#epilogues or its not over

[slashonmydash]

[marimeeko]

After the fifth time that Katsuki pops up at UA, surprising Izuku with Bento for lunch, calling him "sensei" in a cocky(affectionate) tone, Kouta just stops at Izuku's desk on his way out of the room and asks him point blank,

"So are you and DynaMight actually dating, or what?"

Izuku sputtering and dropping all of his paperwork and avoiding the question out of sheer dumbfoundedness.

Then, the sixth time that Katsuki barges in, as he is thrusting the bento into Izukus hands as usual, Kota raises his hand, and stands up from his seat and yells out,

"DynaMight, sir!! Pardon me, but are you dating Deku-Sensei??" And the whole class gasps and whispers. Katsuki appears just as dumbfounded as he looks wide-eyed at Kouta and the students.

"Kouta!" Izuku balks, but then Katsuki suddenly grins mischievously. Izuku doesn't trust that look...

"Well, brat, maybe I SHOULD date him, then I could make sure Sensei doesn't forget to eat every day, right??" Katsuki looked entirely too pleased at the louder gasps and chatter that came from the students. He has a wicked grin as he turns his sharp red eyes back to Izuku.

"K-Kacchan, what are you doing?!" Izuku stammers, beet red and grabbing his arm. "This is not the time for--"

"If you don't want me disrupting your class, then stop leaving your Bento in the fridge!!" Katsuki scolds Izuku before swinging himself back out of the open window. There was a fresh wave of gasps and excited murmuring at the insinuationthat the two lived together. "We're ROOM MATES, OK?" He adds hastily, pointing his finger at the noisy classroom of kids.

He drops out the window and blasts off.

Izuku is left, stood at his desk, hands planted and hanging his head, trying to collect enough of himself to quell the riotous theories now flying around his classroom.

Kouta stands at his own desk amidst his unruly classmates, eyes narrowed as if he had just realized something, "I knew it!" He hisses.

"You're the worst," Izuku texts Katsuki later.

"I know" katsuki replies.

"Now eat your fuckin food or I'll stop making it for you."

--

I think I was inspired by this art post ^^;

[ominous-horse-noises]

main takeaway from certain fan reactions to the finale is this:

the final scene with ankarna was so meaningful to the bad kids' arcs and how they made peace with being wronged by people they loved, and if all you can focus on is that the rat grinders didn't get much screentime, then you don't love dimension20 and you don't love this world: you want to be playing your own hs themed dnd campaign and you're mad the oc versions of the rat grinders you made up in your head acted ooc. these are not your characters and this is not their story.

[jontaro-kun]

God I love women I wish they were real

[villainvillain]

kinda sad how davekat was like. it truly was a big deal at the time when it was confirmed by hussie. some of yall who came into homestuck after it was already over dont understand how great it felt actually to finally have a relatively healthy and affectionate m/m relationship shown in HS when all the others were typically dysfunctional, abusive, or one-sided. it was exciting!!! we were all jst kinda happy for dave and karkat yknow. even if it resulted in some pointless "which quadrant are they in?" discourse and some shipping wars but thats just par for the course in hs fandom

and then the epilogues and homestuck 2 dropped and like. ooooohhhhh my godddddd. its completely swamped in stupid melodrama and for some reason they completely ruined jades character for the sake of davekat angst and they ignored daves development in the comic for half-baked sexuality crisis plotline andlike. it feels like everyone turned on davekat and now its cringe or smth and its like. Wow . we had like . three years to feel good abt this and now its gone forever. Awesome

[aradidnt]

so um,

I hate the epilogues.

[pasta-pardner]

spotify | john marston's revenge quest, set to music from 1960s spaghetti westerns.

Fun detail: the opening cutscene for Red Dead Revolver (2004) features an instrumental version of "His Name Is King". The lyrical version is oddly fitting for John, given that it's a song about seeking vengeance for a dead brother.

[nenoname]

looking over the shots of the murder hut/the early mystery shack and noticing details like the unibear being in gift shop from the start and stan rolling out the bill carpet and later putting bill in the mystery shack sign himself

the wires/machinery/door not being changed yet but it seems like the vending machine was there since early on

[goldrushzukka]

wait actually i have a little moment that was cut from aidays11 bc i couldnt get the tone right on it, would anyone be interested in that?

[hunxi-after-hours]

Hello! I love your ORV posting. I do have an embarrassing question; can I ask how heartbreaking the ending is? I've tried reading it a large number of times, but have had trouble getting past the chapters in the 300s; I'll reread it up til that point over and over again, but can't continue. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I get so swept away by the emotions, and all the characters go through is agonizing. I know it's not real! But my heart aches all the same, in a way I've never experienced this with a novel before, and I feel like a child LOL (It's also extremely funny-frustrating because I realize how thematic this is to the story itself). I'm not worried about the characters Kim Dokja is fighting for, but given the patterns in the story and how it seems to be told, I'm too afraid to keep going. I know I could just look it up, but at the same time, I don't want to spoil all the mysteries; just if my heart can rest easy. TLDR, if it's not too spoilery, is there any light for kim dokja in the ending? or is it a tragedy through & through?

