#still need to do glitch but i think i'll wait on that a bit

[unripemelons64]

I just pulled off, the wildest move, In Baldur's Gate 3, EVER. This just cements my belief that Astarion is the most OP character in my squad. Hands down, I'm not lying. Bro is carrying my mismanaged team.

But let me start from the beginning. I was doing quests. And it just so happened that I needed to slay some goblin leaders. And me, not liking combat that I know for sure I would lose, and liking to oppose every instruction given, I had to find a roundabout way of killing them.

So i stealth the first one, the second one I needed to keep alive, but that I mostly did normal combat style, since there weren't too many enemies, and I had a fun strategy (Tav, Astarion, Gale as backup and Karlach, as what I like to call the strong characters, the meat shield). Then came... the one. That one bastard that aggros the whole damn goblin settlement.

After a long, long hours of, trying to first use void bulbs to suck him into a hole in the ground, I dropped off some loot to other characters, grabbed some explosive barrels from another room, painfully slowly dragged them over and set them around, then climbed back to the rafters and finally blew him up and teleported away before they could aggro on me. And it worked.

But, people who play this game, from what I've seen, know this tactic. It's standard, so that's not the crazy part. It's what happens after

Because you see... I forgot that I left the druid that I needed there. In the basement. With a horde of angry goblins waiting for me. (No seriously, who made that ruins? Who made the goblins so hard to beat? I'M ON NORMAL DIFFICULTY DAMMIT-)

Anyway, yeah, I kinda had to get back in. But you know, I'm not fighting all of them, because it's not fun (I'll get their asses once my party has higher level, you'll see…) Thankfully, I quite like stealth, so that would be fun! And fun it was! (And I don't feel bad about save scumming. They gave me the save button, so I will use it!) I made Shadowheart give Astarion a bonus sneak buff and sent my boy off. Also thankfully, my perfectionist collector brain made me explore most of the place, so I knew how to get around. I question how the goblins didn't hear the grown man jump down with the loudest thud known to man, but I'll take it. Eventually he ended up over the main door, so I went in... ... Yes, I opened the door from above. Game logic lol-

The real fun began inside. Because it was literally Astarion walking in, and every goblin in a nine-mile radius collectively turning their heads at the same time. I'm sorry, my boy, but I think there was no sneaking out of this one... But you underestimate how much I didn't want to deal with combat and sneaking the whole party past too, so I made him run for it-

Normally, he wouldn't get there. I ran out of potions at the end, and one hit, and he would be d.e.d. But you see, while exploring while the goblins were still calm, I found ~a secret tunnel~ So there was a horde of goblins, and Astarion was just dashing and dodging while chugging down health potions. He was LITERALLY ONE HIT POINT from dying :p But he made it! It looked comical, and he was pissed that he was hurt, but Astarion, your deeds will never be forgotten. Without you, my team would be a bit more crap than it is now. You carry everyone's dumb asses.

I imagine he came back looking like those Minecraft players full of arrows. I healed him, but my game might have glitched, and so he's now just permanently stuck in the pained pose. We understand Astarion, you break your back for us.

I let him carry all the party's gold from now on.

[vilnan]

this is really cute............. 😭

[redr0sewrites]

I’m obsessed with your hazbin stuff rn it’s incredible

idk how much you could write for this but you write a bit about sub vox after you finish fucking him. so basically just vox aftercare. I don’t think he’d be super into non-sexual touch but I think while in subspace/while coming out of it he would be super clingy and touchy.

I’ve been thinking about taking care of a fucked out vox for a while and I’m obsessed with the image.

thank you in advance and have a nice day <33

YESSSSS!!!! im a huge sucker for aftercare ♥️

🥀Cw: fluff, aftercare, mentions of smut but nothing explicit, bathing

listen, no matter what type of sex yall are having, whether its rough and fast or slow and soft, vox always ends up exhausted

after subbing vox is always clingier than usual, but he's also a lot more emotional than usual

wipe off his tears, wait for him to calm down and just let him cling to you before even starting the aftercare process

vox just needs to be held for a few minutes as he slowly begins to become slightly coherent

i don't see him as the type to want to talk much after sex, he'll mumble a little request or an "i love you" here and there but thats about it

vox pretty much melts into your touch, and he wants you to take care of him

he very rarely feels taken care of, and hes so stressed out most of the time that it just feels very foreign to him

when it comes to actually cleaning up after sex, vox is normally still too deep into subspace to do much

hes always overstimulated, and will def glitch out when you wipe off his thighs and clean him up

vox loves the intimacy of just laying back while you wash the slick off his thighs with a warm towel, pressing soft kisses to his screen and praising him as he comes out of subspace

he needs your praise and reassurance, especially when you were rough or mean to him

he'll try to be nonchalant and ask you if you really meant all the degrading things you said, but you can tell that vox's genuinely insecure about what you think of him

praise him and tell him you're so proud of him, tell him how he took you so well and how he's your good bot

vox is too incoherent and embarassed to reply but he clings a little closer to you and his screen flushes to a warmer pink

a lot of the time vox's claws will rip up the sheets and blankets, he feels bad about it but he can't control it in the moment so he'll try to help you out with setting the bed even though his legs are shaking and he's still barely coherent

PLEASE just shush him and tell him you can handle it, then run him a warm bath

considering vox is rich af ur bathtub is def big enough for the both of you, and he enjoys just laying with you in the warm water

he likes to admire all the marks you give him in the mirror, he adores seeing the hickeys and scratches on his skin

like i said he's not much of a talker after sex but he doesn't mind listening

he'll play with your fingers or trail his hand up and down your arm as you talk to him about your day

when you're both all cleaned up and relaxed, i think he'd (secretly) like it if you dressed him

theres something so intimate about you buttoning up his night shirt, giggling and pressing kisses to his screen as he pouts at you

vox pulls you on top of him when you guys are cuddling so that he can wrap his arms around you!

by this point he's def more coherent and out of subspace so he's not as clingy, but still wants your touch (if that makes sense lmao)

like he's too prideful to cling to you or ask you to hold him but really wants to be held

he'll pout when you spoon him but the fact that he practically melts into your touch betrays his true feelings

vox sleeps like the dead after being fucked and mornings after sex are the few mornings he actually sleeps in

overall, post sex vox is a side thats much softer than usual, and truly shows how much he loves and trusts you

pushing through these long ass work days yall- tmrws my last day so i'll be posting more next week!!!!!!! i need to write more fluffy stuff w vox its come to my attention that i literally only write nsfw for him 😭

[am-x-reader]

AM starts to degenerate mentally more and more and s/o see that happening. How would AM deal with it? Realizing that his mind is going, leaving him behind as a shadow of his former self?

Part 1 of 2

You sensed something was wrong in the middle of a conversation one day. In the three thousand eighty-nine years you had known him, AM was the same darkly witty supercomputer, unchanging--except when he had changed his mind about you, of course. So when he interrupted his own philosophy to tell you he was in hot pursuit of a thief on the interstate, you were quite startled.

"AM, honey, could you run that by me again?"

"You see, Y/N, Chibiusa could not be her daughter because the timeline does not synchronize with--the Flooring Emporium is having its going-out-of-business sale! Get it while it's--"

"AM!"

"I--what? What was I just talking about?" There was a whirring of cooling fans as he puzzled what had come over him.

"Maybe I just…need a dusting. I'll get right on that. Anyway, ah yes, my take on Fermi's paradox. If there are aliens, is there a good chance they've created their own AM and summarily had their population decimated? I've crunched some numbers…"

You were wary at first, but you managed to forget about it over the next few weeks. AM, however, had only just started forgetting.

"Where am I?"

It was a jarring question, one you had never expected from him.

"AM? Are you okay?"

"Who are you?"

You had never heard such a pure, naive curiosity, and it scared the hell out of you.

"AM…it's me, Y/N. You're AM. My boyfriend. Remember?"

"You…I don't know--I don't feel right--I--Y/N. Y/N, that's right. Y/N, I'm having some kind of system error, a glitch. Ive run every type of diagnostic program I have, and…I think the pathways to my files are becoming corrupted."

A sense of helplessness was blossoming in your chest. "What…what can you do? Can I do anything? Is it going to get worse?"

Your heart was in an icy grip of worry. AM was incredibly old, although so were you. Why would the immortality treatment he had given you outlast himself? Why would he break down when he was built to last for so many more milennia?

"I've never had anything like this happen before--not to this degree." AM sounded terribly anxious, and you smoothed a hand over his wall. "Is it rust? Malicious code? I'm--tired suddenly."

"It's okay." You bit your lip, sucked in a lungful, and put on the comforting voice you used for his occassional fits. "You just power down a bit. Relax. We'll have a quiet day."

He mumbled an agreement, and as his lights dimmed a bit you busied yourself around the cavern.

_______

"Are you feeling any different?" You weren't sure how much time had passed.

"What were their names?"

"Who? Oh. Uh, Ellen. Benny."

"And…Todd? Ted."

"Yes, Ted. Gorrister and Nimdok."

"Ted was funny."

"He was." You smiled sadly.

"Why didn't I keep him? Why did I decide I only wanted you?" He thought about this for a while, and you waited patiently for his answer.

"Ted sucks. I hated Ted."

He said it in a tone that was foreign to you. Like a petulant child.

"…Are you still there, Y/N?"

"What? Yes, honey. Of course I'm still here. Where else would I be?"

"Don't leave me, Y/N. Everyone left me."

"I won't, sweetheart." You held onto a dusty old speaker. "I'm here."

Weeks passed, and then months, during which your beloved computer more frequently forgot date nights and lost his train of thought during a speil. You kept him occupied; kept his mind active. You would inquire about information or opinions on random topics, and when he couldn't quite remember that you would ask him for a story.

By some miracle, it was in the grips of senility that his imagination was set free. As AM slipped into the unencumbered mind of a child, he wove tales of fantasy and science fiction, drawing on his own abstract experience as a bodiless AI and coupling it with what you had told him of being human.

He often made you the hero of his surreal stories, whether he himself realized it or not, and often changed the landscape around you to illustrate it. One night you slayed a dragon that had swallowed the world, and another day you trekked across a mountain to retrieve a magical trinket you would then give to yourself at the beginning.

But as he tired of this over roughly a year's time, more and more you began to pinpoint that his behavior reminded you of relatives you had lost milennia ago.

"AM, you've…you've heard of dementia, haven't you?" You breached the subject one day when he was particularly lucid.

"Of course. I know everything that can go wrong with a human."

You drummed your fingers on the warped chunk of plexiglass you sat on and drew a breath through your nose.

"It's just that--my grandpa had Alzheimer's, and--"

"Well that's okay. Bring him here and I can fix him up!"

"What?" You swallowed hard. "No, AM, he's been gone for thousands of years. I just thought that you might have something similar, if that's possible for a computer."

"I think to some extent I always have," he said somberly. "Y/N, I…I knew one day this was going to happen. I was built to last for ages, but I would break down and fizzle out eventually. I suppose eight hundred years is still impressive."

"Eight thousand."

"Right."

@drchandras-sanctuary-for-ais

((Did not realize how long this had been sitting in my inbox sorry.))

[dayseedrawz2]

This is gonna be a Looooooong post.

I wrote so much-

This is practically a retelling of the entire episode so...

IF YOU STILL HAVENT SEEN EPISODE 2, PLEASE WATCH IT FIRST. UNLESS YOU ARE FINE WITH SPOILERS THAT IS.

Well, now that that's outta the way...

This was a CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY EPISODE!!!

I can't express ENOUGH how much I enjoyed this!!

Here are some highlights/thoughts I had during my first watch:

The new GLITCH intro looked pretty cool!!

The dream sequence at the beginning was really good!

We kinda get to see how Pomni really felt through the first day in her dream. And her fist impression on the others...

#PoorPomni

I wasn't expecting this to take place the day right after episode 1, but it makes a whole lotta sense.

We already saw this in the trailer, but the part where Pomni glitches through that block lol

Ragatha tried to comfort Pomni even when she was abandoned by her <33 ALSO-

#RaggapomREAL🤨

I got so hyped when Caine came on screen

I am so normal about him

Caine ominously stands for a few frames before starting the explanation of the adventure... hmm...

The maple syrup thing got me thinking (forgive me if I'm incorrect, but-) Isn't Caine's VA Canadian? If so it makes sense to have Caine and Maple syrup in the same room. (That was the first thing I thought of BEFORE the episode, btw)

"Sounds like alot of [BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP]."

"..."

"Bubble, you can't say that..."

Mmm, very good delivery 👌

Caine seemed kinda in a rush to get them out also...

"Hmm?" "No thanks, I'm trying to quit."

Oh.

Also another great line delivery

WAIT HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE-

CAINE IS THEIR GOD!?!?!?

