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YEAHHHH I GOT IT DONE BEFORE THE RELEASE ON STEAM!!!

Anyway, have this! XD

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Dorian’s just keeping the peace the best way he can XD

Dorian: Get back in the vacuum!

Bobby: My empire!!

I keep doing these as warmups and then taking too long to finish them XD anyway I think I'm funny and that's all that matters

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After watching episode 6 of Murderbot, I fear Fable by Gigi Perez is very Murderbot coded.

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Have a Seat, Stay a While

Alright, I've decided to be nice to Dorian today.

Tomorrow? Well, who's to say.

Also disclaimer, I've barely talked to any dateables other than Dorian so if they're OOC that's why.

Summary: Dorian still hasn't let that incident go. He's ever vigilant and exhausting himself. Some of the others take notice and decide this just won't do.

Read it on AO3 if you’d rather! :D

“Look! See, he’s swaying again. I told you,” Curt whispered.

“Alright so you weren’t hallucinating. Big deal,” Rod whispered back. 

The two were staring at Front Dorian through the window. They’d been watching Dorian from all their perches and each one had begun displaying a strange new quirk.

“What are we staring at?” 

“Ahh!”

“Ack!”

Both screamed, whirling around to see Wyndolyn following their line of sight.

“Why would you do that?” Rod wheezed, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

“Oh that is so messed up,” Curt gasped, holding his chest.

Wyndolyn snickered at the two. She leaned forward a little further to get a better look at what had caught their attention today.

“Oi, what’s going on in here?” Office Dorian called from the foyer. He quirked an eyebrow as all three immediately backed up from the window, wearing their best innocent expressions. 

“Nothing, Dorian. Just having a little fun,” Wyndolyn said, smiling the most convincingly. 

“...Uh huh.” He didn’t look convinced but he turned away without further prompting to return to his post.

They waited a moment to make sure he was gone before Wyndolyn turned back to Curt and Rod. “Alright, spill it. Why are you staring at Dorian?”

The two shared a glance before Rod shrugged and spoke. “Curt noticed it this morning.”

“He’s been swaying. It’s weird.” Curt finished.

She gave them a perplexed look. “Okaaay, and how is that weird?”

“When have you ever seen Dorian not standing completely still? Look, he’s about to do it again!” Curt urged, going back to the window. Wyndolyn followed, eyebrows rising as Dorian tilted ever so slowly to the right. He took too long to sway the other way and quickly shuffled to correct his stance before he fell over. 

Normally this was a completely natural action. Dorian wasn’t normal though. He stood like a statue, through rain or shine like the mailbox outside. 

She frowned, standing up straight again. “Well, it hasn’t been that long since the break in. It’s possible he’s not at a hundred percent yet.”

At the reminder of what happened a week ago, the mood was instantly dampened. Despite Dorian doing everything he could to keep the burglars out, he still blamed himself for it happening. Dorian was a diligent bouncer before but now he was hyper aware of everything inside and outside the house. He didn’t show it in obvious ways but with the swaying, Wyndolyn could guess that he was exhausting himself. 

Curt and Rod were thinking the same thing. Rod scoffed, scuffing the hardwood floor with his foot. “It’s not like it was his fault.”

“Yeah, well try telling him that,” Curt said. “The man needs to sit down and take a nap or something.”

“Hmm, a nap you say.” That gave Wyndolyn an idea. 

Dorian did so much for the house. Of course part of it was the love of the job but he genuinely cared about everyone. Even the few troublemakers they had. He took care of them day and night. It was about time someone made him take care of himself.

“What do you think about making him take a vacation?” She asked.

“Vacation? You couldn’t pry him away from that doorframe long enough for one.”

Yeah, that was a good point.

Curt perked up then, “Maybe not a vacation but I think we could come back around to the nap thing. When’s the last time we saw him take one?”

“How about, never?”

“Then we’re gonna need a nap expert and luckily we’re standing in the same room as him!” 

“Oh, yeah! Hey Mateo, can you help us with something?”

The blanket jolted awake on the couch, blinking sleepily at the three who were now standing over him. He smiled sheepishly at the eager look on their faces. 

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

They plotted, eventually roping Koa into their scheme. Well, considering it wasn’t very complicated, it wasn’t really a scheme but Curt and Rod insisted on calling it that. Honestly the whole scheme, plot, …. thing, hinged on step one going well. They wanted to send Mateo in, knowing hardly anyone could resist his big ole eyes but he had immediately started sweating at just the mention of lying. So they sent the next best thing.

Since Front Dorian had been the one actually hurt during the break in, that was their target.

“Dorian! Hey man, could you come help me real quick?” Curt asked, approaching the towering figure.

Dorian turned to look at him and up close, Curt could really see it now. The circles under his eyes were dark. As he looked at Curt, he blinked and his eyelids seemed to stick together for a second too long. Oh, yeah. Dorian needed to rest.

“What is it?” He asked, already prepared to say no.

“There’s a bit of dispute in the living room. Could use your help clearing it up. Especially since Mateo’s worried about his inanimals getting freaked out.” Even if Mateo wasn’t here to participate in the lie, Curt could still use him. 

Dorian sighed and Curt cheered internally. 

“Alright, what’s going on?” He asked, walking into the living room where the other four were standing in a circle, discussing heatedly. 

Koa looked up and saw him, smiling widely and gesturing him over. Dorian wondered what kind of dispute this could possibly be. Everyone was grinning at him. As soon as he got within arms reach of Koa, he realized he’d been tricked. Koa was one of the few objects taller than Dorian. He might even be stronger but it wasn’t something they had tested. He was too much of a gentle soul for that kind of thing and Dorian wasn’t interested in sparring.