(If this is a dumb question, please feel free to ignore this)

oh boy anon, I've been sitting on this ask for a hot second because it's hard to answer! so I will attempt to talk around it in a way that will hopefully (?) avoid spoilers

as I see it, the nature of orv's ending (broadly writ) is additionally complicated by the fact that there are approximately four(ish) endings:

1) the ending at chapter 516

2 + 3) the ending(s) at chapter 551

4?) the side stories

the ending at chapter 516

this is probably what many people would characterize as BE, but I'd personally compare it to the ending of my love, my life, 《琅琊榜》 Nirvana in Fire, in that the ending may be "sad" (broad air quotes to vague-ify whatever "sad" entails) but it feels earned. it feels right. it feels like the logical conclusion of what the entire book was building up to. some may consider it a tragedy, but it's not a hollow, meaningless tragedy — it feels correct. this is the note that the novel officially ends on, but is then over(?)written by the existence of—

the ending(s) at chapter 551

Kim Dokja's Company looks at the ending of ch. 516 and says "aw hell no" and sets out to rewrite that ending. after 35 chapters of epilogue, we've unlocked an OE — an open ending, that concludes the moment before the HE/BE ambiguity will be resolved. schrodinger's ending, except you, the reader, get to choose what you believe — and I do think the epilogues are written beautifully to get you here (they implicate the reader in a wonderful and deeply empathetic way). and from what I've seen, the vast majority of the fandom chooses to take the offered HE option and run with it; everyone lives happily ever after together in a big house, a million domestic post-canon fics will attest. this is the closest, I'd say, that would come answering your question of whether Kim Dokja has light in his future with an emphatic, loving "yes"

(I also think it's worth mentioning that the epilogues add a lot to the story; they fill in narrative lacunae and tie up loose threads that aren't answered in the original 516 chapters, so I don't consider the epilogues as "separate" or "extra." the epilogues aren't a fix-it tacked onto the end of the narrative; they serve and enrich the narrative in a way that would actively reduce the luster of the story if lost)

the side story

a few years down the line, Sing-shong have returned to the text to tie up "a few more loose ends." the side story is currently being serialized, and more or less picks up from where chapter 551 left off. this necessarily chooses among your OE options as detailed above; whether the side story will end happily, or with "light for Kim Dokja," currently remains to be seen as it is still ongoing. I've fallen off the bandwagon and have been meaning to catch up, but from what I've read so far I think the side story is an interesting and worthwhile addition to the text. Sing-shong continue to innovate and develop upon the worldbuilding and narrative they have already created, and we have met a new cast of characters that have rapidly become as dear to us as the old (the old cast of characters are also here, don't worry). if I were a betting person, I would say that the side story is headed in a more-or-less HE direction; the side story is currently engaging with and complicating themes of (self-)identity and (self-)worth through the many lenses of Kim Dokja, and while it remains to be seen how it resolves, I am tentatively optimistic that it will, if nothing else, be satisfying

TL;DR the ending(s) of ORV can be variously construed as HE, BE, or OE, and the elements of tragedy woven into the narrative and characters are inherent to the text. however, no tragedy is meaningless in ORV, and all of the endings feel earned

[dathen]

Saw a post complaining about how anyone who enjoyed the Dracula epilogue “missed the point” and we should have hated because it was the “housewifeification of Mina” and that at the start of the book she was a New Woman and then got domesticated to be a good little housewife and…

…I feel with all our jokes about how ironic it was that Mina looked down on the “New Woman” given how much she fit the description, some people forgot that she is, in fact, not a New Woman and doesn’t consider herself to be. But there’s a different layer that bothers me.

We compared her to the kind of woman that would say, “I’m not a feminist, I want to get married and have a family!” to which the obvious response is: you can still do those things and it doesn’t make you not a feminist.

But then Mina gets married and has a kid and suddenly she’s “no longer a New Woman”—despite her wanting both of those things from the start! It IS pulling out the “oh wait you had a family…guess you can’t be a feminist after all” nonsense.

Everything we knew about Mina’s drive and independence from the beginning of the book didn’t go away in the epilogue. As far as we know, she is working alongside Jonathan with his law practice like they were planning to, and all the other traits that led us to make those “New Woman” jokes. The only difference is that she had a child—and that somehow ruins her as a character.

[fruitybashir]

two little snippets for the final astp chapter 🫶🏻✨️

[relaxxattack]

people will make so much content of davebot being tortured by memories of karkat as if that’s not literally canonically what rosebot is doing twenty four seven about kanaya. whilst davebot is just chilling with aradia and ‘jade’ or whatever

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 14: Curiousity Killed the Cat

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs | Read CKTC | Read The Magnificent Series | Read Glitched Mind

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

They appear in a private hospital room filled with 6 empty beds. Bro hurries to go lay Alt down on one and Alt slumps against it, breathing raggedly.

“I’ll go get Schneep- o-our Schneep-“ Jackieboy says as he rushes out the door.

Schneep walks over to Alt's side, feeling out the area with his cane on the way. "That breathing does not sound good," he mutters.

Alt’s eyelids flutter and he blearily looks up at Schneep as he comes over. He smiles dazedly. “…’m okay… m…” His smile fades as he shudders, his other self’s glitchy laughter loud in his ears. 

"He looks really tired," Jackie reports. "I'm guessing he used a lot of energy."

JJ nods. Though, I... my magic may have... made things worse.

