#guys run to ao3!!!

[tea-time221]

yknow, those horns suit you

ive been gone for like 6 months forgive me gang 😍 i forgot posting art on social media was a thing

i hope this doesnt come across as those weird twink x buff fanarts, i just find it infuriating that WYLL (renowned monster hunter, travels frequently) has the same body shape as ASTARION (vampire spawn isolated in a crypt for 200 years thats also been starved frequently) in game

[naffeclipse]

Apex Polarity

Chapter 9: The Breathless Beatitude

Orca!Eclipse x Y/N (SFW)

After warming back up, you continue reading stolen pages and wait for Vanessa and Michael to return home. The stalemate between the three of you continues. You have a question for Eclipse, and you won't recoil from asking.

Word Count: ~9,500 Warnings: Manhandling, threats of violence, threats of death, bruises, mentions of child death, and suggestive themes

A/N: Please note the suggestive tag for this chapter. I won't say anymore, go on, get into it!

[daily-hanamura]

[secondbeatsongs]

oh. ao3 is being DDoS'd.

welp

[mime-the]

Hi fellas. I wrote something, teehee.

It’s shadow milk time, boo yah!

I’ve gotten reports of strange behavior from Burning Spice Cookie. Reports of them being more destructive in their ever-changing nature. I have planned to see him in a few days, just to check in and have a friendly chat. After all, we’ve not seen each other in quite a while!

***

Burning Spice Cookie’s behavior has only grown more destructive, I have also noticed him speaking to Silent Salt Cookie more often. They’ve both grown stranger and stranger with the passage of time… I can feel something within me stirring.

***

I was sifting through one of my books when I heard of the joint attack by Silent Salt Cookie and Burning Spice Cookie. I tried to confront them, to bring them back to reason, but there was little to reason with. “They’ll never understand our power, Shadow Milk Cookie, you out of any of us would know that best,” Burning Spice Cookie told me. I didn’t like the fact I agreed.

***

I talked to Mystic Flour Cookie about all of this. She expressed very little concern… For the one carrying the virtue of volition, there was very little will to act. I’ve turned to looking through my library for a possible solution to this. Burning Spice Cookie is completely gone, dragging Silent Salt Cookie with him.

I fear that Mystic Flour Cookie is next, I have heard nothing from Eternal Sugar. I have missed a few of my plays because of this ordeal.

***

Cookies keep coming to me and asking me what is going on, I can only ever tell them that I don’t know. It’s growing increasingly irritating and tiring, a few have resorted to turning their anger towards me. “You should know what to do! Isn’t that your job?”

I’m not a magic problem solving machine, you brats.

***

Mystic Flour Cookie has remained relatively apathetic to this, Eternal Sugar Cookie has also shown no signs of wishing to help, deciding to sleep in the clouds instead. I don’t fault them, not at all. Us five meant to be friends after all.

I’ve resorted to lying to the Cookies that keep coming to ask me about the destruction on the East of that cursed continent, it keeps them busier for longer. Part of me feels nauseated because of it, but it’s… exhilarating at times. I’m certain this isn’t the wrong choice though, it lifts their spirits.

***

A few of the Cookies I’ve talked to have begun fighting amongst themselves. It’s surprisingly entertaining to watch! This work is starting to exhaust me, and the light within me starts to feel as if it is in vain. Heh. Maybe it’s right…

I’ve started to use my power to convince all these little cookies that the destruction and chaos just beyond their homes is mostly just rumor, that is is not nearly half as bad. They believe me.

***

I’ve begun to instigate a few of the more violent conflicts purposely, putting my studies aside just to watch. There’s something fun in all of this, I can see why Burning Spice Cookie is doing what he is doing, and why the others just observe and help it happen.

***

I have decided to pick back up my playwriting, and use my gifted power to make the audience watch. Ha! How kind of all these little cookies to just obey! It makes my life so, so much easier. Why hadn’t I used this strength before, to stop them from being so… annoying? No time to regret the past though, only time to bask in the present.

***

The other four have had their own fun for such a long time, and all without me! No fault of their own of course, I was too blinded by “being nice” to see it. It’s almost sad how much I rejected my own comrades. After all, we’re the ones with this strength, we should get to use it how we please, not just for good. We are the only ones that can understand each other, why have I been so ignorant to that fact? Hah!

The witches placed us here, and it was about time we took advantage of it. Maybe it wasn’t their intention, but they’ve rolled the dice, and these are the results.

Fun fact: there’s technically a continuation to this! Have a good day.

[messrsbyler]

green

Will’s eyes always turned a bit greener during sunsets. Although, green wasn’t the correct word to describe them. Beautiful, sparkling, infinite; those were words that could paint a picture of Will’s eyes, but none of them could depict their colour as the sun sank below the skies.

Mike imagined the sunlight of an afternoon seeping through the branches and leaves of a tree in full bloom. He thought of the halos around the green and the oranges from the clouds, the mix of shades and lights all reflected in Will’s eyes, and yet again came empty for a word to describe it all.

He was in the process of pondering over the limitations of the English language and how unfair all of it was, when Will turned away from the sunlight bathing his face and found Mike looking. A nervous smile pulled from his lips and a new shade spread over his cheeks. It was as lovely and as lacking of a name as his eyes were.

“What?” he asked.

Mike kept looking at Will and shook his head. There was so much he could fit in that question alone. He could talk about how ‘green’ was a stupid and plain word, about sunsets and trees and leaves, about heartbeats and old promises made in a basement.

Everything, he wanted to say. But just as ‘green’, the word felt too big and yet too hollow and plain.

“Nothing,” he said instead and smiled back. “Just looking.”

[some-teeth-in-a-trench-coat]

I am once again daydreaming of making my own social media platform and how to make it not give a hoot about American laws (no relation to American soil, I'm European anyway) and be structurally resistant to enshitification through independence and community ownership unfortunately I am one inexperienced programmer with not much spare change to throw at such a gamble so I'm only daydreaming

[samseaaa]

The Butterfly Effect chapter 3 excerpt - the plaster (band-aid whatever I’m not American)

  It was darker on the way back home. It’d gone full night, and the gloom gave me a new take on the city as the lights illuminated the evening sky. I spaced, staring at the pretty lights while the old pop station played in the background. I was thankful that mine was the only car on the road back to my new home.

  Unfortunately, I didn't account for things on the street that were not cars.

  I was too busy marvelling at the massive neon cat sign for a sushi place that towered over the rooftops of neighbouring buildings to see the figure in dark clothing run out onto the road, even with him frantically waving his arms in the air. And then it all happened so quickly.

  I peeled my eyes from the neon cat (it was just so cute!) when my stomach did that same strange tug, and I finally noticed the human illuminated by my headlights on the road right before me. I screamed, hit the break a smidge too late, and the person landed on the hood with a boyish yelp and a loud, metallic BONK.

  I sat perfectly still in horror, staring as the person slowly stood back up from the bent hood, staggered like a drunk man, and then fell down onto his ass on the tarmac. I couldn't breathe. I heard a faint groan.

  "Shit!" was the first thing I managed to yell in panic as I yanked my seatbelt off and stumbled out of the car. He sat on the road with a dazed look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you - god, are you okay? Are you alive?!"

  "Part of me wishes I weren't," the figure on the ground dryly chuckled.

  "Don't be dead, god, please don't be dead!" I gasped. "I'm too young and scared for jail-!"

  I cut myself off when he held up a hand. I sucked in my lips with wide eyes.

  "A little less shouting, please," the masked figure murmured. He cradled his head with a grimace.

  I knelt beside him, hands nervously fretting and unsure whether to reach out or not, and that was when I noticed his unusual, dark clothing, embossed with green. More prominently - the mask. My eyes widened.

  It was my turn for my ass to fall back onto the tarmac. I had only just gotten my breath back, and it was stolen once more.

  "You're..."

  "Not dead," he said sarcastically. "Yes, well done."

  "You're the Green Ninja," I breathed, ignoring his slight snark due to being too engrossed in the fact that the infamous Green Ninja, the person all of social media was in love with, the quote-un-quote 'leader of the hottest boyband but not only boys and also not a band' was in front of me.

  "The one and only," he answered, still sat in the pooling illumination of my headlights.

  "I just ran into you with my car," I stressed.

  "Oh, I'm aware."

  "I hit the Green Ninja with my car," I whispered in horror as it settled in.

  "That you did," he said tiredly. The Green Ninja pulled his hand away from his head and blinked comically, still seeming to be stunned. My throat was dry when I nervously swallowed.