Still, when he got close and suddenly found himself hugged tightly to Koa’s chest, arms pinned at his sides, he knew he wasn’t going to struggle to get away.

His frown deepened as everyone cheered. “What are you lot up to? I’ve got a job I’m in the middle of.”

“It’s about time you got off your feet,” Wyndolyn chirped. 

“Yeah man, you’ve been going nonstop. Everyone’s gotta take a break,” Rod said, flopping down on the couch, Curt right behind him. 

Wyndolyn took the armchair as Koa sat on the far end of the couch, pushing Dorian onto the middle cushion. The bouncer nearly sprang back to his feet but Mateo was waiting with a heavy blanket. He looked at Dorian with shining eyes as he placed it over him and sat between him and Curt.

“There we go,” he said as he shuffled a bit to get comfortable. “Isn’t this nice?”

“Just lovely,” he deadpanned. He reached up to straighten his hat that had gotten knocked around a bit.

Koa chuckled, “I think this suits you.” He stretched an arm across the back of the couch, providing a cushion for Dorian to lean back on, considering he was too tall to fit properly.

Dorian shut his eyes to think of a way out of this without making Mateo cry. This turned out to be a mistake as opening them back up proved to be a chore. He jerked his head back up from where it had tilted back. He huffed and rubbed a hand over his face, trying to shake off the weariness he’d been ignoring up until now.

It was impossible to do with the warmth of Koa and Mateo on either side of him. The blanket Mateo had placed on his lap was particularly heavy as well. 

These schemers. Thought they could force him to take a nap? Hah, Dorian could outwait them until they grew bored with this silly idea. Then he could get back to doing his job. Already, the itch of not knowing what was happening in the front yard was starting to agitate him.

“-orian? Did you hear me?”

Dorian jolted when Mateo’s voice pierced through the rambling he’d been doing in his head.

“Come again?”

“Are you comfy?” Mateo asked. Behind him, Curt and Rod were quietly whispering to each other about something.

Dorian hummed, body relaxing further into the couch without his say. Keeping his eyes open was so hard with all this warmth and softness caging him in. Mateo pressed closer to his side, not helping in the slightest with his fight. And then to put the cherry on top, Koa and Mateo started softly talking about something. The words were lost to him but their voices were at a pitch that made Dorian forget he was trying to bore them.

Maybe it was the calm in their tones. No one was in danger. He was surrounded by friendly faces. This couch was softer than he remembered.

When had he last sat down? He wasn’t sure.

This was a nice spot though.

All of them watched Dorian’s body slowly relax. His shoulders slumped and he leaned back against Koa’s arm. Ever so slowly, his breath evened out and with a final slow blink, he went entirely limp. 

Curt and Rod immediately did an air high five while Wyndolyn smiled fondly at the rare sight. Knowing Dorian, this probably wouldn’t last long. Any rest was better than none and no one was more deserving than their dear bouncer.

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My god I'm going through the 7 circles of hell trying to decide how I want her pants to look lmaoooo

First one is the current version though I'm tempted to go back to the first version

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Dorian: Get back in the vacuum!

Bobby: My empire!!

I keep doing these as warmups and then taking too long to finish them XD anyway I think I'm funny and that's all that matters

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A Little Experiment

Ooooo this was fun to write. Exploring a malicious player character is interesting.

Summary: The human had been showing some particular interest in the dateviators and how they worked. Enough so, they've started experimenting, eager to try understanding just what those little beauties could do.

And for their first theory, Dorian is their guinea pig of choice.

Read it on AO3 if you’d rather! :D

“Cheers.” 

The human walked off, waving goodbye on their way to another object while Dorian clenched his jaw to hide a yawn. They had a little routine now, the human and Dorian. Every morning, the human found one of his counterparts to speak to. Their conversations were brief and Dorian hardly had anything new to say, yet the human continued to visit.

He’d tried to insist the human use those dateviator charges for other objects, especially ones that hadn’t been conversed with much. The human stubbornly returned to him each day though.

More strange than that though, the human had taken a special interest in the dateviators’ structure. Dorian guessed they were trying to figure out how they worked. He doubted they’d figure it out, considering even Skylar had a very basic understanding of how she worked. The human had been running some experiments though. Nothing extreme or even worrying. Just odd. 

The next morning, bright and early, the human came up to Bathroom Dorian. A brief, pleasant good morning was had before the human went downstairs for breakfast. The lethargic feeling that followed each use of the dateviators came though Dorian hardly noticed it now. Maybe in partial thanks to the human speaking to him everyday. 

He quirked an eyebrow when, later on, the human approached Office Dorian. They stared at him, dateviators donned and hand on their chin. Of course, they couldn’t see Dorian since he’d gone back to whatever plane the objects normally existed in. 

They spoke, breaking their silence, “In theory… this should work.”

Dorian had a moment to wonder what the human meant before the little heart beam shot at him. 

“What the-?” He stumbled back into the doorframe but corrected himself quickly. He fixed the human with a stare, trying to ignore the sudden headache building behind his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The human gave him a small smile and shrugged, unperturbed at breaking one of the few rules Skylar had given them. “Investigating. The extent to which these can be used hasn’t been properly tested. At least, not to my satisfaction. There’s so much untapped potential in these glasses.”

Dorian frowned. “Are you daft? Remember what I said about those? There’s a reason you’re only supposed to talk to us once a day.”

“Once a day just really isn’t enough though, you know?” The human watched Dorian with careful eyes as he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Everything alright?” The human asked a bit too cheerily. 

“My head’s killing me. Don’t do that again. Off with you.” And he left, rubbing at his temples. 

