “Alt’s a magician- in like the learning magic sense. He also does shows though- illusion shows with like neat lights and stuff. Our Jays is a doctor- a therapist. And Henny, he’s the actor- a damn good one too despite being deaf.”

"Whoa, really? Alt sounds cool," Chase says, grinning. "Marvin does magic too--real magic." 

Jackie grins. “Alt is cool. He can be… kinda rough around the edges but he’s a good kid, deep down.” 

"Can't picture Henrik being deaf," Stacy comments. 

"Yeah, that's a bit weird. So I'm guessing you know BSL then? All of us do, too, since JJ can't talk. That could come in handy."

“Yeah we know it. I sprung to learn it once Henrik came along. I knew some from knowing J is college though. Sometimes he goes non-verbal. …more so recently.” Jackie mutters.

Chase sighs. "Yeah. Marvin did the same thing, sometimes. And since the... well, he doesn't talk much now." He shakes his head. "Anyway. Hopefully that'll be in the past soon." 

"Hopefully," Stacy adds. "Oh, careful here, the floor gets a bit steep as it slopes."

“Mmmm…” Jackie hums in worry. “…the other person we’re with… Mag. Or Magnificent… he used to be our Marvin. Or… my Marvin… at least. He got… corrupted in a way. His own fault though… I dunno how he’s gonna hold up against these corrupted guys but… figured you know now.” He nods to Stacy and carefully makes his way down the cave slope.

"Hmm." Chase hums. "Well... when you're corrupted, you don't feel pain, and and you don't get exhausted. You're stronger and faster since you can push your body to the limits. And you get... weird powers." He scratches the back of his hand through the fingerless glove he's wearing. "They're really varied, and a corrupted will only have one or two, but they'll be very good at the powers they have. What about your Magnificent?"

“Mag still kinda feels pain but it’s definitely reduced. And he still gets tired - thank god. Don’t think he needs to eat anymore though? I think he like- lives off magic. So he can steal that from people.” Jackie says, “He also has like- mind magic. Can hypnotize you and shit and… make you a puppet or pet. He has other magic too but he… goes for that first. Trying to break your mind.”

"Well that's the same at least," Chase mutters in response to that last part. "Wonder if he'll be able to affect the corrupted ones or if the corruption, uh, supersizes that." 

"Supersedes," Stacy corrects. "It means to take the place of something." 

"Really? Oh, uh, I guess the new magic would be the superseder, then."

"Hm... I'm not sure... But I bet Mag would probably try to find out," Jackie grumbles. "He's very proud of his magic. Overconfient, usually. He's a prick."

Chase laughs. "Well... guess we might find out eventually." 

They continue down into the depths of the tunnels. 

----------- 

Bro and Alt land right next to each other, falling hard onto a cement sidewalk. This is a run-down part of a city, with closed shops and some trash bags piled up against the walls. Everything looks closed and empty.

Alt groans and glitches to sit up, rubbing at his face. He blinks when he sees the bright orange of his brother's jacket and glitches over to help him up. "Chase!" 

Bro laughs, letting Alt help. "Hey! We ended up together this time!" 

Alt smiles and chuckles quietly, "Yeah... a bit of relief, huh?" He looks around as he helps him and Bro up. "...this place is... creepy as fuck." 

"Yeah no agreed." Bro mumbles.

The creepy atmosphere is not helped by the shadow of someone moving inside one of the closed-looking shops.

Alt and Bro jump slightly as the shadow moves. "...should we like... go say hi?" Bro asks quietly. 

"What? No!" Alt hisses. 

“What if its one of us? We land near them more often then not!" 

"I think i'd rather not knock on the door of a run down shop in the middle of abandoned nowhere!" Alt emphasizes. He grabs Bro's arm, "C-C'mon Chase- let's just... go! Get out of this place at least..."

Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound comes from the TRVLR. 

Alt's stomach drops. He let's go of Chase and slowly pulls the TRVLR out, checking the message. 

"Alt? What's wrong?" Bro asks quietly, looking over his shoulder.

The screen displays a message in white letters on black. 

WARNING 

Current Location: 50.91125, -0.31761 in universe UA-0503019BE is currently undergoing unusual space-time phenomena. 

