#(but i want all the memory crystals)

[edwinisms]

crystal palace surname von hoverkraft is a mean girl. and an empath. she’s toxic. she’s the most caring and empowering person on earth. she’s a skeptic. she’s a mystic who can see ghosts and read minds. she can and will have someone hit you with their car if you’re an asshole. she’s a high school dropout. she’s made out with at least two different supernatural entities. she probably knows paris hilton personally. she went missing under mysterious circumstances. she shoplifts for fun. she’s on pretty good terms with an ancient goddess. but above all else, she’s bisexual

[ninjaaa-go]

I was just thinking that, if we do actually get amnesiac Jay, him eventually getting his memories back could be really interesting. Because obviously you’ve got all the great memories with his family and the people he loves, but at the same time just— the horrors. The guy has so much trauma piled up from over the years and I feel like that would be A Lot to have dumped on you all at once.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

No one:

Me after watching "Return of the Ice Emperor": ...So does Zane just have the ice emporer chillin in the back of his memory like a second personality

[solar093-art]

ElidibusWeek2022: Day 3

"My home... My friends... No more than a dream..."

[twpsyn-who]

Soulmates AU in which your soul is bounded to your soulmate's soul.

What does that mean exactly? That when you die, if your soulmate is still alive you can't move on. Instead your soul is stuck by your soulmate's side until they die too, so the two souls can become one in death. Depending on how strong the bond between the two is, one could see (and even interact!) with their deceased soulmate.

Now this but, you know by now, JeanMarco. With Marco waking up and the first thing he saw was Jean's terrified face while looking at the dead body- Marco's half eaten dead body. He learns it pretty quickly that he can't leave Jean's side, bound to follow his best friend around. He also learns that is possible for Jean to see and hear him during the ceremony of burning the fallen soldiers during Trost ; it lasted so little, too little for all the things Marco wanted to say. If he knew Jean was listening from the beginning, he would've started with exposing Reiner and Berthold right away. By the time he took notice that not only Jean was looking at him, but listening too, it was too late. Every other word from him was meet with silence, unheard by the living.

Isn't until the 57th expedition outside the walls that Marco learns that he can interact with Jean too, touch him. In his panic after Jean's failed attack on the Female Titan Marco didn't think and went straight to his best friend's side, touching his shoulder while looking for any injuries. Jean's eyes went straight to the place Marco's was touching, looking confused- until he followed the arm and saw Marco in front of his very own eyes. And just like everything, it lasted too little for Marco's liking. The Female Titan took hold of Reiner, crushing him in her hand, and Jean could no longer see him.

It was later, much much later than either of them would've liked, for Marco to understand how everything works. To know that he could only interact with Jean when his mind was filled with thoughts of Marco. By then Jean already began to move on, the secret of Reiner and Berthold's true selves already out. So Marco could only watch, unable to be there for his other half- for Jean.

And it was when they saw the ocean for the first time that Marco understood why he was truly stuck by Jean's side. When he saw his best friend having fun with the others and realized just how much he loves him. When he realizes that all he truly wants is to be by Jean's side, the way they promised each other to do during their training days.

Edit : Think of Ben and Klaus Hargreeves for easier visual.

[gu6chan]

ouaaaaaghhh i've been on a bit of a pokemon binge lately......... i should crack open my old pokemon games and take a peek at my teams :,) i wish i still had my old copy of conquest and black 2 though............ :(

[drcuriousvii]

Void Stranger is good and I want to like it but BY GOD can it be annoying

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

"Did you not say that Lorenza was the princess of this domain? For a princess to be fretting like a nursemaid, knelt beside a bed.. It speaks volumes of the devotion she has towards her lover."

I made it past the 6.2 trial tonight with the help of one of my other friends very kindly queueing for it with me, and the game presented a decent opportunity for a bit of an angst moment.. so I took it!

(To anyone who may be concerned: don't worry, Zero will be okay soon! It's just the immediate aftermath of the 6.2 trial that leads to this situation, but she recovers. That isn't going to stop Lorenza worrying about her, though - a rare instance of actually seeing her so concerned about someone or something.)

