#i dunno where the green came from i was just thinking of what eye color to give him and i thought “yes green what an amazing choice”

[paradoxgoggles]

I call this one fishbowl, because whoever this is looks so much like water in a fishbowl it's weird.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Hi! May I request a small fic where miles 42 dates a male reader who's very bubbly, glittery, fashionista, and dresses in very bright colors or pastels. Maybe Rio and Aaron finally get to meet him and try their best not to tease or laugh at how ironic it is?

They find it even funnier knowing he's the who's been stickers all of his jackets or just anything that came out of his room.

Got carried away with this one oopsie

take it or leave it.

Miles peeled off his dark green puffer jacket, brushing off stray rain drops that hadn’t evaporated yet. In doing so his fingers ran over something smooth like plastic. Already knowing what it was, he took his forefinger and thumb and removed it.

The face of a rabbit with an ‘x’ for a mouth stared blankly at him. Miles held it up to the light and smiled to himself as little dots of color shifted from orange to green, having a good idea who it was from.

You liked to slap these things everywhere–anywhere–that you could reach. Though you never explained yourself to him, Miles suspected that your reason was the same as his when he spray-painted the walls of abandoned buildings: to make your presence known in a world that seemed set on ignoring you.

Your bleach-blonde curls, pastel shirts and flared pants made you quite difficult to ignore in the first place.

Even Miles, who hid beneath his hoodies and oversized jackets, couldn’t take his eyes off of you from across the basketball court that fateful day as you sat on a bench crowded with your friends. They were dressed just as elaborately, but not with nearly as much variety of color.

One girl draped head-to-toe in black lace and silver jewelry leaned over to whisper something to you. Whatever was said made you turn and meet his eyes just as he caught the basketball that had just sunk through the net above him. 

He froze momentarily and could’ve sworn he saw you grinning at him before he started dribbling again.

You were too far away for Miles to commit the details of your face to memory, but he recognized the blonde sitting at the top of your head when you rammed into him in the middle of the hallway the very next day.

Now in full uniform–save for the fashionably-loosened tie–his eyes were drawn to the row of helix piercings lining your right ear, and the faint glow of metallic eyeshadow swiped across your lids with lashes that curled sharply upwards like–

“Yo,” your voice brought him back to reality. “Are you okay? I said ‘my bad’.”

Miles blinked.

“Oh,” he replied dimly.

You laughed good-naturedly.

“Just ‘oh’?”

“I-I mean,” Miles stumbled over his words, “You’re…good. I guess.”

“That’s…good,” you parroted with a teasing smile. “See you around!”

You pulled the strap of your book bag further over your shoulder, causing the cluster of charms and trinkets hanging from it to click-clack together with every bouncy step you took as you weaved through the stream of oncoming students.

That was how it began.

“I think he likes you.”

Sela took a bite of her french fry, which she then pointed towards the next table ahead of her. You followed her line of vision right back to the mismatched eyes that had burned two holes into the back of your skull in the hallway. 

And P.E. 

And A.P. Bio. 

The more you thought about it, the more your friend’s hypothesis began to sound believable.

Still, you shook your head and chuckled.

“He’s definitely straight, first of all.”

“You don’t know that! What happened to not assuming?”

“Hm, I dunno…”

You looked again. This time, Miles was fiddling with the sleeves of his uniform, avoiding eye contact. Presentation aside, you’d never really seen him running with the sort of boy that said “Pause!” every five minutes, so that was a plus.

…Then again, you’d never seen him running with anyone. He even hooped alone. You recalled him making several lay-ups in a row as clean as the twin braids that brushed his shoulders. No team required.

Sela interrupted your quiet deliberation.

“Go talk to him and find out, then. Not like he’s gonna kill you if you ask.”

She tapped her long black coffin nails on the lunch table, awaiting your answer. 

“I don’t feel like getting up,” you groaned lazily. 

“Fine, I’ll call him over.”

“Hey, wait–”

“Aye, Morales! Miles Morales!”

Miles looked startled. “Huh?”

Sela waved at him while you ran your palm over your face.

“C’mere!”

He eyed her suspiciously, but slowly got up and shuffled over to your table.

“Do you…” he looked around. “Need something?”

The girl gestured enthusiastically towards you, and you rolled your eyes mentally before replacing the irritation with a smile and taking the lead.

“You looked lonely over there, man. Come sit with us!”

Miles bit his bottom lip once you spoke up, appearing to take in a sharp breath before taking the empty seat across from you.

“So do you have any, like, actual friends–? Ow!”

Sela rubbed her arm after you gave her a good smack.

“Sorry about her. She meant to ask if you were doing alright. You seemed kinda out of it.”

“I’m…fine,” he answered slowly. 

“Well, that’s good. You were staring at me somethin’ fierce, I thought I had done something to you.”

Miles felt a rush of heat travel straight to his cheeks.

“N-nah, it’s just that–well, I saw you at the basketball court, and…” he trailed off and began messing with the end of one of his braids.

You leaned in closer to hear him better, which didn’t help his situation.

“One more time?”

“I saw you. At the basketball court.”

The teasing grin returned to your face.

“Yeah, I saw you too. What about it?”

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, trying to piece the right words together. Then he tried again.

“I liked your ‘fit.”

You held back an obnoxious snort of laughter. 

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, you have…good…fashion sense.”

Miles wrinkled his nose. He didn’t even believe his own lie. Why would you?

Mercifully, you narrowed your eyes but didn’t say anything. 

“Thanks. You got good taste in sneakers.”

You paused, then added, “Meet me at the basketball court after school and I’ll show you how I put my outfits together. How's that sound?”

The offer hung in the air. Miles considered the possibility that you were just pulling his leg and that he’d wind up standing alone in an empty court, but there was no sign of a joke in your expression. 

He shrugged in a fake show of nonchalance.

“Sure.”

The two of you went on like that for two long months. Meeting each other on the court, sitting on the bench and making light conversation while shooting compliments at each other that always just missed the mark of what you really meant to say, until one day you finally got tired of meandering.

“Miles, can I ask you something?”

“I dunno,” he answered, sipping on a pouch of Capri-Sun. “Can you?”

“You promise that if I ask, you’re gonna give me an honest answer?”

“If it won’t get me arrested, sure.”

“Miles, I’m serious.”

Your gaze intensified, making his heart rate quicken.

“Alright.”

“Are you into me?”

His blood ran hot and icy cold at the same time. 

The thumping in his chest whenever you got close and he could smell what soap you used, the absent-minded doodles in his sketchbook, and finally, the staring, had been given a name. And in being named, it took on a physical form - something blinding and liquid that shot through his bloodstream.

Miles wanted to be able to say no. Give a straight answer, and move on to a more comfortable topic. But you’d read him like a book the last time he tried to lie to your face.

You noticed his hesitation, and the vice grip he had on his now-empty Capri-Sun.

“It won’t change anything, I just wanna be sure.”

He looked unconvinced. How do you just go back to normal knowing that your friend is in love with you? They could pretend nothing had changed for maybe a couple weeks, maximum, before conversations became clipped greetings in the hallway, then fizzled out into nothing. Impossible.

But again, it was no use lying.

He avoided your eyes as he answered, “I think so.”

Cold, delicate fingers suddenly found themselves beneath his chin, and his eyes widened as you turned his face towards yours.

“Miles, look at me. You either do or you don’t.”

His heartbeat was in his ears now, making his breaths shallow and the veins in his eyes pulse. The setting sun cast a sentimental glow over everything that filtered through your hair. No one else was around, save for the warm breeze.

“Miles, are you good–?”

He pressed his lips against yours before he could stop himself. Your lips were smoother than he’d expected, just slightly tacky with mentholated lip balm.

And, more importantly, they kissed him back. 

-

Miles grabbed his sketchbook from his desk drawer and opened it to a page filled with tiny sketches of your outfits. Carefully, he placed the sticker next to the baby blue puffer you’d worn yesterday so that the two of you could be “twins”.

He should really call you, he thought.

-

You sighed, leaning your head back on the couch beneath the cool air-conditioning of Miles’ uncle Aaron’s apartment. The tall, lean man that you’d guessed Miles had probably gotten his accent from (and sayings that could only come out of the mouth of an older man) had gone out momentarily to grab food for all three of you. 

Feeling his eyes on you, you turned to your now-sort-of-official boyfriend with a questioning look.

“What?”

Miles was holding back a laugh.

“Why’d you switch up like that in front of my uncle?”

“I didn’t ‘switch up’ anything.”

“I have never heard you talk like that in my life.”

You copied his pose, slouching and man-spreading with your hands resting on your thighs. You flattened and lowered your voice into the boring monotone that teenage boys liked to adopt when they wanted to be taken seriously.

“You mean like this?”

This earned a snicker from Miles, whose expression then became earnest.

“Seriously, though, you don’t gotta do the whole act around my unc. He’s not like that.”

“Then why do you do it?”

The boy paused. 

Your observation was correct - Miles tended to lengthen and smooth out his stride when he walked next to Aaron on their ‘grocery runs’. He would remove the playful lilt in his voice, like when you strain freshly-brewed tea, leaving only the mellow liquid behind. 

“That’s…different.”

We’re trying to impress him for two different reasons.

You let it go. 

“Whatever you say. You are gonna tell him about us, though, right? Since he’s ‘not like that’.”

Miles scoffed, “You’re the one that introduced yourself as ‘a close friend of mine’. I ain’t tell you to say any of that.”

“I wasn’t sure if you felt safe!” you laughed.

“We were holding hands before he even opened the door, he definitely saw that shit.”

“Alright, alright, you win. We’ll both tell him, then. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

-

“Miles! Tu novio!”

“Coming!”

Miles padded over to the living room, where you stood in a bright yellow jacket covered in vibrant patchwork, and those jeans with the spray-painted stars all over them. Your hair was hidden beneath a red beanie you had stolen from his closet.

Aaron sipped on a fresh cup of coffee in the kitchen, well-within earshot as Miles greeted you.

“Hey.” The boy smiled, awkwardly sticking his hands in the pockets of his plain, dark-wash jeans.

His mother Rio shut the door and looked on in amusement at the two boys standing in front of her. You would think her son would add some more color to his wardrobe, being with someone that looked like that. But the all-black ensemble wasn’t going anywhere.

“¿Ustedes dos siguen fingiendo ser amigos?” the woman teased. “I’m not sensing any affection over here, guys!”

Miles gave his mom a blank stare, while you laughed. Even months later, the other boy wasn’t one for PDA.

“Oh they real affectionate, alright,” Aaron chimed in. 

“Here we go…”

“I go out to get these boys some Domino’s one time, right? I come back up, and these two are cuddling on my damn couch after they told me they were ‘just good friends’. Now mind you, I ain’t believe ‘em for a second–”

“That’s great, unc,” Miles was already tugging you in the direction of his room, “We’re leaving now!”

“Don’t get too touchy in there!”

Once inside, he shut the door behind him. You struggled to suppress a laugh at the weary look on his face as you sat on the edge of his bed.

“She’s kinda right, y’know.”

“About?”

“It wouldn’t kill you to spare me a hug or something, once in a while.”

He said nothing.

You scanned Miles’ bedroom. All of his manga had been cleared off of his desk, and his swivel chair was no longer burdened with a pile of clothes. He just cleaned his room, you think.

The only thing left sitting there was his notorious sketchbook, a ballpoint pen, and a couple of Tombow markers scattered about. 

And of course, your stickers. 

You got up to take a closer look at the loose sketches and hummed in satisfaction.

“You’re really good at getting clothing folds right. You sure you never wanna study fashion design?”

He smiled, and shook his head.

“I’ll leave the fashion shit to you.”

“We could go to F.I.T. together, you and me.”

Without so much as making a peep, Miles and his long legs had snuck up behind you to wrap his equally-long arms around your waist.

“I’ll visit you.”

“What are you doing?”

“You asked for a hug.”

“That’s not what I mea–”

“Take it or leave it.”

The smell of paint and Jergens lotion enveloped you as you pulled him closer. You inhaled deeply, then sighed.

“You’re real stubborn, you know that?”

His chest shakes as he laughs.

“One of us has to be.”

[katsukiizmoon]

╰┈➤ ꒰🍓💌🥛 ┊boba time ┊Mama’s Harvest ꒱

『♡』 pregnancy

Your fingers fiddle with the little flower bud in your hands and you use the back of your hand to wipe sweat from your forehead. The sun is beginning to beat down on you, drenching your skin in rays.

“Almost done?” Katsuki startles you, leaning over from behind where you kneel.

You bounce, dropping the flower and turning around to give him a glare.

“Yeah, jus’ gotta finish pollinating the squash or it’ll produce less..” You remind, returning to the task at hand.

He chuckles, rolling his eyes and begins making his way through the garden with a basket in hand. Leaves rustle and the tell-tale sound of stuff flopping to the ground let’s you know he’s harvesting.

“Babe..” He calls and you glance over in his direction.

“Hmmm?” You wonder, nearly finished with your chores.

“How many peppers did you plant?” Katsuki inquires and you freeze.

“Uhhh..” Your mind races for an answer and you begin counting on your fingers. Whispering to yourself and naming off varieties.

“We’re gonna drown in peppers, holy shit.” He jokes, rounding one of the rows with a massive basket filled with different pepper varieties.

Katsuki rushes you inside, complaining that you shouldn’t be in the heat for too long and you pout. Still, you do as told and go inside to make lunch and relax.

There’s a lot of pros to your husband being a pro hero. One, you don’t need to work. You can if you want to but you don’t. Katsuki gives you all the money you want and more, no questions asked.

He doesn’t push unrealistic expectations on you, either. You had a career for years of your relationship and for the first two years of being married.

But when Katsuki came behind you with red cheeks and shy eyes, saying he wanted s little one, it was time for a change. Pregnancy is hard on the body and both of you thought it would be best to have you home for at least the first three years of the little melons life.

You aren’t far along, either. But your husband is persistent.

You watch from the kitchen window as he grabs another basket and scissors, only to come back with an abundance of herbs and fruits. Nothing in life rivals these moments.

You turn, grabbing s large knife and a cutting board to begin slicing a bunch of green onion. The knife hits the bamboo with a satisfying “knock knock knock” and you sigh in content.

Nausea bubbles in your throat and you push it down, thinking about all good things.

The door creaks open and Katsuki places the woven baskets on the table. You hear footsteps before his large hands are on your lower tummy. His head comes to rest on top of yours, where the places a kiss and sighs.

“So, when should we tell ma?” He ponders.

The cutting stops and you set down the metal utensil, turning to face him. Your arms wrap around his shoulders where they lay purchase, tugging your body closer to his own.

“Mmm.. not sure m’ love. Whadd’you think?” You mirror his mindset, unsure of what the best option would be.

“Well you’re the one growing the baby, so I thought you’d wanna do it a certain way- I dunno people get sentimental about this shit.” Katsuki’s damp lips come to rest on your forehead for a moment.

“Well I can’t hide it much longer- fuck it why don we just invite them over for dinner to get some of these peppers? We can tell em then!” You propose, shooting a look at all the excess fruit and vegetables.

“Yeah, we can do that, I’ll tell ‘em. What time?”

Katsuki’s breaking away, using his hip to bump you over so he can take over cooking. You smack his shoulder and he flinches. It stings even when he’s got a dark grey shirt on, no match for your mood.

You scowl and grab another cutting board and a bell pepper. He opens his mouth to say something but you cut him off.

“Baby I’m pregnant not dying. I’m cutting the damn bell pepper. And mm eight, we’ll do that.”

Before long, all the colorful foods are cut and turned into a large dinner. Sitting in front of you is chicken legs smothered in seasonings and drizzled in gravy over mashed potatoes. Your stomach grumbles and you nearly sigh in relief when his parents walk in.

The conversation continues as normal until you’re met with a wave of nausea. Your face scrunches and despite attempting to hide it- his mother notices. His father isn’t paying any mind, looking at the massive side salad you’ve prepared.

Her eyes narrow and her mouth opens.

“So, uh-“ Katsuki begins, cherry eyes flicking over to meet your own.

“I’m pregnant.” You reveal and his mother slaps the shit out of katsuki on instinct.

It isn’t malicious, she’s practically bouncing. A wide grin wipes across her face and she looks toward her husband with a giggle.

“Fucking FINALLY!” She yells and katsuki looks at her incredulously.

“Don’t look at me like that Katsuki! I’ve been wanting grand babies for years now!” His mother scolds, looking at you with a bright smile.

Katsuki takes a breath, nice and slow to steady himself, while your mother prods with questions. You’re eating, talking about the ins and outs of pregnancy while his father pitches in warmly.

He grumbles in the corner, telling his mom to shut up, and makes faces at some of the things he didn’t expect.

“Yunno, with this asshole, I really craved sweets. But the hardest part of being pregnant with him was probably the hemorrhoids and kicking. God- the kicking was horrible.” His mother explains, stuffing a last bite of mashed potato in her mouth.

You giggle at your husbands angry and confused face from the side. He seems almost offended that pregnancy could be so horrible.

“Why was the kicking so bad?” He pokes, much more gentle than usual.

“Ahh.. it feels like butterflies at first, yunno? But you moved a lot-“ she grabs a sip of water, tilting her head towards him, and places the glass back down.

“-that’s fine and all at first. But you got stronger and it hurt, at one point you had your foot pressed against my ribs for two hours! You’d just kick and it was a constant mild uncomfortable feeling..”

The blonde to your right furrows his brows and takes a sip of his own water. The metal fork he was once using placed on the side of his dish.

“Well, that… makes sense.” Katsuki thinks out loud and looks over towards you.

The dinner ends with kisses and hugs. His mother says she’s coming over in a few days with a couple pregnancy life savers and demands to have copies of the ultrasounds.

Katsuki takes his time that night while you bathe. He massages your shoulders and back, up your ankles and thighs and kisses your tummy. You catch him whispering for the little melon to be sweet to you and nearly coo at the man.

The next day, he brings in a large notebook and grabs a pen. “Baby Food” is messily written at the top and you smile.

A kiss is placed to the top of his head, then a kiss to your lower stomach, like it’s becoming routine.

There’s something fond, simple, and beautiful about the way he falls into fatherhood without question.

[sinelanguage]

Is it weird for me to send you an ask meme when I don’t follow you? I just got your one piece body swap on my dash and loved it so now I want to read something else you write. No pressure though, obviously! I was thinking 31? Or 28? Could be fun too

One moment, Zoro’s taking a nap on the deck of the Merry, enjoying the midday sun, and the next he’s– well, he’s taking a nap on the deck of the Merry, enjoying the midday sun. 

He doesn’t really notice anything’s changed, other than how his receding sunspot on deck is suddenly large enough for his whole body again. He stretches out across the deck and tries to chase the feeling of the warm sun on his skin. It’s better right now, somehow, and he doesn’t bother understanding why. 

This is the best nap of his life; he’s not going to question it.

“Hey, who let a cat on board?” comes a grating voice, interrupting his perfect nap. Zoro blinks awake, focusing on the deck. It’s somehow in higher focus than normal, though the colors are off. “And why is it green?”