Caution is advised. Please jump at the first sign of danger. 

Alt calms down a bit, it's not the same message he got in that horror world. But still... not a good sign. 

"What does that mean?" Bro asks. 

Alt shakes his head, "Not entirely sure but... means we need to be careful." 

And then the door of the closed shop opens, and out steps a man in an old red hoodie and blue boots. He has unkempt brown hair, and his eyes are hidden by black sunglasses. Strange. It's too dark to need them. 

"Anti?" the man says. "You found him? You didn't tell me you were going out. Wait, you didn't take Voice? Why, is something wrong with him?"

The brothers jumps again as the door opens. Alt glitches in place and swallows slowly. He tries to speak but he finds his throat closing up. 

Bro takes up his silence, squinting at the man. "The fuck are you talking about? Who is Voice? Also- this guy may look like whoever you know as Anti but he's not- his name is Alt. Only I can call him Anti- thank you very much."

The man takes a step backwards. He stares at Alt, confused. "You're... not him. I mean... that would explain why you look like that. I was so confused about who Anti would have been..." He looks back and forth between Bro and Alt. "If you don't know about Voice, then you're not with us. But... he's glitching. Why?"

Alt shakes his head, "...w-we're from another universe... Where I... I'm Anti and he's Chase but we're... different." 

"Yeah so- who are you? ... I mean probably Jackie cuz of the red hoodie. Isn't that weird? Always a guy that looks kinda like the rest of us but put him in a red hoodie and woah- it's Jackie." Bro laughs, more at ease then Alt is.

 Alt is staring at the man, his paranoia at an all time high.

The man stiffens at the mention of 'Jackie.' "Don't fucking call me that," he snaps. "That's not my name anymore. What the hell are you talking about, from another universe?" He shakes his head, then reaches into his pocket and takes out a phone. He texts something, fingers moving quickly.

Bro's face falls, "...w-what? ...i-if you're not Jackie then... w-who are you?" 

"Well, I was Jackie," the man says. "But I changed my name after Anti helped me--" 

Alt's eyes narrow and start to spark slightly. "It means what it means. We're not from here. We're from a parallel world." He notices the phone and then flicks his wrist to try to blast the phone out of his wrist with some electricity.

Alt's lightning hits the man's hand, causing it to spasm and the phone to fall out. 

"Alt! What are you doing?!" Bro gasps. 

"None of this is adding up, Chase- and if he knows an Anti... I don't trust it." Alt growls. 

The man looks down at the phone. Then back up at Alt and Bro. "Oh. Okay." Static tinges his voice. "I see how it is. Well, I got my answer, anyway." He takes off the sunglasses, revealing pitch black eyes underneath. And then he lunges at the two of them with surprising speed.

The brothers both shudder as they see the man's black eyes and static voice. Alt tries to flicker up a shield to protect them- but the man easily barrels through it.

He pushes Bro to the side and grabs Alt, knocking him to the ground. Bro shouts as he's thrown. 

Squares of blue and red static form around the man. Alt watches as one cuts into his skin like it's a physical thing, and yet the man doesn't even flinch. "Come with me, please," the man says, grinning, and starts dragging Alt down the street.

Alt screeches and tries to fight his way out of the man's grip- and tries to glitch away. Bro quickly pushes himself up and tries to help get Alt away.

Alt manages to glitch out and falls into Bro's arms and both of them go flying back. 

Alt is breathing heavily, hurriedly getting to his feet and sparking magic in his hands. "N-No! Don't touch me!" He shouts at the man.

The man blinks, looking surprised at Alt's glitching. Then he laughs. "Nice trick!" He pulls something out of his pocket and rushes them again.

Alt falters and tries to shoot lightning at him but misses wildly. 

Bro is pushing himself up, "H-He has to be... posessed or something right?? Jackie! S-Snap out of it!"

"I'm--not--Jackie!" the man shouts, grabbing Alt once more and pressing the item from his pocket to his throat. A knife. "Jackie was weak. Jackie couldn't do anything. But I'm so much better now. Now that Anti has helped me, now that Anti has given me power." 

The man bares his teeth in a maniacal grin. "My name is Error, and if you try anything, I'll kill this one."

Alt freezes instantly, his blood roaring his ears as he starts to quietly panic. 