Schneep nods slowly. "Well... at least you got that Anti out of him." He shivers. "I cannot imagine having someone like that in your mind."

"Yeah..." Jackie mutters. "I've, um... had some mental magick stuff happen to me, but possession is another thing, yknow?"

Indeed, JJ agrees.

“Honesty… I’m surprised he’s still conscious right now. I passed out for a couple hours after it happened to me, I think.” Marvin mumbles, “You all weren’t kidding about him being strong.”

Bro looks to Schneep in worry and tries to lead him to a bed or a chair. “Hen… you hurt your ankle- you gotta keep off your feet…”

“I hurt my—ah!” Schneep suddenly winces and lifts his injured foot up.

Jackie bursts into laughter—though he quickly stops as it sends pain through his abdomen wound. “Did you just—forget that you were injured?”

“I suppose my concern outweighed the pain,” Schneep says, sitting down on the nearest bed. “And the need to explore a new place.”

“Jesus you two…” Bro sighs in concern. 

We can describe it to you, Hen, JJ says.

“Your spell for sign language has really lasted a long time,” Schneep says, impressed.

I told you, it wouldn’t take much power, JJ says. Though—seems this world’s version of me is also silent. That could be difficult.

“We’ll come to that when we come to that,” Jackie says, sitting down. “For now, Schneep, we’re in a hospital room. Six beds, one door, a couple windows.”

Marvin has gone to sit criss crossed on another bed but he leans forward in interest at seeing Schneep’s and his conversation. “Wait- you have a spell for Schneep to hear your signs in his mind? T-That’s so useful!” His eyes shine eagerly, “Do you think that’s something you could teach me?”

JJ laughs. Sure! But it's not as useful as you think. It only targets one person at a time. But to that person, as I sign, they hear a voice in their heads as if I was speaking nearby.

"It is very impressive, actually," Schneep says. "It even gets quieter with distance."

“Oh that makes sense- it’d be helpful if our Jamie ever needs to speak to us from far away!” Marvin grins.

I'd love to teach you! JJ says, smiling. I hope it will work with your magic—different universes and all.

Henrik bursts in through the door, rushing in and gathering up his supplies. “You all are hurt? Verr damnit- that Anti…! Who needs the most immediate aid?”

Jackieboy, Chase and Jameson all peek their heads in the door.

Jackie laughs. "S-sorry, I just—you're really reminding me of someone right now." He quickly becomes serious again. "Um—Alt was possessed but Marvin healed up his neck but he's still all... tired and stuff, I guess. Uh, I've been stabbed. Marvin and the other me got slashed a couple times, but maybe the other me heals fast like Bro does? And our Schneep's ankle is broken."

"No, it is only twisted," Schneep corrects. "That is very different. Much less severe."

“I’m okay-“ Jackieboy grins. “Superhero privileges~”

“Hey same!” Bro grins and shows the cuts on his arms are pretty much closed. “…should probably wrap these up though… but attend to Jackie and Schneep first.”

“Oh I see-“ Henrik nods. “Other Jackie- can I see where you got stabbed?” 

"Yeah, course." Jackie pulls up his hoodie and shirt, revealing his stomach. There's a new wound on top of all the old scars, a narrow stab wound. "I don't think it hit anything important?"

"I remember not aiming for anywhere important," Schneep mutters. "In that mind controlled state, I... wanted the fight to last." He reaches out and grabs his scissors. "This is what I used, if that helps."

"Yeah, your fucking... Genocide Jack scissors," Jackie mutters.

“Ayyy Danganronpa reference!” Bro grins.

“Man- I want Jack to play Dangan one day-“ Marvin grins. “I think he’d like it!”

“I dunno bro- that dialogue can get pretty repetitive,” Chase chuckles.

“But it’s such an interesting story!”

Henrik looks at the scissors then the wound and nods. “I will stitch just to be safe… though it does not look too deep.” He grabs his supplies and starts working on the wound.

"Ayyy." Jackie grins right back at the three of them. "I only discovered it recently. My boyfriend Frederick insisted that I try it. We were gonna play the sequel soon." He's talking to distract himself from the wound treatment. Stitches, huh? Wouldn't be the first time.

What are you all talking about? JJ says, looking confused.

"Sounds like it is a game of some sort," Schneep says.

"It's a visual novel thing about kids getting trapped in a high school and being forced to play a death game," Jackie explains.

"Ahhh." Schneep nods.

I should suggest that to my friend Anti, he likes those types of stories, JJ says.

“Ah yeah, your Anti would love that game!” Bro grins. “Alt likes it a lot too. It has a great way of being funny and fucked up. Plus the pink blood is hella aesthetic.”

Speaking of Alt, he has finally closed his eyes, letting his head loll to the side- his friends are safe, he feels like he can rest now.

Henrik makes quick work of stitching up Jackie and then wraps up his wound before straightening back up. “There. Just be careful to not do too much of the stretching and it will be right as the rain.”

"Thanks, doc." Jackie smiles. "Your stitches are much neater than the ones my Schneep makes." 

“Oh thank you! That is high praise.” Henrik laughs.

Jackie then sighs. "I hope he's okay..."

“Now, uh… the other me- may I see your ankle?” Henrik asks.

Schneep pushes down his sock and holds out his ankle. "It was a short fall that caused it. I must have landed wrong—which I suppose makes sense, as I could not see the ground beneath me."