Footsteps echo off the deck floor, each step louder than normal. He recognizes the familiar footsteps of the whole crew, but why do they sound so loud today?

Then, something grabs him by the back of the neck, pulling at his skin. He thinks the enemy is pulling his skin off, but somehow it stretches more than normal. Zoro yelps, but the sound is unfamiliar to his own ears. 

That’s not– that’s not a human noise. That’s a meow.

He’s hanging in the air, limbs flailing in front of him. His nap is properly interrupted, and Zoro flails in front of himself in protest, but everything feels weird and unfamiliar. He tries to grab for his swords, but he doesn’t have hands to hold them. From what he can see of his forearms, they’re covered in a thick green fur, and Zoro reels at the sight. 

“Why’re you glaring at me? I bet it snuck on board at the last port when you were trying to flirt with the shopkeeper! I didn’t have anything to do with it!”

The person holding him scoffs. “I dunno. Even if you don’t know shit, out of all the options, you’re the one who’ll fold first.”

Oh, great. That confirms it; the person holding him is the cook. Zoro squirms some more, but it’s all futile. 

“Hey! Sanji! I’m not that easy of a target, I’ll have you know I’ve held out under torture for longer, for days. Years, even, before folding and admitting to my crimes–”

“--Usopp. Did you let the cat on board?”

“No, absolutely not,” Usopp replies immediately. “I’ve really got no idea where it came from.”

Zoro has a bad feeling about this. 

There’s no way. There’s no way the cat they’re both referring to is him. He tries to protest, but all that comes out of his mouth are yowls and growls, all incomprehensible to his own ears. He kicks forward, he stretches outward, and he’s met with the sight of four, furry paws. 

Shit.

“That’s not a cat! That’s Zoro!” Chopper exclaims. Zoro meows again, and Chopper makes another shocked noise, looking up at him with wide, watery eyes. “Zoro! Is that really you?! Are you okay?!”

Zoro feels the hairs– fur?!-- on his spine raise. Chopper makes another shocked gasp. 

“Oh, no, Zoro, what happened to you?!”

“What?! That’s– that’s Zoro?!” Usopp exclaims. “But he’s so– he’s so tiny! And fluffy!”

He can’t help himself; Zoro growls, and yup, it’s definitely a cat’s growl coming from his own throat. What the hell. He’s a cat now? He doesn’t want to be a cat.

“Hah, is marimo angry with me?” Sanji taunts, and Zoro feels his tail stand on end. “Wow, you really are expressive like this, huh?”

Expressive? Whatever. He’s going to claw the cook’s face off– he has claws, right? If he’s a cat he has to have claws. With one last determined growl at Sanji, Zoro eyes his hands– well, his paws– and wiggles his cat toes. 

“Aw, Zoro is cute like that,” Nami coos. “Maybe we can keep him around like this forever.”

Sanji shakes him. “Cute?! Nami-san, you can’t think he’s cute! He’s just some overgrown furball!”

“I dunno, Sanji, he’s really fluffy,” Usopp argues. “Look at his tail, it’s all puffed out.”

The three of them continue debating, and Zoro opts to ignore the noise. Instead of listening, he stretches his paws like he’s stretching out his own fingers. It takes a moment and a couple of stretches, but sure enough he’s able to unsheath his claws. There’s ten of them, all sharp and pointed. 

He unsheaths the claws again and again, watching as the sharp point retracts again and again. Perfect; being a cat is great, actually. Sharp teeth and blades in his hands, what more could he want?

“-and he’s not that fluffy, I’ve seen fluffier cats,” the cook argues. What’s he going off about again? Sanji brings Zoro closer to his face, his one visible eye scrutinizing him. “And look, even as a cat his forehead’s too big.”

Oh, right. He’s going off about how he’s an ugly cat or something. 

Unbothered, Zoro glares at Sanji, then experimentally stretches one paw out to see how close he is to the cook now. He’s definitely in arm’s distance now. No better time to try out his claws. 

With Sanji still examining him, Zoro reaches one paw out experimentally to touch his face. The cook’s face feels warm under his paw pads, and his face pulls into shock, mouth agape. Then, knowing just how much distance is between him and the cook, Zoro pulls his paw back and unsheaths his claws. 

“No, no, no you stupid furball–”

Slashing forward, Zoro catches one claw in Sanji’s nose with his claw. The claw tears into flesh easily, leaving a long, clean cut down the side of Sanji’s face. With an undignified help, the cook finally lets go of his scruff, and with an instinct he doesn’t understand, Zoro falls to the ground and lands on all four paws. 

He pauses, back arched in shock as he tries to regain his balance on the deck. 

“Wow! I heard cats could land upright, but I’ve never actually seen a cat do it,” Nami says. 

“That’s not what’s important here! He just cut my face up, stupid mossball!”

“Cats falling upright is a natural reflex. It seems that Swordsman-san’s transformation into a cat has given him the same instincts as one,” Robin says, ignoring the cook’s warbling entirely. “How curious. I’ve read about cats’ ability to land upright, but I’ve never known how high they could fall before gravity does them in.”

There’s a cackle behind him; Zoro’s back arches further, all his fur sticking on end. He has a bad feeling about this. 

One rubber hand grabs him around his middle, and Zoro yelps– yowls?-- eyes widening as he’s pulled into the air again. He’s starting to resent being this small and carryable; he’d rather be a cat that couldn’t be tossed around like a ragdoll. 

“Wanna find out?” Luffy asks, and Zoro can’t contain his yowl in protest. 

Usopp makes an incomprehensible protest. “Luffy, you idiot, you can’t just toss him in the air!” 

There’s a loud laugh echoing across the deck. “I toss Zoro all the time! He’ll be fine!”

“He’s a cat now! You don’t know if he’ll be fine!” 

“Aw, but Robin just said he’d be fine–” 

Zoro is still hanging in the air by Luffy’s rubber hand, desperately clawing at the skin he can find. He is not getting tossed, not when he’s like this.

“Robin said she didn’t know his limits, not that he’d be fine! Moron!”

Suddenly, Zoro’s snatched away from Luffy’s hands by something equally furry. He growls, the sound coming out involuntarily from his throat.

“Aw, you’re upsetting him!” Chopper says. “He’s scared, don’t throw him in the air!”

What? He’s not scared. He’s not even that upset. Stupid cat body unable to hide his stupid emotional reactions– he growls again, and he can’t figure out how to make it stop.

“I can translate for him, and he doesn’t want to be thrown in the air!”

“Yeah, we can all see that,” Nami says. “Wow, who knew Zoro’d be such a fluffy, expressive cat.”

Zoro growls loudly, pauses, then tries to growl quieter. Damn it, why can’t he control this?!

“And he doesn’t like being a cat either, so you better figure out why it happened!” Chopper says. Zoro growls again. “And he doesn’t like me knowing what he’s saying–”

Chopper pets his head, as if that would calm him down. He growls again, stretching his paws outward. 

“-so stop being mean! And don’t throw him in the air!”

“Well, too bad for him, we all can see what he’s thinking,” Usopp says. “And I think he likes having his head pet. Wow, he really is just like a cat, huh?”

That’s not true. Zoro’s not enjoying Chopper petting his head, and he doesn’t even enjoy when Chopper scratches behind his ears. Still, despite his internal protests, Zoro has never felt something as relaxing in his entire life. He melts, and suddenly there’s an involuntary rumble from his throat, reverberating through his entire tiny cat body. 

“Oh, he’s purring! That means he’s happy,” Chopper explains, and Zoro tries to figure out how to turn that off. 

He’s got to get a handle on this stupid cat thing if he wants to maintain some shred of dignity. 

Still, when Chopper scratches behind his ear again, the rumbling continues without his permission.

“Aw. Are you sure we can’t keep him like this?” Nami asks. “It’s not like Zoro’s very helpful on the deck anyway. At least this way he can catch mice for us.”

“H-hey! We’re not going to let that shithead kill mice, I’m sure the mice haven’t done anything to deserve that–”

“He’d be an accomplished mouser, with his experience hunting pirates and his natural cat instincts. I’m sure he’ll be useful, Cook-san.”

“That’s not the point!”

Whatever; he’ll let the idiots continue arguing. Zoro closes his eyes, stretches out, and tries to find the sun again. If he’s going to be stuck as a cat, he’ll let the rest of the crew figure out the solution for him. It’s not like he could do anything useful; he's a cat.

The sun feels awfully good on his fur, though, especially as Chopper holds him. Zoro huffs. They’ll solve his problem eventually. For now, he’ll enjoy the best nap of his life. 

[lovingastory]

Sakura collaboration story

Back in 2020, Kadokawa published a volume titled Sakura collaboration, which included a number of short stories (more like drabbles, really) related to several light novel series, including The Slayers. "Cherry blossoms" (sakura) was the common theme.

I recently got my hands on one copy of the volume, and the story Hajime Kanzaka wrote for The Slayers (set sometime after novel 17 and paired with a lovely illustration by Araizumi of Lina and Gourry under a cherry tree, which has been circulating on its own for a while) is so cute and quietly poetic that I thought it was a shame not to share it with everyone. So under the cut you can find my tentative translation.

It looked like falling snow.

It filled up the sky, filled up our field of vision – swaying, drifting white, white, white.

Except, it wasn’t cold. If anything, it reminded of warmth, perhaps simply because it was warm, or perhaps because there was also some red among all the dancing, falling white.

The open blossoms fell among the lined trees, splendid, and ephemeral at the same time.  

“Wow,” I couldn’t help but say in admiration, unconsciously stopping as soon as I fixed my eyes on that spectacle.  

“Amazing,” commented Gourry, my travel companion. He stopped too, enthralled by the dancing blossoms. “Say, Lina, what kind of flowers are those?”

“Dunno. I’ve never seen them back where we come from,” I replied.

A little while before, for a number of reasons, Gourry and I had been sent away to an unknown, faraway land. We’d found ourselves under this sky as we were trying and get back where we came from, on a clueless and unsuccessful journey.

I’d travelled here and there in the land I used to live in before, but I’d never seen those flowers. Meaning they probably only blossomed here.

“Cherry blossoms!” The girl called Ran, who’d become our travel companion ever since we got here, suddenly blurted out, in a strange voice.

She often used weird expressions, which, according to her, were in her hometown’s dialect.

“Huh? What, now?”

“The name of the flowers – cherry blossoms.”

“Ah. They are called ‘cherry blossoms’.” I looked at them again.

The mountains stretching out in front of us were green. However, at their foot, the colors of what appeared to be ‘cherry blossoms’ trees lining along the highway formed a long streak of white, continuing as far as we could see.

The fact that they were only along the highway and not on the mountains made me think that they hadn’t grown naturally, and had been planted. But why on earth were hundreds – heck, thousands of trees planted like that?

“To have grown so many trees… must have been some sophisticated and eccentric king or lord!”

“Wrong!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It wasn’t a king who grew them, just one common person.”

“Huh?!” As the meaning of her words struck me, I couldn’t help but raise my voice. “Wait, wait, wait! A single person, growing these many trees on their own? That shouldn’t be possible!”

“They were not on their own.”

“Didn’t you just say it was just one person?”

“After they’d started working hard to grow them, the people around here came to help too.”

“… Right.” Her way of expressing things was always a bit confusing.   

“Still, why did those people feel the need to grow that many trees? Are their fruits edible, by any chance?”

It wasn’t elegant of Gourry to ask, but truth is, it did happen sometimes that trees that bore edible fruits were planted along highways, in order to lower the chance of travelers collapsing from hunger or thirst.

When asked that, Ran furrowed her brow. “Mmm… they do bear fruits and those fruits are edible, but… they are not that good?”

Judging by her words, she had tried them before. Perhaps, they were extremely bitter or sour.

Gourry, probably anticipating that he, too, wouldn’t enjoy the taste, wore a dejected expression. “Not good? Why, getting plenty of delicious fruit like that would have been perfect…”

“What are you talking about?” I said, still enthralled by the white. “This scene itself is perfect, isn’t it?” A particularly strong gust of wind made the petals dance.

“Perhaps, the person who started to plant the trees did it because he wanted to see something like this, too.”

That one scope. Perhaps, he’d kept on with that one scope in mind. Perhaps, that person had seen something like this in his past, and burned with desire for seeing it again.

Perhaps, the people around that person had been moved by that love and enthusiasm, and decided to lend a hand.

The earth-moving passion and effort of one person, stirring up other people… that wasn’t common, but it did happen, sometimes. And as a result…

… as a result, now, we were in that place, surrounded by blooming white.

Perhaps, one day, Gourry and I would be back where we came from, far away from there. And still, we wouldn’t forget the scene we’d seen that day.

The three of us stopped there for a while yet, surrounded by dancing flowers.

[zarvasace]

Ok Random question but if The Colors lived in a time when Hyrule had trains i.e. the Spirit Tracks era, what do you think each Link's relationship with the trains would be. Like would they all end up engineers, maybe Shadow gets spooked by the trains since nothing like that existed in the dark world. I dunno this is just a random thought that has gotten itself lodged in my brain

Okay, so Tumblr didn't show me this came in until now. XD sorry!

I don't know much about Spirit Tracks but I can imagine an early industrial revolution AU with some magic just fine!! :) let's come up with a train-centric steampunky AU:

Kingdom of Hyrule, less of a political kingdom these days, specializing in innovation. They've expanded their rail lines within their borders and have been making deals with other countries to build outward. There is one main rail line sponsored by the government, and universities and a few smaller ones trying to break into the growing industry.

Green, Red, Blue, and Vio are all new graduates of the kingdom's university, each specializing in something different. They're all in minor competition for The Title of Royal Engineer, but otherwise good friends with each other and the dean's daughter Zelda.

Using a steampunky mad science/occult ritual, the most relevant bad guy summons Shadow and, I assume, kicks off the plot.

Green would be kind of an officer—I don't know how train hierarchy works but I can pretend it's something like a ship. He's advancing through the ranks toward captain conductor and took officer classes at school. He's considerate but a little snobbish, coming from a rich family and knowing he's on track to be in charge someday.

Blue clashes the most with him, though Blue doesn't have any intention of being conductor (anymore.) He's well-acquainted with heavy machinery, the real greasy bolts and wheels of it all, and not just for trains. His standards of cleanliness and organization are legendary, and Green consults with him about the condition of the train as a whole.

Red is concerned, of course, with the whole steam-power part of it all. He's intimately familiar with several methods of propulsion, and enjoys trying to come up with more and more efficient engines. He knows exactly how much fuel they need and how to portion it out. He got into some trouble in school for several explosions and usually has soot on his clothes. Where Blue is concerned with every wheel and cog, Red knows the locomotive and tender car like the back of his hand. Better, probably, since his hands are usually blackened or gloved.

Vio's more about the logistics, the theoretical, the communication. He keeps the timetables, the financial records, and telegrams. He's a chronic overworker, and it isn't uncommon to find him napping in his tiny little office chair, several drained cups of coffee rattling on the desk. He's often first off the train at a stop, though he prefers to get back to the office as fast as he can.

Shadow is the ghost in the train. He's the silhouette against the oil lamps, the rippling reflection in the windows, the thing out the corner of your eye. He's the false telegram message, the broken face of the temperature gauge, the bell ringing in an empty compartment.

Okay well that was fun XD got a little more Aesthetic than Conceptual there at the end but hey fun times!

[lewis-winters]

22, 25, and 40 for Winnix? - Nathan

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Nix sees anything or anyone ginger and he's like a puppy like Oh!! Dick!! Richard!! I must tell my favorite red head that I saw another red head today!! be it a fox or a red panda or somebody else or, hell, Nix will be reading Anne of Green Gables and calling Dick carrots for weeks because he thinks he's funny. And also ice cream. He'll see an ice cream shop and wonder if maybe they'll let him buy a pint and some ice so he can bring it home to Dick. Sometimes, he'll hear a joke that's just the right amount of dry that he'll remember Dick instantly, and vow to tell him, because maybe he'd get a good laugh out of it.

Dick, on the other hand, has a myriad of things that remind him of Lew. Chocolate, because it's the color of Lew's eyes. A tie in a particular material, because Lew loves the texture. This particular color, because that's the most prevalent color in Lew's wardrobe. This song, because every time it came on the radio, Lew would turn the volume up and listen to it all the way through. He hums it sometimes. The cold, because it reminds him of their time in Bastogne. The smell of whiskey. The smell of nicotine. So many things!

25. Do they have any hobbies they share?

Hmmmm... I dunno, ya know? They're the kind of couple to value their alone time away from each other? It's my headcanon that Lew went back into model ship building as a hobby, that later turned into miniature making/tiny doll making. Dick thinks this hobby is adorable, but I don't think he himself participates in it.

Similarly, Dick, in my mind, has old man hobbies. He fishes. He bird watches. He would be the kind to whittle, but maybe not as much, since he does a lot of repairs around their farm house so I think he'd look at any kind of wordworking as more an extension of his typical job than a relaxing hobby. I do think, at one point, he learns how to knit! He's not good at it, but Lew wears his shoddy creations anyway.

40. Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help?

They're BOTH absolutely insatiable. Dick, with his all American, Central Pennsylvanian stomach that loves anything dairy or fried in pork fat; and Lew, who grew up eating gormand and the finest dishes his family private chef has to offer? Please, they're growing boys. They must eat!

But neither of them know how to cook, so there WAS a period in time where they just ate out a lot. But after leaving New Jersey for the farmhouse, they had less options to eat out and had to learn to fend for themselves. Author BristlingBassoon in one of their fics on ao3 (oh please read their fics, guys, they're so good) has this really sweet image of Dick collecting sears catalogues and trying out the recipes there. I think he'd do that, then Lew would be interested in it too and start trying the recipes on the back of boxes and cans?

Oh, look at that, I just answered the last question. Cooking. I think they both take up cooking as a hobby together.

Obligatory OTP Asks

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 10: SepticHeroes

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Septicheroes | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

For the third time, Alt falls through nothing and ends up in a different dimension. And for the second time, he is immediately met with a, shall we say, intense reaction. He blinks into existence in a living room. Probably the most generic living room possible, with white wallpaper and furniture that looks like it could be from a store showroom. It's empty at first, but just a second later he hears a gasp from behind him. Before he can turn around someone grabs him and holds a knife close to--but not quite up to--his throat. "How did you find this place?" a voice asks--no, demands.

Alt jolts and quickly glitches out of the hold and in front of the figure to get a good look at them- but he holds up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Woulddd you believe if I told you I just jumped from another universe or-?”

The figure is wearing something--weird. It's like the color of the fabric is constantly shifting to match what's behind it, making it hard to discern any details of the outfit or the man's build. The man also quickly pulls a cloth mask over his face, hiding everything but his brown hair and bright blue eyes. He laughs, keeping the switchblade pointed at Alt. "What proof do you have? I may consider it," he drawls, mostly sarcastic.

Alt blinks a bit and lets his body fizzle and pop with glitches. “…did the glitching not do it for you? Cuz I can do it again-“

"All that proves is you are a super," the man says. "Not where you came from. Stop making up stories. Tell me who told you about this place."