[universestreasures]

The Song Of Memory (A Kisara & Ishizu Drabble)

"We've been expecting you, Miss Utahara."

The greeting is given as soon as the singer steps out of the car by the one she had contacted on Yugi Muto's recommendation, the very woman who was claimed to have the answers to all her many questions regarding the strange occurrences that had been going on recently. Kisara had traveled a great distance to meet with Ishizu Ishtar today, and without her sister, no less. While Shiori's company was to be expected and preferred in most situations, she had specifically requested she attend this meeting alone. This meeting was regarding Kisara's own circumstances, ones she didn't want to burden her sister with when she already had so much on her plate.

Upon walking towards the tomb keeper, who herself was accompanied by two bodyguards, the singer bowed her head in respect. This was not only a custom, but also a sign of gratitude. For securing this meeting had been of high importance to her ever since she learned that the answers she was looking for could be found with the elder woman.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Miss Ishtar. Considering your important position, I imagine you must be very busy. I very much appreciate you being able to fit me into your schedule."

"Of course. Now, will you please follow me? There is much for us to see and discuss." The woman gestures towards the entrance of the tomb, Kisara giving her a nod as she follows her down the dimly lit staircase. The two bodyguards then moved to guard the location's entrance. Seems they would have total privacy for this conversation, thankfully.

"This tomb is the current resting place of some of the relics that were once on display in Domino City's history museum. I originally brought them to Japan in hopes they would inspire the current generation of duelists, but with that task having been completed some time ago, they have been returned to their homeland."

"I see...So, that must be why you said we could not meet in Japan. You wanted to make sure I could see the relics, right?"

"Precisely. I hope these relics can inspire you Miss Utahara in the same way they both inspired Pegasus J. Crawford to create the game of Duel Monsters...and Seto Kaiba to host and battle in the Battle City tournament.

"He...He saw them too?"

Ishizu's words caused Kisara to halt in her tracks; her eyes widened as the flash of that man, of Seto Kaiba, flashed in her mind. Her encounter with him was the starting point of all the strange occurrences that had going on. The dreams. The visions. The strong ache in her heart when she sees him. Some of these she's experienced in the past, but they've only increased in frequency since their initial meeting. And it was the explanation behind these occurrences that she sought to find by coming here.

"Is something wrong, Miss Utahara?"

"N-No. It's...It's nothing." It clearly wasn't, but she couldn't lose focus now. Not when she was so close to the truth. "I was just...surprised. I...I didn't expect anything related to Duel Monsters to have taken inspiration from Egyptian history."

"Despite not being a duelist yourself, I think once you see them , the connection will become clear to you. Come, we're almost there."

She nods as she follows Ishizu deeper and deeper into the tomb, Kisara's heartbeat seeming to rise with each step. Was she getting nervous? Nervous about what she might learn? Or was it the thought of Seto Kaiba that made her heart race? She isn't sure, but regardless of the distraction, she pressed on until she met Ishizu at the bottom of the chamber.

"These two carvings you are about to see are from the 18th dynasty of Egypt that existed over 3,000 years ago. We at the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities have worked carefully to preserve these treasures so the legacy of our history is not lost to the sands of time. Please look at them at your leisure, and I'll be here to answer any questions you may have. Though, I believe the one you must look at is the one on the left."

She gives the other a nod before advancing forward, choosing to look at the tablet she was directing her towards first. Kisara is not sure what to expect when she looks at it. What did Ishizu mean by 'inspired'? What did these relics have to do with her experiences relating to her visions? To her weird connection to Seto Kaiba and the White Dragon? Guess the only way to find out was to see it with her own eyes.

Thus, with a deep breath, Kisara's gaze shifts to look at the stone. And the second she laid her eyes upon it, seeing the image in full, she froze, unable to do anything but look with widened eyes and process the unbelievable imagery before her eyes that seemed to fit the picture perfectly into the missing pieces of the puzzle of this mystery.

"That dragon...That dragon is...!" Flashes of different memories of her dreams and visions are shown before her eyes, and all of the dragons in this carving are seemingly depicted as plain as day. "The White Dragon...Blue-Eyes...White Dragon...The dragon from my dreams...It's...here on this stone, but...how? How could a creature of my dreams be on this stone, and later turned into a Duel Monsters card that is only owned by-"

Kisara pauses, realizing an important detail. Beautiful blue hues then start to shift their gaze from the carving of the beast to what was below. Or rather, who was below it, the very figure depicted as battling side by side with the dragon.