  "Uh- um-!" I stammered as I launched myself back into my car to grab a box of plasters from the glovebox. I knelt before him once more and held out the worn down cardboard. "Do you need a plaster?"

  "I think-"

  "They have Star Wars characters on them."

  The Green Ninja's brows raised in amused bewilderment - they were a light brown, I noted - before his eyes finally met mine.

  They were green - and I mean, really green. A vibrant green, one that couldn't possibly be a real eye colour. They were ringed by an even darker green and they almost seemed to shift shades and gleam a muted pine in the shadows. They were pretty.

  The Green Ninja seemed to be equally as frozen as he stared at me, and for a brief second I thought that he really hated Star Wars, which was ridiculous, because Stars Wars was a cinematic masterpiece so how could someone ever hate Star Wars let alone Star Wars plasters, but then I realised that I was being silly and-

  God, he was still staring at me.

  I didn't hit him that hard, did I? It was only a little bowl; a mere tap, even, but the dent at the front of the hood told me otherwise. I wilted with shame.

  Two concussions administered in one day. Well done, Y/n. And to the Green Ninja, too! I should have a warning tattooed to my forehead.

  I held out the box again, just to break this weird, silent tangent that had settled over us.

  "Plaster?" I offered. He slowly pulled one out of the old box, still eyeing me oddly.

  "Thanks..."

  "Who'd you get?" I quietly asked before I could stop myself. The Green Ninja pulled open the plaster's packet before showing it to me.

  "Chewbacca."

  "Oh, nice," I said with a stiff nod. I threw the box back into the car and winced at the sound of it hitting the dashboard and falling to the floor. "I like Chewbacca."

  Though the Green Ninja was still staring at me as if I'd grown a second head, he humoured me.

  "I'm more of a Luke Skywalker guy myself."

  Green Ninja likes Luke Skywalker. Figures.

Read the full thing here!

[whisperinggbreeze]

A god of misfortune? No such person existed. Hua Cheng's frown deepened. "A god of misfortune? I've never heard of such a god. How would he ever get followers?"

Xie Lian barked a laugh at that. "You're right, you're right. I heard an interesting rumour once, that he had gotten banished from heaven and lost all of his followers."

(Something stopped him from asking why Xie Lian would worship a god of misfortune, why he would worship a god that he believes may no longer exist, why he would tend to the shrine so carefully and tenderly when it seemed futile.)

---

part of the chapter 1 draft I'm working on for my tgcf au fanfic! the au premise is similar to one I've seen before but I wrote it a slightly different way:

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR TGCF BOOK 4 HERE BY THE WAY

after wu ming's sacrifice, xie lian (god autocorrect hates his name) was finally driven to become a calamity, but wu ming was saved when on the brink of death by jun wu (because let's be real, when has he ever passed up an opportunity to get 800 years long revenge on XL?) and ascended to godhood as a martial god, as well as the god of luck. hua cheng, having no memories of xianle (barring the basics of his early childhood) or XL, gave himself a new name and settled into godhood.

800 years later, while hua cheng is wandering through the mortal realm, he stumbles across a lonely shrine on a mountainside which is run by a kind young man who introduces himself as xie lian and talks about worshipping a god of misfortune who, as far as hua cheng can tell, doesn't exist and never has.

[huffle-dork]

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 22: Many Roads Diverge

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| Many Roads Diverge

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Bro falls in the same way he's fallen before. But somehow, it feels... rougher than it did before. Like he's crashing through thin tree branches while flying through a forest. Eventually, he lands. This is the living room of a house. A big, open-space living room, decorated with dark colors and wooden highlights, with a sofa and a couple chairs and a big flatscreen TV. A grand front entrance sits on one wall, with front windows. To the left of this are archways leading into a kitchen and dining room. To the right is a wall full of windows. Outside the windows is a dark landscape... a forest. Across from the front entrance is the wall with the TV. Also on this wall is a staircase leading upwards, as well as two closed doors. 

Bro shakily gets to his feet and looks around in panic. He doesn't care- this isn't a normal jump. He needs to find Alt and Jackie-! 

"Alt!! Jackie?!" He yells out in panic, trying to see if there's any hints of them. He looks around the living room a bit before shaking his head and trying to find a way outside.

The front door is locked, but it unlocks from the inside with the turn of the deadbolt. He unlocks the door, and-- He unlocks the door and-- He unlocks the door and-- Okay, that doesn't make sense. He's definitely unlocked the door, but it still feels locked. 

Footsteps suddenly rush down the staircase behind him. 

"I'm gonna break it down with my fucking fists then!" a voice shouts, and suddenly a man in a red hoodie appears running down the stairs and bolting to the nearest closed door, not even glancing at Bro. 

"Jackie you fucking idiot!" Another man runs down the staircase, with neat brown hair and glasses. "Do you even know how to break a door dow--" Unlike the last guy, he sees Bro, and he stops short. 

"Yeah, he does!" Two more people come running down the stairs, a man with a mustache wearing a white button-up shirt, and a man wearing an elaborate mostly-black outfit with lots of lace and belts. "He's talked about it before--" The goth one is saying, when he also sees Bro and stops short. 

The man with the mustache stares at Bro, eyes wide. You're not supposed to be here, he says in sign language. 

"Chase?" asks the one with glasses. "No... wait, no." 

"Fucking intruder!" The goth one points. 

"Huh?!" The man in the red hoodie turns around. "Wait, holy shit, what?!"

Bro jumps as the red hoodie man runs down the stairs. Then, he meets the goth and man with the glasses's gaze with wide panicked eyes. As the goth one yells he holds up his hands, "W-Wait please I can explain! I... I am Chase but not your Chase! I'm.. I'm from another universe...!"

The four of them all stare at him. Then the one in the hoodie shakes his head. "This isn't the fucking time!" he shouts, shoving his shoulder into the closed doorway. 

"Jackie!" The glasses one shouts. "You're going to hurt yourself!" 

"Chase might get hurt, Schneep!" Jackie retorts. "If we can't find something to break the door, down, I'm gonna fucking do it myself!" 

"Uh--I really think we should deal with the crazy guy claiming to be Chase?" the goth one says, giving Chase a nervous look. "Maybe--maybe he's the guy Chase saw earlier?" 

Jackie runs into the door again, causing it to shudder in its frame.

Bro jumps and then furrows his brow in determination and tries to see if he can help Jackie. "I don't have time to dwell on this either! I need to find my brother and my Jackie!"

“Your Jackie?” The goth one repeats. “And your brother? Not a very good imitation of Chase if you have a brother.” 

"I'm not trying to be a good impression!" Bro shouts back. 

“Marvin, please, this isn’t the time,” Jackie says. He looks back at Bro, stepping aside and allowing him access to the door. 

The door easily crumples under Bro’s super strength—though it feels unusually sturdy. Like there’s metal inside the wood. 

“Whoa!” Marvin jumps. “How fucking strong are you?!” 

Didn’t the door open the other way? the man with the mustache wonders. 

As the door breaks he rolls out his shoulder and massages it some, pulling at his recent stab wound. He winces then looks down at the door. "T-That thing was stupidly tough- why do you guys have metal in your door??"

“Th-this isn’t our door!” Schneep protests. “Th-this cabin belongs to a friend of ours. Though—the question still stands. Why is there metal in the basement door?” 

Bro stares at the basement and then curses, "This wasn't to outside?! Damnit-!" 

Jackie runs through the doorway, staring down the twelve steps to the basement. “Chase?! Chase?! W-we’re coming to get you!” 

“This isn’t the time to wonder about metal doors or which way it opens—though JJ is right, that was weird,” Marvin says. “We have to get Chase! Let’s go!”

Bro’s about ready to run towards the front door again but... he hesitates. Something was clearly wrong here- something that happened to another him. He glances at the front door and then takes a deep shuddering breath and whips around to the others, "...what's happening? What happened to Chase? M...Maybe I can help-"

The friends all glance at each other uneasily. Then, JJ raises his hands. We're not fully sure. 

"H-he said that he saw someone outside the cabin," Jackie says slowly. "But, uh, that's impossible, we're more than an hour away from anything. We thought he was messing with us... but then he started acting weird... he tried to strangle Marvin, then started freaking out and saying he didn't know what was happening, then he started laughing and ran downstairs..." 

Marvin rubs his neck. "Fucking weird." 

"Wh-whatever it is, h-he might hurt himself," Schneep says. "We cannot let that happen."

Bro knits his eyebrows together, "...sounds like he could be possessed by something-" He glances at the stairs and then sighs, "Which... I dunno how much help I can be with that but... I've dealt with this before... but god- Alt would be so much better suited here.."