Alt looks very confused, “a… super?” He backs up some, “Listen dude, I dunno where this place is cuz it’s clearly not home like I was hoping. I just pressed a button on this thing and ended up here!” He briefly pulls out the TRVLR to flash it at the man before putting it back away.

Footsteps. The man stiffens and turns towards a hallway entrance. "Jamie, nein! Bleib sicher! Hier ist ein Mann, er hat sich direkt hineinteleportiert." The footsteps stop. They sound like they're just out of sight.

Alt stiffens too as he shouts out in German. Oh- okay.

“Here I have proof. Your name is Henrik, right?”

The man stiffens, and turns back to him. "How do you know that? And what is that?" He reaches out and--somehow--manages to take the TRVLR out of Alt's pocket without even reaching in through the opening.

Alt jumps as he suddenly has the TRVLR, “Hey what the hell!? Fucking- careful with that!”

"Fascinating." He turns it over in his hands. "I do not recognize this style. Smooth, but also a block. It is definitely not SepTech. And I do not think there is a tech like this in the underground." He glances back at Alt. "Either this is something made by a new coming villain who you work for... or you are telling the truth. But do you have anything more?"

Alt stiffens at the accusation and his eyes flash green as he snarls. “I don’t work for villains. …not anymore. Also- the fuck is Septech??” He takes another breath and then glances at the doorway he heard the footsteps from.

“Okay. More proof- the man you told to stop. He’s Jameson Jackson. Am I right, Schneeplestein?”

Alt sees the man--Henrik, as he so correctly guessed--tighten his grip on the device. "Knowing our names does not prove as much as you think," he says slowly. Then he laughs. "It is fun, your attitude to villains and genuine question about SepTech proves more. Here." He hands the TRVLR back to Alt.

Alt blinks and looks surprised to be handed the TRVLR back. He takes it and pockets it before glitching a bit farther back, watching him warily.

Then Henrik turns to the hallway entrance. "What do you think?" A man steps into view. As Alt expected, the face (and mustache) give away that it is Jameson Jackson. He's wearing what looks like an oversized T-shirt and pajama pants with socks. Clearly, not expecting to go anywhere.

He seems genuine, JJ signs.

"Do you want to...check?" Schneep trails off.

JJ quickly shakes his head. I told you, we're not doing that. I'M not doing that.

"Okay, okay."

“…what do you mean, check?” Alt asks with a raised eyebrow.

Schneep pulls his mask down and presses a hand to his lapel. The strange shifting color of the outfit disappears, settling into shades of purple.

All of Alt’s questions disappear as he watches Schneep’s outfit change. “Woahhh what the fuck?? That’s sick as hell! Is that like- real time camouflage??”

Schneep avoids the question about ‘checking’ and chuckles when Alt is surprised. “Maybe you really are from another world if you are a super who hasn’t heard of chameleon cloth,” he mutters. "Who are you, then?" he asks, giving Alt a once-over.

Alt coughs back some of his excitement and sticks his hands in his pockets. “M’name’s Alt Brody. I’m a magician/rookie crime fighter from another universe- a parallel one. Cuz I have friends who look just like you- and I’ve met so many others now… but- I dunno where I am now. Some place with rad future tech- cuz last I checked we don’t have stuff that does that.” He gestures back at Schneep’s outfit. “…or how you just reached into my pocket- but… that could be magic so?” He shrugs.

He and JJ go quiet as Alt explains who he is. They both have a visible reaction to his name, with Schneep narrowing his eyes and JJ raising an eyebrow. When he’s done, they look at each other.

I have never heard magic mentioned so much out of the context of stage shows and stories, JJ says

“Yes, that is strange, isn’t it?” Schneep says. He looks at Alt and smiles. “I am flattered that you think it was magic, it means I am very good with my powers. Look.” He leans over and sticks his hand inside the sofa. Inside. Passing through it like it’s not there at all. “This is what I can do. I can become intangible, like a ghost. And I can make small objects the same.” He pulls his hand back out.

Alt’s eyes widen and he glitches closer to look at what Schneep’s doing. “Woahhh-“ But then he backs up and shakes his head and hands, “wait wait okay- you guys keep saying ‘supers’! Like- like supernaturals or… or superheroes?”

Schneep bursts into laughter. JJ doesn’t make a sound but he smiles wide, finding whatever Alt just said funny as well.

“Supernatural!” Schneep wheezes. “Alright, I am convinced. No one is that good an actor.” He collects himself, then puts his knife away, flipping it closed and sliding it into a pocket on his leg. “Yes, like superheroes. And supervillains. The catch term is superhuman but that is so long that it is shortened to just super.” He gestures to JJ and himself. “We are supers. You would be called one too, with your teleporting glitch powers.”

Alt’s mouth falls open and he looks between the two with wide eyes, “…Both of you?? JJ too?” Alt slowly makes a face, “…man- Chase is gonna love it here….”

The lighthearted mood suddenly sobers up.

I do, JJ signs slowly. But I don’t like to use them anymore. I must be honest, I’ve done some terrible things.

“It was not your fault, Jamie,” Schneep insists.

I would argue it was, but this is not the time to discuss it.

Alt’s expression seems to soften, though he seems confused- that a person so closely resembling Dr. J… would ever do terrible things. “…I… I get that.”

JJ looks at Alt. You mentioned Chase just now. Do you have one too? Are you related?

Alt messes with his hair and nods, “Yeah- Chase, my Chase. He’s my older brother… and he’s a hero in my world. Calls himself ‘Bro Fantastic’ ” Alt raises an eyebrow at them, “…is your Chase a hero too?”

Schneep gives him a small smile. "I think it is the opposite here. Chase is the only one of our little group who has no powers."

He is a hero in our hearts, JJ says fondly.

Alt seems surprised by this. I mean- he’s known Chase with and without powers- but now his powers were just as much a part of Bro as Alt’s glitching was.

"He also does not have any family. Definitely not a brother, that would have shown up in his records." Schneep sighs, a bit sad. "We have two others who are close. Jackie Skye and Marvin Nedra. Perhaps you have them in your world, too."

Alt hums, “Close as in friends or- wait they have powers too then??”

"Yes, close as in friends... in Jackie's case. Marvin is a newer addition."

He can be a bit of an ass, but his heart's in the right place, JJ adds. And he's very powerful.

Alt’s flabbergasted again. His Jackie would be so fucking jealous. And even though Jackie Mann was a good fighter and parkourist… he was wayyyy too clumsy to ever be a hero. He frowns at the mention of Marvin. Hm- a powered Mag already means they’re in trouble but… Mag hasn’t been able to drain Chase as far as he remembers…

Hold on a tick, is YOUR Chase here? JJ asks. Your brother? In this universe? Or is it just you?

Alt blinks at JJ’s question and then nods, “Yeah he’s here- I don’t know where but he jumped with me. And… someone else too. A villain named Magnificent.”

"Sounds like a fucking drama queen," Schneep mutters, and JJ laughs silently.

Alt bursts into giggles, “You’re not far off-“

But back to your brother and that villain. JJ makes a big show of looking around the living room. I'm guessing you don't appear in the same place.

The glitch shakes his head. “No I… I don’t know why but when we jump- we end up separated. I guess- it’s the multiverse pulling us towards related people? I haven’t figured it quite out yet…” he sighs, “but that usually means I need to find Chase hopefully before Mag does anything… he’s the reason we’re even entering these other worlds. He’s a power hungry maniac looking for new unique magic- or I guess in this place.. power. And then trying to crush versions of himself. Because he’s crazy.”

"We can let Jackie know to keep a lookout for those two, if you would like," Schneep offers. "We cannot guarantee he'll find them. And we probably will not know if he does." He pauses, pursing his lips. "The two of us are a bit... off-the-grid right now. For a couple reasons. We can get messages out, but we have no phones or computers here to get an instant reply."

Alt blinks and then laughs a little, shaking his head. “man- you make Jackie sound like he’s a leader or something.”

"It is funny you say Jackie is a leader." Schneep laughs. "He would deny it, but he is the only Hero in the group. Ah, Hero as an official term, indicating someone who is a member of the League. He can go out without suspicion. That means we have to default to him for a couple things. Such as looking for people like your brother and... Magnificent." He rolls his eyes at the name.

Alt nods slowly, “okay… huh- heroes being commonplace is blowing my mind a bit… Chase- Ah, Bro. He told me he’s lucky now the police work with him but he… he had to work a while to get them to accept him….”

  Then he frowns and tilts his head, “You said you’re off the grid…? No phones or computers? God that sounds like a nightmare- what gotcha guys hiding out?”

Schneep hisses, inhaling sharply through his teeth. "A couple things." He glances at JJ. "Do you want to tell or should I?"

I will, JJ says. For one, do you remember those terrible things I mentioned? Well, we are now hiding from the police because of that. And the League of Heroes, who are sort of... an organization of superheroes. And then there is... someone. JJ pauses.

Alt knits his eyebrows in something close to sympathy. He remembers being in hiding for a while after he stopped being Impulse… “…superheroes are so common here they have a whole organization?? Huh… kinda like the magic circle then i guess…” he muses.

We don't know anything about them, but we know they are probably a-- he makes an unfamiliar sign, like he's typing on a computer and then pressing both hands against his temples.

"Ah, wait, if you are from another universe, you would not know what that is," Schneep says. "A technopath is a super who can control technology. Whoever is after us now can use cameras and the Internet to spy on us. Therefore, none of that."

We did consider getting an old flip phone or a landline, but calls can still be traced, JJ says.

Alt’s eyes widen as Schneep explains the unfamiliar term. “…a technopath…? Is that what it’s called…?” Alt slowly reaches into his pocket and then pulls out his phone. He opens up his palm and then the phone starts to float- then in a quick fizzle of static and green blue magic, the phone gets taken apart and then reassembled. Then, while it’s still floating- Alt glitches into phone, completely disappearing for a second before glitching back out and then catching the phone as it drops out of the magic. He looks a bit sheepish but he answers quietly. “I guess… I’m kinda that…? Never had a word for it… but I can’t like- use the internet or anything- I just… exist in the circuitry. Electric… powers and stuff.”

The two of them gasp as they see Alt disassemble the phone and then disappear into it. "What?!" Schneep gasps. "You can teleport and you are a technopath?!"

Oh, oh, I understand, it's like he is made of electricity! JJ says.

"Ahhh, okay, that makes more sense." Schneep nods, understanding.”"Well, it sounds more strange to us to hear about a world where supers are rare. There will be at least one in every town--and you get a lot in a big city like where we are now.”

Alt finds himself blushing, “…I mean- I can do… lots of things. But electric stuff is… easier. Think it’s cuz my magic is like- a current of electricity in my blood or something…” He messes with his hair self consciously. “I can… glitch, and use sound waves, and electricity. And tech stuff- but that’s… just what comes easiest to me. Other things I need help with like- spells or circles or…” He seems almost embarrassed that he can’t do more.

"How can you do so many different things?!" It looks like Alt just listing his powers is breaking Schneep's brain. "They are--they are different?"

You can two two different things, Henrik, JJ points out.

"No, mine are related, I have the ghost powers," Schneep says. "And spell circles? Spell circles?! You can do things with technology and spell circles?!"

Don't mind my cousin losing his mind, JJ says to Alt. It's just... so many unrelated things is not... possible here.

Alt blinks at Schneep's mind being blown and then can't help but laugh. "Oh! Well... where I'm from- the fact that I have magic makes me a magician- but I got my powers really late in life... I could glitch for a long time but I had no idea I could use electricity or even use magic at all! But... people who know magic- they know like... basic spells for lots of different things. Like how to heal or summon fire, or turn into animals... whichicankindadobutthat'salongstory." He coughs and then waves his hand, "Point is... im- kinda stunted magically... so... I should be... able to do more but I'm... I'm still learning..."

Alt sighs, “I guess… it might be good for me to just get out there and look- how off the grid are we right now?”

“... well." Schneep walks over to the window, which has its curtains drawn, and throws it open for a moment. Outside is a sunny day in the middle of a suburb. Taller skyscrapers are visible in the distance. "Not too much."

I still say it is foolish to stay in the city, JJ says.

"People never suspect that we would come back here," Schneep says defensively, quickly closing the curtains again. "And we came in through that secret passage so they never saw us inside here. It also makes it easier to contact Chase and Jackie and Marvin. But, yes, no internet devices of any kind. We cannot leave without covering our faces, but you should be okay to, you look different enough."

Alt blinks at the sight of the city in the distance. He thinks. “…I wouldn’t want to draw attention to you two though… if you’re trying to hide.” He fidgets with his phone and then looks at something on it. “…would disguising myself like… like a hero- would that help? I wouldn’t want to you know- get arrested for using magic or whatever-“

You wouldn't get arrested simply for using powers, you would need to cause trouble with them. But most heroes and villains do have masks and secret identities, it WOULD be strange for someone unmasked to be using powers. If you have a mask you can use, it would help.

Alt hums in thought and looks back at his phone. He blushes a bit and then mutters, "Chase is never gonna let me live this down..." Then, he sighs and summons some blue magic and waves it over his face. A red mask that looks like its made of paint blooms around Alt's eyes and the ends of his hair turns a bright green and blue like it's covered in glowing paint. He looks sheepishly at the others and then looks away. "... ive been wanting to help my brother back at home and... I've been thinking of a costume... I just need a face mask but... i-I haven't even shown Chase yet..."

Schneep gives up on thinking about how impossible Alt’s powers are and smiles supportively at his appearance changing. “I think it looks quite nice! You have a very clear sense of style.”

If your Chase is like our Chase, he’ll love it, JJ says. And if he’s a good brother he’ll be supportive.

Schneep nods and puts a hand on JJ’s shoulder. “We will still tell Jackie about all this, it would be better to have help in this big city. Good luck yourself.”

Alt slowly smiles through his reddening cheeks and nods, “Thanks…” He takes a deep breath and stands up taller, trying to channel his brother in his mind. “Alright well… it was nice to meet you too. Good luck out here… I hope things get better for you.” He then gives a tiny two finger salute before glitching away, making his way towards the city.

"Goodbye!" Schneep says.

And thank you, JJ adds, just before Alt disappears.

Schneep sighs. "This has been very strange. I hope we did not make a mistake."

I doubt so. JJ shrugs. I'll contact the others now.

-----------

Bro falls through darkness for a split second--and then keeps falling. And falling. He is in midair above a city scape, passing by skyscrapers, the asphalt street getting closer with every second--

Bro blinks open his eyes and is met with wind strong enough to make them water. But, he knows this feeling well enough. He grins and then pushes to fall faster for a second before pulling up and flying back up into the air, doing a couple twists. He giggles as he rights himself in the air and then adjusts his cap as he observes the city. "Well- that was new! Good to get back in the air though~" He says as he starts to shrug off his jacket and tie it around his waist. It was way warmer here already so he quickly pulls off little Chase’s jumper. Then, he fumbles to try to slip his jacket back on and wrap the jumper around him as he looks at the city below. He instantly recognizes this isn't Brighton- he knew his city now like the back of his hand. He sighs and shakes his head. "Wrong again- bummer but- least I didn't scare the shit out of anyone this time-"

As soon as he says that, a voice shouts "Hey!" When Bro turns to the side he sees a man... also flying. He's wearing a red and blue suit, and has a mask with white glass covering his eyes. The man stops a few feet away from Bro. "Oh you're fine," he says. Bro startles and then stares at the other man with wide but excited eyes. "Oh my god! You're a hero too! omgggg how cool!! I mean Volt was one but! Its been a hot second!"

"You were falling there so I thought--WAIT YOU'RE INJURED--No, no, wrong again, you just have a rip in your shirt, sorry." The man laughs.

Bro blinks and looks down at his shirt then laughs, "Oh yeah i keep forgetting about that- such a bummer... this was a prototype!" He pouts.

"What're you doing here? Anything I can help with? I don't recognize you." The man looks Bro up and down. Bro sees surprise behind the mask once he gets a good look at Bro's face. "Uh... yeah. I-I don't. Always cool to meet another flyer, though."

Bro blinks and adjusts himself in the air, and gives Jackie a raised eyebrow. He smirks slightly, "You're not a very good liar, fellow hero bro~!" He laughs, Then he pauses and feels his face before cursing and fishing out his mask to put it back on, his hair flaring to bright yellow green. "Though ha- I don't really look like a hero without my mask on!" He laughs. "Anyways uhhh what im doing here is kinda a long story- you on a patrol or something?"

The man laughs. "Am I not? Shit. Sorry, you just look like someone I know. Anyway yeah, I'm out of patrol. I don't know if you've ever heard of me, but I'm Windstorm. I mean, if you're with the League they'd have to let you know about me when you came into the city, but they didn't tell me about you so I'm guessing you're still freelance?"

Bro grins, "Sick name! I'm Bro Fantastic- though... sounds kinda silly next to your name." He says with a blush, messing with his hair. Bro then blinks rapidly, "... the league? huh- I've never heard of them... that sounds so official- wait... are heroes like a regular government thing here?" he says, his eyes sparkling like the nerd he is.

Windstorm looks confused. "What d'you mean you've never heard of the League? I mean, I know there are some places they don't reach but... I mean, I don't want to assume, but you don't look or sound like you'd be from there. And they're not... government..." His voice drops to a mutter, "As much as they pretend to be."He looks down at the street below. "Hmm. Pedestrians are looking. You wanna land to talk or are you good to hover? In my experience it's harder to talk while actively flying."

"Oh and uh- it's whatever you want! I can talk and fly, s'no issue. I do it without meaning to sometimes, actually." Bro laughs.

"Haha yeah, I do that too sometimes, but for extended periods I need to concentrate so let's put down somewhere." Windstorm scans the area. "There, they have a flat roof." He points at a building not too far away. "Follow me," he says, and flies off.

Bro blinks in confusion, knitting his eyebrows together. But when Windstorm says to follow him, he nods and follows right behind him. When they get to the roof, Bro drops out of the sky and does a tiny nose dive before slowing down at the last second before he does a cool parkour roll onto the roof and jumps back up to his feet. He laughs and whoops, "God! I've been holding back in these last couple jumps goddd it feels good to do shit again without worrying~!" He turns back around towards Windstorm and crosses his arms behind his head, grinning like a dork.

Windstorm laughs. "You got some fancy moves, man. Must've had a lot of practice." Then Bro's words register and he looks confused. "Jumps? That sounds like... like you're teleporting places. Or, being teleported. Is that it?"

Bro beams, looking proud of himself. He- feels like such a fuck up sometimes back at home but- this is awesome already. Seeing other heroes. Then he blinks and nods, putting his hands in his pockets. "Uh- kinda. It's... a bit more complicated and...you might think im insane but- if this is a world where supers have an entire league then... maybe not."

He braces himself and then looks back at Windstorm, "I'm... from a parallel universe. Me and my brother have been tracking down a villain from our world whos trying to hop to other dimensions for power. And- other shit i think. I think Alt gets that better than i do. I just know he's crazy and... dangerous. Anyways- we've been trying to get home with this guy- but we keep ending up in the wrong universe- cuz i guess we're supposed to know our universe's zip code to travel to it?" He tries to laugh and shakes his head. "It's... confusing. Honestly, im just glad im here to keep my brother and innocents safe from Magnificent."