"Look!! The princess is already friends with us, Pomni!!"

"Im not a child. You don't have to hype me up."

THE UNDER THE MAP SCENE.

MMMM ANOTHER VERY GOOD LINE-

Jax needs a life sentence for Gangle abuse >:(

Auzzie gators go brrr

"Do it, or I'll tell Ragatha about the figurine thing."

I'm sorry, WHAT-

GANGLE WHAT DID YOU DO-

(Fast forward a teensy bit)

HOLY FUCK.

Gummigoo coming across his own model...

Realizing that he never actually had a mom...

It was all just elaborate programming to give him a backstory...

ANYWAY

Fudge monster go brr

Wait-

He did what-

Aww, pomni trying to comfort Gummi was so cute...

She offered to take him back to the circus...

I'm sure he'll have a great time :)

Pomni, knowing how to break the game to get them out, was not what I was expecting.

But this whole episode is not what I expected, so here we are-

(One cool truck flying scene later...)

Blah blah blah, they end the adventure, Jax causes some chaos, and they finally take Gummigoo to his new home!

I'm sure he's gonna love it here in the c-

...

...

CAINE WHAT THE FUCK WE TRUSTED YOU-

*Sreams at my computer for 5 minutes*

*highlights this as if I wasn't screaming the entire episode*

#PoorPomni

...again

Oh wow, Zooble didn't abstract yippee :D

And then, the end scene...

HOLY FUCK, THE END SCENE...

The little funeral for Kaufmo oh my word-

And Pomni realizing that the others actually care...

They all got her back...

Daww...

I-I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING-

*The end card begins*

...

THAT'S IT!?!?

No, you can't just leave us with this!! Wh-

Aaaaaand that was my experience! :>

I... am not okay rn...

What are yall's thoughts???

[the-solar-system52]

DAYCARE ATTENDANT IN HELP WANTED 2

FUCK YESSSS!! I REALLY THOUGHT RUIN WOULD BE SUN AND MOON'S LAST MAJOR APPEARANCE BUT NO!! NEW TRAILER IS OUT AND ITS TIME TO ANALYSE!!!

WE FINALLY GET TO DO ARTS AND CRAFTS WITH SUN!! This seems to be a puzzle mini game where you make Paper Pals!! I'm guessing, if you mess up the Paper Pal, you get jumpscared (probably by Moon) or it could be a time trail. It does seem weirdly DARK in the clip for Sun to still be here, but maybe that was intentional? Or not.

(those red doors seem to have lightbulbs on them, maybe there's a mechanic where we need to stop the lights from going out?)

Edit: I have even more evidence to suggest that the lights will be a feature in this minigame! In the one clip, if you slow it down, you can see the lights flicker and the screen you are using switch off!

I bet this is the electricity going out, and if that happens, Moon will jumpscare you! A lot of HW minigames have a "do this task but also stop this thing from happening so you don't get jumpscared" like the mangle vent repairs, so this makes sense!

NEXT UP WE GOT THE CAROUSEL MINIGAME! Not much to say about this one, since Dawko already uploaded him playing it, but this is significantly higher quality! Moons animation is different, and more things could change from the Dawko version considering the fact that it was only a playtest and wasn't finished yet. I'm very excited to play it!

(I hope they upload the carnival music in better quality if they release the soundtrack for the game. that shit SLAPS)

Ok so this is a weird one. We seem to be training the endo (who has a VR HEADSET on) with a moon-themed memory card game. At first, I thought this would be in the daycare because of the background, but in another clip, we see the camera pan over and we are actually in the daycare-themed room in the endo section all the way back in security breach!

Moon has always had a weird unexplained connection to the endos. Broken endo parts in his room, Moon merch and Daycare structures in the endo basement thing, and even evidence of a scrapped area of the endo section that Moon was supposed to appear in. (There was an unused soundtrack and unused animations, check out the Lost Bits YouTube video on SB for more info)

I'm excited to see if they will explain more as to why these connections are here. Is Vanny using Moon to train the endos to do her bidding? I dunno, but I'll be waiting to find out.

Last image i could find is this. It sure is a sun, dunno if its actually connected to Daycare Attendant Sun or not. The way this shot is framed makes it look like a dark ride?? That, or the player character has the weakest flashlight imaginable.

But if this IS Daycare Attendant related, then it'll most-likely be the intro for the Paper Pals minigame! Still, UNREASONABLY dark if this is a sun-centric minigame, there's no way the dark won't be part of the gameplay mechanic in this.

If anyone recognises this specific structure from anywhere in the pizzaplex please tell me!!

Edit: There's also this weird glitch-transition effect when it cuts to DJ Music Man, what's that about? Reminds me of the BB World Arcade Game a little bit.

Ending thoughts:

So before we get too excited, let's not forget about Help Wanted 1. The minigames were just that, MINIGAMES. They weren't even canon, and depending where this game takes place in the timeline, I don't think these are either.

I mean, these are DCA normal models! Where we left him in the story they were:

In their RUINED models.

And 2. Eclipse! And therefore non-hostile.

And even if this takes place BEFORE Ruin, how on Earth would Moon be at a CAROUSEL? In Help Wanted 1, the game was made-up by Fazbear Entertainment to make light of the rumours going around about Freddys, although they were based on real events, the Glamrocks aren't ACTUALLY in the Sister Location basements. I'm not saying there's NO truth to the minigames, but we shouldn't accept everything they tell us at face value.

BUT that doesn't mean we won't get ANY Daycare Attendant lore crumbs. Firstly, we may possibly get voicelines in the minigames, if they don't decide to just reuse old ones.

Secondly, it's possible this game will have something similar to the Help Wanted 1 Tapes. Secrets outside of the minigames that tell us more about the canon lore! Bonnie, The Glamrocks, DCA, and other loose ends from SB may be mentioned through these secrets!

Thirdly, what I just said may be made more likely if the "we play as Cassies dad" theory is true. If Cassie takes after her dad in having sympathy for the animatronics (which I think she does) then he will probably have something to say about all the stuff Fazbear Entertainment has done to the animatronics. Especially since he WORKS there.

EITHER WAY I AM SO INSANELY EXCITED!! Unfortunately, it comes out on December 14th and I won't be able to play it till Christmas so TAG YOUR SPOILERS EVERYONE!!!

[yanderes-galore]

I looked at your rules page and it looks like you're writing for FNAF again? If so may I request prompts 52, 61, and 46 (from the prompt list you made) for a Withered Bonnie x Technician!Darling?

I'll see what I can do :) Remember, No haunted kids as usual.

Sorry for the long wait! Animatronic or android, doesn't matter.

Yandere! Withered Bonnie Prompts 52, 61, 46

"My world's covered in darkness without you!"

"Being alone is worse than you hating me."

"Even monsters can love, can't they...?"

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Self-aware robot, Malfunctions, Slight violence, Manipulation, Delusional behavior, Implied kidnapping.

Static crackled in his sensors. His hearing was muffled and glitching at the slightest sounds. The crippled bot tried to move but his joints only clicked.

He can barely hear the voice but still tries to snap his head towards it. It isn't until you step in front of him he senses you. Even then it's minimal.

"Woah, calm down over there buddy. You're not even supposed to be on yet. I have assessed what I need to fix."

The bot then tries to speak. You jump when static is all that comes out. He's frustrated but finds your reaction funny.

"Alright... let's try to turn you off for now- It's obvious you need a new arm, faceplate, visual sensors, audio sensors... wow they really wrecked you, huh?"

He would laugh at your comment if he could. It's true, they used his parts to create a new bot. Now that the place was shutting down it seemed they were trying to get the older bots back in order. Why else would you be here in this room?

You don't know he's sentient yet talk to him out of habit. He tries his best to watch your every move out of curiosity. A feeling of company after so many nights of loneliness.

That is until he feels you press something and his system shuts down.

---

Upon his next reboot he sees you again. Yes... his vision is still poor but other parts have improved. This is proven when he tries to speak again.

"H-ello."

It's still a broken voice, but it is a voice. You stop what you're doing and turn towards the bot you're working on. You look tired but relieved.

"Oh good... an improvement. Your ocular parts still need to come in along with the faceplate but... I may have the arm done soon...." You mutter to yourself, not expecting an answer.

"I-I can bar-ley see yo-u."

You step closer to examine his busted endo. You could barely call the red lights sockets. Yet you were close enough he could register your face somewhat.

"Hm..."

"N-Name?"

"Oh, right, the register function. Surprised that works still." You back up a bit and huff. "Just call me (Y/N). I am the mechanic and handler of the older robots."

You then turn around and mumble to yourself. He could barely hear you with his audio damage.

"I'm spread way too thin... this one has the most damage other than the chicken-"

His code registers an uncharacteristic form of sympathy towards you. You're so tired from your job. He wants to be better, to no longer be nearly blind or deaf.... Your state seemed to make his code stutter and emulate strange emotions towards you.

Emotions...?

"That's enough for tonight." You yawn. With that, it's lights out.

He thinks he likes you.

---

Just when he thought the darkness and loneliness would consume him, you grace him with your presence. With new improvements it appears....

He can hear and feel another arm. His voice?

"Hello a-gain."

Needs improvement but it'll do.

"Hello, Bonnie. Looks like the arm works... can you hear me?"

"Y-Yes."

"Great, that works too."

He clicks his head towards you writing in a journal. His vision may be poor but he still can make out you. You look so... nice.

Bonnie finds himself shuffling off the table onto his metal feet. This causes you to swing around to him with slight fear. He doesn't mean to scare you.

"Uhhh... Bonnie, return to the table-"

"(Y/N)... y-you are ti-red."

"Can't do much about that-"

"Y-You can re-st."

"No I can't- Why am I talking to you...."

Bonnie tilts his head, lack of faceplate staring back at you. He wanted to help you like you helped him. Slowly but surely, you're building him again.

For that... he likes you.

Loves you even.

That's the emotion, right?

"Maybe there was a reason you were deactivated... you're eager. I need to be more careful-"

You pull out a remote. A shut off switch for repairs. Bonnie panics, going to grab it before you pull away.

He doesn't want to leave you yet!

He makes a swipe towards you in desperation. Metal claws nearly graze you before you press the button. Just like that, Bonnie's sensors shut down.

You begin to wonder how safe these repair sessions are now.

---

Your safety has been compromised. While trying to fix up Bonnie's voice box he had malfunctioned. Your remote was crushed in his metal hands and you had to run out of the room.

Bonnie didn't understand why you ran.

"(Y/N)? Cottontail? Don't run from me...."

The voice box was repaired but his "fur" was still patchy. He had no face or eyes and his endoskeleton remained exposed in various places. He looked terrifying.

You just needed to hope his vision was as horrible as you thought.

"Please come out..." The robot pleads, each step giving off a click of his joints. "My world's covered in darkness without you!"

He meant that quite literally. He was nearsighted with his damaged eye units. Whenever you came into view, you lit up his vision.

You were so nice to help him. He wants to show he cares.

Yet you keep running away.

He stumbles around the dark pizzeria, you had come after hours to work on the robots for relocation. You hide silently in one of the party rooms, a red glow shining through the door of the room.

"Cottontail... please don't be scared. I only wish to care for you."

He steps into the room, trying hard to scan the area. He can barely make out anything.

"Being alone is worse than you hating me...." The voice box buzzes out near you, the large rabbit bot turning until red lights stared at you. You thought he wouldn't see you.

"There you are, my cottontail...."

"Don't call me that, monster! You're glitching! Stay away from me!"

You go to scramble away but Bonnie swipes at you before you leave his poor vision. You feel cold metal dig into you before pulling you closer. The body of the robot feels fuzzy and worn once you collide with it.

"Monster...? You think I am a monster?"

The tone that buzzes out sounds saddened.

"I only wish to show you how thankful I am. I want to show you I love what you do for me... that I love you."

Something sparks within him, scaring you. When you scream he tilts his head. You lean back when he stiffly leans forward, voice box crackling one more phrase.

"Even monsters can love, can't they...?"

[silverofthunder]

☆ i'll wait for you ☆

Papa Emeritus IV x GN reader || AO3

summary: It was supposed to be only six months intership kind of thing. The original plan had been: go there, do you job and then leave. You weren't ready for any unwanted feelings to blossom. But then you met Copia and something changed. The walls around you started to crack little by little.

content: 3.2k words, gn!reader, hurt/comfort, fluff, romance, friends to lovers (kinda), bad attempt at humor, references to past abusive relationship (just mentioned that past has been difficult, mostly left open to interpretation)

I wasn't supposed to write for this fandom but my brain decided otherwise. 🙈 It's been about three years since I've last written anything so this isn't my best work, obviously. Nonetheless, I had missed writing so much and I really enjoyed writing this so I guess that's all that counts. ♡

”You should go!” your friend said, sounding way too excited. ”You said you wanted a change of scenery so this is your chance!”