Marvin blinks, leaning forwards a little. "Possession? You mean--like there's a spirit in him?" 

"This is not the time for jokes!" Schneep snaps. "Chase could be having a serious breakdown!" 

"I-I'm not joking!" Bro yells after Schneep. 

"Whatever!" Jackie runs down the steps. 

Well, guess we're following him! JJ comments, then runs after him. 

When the others start to run Bro has a mental battle with himself. He knows he needs to find Alt and Jackie but!! He's a hero! He can't just leave someone in trouble like this!! Finally he growls to himself and then rushes down the stairs after them.

The stairs end at a hallway lined with doors, two on the left, three on the right. The hallway ends in a big room without any doors. 

Jackie is currently staring into the first door on the right. "He's not in here," he reports. "Check the other doors." 

Marvin reaches for the first door on the left. "Huh. Locked." 

"Chase?" Schneep calls. "Chase?!" No answer.

This is... bizarre. But not much worse than any other universe so far... Bro steps forward and goes to check the first door on the right.

Inside is a room that's almost empty, save for some cardboard boxes and a fuse box on the wall. There's an intercom speaker in one of the corners near the ceiling. 

Schneep is trying the second door on the left. It's also locked. JJ skips the middle door on the right and heads for the last one. But that's also locked. 

"Chase?!" Jackie calls. "Where are you?! We're worried!" He tries the middle door on the right. Also locked.

"Is this the only one open...?" Bro mumbles to himself and walks into the room. He tries to look around and then calls out, "Umm- Chase? You in here?"

Nothing. 

Bro walks back out and frowns in confusion. This is... mega creepy. His instincts are going crazy.

"What the fuck?" Marvin whispers. 

"H-he has to be in that big room at the end, then," Jackie says, pointing. 

"Chase?!" Schneep calls, rushing down the hallway. Marvin and JJ follow him, and then Jackie-- And as soon as all of them are past the middle door, it opens too quietly for them to hear... but not too quietly for Bro.

Bro catches the sound of the middle door opening and whips back around.

Out walks a man with messy hair tucked beneath a snapback cap. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up... and in one hand, he clutches a handgun. His eyes land on Bro, looking glazed and cloudy--and he raises the gun and fires.

Bro quickly shouts out, "WATCH OUT!" And ducks before going to try to grab the man- who has to be Chase- by the arm holding the gun and pinning him to the wall. "The fuck are you doing?!"

Chase slams up against the wall, hitting his head, but he shows no reaction. He stares at Bro with that same glazed look. 

Jackie's head whips around at the sound of Bro's shout and gunshot. "What the hell?!" he shouts, and rushes over. 

JJ, Schneep, and Marvin follow shortly after. 

"A gun?!" Schneep gasps. "Where did you get that, Chase?!" 

Chase mumbles something. The words run together, hard to make out. Something about... a game? Is he calling for someone?

Bro recognizes that glazed look in his eyes. "...h-he's either being possessed or influenced by something!" Bro tries to get the gun away from his grip.

Chase's fingers twitch weakly, trying to hold onto the weapon, but Bro easily slides it out of his hand. 

"Th-this isn't the time for fucking jokes!" Schneep stammers. "Possession?! Wh-what the--" 

That feels... right, JJ says slowly. What do we do, then? 

"Scuse me." Jackie steps up next to Bro and shakes Chase's shoulders. "Chase? B-bro? Can you hear me?!" 

Chase doesn't respond. He's still muttering something. "'m try'n', I c'n.. can' do it... g've it back..."

"Sorry Bro- I don't think its a good idea for you to have this." Bro says as he tucks the gun into his back pocket. He then leans down to get in his field of vision and waves his hand. "I think you should like... have some reaction to this though- the fact that we have the same face, maybe?"

Chase's eyes seem to land on Bro's face for the first time. He blinks slowly. "...huh?" The lights in the basement hallway flicker. Chase shudders as well. "...you're not supposed to be here..." 

Jackie blinks. "The fuck? Chase?! What does that mean?!" 

No use. Chase has gone back to his blank staring. 

"Was he making fun of my accent?" Marvin mutters. 

"Surely not," Schneep says. 

"Why'd he sound Irish, then? He's American."

Bro stands up straighter as the lights flicker and then narrows his eyes at the ominous warning. " ... yup- definitely something inside him that's not supposed to be. Goddd- I need Alt... he's good with this magic bullshit." He rubs his head like he has a headache.

"There is no magic bullshit!" Schneep protests, his voice cracking a bit. 

"Schneep, please," Marvin says. "Can't you open up your mind a little? Like--what the fuck is happening?!" 

"Not magic! Do not let your witchcraft blind you to the more reasonable explanations!" 

Jackie shakes Chase some more. "Chase! Please! Please!" His voice breaks with desperation. 

"...J-Jackie?" Chase whispers. "Why're... you... here... Where's... Sam..." Then he slumps again. His hand raises up absentmindedly, grabbing onto Bro. It's unclear what he's trying to do, but it's probably supposed to be threatening.

Bro blinks in surprise but then grabs Chase's hand and squeezes it. "Hey, dude. I know you don't know me but... if you're like any other Chase I've met... you're stronger than you know. You can break out of this... please- your friends are worried," He tries to whispers encouragingly. 

Chase's eyes focus on Bro's hand holding his. Then they drift to Bro's face. Marvin, Schneep, and JJ crowd around Bro, their worried expressions fully in view. 

Then, suddenly, something snaps, and Chase gasps. "Wh-what just--what just--Sam?" He looks around. "W-wait, now why would--" And back at Bro. His eyes widen, freaked out. "Who the fuck are you?! What's happening?!" 

Chase, JJ signs. Are you okay? 

"I--I don't--" Chase shakes his head, more confused than anything.

Bro tries to hold onto Chase and raises his hand, trying to shush hum and calm him down. "H-Hey bro! Deep breaths its okay... you just went through something really freaky- and uh... I'm hard to explain but I'mmmm you? From another universe?" He grins nervously.

"Wh-what the hell?" Chase shakes his head more--and then stops, as his eyes land on something behind all the people around him. He gasps. "N-no! L-leave me alone!" 

The others all spin around. "Th-there's nothing there, Chase, d-don't worry," Jackie says.

Bro looks back too and furrows his eyebrows. He then looks back at Chase with worry. "Are you seeing someone, Chase?"

Chase looks at him nervously, then nods. "Th-there's a man. W-wearing black. He's--shut up!" he shouts at that same spot. Then his eyes widen and he tries backing up into the wall. "No! N-no!" 

"Maybe--maybe that's the spirit?" Marvin guesses. "There has to be a way to exorcise them!. I-it's going to be okay, Chase." 

Do you think those books in the other room might help? JJ asks. 

Marvin nods. "Th-they did look like spellbooks... but why would Jack have spellbooks?" 

"Who cares! Go look!" Jackie shouts. 

Marvin nods. "JJ, come with me! Chase, stay here. I-it'll be fine, I promise!" He and JJ run down the hallway.

Bro looks between Chase and the others as they run down the hallway and looks a bit panicked. "u-uh...! It's okay dude... i-it's gonna be okay!" He fumbles for his phone to see if it has any power left- or the ability to call Alt. ...it's weird... all the usual guys were here... shouldn't the others have shown up here too?

The phone still has power, and he's getting pretty good reception. But as he checks that, something happens. A small slit of blackness opens up on the opposite wall of the hallway. A breeze starts pulling at Bro's clothes. 

"...what the fuck is that?" Schneep mutters, staring at it. 

Bro’s eyes widen as he feels the breeze and he cries out in panic. “W-What?! Already??”

"A-already?" Chase stammers. "Wh-what do you mean? You see that too? It--" His eyes roll back a little. "It better just take you. I've worked too hard for this." 

"Chase... what are you talking about?" Jackie whispers. 

Bro looks even more panicked but looks at Chase with dread. “Y-You’re still…!” 

Chase smiles a smile that is not his, and lunges for Jackie all of a sudden.

Bro shouts out as Chase lunges for Jackie and gets in between pushing Chase back and putting his arm out to protect Jackie. “I don’t care how hard you’ve worked for this, fucking demon! As long as I’m here you ain’t touching them!”

Chase--or the thing inside him--laughs. "I don't need them specifically," he says. And suddenly there's a knife in his hand. He lunges forward again-- 

"No!" Schneep's hand shoots out and grabs Chase's arm as he swings the knife. 

"Holy shit!" Marvin gasps as he runs down the hallway towards them. Behind him, JJ follows, holding an old book. 