Bro tries to reach out but freezes too as he threatens Alt. "P-Please... d-don't do this! Just... let him go please-!" He begs.

"No. Anti wants to see him." Error starts dragging Alt backwards. "But I'm sure he'd understand if something happened in the struggle." 

Bro cries out, "No! Y-You can't" He's having vivid flashbacks of Alt getting kidnapped all those years ago. Why can't he get himself to move??

Behind Bro, Alt sees something. One of the street lamp flickers, and a bit of white static shoots down to the ground, becoming an outline of a human, complete with clothes and hair. The static figure sees this happening and freezes, seemingly in fear.

Alt wants to struggle but the knife has him completely stiff. He sees the figure behind Bro and tries to shout out, "H-Help! Please!' 

The figure pauses, thinking quickly. And then it runs forward, passing right through Bro--who sees nothing whatsoever--and reaching out for Error and Alt. 

Alt feels static rush along him, kind of like--like those times when he fused with other Antis. But this time a fusion does not happen. Instead the static figure disappears and Error's eyes are suddenly filled with white static. He drops the knife and backs away from Alt. The red and blue glitches around him surge, more appearing, tearing the fabric of his hoodie and the skin beneath. 

Alt stiffens as the feeling of static rushes through him. As soon as the knife drops Alt glitches over to Bro who grabs him and holds him close- Alt is shaking like a leaf and Bro doesn't look much better. 

"You h-have to run," Error's voice says--though the inflections sound nothing like him. "I c-can't keep c-control for long."

Alt stares at the white eyed Error and stutters out to speak. "W-Who are you?"

“My name’s Jack,” the person says. Error’s eyes flicker, turning pure black again for a moment. “Go! Get underground!” 

Error’s body collapses.

Bro and Alt’s eyes widen. Then, Bro grabs Alt and half slings him over his shoulder, running away as fast as he can away from Error’s body. 

“G-Get underground?! How do we get underground??” Bro asks through pants. 

“I-I dunno…!” Alt breathes, too panicked to really protest Bro grabbing him.

Behind them, Error gets to his feet again. "Get back here!" he shouts, running after them. Holy shit, this guy is fast! He's already right on their heels! 

"Chaassee!" Alt calls in panic, tugging on him. 

Bro looks behind them and then curses, trying to pick up speed. "F-Fucking shit!" 

The street lamps over head flicker and Alt sees the static figure again. It--Jack?--gestures to the left at an upcoming intersection.

Alt sees Jack and once they get to the intersection, Alt tugs on Bro and whispers, "Left!" Bro looks at him confused but doesn't question it and he makes a hard left turn.

This street is just as empty as the other one, though there are now cars parked that indicate people are nearby. Error isn't phased by the possibility of being seen. He skids a bit while turning, losing a bit of speed, but quickly makes up for it. 

Jack appears and gestures for the two of them to head down an alleyway.

Alt looks around and once he spies Jack he tugs and points where he does, "In there!" 

"Bro I have no idea how you know this but I trust you!" Bro mutters as he stumbles and hurries down the alleyway.

The alleyway ends in a wall, with a flimsy wooden door. Jack rushes towards it and gestures for the guys to go through it.

Bro slows down and huffs in panic, seeing the wall. "No! What??" 

Alt sees the door and glitches out of Bro's arms and pushes Bro towards the door. "G-Get inside there! I'll hold him back!" He faces the rest of the alleyway and makes a glitching shield to try to cut Error off. 

Bro hesitates then nods and opens up the door to try to get inside-

Beyond is a staircase leading down. At the very bottom is a faint light, provided by a camping lantern. 

Bro pants and heaves after all that running and glances back at Alt before quickly heading down- he's sure Alt will glitch down to meet him in a second!

The staircase ends in a room with white plaster walls, wired and lightbulbs along the ceiling, and a rough stone floor underfoot. Three tunnel entrances branch off, turning into rough caves. One is blocked off by warning tape. 

Error runs past the alleyway entrance at first, but then reappears once he notices the shield. "Oooo, pretty," Error says--and somehow it doesn't sound as mocking as that phrase usually would when coming from a villain's mouth. Then he shakes his head, as if regaining his concentration, and straight-up rushes the shield. 