Being pulled partially into the human’s plane of reality was tiring when it was just the one time. Being pulled in twice had not only given him a headache but had made him unsteady on his feet. He hardly ever sat but being upright was making the world wobble around him. To put it plainly, he was exhausted.

He hoped the human’s curiosity was satiated because he would be leaving even faster if they tried it again. 

By the next day, the stubborn headache had faded away. Farya had insisted on giving him some form of treatment, desperate for any use of her medical skills. He’d had to cut her off when she had begun suggesting a full headwrap to compress the area. A headache, while unusual for them, was not that serious.

Dorian was the human’s first stop again. They went up to Bedroom Dorian this time, straight out of bed and smiling like nothing was wrong. Dorian’s glower held a bit more heat to it this time. Their conversation was even shorter, with his responses being clipped and gruff. Maybe the human had been simply curious but the smile on their face filled him with unease. There was a look in their eye he didn’t like.

They left though to continue their routine and Dorian hoped he was wrong. He’d seen this human since they first moved in. Never before had Dorian seen any unsettling behavior.

When the human went on their computer, Dorian pushed the worry to the back of his mind. 

Hours later, the human stood up. Outside it was dark, the sun having set a while ago. Laundry Dorian looked at Timothy and saw it would be midnight soon. The human would likely head to bed then. It was odd they hadn’t used any of their other dateviator charges. Dorian hummed at the thought, especially as the human walked towards their room. Maybe they were tired of talking to people everyday. He would be.

They entered their bedroom and went right to one of their closets. The ones empty of any clothes. They had a look on their face. A gleam in their eyes. 

Just like before.

Oh great. Dorian braced himself as he felt the familiar pull.

Prepared this time, he didn’t stumble. He did glare down at the human and growl out a single, “No” before retreating. The headache was threatening to escalate but Dorian had hopefully left in time. 

Then he felt the pull again. This time he did stumble, legs feeling shaky as he used the wall behind him to support himself. And there was the fucking headache, jackhammering against his skull. If he had ever run a marathon with no water, or at all, he imagined this is how he would feel after it. 

“Dorian, how are you?” His head snapped up to the human, who only looked at him in interest. 

“What are you doing? Knock. It. Off.” He snarled.

“I’m just-” He left before they could finish.

The human was unperturbed though. Dorian’s knees nearly gave out entirely when the pull came again. His body felt impossibly heavy and every muscle trembled with weakness. He was so drained from the back and forth. The bags under his eyes had darkened as he looked at the human with barely enough energy to maintain his best menacing expression.

“Hello again. As I was saying, I’m testing the capabilities of the dateviators.” 

He took a deep breath, realizing only now how breathless he felt. “...Satisfied?” he growled. He needed to sit down. He’d be damned if he showed that kind of weakness in front of the human though.

They hummed and did a so-so motion with their hand. 

Their nonchalance pissed Dorian off. As a keeper of the peace, he hated to be wrong about someone’s character. The human had done a 180 in personality though.

Well, he was done playing this game. They only had one charge left. Dorian could handle that. Shakily, he stood up straighter, glowering down at the human and trying to ignore how dizzy the small movement left him.

“You can stop your twisted game now or you can consider our friendship rescinded.” He cracked his knuckles, giving the human a moment to think. 

“But Dorian, we haven’t even found your limit. I’d hate to call it quits too soon.”

His frown deepened, “Have it your way then.”

He left, already expecting to be pulled back. This would be the last time though. 

He thought he was ready. Had braced for the weakness to increase. 

When he came back though, it was worse than he’d thought it would be. His knee buckled as the world blacked out for a moment. He was aware enough to stop his face from hitting the floor by throwing out an arm to catch himself but just barely. As his vision slowly cleared, he found he was nearly prone on the floor and a puddle was collecting under his face. Breathing hard, he lifted himself up a bit and realized the puddle was blood. He brought a shaking hand to his nose and felt wetness there.

A hand appeared at his jaw, grabbing and pulling his face upwards. He snarled and tried to jerk out of the human’s hold but their grip was tight and he was so tired.

“Well look at that,” the human said. Dorian squinted up at them, trying to focus his eyes enough to see their face. He wished he hadn’t. They were grinning down at him, smile twisted and demented. He’d never imagined their awkward human could hold an expression like that. It sent a chill through him. “You guys do bleed.”

“You’re fucking barmy,” he hissed. Where before it took no effort at all to leave, Dorian was having a hard time focusing long enough to go. When he felt the pressure of their hand on his face disappear, he collapsed fully on the floor, breathing hard through his mouth. All he could taste was blood and the tang made his stomach roil.

No more charges. He could rest, if only for a little while. 

He closed his eyes and went fully limp on the ground. 

It was maybe 10 minutes of just breathing and shaking when Dorian felt the pull again. A stab of pain hit his gut and head. He gave a choked cry and passed out before he’d fully crossed into the human’s plane.

When he woke up, he wished he hadn’t. His skin felt too tight and every muscle ached. He groaned and brought a trembling hand up to his face. Or at least, he tried to. His limbs were so weighed down, he couldn’t move them. He should… be concerned about that, right? That wasn’t something that usually happened.

It was hard to think. Impossible really. 

What was going on? With a tremendous amount of effort, Dorian forced his eyelids, that felt glued together, to open, shutting them immediately when a white light above him blinded him. 

“Careful, it's a bit bright in here.” Came a voice, though they sounded muffled. Were they far away or were his ears just not working like the rest of him?

Behind his eyelids, he could tell when a shadow appeared over him. Fingers appeared at one of his eyes and pried it open. 

He… couldn’t tell what he was looking at. 

A… human…? Yeah, that seemed right.