The rift gets wider, the breeze pulling at Bro a bit stronger.

Bro jolts back and pushes Jackie behind him more. Bro’s eyes glow slightly as he growls at the thing inside Chase. “You don’t want to fight me, dude. Back down.” 

He nervously glances at the rift getting wider- what is he supposed to do about that?! There’s a crazy thing trying to kill these guys!!

Chase's eyes widen slightly, and he laughs. "Alright, fine. Kill this one. I can find another." He tries to punch Schneep with the other hand but Jackie grabs it. 

"Since when are you so strong?!" Jackie gasps. 

"Guys, there's something in here that might help!" Marvin says, pointing at the book JJ's holding. JJ passes it to him. "I-I just have to read it out loud." 

Chase's eyes widen. "What is that?" hisses the thing. "Where did you get that?!" He lunges again, managing to break free of Schneep's grip, but Jackie pulls him back. 

"Stranger Chase, help!" Jackie gasps. 

The lights flicker. Even in the moment of pitch black, the rift is darker.

Bro is caught between two worries- the rift’s pull ever present. But… he can’t ignore a cry for help! 

Bro grits his teeth to determination and tries to pin Chase up against the wall.”Start reading then!” He shouts at Marvin.

Chase shrieks an unnatural shriek and struggles against Bro. The hallway lights go out, so JJ pulls out his phone and shines the flashlight on the pages as Marvin reads something in Irish. 

Chase tries to stab Bro but Jackie grabs his arm and pries the knife free. 

Soon, Chase's struggles become less like actual fighting against Bro and more random spasms, the creature reacting to the incantation.

“I-I think it’s working!” Bro whispers excitedly, loosening up his grip a bit.

Abruptly, everything stops and Chase goes limp. The lights turn back on again--just in time to show the black smoke pouring out of Chase's mouth. Smoke that forms a rough humanoid figure, with green glowing eyes that glare at Bro with malice.

Bro backs up as he stares at the smoke with wide eyes. “H-Holy fucking shit..!” He breathes.

The figure reaches for him... and then dissipates. Chase slumps forward, and Jackie quickly grabs him. "Hey. Hey! Ch-Chase, are you okay?!" he asks. 

Chase groans. "Oww..."

Bro takes a second to breathe and then goes to check Chase over, “Are you hurt?”

"Everything hurts," he groans. "Muscles... all over." 

"M-maybe you were holding him too tight?" Schneep suggests. 

“O-Oh sorry I… I didn’t know-“ Bro says guiltily. 

JJ sighs. I'm just glad you're okay, Chase. 

"It does feel... lighter, somehow," Chase says. 

The rift widens. Its pull is almost irresistible for Bro--though, once again, the people from this world seem less affected.

Bro yelps as he feels the pull of the rift even more. He nervously glances at it as he digs his heels in. He then tries to smile at the others. “I.. I’m glad I could help- I hope that thing will leave you all alone now!”

"Y-yeah." Jackie nods slowly. "Um... thanks." 

"I am not sure what happened here," Henrik mutters. 

"I think it's gone, though," Marvin says. 

"Thanks," Chase breathes. 

JJ looks him straight in the eye. Good luck. 

And then the pull becomes too much. 

Bro tries to smile at them all before he’s pulled into the rift.

---------- 

Jackie's fall is rough. He's not as well traveled through the multiverse as Bro and Alt are, but he knows this isn't normal. When he lands, he lands hard. 

Jackie yells out as he falls and groans loudly, holding himself. “Ow ow ow what the fuck?!!”

This is the living room of a house. A big, open-space living room, decorated with dark colors and wooden highlights, with a sofa and a couple chairs and a big flatscreen TV. A grand front entrance-- 

Someone rushes up to Jackie and tries to punch him in the face.

Jackie yelps and manages to push himself up and back and jumps over some furniture to get away from whoever attacked him. “Um??? Hello??!”

"Whoa whoa whoa hey man!" Another man appears, wrestling his attacker back and giving Jackie time to take them in. 

The attacker is a man with a mustache in a bloodstained white shirt, and the one holding him back is a man wearing a snapback cap and a bloodstained gray shirt. "W-we can't just smack him!" the cap man says. 

The mustache man continues to struggle, looking at Jackie with glaring anger.

Jackie backs up and puts his hands up with a very confused expression. “…I feel like I missed a couple chapters here uh-what’s happening?! Why are we trying to smack me??”

"Ah, um--S-sorry, Jackie, I know you don't--wait a minute." The man in the cap blinks. "What happened to your face? Why's there shit on it?" He gives Jackie a once-over. "Are you... Jackie? Jackie Mann?" 

Of course he is! the man with the mustache signs. 

"N-no, wait, he... looks different... a bit."

“Uhhh yes I am- but um- jeez im not used to them having the same last name as me.” Jackie ruffles his hair awkwardly. “I’m Jackie Mann but probably not the one you know? I’m from another universe-“ He then pulls at his face and grumbles, “I need to find a mirror I can’t believe this stuff is still on- imma kill my kids-“

"I-I... um..." The man with the cap blinks. "W-well... I'm... Chase. This is... JJ..." 

JJ glares at Jackie. 

"I, uh... S-sorry, I'm having difficulty processing this." 

JJ flips Jackie off. 

“Y-Yeah uh… nice to meet ya-“ Jackie starts then blinks in surprise as JJ flips him off. “Woah uh- okay haven’t seen a jj do that yet I think-“ 

"Jays!" Chase smacks his hand. "Look--this guy is wearing different clothes than Jackie--Jackie wouldn't even own that shirt, he has enough stupid pan pun shirts as it is! H-he's different! Whatever's going on, he's different! He doesn't kn-know anything!" 

JJ glares for a moment more... then slumps in Chase's arms, anger replaced by sadness. Sorry, he signs. I'm not even really mad at the Jackie we know.

Jackie takes the other two in and then it dawns on him that the red on their shirts aren’t some pattern they’re- “wait h-holy shit are you guys bleeding?!”

Chase winces. "N-no... i-it's not our blood, it's... O-our friend was..." Tears well in his eyes. "W-we need to get out of here. We--I-I don't know how you ended up in here, but we need to get out of here." 

JJ heads over to the room's front entrance and tries opening the door. It doesn't open. He tries shaking the doorknob, pushing the door at the same time, but it doesn't open. He leans his forehead against the wooden door.

Jackie’s eyes widen, “o…oh…” he breathes, looking freaked out and worried for them. “What.. what ha..happened?”

Chase shakes his head. "I-I don't know. Jackie--our Jackie--said that he saw a ghost, a-and things just... spiraled from there... our two other friends are... gone..." Chase trails off, a haunted look in his eyes. 

JJ looks back at Jackieboy. That ghost must have done it. He's using our Jackie. 

Jackieboy’s stomach drops. “H-Holy shit I.. I’m so so sorry…” He looks around the cabin and then tries to see if he can get through any of the windows. “L-Let’s try to get you guys out of here then! Have- have you called the police?”

"Tried," Chase says shortly. "But the call wouldn't go through. Not because of lack of reception, it just... wouldn't go through. I got some freaky whispers, and nothing else." 

The windows here don't seem to open. 

I swear they had locks, JJ says. I swear you could open them. 

"We gotta break them, then," Chase says decisively. 

And that's when they hear the footsteps.

Jackie stiffens as he hears the footsteps and then looks around for something heavy. “Breaking them it is!” He shouts with a bit of panic.

There's not a lot of loose items around that look heavy enough to break glass but light enough to throw. There are some video game consoles attached to the TV, a lamp on a side table, an old-looking clock on that same table. 

Chase picks up the lamp, forgets to unplug it, and trips over the power cord. "AH SHIT--!" 

The footsteps are coming from behind a closed door. The doorknob rattles. "...guys?" A voice calls. "G-guys, the--the door is locked." 

That voice... it sounds so much like Jackie's own.

Jackieboy swallows shakily as he hears his voice behind the door. He hurries and fumbles to grab the clock and then tried to chuck it at the window.

The clock bounces back with a loud THUD. He must not have used enough force. That must be it, right? 

“What the—guys?!” The doorknob rattles some more. “Are you okay?!” 

Chase hesitates. “Maybe we should listen to him…” 

Are you crazy?! JJ signs violently. After all that?!

“If he killed your friends then we should not listen to him!” Jackie hisses as he picks up the clock to try again- this time harder.

“I mean—there has to be something more going on—” Chase says. 

“Dude if a fucker kills your friends don’t trust them!!” Jackieboy says. 

CRASH! The clock goes through the window, shattering it. 