Windstorm blinks, processing all this. Then a slow grin spreads over his face. "You mean it's real?" he says. "Other universes, travel between worlds?! I-I thought the comics about Heroes having adventures in other worlds were exaggerations! If not completely made up for the press, but it's real?!"

Bro's entire expression lights up and he stims a bit, giving off some sparks of blue energy as he nods, "Yeah! It's real dude!! Ive been to like- god... 4 now?? no- 5! It's... it's insane- but really cool."

The wind around them on the roof seems to pick up a little. "Oh I should've guessed! That's why you look so much like Chase! I mean, I guess you could be a shapeshifter but that wouldn't explain the flying--wait, are you Chase? Chase Brody from another universe?!"

Bro laughs as he feels the wind pick up and then grins wide and does a little dance, "Yes! That's me!! i-I guess you're friends with this world's chase then!" He then makes a thinking face, "My brother technically can shapeshift but uh- that's a sore spot for him..." He shakes his head and can't help but stim more. "Dude!! It's so nice to have someone who gets it like right away!! This is AWESOME!!"

Windstorm giggles excitedly. "Dude, this is so exciting! God, you must've seen so much. Yeah, Chase is my roommate. I don't think he has a brother, and he definitely doesn't have powers like you, but you're for sure the same guy. Do you--I probably shouldn't give away my secret identity to some guy, but I already gave the roommate bit away so let's go all in--Do you know a Jackie where you come from? Jackie Skye? Cause that's me!" He wiggles his fingers, stimming.

Chase's smile lights up even more and he zips over to Windstorm and grabs his hands, sparks practically coming off of him. "You're Jackie?! Oh my god! Oh my god- my Jackie- he's Jackie Mann actually but!! He's my best friend!! And he's the biggest hero nerd I know oh my god he would die knowing I met a hero version of him! But- you- you have to be like my Jackie!! That's why we're just like like-" He lets go and makes rapid pointing motions between the two of them, "clicking so well! Dude!! This is soooo cool!!"

"Yeah I clicked so well with Chase when I moved in! I could actually introduce you to him if you want we're not too far from where I live--ah, but I probably shouldn't take you inside, that's probably going a bit too far with the identity thing." He laughs. "He'd love you, dude!" Chase grins, "He sounds like a chill dude! I'd love to meet him!"

Then Windstorm shakes his head. "Okay. Okay. Serious time now. This is great, but, uh, what was it you said? There's some villain who came with you, and... your brother? My Chase doesn't have a brother. Probably, he might've forgotten--that's a long story, don't ask me about it now. The point is. Villain. What was it? Mag... Magna... Magnificent?"

Bro calms down too and nods, trying to get back to business. "Yeah Yeah right- my brother... his name is Alt. He's- he's magic. I dunno if you guys have that too but- if you see someone like- zipping around but he looks like he's straight out of a computer game? That's him. Anddd yeah- Magnificent... he's an evil magician looking to gain power from the worlds he visits... I dunno what's he's gonna try to find here but... it won't be good most likely. So... god- I guess i better get moving to find them..." He sighs loudly. "Mannn! I wanna vibe just for second! Why does Mag gotta be such a douche!!"

Jackie shakes his head. "Villains suck sometimes don't they? I, uh... don't think we have magic here. Well, no one knows where superpowers come from, or why some people just have them but others have to gain them. I guess that could be magic? Hmm" He pauses, thinking. "I haven't seen anyone who looks like a computer game around. And I've never met an Alt in this world to compare him to.”

Bro laughs a bit, "Yeah... you probably wouldn't know him as Alt if he has a counterpart here- he likes Alt better but it seems like in most other worlds he's known as Anti." Bro shakes his head laughing, "Alt says that all the time! That powers and magic are the same but! I don't get it cuz they feel different to me! But he says its all just energy we can utilize and shit like that-" He rolls his eyes, "He started becoming such a know-it-all once he started learning magic better, I swear."

“He would've just got here? Well, we can look around together, if you want? I know the city really well." He laughs. "You probably get it, you get really familiar with your city."

Bro brightens up as Jackie offers to help him look, "Oh yeah! That'd be great! Alt is easy to spot once you know what you're looking for! Just a bright green blue blip of light and like- the sound of glitching. An extra pair of eyes would be super helpful!"

"Glitching? So he really is like computer stuff." Jackie chuckles. "I've never met anyone called Anti, but it's always possible I will eventually." He pauses. "Maybe that's who... well, I've been looking for a villain recently, a technopath. We can't find anything about them, maybe they're this Anti guy? Like...Anti-Virus or something, that'd be a cool super name." He shakes his head. "Nevermind. Priorities. Okay, we can fly around, sounds like we'll need to be closer to the surface." He steps back off the edge of the roof, the air catching him. "Coming?"

Bro can't help but be relieved. So far the Antis they've met besides Anti Mcloughlin had been bad news. He almost expected Jackie to react badly to hearing Alt's name but he's glad they don't have to worry about that for now. "A technopath? Huh- no but wait Anti-Virus is a metal as fuck name!! Dude- wonder if Alt should use that," He laughs. Bro blinks as Jackie steps back off the roof then he grins and runs to take off next to him. "Yeah! Let's go!"

"Whoo!" Jackie grins--it feels good to have someone to fly with, he's never had that before. "Come on, we'll go down Wonder to start with."

But they're not flying for long before-- 🎶 Dadada da dadada da dadada daa daa 🎶

"Ah fuck, hang on, man." Jackie stops midair. He looks around, then flies over to a nearby building and stands on the stone decorations sticking out from the facade. He pulls a phone out of a pouch on his belt and presses a button, not minding his gloves or his precarious position or the chance of dropping the phone. "Hey, Chase!" he says, laughing. "This is both the worst and best time to FaceTime."

Bro blinks in confusion and follows after Jackie. When he hears who it is, he grins mischievously and then pops up behind Jackie, floating upside down over his shoulder and waves. "HELLOOOO OTHER ME!!"

"Whoa what the fuck?!" The screen jolts as someone seemingly drops the phone on the other end. Then it recovers, and Bro sees a version of himself with brown, slightly longer hair. "Who the hell is that?!"

Jackie laughs. "That's you from another dimension!"

"Oh. Oh! Okay, this message makes a lot more sense now." The phone is placed on a flat surface, giving a wider view of Chase... and the dog who is peeking over the surface. Bro laughs, very pleased with that reaction. He rights himself to float over Jackie's shoulder as he listens. He awws when he sees the dog and whispers, "Omg pubby-"

"Message? From JJ?" Jackie asks.

"Yep." Chase holds something in view of the camera. It's a small wooden doll, like something an artist would use to reference poses. Except one arm has a yellow string wrapped around it, and the other ends in a wooden ring that holds a pen. "Crazy to see this little guy just moving out of nowhere." He puts the doll out of view again. "Anyway, it wrote something about a guy from another universe popping into the safe house. Something about glitches? The handwriting isn't the greatest. Apparently they went out to look for you and their brother."

Bro brightens up and grins, "Hey! That's my brother! They definitely met Alt!"

"Oh! Okay so that's you." Chase looks surprised. "Do I have a brother, then?"

"That probably would've come up in your records," Jackie says.

"True." Chase sighs, but then quickly recovers. "Oh, Frosty's in frame? Hang on, lemme show you a better look at him." He grabs the phone and flips the camera around, filming a very cute Samoyed sitting next to him. "This is Frosty, other me. He's my good good boy. Aren't you?" He reaches out and gives Frosty some pets on the head. Frosty enjoys it very much, shifting position slightly. Now Bro can see the harness, with the words --"rvice Dog Do Not P"-- printed down the side. "We just got back from our walk."

Bro awwws even more, leaning in, "Oh my god!! Frostyyy hi! What a good boy! Oh! And he's a service dog!! My friend Henrik has one too! Her name is Sahne and she's the best!"

Chase blinks, surprised. Then he laughs. "Henrik? Like, Henrik von Schneeplestein? What is this, reversed life? He's my doctor. Or, uh, was, shit's been complicated recently. Tell your Henrik that his dog sounds cute. Sahne must be German but I don't remember if I've heard it before."

Bro laughs, "yeah i think we're all swapped around or something! My schneep is an actor! Oh and deaf- and Sahne means cream!"

"Thanks for letting me know about the message, by the way," Jackie says. "I'll stop by the safehouse next chance I get to check on them."

"No problem." Chase nods. "Well. I can see you're on a building, so I'll head out. You have got to bring other-me round so we can see each other in person."

"I can talk to you on a building!" Jackie protests. "Without dropping your phone? I don't want to be responsible for that, haha. Besides, we should keep this short anyway, in case it attracts, you know, attention."

"Right." Jackie nods. "We're going to look for other-you's brother and this villain that showed up with them. I'll call you or stop by the apartment to update you when needed." "Thanks, bro. And hey, nice meeting you, other-me." Chase laughs. "Even if it's fucking bizarre. Bye."

"Yeah it's weird but cool! Hope we can meet up soon, other-me!"

"Bye." Jackie says.

After the call ends, Bro grins, "He's neat. I like him- and he has a cute dog so extra bonus points! Man i want a doggg but we have Glitches- ... she gets along fine with Sahne though hmmmm"

"Glitches? If it's not a dog, I'm guessing that's a cat, then." Jackie laughs. "Cats are nice. Usually." He pauses. "I was going to make a joke about a cat that's not very friendly, but you don't have the context. Basically, there's a guy I know who's a super who has a cat theme. And he's sometimes an asshole. Pretend I made a funny joke." He pockets the phone and steps back into the air. Bro snickers, "Nah I get it- that's exactly like my brother~ He's a prickly asshole sometimes too. But fun to make fun of~"

"Schneep as an actor, huh...? Can't picture it. Can't picture any of us as actors, really... though I guess JJ can be alright. I didn't know they had service dogs for deaf people. The more you know." Jackie continues.

The other hero beams, getting to talk about his friends. "Yeah! Schneep is great- he's a big ol' goof ball- ray of sunshine kinda guy! And i didnt know they had hearing dogs till I met him either! It's pretty cool~"

"Aw, he sounds great!" Jackie grins. "Maybe our Schneeps can meet each other one day, that'll be a sight to see. The Schneep I know is kinda grumpy but he really cares. And he hangs out with Chase, who is a great ray of sunshine if you ask me, so clearly he gets along with the sunshines."

"Yeah! Dude, If we can figure this shit out my Jackie neeeds to meet you!"

Jackie stretches. "Anyway. Let's see if we can find your brother. I'd like to meet him."

Bro laughs and stretches as well and nods, "yeah! Let's rock it~!"

"Alright! Here we go!" Jackie grins and zooms off.

Bro beams and laughs and he races after Jackie.

-----------

Magnificent appears in some sort of office space, the sort lined with boring cubicles and desks. The lights are off, the blinds are drawn, and there are no computers or decorations on the desks. Clearly, this place hasn't been used for a while. He lies there for a couple minutes before regaining consciousness.

Magnificent groans as he’s brought back painfully into wakefulness. He sits up stiffly and clutches at his bruised face- then clutches at his injured hand as it buckles trying to keep him up. “Fucking brat!” He growls to himself as he struggles up to his feet and lights a green flame in his hand. “Hm… now where have I been brought to now…?”

There is nothing especially unusual about the unused office. But the door is slightly ajar, light pouring in from a hallway beyond. There are... footsteps? It's hard to tell, they're light, like someone is being carefully quiet.

Magnificent stiffens, and-not wanting to run into more trouble, teleports to hide behind some of the desks. He extinguishes the flames and settles in to listen.

A moment passes. Then the door slowly creaks open. A thin beam of red light shoots from the doorway to a camera hanging in the corner of the room. Then a man slips into the room. He's wearing a red, orange, and white costume, with a black cape and belt...and a cat-shaped mask. He glances around, then goes for the nearest desk and starts checking drawers. "Of fucking course not," he mutters to himself.

Magnificent sends out some of his magic to see who had entered and... is confused by what he sees. But, he recognizes the cat mask and he smirks. He teleports behind the man and chuckles darkly, "Well well... what do we have here?"

"Motherfuck--!" The man slams the drawer shut and spins around, raising his hands. Orange light appears before him, forming a shield. He glances over Magnificent. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?! Why are you here?"

Magnificent grins sinisterly and prowls around the man with a purred chuckle. "Well~! What a unique power you have, kitten! Who are you supposed to be, hm?"

"Wha--That's what I just asked you!" The man eyes him warily.

"Oh forgive me then- sometimes I tune out the words of little worms who don't matter~" The mad magician laughs smoothly.

"Look, I don't have time for this right now. If you want to take whatever, go ahead, as long as it's not what I want." But if this stranger (he has to be a villain, no one else would dress like that, but he doesn't recognize which one he is) is planning to harm innocents in the building... well, that'd be a different matter.

Mag loops around the man's back, giggling. "oh? you're but a lowly thief with power like that? what a waste..." He says disapprovingly. He tries to lash out to grab the man's wrist.

The cat-masked man slowly spins around, keeping the shield in between him and the strange man--but he's not expecting him to reach around the shield and grab him anyway. And why would he? Who would expect someone to willingly get close to something giving off as much heat as the shield does?! "Let me go you crazy bitch!"

Maybe its because the villain hardly feels it- his mad thirst for power overpowering all his other senses. He digs his claws into him, grinning madly. "I don't think so, kitten. I think you'll be a great little snack for me~!" Anddd he tries to drain the man- not even realizing he might not even be able to.

The power--oh, Magnificent, you have held fire in your hands, but now you are trying to touch a star. Can you handle it? Or will it burn you?

It is searing, like drinking boiling water, but it shudders into Magnificent where it sits, converting much slower than his drained power usually does.

Magnificent yells out and crashes halfway to the ground, holding his wrist as the magic burns inside him. And it keeps burning- blaring orange searing in his blood, taking forever to mesh with his own.

The man yanks his wrist free of Magnificent's grip, stumbling backwards, looking at the spot of contact with wide eyes. He seems a bit tired, but not as much as his usual victims would be by this point. "Wh-what.... what the hell...?" the man whispers, shaken. He stares for a second--and then turns and bolts for the door.

Mag sees the man running and growls in anger, soon pushing himself to run after him- trying to teleport in front of him to cut off his path.

The man shouts in surprise when Magnificent appears before him. What?! HOW?! Did he absorb teleportation from someone?! No time to think about it! He shoves him aside, metal claws on the end of his gloves scraping against the man's skin, and runs out into the hallway.

Magnificent bites back a scream of pain as he's hit with the claws and staggers back into a wall. The man turns and blasts the ceiling above the doorway with white-hot energy, sending debris crashing down over it. That won't stall a teleporter for long, but maybe it'll be long enough to get out of here!

Mag shouts in surprise as the ceiling caves in on top of him and blocks off his path. He yells in rage and quickly teleports back down the hall, trying to find the little brat. "Get back here!"

The man laughs as he runs down the hall. "Fuck no!" He glances over his shoulder and throws a ball of red-orange light.

The ball clips Mag's side, burning right through his clothes and leaving a perfect singed hole in his cape. Pain laces from the spot of contact as Mag is pushed to the side. It leaves a burn behind.

Magnificent screams bloody murder as the light screeches across his side. He curls up on the ground, writhing in agony as the power burns him. It doesn't look like he can pursue the escaping super any further.

The man glances back, wondering if he feels bad about that...no, probably not. He keeps running, turning around the corner of the hall and jumping out through the unlocked window he came in from. Back in the hallway, a camera that he missed on his first go-round points at Magnificent. (It is not his fault he missed it. It was too small and too well hidden.)

Magnificent curses up a storm, trying to figure out how the hell he can fix this- fuck! It fucking burns- maybe he can...? He mutters a quick spell to summon some water to push against the wound. He can't notice anything else besides the searing pain.

Nothing happens for now. But there is clearly movement elsewhere in this building, even if the hallway is currently empty. There is the murmur of voices and footsteps through thin walls and floors. They may be coming to see what caused the crashing sound of the still-smoking debris. Outside, something activates.

Magnificent now starts to realize even if the office was empty, clearly the building isn’t. He feels a bit of panic before something occurs to him. In a fizzle of static, he dons his civilian disguise and then pulls out his best acting. Though- most of it isn’t acting at this point. “H-Help…! Someone please h-help me-!”

It takes a moment. Then a group of people come rushing around the corner.

"Oh my god!"

"Who is that?"

"He's hurt!"

A man in a white lab coat pushes past the others, with brown hair and two different colored eyes: blue left, green right. He looks a bit confused as he sees Mag's disguised face but pushes past it. A small... robot?... flies next to him, a softball-sized green circle with a blue ring around a camera in the center and a metallic peripheral of some kind coming from the back. "Holy shit, are you alright?" he asks. "What happened?! S-some of our cameras went down--are you alright?"

Mag grits his teeth then looks up at the man with a pained expression. "I… I'm not sure-! I was just walking and i ran into some- some freak in an orange suit and cat mask! I t-tried to stop him... i-i think he was stealing something but then h-he burned me..! He jumped out the window-" He then curls up as a wave of pain washes over him, but- it does help his performance.

"Spitfire Cat was here?" the man says, surprised. "H-hold on a second. Jeanne, can you call an ambulance? Get the SDER here immediately. And the police! Paul, talk to security and see if we can catch him." The man steps to the side, pulling out a remote with one red button on it. As the others mill about, he speaks into it, his exact words covered up by other voices. The flying robot stays where it is. The camera is pointed at Magnificent's face.

Magnificent stays where he is, trying not to pass out. But, now he notices the robot. He narrows his eyes, looking at it curiously. ...was this purely tech or was some magic involved...?

He senses no magic from it. None that he recognizes, at least.

He frowns and bares his teeth at it, pressing his face back against the floor. This place was strange... none of the power he's seen so far is making any sense... but at least it was something he could take. Even if the cat's burned... surely he can find another... better suited source.

The group of people hovers about, slowly growing in size. They reassure him that an ambulance is on the way.

"I can't stick around for long, but I hope you're okay," says the man in the white coat. "If you need anything don't hesitate to reach out, okay?" He doesn't explain who he is. It's like he's expecting Magnificent to already know. He must be someone important in this world.

Magnificent almost wants to ask who the man is- but he can't give himself away. "yes... t-thank you-" He tries to say. It's mortifying having to defer to mortals to heal him but... he doesn't really have a choice with his wound. Guess it'll make for a more fun game as his prey recovers as well... And he'd find that cat and string him up like a carcass. It's not long before the ambulance arrives.

[nihils-trolls]

Of Gold and Shadows

context here

“C’mon, Ria. It’s just some old hive that got left to rot. Telling me you’re scared all of a sudden?”

“Shut up, Gaz. If I was scared, I wouldn’t’ve followed you out here, dumbass.”

A young troll prods his friend as they walk along a cobbled path lined with planted trees, long since forgotten and overgrown. It’s a windy- but otherwise quiet- night, moons high in the sky and peeking through the clouds overhead. A rather large piece of property once- this small valley appears thick with weeds and brambles; any other buildings that were here now drowned out in green and falling apart.