With that realization, a couple more followed. He was lying down on something soft. He knew that voice above him too.

The human released that eye and pried open the other, humming at whatever they’d found. He blinked sluggishly on reflex, finding his eyes stung as he did so. The image above him cleared into features he could place. The human was smiling warmly down at him. 

They started speaking but Dorian wasn’t focused on that. Their face was glued in his brain as he tried to remember what was going on.

The human… did something…?

Wait.

His eyes widened as the memory came to him. The shock of it gave him the energy to bolt up right, vision blackening at the edges as his head pounded. Now he could tell he was laying in the human’s bed where they must have placed him after he’d passed out. That metallic taste was still in his mouth and his mustache felt clumped together just under his nose and down to his beard. A glance at the window showed it was daytime now. 

He’d been in the human’s world for hours. 

“You…,” he snarled weakly, pointing a shaking hand at them. That stupid smile was still on their face. “You did… what did you-?”

“I didn’t expect you to stay so long after you passed out. I guess going back to wherever you guys are from has to be done consciously.” They smiled wider, clapping their hands a bit at the discovery. Their face shifted to give him that same soft smile from earlier. “You can go back now. I’ll leave you alone to recover for a while.”

Dorian’s face was red with anger, furious the human had done this and even more angry they were giving him permission to go back.

“...If you summon me again, you’re not going to like what you find.” 

That unsettling look returned to the human’s eyes. “Oh? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Dorian wanted to curse at them, to get up and do something, but his burst of energy was fading fast. He took a moment to weigh the pros and cons of staying. Of course he couldn’t, so he shot the human a final, rage filled glower and returned to his plane.

Going back sapped all his strength. He was tilting to the side before he could stop it and expected to meet the hard ground. Soft, warm arms appeared though and caught him. He was propped back on the bed and eased back to lay down again. He got a glimpse of a concerned face surrounded by pink curls before his eyes shut and he passed out again.

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WIP of Crystal the Beaded Curtain OC I'm making!

She's been so fun to design. Now I just need to stop putting off doing the lineart and picking a palette lmao

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Me When I Ramble -> :(

(Okay last ramble before I post actual content lol)

I just read an interview with the developers and it sounds like this game being made was a miracle. Getting some insight into its creation was very fun but I wish the devs hadn't insisted that nobody could ever make a game like this again.

I'll be the first to say I know nothing about what it takes to hire writers and VAs and developers. This game seems completely out of left field in the best way and I'm so excited for it. But the tone of "If there are any hopeful developers listening to us, going, 'If those guys can do it, I can do it,' no, you can't. It'll kill you, it'll ruin your life, don't do it like this." just makes me so sad. Like we'll never have another game this exciting and fun conceptually.

I know the world's an oyster and anyone can attempt to do anything they'd like, but just the matter of factness bums me out. It sounds like the makers of the game don't believe anything like this could ever be made again. Maybe something like this game doesn't need to be made again but I hate the tone of finality in creative endeavors.

I also hate endings though so maybe that's what this feels like. Not an ending to the game's development, but an end to projects made with this kind of love and care and scope.

Still, I love the devs and artists and VAs and coders and everyone who made this game possible! I'm so excited to play the game and meet every character!!

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I just read book 1 of Murderbot…

WHYYYYYYYY 😭😭😭

(Everything’s fine I’m just dramatic about endings)

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Sinclair: MARTIN! MARTIN APPLEGATE IS MY REAL NAME!!!

Dorian: Yeah, yeah. Back in the lavatory with you.

Here have another goofy sketch XD

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Had a great idea so im writing it down before i forget lol

Prompt: Exhaust Dorian using the dateviators. He says the objects get a little tired from using them even once a day. So just use them on him a bunch in one day. Theoritically the only thing stopping you from doing this in game is the charge limits and also the game.

I dunno, maybe it messes with his physical form too and he gets like a nose bleed or something.

Also player character is sick and twisted I guess XD to want to try that. As an experiment.

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kk did a drawover of Dasha lol! I gave up on her details but have a sketchy sketch! :D

Okay bedtime now

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I want to write but now I don't know what to write about :(

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Mensah taking care of and worrying about SecUnit in Murderbot 1x04 "Escape Velocity Protocol"

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Murderbot 1x05 "Rogue War Tracker Infinite"

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The New Guy

This really got away from me. It was only supposed to be like 2000 words max. ;-; Also Let Down + Choir by Radiohead played the entire time I wrote this so that's the headspace I was in while writing this XD

I do recommend clicking the AO3 link for this one when you finish reading. I put some end notes over there that will explain something that happens.

Summary: Wow! You bought something forever ago and never expected it to come in. It's here now though!

You only hope everyone gets along. What could go wrong introducing a new object to the chaos that is your house?

Read it on AO3 if you’d rather! :D

Ding Dong

You look up from the draft you and Lyric had been reading over, eyes wide in surprise. You didn’t have any visitors planned after all. Shooting Lyric an apologetic grin, you promise to finish this up tomorrow before taking the Dateviators off and pocketing them. 

At the door, the mailman greets you with a quick smile before handing you a clipboard to sign. By his feet is a large box covered in FRAGILE stickers. Your eyebrows scrunch in confusion as you sign. You don’t recall ordering anything recently. The mailman bids you a good day though and you drag the large, but surprisingly light, box inside. It’s tall and thin and only serves to confuse you further until you take a look at the shipping label.

Reading ‘coolswords4u.com’ the memory suddenly rushes into your mind. You’d made an impulse buy about a year ago. A kickass katana had seemed reasonably priced on the website and you had jumped at the opportunity to own a sword. When it hadn’t come in the next 6 months, you figured you had been scammed and promptly forgot about it.