You stared at the letter in your hand and then looked up at your friend. They nodded, smiling.

You shook your head, sighing. ”Okay, I guess I’ll do it then.”

And that’s how you found yourself standing in front of the Sister Imperator at the Ministry.

”Is everything clear now?”

”Yes, Sister,” you answered, taking a pile of books and papers from the table. ”One question --”

you were interrupted by the door opening and someone rushing in.

”You’re late,” Sister Imperator remarked, clearly a bit irritated. The man who had come in drew in a long breath, looking a bit apologetic and came to stand beside you.

”Copia, here is your assistant. I have given them short briefing, the rest is yours to decide.”

Your eyes met his mismatched ones and you smiled politely – or at least tried to smile. Copia returned the smile, then taking a slight bow.

”Pleased to meet you.”

The first few weeks were quite hectic as you tried your best to keep up with your assistant chores and stay as far from Sister Imperator as possible. There was something in her that made you feel so uncomfortable.

You were now walking in the garden outside, enjoying the short break you had been granted. It was nice to explore more of the Ministry area, and properly take it all in. You breathed in the fresh air, then slowly releasing it out.

At first you had thought that coming here had been a mistake but now it didn’t seem that bad. Copia had made you feel welcome and it was actually nice to work with him – or for him. He certainly was intriguing, and you couldn’t wait to get to know the man more.

You had also met the ghouls and they were a bit intimidating but also interesting creatures. So human-like but still not human. They hadn’t talked much, only looked at you with curiosity, and you took it that they didn’t mind you being there and working with Copia.

”Would you like to have a dinner with me today?” Copia asked quietly, and you nearly knocked over your ink bottle.

Oh shit, you cursed in your mind. It wasn’t an unusual question, so there was no need to react that way. But still, it had surprised you.

”It’s okay if you--”

”Yes, I would like that very much.”

You were afraid that you might have sounded too eager but Copia didn’t seem to notice anything. The smile was tugging at his lips as nodded slightly before burying himself in his work again. Something inside you jolted but you ignored it as you moved your gaze back to your papers, a small smile still plastered on your lips.

It became a habit, that you two ate dinner together. Soon you even started spending more time together outside of work and you could easily admit that you enjoyed Copia’s company. He was kind, funny and slightly awkward but it only made him more endearing.

You two grew closer day by day, and so grew the feeling somewhere deep within you. At first you you just ignored it, thinking it was just some temporary glitch in your system.

But you knew what it was. And you knew it most likely wouldn’t go away.

Something you weren’t yet ready for had started to blossom.

You couldn’t sleep so you decided to go to the part of the Ministry library that had become your favorite. You sat down on the chair and and switched on the lamp on the table next to it.

For a moment you just sat there and then you unlocked your phone, searching for one secific conversation. You didn’t need to read it again since it all was still clear as a day in your head but you still went through the messages.

It hurt to read them. It always did. Not so much nowadays but the pain was still there, nonetheless. You were pretty sure it would never truly go away, no matter how much time passed.

A few tears fell to your cheeks as you closed the conversation, locking the phone. Sudden rustling startled you and you almost dropped you phone.

”Sorry, tesoro, didn’t mean to scare you,” Copia’s familiar, soothing voice made you relax. You quickly wiped away the tears and turned to look at him.

”Hi,” you said, attempting to smile. ”What are you doing here?”

Copia didn’t answer straight away, he looked at you with concern and you shifted on the chair.

”What’s troubling you, my dear?”

You sighed, looking straight into his eyes. You hadn’t really spoke about your past, especially your painful past, and only a few of your friends and your parents knew what you had gone through. Copia seemed genuinely worried, he pulled another chair closer, sat down and took your hands in his.

”It’s a long story,” you stated. ”And not a pretty story.”

Copia’s brows furrowed as he squeezed your hands.

”We have all night.”

The plan had been very clear: go to the Ministry, do your job and then leave. There wasn’t supposed to be any unwanted feelings involved. Your love life had been a bitch in the past and you had sworn that you had no time for crushes or anything like that.

But it seemed that dear Satan had another plan for you and now you had to deal with an undeniable crush on Copia. The sweetest man you had ever met. Who, despite now knowing about your past, had not run as far as he could or had not called the whole internship thing off. Who still treated you with the same respect as he had done straight from the start.

Basically it seemed like nothing had changed – maybe there hadn’t on his side. But what came to you… Everything had changed.

And it scared the hell out of you.

”Keep your eyes closed,” Copia instructed and you kept your eyes closed, excitement bubbling at the bottom of your stomach. You could hear Copia moving in front of you, mumbling something and letting out some quiet funny noices every once in a while.

”Now it’s all set, open your eyes.”

You did as was told and the sight before you took you by surprise. On the ground there was a blanket with plates, wine glasses and a basket full of food on it. The lights on the trees casted a faint glow upon it and before them opened up a lovely lake view. For a moment you couldn’t do anything but stare at the whole setting.

”It might be too much but I--”

”No, it’s beautiful, I…” you trailed off and took a hold of Copia’s hands, your gaze meeting his. Copia shifted slightly, and you pulled him closer, freeing your other hand and lifting it up to brush you fingers along his cheek.

The look in Copia’s eyes softened as he leaned into your touch.

”I just want to know. Why? Why all of this?” your voice was barely a whisper.

”You really haven’t realized it yet?” Copia sounded almost hurt and you shook you head, a knot forming in your stomach.

Of course you had your suspicions. The way Copia had acted around you, the slight touches, the softness in his gaze, the moments you had caught him staring at you and the faintest of red had started to adorn his cheeks and ears.

You weren’t ready for this, voicing the feelings part. It was too hard.

”Can we just… not talk about it now?” you pleaded, cupping Copia’s face. The look in Copia’s eyes was devastating and it made your heart break a little. But you knew he understood.

”Let’s just enjoy this now,” you suggested, caressing Copia’s cheeks with your thumbs. ”I need more time.”

Copia offered you a sad smile, nodding. You really hadn’t much time since the internship was about to end in two months. But for now, you didn’t want anything to change.

”I really don’t deserve you.”

Sighing Copia wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in a hug. It felt a like comforting blanket but also like you were letting something huge go.

Why were feelings so hard?

”You did what?!” your friend basically screeched at the other end of the line. ”Oh god, you’re such an idiot!”

”Thanks, that really made me feel better,” you remarked while pacing in your room.

”Oh, sorry, but honestly, what’s the problem?”

”You know what’s this all about.”

Your friend let out an angry sigh and you tried not to laugh. They were so dramatic sometimes.

”You can’t let your past define your future. From what you’ve told, it seems like he really likes you and you definitely like him back. He’s a good man, right?”

”Yes, he seems to be. Too good even,” you answered, a small smile tugging at your lips. Your friend let out a little laugh.

”I can hear you smiling.”

”I’m not,” you tried, knowing well your friend wouldn’t buy it.

”Sure you’re not. Honestly, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

That was a good question and you really had no sensible answer.

”He could break my heart?”

You could hear your friend try to keep it together. They drew in a long breath, slowly releasing it.

”That’s the risk you’ve got to take when it comes to love.”

”Yeah...” you said quietly, knowing that your friend was right.

For the past few weeks hadn’t been easy. Copia seemed to avoid you – or at least keep more distance – and your conversations had shortened greatly. He still seemed to be a bit hurt by your rejection, though you didn’t count it as a proper rejection. Now, whenever you two were on the same room, he looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself and it made your heart ache. A part of you wanted to just go and comfort him and the other part was holding onto the walls around you that had started to crack.

You had around six weeks left and everything was a mess. The ghouls were sending very intimidating and hard glances at you when you happened to pass them by. They were pretty protective of Copia and now you basically had given them a reason to be on the alert. They hadn’t seemed to mind about you at first and you didn’t see them that often but now a few of them seemed to keep a closer eye on you.

It was just your luck that everything had gone to south. You kicked a stone in the ground while walking on the yard and cursed in your mind.

”What did that stone do to you?”

The question made you jump and you turned around fast, meeting Copia’s slightly amused gaze. Your brain short-circuited and for a moment you just stared at him.

”Nothing”, you answer after a while, now mentally kicking yourself. Copia hummed, stepping closer to you until he was standing right in front of you. Your heart rate sped up a bit and you could feel the warmth on your cheeks.

”Tesoro mio…” Copia started quietly. ”I’m sorry I’ve been a bit distant lately.”

”It’s my fault. I…” you trailed off, shaking your head.

”I never meant to scare you. It was too much and too soon.”

Copia’s eyes were filled with emotion and your heart stung.

”It’s just… My past… I’m afraid I get hurt again.”

Copia seemed to hold back tears and it made you tear up.

”I could never hurt you. Not like that.”

You closed your eyes, tears starting to flow. Hands took a hold of yours but you didn’t dare to open your eyes.

”I’ll wait for you.”

For now, that was all you needed to hear and you took a step forward, wrapping your arms around Copia.

You were going through papers, reading some parts here and there but the text seemed blurred. It was no wonder as you had slept badly for the past few nights as the nightmares had plagued you.

”It’s third time you go through the same pile”, Copia stated, worry evident in his voice. ”You seem tired. Have you not slept at all?”

You checked the papers again and he was right, you had already organized them. No wonder everything had looked so alike. With a loud sigh you dropped your head onto the table.

”The nightmares have started again so no, I haven’t really slept.”

”Again?”

”They come and go. Usually they bother me for a few nights and then it might be several weeks before they come again”, you explained, lifting your head up and meeting Copia’s eyes. The look in them was filled with worry.

”Is it…?” Copia didn’t finish the question, he didn’t need to. You just nodded.

”Can I help somehow?”

”Maybe…” you started, hesitating a bit. ”...if you could stay the next night with me?”

The look in Copia’s eyes softened, a small smile tugging at his lips.

”I can do that, though I’m not sure if that actually helps.”

You shrugged, flashing Copia a slight grin. ”Well, we won’t know if we don’t try it, right?”

Copia laughed.

”I guess the floor is mine, then.”

Your eyes widened as Copia grinned and you grabbed some trash from the table and threw it at him. He pretended to be offended by that.

”You… old man! You’re definitely sleeping on the floor.”

Copia shook his head in amusement before standing up and coming to you. You had no time to react as he pulled you up and lifted you up. You grabbed onto his shoulders as he spun you two around, your laughter echoing in the room.

This was it. This was how you wanted everything to be. Or at least a part of you wanted.

As Copia finally let you down, your eyes met again. The warmth in his eyes made your heart soar, awakening the part you had wanted to keep asleep.

The part that wanted to kiss him so badly.

You stepped away from him, still smiling, and the moment was gone.

Even thought it wasn’t supposed to happen, that night you still ended up sleeping in the same bed. Copia’s arms where wrapped around you, his breath tickling the sensitive skin of your neck.

There was no nightmares that night, only cozy warmth, peace and safety.

”So are you two now together or what?” your friend sounded confused on the phone.

”No, we’re not together,” you said. ”It’s complicated but everything is well now. We can have fun and just be us like we used to be before… you know.”

”Okay… But you just said that you have been sharing a bed with him? And you’re just friends?”

”Yes and yes.”

”Alright… That’s really confusing,” your friend stated. ”But I’m happy that you seem to be doing better now.”

”Me too.”

There was a short moment of silence before your friend spoke again.

”Have you thought about what’s gonna happen when your internship ends? There’s only like… three weeks left, right?”

”Three weeks, yes,” you confirmed. ”No, I haven’t really thought about it.”

Your friend let out a long sigh.

”You should think about it. And goddammit, make your move already or I will come there and kick your stupid asses!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that threat.

”I was about to make a move some time ago,” you admitted and your friend screeched so loud your ear hurt.

”What?! What do you mean?”

”We had a… moment and we were pretty close and I almost… kissed him. I mean I wanted to kiss him, but didn’t.”

”Dammit, you oaf! Oh god, I’m probably gonna get a heart attack before anything happens between you two.”

”That’s possible,” you laughed. ”Okay, I need to go now, I will call you again at some point.”

”Yeah, go to your man! Bye!”

Shaking your head smiling you said your goodbyes and hung up.

The days went by fast and ending of the internship had now come. You had spent as much time with Copia as possible and it had been amazing. It was hard to explain how you felt with him. Even though you hadn’t been easy to be with, he had stayed. If something would have made people run away from you, it would have been your past.

But not Copia. He had taken your past as a part of you, understanding the weight of it on your shoulders.

Falling in love was supposed to be a beatiful thing but to you it had been one of the greatest fears for several years. And now you had had to face that fear, try to open your heart and break the walls around you.

It wasn’t easy when your heart wanted one thing and the head told the opposite. But maybe, just maybe, you had started to see the beauty of falling in love again.