The two had heard tales of this derelict estate that was tucked deep into the mountain pass to the north, and that it was haunted by the lingering spirit of the old staff and its last owner. Fate unknown, body never found.  But of course, those are just rumors. 

“Oh, okay then. I’ll believe that. One hundred percent.” Gazram says with a sarcastic tone, to which Rianne replies with a slug to his shoulder.

In all honesty, neither of them thought there was going to be anything out here. But just a short way back, they’d found an old trail that led to where they are now. Visible just through the trees ahead lies a stately manor. Or, what would have been one maybe several hundred sweeps prior. 

The building is still standing despite the disrepair it’s in; the porch in front is falling to pieces, windows broken in, a large hole in the roof- the list goes on. From the outside, the inside seems to be in just as bad of shape. Empty for who knows how long, boarded doors and slanting floors.

“Yeesh, this place has seen better nights,” Gazram states plainly. “So what. You thinkin’ we just… march right in, yeah? See if we can catch anything weird?”

“I mean. What else are we gonna do? I still don’t know why I even came out here with you.” 

“I dunno. To leave that stuffy hive of yours and live a little? No harm in exploring.”

Rianne steps around broken boards on her way to the main entrance, Gazram following close behind. Unlike others they’ve seen, this door remains unbarred. A quick jiggle of the handle reveals it to be locked; however, the motion causes the door to swing inside slowly, revealing a moth-eaten foyer. Large, golden colored draperies line the walls, black rugs line the once elaborate wooden floors- stained with mildew and rot.

The both of them step inside, Gaz closing the door behind them. The vast room is intersected by a stretching hall spanning left to right, with two staircases at the back. Both lead to a balcony on the floor above that overlooks the space below. A chandelier sits fallen in the center- shattered glass scattered everywhere. 

“What do you think happened?” Rianne asks.

“What, to the owner?” Gaz pauses for a moment, ambling into the room further before answering back. “I don’t know. From what I heard, it was some sort of feud between rivals- and not  the romantic kind. Rich highbloods get into all sorts of weird dramatic bullshit, don’t they?

Oooh! Do you think there’s anything cool left behind? Or do y’ think looters got to this place already?”

Rianne just rolls her eyes, following and continuing to look around. “You told me this place is old n’ well known already, so I doubt it. But… look around. Don’t you think it’s weird that there’s no blues or purples? Anything even remotely on that end of the spectrum?”

He stops in his tracks for a moment before continuing. “A little, but that doesn’t mean anything- shit could’ve gotten stolen already… Maybe the guy just had a weird sense of style.”

“... You’ve got me there. I probably wouldn’t’ve built my hive like this…”

Rianne trails off, looking down a hall to her right. Gazram follows her gaze, and looks just as bewildered as she does. The hall is devoid of light other than moonlight filtering through the windows. It seems to stretch on much further than expected; almost seems as if the corridor itself skews and twists towards the end.

“... ‘specially not like this. You seeing that too?”

“Wish I could say I’m not.” he replies simply.

She peers into the shadows further down, hesitating to speak again. “I think I saw something else down there. I… I don’t know. Maybe we should leave?”

Gazram looks dumbfoundedly at her. “Ria, we just got here. You really gonna leave because a creepy abandoned hive is starting to get to you?”

“I just might.” she says.

“C’mon, there’s nothing here. This place is just falling apart at the seams… you really think there’s ghosts here?” he teases. Next thing he knows, she’ll be telling him she believes in magic, too.

Ria puts her hands on her hips, giving her ‘friend’ an unamused look. “No, but I don’t like this either way, asshole.  Y’know what? Have fun by yourself, getting injured in a shoddy building. I’m gonna go wait outside for you to be done with all this.”

Rianne then heads for the door- Gazram deciding to meander towards the twisting hall. “Fine, be that way. Just so you know, you might be waiting awhile.”

“Uh huh. And if I wait more than an hour, I’m leaving your sorry ass here.”

Jiggling the handle again, she remembers that the door is locked- and Gazram shut it the rest of the way. Sighing, she looks down to find that there’s no bolt keeping the door shut- no lock on this side either.

“... Gaz, did you do something to this door? If so, this isn’t funny.”

Turning on his heel to face her again, he gives Rianne a puzzled look. “No?”

The olive walks back over to the entrance, pushing her aside and attempting to open the door- and does so without issue. “See? It’s not even locked. I dunno what your problem is-”

Just as soon as it opens, Gazram is cut off by the door slamming shut of its own accord. The two turn to stare at it, shocked, and Gaz grasps at the handle to try and open it again. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t budge.

“You cannot tell me that was ‘just the wind’-” Ria says, before being interrupted by her friend.

“I’m sor-ry, what do you want me to say? I don’t believe in ghosts, and I’m not about to because a door slammed shut spookily.” He quickly gives up the vain attempts to open it and walks away in a huff. “If the door won’t open, just bust open one of these windows and climb out. The rest are broken anyway.”

“... I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? You’re not that weak, I know that for a fact-”

“I mean I can’t!” Rianne yells, surprising even herself. After a moment’s pause, she sighs and looks out the window. “I won’t do it. I just… listen. I’m getting a really bad feeling- if we break anything in here, it’s not gonna end well.”

Gazram stares at the cerulean, now returning the unamused look from earlier. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Dead serious,” she hisses, turning to look back at him. “Let’s just… find another way out. There’s bound to be a back door, or hole in the wall somewhere. Fast, preferably.”

“Fine, but we’re going the way I was going to go before you called me over.” 

… Both move down the skewed hall at a slowed pace. The floorboards creak and groan underneath their steps, the sounds echoing throughout the corridor. Out of the several doors they’ve passed, only one was unlocked- leading to an empty room infested with roaches and black mold. 

“You’d think…” Gazram starts, “That with all the time and number of trolls that had to have been here, these doors would be busted open, wouldn’t you?”

Rianne thinks for a moment, putting a hand to her chin. “Yeah, actually. It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? I kinda expected this place to be in worse condition. And this hallway…”

“What about it?”

“Dude, we’ve been walking down it for at least five minutes. It didn’t look that long before, did it? This doesn’t even match what it looked like from the outside.” After saying that, she stops to look behind her.

The hallway stretches on for quite the distance. Back where they had started, Rianne notices a tall, pale troll standing in a long, white dress. After staring a moment, she notices darkened, mustard colored splatters on the dress- and that the figure is staring right back.

Stopping in her tracks, she grabs a hold of her friend’s arm. Whispering for him to look too. Glancing back to see the same, he immediately regrets not believing Ria sooner.

They don’t have a moment to react before a wall springs upwards from the floor and slams against the ceiling, blocking the hall off from the foyer. They jolt from the sudden ‘thud,’ and the first is followed by more as the very corridor itself seems to fold in on itself and shrink.

Still holding his arm, Rianne begins sprinting down the hall dragging Gazram behind her. Despite the collapsing happening behind them, the end never seems to be getting any closer to them. Gasping for breath, the two continue racing onwards- not having any other option.

Finally, she sees a bend to the left. Pulling the olive around the corner, the wall continues advancing- until it slams against the end in an abrupt stop. Ria collapses to the floor, attempting to catch her breath.

“What… the actual fuck… was that??” she says, exasperated. “Suuuure Gaz, tell me the place isn’t fucking haunted! Oooooh, ghosts aren’t real,” Ria continues mockingly, “Then you mind telling me what the hell happened?

And do not tell me we’re hallucinating from… from.. mold spores or any other shitty explanation. I feel pretty sober right now, and I hate it.”

“-Alright! Fine! I don’t know! What do you want, for me to say this was a stupid idea? Then yeah! I agree, this was a fucking stupid idea.” he argues. “How was I supposed to know that there would be fucking… supernatural bullshit happening here?”

Rianne holds her head in her hands, too frustrated and too scared to say anything back to that. Or, anything for a few long moments. But finally, she steels herself- getting off of the floor to stand.

Gazram continues while she does so. “Look. I won’t bother you about superstitious stuff anymore. So let’s just… keep going. Ignore any other weird shit unless it’s actually gonna hurt us, since it looks like our only way out is through.”

Scrubbing her face, Ria sighs and nods. “Yeah. Fine.”

The duo continues along, the end of the corridor being marked with a large set of heavy-looking double doors. More rooms lie along this stretch, with most of them being locked like the rest. Sobbing echoed out quietly from behind them, and neither Rianne or Gazram dared to look back. Not again.

Instead, they both push open the doors at the end, revealing a ruined grand ballroom with a high, vaulted ceiling. Stairs along either side of the wall lead up to another balcony, decorated pillars holding it aloft. It’s mostly empty, save for an old grand piano and a small orchestral stage off to the side. The back wall contains an enormous, elaborate window with two glass doors leading outside- their escape, hopefully.

Not wasting any time, Rianne begins making her way over to the back wall with Gazram following close behind. Upon their entering of the room, music begins playing from the grand piano- despite there being no one there to play. The sudden disturbance only hastens their steps.

Before the cerulean can open the door, both trolls feel a presence directly behind them. No longer off in the distance, stifled weeping can be heard- a voice softly speaking to them.

“Why can’t you just leave me be?”

Ria dares to turn her head back, ever so slowly. She is face to face with a ghastly figure, pale as bone with long, frazzled white hair to match. Her wide, haunted eyes were black like voids with golden irises. Yellow blood streaks and drips from her eyes down her face, stains covering the entirety of the elaborate, yet ruined dress she’s wearing.

“Get out.” the figure finally commands, a forceful gust of wind knocking the patio doors open and shattering them.

No longer frozen with fear, Gazram grabs a hold of Ria’s arm- dragging her with him as he hastily retreats out the open door. Now free of the manor’s walls, the two scramble around and back towards the path that led them here. 

Neither of them really felt like exploring 'haunted buildings' anymore. Or, ever again for that matter.

[bloodenjoyer]

tagged by @mircallasgrave thank youu ^____^

1. are you named after anyone? nope!! my deadname took SOME inspiration from a girl in the 60s who had some connection to a band (<thats all ill say) baz is just short for basil which came from nowhere particular...i DO also go by judy though and that definitely is partly inspired by judy from the secret history

2. when was the last time you cried?

maybe a few days ago i kept thinking of doomsday/rose tyler in general and was getting really emotional about it . my actual problems im more inclined to repress though

3. do you have kids?

nope!

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

yes but also no. the answer is no but yes. I am always being completely honest and completeyl joking. i am never entirely sincere but ever joke i make secretly rings true at its core

5. what is the first thing you notice about people?

man idk

6. what color are your eyes?

green or hazel im not sure

7. scary movies or happy endings?

silly question

8. any special talents?

i dunno i can do this weird thing with my right shoulder that makes it look dislocated

9. where were you born?

california!

10. what are your hobbies?

media consumption LOL movies books music etc...like...idk. sometimes i try to play instruments (i did play flute for years but im a bit rusty now, and i play bad guitar sometimes), same w drawing im j not very good at it. and writing. Whatever. im a bit of a jack of all trades useless creative type tbh

11. do you have any pets?

dogy i love her so much

12. what sports did/have you played?

violently hated sports growing up and im pretty physically ....unfit so i never did sports. i guess i do like swimming though and im decent at it

13. how tall are you?

same height as rod serling

14. favorite subjects in school?

history philosophy literature english. Oh anything humanities i suppose

15. dream job?

actor LOL but genuinely nothing at all

tagging @bivampires @gingersnapsunleashed @frankiecorleone <3

[cartridgeconverter]

Made a post like yesterday about how I wanted to draw theatre characters without them being associated with any specific actor, so I've drawn some of The Girls without using any reference. These don't really match my view of the characters in my head, but it was a fun exercise.

Zerlina:

I've seen a few Asian Zerlina/Black Masetto pairs, (Met 2023 with Ying Fang, the Peter Sellars gangster Giovanni with Ai Lan Zhu) and while I don't particularly like the stereotypical implications of the submissive/promiscuous Asian girl and the jealous, violent Black guy, Ying Fang Zerlina like rearranged my braincells, so I kind of had to

I keep on thinking this character looks more Japanese than Chinese, which wasn't my intention (I based part of the features on myself, and I am Chinese), but what can you do

Shoutout to the Aix-en-Provence 2017 production and tumblr user @/leporellian for their objectively correct flower crown Zerlinas. Perfect, no notes.

I didn't do a full crown but this is a plum blossom, which is a common flower depicted in East Asian art and according to Wikipedia represents purity? I have never heard that, but I am also not super well-versed in East Asian cultures other than my own. So.

Every time I try and draw characters from this show it always starts with Zerlina. I love her she's so silly

Elvira:

Yeah I'll admit this isn't really my best work

The lines are pretty crusty but at a certain point I didn't feel like cleaning it up anymore

Anyway enough excuses this is both not very clean and not a particularly inspired design

The green-ish eyes are from when I got really bored and came up with eye color headcanons for all the characters? Green eyes obviously represent jealousy but I also just like the vibes

Man I dunno. I haven't thought enough about Elvira I gotta think more and then maybe I'll redo this one

This is the one that I feel least resembles the way I see the character in my head, as I feel like she'd be on the older side - around 10-15 years older than Zerlina and Masetto and 5-10 years older than Anna and Ottavio

Anna:

MY FAVORITE GIRL.

I said no references but I did look at one (1) picture of Federica Lombardi, I'm really sorry guys

Not sure how I feel about this drawing either, I like the expression and the shading but there's nothing particularly interesting about this design

Every time I think about giving Anna different colors I think about that one Rachel Willis Sorensen in-character post where she's like "but do you have this in black?" So. Black.

[shandy-otp-fanfic]

Can we see a fanfic of sonic shadow sandy and Amy playing a game of twister

Sure thing! As a side note, I've never played Twister lol.

"Right hand, green," Shadow called, tilting his head as Sandy reached for the spot with supposed ease.

She touched the green circle near the edge of the playmat, sighing as she did so. Her left leg felt like it was about to give out, but she was still in the game.

Amy glanced over at Shadow, somehow halfway bent above Sonic. Granted, it was Sandy's idea to play but judging by the blushes the pink and blue hedgehogs wore, Shadow guessed this was just another plan to set them up.

"C'mon, hon, call the next color," Sandy said.

Shadow spun the arrow, glancing up in time to mark where the yellow circle was. "Left leg, yellow," he said, hearing his wife huff out a "Thank goodness,"

The three of them moved, Amy grunting with effort as she touched the yellow circle with barely enough room for Sonic to move.

Sandy did a brief handstand at that moment, confidence oozing from her as she gave her leg a short stretch. Shadow snorted. Show-off.

Sonic hummed, trying to figure out how he was going to get to yellow with the amount of space afforded to him. Maybe he wouldn't, but he wasn't a quitter. He slid his leg out, squinting a bit as he did so.

His arms began to shake with one on blue and the other on red. He touched yellow, a grin on his face as Amy breathed.

Sandy watched them, clearing her throat as she glanced over to make sure Shadow wasn't watching. Currently, it seemed like he was looking something up on his phone. Probably to read the rules or to check on the kids.

Sandy made eye contact with Amy, a weak smile on the pink hedgehog's face. The squirrel looked away to where Sonic's leg was, quickly sweeping her leg under his before placing her foot back on yellow.

Sonic yelped as his balance wavered, falling to the floor as his arms finally gave out.

"I was tripped," he yelled, meeting Shadow's glare.

"By what? Air?" Shadow shot back, glancing at his phone.

Sonic clicked his tongue. He. . .wasn't actually sure. He could've sworn he felt someone else's leg sweep him.

He moved off the mat, joining Shadow on the couch with a shrug. "Dunno," he replied. "Maybe it was the wind,"

Shadow rolled his eyes, spinning the arrow without a word toward Sonic. "Left hand, red," he said.

Sandy contorted, placing her left hand on red and waiting for Amy to do the same.

"You know," Amy started, moving. "I think Sonic was tripped," she said, winking at him.

"Oh no, what a shame," Sandy replied, her voice flat. "He's out, so it's too late now,"

Sonic tried to peek at Shadow's phone, Shadow frowning at him as he moved his hands away. "What?" Shadow demanded.

"Tell the kids we said hi," he said.

Shadow sighed, typing a quick message and hitting send. "They should be in bed by now," Shadow replied, turning his attention back to the two women.

"It's only eight," Sonic said, right as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it,"

Sonic went to the door, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket as he opened the door to find a pizza delivery waiting for him. Sweet.

He signed for it, shutting the door just in time for Sandy to fall.

Amy laughed, moving to stand as the game ended. "I won," she cheered.

"Best two outta three," Sandy suggested.

"No," Shadow and Sonic said at the same time, sharing a look.

"Boo," Sandy replied, taking the boxes of pizza from Sonic. She was smiling nonetheless, pressing a quick kiss to Shadow's cheek.

"Ugh," Sonic groaned. "Couples," he continued, moving into the kitchen and taking a seat.

"Oh please," Sandy said. "Amy, could you grab plates fer me?"

"Sure," Amy answered, reaching up to grab a stack of plates. Game night was always fun when Shadow and Sandy were hosting. She came back to the table, sitting beside Sonic.

"So," Shadow started. "They aren't in bed yet," he said as his phone buzzed rapidly on the table.

Sandy hummed in reply. "Ma n Pa must be watchin' a movie with 'em," she said.

Amy looked at the pair and then at Shadow's still buzzing phone. It stopped buzzing, clearly all of the Robotnik children having replied.

"Which movie?" Sonic asked, stuffing his face with pizza.

"Either Monsters Inc. or Frozen 2," Sandy replied. "It's a toss-up,"

As they began their debate on which movie was better, Amy was staunchly on Sandy's side.

"Frozen 2 actually has a plot," Amy said.

"So does Monsters Inc.," Shadow argued. "Who doesn't like learning about the evils of capitalism in a kids' film?"

"Me," Amy replied. "Isn't a story about sisterhood and growth just better?"

"It's just an obvious sequel set-up," Sonic interjected. "The first movie was just music videos spliced together,"

"We ain't talkin' 'bout the first movie, genius," Sandy shot back. "They're both good films, but at least Frozen 2 means somethin',"

"Okay, that's just false," Shadow said.

"The kids are too young to know about capitalism,"

"They're too young to know about colonization by that logic,"

"We could just watch the movies ourselves," Amy said. She looked at Shadow and Sandy. "They'll be in bed by the time we finish," she added.

Shadow and Sandy shared a look, unreadable by the two others in the room.

"Sounds good," Sandy answered.

[project-sunniva-sterling]

Fight or Flight? Part 1:chapter 1

Chapter one: Family Gathering.

July 29th, 2020.

Pov: Caramel.

I wake up in my bed.

Today is warm, so i have no trouble hopping out of my bed. I head to my bathroom. It's door is inside my bedroom. The bathroom is small. It has a toilet, a bathtub, and a sink and mirror. unfortunately, my mirror is cracked in some places. I smile at myself in the mirror.