Here it was though! Nearly a year later! Weird.

Excited now, you quickly drag the box to the living room and start opening it. When you get the box open, you’re greeted with a wooden case with a glass window on the door. Inside the case lies the katana you’d bought. At the sight of it, the question pops into your mind. Will the Dateviators transform this?

It shines in the afternoon light. There’s not a fingerprint or smudge on it. You open the case and carefully lift the sword. It's heavy enough to feel like real metal but you're no sword expert. The longer you look at it and handle it though, the more you realize why it was so reasonably priced. The blade is completely straight and the handle is wrapped in cheap satin rather than leather. When you carefully touch the edge, it feels quite dull against your skin. Another look in the box shows no certificate either.

You shrug. It’s not like you expected to get a real sword at such a cheap price. 

Better than a real one though, you have a new friend in hand. Grinning ear to ear, you set it down in the case and bring your Dateviators back out. Your heart beats fast as you kneel on the carpet and shoot those oh so cool laser beams at the katana.

Where the case sits a figure pops forth in a cloud of sparkly pink smoke. You cough as you breathe it in, waving it away and out of your face. Standing there, to your surprise, is a large masculine figure. Thick black frames sit on their face while the beginnings of a beard grow along their round jaw. A red bandana is tied around their head. They’re wearing what seems to be a costume from an anime that had aired when you were younger. Something related to martial arts? You don’t quite recall. On their feet are a pair of thick white socks and pink slippers.

The figure’s glasses block their eyes as the light shines on them. They sniff and make an unpleasant face at you. Quickly you stand as they look around, crossing their arms.

Before you can say anything, they chuckle and shove their glasses further up their nose. “So this is where highly trained swordsmen are sent nowadays. Pathetic.” His voice is a bit nasally and you feel compelled to offer him a tissue.

Your eyebrows rise as his gaze returns to you. “You,” he says, “while my presence can leave one frozen in awe, keep your mouth closed.”

Your jaw snaps shut. You hadn’t even realized it had fallen open. You shake your head, clearing your surprise, and offer a hand out to him. “Uh, hi! Nice to meet you. Welcome to my home.”

He scoffs, slapping your hand away. “My true name is too powerful to be heard by mortal ears but I shall give you a less overwhelming stand in as a customary acknowledgement.” He steps back, unsheathing a real sword you hadn’t noticed until now. With it, he strikes a pose similar to one a ship captain would make in a moment of victory, sword raised high in the air until it touched the ceiling. Oh, Celia was not going to like that. Have you mentioned how large this guy is? He might be as tall as Dorian or Freddy. “You may call me… Bladen.”

Your phone beeps as the data on Bladen enters your catalog app.

You open your mouth to say something but he stops you again. 

“Begone now! I must familiarize myself with this new terrain. Good day!” Aaaaand, he’s gone. In a cloud of smoke, no less.

You blink, stunned at the interaction. Bladen was certainly… spirited. You can’t help but laugh a bit at the thought of the others meeting him. You do hope everyone gets along though. You start cleaning up the cardboard mess and set the sword on the couch for now. You’re not really sure where you’re going to set it up yet. Might as well display it since it's here now though. Maybe you could ask Bladen tomorrow and see if he had a preference.

The Dateviators are out of charge for now and the sun is setting, so you whip up some dinner and head to bed, wondering about the newbie.

When you wake up, there’s an anxious energy in the air. You don’t know how to explain it but it feels like being in a room full of people about to be given bad news. The comparison makes your eyes widen as you recall Bladen. 

You pluck the Dateviators off the bedside table and put them on. Before you can even try to awaken someone, Skylar is there, looking anxious and poorly hiding it behind a too wide smile.

“Hiiii! Good morning,” she says, side eyeing the bedroom door the entire time.

“G-Good morning, Skylar,” you stutter, caught off guard at her sudden presence. “Is… Is everything okay?”

She makes a face that worries you. “Welllll, it's… it’s about our new friend, Bladen. It seems he isn’t meshing with everyone very well. He’s a bit… uh…?”

“Much!” Phoenicia shouts, appearing next to Skylar, hands on her hips and a disgruntled look on her face. “In fact, he’s too much! I’ve been getting nonstop texts about him all night from everyone!”

“Everyone?” You ask nervously. You never expected one object to cause so much negativity in the house.

“Well, mostly everyone. At least a majority of the house,” she corrects, a bit more calm as she stands up straight instead of looming over you.

You rub the back of your head, frowning at the revelation. “I knew he was a bit eccentric but I didn’t think he’d have this kind of reaction. What’s he doing? He’s not… He’s not hurting anyone is he?”

Skylar quickly shook her head. “No, no. Everyone’s okay. He’s just… ruffling a lot of feathers. He’s a bit rude is all.”

“Rude in the not cute way,” Phoenicia put in. “See, us objects have an understanding. We know we all live in the house together and try to keep some peace. He,” She pointed towards the door, teeth grit as she enunciated the word, “doesn’t care about keeping any peace. We have our fights sure, but we try to keep it contained to as few others as possible. That toy sword has gone stomping through every room and declaring ownership of it. I’d swear he was trying to start a fight.”

“Can you guys… hurt each other?” You ask hesitantly. 

Skylar’s face grows uncomfortable at the question. Eventually, she nods. “Yes, we can. It isn’t usually a problem though. Like Phoenicia said, we try to keep the peace. Things don’t get violent typically.”

Something like guilt is starting to grow in your chest. You hadn’t considered that you’d need to be careful of who you brought into the house. After seeing things like Nightmare and Shadowl0rd, caution had kind of been thrown to the wind.