“Guys?!” The voice behind the door shouts in distress. The handle rattles some more—and suddenly the door opens, and out falls a man in a bloody red hoodie with a very familiar face. He looks at Jackieboy, confused. “What the…” Then he notices Chase staring at him and JJ clearing the more dangerous-looking glass shards from the window frame. “Wait! Guys! Don’t leave without me!” He scrambles to his feet and rushes over.

Jackieboy freezes as he sees the other Jackie and then grabs Chase and pushes him towards the window. “Go!” He then grabs the lamp Chase tried to grab earlier, rips it out to unplug it then points it out towards the other Jackie to keep him back. “N-Not another step closer, bitch!”

The other Jackie skids to a halt. “Wh-who the fuck are you?!” He shouts. “Guys?! Chase, JJ?! Th-that’s not me!” 

“W-we know,” Chase stammers. JJ is already climbing through the window. 

“Then what the fuck are you doing?! I can’t walk all the way back to the city in the dark!” 

“Jackie, I-I’m sorry, but I just don’t think we can trust you,” Chase says, backing up. “Just—just stay here for the night. We’ll be back.” 

“I’m not staying here with the ghost that killed Schneep and Marvin!” Jackie shouts, panicking. 

JJ, outside, looks back through the window. That wasn’t a ghost, he says. 

“What?! G-guys, I—I d-don’t know what’s going on.” Jackie shakes his head, clearly distressed.

Jackieboy slowly lowers the lamp, looking conflicted. “Hey dude I… I’m sorry but… i-I don’t know much about this stuff but… maybe that ghost like.. took you over?” He shakes his head, “Which means you’re dangerous I… I’m sorry-“ he looks back towards Chase and points, “Go! I… I can try to hold him off… I… I think-“

“Took me over…?” Jackie repeats. “But… when would… I mean, maybe that wire… I did wake up somewhere else…” 

As Jackie muses, Chase climbs through the window, giving him one last apologetic look before running off. 

Jackie makes no move to attack. He looks troubled. “But—that would mean I—I was the one to—” He looks a bit sick. “B-but I’d never! I—Th-they’re my friends—were my friends, I wouldn’t—” 

“I’m sorry…” Jackieboy says sincerely, “I know you probably didn’t want to.., I’m so so sorry.” 

Jackie finally focuses on Jackieboy again. “Wh-who are you…? How did you get here?” He whispers. 

Jackieboy sets down the lamp once he’s sure he’s not in danger. “I’m you from another world- and … I’m not sure? There were these rips and-“

Suddenly, loud sounds come from an archway—it must lead into the kitchen because it sounds like lots of cabinet doors opening and slamming closed. The lights flicker and go out, but the TV turns on, revealing just static as the furniture in the living room starts to grind against the floor and move towards the two Jackies. And right in front of the front door, a small black rip appears out of nowhere.

Jackieboy squeals in fright as all the lights go out and all the furniture starts to move- and noticing the black rip. “Okay now what the fuck is going on?! Ghost if you’re there- q-quit it!”

The static from the TV increases in volume. Jackie covers his ears. And outside, the clock that Jackieboy had thrown through the window suddenly comes flying back, aiming directly for the Jackie from this world. 

Jackieboy winces and then sees the clock flying towards Jackie and yells out and grabs the lamp again to knock it back like a baseball pitch. “T-The fuck?!” 

Jackie stumbles backwards in shock. He laugh a little. “Th-that was cool, what you just did, but—A-anyway, th-this must be the—” 

Jackieboy laughs in that nervous freaked out way, his hands shaking. “T-Thanks I wasn’t even thinking just-“ 

The lamp’s power cord suddenly writhes, lashing out at both of the Jackies like a whip.

Jackieboy yells out as the power cord writhes and throws the lamp as far as he can away and backs up towards the door. “T-This is too weird for me!! C-Chase?! Alt?! Are you around here?!?” He shouts towards the empty house.

Jackie ducks the power cord. “Who are you talking to?! Chase just left!” 

“Not that Chase- my Chase! Bro Fantastic!” Jackieboy yells back. 

There’s no answer. But the rift does get a bit bigger, its pull on Jackieboy increasing. 

“Fuck it!” Jackie shouts. “E-even if Chase and JJ left, it’s gotta be better outside than in here!” He grabs the window ledge and starts to pull himself out, but the power cord wraps around his ankle and pulls him back. “What the fuck?!”

Jackieboy backs up more- more towards the door than the window before he feels the rift’s pull and he tries to go back towards the window. “What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck? What do I do?!”

“Help!” Jackie kicks at the power cord.

Jackieboy shocks out of his freak out and notices the power cord around his other self. “S-Shit!” He digs around in his pocket and finds Alt’s pocket knife again. He thanks his lucky stars he still has it then rushes towards the power cord and tries to cut through it-

It takes a while, during which the power cord keeps trying to wrap around Jackieboy’s hand. Thank god the cord is unplugged or he would’ve been shocked a million times. 

Jackieboy sweats and grits his teeth as he works through the cord. 

Eventually, the cord is cut, and Jackie tumbles out the broken window and onto the ground outside. He pops up again, staring at Jackieboy with wide eyes. “H-hey! Get out of there!” 

But the pull of the rift has grown inescapable while Jackieboy worked on cutting through the cord.

Once Jackie is free Jackieboy laughs and stumbles to his feet, only to yell out as he’s pulled towards the rift. He looks at his other self with wide eyes and looks scared. “I-I’m sorry!” He yells before the rift sucks him in.

Jackie stares with wide eyes. He tries to reach out, but he’s not fast enough. 

The other him is gone. 

————— 

Magnificent falls through a rough, rippling darkness, until he finally lands somewhere else. This is the living room of a house. A big, open-space living room, decorated with dark colors and wooden highlights, with a sofa and a couple chairs and a big flatscreen TV. A grand front entrance sits on one wall, with front windows. To the left of this are archways leading into a kitchen and dining room. To the right is a wall full of windows. Outside the windows is an evening landscape... a forest. 

“What the fuck?!” A man in a red hoodie suddenly jumps to his feet. On the sofa, two other men—one in a cap, one with a mustache—turn around. “Am I crazy, or did that guy just pop out of nowhere?!” 

Magnificent groans as he lands on the ground, his vision dizzying and unable to focus. He sees the red hoodie bright in his vision and through his weakened state- he tries to reach out. “J…Jackie…”

“Y-yeah?” Jackie stammers. “Who are you?!” 

“Holy shit he’s bleeding!” The man in the cap gasps. “Schneep!” 

A man in glasses rushes out of the archway leading to the kitchen. He gasps. “Marvin?! Wait, no, wh-what the hell?!” 

He’s not supposed to be here, the man with the mustache says. 

“Well he’s bleeding, we gotta do something!” the man in the cap says. “There has to be a first aid kit somewhere in here!” 

Magnificent growls a bit at all the noise and the rushing around. He dazedly sees if there’s any magic or power here but… it’s so hard to concentrate. That fucker Anti drained him of almost everything he had. It’s a miracle he’s still alive… but maybe he did that just to torture him.

As the others rush around and wonder about what the hell is going on, Magnificent reaches out, and feels some source of power… below the ground? A basement of some kind? There also seems to be faint energy all over, but it’s hard to reach, and not enough to do much of anything for him anyway. 

“Don’t move him,” Schneep is saying. “You shouldn’t move someone who’s been injured this much unless necessary. JJ, if you really want to go check on Marvin, go ahead.” 

“No, wait, I’ll go with you, Jays,” Chase says. 

“Hey.” Jackie crouches down in front of Magnificent. “Who are you? How’d you get out here?”

Magnificent feels the power beneath him and he feels that deep aching hunger overwhelm him so much it hurts. He doesn’t have a lot magic left- can he even teleport down there? He’s snapped out of his thoughts by Jackie crouching down in front of him. He narrows his eyes and bares his fangs a bit and croaks out, “M-Magnificent… I… don’t know… big hole- a..a rift-“

"...huh?" Jackie blinks, confused. He backs up, wary. "Wh-why do you have fucking fangs?" 

“Cuz I like em-“ Mag growls dazedly. 

"Don't be judgmental, Jackie," Schneep mutters. "Some people like changing their appearance." 

"Schneep, this guy literally popped in here out of nowhere, isn't that weird?" 

"Yes... but I am a doctor and this man is hurt, I should not let my opinions get in the way. Hand me the bag." 

Jackie still looks unsure, but he passes Schneep a red bad--the group must've found a first aid kit while Mag was spacing out. Schneep opens it up and starts rummaging inside. 