I have tan skin, bright green eyes, and my hair is a dark green, but in the sun, it reveals its not actually the color it looks like, which is black, but is actually green. My hair is a little above shoulder length and is straight. I have these weird thin wavy lines on places like my elbows, wrists, neck, finger joints, knees, etc, and my mom had called them joint"illustrations." they are a pale green, and everyone I know has them. And I look just like everyone who lives in Agate county. Same hair color and type, same eyes, same skin tone.

Everyone I had ever met only looked this way. Except that one man I had met when I was little.

My mother is allergic to strawberries. Each week, every family receives a box with food, and someone had accidentally put strawberries in our delivery box. So, my mom and I had to walk a few miles to the center of our city, where the train delivers our food and people put the food in boxes for us depending on our food preferences and diet. We had came to trade our strawberries for something else my mother could eat. when we got there, my mom left me outside while she spoke to the food delivery manager.

And that's when I saw him. He sat in one of the boxcars with his feet dangling out. He looked at be middle aged. He had this pale skin and yellow hair and blue eyes.

"Sir," I walked up to him. "Are you sick sir?" "What?" He said to me."oh, hello young Vicoay, nope, I'm not sick."

"I'm from Coral County." He said.

"Where's that? I've never heard of… Coral County in my life."

"But you look so pale!" I said.

I've never seen a man look like this in my entire life.

The man had leans closer to me, I hopped into the boxcar and sat next to him.

The man whispers, "It's… former California."

"What's a 'California?'

The man looked around nervously. "Well, I dunno if that's what it actually used to be called… Its just what I heard since I was little." My mother called my name and I hopped down off of the boxcar and walked over to my mother. "Little Vicoay," shouted the man to me,

The man had walked into the boxcar and after a few seconds came out with a glass jar filled with honey and handed it out to me. I walked back to him and took the jar to my mother, who thanked him as soon as saw the honey jar.

Honey isn't very common here like it used to be. Honey bees are very hostile.

When we got back home, I told my friends about the pale man and they said they didn't believe me. So one day, once we all got older, I brought them there and the same guy was hauling large boxes around. My friends stared, amazed that I had been right.

But that had so long ago, I might've been around 6 when I first saw the man and 10 when I had last saw him. I remember when he had saw us and waved. one of my friends still brings him up sometimes.

I think she might've liked his pale skin.

F/F1P1 1ST PAGE: https://www.tumblr.com/project-sunniva-sterling/758818737826709504/fight-or-flight-part-1chapter-1?source=share

F/F1P1 LAST PAGE: None.

[eristic-kaleidoscope]

HyperextENDing | E.N.D. | Trial 5-5 | RE: Jae-min, Akito, Adrik

"First of all, you're not killing any of those three right now,"

END just glares at Jae-min from across the bullpen, apparently taking the threat a lot more seriously than Akito himself is.

"I may not be able to stop the sisters from executing a killer, but I can still hold my own in a fight if I have to, and I'm not letting you murder someone because you're too damn impatient to find out if you're right. And that goes for everyone else, too--if you start throwing fists or whatever, I'm stepping in. Shit's already tense enough as is, we don't need a lot more of that.

If it turns out it is him? Then go hog wild, I don't give a shit. Just keep your ass sat down until we're sure."

She bounces her leg, checking her tablet with one hand as the other rests on the bump in the coat she's wearing for a moment, as if she's trying to double check the positioning. This is all so confusing, and she hates it. Why couldn't the problem be as simple as a mechanical issue? If an engine starts having errors, she can simply follow the parts that aren't firing quickly and figure out what needs to be done. This is all so much more complicated, and it's very outside her wheelhouse. 

"Even if the taser only has one charge, the charger was with it too, yeah."

To prove her point, END brings the charging cord out of her pocket to show it off as well.

"I dunno a reason for the pillow to have been burned by the taser aside as possibly a test yeah, as Erik A suggested. Either way--Any idea of how long it takes for this thing to charge, Erik A? An also already showed off the spot where she was tased, unless you have some other reason to think of checking An, who I assume is the 'certain someone else' unless you're being cagey for some reason.... I dunno. They're not a huge brick shithouse of a person like Jae-min, they're gonna go down pretty effectively, if I had to guess.

As for the thermos.... I would like to point out, that it's not the first time we've seen it, either. Maybe not everyone did, but-- It was left in the 'A' office once that floor was opened up. Not only that, but I know that that wasn't just something stolen from Akito's apartment as a clue because Byrne was able to identify it as belonging to Akito. That investigation is also what led to it being dented, so sorry for that. I will say, when we left it there, it was missing when we came back. I assumed that Akito's group came back for it, but I guess one of our hosts could've swiped it then--but the point is, it was at least already in play as it were, before this whole frame job."

She rubs at her face a bit, thinking things over. It feels like they're spinning their wheels at this point, making no progress. Akito, no it's Erisu, no back to Akito, no back to Erisu.....

"I guess with Jae-min's vouching, I could be more inclined to think that Erisu was Az-8, sure. I'm still not one hundred percent sold, because I do have to wonder a few things-- If Az-8's mother ran from the program, taking the time to get rid of anything that could be used to follow her easily.... Why would she let her child still be easily recognized as Az-8? It's not like hair color is a hard thing to change, and while Erika names are a dime a dozen these days, why would she keep it instead of changing it when running away? There's also the receipt that was mentioned, for hair dye and eye drops to make your hair blonde and eyes green. So I guess what I really want to know there is what possible reason would you have to keep that up in a fucked up experiment where people are dying?"

Dimly, she's aware there's the distinct possibility that it's a false item, and Akito doesn't use them, but she's not going to voice that and give him an out. 

"To Jae-min's point as well--ultimately, while I do think we need to take this chance to figure out as much as we can, at the end of the day someone murdered Erisu. An was taken out with a taser, and I don't think it was Calluna--she could tase Erisu remotely if she'd been watching, as was said, and beyond that could have just gotten AION to intervene if need be. On top of that, if she did do it and got found out, by her own experiment rules she'd be killed, and I don't think she's dumb enough to risk that when they're so close to what they need.

So that leaves someone else, who had access to the red floor. And bud, you're still looking pretty guilty, since as far as I can tell, no one has any evidence that can point to a single other person involved in this. Sure, it'd be a tight window for you to go from the library, to the red floor, to Erisu, back to the library.... But that only assumes you started in the library in the first place. I'm not really sure I buy that you were there? If you're investigating this whole thing, and that alarm wakes us all up at six am, you're just going back to looking at files? And then just take pictures of them, when the place wasn't locked off, so you could just show Adrik later in person?

But Calluna wasn't watching cameras, so someone else was. If you did, and you saw the start of the fight, then it just means you had to grab the curtain, find something that could feasibly prove your innocence, such as pictures that conveniently put you on either side of the murder, and then run out to get Erisu. Erisu wasn't killed in the lobby, there was a clear amount of time between her assault on An and her ending by the elevator doors.

Also, I don't really get your logic--you wanna say that this morning's events spooked them into making this false flag operation, but like.... That's really not a lot of time to do it. So either they would've had to have planned to kill their own sibling from a while ago, which An is clearly adamantly against, or else this caught them off guard." 

END drums her fingers along the top of her ruined podium. She doesn't like sitting still, so this is a fine excuse--

"Calluna, An, mind if I get up to come and check that tablet of his for those pictures? If someone else wants to check they can too, I guess, but I wanna see them for my own eyes instead of relying on just a testimony from his partner."

Calluna gives a nod to that! "

"You may for that purpose, though anyone else who feels the need to leave their spot to check would require their own permission."

END nods in return, and steps from around her podium to go and check Akito's tablet--or phone, as the case actually is. She gives a few glances to it, before heading back to her own spot. The whole time, she is carefully watching all three of the people in that section of the circle for any signs of danger.

"Okay, so Akito does have pictures of files on his phone, and they are marked for 12 PM and 12:30 PM, respectively. However, they're of Kaguya's satellite and facial research, and our host's collab efforts on the VR tech... Absolutely neither of which is remotely new information, so I can't imagine why he'd save them to share with Adrik, when especially Kaguya's stuff was openly discussed a while back. Do with that what you will, I guess."

[cyberloveza]

Tale of the Green Beast | A Shreklock Story

It was a quiet day. I would've loved to chat more with Holmes, but the movie we had just watched left me… off. As if Holmes and I had just cuddled by the fire, him regaling me with his crime novels as he'd come to do often recently, knowing that if I was ever murdered, he would dismember his sole to kill the man responsible… but he was the one that killed me in the first place?

Holmes and I strolled down the hallway, him with his arm around my shoulder, and stopped at our flat.

I dug into my pockets for the key.

Holmes tapped his foot as he waited. His usual impatience. A few moments passed, and he stopped. His eyebrows furrowed as his gaze fell into his thoughts. His nose scrunched.

"Is that coffee?" He looked up at the door.

"Coffee?" I sniffed the air. The scent had come from through the door. "Wait- yes. It's coming from inside!"

Holmes grabbed the doorknob and turned it, but it wouldn't budge.

"This doesn't make sense. We don't drink coffee, we drink tea! Watson, unlock the door."

I jammed the key into the hole and pushed open the door. The smell of coffee packed the room and flooded into the hallway. Its potency burned my throat. Along with tears from… onions?

Holmes studied the room, as he could find the most miniscule of things that were displaced. And as always, he saw it. But…his jaw dropped.

I followed his thousand-yard-stare to the couch. My lord…

Lightning shocked my heart as I saw the green, panic-inducing hand pick up his coffee mug and an onion in the other.

"Shrek?!" We said at the same time.

"Gitoud o' me flat, will ya?"

Holmes raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, sir but with all due respect, leave. This isn't your house."

"Yuud messan' wit the wroöng ogre."

My knees shook as my whole body paralyzed in fear. I heaved out every breath, and let not one in. My eyes flickered. A cold shock crawled up my skin. Soon, all I could see was the green in front of me, and as always, black.

My brain was working overtime, making sure I only got the most horrific dreams, like Shrek breaking my fingers one by one and stabbing my head while Holmes wasn’t looking. I didn’t even want to think about what could’ve happened while I was out. In the dark void that was my closed eyes, warm colors began to peak through.

The warm sheets were blurry as they caressed my palm, becoming clear and solid as the static cleared from my sleeping body. I opened my eyes.

Holmes. He leaned over me, looking directly into my eyes.

“Holmes…? Wha…” I said as my lips fruitlessly delivered my words.

“Watson, are you okay?”

I groaned as the side of my neck burned. I must’ve slept in a strange position.

“I’m… I’m fine, Holmes. I just- I dunno…”

“Easy, my friend,” he touched my forehead, as if to check I wasn't running a cold. “Dinner will be done in a few minutes. Lay back until then.”

He touched my arm as I eased again into the warm bed.

I wanted to clear my head of him. That green monstrosity…

The bed weakly rumbled as the sound of heavy footsteps approached the door. The noise that shook my core.

I broke into a sweat.

"Eh Sherlœk, dinne's readi!"

A devil's cry pierced up my skin. It was still here. Not only that. I had to share a table with him.

Dammit. No no no no no no no no…

We already set the plates and forks. Holmes waited calmly as his bowl was being prepared. I… well I couldn't. My mind was lightning. I cringed at the thought of his giant fingers touching anything near my food.

A thud came from the kitchen. I flinched.

Holmes looked over at the kitchen entrance. "What was that?"

"Nuthan!" The monster said back. I hoped he didn't think that was reassuring somehow. I knew what he was doing.

I stood up from my chair.

Holmes impatiently tapped his fork on the cream white plate. He met my gaze.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

The truth grobbled in my throat, but I kept it in.

"The food smells so delicious, Holmes," I said shamelessly. "I just have to see it now."

His face brightened up. "Oh, eggers!"

Eggers? Eggers? That Shrek got to him. Holmes's mind was on its way to a slow, green rot and I had to stop it.

I turned into the kitchen, the savory smell of tomatoes and chicken drowned me in its deliciousness, unfortunately. In front of the stove was the demon himself.

He reached into his pocket. Something clacked inside as he pulled out a small red… salt shaker? Strange red flakes floated into the soup, his big hands still choking the entire bottle.

I stood straight. I couldn't make it obvious that my knees trembled.

He looked at me.

"I jost gõtte put i in de bowls. Be paeshent."

"No worries. Why don't I handle it? I said, holding my hand out as I walked closer to the monster.

"I gott it. If ya wonderin about the shaker, it's only pepper. Not de spicy kind."

Lies.

"Sure. I bet Holmes will love it."

Shrek nodded, and dumped the soup from the ladle into the bowl. Gross. Disgusting. I'd rather die than eat that. My head ached just standing there. Slowly, I stepped back and left the kitchen.

Silence. I didn't dare let a word escape my mouth. I took a sip of my wine as Holmes and the demon talked their hearts out.

"Ur a verrie smaot man, Mr. Holmes." It said.

Holmes playfully extended out his hand, blushing like a teenage girl.

"Awww- I- ha ha" he chuckled over his sentence. "Stop, you're embarrassing me."

Holmes glanced at me, then back at Shrek. He didn't talk to me like that. He never talked to me like that. What the hell is this?

I idly stirred my soup, paying close attention to the broccolis. To the red specks that lay on their heads.

Holmes ate his seconds with the speed of a starving prisoner. I knew all the red specks were in his soup too. A love potion perhaps. Or maybe just poison.

Holmes coughed. His eyes shot wide open.

I looked at him. "Is everything alright?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he held his neck, and coughed his lungs out. I panicked.

"Holmes! Are you okay? Answer me!" I rushed out of my seat and over to him. I held his shoulders.

"Gggghhhhaaaa!" He responded.

Drats! He can't talk.

I tugged at his arm and pulled him out of his seat. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I put my hands under his ribcage and did the proper Heimlich maneuver.

A piece of pepper flake shot from his mouth. Holmes heaved as he loosened his grip from his neck. I cupped his hand in mine.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

He stared at the bowl, emptiness was behind his eyes.

He laughed.

He roared. "I'm fine, John. It was just a flake of pepper. More soup will wash it down."

What.

I flared hot inside. Not from anger, but from how awkward I felt at the moment. Standing there, my face probably iron red. Yes, I saved his life, but it was still awkward.

I sat back down in my seat, still as a statue, watching Shrek and my partner gossip and chatter for the rest of dinner.

"Yoø drawin li'il pictures?"

I snapped cold. The satanic heat radiated in front of me as I slowly looked up. It wasn't a hallucination. That ogre was still here.

I set my pencil and journal down next to me. Quiet time on the couch was over.

I spoke. "I am. Why?"

He grinned, and from behind his back, pulled out five big books.

"Were we're goin', we don't gætt nou pictures."

My eyes widened.

---

After a few minutes, we successfully moved the table to the front door, leaving a clear spot on the floor for us to sit. I couldn't see the use, but that would hopefully be explained to me in due time.

Holmes's bedroom door opened, with the man himself emerging. He wore his dark red dressing robe and slippers.

He came to the sitting spot.

"This is the activity you've been raving to me about?" He looked at the demon.

"Ye, I gotte de buuks. Sit down."

Shrek patted the spot next to him. Holmes clapped his hands together and sat down next to him.

Five books sat in the center of us: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Great Gatsby, The Bible, Moby Dick, and the 1999 original book Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What exactly are we doing?"

Shrek leaned forward and grabbed the Harry Potter book. He opened it.

"Yu pik a böok, and ask eech of us one queschon about it, then we rotate. We only gott three peopl and fyve books, but we'll still rotate the other two."

I blanked. I couldn't for the life of me understand the rules, but Holmes probably knew them well, so I could just copy him.

Holmes grabbed the 1999 original book Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel. I took The Bible.

---

Holmes had asked me to write the scores down in my journal, and I told him I'd do anything for him, so I obliged. Here's how it was looking:

I was dead last, but I took solace in that Holmes was doing so well. Though, my hands burned at the thought that it was only because of that demon's doing. Holmes didn't need him to win, but I couldn't do anything as it was his game.

My stomach roared inside me as I sat there with the Bible in hand. I hadn't eaten dinner. Shrek and Holmes watched me intently as I turned a couple pages.

I cleared my throat.

"This is your question, Holmes. What verse does David find Bath-seed-ba bathing?"

"2 Samuel 11:2!" Holmes declared loudly.

Shrek looked at him. "Again, smaot mann, Sherlock."

Holmes blushed again, the fangirl in him never truly leaving since dinner. Shrek picked up the Harry Potter book. A smile spread across his face, but his eyes… they flickered… with rage. His eyebrows pinched.

Shrek pulled his arm back like a baseball pitcher. Holmes's attention was on the pages of his book. The walls chanted at me, their voices rang in my ear. They knew. I knew. My heart beated in my chest as the smell of blood conjured in my head.

His arm swung forward, launching the book past Holmes's head and crashing it into the wall.

Another book sliced past Holmes's shoulder and banged on the floor behind him, making him fall over. My chest was twenty pounds heavy. Holmes trembled with terror in his eyes.

Shrek smirked.

"I gess gaem tyme's over." he stood up. "Time for bed, doncha think?"

He held a hand out for Holmes. He was reduced to a scared kitten, but he slowly reached out his paw to the demon's.

Shrek helped Holmes up from the floor. He snatched his hand away from the ogre.

"I-I'm going to take a shower now. I'll…" he trailed off, and walked away.

In a few seconds, he locked himself in the bathroom, probably sobbing at the thought of this ogre. Poor Holmes.

My blood boiled. I shot up from my seat.

“What the hell was that?” I shouted.

Shrek looked at me with a knowing stare.

He knows what he’s doing. He’s trying to piss me off.

I raised my fist at him. “You lay a hand on my friend, you’re dead. Dead!”

“I think yu fale too consider, who will really be dead.”

A smirk spread across his face. That evil grin… chilled my bones. I stood my ground and kept a fearless expression. Muffled shower noises leaked from the bathroom. Shrek turned his head towards it.

“Wach ouut, Doctor.”

I whispered angrily. “How did you know I was a doctor?”

He pointed at the door. Why would Holmes tell this beast my occupation? He was probably forced to do so.

Surrounded by near silence, Shrek stepped closer to the bathroom, his thunderous footsteps shaking my core. He knelt down at the door. One could only be so scared for someone else’s life before they should start fearing for theirs. What I’m saying is, I should've prayed that my heart could take whatever might happen next.

The demon pulled something out of his pockets. Something black and squirmy. I squinted at them, and it was awful. They were spiders.

One by one, the spiders crawled down Shrek’s green skin and onto the floor, sneaking under the space of the door and into the bathroom. Holmes had the worst surprise coming. I gasped as I knelt down to view the spiders.

“No.” I mumbled.

“Yez.” The devil replied.

“No!” I said as I leaped forward to the doorknob.

He raised a finger to his mouth and shushed me. The rings of the shower curtains clanged against the bar as they whooshed to the side.

“Watson?” A quite voice said through the showering water. “Watson!”

My heart ached. Holmes was saying my name. He needed me, but I couldn’t respond, less I wanted the ogre to hurt him more.

“Noble False Widows,” he said. “Moste poizunous in Englande. I don’t thank heez gonna mak it.”