You swallow thickly, looking up at Skylar and Phoenicia. “I’m so sorry guys. Do I need to take him out of the house?”

The question made Skylar’s eyebrows practically jump off her face.

“No!”

“Yes!”

They spoke at the same time, looking at each other in surprise.

“Girl, what-”

“Maybe he’s just having a tough time settling in,” Skylar interrupted. She fixed a smile on her face though her eyebrows seemed stuck in that pinched look. “It's a bit drastic to kick him to the curb already, isn’t it? Nothing’s actually happened yet.”

After a moment, you nod along in agreement. If it was just arguing, that did seem drastic. And… well you didn’t really know what to do with a katana if you weren’t keeping it. Throwing it away seemed like a waste and a bit… cruel? You weren’t sure how that worked.

“Let’s just give it another few days. He might just be nervous.”

Phoenicia doesn’t look convinced but Skylar’s smile is a little more real now.

“You’re the human, so we’ll do it your way, but I recommend you keep an eye on that one.” Phoenicia said before disappearing.

“Sorry to wake you up with this. I just wanted you to be aware of it in case anyone seemed… off kilter today. Go have some breakfast, I’m sure everything’s gonna be okay,” she said, seeming more sure now. She was gone then too.

You sigh when you’re alone. Gosh, you hope this doesn’t go poorly. You’d hate to judge Bladen too fast. He did have a real sword though… You shake your head. Nope! You’re going to wake up a little more before you dwell too much on this.

Jumping out of bed, you rush to put your clothes on and head downstairs, Dateviators, notably, off. Yet that tension in the air remains no matter what room you’re in. You even pop into the laundry closet just to check. You can almost hear Hoove huffing in unhappiness. You fear this is something you’re going to have to step in and handle. Maybe you should talk to Celia?

You know someone you’d like to get some input from. If Bladen is causing issues, you suspect Dorian would be the one handling them. He’s so level headed, you feel like his judgement of the situation would be best. And, well, you are friends. You feel more comfortable talking to him over the mayor of your house.

You put your plate in the sink and head over to the living room to pinpoint which Dorian would be best to speak to. Front Dorian may be the closest but he’s usually more focused on what’s going on outside. Office Dorian might be better for-

The katana is not on the couch anymore.

Okayyyy… That’s not… completely unusual. Bobby could move around. Surely the others could as well to some extent.

Still you can’t help but feel like you're in a ghost movie now. You’ve got a rouge, possibly hostile katana around here somewhere. Now you definitely want to talk to Dorian, for at least the added protection of having eyes on you.

You put the Dateviators on and rush over to office Dorian, awakening him and feeling a bit like Skylar earlier. After all, there might not be anything wrong and you don’t want Dorian to think you’re overreacting.

“You!” he shouts as soon as he pops up.

Oh great. You’ve really done it now.

“How am I supposed to do my job if you’re gonna go round letting everyone off the street in here? There’s not been this much trouble since the Breaker Box opened.”

You raise your hands in defense, though your eyes are pulled to Dorian’s unkempt hair. This must be serious if he isn’t as immaculate as usual. “Hey, I didn’t know there was going to be any problems!”

Dorian sputters and it's so completely out of character you almost let a laugh escape. “Anyone new should be vetted by me first. That sword of yours has been through every room in the house causing trouble.”

“So I’ve heard,” you grumble. Dorian quirks an eyebrow at you, making you let out a clearly fake chuckle. “Eheh, uh, I actually wanted to ask you about Bladen. Where is he? I left him on the couch but he’s gone.”

Dorian’s jaw clenches at the words. “He’s been all over. Right now…” He trails off, shutting his eyes for a moment. “...he’s in the gymnasium starting another argument.” His eyes snap open. “Aw hell, he’s starting a fight. A real one.”

“What?!” Your eyes snap up to the top of the stairs. 

You start to run up there but Dorian shouts, “Wait!”

You pause, looking at him in alarm. You’ve never heard him raise his voice before.

He looks flustered as well, eyes wide and a slight flush on his cheeks. “I don’t think you should go up there. With those on, he could hurt you. Let the Dorians up there handle it.”

The two of you stare at each other for a moment. You’re honestly touched that he cares, though maybe you shouldn’t be since he is in charge of everyone’s safety.

“I brought him here,” you say. “The least I could do is go make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Before Dorian can try to convince you, you race up the stairs. The sounds of a dispute are heard more clearly as you get closer even without activating anything. You push the door open and see the room has changed. It’s expanded, like when you went into the Breaker Box but the corners of the room are still distantly defined. The room almost looks like its turning into a dusty sparring pit. You swear you can make out the impression of trees and the sky in the furthest corner from the door. In the corner closest to the closet, one Dorian lies crumpled in a heap on the floor. If you had to guess, you’d say it was Closet Dorian. Bathroom Dorian is shuffling the other dateables out of the room though Kristof is protesting. 

As soon as you find Gym Dorian in the center of the room, you watch him bring his arm up to block a hit aimed at his head from the flat of Bladen’s own katana. The hit is strong enough that Dorian grunts with the force of it, stumbling slightly to the side.

“Bladen!” you shout. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”

Gym Dorian jolts at your voice, looking back at you with shock on his face. “What are you doing up here? Get out! Or take those damned glasses off!”

They’re out of charge. If you take them off now, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happened. You can’t do that.

You open your mouth to speak but instead a yelp comes out as Bladen strikes again, this time with the blade’s edge aimed right at Dorian’s side. It's so fast, Dorian puts his arm down to block it again, having no time to dodge out of the way. The force of the swing pushes Dorian and as he’s shoved to the side, you see a red stain on the blade. 