“Oh yes I… noticed the cane.” Henrik says quietly and pulls out compression bandages to start wrapping up his ankle. 

"That is what the cane is for," Schneep comments, chuckling a bit. 

Bro looks over at Jackie with concern, “Oh yeah… a-any progress on finding out where your Schneep went?” 

Jackie sighs. "He was MIA for a bit, but then Jameson and Marvin found him again and brought him back to the hotel. I don't know what happened to him in that time frame he was gone, but it wasn't good. I'm not sure if it was worse than being back with them, though."

They're that bad...? JJ asks, a concerned expression on his face.

"Yeah. But, uh, clearly they're an exception." Jackie smiles at him. "I've met a lot of good Jamesons on this journey."

Bro shudders and nods, going to hold his arms. "They're... god. Jackie's Marvin and Jameson are..." He glances at this world's Marvin and Jameson, who are both sitting on the same bed, Jameson helping wrap up Marvin's cuts. "They're... a lot. Bad people but... definitely an anomaly in universes for sure." He smiles at JJ too. 

JJ also glances at the other Marvin and Jameson. He nods slowly. Yes... everyone else has seemed very kind.

Henrik finishes with the bandages. “This will help- we will also rest it up and get some ice.”

"Thank you very much,” Schneep says. “I will make sure to rest."

Henrik smiles at Schneep- then realizes he can't see him and flushes, "Oh yes- that's uh good. Here-" He helps to lift Schneep's foot to rest then hurries over and grabs an icepack. "Please take all the time you all need to rest." He says to Schneep, then turns to the room and calls out. "Alright- anyone else needs bandages?"

"Thank you,” Schneep says again, resting the ice pack on his ankle. "Ah, I believe I sliced Marvin a little. Other than that, Bro and the other Jackie heal fast. JJ, you were not hurt, were you?"

JJ shakes his head. Very luckily. Though... there is that magic... He trails off. I'm really sorry. I don't know why... He can't finish that. He just doesn't know why.

"I believe Alt needs food, yes?" Schneep says.

"Yeah, to help him recover his energy," Jackie agrees.

“Or something he can drain some electricity from,” Bro points out.

“Uhhh let’s not drain anything from the hospital…” Henrik points out nervously.

“There’s a vending machine outside! And I know a trick~” Chase grins.

Bro hurries over and gives him some cash. “Thanks other me! That’ll be awesome.” Chase grins and goes to grab some snacks.

"Right, yeah, we're in an... actual hospital," Jackie mutters.

Schneep raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'an actual hospital'?"

"I'm used to less, uh... reputable places," Jackie says carefully.

JJ looks at him in concern. Is your universe OKAY?

"Probably as a whole, yeah." Jackie shrugs. "I'm just... not in the position to... go to public hospitals. Luckily, though, I know some magicians who can help with that sort of stuff."

“Oh yeah! ..wait why can’t you go to public hospitals?” Bro asks, blinking at Jackie.

Jackie freezes for a moment. "Uhhhhhhhh... cause I'm... a bit... wanted?"

"Like, criminally?" Schneep asks.

"Yyyyeah... people kinda... found out who I was..." Jackie squirms a little. "So, uh... if I go to a hospital... I'll get arrested."

“…oh.” Bro says in a small voice. “Well… it’s different now! …luckily you got Fredrick- he can heal last I remember.”

"Yeah." Jackie smiles softly. "He's really an angel."

I'm glad you have him, then, JJ says.

"What about you three?" Jackie asks, looking at Bro, JJ and Schneep. "I think I remember someone mentioning Alt having a boyfriend, too, but either of you have partners?"

I've always been too busy for dating, but I'm open for it if it happens, JJ says.

"I dated a woman named Greta for a time, but that was years ago now, I am not sure what happened to her since," Schneep says.

“Oh! I have a girlfriend,” Bro smiles, “Her name is Stacy. It’s still… kinda early? I dunno we’re both really busy… But I like her a lot and she makes me laugh. She’s real pretty too. Alt’s dating a guy named Oliver- used to help out Alt as a nurse! But he stopped once they both started getting feelings cuz you know- that’d be… bad- I think they said…”

"Aww." Jackie grins. "A real meet-cute for him, then. And Stacy? Huh. That's the name of Chase's ex-wife in my world."

"In mine too." Schneep nods. "Though they are still friendly."

I have a close friend named Stacy, JJ says. I don't think she was ever married, though, much less to someone named Chase.

“Yeah… I noticed that Stacy’s and Chases seem to be connected a lot… which is… weird? Cuz I’ve never seen an Ollie and Anti together! Though… only met one so far- but still! Why is my relationship the one that’s a constant?? Isn’t that weird??” Bro says. He then sighs and waves his hand. “Makes me wonder… if we’re just… destined to not last… which really sucks cuz… I think she’s amazing, you know?”

Jackie shakes his head. "If I've learned one thing in this early bit of a relationship, it's that it's always what you make it. You need to put in effort and communication, y'know? And honesty. I'm sure that as long as you guys have that, you can make it last. There's no destiny in love."

So I'm guessing you don't believe in soulmates, then? JJ asks, slightly amused.

"I believe that you make your soulmate, you know?"