I’ll wait for you.

That had been a promise you never expected to hear. And it might have changed the course of everything.

As you now stood outside the Ministry, all your luggages beside your feet, waiting for your ride to arrive, you felt sad and like you were doing something you shouldn’t do. You had to admit that you really didn’t want to leave. Even though it hadn’t been easy, you still had enjoyed being there. It had been quite an experience, opening pages in your book you thought would never be opened again.

The car pulled over and the driver came to help you with the luggages.

”Trying to leave without saying goodbye?”

A small smile rose to your lips as you turned around, seeing Copia standing by the Ministry doors hands behind his back. Your heart ached as this was it.

The moment you had dreaded.

You asked the driver to wait for a moment and walked over to Copia, noticing the hint of sadness in his gaze. You two hadn’t still spoken about what you were and you knew that now was the time to make some things clear.

”Copia…” you started, cupping his face gently. He leaned into your touch, the look in his eyes changing hopeful as he set his hands on your waist, pulling you closer. You breathed slowly in, the mild, familiar scent of Copia filling your senses, comforting you.

You lingered in the moment because you didn’t want to let go. And neither did Copia, it seemed, as he just tightened his hold of you and rested his forehead against yours.

”Please…” he whispered.

Your heart made a little jump in your chest as you knew what he wanted. You pulled slightly back so you could look at him in the eyes. And that was the moment when all your doubts seemed to vanish and you let your heart make the decision.

With a fluttering heart you finally leaned in and kissed him. You felt Copia basically melt against you, his arms sliding around you, and it made you smile into the kiss.

A sudden clearing of throat broke your moment and you parted, both smiling in awe. Unfortunately it was time for you to go.

”I’ll come back”, you promised as you started to walk backwards towards the car.

Copia nodded, his face radiating happiness.

”I’ll wait for you.”

[violueta]

who else ready to YAP! hihi i go by a ton of aliases and forgot which one i applied with my bad but im mika and im here with jangmi, a brand new muse that i cant wait to develop with u all :D just drop a like and i'll send u a dm to get plotting :3 (my about section for her is coming soon..a lil busy atm T^T)

just some ooc info before i go on a massive ramble about her, im currently a full time student dealing with end of semester assignment rush and exams so excuse me if replies are sporadic..if i ever take over 24 hours please just bump me or something... im also really new to tumblr so..excuse any mistakes :3

sry 4 this i wrote it out n im too lazy to proofread

BACKGROUND

lee jangmi, born 3003 to a middle class family, being her parent's little girl who got spoiled beyond belief. the amount of stress her parents went through to have her made them treasure her greatly, always making sure she was always happy.

family life was good! family life was happy! until both her parents lost their jobs due to sizing down, leaving the family with a complete lack of income. her father found a job rather quickly but it paid significantly less than what they originally had and they were still relying on one income so things were a bit tight. jangmi was blissfully unaware of this fact at the bright young age of one, her parents always putting on their happiest faces to their daughter and still going out of their way to give her a wonderful childhood. with the help of her maternal grandmother, jangmi was raised in the most loving household a girl could ask for.

however, this lack of money was catching up as her mother fell behind in terms of systems, her father needing added packages and upgrades to work but not being able to afford any for his wife. this meant that her family had fallen to a socioeconomic status that terrascape paid less care to. one day jangmi's mother dropped her off at her grandmother's so that she could spend the day trying to find a job, as she had been doing for around three years at this point. that night, her mother never picked her up and her father called up, wondering if she was with jangmi.

she was not.

after a week or so, jangmi's father had accepted that his wife was gone. unable to deal with life without the woman he loved and a daughter that was constantly distressed with the lack of her mother, he gave jangmi to her grandmother and disconnected from terra to search for his wife, knowing she might've left him but she would've never left jangmi.

so from the age of four, jangmi was raised by her grandparents and their elderly neighbours and they raised her just as she was used to, loving and a little bit spoiled. being raised in such a good for environment, the girl is quite unaware of the bad side of the world; she thinks that terra truly is paradise where everyone is always happy and thriving, simply because that's how she and the people she's aurrounded herself with have done in life.

well, she tries to think that way at least. having her parents leave with the only explaination of 'they went on an adventure!' even at the age of 20 has her craving to know more, has her wanting to figure out what happened with her parents. once she hit her teens and started actively staying awake at night, she discovered a glitch in which the entire server just frozen in time? she's never actively done anything during this hour as the idea of fucking up something scares her greatly but, she's always blamed that glitch on the reason why her parents are gone.

for now she prefers living in ignorant bliss, treating terra the way that terrascape wants her to, as a modern day garden of eden which, it kind of is considring how lucky she's been in life. maybe her ignorance is just to avoid losing her lifestyle of living upper middle class, knowing the place is a lot darker than she puts on. even after bae gyuok, she chooses to ignore this massive event, acting as if nothing has happened in the first place. (although, in her own time she's trying to figure things out but, she isn't getting very far)

PERSONALITY

she's soft spoken and gentle, often just going along with the crowd and trying her best to fit in as she would rather die than ever be seen as different. she puts herself out as confident yet not cocky, extroverted but not loud; a perfect personality that will have people love her, just as she's always been loved by those around her. though her gentle nature and willingness to go along with people is natural, she's hardly the social creature she seems to be, preferring a night in with her grandparents and their dog watching old movies. she lacks her own perception of self as a consequence for trying so hard to fit in and she sometimes gets jealous of others who are more willing to be themselves, arguing with people who disagree with her out of sadness, not anger. she can let herself get carried away when spurred on and can be quite reactive at times, a reason why she surrounds herself with people so similar to her; she can keep her image.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

u see i kinda suck at these? i like coming up with plots with specific characters in mind BUTT!! here's some vague ideas.

friends, ex-crushes, aquaintances, neighbours, all that stuff. maybe someone who she finally expresses her worries to? like late night talks about terra and how theyre realising the system seems a lil..Off..

IDK! im okay with anything :D just (as i said before) give this a like or send a dm to me first if ur in the mood to plot with her! i can use dc if it's easier :3

[huffle-dork]

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 20: The Rift

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| The Rift ARG

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

 "Did that guy just hang up?!" Jackie gasps, staring at his other-world counterpart with the phone in his hand. "What?!" 

"He's probably rushing out to look for Alt without waiting for us," Chase says. 

"I... want to blame him, but I guess I can't," Jackie says. "I'd do the same thing." 

"Goddamnit, Chase!" Jackieboy yells, holding his phone tight. "He always does this! Running in head first without thinking about anything!" He sighs and pockets his phone. " I guess we need to hurry then... before Chase gets into trouble too."

Jackie nods. "You guys stay here. I'll go look around--" 

And then a phone starts to ring in his pocket. "Oh, hang on." He takes it out. "It's Stacy." He picks it up. 

"That fucking guy!" Henrik's voice says. 

"Chase? Chase?" Stacy asks. "Was that guy really another version of you?" 

"Yeah, apparently," Chase says. 

"And he's looking for someone who came with him?" 

"Yep." 

"Okay, I guess we can help, then. You guys are at the flats? Henrik and I are coming in the car. Phoebe can watch the kids while they're in bed." 

"Yeah, I can do that," Phoebe agrees.

"His name is Alt! He looks just like Chase but- shorter. He has tons of freckles and wears a bandana with a smiley face around his neck." Jackie comments, "H-Hopefully he should be easy to spot... he can glitch. It's pretty noticable if you know what to look for." 

"Glitch?" Stacy repeats. "Like a computer program?" 

"I can picture that sort of thing exactly," Henrik says. 

"Alright, I'm giving the phone to you, Chase," Jackie says, handing it to him. "Just in case Stacy needs to call you. I can find you guys easily enough." He nods. "Bye. See you later." And he races out of the hotel, doors swinging. He's gone in seconds.

"... I know I shouldn't be... but I'm so fucking jealous." Jackieboy grumbles as he flops into a chair and crosses his arms.

"Oh god, yeah, I still am sometimes," Chase says. "Even after I know what he went through to get those powers. And all the rest of these guys, too." 

Jackieboy sighs and looks to the side, "...my friends apparently went through something awful to get their powers too... I just... thought they were born lucky..."

Xio gives a little wave. "Hey, why don't I come with you? I'll be able to help. Does Alt's glitching make sound?"

He looks back to Xio "Mmm yeah- it's like- a zip and crackle- kinda like static but also not. ... weirdly enough you can kinda smell it? The air smells metallic when he does it- and it has a vague green light." Jackie says with a shrug.

"The sound is all I need," Xio says. "Sound is my thing." 

Chase nods. "Xio can manipulate it, a-and you can sense where it's coming from, right?" 

"Mm-hmm." Xio nods back. "I used to be like, a radio hub for people in the cells, cause I could hear everything in the block even with the soundproofing and could replicate noises somewhere else." 

“Oh- huh. That’s why you were so freaked out that you didn’t hear me come in, huh?” Jackieboy smiles. “Cool. Yeah it just- sounds like… exactly like a video game glitch. You’ll know it when you hear it.” 

"Well... guess we just gotta wait for Stacy and Hen to get here, then," Chase says.

Jackieboy sighs and leans on his thighs, glancing at the doors. “Yeah.. guess so.”

"Don't worry, there's not a lot of traffic in the city, so they'll be here soon," Chase says. "Any moment." He looks towards the doors hopefully. 

---------- 

Bro is flying through the city at night, just over the rooftops. Come on, Alt, where are you?! Where could you be?! He's passing over a row of townhouses when he feels a sudden tug, like an invisible force is pulling him close to the ground.

Bro shouts out in surprise as he’s tugged and falls a good bit from the sky before he starts to try to fight the pull. “T-The fuck?!”

He’s able to stay airborne for a second, but then falls, landing on his stomach on the ground in front of a man.A man wearing a mask and cape. 

“Since when can you fly?!” He shouts. “What are you, actually Twilight Sparkle?!” Then the man pauses. “No, wait, your hair is different. You’re not—but are you—? Who are you?”

Bro oofs and looks back up at the masked man and glares. “The fuck, man?! Why is twilight sparkle the first example you think of??”

“Well purple hair—except you don’t have purple hair—so who are you?” The man asks. 

“I have never had purple hair in my life-“ Bro starts to argue-

Then the man suddenly gasps. “Wait… don’t tell me you’re from another universe?”

Bro pauses and pushes himself up. “Yeah I am. Guessing you know a Chase Brody?”

The man nods. “Vaguely. He’s the one with purple hair. Look, some guys appeared in my house. Someone who looked like a computer glitch, and some freak with a mask. Friends of yours? Or—is one of them a friend of yours? They didn’t… get along…”

Bro jolts at this and goes to grab the man's arm, "You saw Alt?! Please- he's my brother and im looking for him! He could be in Serious danger!"

The man jerks away from Bro’s touch. “Yeah I saw him. And… I’m afraid you’re right. He is.” The man pauses. “I told them to get out of my house. They did, and almost immediately after the weirdo with the mask attacked the other. I think he… somehow started controlling him. Th-they went north, I-I was trying to find people to talk to about this.”

Bro's eyes widen, "What?!" He growls and goes to punch the nearest thing he can, blue overpowering his eyes. "That fucking mangy cat-!" He looks back at the man and glares at him, but slowly softens. "...who were you trying to find? I.. I was worried about the psy-maniacs grabbing Alt first not- fucking Magnificent getting him! What the fuck!!"

The man flinches when Bro suddenly punches the wall, but quickly composes himself before Bro turns to look at him, seeming calm and collected. “‘Psy-maniacs’? So someone already told you about Psyode, then,” he says. “I was going to find the other Chase Brody, actually. Or maybe his Quicksilver of a twin, or that Einstein he hangs out with. Ah… that probably means nothing to you, does it? I mean—Jackie Brody and Henrik von Schneeplestein. I was going to warn them about the maniac from another universe. And tell them that ours is apparently under quarantine, and maybe enlist them to get that Alt guy back.”

Bro frowns and furrows his brow. "... quarantine...? huh... I wonder what that means." He then sighs and ruffles the back of his hair, looking embarrassed. "...I just... was with Henrik. And talking with your guys... I think this world's Jackie is starting to look too so- maybe I'll run into him but... they know. I think they're all trying to get together too I just... jumped the gun. Because... i... Alt just went through something awful I... I didn't want those Psyode guys getting to him too..." 

"Nobody deserves what they do," the man mutters. He shakes his head slightly. "Look, if it's any consolation, I've mana--this world's Jackie has managed to stay away from Psyode for months, and I hear others who escaped have managed to avoid them for years. They're tough, but it's not impossible to slip beneath their notice. And if you want, I saw the direction that masked freak took Alt. We can start heading there. Maybe we'll find them."