"I'll... go get those wet cloths you mentioned earlier," Jackie mutters, going into the kitchen.

Magnificent studies Schneep through his dizzying vision as he feels that pull of power tugging in his gut. Impossible to ignore. But- he also can’t let himself bleed out- which he unfortunately can still do. So he stays still and lets the doctor do what he must.

"What the fuck caused these wounds?" Schneep mutters. "They are so deep but so narrow..." 

“Razor sharp playing cards made of metal…” Magnificent grunts. 

"What? Were you fighting Gambit from X-Men?" Jackie raises an eyebrow as he returns.

"Jackie, please, I must focus," Schneep says.

Schneep starts to cleans Mag's wounds. They're too narrow to pack, and there's nothing to suture them with in the first aid kit, so Schneep settles for wrapping them very tightly. 

"We need to call an ambulance," he says. "Jackie?" 

"On it." Jackie reaches into his hoodie pocket and pulls out his phone. 

Footsteps approach from the basement staircase. That magical signature is getting closer... and, actually, it feels like there are two. A lighter, smaller current underneath a heavy weight of something dark.

Mag bites back any noise of pain that threatens to come from his lips as Schneep works on him. Then, he feels the signature coming closer and struggles to pull himself up, eagerly looking towards the door.

Chase and JJ come up from the basement. With them is a man wearing a black outfit with lots of lace and belts. His face is very familiar to Magnificent--and vice versa. 

"Wh-what the fuck?" Marvin gasps. "That's--that's me?" 

"No, he's not you," Chase says. "I mean--the eyes and the scars--" 

"Look under that, he fucking looks like me!" Marvin insists.

Magnificent grins, that mad light of his coming back to his eyes. “Of course it’s coming from you…!” He giggles breathlessly. In a last ditch effort he teleports over to Marvin and tries to grab him.

Marvin yelps as Mag suddenly appears in front of him and smacks his hands away with a book he's holding. "What the fuck? What the fuck?!" 

"Hey!" Chase lunges for Mag, trying to grab him. "What the hell are you doing?!" 

"Did he just--what?!" Schneep gasps.

Magnificent snarls and is more focused on trying to grab Marvin as he dives for him again. “Give me… your magic!” he screeches- but he’s pulled away by Chase and he screams in anger and desperately tries to get out by biting Chase’s arm.

"Magic?!" Chase says, confused. 

"Hey!" Jackie lunges across the room and pulls Mag back before he bites Chase. "What the fuck?!" 

Witchcraft? JJ signs, glancing back at Marvin. 

"I--y-yeah, I assume that's what he means," Marvin stammers. "He just--how did he--" He shakes his head... and Mag feels something shift, the dark power growing a bit stronger over the lighter current. "I don't know what's going on, but he's clearly dangerous. We have to lock him up somewhere!"

Magnificent snarls in feral rage as he’s pulled away more. He looks to Marvin, looking desperate. “I-I just need a taste of your magic- I can give you anything else in return!” He begs.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?!" Jackie gasps. 

Marvin's expression softens slightly. "Wait... hold on, I... I think he's just scared." 

Marvin, you can't be taking this seriously, JJ says. He just tried to attack you! 

"Maybe we're just misunderstanding this." Marvin steps closer, leaning in close to Magnificent... and his blue eyes darken to black. He whispers in a voice too quiet for the others to hear, "Help me kill these four and I will give you what you need."

Magnificent stills and then grins, wide and manic. He whispers back, “I need only a taste and I can do that with ease…”

Marvin--or... whatever this is--nods slightly. "It's a deal." 

A breeze flickers through the room. He leans back, eyes returning to normal. "Yeah, I think this is just a big mistake," Marvin says... casually holding his hand out to Magnificent. "It'll be fine."

Magnificent quickly takes Marvin’s hand and smiles. “Yes. It will be.” 

Once they make contact- Mag tries to take as much power as the other will allow. 

The magic that flows into him is dark, similar to his own black magic, converting quickly to power he can use and giving him a jolt of energy. 

"I don't trust this," Jackie mutters. "Marvin, are you sure?" 

"I'm not gonna let go of him," Chase says. "Not until he explains what the hell is going on!" 

JJ's eyes narrow as he looks at Marvin and Mag's clasped hands. Then they widen. Chase, Jackie, get away!

Magnificent grins wide, his eyes glowing with power. He teleports out of Chase’s grip then tries to slash his claws across his throat.

Chase screams and stumbles back, bleeding slashes across his neck. 

"Chase!" Schneep gasps, rushing over and catching him as he falls. "H-hold on!" 

"What the fuck?!" Jackie goes pale. He lunges for Magnificent, pulling back a fist to punch him. 

JJ runs around Mag and Marvin to the first aid kit on the floor. 

Marvin just... stands there. It could be excused as shock... but Mag knows better.

Magnificent laughs crazily as he sees Chase fall- then his head snaps to the side as Jackie easily punches him in the face. He falls to the ground then snarls, eyes snapping towards Jackie. He grins and wipes at his face before teleporting and trying to tackle Jackie to the ground, hands reaching for his throat.

Jackie jumps backwards, stumbling, barely avoiding Mag's attack. "I knew it! I fucking knew something was wrong with you!" he shouts. He looks around, and grabs a lamp from a table, swinging it for Magnificent. And while he does that, a slight black rip opens up in the middle of the living room. 

Marvin looks towards it, confused. "That's... not supposed to be there," he--or the thing inside him--whispers under his breath.

Magnificent yells out as the lamp hits him and he staggers back. He growls darkly and whips out his hand, sending green fire towards Jackie and the floor. He’ll burn down the whole house if he has to! 

He stills as he sees the rip open in the middle and he gasps, staggering back. “The rift-!”

Jackie glances towards the rift, momentarily distracted. JJ does as well, but Schneep is too focused on trying to stem Chase's bleeding to do so. 

"Wh-what is that?" Jackie stammers. 

Whatever it is, it gets slightly bigger, pulling at Magnificent, a breeze tugging on his clothes.

“No! I’m not done yet!” Magnificent snarls at the rift- then dives for the nearest person, aiming to impale Jackie with his claws.

Jackie screams, pushed to the ground and suddenly bleeding from his stomach. 

"Jackie!" Schneep shrieks, staring at him in shock. 

JJ stands up and rushes over, starting to kick Mag off Jackie.

Magnificent gets kicked off and he growls and tries to grab JJ’s leg and sends fire up his leg.

JJ lets out a hoarse shriek and scrambles backwards, flailing on the ground to put the flames out. The rift is slowly pulling Magnificent across the ground. 

"I think your time here is coming to an end," Marvin mutters.

Magnificent cries out and tries to dig his claws into the ground to stop himself. “I thought you wanted my help!” He snarls at Marvin, “so- help me!”

"H-huh?" Schneep looks up. "M... Marvin?" 

Marvin looks towards him, eyes turning black again, and grins. "Who?" 

Schneep goes pale. Jackie starts to cry out but stops, wincing in pain. JJ tries to get to his feet but collapses from the damage done to his leg. 

"I'll try, but I don't think there's much I can do." 'Marvin' walks over to Mag and grabs him by the wrist, pulling... but the rift is stronger.

Magnificent desperately reaches out towards Marvin and as soon as they touch, mag digs his claws in and tries to grab more power, even as the rift pulls him. “Then I’ll have to take what I can get!” He laughs madly.

Marvin's eyes widen--and the black in them flickers as Mag drains dark power from the creature inside him. Marvin lets go in instinctive shock, and Magnificent gets pulled into the rift.

 ----------- 

Alt tumbles through the darkness, landing roughly in another place. This is the living room of a house. A big, open-space living room, decorated with dark colors and wooden highlights, with a sofa and a couple chairs and a big flatscreen TV. A grand front entrance sits on one wall, with front windows. To the left of this are archways leading into a kitchen and dining room. To the right is a wall full of windows. Outside the windows is an evening landscape... a forest. Across from the front entrance is the wall with the TV. Also on this wall is a staircase leading upwards, as well as two closed doors.

Alt oofs quietly as he falls and shakes out his head and then quickly glitches to his feet in panic. “C-Chase?! Jackie??” He calls out, trying to look for any sign of them.

There's no sign of his friends, or even Magnificent. 

But then, outside, he hears the rush of running footsteps. Someone pulls open the front door and four people pile in. A man wearing black and a man with a mustache are supporting a man in a blue T-shirt between them, his head lolling. With them is a man in a cap, bleeding from a spot on his shoulder, his hands also covered in blood. They all stop in unison when they see Alt. 