Alt isn't expecting Error to rush the shield and it mildly shocks Error as he hits it. But then it very quickly shatters in an explosive manner. Alt flies back and hits the wall and quickly tries to glitch back to his feet, stumbling over himself as spots dance in his eyes. He notices the door and rushes to shut it- not wanting Error to get in.

Error seems unbothered by the shocks and leaps at Alt, tackling him and pinning him to the wall. "Hi," he grins. "Are you going to come with me by yourself, or do I need to knock you out or something?"

Alt gets tackled and cries out, looking at Error with a bit of fear. 

Bro hears the door slam behind him and hurries to try to get to the door, "A-Alt?!" 

Alt hears Chase and finds himself more scared of Error finding him- and maybe even Jackie. He glares at Error and then whispers quietly, "...I'll- I'll come with you. Just... just leave my brother alone." 

Bro's eyes widen and he tries to open the door but they're both up against it. He hits the door and yells out, "NO! Don't you fucking dare! Anti!" He screams at the end, making Alt wince and then shut his eyes.

"Hmm." Error blinks. "I guess he would be more interested in talking to you..." He pauses. "Alright." And he smiles. "In that case, let's go." He pulls Alt away from the wooden door and opens it up again-- But instead of the staircase from before, it opens up into a strange place. A place with a floor made of corrugated metal and black, featureless walls that stretch up into a high ceiling. Red light fills the space. On the other side of the door, Bro feels as though it's still blocked. 

"After you," Error prompts.

Bro desperately tries to burst down the door, tears in his eyes. "Anti!! ANTI!!" 

Alt staggers a bit as he's pulled away and looks at the new doorway with its red light with increasing dread. He closes his eyes and swallows shakily, telling himself he's doing the right thing. Bro would be able to find the others... and he can find out more about the threats and hopefully warn him. Then, he sets his face in determination and walks inside.

Error follows him, closing the door behind him. The moment it's shut it flies open again beneath the strength of Bro's fists, back to normal.

Bro falls a bit as the door is burst open and hurries back out into the alleyway, desperately looking around. "A-Alt?! Anti! W-Where are you?! Y-You- you better not have-!" 

When he's met with silence, tears fall down his face as he looks around hopelessly. "...A..Anti?"

Silence. Stark, deafening silence. 

After another beat, Bro hangs his head and lets out a roar of anger and frustration, punching the nearest wall and then falling against it, breaking down. "No...! No no no! FUCK!" His sobs quickly take over the silence, echoing around the alley as it comes crashing down on him. He was supposed to protect him! Why did he leave him?! He should have been there! He was right there and-! 

Moments pass. Bro is alone in the alley. Until, finally, there's sound. Footsteps. Coming from... behind him? Echoing up the stairway that he just came from.

Bro almost doesn't hear it- but he finally starts to bring himself back out and pull himself together when he hears it. He gasps and backs up, holding his fists out in front of him and getting into shaking fighting stance, his eyes glowing blue. 

Five people walk up the staircase, a whole group. They stop short upon seeing Bro with his eyes glowing blue. Three women, two men. They... look terrible. Like they'd been wearing the same clothes for a couple days. They also all have weapons. Knives on sheathes around their waists, mostly, but one of the women--one with short dark hair--has a freaking shotgun on her back. Pretty much all of them go for their weapons soon, but the one with the shotgun holds up a hand calmly. 

"This... may sound strange," she says in an accented voice. "But are you from another universe?"

Bro's eyes widen and he slowly lowers his fists, taking in the look of all of them. They can see the tear streaks on his face and his red-rimmed eyes. "Um... y-yes... Yes I am... how... how did you know?"

"We were told people from another world would be coming here," the woman says slowly. "Strange, but the source is reliable. We... came here to find you all before something... bad happened..." She trails off. 

"Are you okay?" another shorter woman asks. 

"You can't just ask that, Rya," a redheaded man says. 

"Yeah I can, Kiernan." 

Bro blinks in a bit of confusion and then deflates, wiping at his face. He looks away. "...I was h-here with my brother but... this guy- he... he said he was called Error he... he took him. He took him and I couldn't stop them even though I was right there-!" His voice gets choked up at the end and he quickly shuts his mouth and shakes his head.