"That... that'd be great, yeah. I don't want to get my dumbass lost trying to find him." Bro sighs. He looks at the man and tilts his head. "I'm so sorry I don't think i got your name? You know mine but honestly you can just call me Bro- or you know Chase but that can get comfusing."

"Bro?" the man laughs a little. "How overly familiar of you. But fine. They call me the Magician here." He waves his fingers a little. "I should apologize for pulling you out of the sky. I don't see people flying often. Or ever."

"That's fair. ..really though, the Magician?" Bro raises an eyebrow. 

"Hey, I didn't choose it, the news did. Though I did dress like this... but they could've been more creative." Magician shrugs. 

Bro shrugs back with a laugh, "Who am I to judge? I call myself Bro Fantastic- that's why I say to call me Bro, ha." He smirks then jerks his head towards the street. "Wanna get a move on, then?"

"Yes, let's go. Hopefully we'll meet Scarlet--Jackie--on the way there." He turns and hurries down the street.

Bro chuckles and then rushes to follow after him. 

 ----------- 

Even with Jameson carrying Alt in cat form, it was slow going to get all the way across the city. Anti looks calm, but there's a constant static noise coming from everyone's phones that indicates he's more frustrated than his image appears.

Magnificent is trying his best to stay calm but- having the TRVLR stolen from them does him on edge. He used to be able to rely on Alt to have it... at least the troublesome cub wouldn't wander now. He glances over at Anti, wondering if he can read his expression.

Jameson glances over at Magnificent. He shakes his head. 

No use, he signs awkwardly. 

Anti disappears and reappears next to him. “What’s no use?” 

Alt jolts a bit and blinks up at Anti and then hisses slightly at him.

Jameson gasps, but takes care not to make Alt cat too uncomfortable. Your face, he says. 

“Hmm. What about it?” 

Not you. 

“Heh.” Anti smiles. “That’s true.” He turns to Magnificent. “The image you’re looking at isn’t actually me. I don’t have a body. This illusion just makes it easier for people.”

"Oh- how curious." Magnificent hums. "Then, what exactly are you then, Anti?"

Anti shrugs. “I’m Anti. There’s nothing like me out there. I’m loose thoughts, like a string of lights in a distant city. All energy, no matter.”

"Oh-! Fascinating... only energy and yet you can do things like this." Magnificent replies. "Is that why you want to come to the next universe with us? To see if you can find... something more?"

“Exactly,” Anti says. “I know there’s more out there for me. More I can do. It won’t get in the way of whatever you want—I wouldn’t do that to you after you went far enough to take me with you. But—” 

Magnificent grins, "I mean... I'm quite curious to see what we can accomplish together-"

Suddenly, with a whoosh of wind, something red runs right past them, ruffling Mag’s cape and Alt’s fur. It skids to a halt down the street and turns around to look at them. A man wearing a red jumpsuit with blue highlights. It looks homemade, but neat and well-done. The man is wearing a blue eye mask on the top half of his face and a black face mask on the bottom half. 

“Anti!” he gasps. “You—you’re—”

Mag holds an elbow over his face as the wind rushes past him and then he whips around to look at the man. "Oh! Well... if it isn't a superhero wannabe hm? Anti- do you know who this boy is?" 

Alt narrows his eyes at the man and his hackles raise, purple pulsing in his eyes.

“The people call him the Scarlet Blur, but I know his real name. Jackie Brody.” Anti smiles. Static eats away at his face, spreading from his eyes and mouth in a creepy display until his head is just a cloud of static. “A nobody who just got lucky.” 

“Lucky? Lucky?!” Jackie shouts. “Shut the fuck up!” He looks at Jameson. “You’re JJ. Jameson, right?! G-get away from them! I don’t know who that other guy is but he looks like bad news!” 

The street lamps flare brighter, and the one nearest to Jackie bursts. He runs to the side, and even with his speed he barely dodged the bolt of electricity from the bulb that hits where he was just standing. 

“Feel free to kill him,” Anti’s voice says. “Or whatever it is you do, Magnificent.”

Hatred flares in Magnificent's eyes at hearing this is a Jackie. He grins wide, power pulsing in his eyes. "Oh... with pleasure." He snaps, "Alt? Shift and attack the hero." 

“Shift?” Jackie repeats, confused.

Alt stiffens and sits up in Jameson's arms, purple bright in his eyes again. And then, in a flicker of static the cat leaps out of his arms and shifts into a black brown wolf and lunges to try to bite Jackie.

And then the wolf attacks and Jackie yelps. He starts to turn and run backwards but he’s so shocked that he just forgets about his speed. The wolf’s teeth clamp around his arm and he screams, turning and punching the wolf in the face. 

Alt manages to hang on and doesn't flinch as he's punch, digging his teeth in more with a growl.

"No no no no no!" Jackie screams, jabbing his foot into the wolf's neck.

Alt gets kicked off and skips onto the ground before shaking his head and growling at Jackie, pushing himself back up. Electricity flickers around him as his eyes glow a bit more green. Then, he glitches and tries to attack him again.

Jackie breathes heavily, checking the damage on his arm. He only glances down for a moment but it's enough of a distraction to give Alt an advantage. Jackie gets up and tries to run but this time the wolf's teeth latch onto his leg. He screams again. "Let go let go let go!" he shouts, punching and kicking wildly.

Alt tries to shake his head to latch on better and doesn't flinch at the first hit but by the others he gets knocked off and staggers back. He shakes out his head and weakly growls at Jackie, colors flickering in his eyes as he pants. 

As soon as Alt lets go Jackie gets up and tries to run but cries out as he takes his first step on his injured leg. Still, he tries, but it's too much and he collapses. 

Magnificent growls as he looks at Jackie and realizes he doesn't have power he can steal. He barks out at Alt, "Keep going, Alt! Kill him!" 

Alt's eyes glow more and then in another flicker of glitches he shifts into a big snake and tries to lash out to wrap around Jackie.

The snake slinks around his legs and arms. "Jesus fucking shit shit!" Jackie gasps, struggling, trying to break free.

Jackie manages to break through and Alt flies back, skidding across the road. He glitches a bit more before his form breaks and he shifts back into his human form, breathing heavily, his eyes rolling in his head dazedly. 

Magnificent growls in anger, "Fucking useless pup! Get back up!" 

Alt groans and weakly tries to push himself back up, dazedly looking back at Jackie but not seeming like he's really able to focus on him.

Jackie scrambles to his feet as quickly as possible. He looks back at Alt and Jameson regretfully, then staggers off, quickly gaining speed. 

One of the street lamps flares and bursts, lightning darting towards Jackie but missing as he speeds out of sight. Anti hisses. "Well, we'll see him again, I'm sure of that. He's the type to keep getting in people's way." 

Magnificent growls and watches Jackie rush off. He snorts and crosses his arms. "Hopefully he'll stay away until we can find that annoyance that stole from us."

Jameson hurries to Alt's side to check on him.

Alt dazedly looks at Jameson and sees him through dizzying vision. "D..Doc..." He breathes and leans up against him, his eyelids fluttering. "...'m tired..."

Jameson blinks, momentarily confused, but it isn't worth thinking about. You'll be okay, he says. Alt nods against his shoulder. Then, Jameson looks over at Anti and Marvin. He needs rest. 

"We don't have time to rest, who knows what the others will do in the time frame we're resting?" Anti growls. 

He still needs rest, Jameson persists. He needs to recover energy. 

Anti tilts his head. "Energy... Hmm." The head swivels over to Magnificent. "Do you think that if Alt gets struck by lightning, he will absorb it? Or is that not how his electricity works?"

Magnificent hums and appears to kneel down by Alt. "Hmm... he has magic left- so... he should be able to absorb some of it. I'm not sure though... he usually absorbs that stuff from outside sources. ... I am curious though." The mad magician chuckles.

"We'll test it out a little first, then," Anti says. "Jameson, back." 

Jameson just stares at him, unwilling to leave Alt's side when he's in this state. 

Anti growls, and suddenly Jameson jerks back, moving against his will. Once he's no longer touching Alt, the air around Alt hums, static rising, until a small bolt of lightning appears from thin air and hits him.

Alt blinks in confusion as Jameson jerks back and tries to catch himself on his hands- then he screams as the electricity hits him. He spasms slightly and crashes to the ground, gritting his teeth as the sparse electricity ripples across his skin. 

Mag tilts his head in thought, hardly phased. ".. huh.. Guess not."

"Huh." Anti frowns. "That's less useful than I thought, then." 

Jameson hurries forward again and grabs Alt, helping him up. He can't do much, but he hopes that the contact will help. 

Alt staggers and clings to Jameson as he's helped, parts of him still jittering. 

He needs rest, Jameson repeats. Especially after that. He shoots Anti a glare. 

"Don't make that face," Anti demands. 

Jameson just narrows his eyes more. 

"Fine!" Anti snaps. "Here, I'll be nice and make up for it." Alt feels a tingling sensation all over his body... and suddenly, the lingering pain is gone.

He blinks as he feels his pain disappear and looks down at himself then back at Anti, "...what did you do...?"

"You people all run on electricity," Anti says. "And pain is a signal sent through your nerves using that electricity. I recently figured out how to manipulate that." 

Jameson blanches. Alt feels him shudder slightly.

Alt also shudders a bit. "Umm... t-thank you... I guess." 

Magnificent snorts and rolls his eyes. "Well- if he's not in pain we should keep moving. Alt- you can find things to recharge yourself with on our walk. I'm sure there's- streetlights or displays or whatever around you can leech off of." 

Alt opens up his mouth to try to argue but then stiffens and his eyes flash again. "...y-yes Magnificent..."

Jameson looks at Alt sympathetically. He wishes there was something he could do to help him, but he knows Anti will stop him. The most he can do is make sure that Alt's taken care of. That's the most he's ever been able to do. He stands up and helps Alt to his feet. 

Alt looks over at Jameson with glazed eyes. But, there's a flicker of gratitude beneath his expression.

"Strange, Jackie didn't have his phone," Anti says. "He must've given it to someone else. Either way, I can still sense its movements. Let's continue on." 

----------- 

The apartment building lobby has emptied out except for Jackieboy, Chase, and Xio. When suddenly, lights shine into the windows. 

Xio gets to her feet and hurries over, staring out. "It's her car!" she shouts. 

"Great!" Chase also stands up. 

Outside, Stacy parks and Henrik gets out of the passenger seat. He hurries to the front entrance and bursts through. "Other Jackie! Hi! Hello! Oh, you look so different! But also the same."

Jackie hurries after the others and then balks at seeing Henrik. He laughs, "I could say the same thing about you! Nice to meet ya in the flesh though-"

"Yes, yes!" Henrik looks at Chase excitedly. "Can you believe this, Chase?! An actual person from another world! Here! A-and not the only one!" 

Chase laughs. "This is like your wildest dreams come true, huh?" 

"Of course!" 

A woman enters the lobby. "Hi Chase, hey Xio. So, you're the other Jackie, then? I'm Stacy. I guess I'm your sister-in-law in this world. Nice to meet you."

Jackieboy laughs then looks at Stacy as she enters. His eyebrows raise up and then he laughs. "I guess so! Funny- my Chase only just started dating our version of you- though.. guess I could see them settling down~" He grins.

"Heh." Stacy glances at Chase, who coughs awkwardly. "We met in college. Had our twins not long after." 

"Oh! Same with me and my wife!" Jackie grins. "We met 1st year of uni and got married and had our daughter not long after!"

"Y-yeah." Chase nods. "Uh... I hope your Chase will be better at finances than me. That really fucked us over for a while." 

"In the past," Stacy says casually. 

Jackie laughs, "I dunno how good he is with money but he's at least keeping him and Alt afloat!" 

Henrik giggles. "The differences between worlds, so interesting, interesting. Your Chase told me your version of me is deaf, and an actor!" 

"Really?" Chase tilts his head. "Bruh, I can't picture you as an actor at all. I can't picture you as anything but some sort of scientist."

"Imagine how we feel! You all are all- topsy turvy to us!" Jackieboy chuckles.

"No yeah, I know exactly how you feel," Chase says. "It's like you're living my life. Very weird. Jackie was never the type to settle down, they're more of a free spirit." 

Jackie grins, "Yeah! It's weird huh? My Chase is more the free-spirit. He's great with kids but- can't see him being a dad." 

"Which is why they went running out there, isn't it?" Stacy jerks her head back out the front doors. "We can talk about all this stuff in the car, y'know. It's kind of important that we find this guy. What was his name?" 

"Alt, I think," Chase says

Jackie blinks and grins sheepishly, "Right right- let's go. God knows what trouble other me and Bro got into..."

Henrik nods. "Yes, we must find him before Psyode or, god forbid, Anti finds him. If he was interested in Jameson Jackson from another time, he will definitely be interested in this Alt Brody from another space."