"Um--what the fuck?!" the man in the cap gasps. "H-how did he get back here before we did?!" 

"N-no, it's a different guy, I think," the man in black says. "Hey! We've called the police! You can't--can't f-fucking do anything!" His anger is thinly hiding his fear. 

Alt glitches back in fear as the others burst in. He’s holds up his hands, looking just as scared as they do. “I-Im sorry I.. I don’t know why I’m h-here or how I got here I… I just- I need to-“ oh god he’s having a panic attack.

"Oh, I, um--s-s-sorry?" The man in the cap stammers. "C-calm down. I mean--don't calm down too much, because th-this--" 

"Can you come upstairs with us?" the man in black says. "I-it'll be safer up there, I think. JJ, grab the medkit, I got Jackie." 

The man with the mustache nods--obviously JJ--and rushes to the living room coffee table, where he gathers up supplies and puts them in a red bag there. He also grabs a red hoodie lying nearby. 

"I-it's gonna be okay," the man in the cap says to Alt, giving him a pained smile--pained because he's obviously bleeding. "We called the police. We just have to find somewhere safe. T-take deep breaths, stranger. Wh-what's your name?"

Alt shakily nods to the man in black and then really takes in the fact that they’re injured. “O-Oh shit uh o-okay… I… I’m Alt.” He glances up at the stairs and then starts towards them, “w-what’s happening? You- you guys are h-hurt-“

"N-nice to meet you, Alt," the man in the cap says, trying to sound calm. "I'm Chase, this is Marvin, Jackie, and JJ. W-we're hurt because--" 

"Because some crazy guy broke into the cabin and is trying to kill us!" Marvin blurts out. 

“W-What?!” Alt breathes in disbelief.

"That's not going to help him!" Chase says, head snapping over to Marvin. 

"Well this is an urgent situation!" Marvin snaps back. "W-we have to get upstairs! Jackie needs to lay down!"

Alt then looks around and starts grabbing who he can and making sure they’re all linked up, “l-listen this is probably weird but I have magic! I can get us upstairs somewhere safe if you guys just picture it!” 

"Wh-what?" Chase blinks. "O-okay, um--" 

Alt then closes his eyes and tries to glitch all of them upstairs.

And then they glitch, appearing in a bedroom with a bed in the middle, decorated much in the style of the living room downstairs but. There's a suitcase at the foot of the bed. 

"What?!" Marvin gasps. "This is the room I called!" He looks over at Alt, surprised--and a bit excited. "You really do have magic!" 

Alt feels himself sway for a second but he’s able to stay upright and he shakes his head to refocus. He smiles tightly at Marvin and gives a nervous laugh, “y-yeah I’m a magician…”

Put Jackie on the bed, JJ says. 

"Y-yeah, of course." 

"Put him on his side, that's supposed to be good for this sort of thing," Chase says. 

Marvin lays Jackie down on the bed, putting him on his side. Alt can see blood staining the back of his shirt. 

JJ puts the red hoodie on the bed next to Jackie, and he reaches out and grabs it. Then JJ sets the medical kit down on the desk in the room and hurries over to close the door.

Alt walks slowly over to Jackie and frowns as he sees the wound. He hovers a hand over it. “I… I might be able to heal him and.. and maybe Chase too-“

"Heal him? With magic?" Marvin's eyes light up. "I mean--" 

"A-are you sure?" Chase asks nervously. "I'd be okay with you t-trying on me, but... Jackie's hurt pretty bad." 

JJ stares at Alt curiously. I don't think you're supposed to be here... but since you are anyway, I think it'd be very helpful. 

"And since Jackie's hurt worse, shouldn't he be healed first?" Marvin argues. 

"Y-yeah, but... if something goes wrong..." Chase trails off. "W-well... if you guys want him to try, he can try. But I think we need to unpack the wound first. Don't want him to heal with that in him." 

"I can do that," Marvin says, rolling up Jackie's shirt to show the bandages underneath, which he starts undoing. 

“Y-Yeah good idea…” Alt looks through his bag and finds his still charged iPad. Hesitates then starts to drain the energy from it to make sure he’s fueled up enough. He has to be careful with healing… if this wound was so bad he could really drain himself too much.

"There's blood getting all over the blankets," Marvin mutters as he undos everything they just did. "Hope Jack doesn't mind." 

Chase laughs. "I think Jack would be more concerned that one of his friends died!" 

Marvin flinches. "Don't remind me." He looks over at Alt. "Alright. Go ahead and try."

Alt nods and goes over to Jackie’s back and hovers a hand over the wound. He traces a healing rune in the air above the wound and mutters something in Gaelic. His hovering hand glows blue and his eyes glow and he lightly presses the light against Jackie’s back. He presses more magic into it and soon enough- the magic starts to stitch together the ripped muscles and skin- closing up the wound and leaving only a faint scar behind. It’s not perfect- but it looks like how the wound would look after weeks of healing. He steps away and the glowing stops and he leans back, breathing heavily. “T-There…”

Jackie's eyes flutter. "Wh.. wha...?" 

"Jackie!" Chase gasps, rushing forward. He starts to hug him but then thinks better of it and stops. "Y-you're okay!" 

"I... what... happened?" he mutters. 

"You really are magic!" Marvin grins at Alt. "That's so--!" 

Alt smiles and laughs a little. “Yup- h-here Chase I think I can-“ 

Suddenly, JJ makes a shushing noise. His face has gone pale. And in the silence that follows... heavy footsteps can be heard in the hallway, stopping right outside the closed door.

Alt freezes as JJ shushes them and goes still- staring at the door with wide eyes.

The door handle rattles. And when it doesn't turn, something scrapes against the wood... and then SLAMS against it. 

JJ jumps. What do we do?! he asks.

Alt hesitates then glitches forward and puts a hand out. He signs to the others, Get behind me or hide! Then he glares at the door, ready to blast whoever bursts through.

The door shakes in its hinges. Marvin, JJ, and Chase all crowd behind Alt. 

JJ grabs the medical kit and hurriedly starts wrapping up the wounds on Chase's hands. 

SLAMSLAMSLAMSLAMSLAM-- The door bursts open and a man runs in, weilding a knife and wearing a surgical mask. He seems to hesitate for a moment seeing Alt, confused.

Even though he hesitates- Alt doesn't. He immediately shoots out some lightning at him, yelling out, "BACK OFF!"

The bolt hits the man dead in the chest, shooting him back out the open door. He falls to the floor, jittering slightly. 

And then Chase gasps. "Wait! SCHNEEP?!" 

Marvin pushes past Alt and rushes forward, grabbing the man. He pulls the surgical mask away from his face, revealing his face. "Schneep!" he gasps.

Alt's eyes widen and he lowers his arm, "W-What?! I.. J-Jesus I'm so sorry-!"

Marvin drags Schneep into the room. "Schneep, h-how are you alive?!" he gasps. "We--we saw you--th-there was so much blood--how?!" 

Schneep is still shivering slightly. He looks at Alt. "What... did you do...?" he croaks out. "H-he has gone silent..." 

"Schneep, a-are you okay?" Chase asks. 

JJ kneels next to him, checking him over. 

Jackie sits up. "Guys... Schneep... h-he was the one who..." he mumbles, trailing off.

Alt looks at Schneep confused- then back at Jackie, the gears turning in his head. "I... w-what's happening? You guys thought Schneep was dead and then... Jackie- are you saying Schneep attacked you?!"

Jackie nods slowly. 

Schneep wouldn't do that! JJ protests. He looks at Schneep. But... 

Schneep clutches his head, still shuddering. "Th-there is--s-s-someone--" he gasps out. "I-I cannot--but he is--he is quieter n-now--" 

"Is this... more of your brain stuff?" Chase asks gently. 

Marvin looks at Alt. "Or is it... maybe something more?"

Alt looks at Schneep and his mannerisms and feels his stomach drops. "I... I think he might be... p-possessed or... or maybe mind controlled?"

"Possessed?" Chase repeats. He frowns. "I-I wouldn't believe you if I didn't just see you heal Jackie like that." 

"Y-you have to take this chance," Schneep gasps. "You must--must run, I--b-before he becomes strong again--Downstairs, m-maybe there is something downstairs--" 

"In the basement?" Marvin asks. 

"I... I can go check for you all-" Alt says, "I'm pretty fast...?"

"I--yeah, sure, I guess?" Chase stammers. 

"What about Schneep?" Marvin asks. 

"You must run!" Schneep repeats. He gasps and doubles over, trembling. "H-he is awake-ing!" 

We'll get out of the room, at least, JJ says. 