Every single one of the group immediately softens. 

"Hey," a woman with long blonde hair says. "We know how you feel. They've taken a lot of people. I lost my brother, too." 

"Error is the worst of them," a man with long black hair says. "It's okay. You did everything you could, I'm sure." 

"We... we might be able to help," the woman with the accent says. "We know about them. There is this group of people... they are being controlled. And they keep taking people to control more. Maybe--maybe with our knowledge, we could get him back before anything terrible happens."

Bro's stomach drops heavily as they mention the group is being taken to be controlled. He looks immediately pale. "... fucking Alt...! What did you do?" He whispers to himself. He looks back to the group and nods, "...Yeah... p-please I... I could use your help. I don't want my brother to suffer there..."

The woman nods. "We can hurry back to the place we're hiding. Maybe more of the others from your world are there. Once there, we talk about how to get him back, yes? Time is not consistent between our world and that Place. I'm sure we have enough time to plan."

Bro nods again, "O-Okay... I'll follow your lead."

"Okay. I am Trisha, this is Rya, Jennifer, Kiernan, and Oliver." 

Bro quickly follows after them. "Um... I'm Chase. ...good to meet you all."

Trisha turns and heads back down the stairs. 

"Down here. The leader of this group, the one controlling them, can see through cameras all over the city. We need to be somewhere away from technology." 

Bro’s eyes narrow as he hears about the leader. He grits his teeth and snarls. "... Anti. That's what he's called, isn't he? Fucking... taking my brother's name and tainting it...!"

"Don't say his name!" Rya hurriedly says. 

Trisha looks back at him apologetically. "He can hear when people say his name. We do not want to draw his attention. But... you are correct." 

Bro's eyes widen and he curses, "Motherfucker-! I just... said his name like a bunch of times!" 

"Chase, huh?" Oliver says. "Like Stacy's ex." 

Bro sighs and nods, "Um... I'm actually dating a girl named Stacy back home but... I bet you're thinking of Chase Brody, huh? ...that's me. Parallel universes and shit..."

"Parallel worlds," Kiernan mutters. "So fucking weird." 

The group reaches the bottom of the staircase and heads straight for the tunnel with the warning tape.

Trisha brushes aside the warning tape. "Rya, you take the lead with the lantern." Rya nods and walks past her. "So... do you have a group of friends? Henrik, Jameson, Jackie, Marvin, and Jack?"

Bro nods, "Yeah... Jackie is here somewhere... and technically Marvin but... he's not our friend. He's a mad magician always using me and my friends for power and shit but... um... Henrik and JJ are back home. And Jack too I guess... I dunno, he's more friends with my brother than me."

"Stacy did say that Sam said one of the visitors would be dangerous," Trisha mutters as the group continues down the tunnel. "Well... in that case, we should tell you. In this world, all but the version of you are being controlled by him."

Bro stops in his tracks, his eyes wide. "...R-Really? ... Everyone?" He pales and then tries to keep going. "...how? How did that happen?"

Trisha shakes her head. "I do not know. Chase does not talk about it much, and Henrik thought it safer to not contact me during the time. Well, he decided to come for me anyway, but it was probably smart at the time. But we do know that Jackie--Error--was the first one."

"that's... that's awful.." Bro breathes, shaking his head. "Jackie's always so... bright and optimistic... it's hard to think he's..." He shuts his mouth and curls his hands into fists.

Trisha nods slowly. "I know..." she says quietly. "A lot of us know." She takes a deep breath. "It's some walk there. I hope you are as athletic as you look. Hopefully your other friend is already in our hideout." 

Bro chuckles humorously, "Yeah... I can keep up." He looks out at the long expanse and sighs, "Let's hope..." 

----------- 

Magnificent appears, falling a short distance and landing in some sort of big box. Nope. Not a box. It's a dumpster. There are a few bags of trash in there, but thankfully, nothing loose. The dumpster is out back behind a building, probably a retail business of some kind but it's hard to tell from the back.

Magnificent yelps as he falls but as soon as he realizes where he is he yells in disgust and teleports out. He shakes himself off and dusts off his clothes, shuddering like a cat with wet fur. "F-Fucking Disgusting!"