Bro chuckles lightly, “I mean… kinda hard to communicate a lot with her though… I’m a superhero, you know? …there’s lots I can’t tell her… it kinda eats me up inside…”

Jackie sighs. "Well. Can't really help you out, there. But like... in comic books, the heroes always have to tell their love interests eventually. So... I dunno, keep that in mind, I guess? Do a lot of thinking."

With any big secret in a relationship, it will either eventually come out, or the relationship will end, JJ says. Not even just in romantic ones.

Bro sighs heavily and nods. “…yeah… I want to tell her it just… feels too soon. I dunno… it’s so complicated.”

"I'm sure you can figure it out when the time is right," Schneep says, smiling.

Chase hurries back into the room and dumps a handful of snacks and a couple of drinks on the edge of Alt’s bed. “There! That should do it, right?”

Jackie laughs. "Yeah, that should be enough! D'you think we should wake him up so he can eat, or should he rest some more?"

“I’ll wake him-“ Bro says and leans over to shake him awake. Alt sleepily grumbles and blinks open his eyes. Bro smiles gently and nudges him up. “hey bud- hungry? Other me got you some food.”

“Not much! Just- some jerky and crisps and some soda- stuff like that.” Chase says timidly.

Alt blinks at the food and then goes to grab the jerky almost desperately and starts to tear into it.

Jackie laughs again. "I guess that answers that question! Hey, someone pass me a soda, too."

Bro laughs and tosses Jackie one.

JJ turns to Alt. How do you feel?

"Probably not too good, hmm?" Schneep says. 

Alt looks up at Schneep and JJ and shrugs, “…I feel like my brain got ran over by a forklift… that was also filled with electricity.”

"Alt, have you met the others from this world?" Schneep gestures over to them. "They seem very kind."

Chase has gone over to his friends and has handed them soda and coffees which they take gratefully.

Alt blinks over at the others and then quickly turns his head away, curling up. “I-I don’t think they’d… wanna meet someone who l-looks like me…”

JJ raises an eyebrow. Well, this Jackie and Marvin already saw you glitch into Schneep to get Anti's power out. They didn't react much.

"They may freak out for a moment, but you saved me, surely they will learn, as me and my friends in my world did," Schneep says.

"Besides, I haven't had any problem with the Marvins, have I?" Jackie mutters, taking a drink of his soda.

Alt doesn’t say anything, just curls up tighter.

Bro watches this for a second before rolling his eyes and taking Alt by the arm. Alt glitches a bit in protest, “Chase! Hey!”

The others are all gathered around the bed Marvin claimed. Jameson is now helping Jackie wrap up his wounds while Chase and Schneep drink their respective drinks. Marvin blinks up as Bro comes over. Bro smiles. “Hey guys- thought I should let my brother properly introduce himself- this is Alt.”

Alt yanks his arm away from Bro, his ears turning red. “Um.. hi… t-thanks for… h-helping me and my friends…”

The egos all look at Alt. He squirms under their gazes- wishing he had his mask still. 

Jackieboy hums, narrowing his eyes- then he laughs. “You might look like Anti - but you sure don’t act like him!”

Marvin hits him slightly, “Jackie! Don’t be rude!”

“What?? That’s a compliment!”

Jackie laughs. "No, you're right—Alt couldn't be more different from your Anti! He's great." He smiles over at Alt. "Aren't you a superhero back in your world? Or, was it just that you were trying to be a superhero?"

"Really?" Schneep says. "I didn't remember that. But if today is any indication, Alt could be a great hero."

JJ chuckles. Indeed.

Alt’s face gets even more red- “I… I was… t-thinking about it but I… I dunno-“

Bro grins and throws his arm around Alt’s shoulder. “He’s a great fighter! And magician like you, Marvin!”

Oh! A magician! How delightful! Jameson signs with a smile.

Marvin smiles too, “Hey! Don’t get to meet too many… nice or heroic magicians so good to meet ya. Seems like you and other Chase are a lot like me and Jackie here!”

“Yeah! Like a crime fighting duo!” Jackieboy grins.

"Ha! More parallels!" Jackie laughs.

This world does seem to be fairly close to Bro and Alt's, JJ says. If we push aside that bit about them all being created by someone and having their life force tied to them. Everyone's just swapped around a little.

"Wait, what?" Schneep blinks. "They are what in this world?!"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Jackie winces. "Apparently here, some people have the ability to... make... people? Through... magic and imagination? And in this world, Jack made the whole group."

"...oh." Schneep leans back. "I suppose that would explain something Anti said. And it would explain that strange thing about all of their souls. That must be the connection to their Jack." He pauses, then nods. "Yes, I think that is what it is. But other than that one thing, they are all the same as other souls."

Alt’s eyes widen as JJ and Jackie explain how this world works. “What? You guys… just… creations? From someone else?”

Marvin huffs and crosses his arms, “Yes and no. That’s how we were born but we’re our own people! The only thing different from us is… well…”

“We technically can’t… die?” Chase says timidly.

“We fade.” Jackieboy says with a nod. “But as long as people still love our characters and give us attention… then we’ll come back.”

“T-that’s… that’s insane-“ Alt says with wide eyes. “To.. maintain that… that must take a-a lot of magic… or power-“

“Eh- Jack has millions of fans… it is not so hard to believe them to be capable. Human beings have a lot more power than they think. Even us.” Henrik shrugs.