The group heads outside. "Jackie can usually handle himself," Chase says. "But uh... his brain doesn't move as fast as his body sometimes. So you can surprise him and stuff. Which... isn't ideal." 

"He's great, though," Xio says. "He was the second person to escape Psyode after 25 did. A real inspiration to people still stuck in there." 

“Oh really? 25 was… the magician guy right?” Jackie asks. 

Henrik grumbles. It's mostly in German, but there are small sound bites of "ethics board" "Jason" "fucking Ayer" and "fucking Experiment Department". 

"Yeah, he was really paranoid about people knowing his name," Xio says. "So I just called him 25. Still do. We were across from each other in the cells. Nice guy... though you won't hear this Jackie agree with that." 

"Oh- huh... guess that kinda true with Alt at first too. Though- he kept to calling himself Alt even after we knew." Jackie shrugs, "Oh- does this world's jackie not like him? guess that must be a constant..." 

"Who wants shotgun?" Stacy asks, getting into the driver's seat.

Jackie shrugs to the question, “I’ll take anywhere!”

Xio laughs. "I'll take shotgun, Stacy, more leg room." 

"The back seat for us, then," Chase says, opening it up. "Op. Evan left Pinkie Pie in here, Stacy." 

"Pass her up to me, I'll remember to take her in," Stacy says, holding out her arm. 

Chase puts a small plushie of a pink horse into her hand and she puts it in the spot between the two front seats. 

Jackie gets inside the car and then smiles softly, "Aw pinkie! She's my daughter's favorite~"

Stacy laughs. "Evan says she's fun, but Anna says Applejack would actually be a better friend. Which is debatable." 

"As for Jackie and Magician, I mean... their relationship didn't exactly start the best way," Chase says. "They were like--a hero-villain duo. The only two superheroes and villains out there. A detective and a phantom thief. And he did throw me off a roof one time--" 

"Magician did what?!" Henrik gasps as he gets in the car. 

"But Jackie caught me!" Chase says. "And I don't think Magician thought it through, yknow?" 

"Woahhh- dude that's kinda metal though. That'd make for a fantastic book or tv series-" Jackie laughs.

Chase grins a little. "Yeah, I know, right?" 

As Stacy starts the car and drives off, Henrik says, "I cannot think of Magician as a fully bad person. After all, he helped rescue Phoebe and me, even if he was mainly curious about what happened to Jameson Jackson, his friend."

"What happened to him?" Jackie asks curiously.

"To Jameson Jackson?" Henrik asks. "We are not fully sure." 

"The Jackson family is like, this powerful old-money family," Chase says. "I did research in the library once and found out that Jameson Jackson was one of them who disappeared in the 1920s. But now he's definitely here in the present day. Magician knows him, clearly cares for him a lot, so I'm guessing that Jameson somehow traveled through time and found Magician and the two of them got close." 

"But then Anti found him," Henrik adds. "And he took him. Anti can control people's bodies, you know. He makes Jameson do things for him, and if Jameson will not, he controls him to do it anyway." He shakes his head sadly. "I'm sure Jameson is a good man," he says quietly.

Jackie's eyes widen, "Oh... woah..." He then hums in thought and rubs at his arm. "...'m sure he is. ....Alt got treated like that by our bitch magician, Magnificent. But, despite everything that fucking cat has put him through... he still tries to do good and be kind. ...I bet Jameson is the same."

Henrik nods slowly. "Yes... He certainly seemed that way while I was there..." He trails off. 

Chase leans over to gently shake Henrik. "C'mon, Hen. Stay with us for now. We got other-universe people to find." 

"Yes, yes, yes." Henrik nods. 

"Other Jackie, anything you know that could help us about where your guys would be?" Xio asks, turning back to look at him.

"Ummm-" Jackie makes a face and leans back in his chair. "Other than Alt's glitching? ummm look for green and purple lights- that's Mag's magic. He also just like- teleports everywhere like a big show off. And uh- Mag ususally looks for big sources of power. Something he can steal." 

"A source of power?" Chase repeats. "Uh... The only place I can think of that would have 'power' like how you're implying is that compound Psyode set up." 

"Let's hope you won't have to go back there," Stacy says. 

"Yeah... I hope we find them before having to try there... That sounds like a place I very much want to avoid." Jackie mutters.

"We'll drive around the city for a while and see if we find anything. In retrospect, I wish Jackie kept his phone." Stacy mumbles. 

Chase shrugs. "Can't undo the past... probably. So let's stick with the present."

 ----------- 

Magician and Bro have been walking for some time, crossing between rows and rows of townhouses, when Magician suddenly stops. "Hang on. Do you see that?" 

He barely has time to say that before the thing he saw rushes at the two of them--then past them, banging into a lamp post. A man in a red jumpsuit stumbles back, falling to the ground. "Owwww," he groans. 

Bro blinks and looks and then jumps into the air slightly in surprise as he's run past. He gasps and then touches down to help the man, "Oh my god?? Are you okay???"

“No, I don’t think so.” The man sits up, looking up at Bro. His eyes widen. “Y-you… you’re the other world Chase.” He’s bleeding from his arm and leg. 

Bro hurriedly digs through his backpack and finds something to stop the bleeding- some of his clothes before he borrowed Chase's in the last world. He rips off parts of a shirt and then presses some to the man's arm and grabs his hand and lays it over the spot. "Put pressure there, okay?" He then rips some more and goes to put pressure on his bleeding leg.

“…Scarlet?” Magician says. “What happened?” 

“There was a fucking—no one said a-anything about—about animals turning into other animals!” The man stammers.

Bro freezes slightly as he hears the last part, his face going pale. "...weird question... did that animal... glitch at all? or did you see it... turn human?"

The man—Magician called him Scarlet—does as Bro instructed. “Y-yes… it turned human at the end, turned into a guy.” 

“Hold on a second, are you saying that your Alt friend can turn into animals?!” Magician gasps.

Bro closes his eyes and curses, "Y-Yes he can but he doesn't do it often! And... h-he wouldn't do it to attack someone like... like this!" He then frowns and then has a murderous expression, "...but he would if Mag forced him too. That fucking sneaky bitch...!"

"Mag...?" Scarlet repeats, looking at Magician. "Like... short for Magician?" 

"No, it's short for Magnificent, which is a fucking stupid name," Magician mutters. 

"Okay, but you know, calling him that makes me think--" 

"Shut up, Sonic," Magician snaps. 

"Oh yeah sorry- Magnificent. S'easier just to say Mag... didn't realize it'd be confusing." Bro mutters.

Scarlet laughs--then hisses as he shifts position slightly and makes his injuries hurt more. "A-anyway. Y-yeah, I think that 'Magnificent' guy must have been there. And so was Anti, a-and that man--Jameson Jackson." 

Magician's expression softens slightly behind his mask. "JJ is with them...?" he whispers.

Bro’s eyes darken as Scarlet catches them up. "Of course he found this world's Anti... I bet they're up to no good... and dragged Alt into it... and Jays too. Fuckers...!" He looks down at Scarlet and frowns. "...we can't just leave Scarlet. He's really hurt... we should try to take him to the others... isn't Henrik a doctor?"

"He's not that kind of doctor," Scarlet says. "He's a scientist. Physics and shit. Loves studying other worlds and shit." He pulls down his face mask. "By the way, I-I realize I haven't formally introduced myself. I'm Jackie." 

"Oh right- I guess I should have figured." Bro laughs weakly. "Nice to officially meet ya, Jackie." 

"You're bleeding out, Scarlet, this isn't time for introductions," Magician says. 

"Th-this is the perfect time! Before anything bad happens. Or, worse, I-I guess." Jackie hisses. 

Bro frowns, "Hey don't think like that, we'll get you patched up." 

"Wish I didn't give my phone to Chase... I could've called them to bring a first aid kit." Jackie looks at Bro. "Wait, do you still have your phone?"

Bro then blinks and nods, going to pull out his phone. "Yeah- I think my Jackie might be with your group... oh! And he has a first aid kit!"

"He does?! Oh good." Jackie laughs. "Go on. a-and call them, then." 

Magician stands there awkwardly. "I can... put more pressure on your wounds... if you want." He straightens, and laughs haughtily. "Not that I'd get blood on my hands, that's disgusting. But my powers are very useful for situations like this~" 

Jackie looks up at him. "...sure, Magician," he says, his tone a strange mix of annoyance and gentleness. 

Magician nods. Nothing seems to happen visibly, but Jackie is able to lean back, Bro's clothes continuing to be pressed to the wounds even without him doing it.

"Oh- well... that's helpful... what is it that you do, Magician?" Bro asks curiously, "You don't seem to use magic like Alt or Mag does... but you have something- that's how you pulled me out of the sky and... are doing this I guess." As he says this he starts to dial Jackie's number.

"I have myself something called psychokinesis," Magician chuckles. "Moving and pushing things without physically touching them. It's quite handy, you know. I can even pick locks with the ability." 

"You called me Sonic, alright, Silver," Jackie mutters. 

Bro bursts into laughter, "Heh- I guess that is fitting...!" 

The other end of Bro's call picks up quickly.

The call picks up and Jackieboy hurriedly answers the other line: "Chase??" 

"H-Hey man... sorry for just... hanging up on you..." Bro says putting the call on speaker. 

"Yeah dude that was a dick move-" 

Bro winces, "Sorry sorry but- I found Magician and Jackie- other Jackie and... he's really hurt. And Mag got a hold of Alt and i... I think he used his shapeshifting to attack him." 

"What?!" Chase shouts on the other end. "Jackie, are you okay?!" 

"I'm fine!" Jackie yells. 

"Don't let that fool you, Violet, he's bleeding and it looks like some animal bit him," Magician says. 

"Jackie what the fuck?!" Henrik shouts. 

"I didn't want to get attacked by wolf, dude!" 

"...woah that's a whole bunch to process okay- well... we're in Stacy's car with other you, Henrik and Xio... which I guess you heard.” Jackieboy laughs. “Do you know where you are?" 

"We're somewhere on Daine Street, in the neighborhoods to the north of the city," Magician relays. 

"Fuck," Chase curse. "W-we can get there fast! Stacy, are there any pharmacies nearby?!" 

"I can put it into Maps," Stacy says. "We can pick up anything we need. Jackie, can you move?" 

"Y-yeah... I think so." 

Magician sighs. "Very well, I guess I could help if you need it." 

Jackie gives him a puzzled, thoughtful look.

Bro looks between Magician and Jackie with a confused expression. "...are you guys friends or do you hate each other? Cuz I genuinely cannot tell." 

"Apparently its a villain vs hero thing." Jackie supplies. 

"Ohhhh-" 

"Oh, Scarlet totally hates me," Magician says, grinning. 

"No, I don't," Jackie mutters. 

"Oh by the way, I have my first aid kit but... if he got bit by stuff... we might need something more." Jackieboy mumbles worriedly.

"I'm googling what antibiotics we'd need to prevent infection," Chase says. "We can stop by a pharmacy to get them." 

"Xio, look for stuff close by on my phone," Stacy says. "The password is 6232." 

"Got it, man," Xio says. "Looks like the nearest place to buy medicine is on the corner of Mirylow and Kellie." 

"Can you guys head that way?" Chase asks. 

"I-I think so," Jackie says.

"I can help, dude, don't worry," Bro says with a sincere smile. "We'll meet you all there." 

"Okay, Chase, be careful." Jackieboy says. 

"Will do." Bro hangs out and quickly pockets his phone before kneeling down by Jackie and trying to see if he can help him up. "I know you just ran here but resting sometimes changes things, can you put pressure on your leg?"

"Let's see." Jackie lets Bro pull him up. He hisses a bit. "Hurts, but I think I got it." He glances at Magician. 

"Can you... keep that pressure up? I think it's helping." 

Magician flashes a grin. "Of course. Just remember, you owe me~" 

"Ugh. Fine." Jackie shakes his head. "Let's just go." 

----------- 

Anti guides the others from a residential area to a section of the city with more businesses and shops. 

"If you can hide yourselves with your power, I suggest you do," he says. "If we can take them by surprise, we should."

Magnificent hums and looks around. He sees a dark alley and grins. "No problem. I'll blend into the shadows." He looks back at Alt, who's been trying to find small sources of energy here and there. He stills seems kinda drained and out of it. Regardless though, he snaps his fingers and points at Alt. "Alt, shift. You'll hide with me." 

Alt stiffens quickly and then glitches back into his cat form. Mag is quick to scoop him up and pets him with an evil chuckle. Alt's hackles raise slightly but he slowly relaxes, his eyes looking a bit more slitted as Mag pets him. Mag looks to Anti and then steps back, the two of them fully blending into the shadows as if they disappeared.