"It...It's him..." She speaks softly as she approaches the stone, gently touching the face of the figure depicted there for reasons she can't understand. "It's that man from my vision...The one that looks just like...!"

"Seto Kaiba." Ishizu's voice brings Kisara's focus back, her head turning back to face the woman who had approached her. "That is a depiction of a priest known as the 'White Beast Tamer', a loyal and prideful member of the Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, Pharaoh Atem's, court. Despite being in his service, he considered the king both his greatest friend and greatest rival. The battle between these two destined duelists is what is carved here on this stone."

Her eyes then wander to the opposite side of the tablet, the side featuring both the king and the magician carved above him. "That's Pharaoh Atem? But...but he looks just like Yugi Muto! Why...Why do these two figures look like people from the present? And what does all of this have to do with me? I came here looking for answers, but...I'm more confused than ever!"

Her heart was racing. Not only from the anxiety of the situation, but also because of what she saw on the stone and in the flashes of memory. There was clearly a connection between all these things. That was undeniable, and yet the very nature of it was still frustratingly unclear. Luckily for her, she had someone who could elaborate a bit.

"Miss Utahara." Ishizu speaks, gently placing a hand on Kisara's shoulder to try and help ease the obvious panic in her soul. "What does your heart tell you when you gaze upon this tablet? What feelings does it evoke? What words? What sights? It is in them that you may find your answers."

A hand is moved over her heart. The white-haired adult can still feel it racing in her chest, as if threatening to escape. She tries to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself enough to focus on the confusing cloud of feelings deep inside, once again her gaze shifting to the stone, specifically its left side. Silence fills the chamber for minutes on end as she continues to look, and it is only broken once an instinct takes hold of her, an instinct that allows her to convey what she is feeling in the only way she knows how...through the expression of her soul.

🎵"Once, like a dream...You looked at me...And everything felt new..."🎵

Her song is accompanied by images, images that were as clear as day to her. She sees herself beaten and stoned by a crowd, only for it to stop once he, the priest, intervenes and saves her life.

🎵"Time slipped away...The past seemed to fade...My hope restored by you..."🎵

She now sees herself looking at the priest from her weakened position on the ground, whose image seemed to glow in the sunlight. He was a beacon of light. The light of hope that she desperately tries to reach for.

🎵 "And I know, for some, it's temporary...Like a shooting star soon out of view..."🎵

Kisara finds her visions to now be of herself behind bars, watching the priest slowly turn and leave towards a darkened hallway. It then shifts to herself in the center of what appeared to be an arena, faced down by horrifying monsters. However, she turns around, now facing the image of the priest staring back at her.

🎵"But this will always be...It's my destiny...To be in love with you..."🎵

The priest in her images then moves in front of her, summoning a creature through his magic to defend her. Circumstances then cause the floor beneath them to fall, leaving them both dangling by a thread. That's when her body emits a bright blue aura, and from within that aura appears...the White Dragon...

🎵"Some people fall in love for life..."🎵

She finds herself behind bars again, her cell now breaking down around her. That's when he appears, like a miracle, to break her free, taking her by the hand as they escape a crumbling palace.

🎵"Others never get it right..."🎵

He then speaks to her. They are words Kisara cannot hear directly in her vision but are ones she can seemingly understand. They tell her to run, run away from this land, and don't look back. Despite her hesitance, she runs away from him, seemingly never to return to his side.

🎵"Love's fickle when it calls..."🎵

But...she ends up turning around, unable to leave him behind. He looks back at her a moment, screaming out her name, before everything is consumed in a dark light that strikes her core.

🎵"One thing that I know for sure..."🎵

Everything slows around her as her body slowly wilts, akin to that of a dying flower. She can see the panic in the priest's eyes as he cries out for her, a sign of his care for her. That...That was enough for her, she feels, to see him be concerned over her well-being, a feeling that can't help but feel a bit distant as these memories replayed.