Your eyes go wide.

How can it cut? The blade is dull!

Dorian, gripping his bleeding arm, moves to get up, face dark with anger. Bladen’s leg swipes out in a sweeping motion, catching the back of Dorian’s knee and sending him right back down in a cloud of dust. It stuns Dorian long enough for Bladen to raise the katana over his head to bring down on him.

“I am the chosen one!” He shouts, voice twisted with rage.

“No!” You shout, rushing forward and slamming your shoulder as hard into Bladen’s sternum as you can. You hear an oof from him as you manage to somewhat wind him. He’s large though and absorbs your hit even when you’d given it your all. A meaty hand grabs the back of your shirt and practically throws you across the room until you hit the far wall with a heavy thunk. What you’d tried to do, Bladen does much better. You gasp for breath, falling to your knees as your shoulder aches and the reality of the situation truly hits you. You never expected Bladen to be so strong. You never expected him to hurt you.

The thunk makes Dorian whirl around to the noise. His eyes widen as he sees you fall. 

Bladen raises his katana again but Dorian is ready this time. As it comes down, Dorian rolls out of the way, hopping up to his feet quickly. He brings a fist back and decks Bladen as hard as he can in the face. Bladen cries out and stumbles back, hitting one of the large log pillars that have appeared in the dust circle. He brings a hand up to his throbbing, bleeding nose then looks up at Dorian with a furious glare. Dorian hisses in pain clutching his arm tighter since he’d had to use his cut arm for the punch. Blood is seeping from between his fingers and soaking into his sleeve. 

Just as you’re getting ready to get back up and try to at least be a distraction, Bathroom Dorian returns, teeth grit and eyes burning with fury. He rushes up to Gym Dorian’s side and grabs his shoulder. His entire body glows bright for a second then disappears. 

For a moment, you wonder what happened but as Gym Dorian takes his hand off his arm, you see the cut has closed some, bleeding significantly less now. Had they fused? When Bladen screams in rage, you decide it's not the time to dwell on it.

“You dare to lay a hand on me? Blademaster of the Nine Realms?” He snarls. What is he talking about? You don’t know if that’s a real thing or part of his character. In Bladen’s anger, he’s become faster. There’s no grandeur in his attacks now as he swipes his katana at Dorian again. Dorian dodges away, backing up until he’s stopping right in front of you. 

“Get out of here,” he growls. “This room is unstable now.” You nod weakly though he isn’t looking at you.

Bladen pushes himself off the wall towards the two of you. Dorian reaches back and grabs your arm, shoving you out of the way as he brings the other up to brace. The impact is loud as their combined weight makes the wall groan. You’re shocked Wallace hasn’t appeared with all the damage to his coveted walls. Though maybe he isn’t aware considering how far the room has warped. 

You grunt as you land in the doorway out to the hall but you can’t bring yourself to leave. Your vision focuses on the two of them. Dorian had managed to keep Bladen from crushing him entirely though his braced arms are nearly touching his face as Bladen continues to press down. 

Dorian snarls, tenses up, and gives one big shove, bracing against the wall to get Bladen off him. Bladen stumbles back but recovers quickly. The katana is raised again and suddenly there’s a flurry of movement as Bladen swipes wildly. Dorian ducks and dodges as best he can but this room isn’t very big. It’s only a matter of time before Bladen gets another hit in. 

Movement in the corner catches your attention though. Closet Dorian groans, shakily beginning to sit up as he clutches his head. His palm comes away red with blood. His face is pained and ever so slightly dazed. He coughs as the dust gets into his mouth. Gym Dorian is pushed into the closet door. His feet nearly trample the Dorian on the floor but he quickly ducks to the side, trying to get behind Bladen.

“Oi! Quit your fancy dancing!” He snaps, drawing Bladen’s attention away from this side of the room.

At Gym Dorian’s words, Closet Dorian manages to lift his head and sees the fighting. His efforts to get up are doubled, teeth grit as he tries to focus. 

“No,” you hiss at him. He jumps, head snapping up to look at you. Pieces of his hair are falling out of their neat styling and into his eyes. Down the right side of his face is a huge smear of blood, making him squint his eye on that side. “You’ll get hurt. You’re… You’re head-”

“You… shouldn’t be… here.” Closet Dorian coughs out. He clutches his head again. “S’not… It’s not safe. Go.” His other hand braces against the wall as he stands fully. 

Both of you look when Gym Dorian shouts again. He’s back on the ground. You can’t see if he’s been cut again before he brings his foot up and slams it into Bladen’s knee. As Bladen cries out, Dorian rolls to the side and gets back on his feet. His right leg gives for a second and that’s how you spot the slash just above his knee. 

Bladen has his back to the two of you as he approaches Gym Dorian. He’s breathing hard now and has a noticeable limp, yet his stance looks steady. How strong is this guy? He’s a knock off sword! How can he hold his own so well against Dorian?

Closet Dorian sees the opportunity but as soon as he lets go of the wall, he nearly falls again. He growls and quickly shoves himself back to his feet, each step a little more confident than the last. You can only watch as anxiety creeps up your back. If this went poorly, would the other Dorians come? What was Bladen’s goal here?

Your breath feels caught in your throat as Bladen lunges at Gym Dorian, katana aimed at the bouncer’s weak leg. Closet Dorian had found his footing though and started to sprint. Seeing Dorian move so quickly is jarring. For a door, he’s fast. Closet Dorian closes the distance in seconds and jumps on Bladen’s back, hooking one arm around his throat and squeezing as he leans back. Gym Dorian shoots forward and reels back an arm before punching as hard as he can into Bladen’s temple. 