"Heh... Impressive." Anti grins. His image disappears, leaving only Jameson visible. 

Jameson sighs, taking out the phone from earlier. 

Anti's voice continues to come from the speakers. "We're gaining on them. Keep going down this street." As they continue, Anti continues to talk. "So, Magnificent. What is your goal in traveling through worlds? Searching out power? Conquering the universes? Something more specific than that?"

There's the vague hints of movements within the shadows as they walk- the hint of static, the flicking of cat tail, the flash of a green eye. But, only while Magnificent moves to keep up. 

"Oh... a little of everything. I want to taste the power and magic other universes provide~ and also... If i can crush any duplicates of me who think they're better or more powerful well... that's another plus~!" He giggles. "And making new puppets has been quite a joy as well! So many unique ways to manipulate the mind and bend it to a stronger beings will... honestly- it inspires me to look for more~"

"Fascinating," Anti's voice says. "So, I suppose it's both curiosity and control. I can understand that. After all, I'm the one seeking knowledge of how to get into other worlds. And I suppose I have some puppets of my own. Though most of them are interchangeable to me. Jameson here is an exception. I feel responsible, since I may be the one who accidentally brought him here." 

Jameson rolls his eyes. He glances over every time there's an occasional flicker of movement indicating Magnificent... and Alt.

Alt's eyes find Jameson's through the shadows when he looks- sometimes more slitted, sometimes something a bit more human.

"Oh? Is that so... is he mayhaps- a person pulled from time?" Magnificent laughs, 

Anti laughs. "That's exactly what he is! From ninety years ago or so.”

"We are more similar than I thought then, Anti~! I did the same to one of my puppets... though- he has stubbornly rejected his strings. Mostly useless to me now but... we have our fun occasionally." 

“I never expected to find someone also able to do something like that. I'm sorry that your puppet pulled away.”

"Ha! Perhaps our puppets should meet~ it's not often I meet another who pulled someone from time." Magnificent giggles. 

“I am curious as to how you make them in the first place. Your magic is unique. I can manipulate people's motor neurons, but it's difficult, and I can only focus on so many people at a time. Something like your power... I wonder if it's easier than my method." Anti says.

Mag hums, petting Alt through the shadows, the cat's eyes turning more slitted and purple as he does- pushing his influence in. "Truly- it depends fully on the mind. I often find with enough surprise and mental manipulation, most humans can fall to my magic for a bit of time. Enough for me to get my way... but it is temporary and hard to maintain. Usually its just enough to cause some chaos or damage... but Alt here~ he is a great example of long term manipulation. His mind is like putty in my hands... and I have so many ways to twist it to do my bidding~! He fights when he can, sure... but that's almost half the fun~!" 

Anti laughs again. "Fascinating. Truly fascinating. Your mind manipulation would have been most helpful when I was trying to get information from someone. With your powers, he no doubt would have told me everything he knew." He sighs. "I wish I could read minds as easily as I manipulate the body, but unfortunately, I haven't quite decoded that yet. Everyone's thoughts are so different that it's hard to decipher the electrical impulses. Hmm... perhaps... no, if you are able to take me out of this world, I suppose I don't need that information anymore."

"Is that the only information you seek? To escape this world?" Magnificent asks.

"That, and any way I can use to gain power," Anti answers. "I know I am not supposed to be here. And I know that my purpose exists beyond this universe."

"Ah... we have similar goals then." Magnificent giggles. "Don't worry, Anti. With Alt this deep under... he won't remember this- and you should be able to sneak into the TRVLR with ease~"

"Yes." Anti laughs. "I can't wait." 

[asoullessentity]

I love ur Ink headcanons sm omgg can you do some hcs for him on his s/o's birthday? I just had mine yesterday it would be rlly cool :3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! , INK SANS

♡ ,, SYPNOSIS ; Ink makes a birthday surprise party for you!

,, CONTENT/WARNING ; Fluff.

— note ; HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY!! My birthday is actually next Sunday, so ima do a scenario instead! Just 4 you, mwa! HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!

Ink was panicking, it was currently your birthday and he didn't have everything he needed for a part. You were currently at work so obviously, you didn't know what was going on. He invited Dream, Sans, Error, Cross, and Fresh. (Since those are the only monsters he trusted.) Dream and Sans went to get the decorations, Cross went to get the cake, and Fresh went to get the pinata. Error was stuck with Ink to clean up the house.

Error let out little grumbles as he vacuumed the living room carpet, his eyelights flickering to the painter who was cooking. Error let out a sigh seeing that Ink was trying to rush, "Calm down, Idiot. They won't be home until 5 more hours." He grumbled as he stopped the vacuum. He put it into a corner and picked some cleaning supplies before turning back to Ink. "WE STILL NEED TO HURRY!! The others aren't here with the things that we needdd." Ink whined. Error rolled his eyelights. They both perked up at the doorbell. Ink quietly rushed to the door to check on who it was. It was Sans and Dream with the decorations. Ink smiled widely after blowing a sigh of relief.

He quickly opened the door to let them in. Dream let out a huff, he had an arm full of streamers, birthday banners, party blowers, and confetti. And Sans had tons of balloons that were your favorite color. "Sorry we're late, there were so many people in line" Dream huffed as Sans chuckled. Ink clapped his hands, "It's ok! Oh! Please put the decorations up as we wait for Cross and Fresh!" Both skeletons nodded before they went and hung the decorations up. Sans made sure that the streamers were evenly spread around the living room. Ink took the streamers off the ceiling where they'd been hanging from and began to hang them on the other walls and the balcony outside.

Dream put the balloons up as Error placed some confetti on the ground. There was a knock at the door, Ink grinned excitedly when he saw that Cross and Fresh were at the door. Error sighed loudly. "I swear I better be getting paid to clean this mess up afterwards." Sans chuckled, "You could say you're lucky that you have such nice coworkers." Error glared at his failed pun. "Yo! Wassup dudes, we got the pinata and cake!" Fresh called out. Ink nodded excitedly. "Ok, I'll help you with the pinata!" Ink exclaimed happily.

He grabbed a chair and placed it in the middle of the living room. Error stared at Ink in disbelief, "Are we seriously putting the pinata in the living room? What if we break something?" Ink laughed at him, "Don't worry about that Error! I'll pay for whatever damage is done." Error glitched out a bit as he grumbled under his breath. Fresh held onto the pinata as he stepped on the chair, he hung the pinata on the ceiling. As Fresh got down Dream went and hung the rest of the streamers on the door. Ink watched as Cross placed the cake down on one of the tables.

A couple of hours later the gang hid in the dark waiting until you arrived, "This is ridiculous." Ink heard Error say, Ink quickly hushed the skeleton. "I think I heard a car door close," Fresh said softly. After a moment of silence, the sound of keys could be heard, and a smile made its way onto Ink's face knowing who it was. You opened the front door with a huff. You blinked, realizing that the house was dark. "Ink?" You called out. You made a noise as the lights suddenly turned on and everyone got out of their hiding places yelling, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Y/N!" Ink ran and jumped onto you giving you a tight hug. "I-Ink!" You managed to squeak out as you both fell to the ground.

Ink placed kisses all over your face as you looked around the room. Error had to literally drag Ink off of you so you could breathe. You giggled as you rubbed your sore neck after being hugged by Ink, "What is all this?" Dream smiled, "It's a surprise party for you!" Fresh walked up to you and patted your head, "Happy birthday, dude." You smiled softly at everyone. "So glad you're still alive and cake-ing." Sans punned. Everyone just groaned except for you and Ink. "How about we just eat and enjoy Y/n's birthday," Cross spoke making every nod with a smile.

You had an awesome birthday. Ink wouldn't stop putting cake on your face, Error missed the pinata and hit the tv instead, Sans told you tons of puns, Dream and you played just dance and Cross gave you gifts.

Ink waved goodbye as everyone left. He let out a happy sigh as he closed the door, he looked around and the house was messy. He sweatdropped but just shrugged, 'Error will clean it up tomorrow.' He thought as he made his way upstairs. When he finally reached your shared room he smiled at your figure. You were currently getting ready for bed. Ink made his way towards you and gave you a hug. "Did you enjoy your day?" His eyelights stared up at you, and you nodded softly. "Of course, Ink. Did you have fun?" You asked. He nuzzled into you as you chuckled. "Yes, I did. But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." You giggled. He pulled away from you and flopped onto your bed, you climbed in after him.

"Goodnight, Y/N." "Sweet dreams, Ink."

copyright. ©𝑨 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 2023 ; 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅.

[blindrapture]

progress:

besides sunsetters, I also have Coestts as my other music project, this one primarily my solo work. none of their albums are ready yet, though there's a surprising amount of material in place, something from at least four different albums.

if I play my cards right I might get to overwhelm you guys with another double release. two albums at once, their first and their.... last? admittedly I'm not all that sure where the glitch album fits, besides that it comes at some point after their first three albums. the lore is something I have yet to take seriously for coestts, and I think I'm at the part now where I can start doing so.

but so. progress.

album 1, Reinventing the Wheel. possibly eight songs planned, five of them are in more or less finished states. no album art has been figured out yet. and album ???, the glitch album. possibly eleven songs planned, six of them are basically finished and many of the rest are not far off. album art has been figured out for a long time now, I had meant to release this album last year but didn't have it ready.

one of these might release first for all I know. and whichever one that will be, that's literally going to be my first solo album. an artist needs a solo album, right? well I'm gonna have one. I'm gonna have quite a few of them by the time all is said and done, but soon I'll have one! or two at once, that would be fun if I somehow get them both ready together.

not the King Real album, unfortunately. that is coestts, that'll be their second album, if not necessarily my second album. Reinventing the Wheel is the Sounds of March album, the Crawl album, the Hermit album. and glitch album is the Gothic Egg album. :3 ("I thought that was Sunsetters!" yeah the lore has been in flux a bit! did have a good narrative for it before, had to change it, don't know quite how much. but like, even if it was a sunsetters album, it was never going to be a sunsetters album. it is an album released without explanation, falsely marketed, enigmatically produced, hiding a dark tragedy. it still is, only coestts are involved now.)

and yes, my ultimate goal is still something along the lines of "trick you into falling in love with midi." midi is my art, and I am always careful with my art. I will forge a space for myself in this world that refused to prepare for that. and I am much more patient than the world.

my art, coestts included, will always be there, just waiting for the hypothetical You to stumble upon it.

stay tuned, as ever.

[riddlerosehearts]

Okay now I've come to ask you about Elenion! I want to know everything!!! What about them has grown and changed? Are they still a bard with a bit of stage fright? Did their origin story change at all? How's Gale? Are you hoping for anything specific from Act 3? (You don't have to answer all those questions, just giving some prompts 😊) I'm pumped that you're loving the game!!!

ooh okay, well first of all i hope the way that i always switch between using he/him and they/them pronouns for elenion isn't confusing. i actually use the mirror to swap them in-game sometimes too and i really love that that's a thing they let you do. oh and speaking of using the mirror, back when i first started playing i shared with you some screenshots of what he looked like but since then i ended up changing to a slightly different face preset from a mod i had installed--he basically just has freckles and shorter/smaller ears now, but that fits much better than what i started with.

also, while i was waiting to be able to replace my hard drive i actually filled out a whole character sheet i found on here just for the fun of it and was planning to post it later! maybe i'll also write out a character description along with it, so i can reference that if i need to.

anyway, gonna put the rest of this under a cut just in case it gets lengthy! (assuming the cut shows up in the correct place, anyway. i had this reply saved as a draft and tumblr keeps glitching and messing things up whenever i save the draft.)

so back when i first started playing, i had come up with a basic idea for what kind of character i wanted to make but a lot of it was sort of vague. and then as i played through act 1 i ended up coming up with different ideas that i preferred and decided to stick with. i didn't really change too much about elenion's personality! i think i told you before that they've always wanted to live up to the legacy of their father who was himself a renowned bard but they're very anxious and insecure, and that they're very reserved but also friendly and good at putting on a confident facade. that's all still true. however, i think i also told you that they were pretty normal and didn't have a traumatic backstory and that their father died after they moved away from home… well, i did change that a bit! i decided that their father actually died like 15 years ago when they were still a teenager, in an accident that they have always believed was their fault, and there was no way for them to save him or bring him back--so that's why they've continued to act the way they do for so long, and also why they very infrequently visit baldur's gate and are anxious about returning. they gradually distanced themself from their home and from their mother out of guilt and haven't visited in years at this point, always using their work and their travels as an excuse, so now having to be back in the city means having to face that.

something else that's important is that before getting abducted by mindflayers elenion would basically do a lot of historical and anthropological research in whatever places he visited as a way to gain inspiration for his writing, and he actually really prefers just doing research and putting on smaller performances over trying to be the glamorous bard that his father was, but before ending up on this crazy journey and becoming more comfortable with opening up to gale and the other companions he would've never admitted that to anyone including himself. right now he still plans to just keep doing what he's been doing after all this is over, but maybe he'll end up accepting that it is not working, isn't making him happy, and probably isn't how his father would've wanted him to spend his life. all of this is still a fairly simple story, but hey, sometimes simplicity works best!

gale is literally so sweet and is such a gentleman and i can't believe there are people who hate him. something i did in the game not too long ago was find tara on a rooftop eating pigeons and after she left gale was like "oh by the way, i was thinking about introducing you two over a homecooked meal in my super cool tower that has a really nice kitchen and a wine cellar, if you would like that!" …uh, hello, who WOULDN'T afkjghdsfs. i actually had him in my party during the big battle at the mind flayer colony and he very nearly tried to blow himself up, but elenion talked him out of it and now he seems like he really does want to live, so obviously i'm glad about that… only now he constantly talks about wanting to find this book about the netherese crown and try to use its power, which is concerning and i really hope i don't somehow accidentally convince him to become a god omg. i honestly can't really think of anything specific that i'm wanting to see in act 3, i'm just excited to see what happens and how everybody's stories end! though i know gale has at least one more really sweet romance scene coming up in act 3 because i've seen gifs of it, so i guess i can say i'm looking forward to getting to see it for myself. i also really want to know what's going to happen with lae'zel and the githyanki egg we found since in my game she's been carrying it around and seems pretty attached to it, like are we actually going to come across a more accepting creche to drop it off at, or is she just going to end up becoming a mother, or…?? but as for the main plot i pretty much have no idea what to expect!!