“WATSON!!” Holmes screamed. His blood curdling pleads stung my ears.

As I gazed shocked at the door in disbelief, a shadow formed from mine. It was ogre-shaped. And from the side of my head, a baseball bat shape emerged. I froze. I was ice. My vision blotched black as I waited… and waited…

BAM.

Dark.

A dark room, furnished only by silhouettes. That's where I lay. My head burned with pulses against my pillow from the blunt force blow I was dealt sometime earlier.

I groaned. The covers caressed me as I pushed myself up.

What happened…

A creak sounded. I froze and became sober again.

"I was knocked out," I mumbled to myself. My heart blasted, racing on, breaking me into a cold sweat as the thought hit me. "Where's Holmes?"

My eyes widened in panic. My breaths were too quick to be considered breathing. I shakily hopped out of bed and scrambled to the nightstand for the lamp.

With one click, it flicked on. My room was a hurricane's path of debris. Though this time, it wasn't the green beast's fault.

I approached the door, my legs trembling at what could be behind it. I held the cold doorknob and turned it, and as I tugged, it didn't budge.

I tugged again. Nothing.

Was I trapped?

I glanced around the room, at the bed, at the dresser, at the floor. Nothing of note. I held my chest as I cooled down. I had to think:

Who put me here? And why?

The answer to the first one was obvious. It was Shrek. My answer to the second question would be confirmed for sure after I figured out my third question:

How do I get out of here?

Think, John. What did you do with the demon today?

I tapped my foot as I pondered. Shrek had made us dinner with dubiously edible pepper flakes, played a book game with us, and possibly mortally wounded Holmes with a spider. Aha, it was all connected!

I grabbed the 1999 original book Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel off the dresser. Next to where the book was, was a conveniently placed pepper shaker.

A spider crawled on the floor. Perfect. I knew how to get out.

In a few minutes, I sprinkled the pepper onto a blank page in the book, then recited the previous page's text backwards. I shut it immediately. Using the same book, I slammed it on the spider, threw it at the window and finally, unlocked the door.

That's what living with Sherlock Holmes does to your brain. You become smarter from his mere presence.

The door creaked open. I peeked through. No lights were on, leaving the flat in total darkness.

I blindly tiptoed out my bedroom. Despite my probable head injury, I was doing well navigating the few feet I traveled. However…

I touched the couch, and it felt… off. Tiny buzzes filled my ear, colors I shouldn't see in the dark blotted my vision, and dark red plagued my senses. The smell of blood.

I took a finger to a different part of the couch. My fingers dipped into a wet, squishy, warm patch of fabric, the substance leaking onto my hands. I pressed more, and panicked.

My hands shook as my breathing grew louder.

"Blood… blood…" I whispered. I quietly called for my friend. "Holmes… Holmes? Sherlock?"

A thunderous step sounded behind me. A familiar sound. I trembled again.

"Yuu finaly laerned wot I meant. You tők your sweet thyme, Doctor."

Beads of tears loomed around my eyes. My throat scratched on every word.

"Where's… where's Sherlock? Where's my friend?" I cried. I looked hopelessly in the darkness, unable to see the evil green beast.

A ray of light rose from behind and hit the floor beside me. It was from a torch. The light slithered past my feet, illuminating a slipper in front of me.

It kept going, then slowed. A drop of blood glimmered in the light. And more. And lingering, was a pool of dark blood gathering under a man wearing a robe.

"..."

I froze.

The beast came closer, letting his torchlight leak over the rest of the body and his face. The pale face of Sherlock Holmes.

I covered my mouth as I knelt down, his blood soaking my clothes.

"Sherlock? I-..." My voice wobbled. Tears flowed down my face.

I went cold. I knew.

Like a bomb, I exploded. The chaos, my tears and shrieks of fear bursted out of me. Sobbing and pure screams fought each other for my heart. My body went numb as my legs gave out. I coughed on the tears that flooded my face.

"Sherlock! SHERLOCK!" I yelled. The green beast grabbed me from behind. "No! No! You MONSTER! Bring him back! SHERLO-"

I coughed from my torn throat. My breath heightened as I finally ran out of tears to cry.

I stood there, unable to move from his arms. I didn't have it in me. Not anymore.

"Please… bring him back." I said quietly.

The monster squeezed me harder.

"No cann do, Doctor. I'm not-"

"Please… please…" I begged as I lost my voice.

The monster's grip loosened. Silence retook its place as I struggled to make a noise. He let go entirely and I could kneel to my friend one more time. The monster stepped back.

"Comm on, Sherlock. Partyz ovar."

Wh-wha…

Bells tolled far in the distance as I Iooked on at my friend.

Sherlock’s hand twitched. He shook as he pushed himself up off the floor, his eyes opening like a miracle itself had taken him. Was he undead?

The lights flicked on, and my partner stood tall once again. His gaze pierced through me, heating me like a fireplace. My mouth quivered.

"Sh-Sher…"

"Good evening to you too, Watson." He said with a smile.

I snapped cold.

"You're… You're a zombie!" I cried.

He chuckled. "Of course not, Watson. It's just me. I'm very much alive."

All senses flowed from me. I fell into a euphoric haze as I leaped forward to embrace him. Blood smeared across my clothes.

I looked at his wound, though there wasn't anything obvious.

"Sherlock, you're hurt."

"Oh no, this is fake." He took his finger to the blood and held it up at me.

My eyes widened. I slowly let go of Sherlock, and stepped back. It didn't make sense.

"S-so, this was all a prank? A joke?" I asked. The euphoria faded away.

Sherlock crosses his arms, then pointed at the blood-stained carpet.

"Well it's obvious, Watson. There is no trail of blood outside this puddle, suggesting no murder weapon was carried beyond this point, and it's too clean for a supposed surpised attack. Plus, there's no wound." He explained.

Sherlock glanced up at Shrek, smirking. Why?

"It was sloppy. Not a convincing crime scene."

"Yuu wont sum eggs wit that ham?" The demon said.

My relief morphed into confusion. Here I was, standing over a pool of fake blood and, what should've been, a white chalk outline. Sherlock and Shrek stood on either side of me. It was probably past midnight, and I was here instead.

What was happening?

"Why? Why would you do that?" Tears emerged from my eyes again.

Sherlock glared at me.

"It was for a very good reason. When we got back from the cinema, I could tell you were frightened, even more so when we saw our unexpected guest in our home. I was concerned when you passed out, but believed your fear to be unfounded, so me and Shrek decided to humor you. If you thought he was going to kill me, then he would 'kill' me."

"What-"

"I wasn't gonna really kill him. I woz tryin' to proove to you that' I woudn't." The ogre said.

I stared blankly at Shrek. My hands heated up and I turned my attention back to Sherlock. Worry spread across his face as I slowly stepped closer.

Standing in front of him now, I slapped him hard. My need to yell was less than dormant. I grabbed his robe.

"This was the dumbest plan you've ever conceived." I said gravely.

I let go of him and went to Shrek. I slapped him too. It wouldn't sting as bad though. I blame Sherlock for planning this in the first place. Shrek did absolutely nothing wrong.

I walked past the couch, intending to go back to bed. Intentionally this time.

"Watson, comm watch a movie wit us." Shrek said.

I smiled smugly, and turned around to face the green beast.

"Get out of my flat."

 

~The End~

[roxannarambles]

title: second chances (chapter five)

ship: goldenlight (luz x hunter)

notes: takes place sometime after ‘reaching out’ but before ‘hollow mind.’ (set in my standard canon-divergent AU where everything’s the same except no L*mity)

other chapters: chapter one chapter two  chapter three  chapter four

The next day, it seemed that Hunter’s lunch break had rarely coincided with a reasonable hour for lunchtime, because Luz sent him a photo of what she was eating that day. (It appeared to be a mud grub sandwich, which she didn’t look especially thrilled about eating.) He sent back a photo of his cafeteria food. She responded with some emoji.

Luzura_Warrior:

... 🤢🤢🤢

Rulerzreachf4n:

what do those even mean

Luzura_Warrior:

whatdo you mean? theyre sick faces

Luzura_Warrior:

can't you tell? they're green

Rulerzreachf4n:

why does green mean they're sick?

Rulerzreachf4n:

the only thing I think of that turns you colors when you're sick is the rainbow fever but that's all the colors

Luzura_Warrior:

no it. it's metaphorical, not literal.although. rainbow fever sounds kinda fun ngl

Rulerzreachf4n:

it's not, trust me. you spend most of your time violently expelling fluids from both ends

Rulerzreachf4n:

the fluids are also rainbow colored

Luzura_Warrior:

okay, yeah, nevermind, I don't wanna catch that.

Rulerzreachf4n:

yeah.

Rulerzreachf4n:

what's this one mean by the way? 🥺 I see it sometimes

Luzura_Warrior:

that's supposed to be puppydog eyes, you know, when you're begging somebody for something

Luzura_Warrior:

pleeeeease hunter come visit me sometime so we can make pancakes 🥺🥺

Luzura_Warrior:

like that!

Rulerzreachf4n:

oh

Luzura_Warrior:

I promise my real puppydog eyes are way more effective then the emoji, though

Hunter began to type a reply out, feeling unsure of what exactly to say, but another message came through before he could finish.

Luzura_Warrior:

any other emojis you want me to translate?

Ah. All right. That subject was a little easier to deal with. He scrolled through the list of little faces.

Rulerzreachf4n:

what about this? 😑

Luzura_Warrior:

uhh . . . hm. I dunno I never use that one, I guess it's like ... dead?

Luzura_Warrior:

oh wait, I think I've seen some people use it to mean annoyed. like really fed up with something.

Rulerzreachf4n:

ok. I guess that makes sense.

Rulerzreachf4n:

what about this one? 😤

Luzura_Warrior:

that one's like 'determined.' stubborn.

Luzura_Warrior:

oh but it also can mean really angry. depends on the situation.

Rulerzreachf4n:

oh, I was way off, I thought it was maybe a sneeze?

Luzura_Warrior:

lolol no this is the sneeze emoji 🤧

Rulerzreachf4n:

... 🤔

Luzura_Warrior:

that's for when you're thinking

Rulerzreachf4n:

... 🧐

Luzura_Warrior:

that's for when you're thinking but you're also FANCY

Rulerzreachf4n:

okay there are WAY too many of these

Luzura_Warrior:

lol, don't worry, you'll learn them eventually

Rulerzreachf4n:

I'm not so sure. I feel like this is an entire language.

Rulerzreachf4n:

and like what even is this one??? 🥴

Luzura_Warrior:

I...have no idea actually. I never understood that one.

Luzura_Warrior:

I guess it's . . . uhhh . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

god I don't have a clue. let's invent a new emotion for it

Rulerzreachf4n:

what

Luzura_Warrior:

hey hunter, just finished my lunch and I'm feeling so snorflimppet 🥴

Luzura_Warrior:

you know TFW you're hella gasterplastecked 🥴

Rulerzreachf4n:

no.

Rulerzreachf4n:

stop.

Luzura_Warrior:

yknow we should teach you about memes too if you're gonna be on penstagram

Rulerzreachf4n:

oh, yeah. willow and gus have shown me a few of those. I think I saved one. hold on . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

I . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

I've become a MEME??

Rulerzreachf4n:

is that . . . bad?

Rulerzreachf4n:

I thought it was a good thing

Luzura_Warrior:

it's . . .uhh well I don't know if I'd call it good or bad, really, it's just . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

hmm, honestly I'm not sure how to feel about it. guess I feel 🥴🥴

Rulerzreachf4n:

well if you don't like it, I can delete it

Luzura_Warrior:

nah, it's fine, no need

Luzura_Warrior:

tbh it's kinda neat.

Luzura_Warrior:

so the meme you have saved to your scroll was the one that had me in it . . . interesting 😏

What was that one? They hadn't discussed that emoji yet. This texting thing was stressful sometimes.

Rulerzreachf4n:

I saved it because it was about flyer derby

Rulerzreachf4n:

it just happened to have you in it

Luzura_Warrior:

mmm ok. if you say so.

Luzura_Warrior:

oh hey, before I forget, you wanna help me start a new meme on penstagram?

Rulerzreachf4n:

how?

Luzura_Warrior:

it's easy! just choose a basic format first . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

like, say, mmm, the old bait-n-switch . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

choose a video . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

and voila!

A link popped up. Hunter followed it to see it led to Luz's Penstagram page, to her newest public post. 

You know, it’s not often that I’m impressed by speeches, but the statements that one of the Coven’s top officials has recently released are really worth checking out. Find it here:

It was a link that led away from Penstagram. When Hunter clicked on it, it brought him to the video of Kikimora falling flat on her face and then wriggling around to dance music. Hunter had already seen this video many, many times, but he laughed again anyway.

Rulerzreachf4n:

ok, if that’s how you make a meme, then I’m a fan

Luzura_Warrior:

great! so all you need to do is post something on your penstagram that claims you’re linking a particular thing . . . but link to this video instead

Rulerzreachf4n:

that’s honestly kind of childish

He paused on his Penstagram page, thinking about it.

Rulerzreachf4n:

…but, she acts very childish anyway, so turnabout’s fair play

Luzura_Warrior:

haha, there ya go.

 Late afternoon, Hunter was in the middle of his usual patrol through Bonesborough, keeping an eye out for troublemakers or any civil unrest. It was a very slow day, though, and hardly anyone was around. He’d gone out to one of the massive demonic appendanges that existed in the town (this one was called ‘Dead Hand’ because it was unusually still compared to the other, twitchier hands). There had been a minor complaint lodged that somebody was trying to paint graffiti on the huge, scaly hand. When he got there, though, he found it was just a couple of kids that looked hardly older than toddlers, and they didn’t even know how to operate a spray paint can. He chased the kids away and then was left standing there in the silent streets of Bonesborough, sighing. Sometimes he felt like most of the duties he did for the Coven was just busywork.

Pulling out his scroll, he logged onto Penstagram and scrolled idly. Luz had ‘shared’ his Kikimora meme post and so it had a fair number of ‘likes’ and a few replies. This kept him amused for a few minutes, but eventually he grew bored. 

His scroll buzzed with a new message.

Luzura_Warrior:

look at themmmmm 😍

A picture was included, and it had King curled up on the couch, with the Owl Lady’s palisman snuggled into his fur, both fast asleep.

Rulerzreachf4n:

nice

Rulerzreachf4n:

this is what I’m doing

He pointed the scroll at the Dead Hand and took a photo to send to Luz.

Luzura_Warrior:

on patrol? cool, I’ve never actually gotten that close to that thing before

Luzura_Warrior:

eda, uh, told me they grab people sometimes, so I’m a little careful

Rulerzreachf4n:

they can sometimes but only when they’re cranky. dead hand doesn’t though, it’s very docile.

Luzura_Warrior:

huh. good to know!

Luzura_Warrior:

hey, I have a question, how come you never send any selfies? I don’t think I’ve seen a single one from you yet

Luzura_Warrior:

you even changed your pfp, it used to be you and now it’s flapjack. 

Luzura_Warrior:

obviously I ADORE flapjack but, well. I dunno, I guess I’m just curious if there’s a reason

Luzura_Warrior:

sorry if that’s prying too much

He thought about when he first made his Penstagram account and all the time he spent trying to get a photo to use for his profile. He probably spent over an hour doing it, only to later decide it looked awful anyway and took it down.

Rulerzreachf4n:

not sure if there’s really a reason

Rulerzreachf4n:

I just don’t feel the desire to, I guess.

Rulerzreachf4n:

I..don’t really like how I look.

Luzura_Warrior:

wait, really? 

He hesitated as he read her message, but she didn’t seem to be teasing him. He decided to take a chance and tell her the truth.

Rulerzreachf4n:

yeah. that’s part of why I like my mask. better to cover it up when people would rather not see it anyway, you know?

He waited as the dots on the scroll indicated Luz was typing.

Luzura_Warrior:

okay, so, I guess it kind of makes sense you wouldn’t realize this, since you probably don’t talk to a lot of people. 

He frowned, confused.

Rulerzreachf4n:

realize what?

Luzura_Warrior:

that you’re actually really cute

He froze, his heart leaping at the blunt reply. Staring at the message in shock, he tried to make sense of it. What? She really thought-- she--

Wait, no. That couldn’t be right. His skepticism returning fast, he typed,

Rulerzreachf4n:

that’s not a nice thing to joke about

At the same moment he’d entered that text,  Luz entered one as well;

Luzura_Warrior:

I mean, objectively speaking. you know?

He narrowed his eyes, confused. She quickly followed up with more texts.

Luzura_Warrior:

what? I wouldn’t joke about that. I’m serious.

Luzura_Warrior:

did somebody tell you that you weren’t?

Luzura_Warrior:

because that’s wrong, you’re definitely. yknow, teenage heartthrob material. 

Luzura_Warrior:

honestly I’m surprised you don’t know this? when I first met you, you were so confident, it seemed like you were all ,’i’m sexy and I know it’

Luzura_Warrior:

uh I, mean, you know. like. objectively! haha.

In an intensely short amount of time Hunter felt like his head was going to possibly explode, the phrase ‘teenage heartthrob’ on repeat in his mind. Flustered, he tried to type out a reply.

Rulerzreachf4n:

you’re really serious? I. but. 

This didn’t make sense. But it really did seem like she was being sincere.

Luzura_Warrior:

ok, you gotta tell me who told you all this BS about how you look, because they’re not only a jerk, theyre apparently blind

Starting to feel a bit warm, he confessed,

Rulerzreachf4n:

nobody really told me that, I just. it’s what I’ve always kinda thought.

Luzura_Warrior:

oh.

Rulerzreachf4n:

but. now that I have your perspective, I. 

He struggled to figure out how to reply.

Rulerzreachf4n:

well it’s.

Rulerzreachf4n:

 good to know

Luzura_Warrior:

okay well great glad i could clarify that!

Luzura_Warrior:

annnnyway

Luzura_Warrior:

anythgig  ecxiti ng ever happen onyour patrols???

Hunter glanced up as he caught motion out of the corner of his eye. It turned out to be a Coven scout, carrying a spear, also out on patrol. Not really a surprise; it seemed the only people out today were Coven members.

The scout waved as he approached. 

“Hello, sir! Run into any problems today?”

Ah, it was Steve. There were a great many coven scouts in their ranks, and Hunter admittedly didn’t recognize them all by name, but he recognized Steve. He had a rather decent . . . well, “friendship” was not the word. He had a rather decent acquaintanceship with him. It mostly consisted of Steve sitting next to him sometimes during lunch and rambling about whatever random things were rattling about in his head, while Steve in turn would listen to Hunter rant about Kikimora. It hadn’t ever gone beyond that, but still, it made Hunter feel slightly more at ease to be around a semi-familiar face. Well. A semi-familiar voice. He’d never actually seen any of the scouts maskless. 

“Nah. Just told a couple of kids to go home before their mothers worry about them. Truly a test of my skills and training, I know, but somehow I prevailed.”

Steve laughed. It was strangely nice to have another person actually laugh at his snarky comments.

“Hey, at least it wasn’t one of those days where we had to clear out a sligguth infestation, right? I’d relish a little boredom in comparison.”