🎵"Longer than our lives endure..."🎵

The sight before her now is a familiar one. She sees herself in his arms and knelt before a tablet depicting the White Dragon. Even now, seeing this sight fills her soul with an intense sadness, enough to cause tears to flow from her physical eyes and for her to drop to her knees.

🎵"You're my forever fall..."🎵

Kisara's eyes return back to reality, once again facing the stone as her song concludes. She reaches for the depiction of the priest once again, and for a moment, his image flashes in her mind. He smiles at her, reaching out his hand, before the image breaks and her hand finds itself touching the cold gravel of the tablet.

"Lord Seto...That's your name...That's who you are...The man who...saved me...in the past...The man who I wanted to repay...The man that I..." Her hands move to cover her heart, and her tear drops fall on the skin like dew drops. "Loved..."

She takes a few moments to herself to steady her spirit, slowly wiping the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief from her pocket. Kisara then stands up, one movement at a time, and turns back towards Ishizu. The look in her eyes is different than before, both murkier from her tears but almost...clearer somehow, as if some fog had been lifted.

"So...I'm the vessel for the White Dragon, or rather...I was in a previous life. And what I've been seeing...What I've been experiencing...That song I just sung...It was me connecting to that part of myself, wasn't it Miss Ishtar?"

"Yes. Just like the destined duelists the tablet depicts, it seems your journey, too, has not yet reached its final conclusion."

"Does this mean that...I still have the White Dragon inside of me? Could that be why I see it in my dreams?"

"I'm not so certain of that. In ancient times, Egyptian sorcerers trapped creatures, both good and evil, into stone tablets that they could summon at will. Today this practice is represented by the Duel Monsters cards duelists can summon to aid them in battle. If you still had the spirit of the White Dragon within you, then I think there could be no card of it."

"I guess...I guess that makes sense. And those cards...They belong to..." A puzzle piece seemingly clicked in her mind as she was putting things together, things she wanted to confirm with the women first just to be certain. "Miss Ishizu, Does...Does that mean that Seto Kaiba is..."

"He is as you suspect. He is the priest reborn in this new age, and he is fully aware of his ancient heritage."

"Then...Then, does he know about..." Her words die in her throat, and she remembers one crucial detail from the memories of her human life she had just seen. While her past life's feelings for the priest had been clear, they were ones she did not get to express. For her past self passed away before being given the chance to say what she felt to him, of the love she had for him deep inside.

At least...as far as the blue-eyed women knew, anyway. There were more secrets of her past still yet to reveal themselves. The memories of her human life during her time in Egypt had been unlocked to her. However, the secrets housed within the other parts of her soul, the ones tied to the four Blue-Eyes White Dragons, still were out of reach, and until she could reconnect and access them, the full truth would still be just a mystery.

"I do not know what he knows and does not know at this current moment. What I do know is that he has outwardly rejected and denied his claims to the past, to his very destiny on multiple occasions, despite what he has experienced first hand."

"I see...I cannot say I'm surprised. He is...a very mysterious and cold person, with his heart seemingly sealed off from the world..."

It was a stark contrast to what she witnessed from the priest in her visions, who always appealed to her as warm and protective. Then again, she doesn't know Seto Kaiba that well at all. Could he too be hiding a part of himself?

"But honestly, after learning all of this? I...I want to get to know him, more than I did before. I don't know what fate has in store for us, or how I'm going to handle these new...feelings from my past." Contending with a love, a powerful one that seemingly crossed time to the present day, that is hers but also not hers was going to be challenging, after all. "All I do know is that I should at least try. I'd forever regret it if I didn't."

"I wish you the best of luck with your efforts. Now is there anything else I can help you with? You still haven't looked at the second carving."

"I...I think I got more than I could ever ask for just by looking at the first one. If anything, it gives me an excuse to see you again. Thank you, Miss Ishtar. Thank you for everything." Kisara bows her head in gratitude once more, a soft smile characteristic of her gracing her face.

"You can just adress me as Ishizu."

"Only if you address me as Kisara."

"Alright, Kisara. I'm glad I could be of help to you. You are free to contact me anytime should you need it."