Soon after he teleports out, he hears something. A scream. It sounds like it comes from nearby.

Magnificent jumps at the sound and then makes a face, almost like he's disgusted. He decides to start walking the opposite way. "Not dealing with that shit-" He mutters, trying to magic the rest of his outfit clean.

As he walks along this small back street between the backs of buildings... he realizes something. He's not alone. There is someone following him. He can hear their footsteps. 

Magnificent stiffens slightly as he hears the footsteps- letting them follow for a bit before he suddenly whips around and holds out a magic filled hand at them, his eyes glowing. He fires a shot of magic their way. 

The person sidesteps the blast, watching it go past them and hit the dumpster. Then he turns back to look at Magnificent. It's a man, his coloring completely monochrome, wearing a fancy button-up and vest. His eyes are completely white, almost seeming to glow in the dimness. One hand loosely holds a knife that steadily drips blood to the ground. Around his wrists are red strings. 

"Well... that's unusual," he says in a rasping voice.

Magnificent narrows his eyes, building up more magic in his hands as he chuckles. “You’re unusual yourself~.”

"I'm unique. I'm not sure you are. You look very familiar." There's a slight buzzing noise. The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, reading something and then typing quickly one-handedly.

“…quite rude to text when speaking to a stranger, don’t you think?” Magnificent asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Seems this is urgent." The man frowns. He puts the phone away. "You're from another world, then. Aren't you? Aren't you... Marvin?"

Magnificent’s eyes flash with rage as his magic burns brighter and taller in his hands. “Don’t call me that. I’m called Magnificent. Nothing else.” Then he chuckles and tilts his head. “Curious… you lot don’t often know we’re from different worlds right away.” 

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Of course you are." The man laughs. "Just as arrogant as you are here. Or... were, I guess. As for how I know... someone I trust just told me there are people from another world here. One like me, one like someone else we know. But I don't know if I believed it until you said it just now."

Magnificent narrows his eyes again. “…and just who are you supposed to be, exactly?”

"Anti." The man says, grinning. "This isn't what I normally look like. But he's needed for things like this. I don't think that's important, though. What are you planning on doing while here, 'Magnificent'?"

Magnificent’s eyes widen slightly. He snorts, “Yeah you’re … not what I was expecting.” He hums in thought and then shrugs. “Depends- I could use some magic so a source of that could be nice. Never opposed to new puppets to find either. Guess it depends on what this world has to offer me.” He looks back to Anti curiously. “…or the people in it.”

"Heh. If you're looking for magic, you're out of luck. There are only two magicians in this city, and one of them is mine. I'm sure there's more outside the limits... but I'm afraid you're stuck here." Anti flips the knife, causing a fan of blood. "Ever since I corrupted this one, there's been no way out of the city. We're all caught in a bubble, repeating six or so months over and over. And unfortunately, I don't know how to get rid of it."

Magnificent looks shocked- glancing around as if he can see the bubble they’re trapped in. “Well… that’s not ideal…” he mutters.

"You're telling me," Anti says. Somehow, despite the completely whited-out-eyes, Magnificent can tell he's rolling them. "But if you can find any more power in here, feel free to it. Unless it's from my people. You'll know them when you see them. The eyes always change, and some change more."

“Mmm… noted, I suppose.” Magnificent says with a hum. “What is your goal here, Anti? Besides getting out of this trap, I guess.”

"I like making more people," Anti says. "What did you call them?" He smiles. "Right. Puppets."

Magnificent raises an eyebrow and grins, “Intriguing! Always a pleasure to meet a fellow puppet master~” he giggles.

"I'll take your word for it. I've never met anyone else who doesn't put up a fuss when they realize what I'm doing." Anti tilts his head. "If you're looking for people to puppet, there's a group that's been giving me trouble. There's about fifty of them, and they've somehow been elluding me for a few of these loops now. Maybe you could find them. Feel free to help yourself if you do. But I ask that if you find a man called Chase Brody, you leave him to me."

“Is that so?” Magnificent chuckles. “I have a Chase Brody that’s been a pain in my side… however if you or any of your crew find him… do what you will with him. He’s a headache to control. His brother however- I think you would find every interesting~” he giggles. “He makes the perfect puppet.”