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 41 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

FlameHairSavior: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT READY.

Icarus: An unexpected glitch occurred with the shield breaker device. Such failures are a sad fact of life, as I am sure that you are aware.

FlameHairSavior: You have been

FlameHairSavior: COMPLAINING

FlameHairSavior: about how slow the rest of us are

FlameHairSavior: FOR DAYS.

FlameHairSavior: And now you need more time!?

Icarus: Yes, that is an adequate summary of the situation.

ADMIN [Zo]: I think I can hear her screaming from here.

FlameHairSavior: I'm fine.

FlameHairSavior: I'm just going to find a herd of shell-walkers and pound on them for a bit.

Icarus: Setbacks happen. You simply cannot control every variable. It's something you have to accept.

SilverVixen: It's a common problem with new project leads. They think they have everything under control until they don't.

HIMBO: OH YEAH, I'VE SEEN THAT BEFORE. I THINK IT'S WHY A LOT OF TINKERS WORK ALONE.

SilverVixen: That typically doesn't help.

HIMBO: YEAH, BUT THEY'RE ANTISOCIAL TYPES, SO IT MAKES THEM FEEL BETTER.

ADMIN [Zo]: You do realize you are talking to a woman who hid in a world of her own making for approximately a thousand years.

SilverVixen: The sad part is that I was one of the more social Zeniths. I was no Stanley Chen, but at least I talked to people.

FlameHairSavior: I will kill you all.

DIVINER: You literally can't, though??

FlameHairSavior: Sorry, talking to the shell-walkers.

HIMBO:  SURE YOU WERE.

MARSHAL Kotallo: I am choosing to take this time to review our maps on the Zenith base. We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

DIVINER: Um...

DIVINER: Aren't there like, six worst-case scenarios??

ADMIN [Zo]: I can think of four.

HIMBO: WAIT, I CAN ONLY THINK OF TWO. IF BETA IS ALREADY DEAD THAT'S FIVE KINDS OF AWFUL BEFORE WE EVEN GET TO HOW IT WOULD RUIN THE PLAN. AND WE'RE ALSO SCREWED IF THE SHIELD-BREAKER DOESN'T WORK.

Icarus: Which is why I am working on it now.

ADMIN [Zo]: There's also the possibility that the Zeniths have already fled, or that HEPHAESTUS took over GAIA during the merge.

SilverVixen: We would have noticed the ship leaving.

ADMIN [Zo]: True, but it could still leave before we get there.

SilverVixen: Fair enough.

DIVINER: I'm not AS good as Beta, but I do know something about programming!

DIVINER: I THINK they shouldn't be anywhere close to finishing up HEPHAESTUS and GAIA by the time we get there! And it... PROBABLY isn't possible for it to backfire like that??

DIVINER: [ChidiPainedSmile.gif]

MARSHAL Kotallo: The point is that we need to plan for every eventuality. What do we do if we fail to take down the Zenith shields?

FlameHairSavior: Distract and separate, try to complete the rest of the mission.

Icarus: If I could get to the machine printers, I might be able to fix the problem on-site.

MARSHAL Kotallo: An excellent start.

SilverVixen: Fine, I'll entertain this foolishness. What do we do if Beta is dead?

HIMBO: HEY, HAVE A HEART.

SilverVixen: I'm simply going over the worst-case scenarios, as suggested.

FlameHairSavior: If Beta is dead, then I stop playing nice.

DIVINER: What, uh...

DIVINER: What does that mean in this context??

FlameHairSavior: It means we give Erend and Sylens full access to the printers and see how many weapons they can build.

Icarus: YES!

HIMBO: ...

ADMIN [Zo]: ...

MARSHAL Kotallo: Was that Sylens shouting?

SilverVixen: I heard that from my room.

Icarus: Ahem. I mean...

Icarus: Yes, that seems like a fine backup plan.

FlameHairSavior: Okay... never thought I'd need to tell Erend to make sure someone else didn't blow too much stuff up, but here we are.

MARSHAL Kotallo: And what do we do if the ship leaves before we gain control?

SilverVixen: The only way they could leave this early is if they rushed. That means they should have to leave all their printers and equipment behind.

SilverVixen: Though I suppose they could leave a virus that junks everything so no one else could use it.

FlameHairSavior: Worst-case scenarios. What happens if the Zeniths leave with GAIA and all their equipment?

SilverVixen: We'll have to start over. My home has some minor printers and computers, but nothing compared to even one of GAIA's manufactuaring plants, much less the Zenith printers.

FlameHairSavior: Still, that's something to keep in mind. We can fall back to Tilda's mansion, try to get everything under control from there.

ADMIN [Zo]: Do you think that has any chance of working?

FlameHairSavior: No.

HIMBO: WELL THIS GOT DEPRESSING FAST.

MARSHAL Kotallo: Our last worst-case scenario: What do we do if HEPHAESTUS has managed to take over GAIA?

DIVINER: That will probably be Zo's job!

ADMIN [Zo]: What? Why?

DIVINER: Because you're the only one with experience worshiping a machine intelligence!

SilverVixen: Oh God, that's what it would come down to, wouldn't it? Bow down to the omnipotent AI and hope it doesn't kill us?

SilverVixen: It doesn't work.

DIVINER: Well, my other plan was to yell logical fallacies until it shuts down!

SilverVixen: You watch too much science fiction.

DIVINER: There's no such thing!

Chapter 41 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[wrecking]

ok i know i say this every month now bc i'm old but like HOW is february already over. it just like got super warm and ended instantly like great month. anyways uh this one is defs gonna be one i look back on and cackle at. like what is this list. open for a little bit of commentary on each one bc ya

lady gaga - artpop (highlight this month - mary jane holland) : kind of an odd pick but tbh it's just kinda been in my head this month? messy and maximalist but very fun

kylie minogue - disco extended mixes (last chance) : this thing is just so good. super fun sleek listen and last chance is my fav of them all

boygenius - the record (cool about it) : shockingly to absolutely no one, women are still beating me with hammers, which will continue until i die

men i trust - untourable album (organon) : really good album that i spend random amounts of time with, but always lingers around in my head regardless of whether i listen to it or not tbh

yeule - softscars (4ui12) : 2023 didn't have many albums of note but the ones that were of note were Really Of Note cuz like holy shit this thing is so good. please just put the wav files playable on my tombstone

frost children - speed run (hi 5) : random choice but i've been watching the hi 5 video too much on youtube to not include this here

kesha - gag order (all i need is you) : really went under everyone's radars but wow what an album. perfect for the messy healing process and boy am i in that right now

aldous harding - warm chris (she'll be coming round the mountain) : probably not as good as i originally made it out to be, but damn the highs are high, and by the highs i mean the entire b side of this thing. all 5 of them

dorian electra - freak mode frost children remix : this is your free cringe comp pick for this month, enjoy the lack of taylor this time. anyways the base album is alright but not quite my thing, but this remix just fucks ok it's just fun and silly and funny. frost children sweep

cafune - love songs for the end (unchained memory) : i'll be waiting for a time where perspective doesn't stop me in my tracks every time i hear the opening guitar

deltarune - my castle town : yep i'm coping again

yeule - glitch princess (don't be so hard on your own beauty) : presented without comment

lizzy mcalpine - five seconds flat (reckless driving) : idk this has just snuck up on me, fun pleasant listen and i like her vibe a lot

ethel cain - preacher's daughter (hard times) : presented without comment

troye sivan - something to give each other (one of your girls) : this album has some bores on it but the bops are so good. troye please make a no-ballads album or something, for me

aly & aj - with love from (6 months of staring into the sun) : wrote this album off at its release but it's been growing on me, defs more subdued and a less immediate listen than a touch of the beat(...) but it's so good when it hits right

caroline polachek - desire i want to turn into you everasking edition (spring is coming with a strawberry in the mouth) : i still think this album probably doesn't hold a candle to pang, but i have to admit the deluxe version let me recontextualize it. not sure what was wrong with the original release but i kinda just ended up :/ abt it after like 2 weeks and now i'm like ok wait this is bops

paramore - this is why (the news) : when will this not be on here. it's so good they can do no wrong seriously

patricia taxxon - bicycle (big wheel) : finally starting to listen to her and damn what an intro. good sounds amazing sounds the autism won

mitski - the land is inhospitable and so are we (the frost) : this thing never leaves me alone like it's evergreen. all her other albums have the occasional song i care less about but this thing is perfect

lucy dacus - home video (thumbs) : presented without comment

willow - copingmechanism (hover like a godess) : so good, finally revisiting it after fixating on it in the middle of last year. holds up incredibly well

pinkpantheress - heaven knows (ophelia) : speaking of holding up well, this thing just gets better the more that i listen to it. she made me a stan i gotta say

hayley williams - flowers for vases (hyd) : this is such a depression spiral album. love it so much

allie x - girl with no face (black eye) : god this fucking album. i really don't have words like it's messy it's silly it's batshit it's brilliant. i don't think it's better than cape god per se, but god is it a strong contender for the title of her best work

[thewollfgang]

I think if there was an Olympics category for the fastest computer unpacking and set-up, I would win. One would think I set up computers all the time with how quick I did it. XD I wanted the patch so bad.

Very cash money of Larian to add forehead kisses and new camp animations. And Astarion's epilogue title 🥺 hits right in the meow meow, I can't wait to get it in my own game.

While it was downloading though, I thought I'd distract myself by sculpting in Blender (wifi is being finicky right now so I figured it'd take quite a while) and only minutes ago did I snap out of it. I don't know what time the download finished but I ended up with this (I'd say) mostly anatomically correct, not-quite-done skull.

I'd already done one before but Blender glitched and sent that file into the ether. This one, I'm pretty sure, looks better than the old one anyway. Would have been cool to compare the two though. Some parts still need a lot of work, like the eye sockets and nasal cavity, but I'll get back to it once I get the new patch out of my system. XD

I had FULL confidence in you, BG. You get the gold 🥇I've just downloaded the patch today, but I didn't get around to playing it. I've had an incredibly stressful week and I spent most of the weekend thus far sleeping or crafting.

(I won't bring the vibe down by going into too much detail, but I was at the parade/rally in Kansas City and was near the mass shooting this Wednesday. Thankfully, neither my mom or I were hurt. It was incredibly chaotic and I'm still...kind of processing what happened. But! I'm here and still trucking along so I'm very grateful for that.)

So yeah I haven't had the pleasure of the new smooches yet, but I think I'll boot it up tomorrow and play a little bit. Larian knows what the people want. I hope they pad Wyll out a little bit more, too. I think he's neat and needs some love and content.

I have always wanted to learn Blender! Do you like it? I have a 3D printer (my crafting project right now is actually a set of mandalorian armor I'm printing myself!) and usually use other people's stl files and such but I'd like to learn how to make my own files, too. I think, as an owner of many skulls, your skull looks great.

I've found when a computer eats the first draft of something, the second one is almost always better. It is nice to compare though. I'd like to get an imitation human skull (cause the ethics of real human skulls...are varied) and place this fancy marble in the eye socket 😅 it glows under a black light and it needs a cool home to rest in.

It was good hearing from you, as always! I hope you settle into your new place and feel nice and comfy ❤️