"I appreciate it, Ishizu. Thank you again."

With permission to be casual around one another exchanged, the two ladies leave the tomb, and Kisara heads back on her way to her hotel. The singer is sure to call her sister and tell her the meeting was successful and that she will be flying back to Japan in the morning. Seems like she has a busy schedule ahead of her when she gets back. She did take a few days off just for this trip, meaning she'd have to play catch up when she returned home.

As the Blue-Eyed Maiden sat in her room, her hands were busy writing in her songbook. She was writing down the song she had sung in the tomb, a song that she had known how to sing and knew the notes to without needing to think. It was a song that seemingly came from her soul, a song that Kisara...wanted to share with him someday, no matter what his reaction may be. It would not be for herself now, but rather who she used to be, to say what she never got to say before...before her death.

🎵 "Your trust, honesty...Helped me believe...A ray of hope shined through...You set me free...Saw what the world couldn't see...I found my joy in you...

"Every life is filled with passing moments...Like the seasons change, they come and go...But this is infinite...Nothing, even death...Could separate our souls...

'Cause you're my final goal...

Some people fall in love for life...Others never get it right...Love's fickle when it calls...One thing that I know for sure...Longer than our lives endure...

You're my forever fall..."🎵

[abimee]

also he was right ^ cause in tocks tale all hes known as is the prince locked in the tower. sorry brother

[edwinisms]

I know how it sounds at first, but I really gotta feel bad for the boys that sacrificed edwin; I mean even the term “sacrificed edwin” paints them in a more sinister light than they really deserve– considering that wasn’t really, actually their intention.

they were bullies, they were homophobic (and/or were self loathing gay boys themselves taking it out on edwin, or were equally likely peer pressured into acting a certain way), they planned something stupid and mean to do to an innocent, anxious boy with the goal of scaring the shit out of him, all because he was effeminate and an easy target. but they didn’t know or expect any of the ritual stuff to be real. they were all laughing and joking during the ritual because it was just that to them– a joke. a cruel joke, but a joke.

teenagers can be mean and stupid and they usually regret it as adults and grow out of it / grow from it. they were stifled the chance to grow out of it, at least while alive. none of those boys deserved to be instakilled and sent to hell; they’re really not that much less deserving than edwin himself. they were all just kids, after all.

[whatudottu]

I’ve been thinking about how if you compress quartz you get electrical current and thinking about its inverse - how if you give a quartz an electric current it compresses - and because y’all know me, it made me think about petrosapiens.

But with lingering thoughts from a previous post of mine, I have combined these thoughts with another, older and collaborative idea of the past-

Let’s get started.

Alright, when you have aliens sci-fi sometimes you get off the wall creations that thanks to the whole ‘fiction’ side of the science, probably aren’t possible as is explained? From aliens made entirely out of sound insulated with silicone to walking talking fire pits from the sun, Ben 10 is by far taking science by its reigns and going full speed into that fantasy and petrosapiens - the example of the ‘material based aliens’ you see in lots of media - is well within that cool factor you can’t fully logic.

Well, since it’s been stated a few times, petrosapiens (and the similarly crystalline crystalsapiens) are silicon - no e - based beings, and guess the fuck what my dear readers? Silicon-based crystals happen to include the beloved electric conducting quartz that this following headcanon is reliant on.

What if a petrosapien’s crystal structure down to its very molecular construction acts not only as their nervous system, but also as the root of their crystallokinesis?

Silicon itself does not provide its own current of course, but what is a nervous system without organs and most significantly of all, the CENTRAL nervous system; the brain - of course - alongside the spinal cord (read: not the spine that protects it). Simply put just like our own nervous system the central nervous system and the (conversely) peripheral nervous system communicate back and forth with one another using electrical currents.

Unlike our own human nervous system, the petrosapien nervous system is either mostly or near entirely electrical signals rather than electrochemical messages along neurons. Instead, through at least the crystal part of their bodies (which comprise most of their body and in fact translates more into extremely thick skin rather than natural armour) conveys sensory and neural responses and activities - either autonomic or somatic - along the crystalline structures like natural geometric circuitry.