Chase nods. He grabs Jackie, helping pull him up. "Sorry, Schneep." 

"Go!" Schneep shouts.

Alt stiffens and then uses his magic to put a shield around Schneep. "Y-You heard him! run! I'll try to hold him!"

The group nods, and rushes out of the room. 

"Basement, basement, basement," Marvin repeats under his breath as they disappear down the hall. 

Schneep shudders, pulling at his hair. "I-I do not know who you are, but--but thank you," he whispers.

Alt looks at Schneep sympathetically and kneels down by the shield, "...I'm a friend. My name is Alt and... I.. I know what it's like to go through something like this... you don't have to face it alone, okay?"

Schneep looks up at him and nods. "Alt... th-thank you. Thank you." He looks down again, hugging himself and rocking back and forth. And behind him, a small black rip opens up in the bedroom.

Alt looks at Schneep with worry and shakes it head. "It's no problem... I'm sure we can find a way to fix this, okay?" He flinches as he feels the slight breeze and looks back towards the rip and stumbles back. "W-What??" 

Schneep doesn't answer. He continues to shake, his whole body trembling--until he suddenly stops. His head snaps up, a sudden look of anger on his face, and he throws himself at the shield.

Alt yelps and scoots away from the shield to look at schneep with wide eyes, "S-Schneep?!"

"You little bitch!" Schneep shouts--but it's clearly not him. His voice is different; the accent has changed. His fists pound against the shield. "Where did you come from?! You're ruining everything! It's all going to damn hell because of you and this stupid fucking psycho and his terrible fit!"

Alt cringes away from the shouting and then glares at not-Schneep. "Good! I'm glad I'm ruining everything! You shouldn't be possessing Schneep anyways!"

A cruel, dark laugh comes from Schneep's mouth. "I didn't choose him! He was just the first! I bet any of the others would've been a good fit!" He throws Schneep's body at the shield again, bouncing back, then grins at Alt. "Even you would have been good." 

The rip in the world behind Schneep grows bigger...and Alt starts to feel its pull.

The shield is starting to crack- and Alt tries to scramble away with wide terrified eyes- then feels the rip pulling him closer. He panics trying to stop the pull with his feet. "N-No! No!"

The thing possessing Schneep bares his teeth at him in a sadistic smile. Then... he notices the way Alt's clothes are moving, and looks confused. He looks behind himself and sees the rift. "What?" he breathes, momentarily distracted by his confusion. Then his head snaps back to Alt, angrily. "What have you done?!"

"I-I didn't do this!" Alt argues, "S-Some fucker broke our device and i-is making rifts in other universes-!" He tries to dig his nails into the floor to stop the pull. "I-I don't know what's going on..!"

The thing laughs. "Well, looks like you won't be t-trouble for m-me much longer." 

Schneep's arms twitch. His expression breaks into wide-eyed fear. "A-A-Alt?" 

Footsteps come from down the hallway. "Schneep?!" Jackie's voice shouts. "A-are you still here?!"

Alt looks back at Schneep and then hesitates before he drops the shield. He breathes out, "H-Hey... y-you're gonna be okay, okay? I'm s-sure the others found something to help you and ... t-this can be over soon!"

"O-o-okay," Schneep breathes. "I-I will... h-hold on for them." 

Alt smiles and nods, "G-Good..."

"Schneep!" Marvin bursts into the room, holding an old-looking book with a cracked leather cover. On it, Alt can see the faint image of an eye surrounded by Celtic-knot type designs. 

"What the fuck?!" Marvin skids to a halt. Chase, JJ, and Jackie appear behind him. 

The pull of the rift is almost irresistible.

Alt looks at the others and he looks scared but he tries to smile for them too. "H-Hey you found something huh? G-Good... you all can save Schneep then...!" He clambers to try to resist the pull but he knows he can't fight it for much longer. He looks at the others and swallows shakily. "D-Don't let him feel alone... okay?"

Marvin hesitates, then nods. "O-okay. We won't. Never!" He opens up the book. 

"We'll take care of this," Chase says. 

JJ looks directly at Alt. Good luck. 

And then the pull becomes too much. 

Alt smiles and nods to them before the rift pulls him completely through.

[thesoulspulse]

This cover might be a placeholder but I love my Valerie's look so much! And I'm looking forward to resuming my journey with Valerie and Dani in Turning Point sometime in the future.

[tsukishimass]

someone needs to talk about astra inclinant and running on air by eleventy7 with me or put a muzzle on me because i am becoming feral by the second

[celestialcass]

hate it when people say fandoms are inherently toxic like... its amazing to recognize people you follow on tumblr reading your stuff [and LIKING IT??? AHJKDSDHFG] on ao3.... I was reading rise of the tmnt comics on here, switched tabs and saw that same artist READ MY NEWEST FIC AND GAVE KUDOS and i just about cried from how happy I was that they enjoyed my writing, same as how I'm enjoying their art!!! And when I post art that same thing can happen in reverse!! being in a fandom is INCREDIBLE

[outer-edges]

The first question of the day comes later than usual, the early winter sun high in the sky as it nears noon. It’s a crisp day with a snap in the air, and there was a fresh snowfall last night, but the wind isn’t blowing, and the sun is warm. He and Ellie both managed to snag some sleep last night, then they had some canned sausages and powdered eggs for breakfast. They shot the shit for a bit after breakfast before breaking down camp and starting on the road. All in all, not a bad start to the day. Probably one of the best starts he’s had in a while.

“Hey, Joel,” Ellie says after a bit of silence.

She’s been on the quiet side these past few days. Not for any particular reason, as far as he can figure, just been a sluggish stretch for the both of them. He blames the shift from fall to winter. It’s had both of them reorienting and searching for their footing, especially after that little tiff they had in the Cabela’s.

Joel doesn’t respond verbally, but he gives a little hum grunt combo, the one that means he’s listening and waiting for her to continue.

“What’s your last name?” Ellie asks.

“Why do you care about my last name?” he asks back, more curious than guarded.

“I mean, I just think it’s weird we’ve been traveling together all this time, and I don’t even know your last name,” she explains, “I guess there’s been no reason for it to come up, but still, it feels weird.”

“Miller.”

Ellie blinks at him. “What?”

“My last name is Miller.”

“Oh,” she sounds almost disappointed, “Miller. That’s so…normal.”

“What did you expect?” Joel asks, sending her a sidelong glance over his shoulder. She’s dragging behind a bit, and he slows down his pace a bit until they’re side by side.

“I dunno,” Ellie shrugs, “Something cooler than Miller.”

He just shrugs. Not much to say. Not much to do. His last name is Miller, always has been, always will be. Ellie might want his last name to be something cool, but it’s not like that shit matters anymore. Last names stopped mattering when the world ended. Even FEDRA doesn’t give enough of a shit about them to keep track of their last names half the time. The only people who get last names in their books are the ones on the wanted list. Joel had a last name. Tess didn’t. She was smarter than him. More careful. Also a hell of a lot more powerful. It helped that Joel tended to toss himself in front of any speeding bullets, metaphorical or literal.

“You could always lie about it,” Ellie suggests after a minute, “You know, think of something really badass and intimidating.”

“Alright,” Joel agrees, “You got any suggestions, kiddo?”

“I don’t fucking know,” she says, “What are cool last names? Like, Savage. Or Wolfe. Or both.”

He deadpans. “Joel Savage Wolfe?”

“Oh, c’mon! You know that’s badass!” Ellie fires back.

It’s not. It’s really fucking not. But it makes her laugh and bounce in a way that warms his old bones and weary heart, so he begrudgingly accepts it. They spend the next half hour or so suggesting last names. Well, she suggests, he rates them on a scale from one to ten. By the end of it, he’s Joel Savage Wolfe Butcher Eastwood Flintlock Miller. Ellie decides she’s also a Flintlock because it’s too badass a last name for him to hog, and she becomes Ellie Flintlock Slaughter.

It’s only later that it occurs to him that he doesn’t even know if Ellie has a last name.

(She does. It’s Williams. She tells him over dim firelight with an almost sad tone in her voice. He wonders if that’s the name FEDRA gave her, or if that’s from her parents. He doesn’t gather the nerve to ask.)

[majorproblems77]

Be me.

Writing Whumptober prompts, as i work through some ideas in my head for the writer's block I'm having right now.

Resist the urge to write about 4 new WIPS that are unrelated to anything and everything right now.

But also. Sky beloved, he needs more written about him.

What to do?

[cyanidas]

Hope yall are having a good holiday season!

I'm excited for the new year ;w; small update in tags