Anti laughs. "I think we've already found your Chase AND his brother, actually. That's what that message earlier was. I'm going to head back home and see if he managed to bring them back." He flips the knife again. Halfway through the motion, it disappears. "And what about you? What will you do now?"

Magnificent looks intrigued and he laughs, “You know what? I’m quite interested to see how your puppets are made Anti- if you would allow me to see. Maybe it can give me some better ideas for my own~!”

“Really? I’ve never heard anyone say that before.” Anti grins. “I’d be delighted to show you.” He turns to the side, slipping into a gap between buildings. 

Magnificent shares his grin and follows after him. 

There’s some spray paint on the walls in random looking designs. Anti stops in front of a design that looks vaguely like an archway drawn on the brick. He jerks his head towards it, indicating for Magnificent to follow, and walks straight through the wall in that section.

Mag looks confused as Anti goes through the wall but then heads straight through- must be an illusion.

Beyond the illusory wall is a strange area. The floor is sheet metal and the walls are black and featureless, seeming to extend upwards forever, their heights covered by a red glowing fog. Two hallways of similar design branch off into opposite directions. 

Magnificent looks impressed as he enters the space and looks around. “Fascinating…” he mumbles to himself, looking around. 

The monochrome man stands in the middle of the room. As Magnificent watches, black static lifts off his skin, forming a humanoid figure to the side. The monochrome man collapses to his knees and the red strings disappear from his wrists. The black static figure shifts, gaining details, turning into a man. He looks a lot like the Anti in the previous world. Black hoodie, slit throat, green sclera on his right eye. But this figure is a bit more translucent, a bit better-kempt, and his hoodie has a diamond with the words PMA in it.

“Great, now you can actually see me,” Anti says, flashing a sharp smile.

Mag blinks as he watches the monochrome man split into Anti and he grins. “Much better. Though- the possession is a nice touch. I’m guessing you can’t physically exist outside of here?”

“Correct.” Anti makes a face; it’s clear that this fact bothers him. “The Place is special. Outside it, I can’t be seen or heard and I can’t interact with anything other than electrical devices. So I need to possess someone. I usually use Voice these days.” He gestures at the monochrome man. Voice, apparently. “Now. You wanted to see the corruption? That’s what I use to make them. I do have something else to do, but I can take a moment to show you.”

Magnificent nods and seems intrigued even more. “How interesting…” He looks at Voice and then waves his hand at Anti, “Ah- please don’t let me get in your way! Do wherever it is you need to do, I’m sure I have time.” He giggles.

Anti nods. “Alright. It will only take a moment. If you want to wander around in the meantime, the Place will always take you where you need to be. If you find hallways with cables all over, that’s where the corruption process happens.” He grabs Voice by the arm and pulls him up, taking him down the right hallway. “See you soon,” he giggles, and disappears. 

Magnificent nods with a grin. “See you soon.” He then hums and looks around the place. Well- guess he’ll see where it thinks he needs to go. He starts to wander.

[naffeclipse]

Ever since I finished reading your mer fic I've had these two stuck in my head. I realized I really wanted to draw my vision of them, so I did!

Here's my rendition of your Eclipse and Glitch. They're probably not how you'd visualize them but this is where my monster loving brain went.

I had so much fun drawing them! Thanks for blessing us with such wonderful stories <3<3<3

Oh my gosh??? Holding these monsters so close ahhh!!! Your renditions are making my brain go brrrr

I love Eclipse's design, he has this crazy cool sea dragon vibe to him, and his fins, oh gosh, his fins are so pretty!! Those colors are marvelous as well ;-;

And Glitch... he looks like an eel of terror you'd find in the pitch black of the sea. He's so eerie and sinister, and I love how his fins are designed, especially his 'ears'!

Goodness, babe, thank you so much for sharing! I love them ;-;

[dreamieparadise]

There’s a post floating around here that also predicts the arcobaleno’s heights that seems pretty accurate. Just thought of it when I say your Luce is tall comment

Oh? Can you point me to the post, please? 😊

[hopkei]

omg for junon july we are getting taikifumi and itsunatsu what is this the bestie edition????

[dutifullylazybread]

Thank you, everyone, for the lovely birthday wishes! 💕💕💕

I seriously appreciate all of you so much! 🥰