"So it's the power of the collective, hmm?" Jackie nods like he understands this.

JJ nods in actual understanding. Of course. Spells are more powerful the more people who participate.

“It’s not as insane as what other Schneep said-“ Jackieboy says looking at him, “What’s that about our souls?? Can you… see them??”

Schneep smiles a bit. "Not exactly see them, I still cannot see anything. But I can sense them. It does come in handy, as I always know where people are. Some souls feel a bit different, a bit... I once described them as 'spicy.'"

Jackie laughs.

"That is what magic feels like," Schneep continues. "You all have a tiny bit of spice to you, though it is a different flavor than magic. That must be your connection. Of course, some of you do have that magic spice as well." He points at Marvin, Jameson, and Jackie.

“Oh! Huh- that’s neat!” Jackieboy grins. “Guess that comes in handy a lot!”

Marvin leans forward and bounces a bit excitedly on their bed. “Now that we have time to rest and stuff… can you all tell us about your universes? You said Alt’s and other Chase’s was similar but swapped? I wanna know more!”

Jameson nods too. Yes I’d also like to learn! How often do we get to meet ourselves who have their own different stories!

"Hah..." Jackie gives a weak smile. "Alright. Who wants to go first, then?"

I will, JJ says, smiling. Well, my home is also very switched around compared to you. My Jackie is a doctor, and my Henrik is a sort of hero—a vigilante, really. I have magic, as you can see, and I use it for preformances. My best friend is Marvin. He's a man from the 1920s who traveled here accidentally. Great man. We also have a friend called Anti—he plays games for YouTube. The five of us are all very close, though there are others, like Anti's cousin Jack, the previously-mentioned Stacy, Jackie's spouse named Rama and his daughter Michelle, Anti's son Will— He shakes his head. But I can't just list all my friends. His smile fades. There's also a... being... called Distorter. He's able to mess with people's minds, and he's been targeting our group for a while. But I'm sure that we'll be able to get rid of him soon.

“Oh wow JJ! Your world really is all switched around!” Marvin says.

Jackieboy laughs, “I-Imagine Anti being a gamer like Jack! God he’d hate that!”

I haven’t met anyone else out of time like me! I’d love to meet your friend some time, other me! Jameson grins, twitching his mustache. I wonder if his past is similar to mine!

“Pah! Imagine Jackie as a doctor… I’m never heard something so ridiculous- Jackie can hardly walk on his own sometimes.” Henrik snickers.

“Hey!”

Chase frowns, “huh… there’s no Chase in your world… that’s weird… wonder why that is…”

JJ shrugs. Perhaps there is a Chase, but we do not know him. 

"That is a lot of talking," Schneep mutters.

You talk, then.

"Very well. In my home I am a doctor—or, was, I cannot do surgeries if I cannot see. I have since been studying physics in hope it will help me with a new job. My group of friends consists of Jack and Chase, who are both YouTubers, Jameson, a man who knows much about magick but is not exactly a magician, and Jackie and Marvin--Marvin is a magician, and Jackie used to be a vigilante as well." He pauses. "There was... an accident some years ago. Marvin and Jackie... we thought they died, but really they... it is a complicated matter, but you must know that somehow the two of them... were fused together with dark magic into a being called Anti. That Anti hurt me and my friends a lot, but we were able to defeat him and get our Jackie and Marvin back. Things are returning to normal for us."

Jackieboy and Marvin look a bit freaked out at the mention of Stitches and look at each other with wide eyes. “Woah other Schneep… that’s… honestly kinda scary. S-so close to how it is here…” Marvin says, thoughtfully rubbing some purple scars on his wrist.

“Luckily- we learned our lesson already when it comes to dealing with black magic,” Jackieboy tries to say cheerfully.

“Yeah…” Marvin replies, “I’m glad you guys got that fixed… that must have been awful… I-I can’t even imagine…”

Schneep sighs. "It was... a terrible time. But Jackie and Marvin have recovered, as have the rest of us." He smiles. 

Jackie sighs. "Guess it's my turn, then? Well... things aren't... so great where I'm from." He pauses. "I, uh... used to do a lot of bad things. A-and I got along with other people who did bad things. Those people were... Chase, and Schneep, and Marvin and Jameson. Jack was also a friend, sort of, but he was actually a good guy. We... ended up hurting him a little. And this friend of his, Anti—in my world he's a good guy, if a bit of an asshole—he got real mad with us. Been trying to get Jack back for a while." He shakes his head. "I-I don't... Things have changed a lot. My Marvin and Jameson are real bad news, they... turned on the rest of us. I-I since got away, and these guys helped me get Chase away, too. The two of us are working with Anti and some magicians to hopefully get Schneep and Jack away from those two."

The egos all blink at Jackie in surprise.

“Woah… t-there’s a world where… A-Anti is good and we’re all… not?” Jackieboy whispers. Marvin lightly hits him again, “E-Except for you other me- cuz you’re trying to be better! Obviously!” Jackieboy corrects himself, grinning nervously.

“Switched mortalities…” Henrik muses, stroking his chin. “That is… fascinating…”

Jameson deflates, Gee… I-I can’t imagine acting in a way that would hurt my brothers… that’s very scary to think about.