Hunter frowned.

“I guess so.”

The coven scout leaned casually against the Dead Hand’s wrist as he began to ramble idly.

“This job’s not quite what I expected, I’ll tell you that, but it does give me a lot of time to think, you know? It’s kind of nice on these slow days when nobody’s around to bother me and I can just do my own thing.”

Hunter raised a brow, even though his face was covered by his mask.

“You mean goof off?”

Steve chuckled again.

“I know I’m not the only one, weren’t you just looking at your scroll?”

Hunter jolted a little, even though he still had the scroll in his hand and it wasn’t a surprise the scout had seen. Accepting that he’d been caught out, he lifted the scroll back up and glanced at it. He answered wryly,

“As far as you’re concerned I was just monitoring social media for any potential rabblerousers.”

The scout nodded.

“Of course, sir.”

Hunter looked at his scroll thoughtfully for a few moments, considering the human he’d just been conversing with. He was struck with a sudden impulse. It was pretty out of character for him, but there was something about the human that seemed to make him do strange things. And in the moment, he didn’t really care.

“Hey, um, Steve? You wanna help me take, uh . . . a ‘selfie’?”

He handed his scroll to Steve. The scout shrugged.

“Sure. Although I don’t think it’s technically a selfie unless you take it yourself.”

Hunter hopped on his artificial staff and quickly flew up to the top of Dead Hand.

“All right, well whatever it’s called.”

He landed on the open palm of the giant hand and set his staff down. After a moment of hesitation, he reached up and pulled his Golden Guard mask off.

From below, Steve was pointing the scroll at him, fiddling with settings.

“Hmm, why don’t you try something a little more dynamic, sir?”

Hesitantly, he asked, 

“Dynamic?” 

“Yeah! Pose or something.”

He thought about that a moment, his mind casting back to when he’d first met Luz on the airship. Oh. Sure, he could do that.

He got down and sprawled casually on his side, leaning his chin into a palm, propping it up with an elbow. He held his mask in his other hand loosely against his waist and fixed the scroll with a steady gaze.

“Oh, that’s perfect, sir! Hold that. Hmm, the angle is a bit weird down here. Maybe if I backed up a little. . .”

Hunter had a better idea. He grabbed his staff and sent it down to the ground.

“Here, just ride that.”

“Oh, that’s genius, sir.”

Steve seemed unperturbed about this taking a little work, and he rode the staff up around Hunter’s hight and carefully adjusted his position.

“All right, good, now smile for the camera?”

Ugh, this felt kinda weird. He really did hate pictures. But he was determined to do it.

All right, just imagine it was Luz floating there. She wanted a selfie, he’d give her one.

He quirked his brow a little and slipped into a cheeky grin, gazing intensely into the scroll as if she was right there in front of him. He heard the scroll snap a few pictures.

“Wow, you’re a natural, sir. I feel like this would make a great recruitment poster! The old one is a little plain, you know?”

Hunter stood back up and shook his head as Steve returned the scroll to him.

“Nah, this is only for friends.”

He sat down on the hand, his feet dangling off the edge as he fiddled with his scroll. Steve landed and sat down beside him, humming,

“Of course, you need to keep the mystery of the original poster. People respect and fear the mask.”

Hunter nodded.

“Exactly.”

He hesitated as he looked at his picture. Did it look stupid? Should he actually send it, or maybe retake it? Was it too weird? Too . . . much? Maybe he should–

Oh, screw it.

He sent the photo to Luz before he could question it any further and chicken out. After that was a tense wait, but it didn’t last for very long.

Luzura_Warrior:

ohmygod 

Luzura_Warrior:

asafdjh;lgfju

Luzura_Warrior:

what have I done, I never should have told you the truth 

It was unclear what exactly that meant, but Hunter had hoped it was positive. He answered cautiously. 

Rulerzreachf4n:

you said you wanted a selfie

Luzura_Warrior:

hahaha I did, it’s true

Luzura_Warrior:

but boy, you REALLY delivered 

Rulerzreachf4n:

is that a good thing?

Luzura_Warrior:

yeah uhh 

Luzura_Warrior:

definitely a good thing.

Luzura_Warrior:

it 

Luzura_Warrior:

it’s really good, haha.

He started to type out a reply, but she followed up with more texts before he could.

Luzura_Warrior:

jeez, that look you’re giving is smokin’

Luzura_Warrior:

do you practice that in the mirror or

Luzura_Warrior:

hey wait, who took the picture?

Rulerzreachf4n:

thats not important

Luzura_Warrior:

you actually enlisted somebody’s help to take this for me?

Luzura_Warrior:

I feel so special :3 Rulerzreachf4n:

yeah, yeah, just don’t show it to anyone else alright

Luzura_Warrior:

whuh wait

Luzura_Warrior:

this really was just for me??

Luzura_Warrior:

 so i really AM special :3c

Growing uncomfortable with how perceptive Luz was being, he tried to derail.

Rulerzreachf4n:

I don’t know what that emoji means

Luzura_Warrior:

oh sorry. it’s like…. a kittycat smile? there isn’t really a good official emoji for it.

Rulerzreachf4n:

a cat smile?

He wasn’t sure how a cat could smile and what the heck that would even indicate.

Luzura_Warrior:

yeah it’s like . . .

Luzura_Warrior:

hold on a sec

Luzura_Warrior:

Luzura_Warrior:

like that!

Hunter studied the picture, which you’d think would help clarify things, but really all it did was confuse the issue even further.

Rulerzreachf4n:

what exactly is that look supposed to mean though

Luzura_Warrior:

:3c hehehehehe

Rulerzreachf4n:

luz that doesnt help

“So does your friend like the picture?”

Hunter jumped in surprise, having entirely forgotten that Steve was even sitting there.

“Uhh.”

His scroll buzzed and spammed him with indecipherable emoji.

Luzura_Warrior:

😏😏 😼😼🦦🦦😈😇

“. . . I think so? Yeah.”

 The rest of patrol was just as stunningly uneventful, so Hunter spent the rest of it walking his route and talking with Steve. Honestly, it wasn’t so terrible a way to finish out the afternoon, which mostly was just letting Steve ramble on about his little brother and his newfound interest in Illusion magic. When Hunter returned to the castle, he had some very boring tasks that included taking stock of some new supplies (again, he found himself wondering if Belos just assigned him duties as mere busywork, but it wasn’t his place to question things). It took him several hours to complete and then he had a cold, unpleasant dinner at the cafeteria, but for some reason, none of it fazed him much, and he spent the whole time humming to himself, a little smile on his face.

When the evening came and he was finally free to return to his room, he gratefully collapsed onto his bed and stuck his face into the nearest book. It was a pleasant diversion for about an hour, and then his scroll buzzed. Eagerly, he grabbed it and found that it was Luz asking if he could help her with a few questions on her Beast Keeping homework. He agreed to help. 

What had started out as just a few questions quickly grew into a much larger discussion.

Luzura_Warrior:

I just am having a hard time because I had no idea there were so many kinds of dragons

Luzura_Warrior:

in the human realm I only really heard of the basic ones

Luzura_Warrior:

not all these weird wingless dragons and the legless dragons and the dragons with only two legs and all that

Rulerzreachf4n:

well they’re not really dragons. 

Luzura_Warrior:

what?? what do you mean.

Rulerzreachf4n:

the common ancestor species is a wyrm, which eventually evolved into lindwyrms and loongs over time. the ones living at higher elevations developed into drakes. and then potentially dragons arose from the drakes. 

Rulerzreachf4n:

they’re all in the wyrm family, though, a dragon is just a kind of wyrm

Luzura_Warrior:

seriously? I thought a wyrm was just . . . a legless and wingless dragon?

Rulerzreachf4n:

no, it’s the other way around. a dragon is a wyrm with legs and wings. 

Luzura_Warrior:

man, this is weird. so what exactly is a wyrm then? 

Rulerzreachf4n:

well, wyrms branch off from the sea serpents because of their scales, regenerative abilities and pyrorespiration. sea serpents of course belonging to the larger family of serpents, which in turn of course branch off from the true worms

Luzura_Warrior:

hold on, slow down a little. not sure if I’m getting you because it seems like you’re saying that . . . dragons evolved from snakes and that snakes evolved from worms?

Rulerzreachf4n:

snakes are a smaller sub-family of serpents, really

Rulerzreachf4n:

but your statement is mostly correct, yeah.

Luzura_Warrior:

snakes evolved from worms??

Rulerzreachf4n:

yeah? didn’t they cover this already?

Rulerzreachf4n:

everything evolved from worms, they’re nature’s ideal form

Luzura_Warrior:

buhhuhuwhaaa? 

Rulerzreachf4n:

you haven’t covered the Great Ancestral Worm yet??

Luzura_Warrior:

um, well. I kind of haven’t had one of the pre-reqs for this class. I begged the teacher to let me take it anyway . . . 

Luzura_Warrior:

but please, I gotta know about anything called ‘the Great Ancestral Worm,’ because this is getting wild

Rulerzreachf4n:

okay, well. 

Rulerzreachf4n:

in the beginning, when the Titan first fell, the first creature to immerge from the decomposing muck was a worm

Rulerzreachf4n:

the Great Ancestral Worm, from which all beasts sprang. the ratworms, the trash slugs, the giraffes, the sea serpents, all that

Rulerzreachf4n:

and from the beasts, branched off the bug demons and the bipedal demons

Rulerzreachf4n:

many bug demons still retaining body forms quite close to the original ancestral worms, but developing sentience alongside the bipedal demons

Rulerzreachf4n:

bipedal demons of course ended up quite distant from the ancestral design, and needed to compensate for it, develop bile sacs for their own magic

Luzura_Warrior:

okay hold on 

Luzura_Warrior:

so you’re saying EVERYTHING is based off worms

Luzura_Warrior:

what about, uhh. echo mice?

Rulerzreachf4n:

they evolved from the ratworms.

Luzura_Warrior:

okay, how about the selkiedomuses.

Rulerzreachf4n:

sea serpents that developed fins and blubber.

Luzura_Warrior:

what about birds??

Rulerzreachf4n:

they came from the wyverns and feathered serpents.

Luzura_Warrior:

there’s feathered serpents too?? oh god

Luzura_Warrior:

this is getting a little overwhelming

Rulerzreachf4n:

let’s just focus on wyrms for now. you said you only needed to know the basic groups for now, right?

Luzura_Warrior:

yeah. yeah, ok.

Rulerzreachf4n:

So we have the Wyrms, and then the Lindwyrms which evolved front limbs to help a little with traction, but still move with a serpentine body motion. And next are the Loongs, with four limbs which can walk awkwardly on land but who mostly prefer to swim or fly. 

Luzura_Warrior:

wait. fly? I thought Loongs don’t have wings?

Rulerzreachf4n:

that’s correct, they don’t.

Luzura_Warrior:

asdgrsrjyyj

Luzura_Warrior:

THEN HOW

Rulerzreachf4n:

they fly via magic. loong’s magic is fairly potent, they also have some control over weather and can shapeshift.

Luzura_Warrior:

oh, right, magic is a thing. haha . . .

Rulerzreachf4n:

next are the drakes

Luzura_Warrior:

those are the wingless dragons! right? they first found them at the knee

Rulerzreachf4n:

well, ‘wingless dragons’ is... not very descriptive. 

Rulerzreachf4n:

but yes, the drakes evolved at higher elevations and had stockier bodies, sturdier limbs that made for good walking and climbing, and stronger fire breath.

Luzura_Warrior:

can THEY magically fly?

Rulerzreachf4n:

that’s a good question! no, the drakes lost the ability to fly, as well as their shapeshifting and weather control

Luzura_Warrior:

okay, gotcha

Rulerzreachf4n:

then we have the dragons, which fly with the help of their leathery wings. and then wyverns

Luzura_Warrior:

hold on a sec one time I heard Hooty say HE’S A WORM

Luzura_Warrior:

does that mean hooty’s a bug demon???

Rulerzreachf4n:

uh… do you mean your house demon?

Luzura_Warrior:

yeah!

Rulerzreachf4n:

yes, house demons are a type of parasitic worm. 

Luzura_Warrior:

holy crap this makes so much sense now. now that I think about it, he was saying something one time about an ancestral worm

Rulerzreachf4n:

uh yeah so, anyway

Luzura_Warrior:

wait did you say PARASITIC??

Luzura_Warrior:

he’s a parasite???

Rulerzreachf4n:

yes, house demons parasitize living houses 

Luzura_Warrior:

I thought hooty WAS the house!!! that’s not his body??

Rulerzreachf4n:

it’s technically not. once a house demon attaches to a house, they gain some control and nerve sensation, but it’s technically their host.

Luzura_Warrior:

oh my god. this is blowing my mind

Rulerzreachf4n:

ok, I think we’re getting a bit off track here

Luzura_Warrior:

right, sorry, sorry

Luzura_Warrior:

back to dragons. I mean, wyrms, back to wyrms and not house worms. I’m listening.

Hunter did his best to get Luz back on track and explain the basic wyrm families, as well as the two competing theories on whether drakes evolved into dragons, or ampitheres evolved into wyverns and then some wyverns developed into dragons. Although Luz was a bit distractable at times and prone to chit-chat, she was also very enthusiastic and seemed genuinely interested in the subject. She also seemed to pick up the information fairly quickly. When they’d finished, she thanked him profusely and said she was going to spend another hour studying to make sure it was solidified in her head for tomorrow’s quiz. He bid her a goodnight and returned to his reading.

He continued to read until it grew very late, at an hour when his mind was very fuzzy and his thoughts were disjointed. He browsed Pentsagram a little, very amused to find Darius had shared his Kikimora meme, and it seemed to be spreading rapidly. He giggled at that for a bit and then his thoughts started to turn slowly along the memories of his day, over the discussions he’d had with Luz. There was a very pleasant feeling that flickered through him as he pondered things, like the bright little embers that popped off a crackling fire. 

When his scroll buzzed, he sleepily picked it up and checked it.

Luzura_Warrior:

hunteeerrrrrr

Luzura_Warrior:

I’m booorrreddddd

He chuckled outloud and typed a response.

Rulerzreachf4n:

thought you were studying

Luzura_Warrior:

yeah it got boring

Luzura_Warrior:

whatre you doin?

Rulerzreachf4n:

well I WAS reading peacefully

Luzura_Warrior:

awhjyyhd why are you even still up it’s like almost 2am

Rulerzreachf4n:

why are YOU still up

Luzura_Warrior:

that’s evading the question, I asked u first

Rulerzreachf4n:

im always up this late

Rulerzreachf4n:

it’s the only time to myself i really get, so. thats why.

Luzura_Warrior:

that makes sense.

Rulerzreachf4n:

k so now you

Luzura_Warrior:

well I was just cramming for the quiz

Luzura_Warrior:

I am bad at time management, I admit it

Luzura_Warrior:

but I’m in bed now like a good girl, I swear

Luzura_Warrior:

see look

A picture popped up, showing a dimmed bedroom. Hunter squinted at it. Luz seemed to be on the floor, sitting inside a strange fabric . . . cocoon? 

Rulerzreachf4n:

what. the heck is that, that’s not a bed.

Luzura_Warrior:

it’s a sleeping bag. 

Rulerzreachf4n:

that doesn’t seem very comfortable.

Luzura_Warrior:

no, it’s okay! it’s not so bad. not as good as a bed, I admit, but eda didn’t have any spare mattresses, so I’ve just been using this.

Rulerzreachf4n:

huh. she should get you a bed.

Luzura_Warrior:

well moneys not exactly pouring in right now

Luzura_Warrior:

I know you probably have a nice fancy bed at the castle but not everyone can be so luxurious, ya know

Hunter frowned, considering his bed and his room.

Rulerzreachf4n:

actually my bed’s really not fancy

Rulerzreachf4n:

or my room. belos gave me quarters that are the same size and furnishings as any other scout

Rulerzreachf4n:

said that i shouldn’t grow soft or complacent

Luzura_Warrior:

oh

Luzura_Warrior:

whoa I didn’t realize that.

Luzura_Warrior:

ok now I’m curious. whats it look like?

Luzura_Warrior:

send me a picture?? 😃

Hunter aimed his scroll, trying to get a shot, then grumbled because it didn’t look like much from his angle. He got out of bed and snapped a photo so she could actually see things.

Luzura_Warrior:

oooh okay, it’s not so bad. seems cozy. that pillowcase looks pretty ratty tho lol

Luzura_Warrior:

oh my god wait, you have a PLUSHIE?? I see that lil head poking out there!

Hunter quickly re-checked the photo, and to his horror, you could in fact see the hot pink head of his goofy little frog plushie sticking out behind a pillow.

Rulerzreachf4n:

please pretend you didnt see that

Luzura_Warrior:

no way, oh my god hunter this is adorable. I love this. you like plushies too!! I wanna get a better look, send me a pic! 😃

Rulerzreachf4n:

no way you’ll just make fun of me

Luzura_Warrior:

no I won’t!! I swear. pleeeeease?? 

Luzura_Warrior:

do you actually sleep with it too? aaaaa thatd be so CUTE

Hunter grunted, dropping back down onto his bed with a defeated sigh. There was no way she was gonna drop this, he knew her well enough by now for that. Gruhhh.

He reached over and pulled the plushie out from behind the pillow. Wrapping an arm around it, he hugged it tight against his chest and aimed the scroll at himself, sticking his tongue out and snapping a photo. 

When he sent it, Luz nearly combusted.

Luzura_Warrior:

saftrrerghewyhrw

Luzura_Warrior:

aaaaaaa  hutner!!!!

Luzura_Warrior:

SO CUTE

Luzura_Warrior:

you giant dork i LOVE it

Luzura_Warrior:

look at youuuu aaaaa!! 😍

Rulerzreachf4n:

you show that to anybody and I will hunt you down

Luzura_Warrior:

hehehehehee

Luzura_Warrior:

hunt me down. cos you’re hunter

Rulerzreachf4n:

yes. you don’t want  that, trust me

Luzura_Warrior:

heeehee, but maybe I do 😉

Hunter’s thoughts halted, stalling at Luz’s text as he struggled to form a coherent response. Fortunately, Luz just continued to ramble.

Luzura_Warrior:

ughh I should get to sleep 

Luzura_Warrior:

i have a really busy day tomorrow

Luzura_Warrior:

all these quizzes and exams at once, I swear the teachers do it on purpose

He had to focus to type out a reply that sounded normal.

Rulerzreachf4n:

yeah, I should sleep too

Luzura_Warrior:

ok you might not hear from me tomorrow until real late, i got a lot going on

Luzura_Warrior:

but i’ll say bye for now!

Rulerzreachf4n:

okay

Luzura_Warrior:

so gnnnighty night for now, my goldie dork boy~~ 😘

Luzura_Warrior:

talk to you later 💖💗💜

Rulerzreachf4n:

bye

Hunter stared dumbly at the scroll for a while after she’d logged off, his fuzzy sleepy thoughts rolling about in his mind like a tangled ball of yarn. Letting the scroll drop down onto his bed, he fell asleep before even bothering to get changed for the night.