Bladen thrashes in Dorian’s grip screeching curses and tanking the punch like a sandbag. For a moment, you fear Bladen is somehow invincible. But no, three punches from Gym Dorian and the lack of air thanks to Closet Dorian is what it takes for the katana to fall from his hand. His eyes roll up and he goes limp, putting all his weight on the still unsteady Closet Dorian. 

Closet Dorian grunts as he loosens his grip, nearly going down with Bladen. Gym Dorian is there though, putting the concussed Dorian’s arm over his shoulders. Both are breathing hard and are covered in dust. With Bladen unconscious though, the room begins to shrink back down to its original state. Even the dust starts to disappear. 

As it does and the three of them get closer again, you realize they need medical attention. You stand, ready to get Farya before remembering you can’t even call for her. You’re afraid even straying a foot from the room will make the Dateviators disconnect. 

You stare at Bladen’s body lying on the now mostly wooden floor and feel your eyes sting. This was all your fault. And now, you can’t even get help for the two Dorian’s that look like they’re about to fall over themselves. Now isn’t the time to cry or throw your pity party though. Surely there’s something you can do to help and sobbing your eyes out isn’t going to be it.

Gym Dorian helps Closet Dorian sit down against the wall by the door. You can see much better now that Closet Dorian is barely keeping his eyes open. He blinks heavy and slow. His body keeps tilting forward yet before he falls he jerks back upright. Gym Dorian is doing his best to hide the limp he’s got. The gash on his leg is deep. You’re shocked he can walk at all but he does. He doesn’t go far though, just to the doorframe you’re still standing in. 

“Hey, do us… a favor and… call Farya,” he says between heavy breaths. As he speaks, you see bedroom Dorian appear. The Dateviators are so weak though he looks more like a ghost. He nods and hurries downstairs. 

There’s a bruise forming on Gym Dorian’s cheekbone, you notice as he turns to look at you. 

He gently grabs your shoulder. When he speaks again his voice is soft and steady. “We’re alright, love. Take those off. You don’t need to see this anymore.”

His calm only makes you feel worse. You nod, not trusting yourself to speak. You give Bladen one more look and take the Dateviators off. 

Immediately a headache is pounding behind your eyes. You think you recall Skylar mentioning something about the Dateviators using alternative fuel sources if the battery was strained. You wonder if that’s what this is. You push the pain aside though and turn to look at the katana laying in the middle of the room. It's sitting innocently in its case, no blood, no dust, not even a fingerprint.

Quickly you rush over and pick it up, storming down the stairs. You just barely remember to leave the Dateviators inside before walking to the sidewalk and placing the katana on the curb. You’re not sure if there’s a property line rule that keeps Bladen from returning but just in case, you make sure the case is sitting in the gutter. A car wouldn’t run it over but maybe someone else could take it. You certainly don’t want it anymore.

You manage to walk back inside, pick up the Dateviators, and climb up the stairs before one glance at the open door to the gym makes you sob. Your face crumples and your chest aches as you run into your room and collapse on your bed.  

You’re so sorry. You never wanted anyone to get hurt. You’d never imagined this kind of thing would happen.

And Dorian. He hadn’t even been angry with you. You wish he had been. Maybe if he had yelled or cursed at you, some of his pain could be taken away. You’d do anything to take his pain away.

Your bones feel as if they’ve disappeared as you remain curled up in your bed, sobbing until the sun finally sets. Your eyes ache and your shoulder has finally begun to throb from hitting the wall. 

You’re so tired, you don’t even notice when you fall asleep. 

The next week, you avoid the Dateviators. They stay safely tucked in your bedside table with Ben-Hwa. The very thought of facing any of them, especially Dorian or Phoenicia, fills you with so much shame. Even leaving your room, knowing the eyes of everything in your home could be staring at you, feels impossible. You manage it when you need to eat though. Today you stood in front of the door to the gym. It still hangs open. You’ve been unable to bring yourself to touch it at all, much less close it. You managed to face it though and you finally apologized. Then you apologized again, raising your voice so Closet Dorian knows you’re talking to him. And you apologize to everyone else in the room who might have been scared or hurt.

And then you return to your bed. You cry again.

Another week goes by. Slowly, you eat more. You shower, comb your hair, and get dressed. Your shoulder doesn’t ache anymore. The guilt feels manageable now. You think you’re ready to face them. To face the consequences of your actions. Yet, as you open that bedside drawer, your hand shakes. 

You miss them. You’ve known them for such a short time but you’ve grown attached fast. If they hate you now for your recklessness, you don’t know what you’ll do. This is your home. Your sanctuary. What will you do knowing everything in it hates you?

You take a breath. You’ve hidden away for long enough. Time to face the music.

You pick up the Dateviators and slowly put them on your face. You blink as you adjust to the hue change through the lenses. You can’t help but brace, waiting for an angry face to appear and yell at you but all is quiet.

Who should you talk to first? 

You already know the answer.

Standing, you make the trek to the door across from your room. You take a trembling breath and awaken Dorian. You're staring at the floor, you realize when you see his ornate leather shoes appear.

Slowly, you look up and-

There he is. No bruises, no blood. His hair is neat and tidy. His expression, though, is just as guarded as usual.

“Dorian, I-I’m so sor-”

You’re cut off as a pair of arms pull you into a solid chest. Gently, they embrace you. You stare wide eyed into the white fabric of Dorian’s shirt.

“None of that now, love.”

The soft timbre of his voice makes your throat tight. All of a sudden, your arms are hugging him back as you hiccup while trying to choke down a sob.

“I-I’m so glad you’re okay. I never- I didn’t know-”

“Hush now, everything’s alright.”

And you believe him.