Marvin nods. “…I know I’ve… I-I haven’t acted the best here but I… I-it wasn’t my fault. I was… I would never hurt these guys on purpose…”

"I know you wouldn't," Jackie says, giving Marvin a small smile. It feels strange to do. But he tried.

Chase seems a bit uncomfortable and gestures at Bro and Alt, “Uh- what about you two?”

Bro blinks then grins, “Well! In our world- me and Alt are like- actually brothers, you know? People in other universes always seem surprised by that.” He laughs. “but I’m a superhero named Bro Fantastic! My best mate is named Jackie Mann and he’s a YouTuber too but he does cool parkour tricks! And he’s a dad! He’s awesome. We also got someone out of time too! Our Henrik! But we call him Henny. He’s deaf but an amazing actor! And our doctor- well he’s learning more first aid hospital stuff but Dr. J is a hypnotherapist! He’s also got a daughter.”

Alt stuffs his hands in his pockets, “I’m… a magician… learning more magic and stuff but I can.. glitch too. I do… illusion shows. Light stuff but a bit of magic too - they’re a hit at raves.” He laughs softly.

Marvin’s eyes sparkle, “Really? That's so cool! What about other me??”

Bro and Alt both pale at this. “Uh… well… our… our bad guy is… a guy named Magnificent.”

Marvin’s face falls and then turns very pale.

“D-Don’t worry about him though- he’s… our problem.” Bro tries to say gently. “He’s… bad for us but like- you have no idea how many great Marvins we meet…”

JJ nods. There are plenty of kind Marvins out there! Mine would love to come here and meet you all. He nods at Jameson in particular. 

“Woah… I’m a dad there too???” Jackieboy gasps.

“That might be even worse than him being a doctor-“ Henrik snickers. Jackieboy playfully punches him. “You’d be an awful actor then! You can’t even act nice to your older brother, bitch!”

Jackie laughs a little. "It seems like a lot of places we go can't imagine themselves as anything different. Which, yeah, I-I get it. It's hard to do until you see it."

"I never would have dreamt of a world where created people come to life," Schneep says. "I know that my Marvin and Jamie would be fascinated to hear about it. I will tell them all about it when I get home."

An interesting detail is that the three of us seem to come from similar worlds. JJ indicates himself, Schneep, and Jackie. We all live in the same city, for example.

"Out of curiosity, do any of you guys have an ABIM here?" Jackie asks. "The, uh... Association of British and Irish Magicians?"

"Oh! Yes, I am familiar with them." Schneep nods.

I have a friend who works for them, JJ says. Her name is Aoife.

"Hah. Yeah, Frederick works for them, too," Jackie says

Marvin blinks a bit at this then shakes his head. “No we don’t have anything like that… just the Magic Circle. They kinda govern the magic here.”

“Oh- we have one of those too. Bunch of pricks in my eyes though.” Alt smirks.

Marvin laughs, “I used to work for them so I can agree!”

“Oh yeah that reminds me we never asked! What city are we in right now? Still seems like Britain.” Bro hums.

“Oh this is Brighton.” Chase says.

Bro and Alt blink at this then both kinda rush to look at the window. “…bro no way?? This… did we not notice this is kinda like home?”

“I dunno Chase- I was kinda busy being possessed by a crazy glitch-“ Alt mumbles.

“Wait?? You guys are from Brighton too??” Jackieboy asks.

Jameson looks to the others. What city are you all from?

"It's a place called Mirygale," Jackie says. "I don't think that it exists in these guys' world." He jerks his head towards Bro and Alt. "Because we were there for a bit and no one seemed to have heard of it."

“Yeah I’ve tried looking it up and couldn’t find it,” Alt sighs. 

"Which is strange, because Brighton does exist," Schneep says. "In my world, at least."

"Mine too."

Same here. JJ nods. I performed there once. Lovely place.

"Worlds are very, uh... varied, I guess." Jackie smiles and looks back at Bro and Alt. "Didn't you guys go to some sort of fantasy world once? And there were the two worlds we were in before this, and all their scifi shit."

“Oh yeah we’ve been to so many different places! Everyone single one is just slightly different or like- massively different. Always the same people- we’ve been to one where we were all like preteens or teens- one where we all were like- in a facilityyy- one where we were mermen! Well… two of those now- wait… 3? I dunno the last two kinda… blended together.” Bro says scratching his head.

“That is… so many-“ Chase says with wide eyes.

“That’s not even all of them,” Alt chuckles.

“Well… in theory it makes sense,” Henrik says, “There must be… infinite possibilities. I suppose it only makes sense for it to be so in practice.”

“…how are you guys gonna get back to your homes?” Marvin asks with a bit of concern. “You mentioned those rifts but… I haven’t heard about something like that…”

Schneep sighs. "We are not sure, to be honest. These rifts just appear."

"Like black rips or cracks in the very fabric of the world," Jackie says. "Bro and Alt used to have this device called a TRVLR, made by this company called IRIS, that let them control where they went to. But, uh... apparently that got broken."

I think in order to get home, we'd need to end up somewhere with the magic or technology to make controlled jumps like the TRVLR, JJ says. It doesn't seem impossible. Isn't there an IRIS in all three of our worlds?

"Yes, though in mine they simply make technology," Schneep says. "None of this multiverse shit."

"That you know of," Jackie mutters. "Or, I mean... we could eventually get help from someone else in the multiverse. My Anti knows about it. In fact, I think he's been traveling around a lot recently? Though... I don't know how he does that, I don't think he was powerful enough to jump worlds casually. Maybe we'll run into him eventually."

JJ sighs. I do hate that this all seems dependent on chance. My friends are no doubt worried about me.

"Mine too." Schneep nods. "I... would like to get back to them... soon."

"We'll find a way," Jackie says. "There's... there's always a way. As this Schneep says, the possibilities must be infinite."

“Yeah I… I dunno if we have an IRIS…” Jackieboy hums in thought, “sounds like something Jack would come up with though…”

“Man- imagine being able to just jump to other worlds!” Marvin says excitedly. “That would be so awesome! Just think about all the awesome magic that exists outside of here!”

Alt chuckles, “Yeah it was… it was pretty great.”

Jameson notices something out of the corner of his eye. Then he starts to shake Marvin’s shoulder- eagerly pointing.

There’s a black crack forming on the back wall of the room. Once Marvin turns to look it cracks open a little bigger. “Uhhh- you guys said they were like black rips right?!”

Jackie and JJ both immediately look in the same direction Marvin does. Schneep does not, of course, but he says, "Don't tell me. You are seeing one right now?"

"Oh my god, we are," Jackie gasps. He gets up, wincing, and hurries over to Schneep's side, helping him up. "Everyone link up! It's time!"

Alt glitches up and Bro immediately grabs his hand.

JJ looks at the egos and smiles. It was lovely to meet you! If we can figure out some way to control our travel, I'd love to come back and visit you again!

"Yes, a shame that I spent most of my time here being mind controlled," Schneep mutters.

Alt lets out a bitter laugh, “I feel that, Schneep.” He goes to hold his hand.

Jackieboy holds Marvin and Jameson to his side as the rift cracks open more and starts to pull the boys in- dragging out their clothes. Henrik grabs Chase. “I-Is it gonna suck us in too??” Jackieboy asks with worry.

Bro hurries over and grabs on to Jackie. “You guys should be fine! It only affects people who.. are out of their universes I think.”

“Well then- f-feel free to visit if you find a way back here! I’d love to hear more about all of this!” Marvin says with a shaky smile. He gives JJ a meaningful look and nods to him. “Good luck with your magic… hang onto the light, okay?”

JJ blinks, then smiles sincerely. I will. Thank you. Then he grabs onto Schneep, holding his hand.

"Until we meet again!" Jackie says. "If we don't, then I'm glad I met you all for this short time."

"Good luck with your Anti," Schneep says. "I'm sure that if you all work together, you can figure something out."

“Hell yeah dude! Don’t worry about us- we got PMA on our side!” Jackieboy grins. “Anti can’t keep us down for long- we got each other!!”

Henrik chuckles. “It was good to meet you all.”

“Even if it was… kinda weird. But also kinda cool-“ Chase grins.

Good luck! Jameson signs with a big playful smile.

“Thanks for everything-“ Alt smiles.

Then, the pull is too much and the 5 of them are sucked into the deep nothingness of the rift.

[aceofintuition]

Chapters: 18/19 Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Matsubusa | Maxie, Aogiri | Archie, Izumi | Shelly, Homura | Tabitha, Kagari | Courtney, Ushio | Matt, Groudon (Pokemon), Tsuwabuki Daigo | Steven Stone, Handsome | Looker, Kyogre (Pokemon), Higana | Zinnia Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, possession AU (sort of), Swearing, Nonbinary Character, Trans Character, Enemies to Friends, Humor, archie swears like a sailor ba dum tish, ORAS versions of the teams, but maxie has a healthy dose of RSE maxie's personality, and by that I mean low WIS and low INT, terrible mishmash of ORAS and RSE history with some original headcanons thrown into the mix, maybe eventually hardenshipping but they sure as hell aren't right now, a possibly surprising amount of fistfighting, Drama, Slow Burn, Sporadic Updates, i write when i feel like it, content warnings will be listed at the beginning of each chapter, steven stone is surrounded by idiots unfortunately for him, graphic depictions of violence is just for a couple scenes, that i wouldn't consider super graphic but are atypical of pokemon canon in their violence levels Summary:

Zinnia pisses off Steven for the very last time! Maxie sees shrimp colors.

Ω

[endrimer]

hes such a loser (i love hihm)

i hc that!!! every demon has quirky horns ala homestuck. some of them have different colors though.

jodie's horns r blue probably

i think its more of a personality thing than a genetic thing, but also taylor with blue horns is funny i should do that. he thinks theyre gonna be red but they arent which is LAME!!!!! so he paints over them to look cooler

glenn's horns are red. idk about morgan honestly

nick's horns are blue but if you cut into them theyre red. idk i think that woud be cool

hermie's are purple. scam likely genes. i think his horns would be a swirly shape.

all the horns start out as little nubs!!!! they only get bigger and quirkier when demon puberty hits. your personality and self is basically more developed by then so the shape and color r like. more defined. do you get me. it’s like a cutie mark but for demons which is very funny to me. im unsruer if hermie 2 would have the same horns but i think it would be funny if they were slightly different. or the same. who knowzs.