Most of the nervous system in the crystal of a petrosapien is somatic, many of the autonomic nervous system being the soft squishy bits inside sitting like the centre of a fruit gusher, but it’s not without its own autonomic systems even if they are more towards the core. These autonomic functions are of course the organs responsible for recycling and reusing the digested minerals (a responsibility of the stomach) to act as materials for new crystal growth.

And with new crystal growth, along comes with it the inherent (but trained) crystallokinesis of petrosapiens. Though so long as a petrosapien eats their daily crystals they are engaging with crystallokinesis post digestion, the external act of crystal manipulation is in a sense literally letting your nervous system interact with other quartz-like or silicon-based crystals in order to jumpstart the manipulation of its structure as an extension of yourself.

Because having a network of circuits means that petrosapiens can literally feel more things than you expect of them, being able to detect sensory information beyond the simple presumed sensation of pressure, crystallokinesis of far more ancient literal planet made crystal is a process young petrosapiens need to practice, adapt, and get used to. It’s less about feeling pain and more about feeling more of yourself exposed to the air, to the water, to the ground beneath your feet and the ceiling above your head. To manipulate the crystals of Petropia you must become a part of Petropia.

Rather a religious experience wouldn’t you think?

Now what happens when a certain specific cult arrives in search of (literal) power?

That’s right baby welcome to classic reboot crossover time where I introduce a fundamental player into the headcanon history of my version of Petropia, the very reason that petrosapiens were introduced suddenly into the galactic sphere and how because of the materials of Petropia and the interference of extraterrestrials, the rapid rise of interplanetary level tech grew to the point where a certain criminal found himself staring at the shattered remains of his own home planet!

Say hello to the fulmini and the High Override himself, cult leader of the Global Mind and a literal representation of a nervous system, who’s invasion of Petropia was under the assumption of it being a barren uninhabited planet full of electrical current sustaining crystal for use in energy sources.

Check out this post by @sxilor-1010 and me for a more in-depth discussion on both the biology and more relevantly sociology of the fulmini and the High Override’s cult (which in today’s post I just made a name for that may or may not stick) so check that out-!

For the longest time I marked this period as The Surface Craze, the benefits of the English terminology being that it has multiple means beyond the direct Petropian translation of ‘the day the sky broke open’. As the many petrosapien people were introduced for the first time in thousands of years, spanning multiple generations perhaps equivalent to old English to modern (as it is today) English, the sky was crazed (rock term for scraped), the people were going crazy, and the upper rungs (aka the poor and the slums that couldn’t afford the protection of the holy core) sought this new horizon and caused a drastic shift in the political and societal landscape. All the while the energy hungry Override, with his energy desperate limbs of conquered colonies, studied and contemplated the usefulness of disciples (and batteries) of this new species.

Another meaning of craze was introduced to petrosapiens when the High Override grew interest in the regenerative abilities of petrosapiens, his arms and legs reaching out and spreading across the newly cracked open planet, singing his own praises as their one and only truth through the teeth and mouths of his subjects. Though many of the religiously scorned people of the shallows were far too burnt to be swayed, those that clung to religion in hope saw that these strangers were far more accomodating than the leaders of their own faith, the Override perhaps not able to fully take control of them as he could as those that serve as his fingers, but he did not come this far without his own manipulative ways.

A proposition was made, that these beings of crystalline stone can offer their patronage by contributing to the flow of energy, to welcome their arms into the embrace of the High Override and provide a tithe to his service. Their arms, which compress with the electricity of their central nervous system, that can be compressed and crushed and chewed up by the machines that the Global Mind and the High Override’s many fulmini limbs are hungry for, are desperate for, are past the point of begging for.

And those with the faith and the belief and the desperation, they take up arms and feed the machine.

Funny, it seems, that the High Override’s act has created one of the largest surviving community of petrosapiens yet.

[swweatervvest]

i finally figured out which power rangers i got my earliest recorded gay from (it was ninja storm) 💎💙🥷🏽

[texeoghea]

men will be like hang on i need to find a picture of a specific armor piece from game i havent played in 2 years for my armor concept for a completely different game. and btw i remembered the name of the armor set its from. like 4 years after the armor set was released. its the wing discipline mark

akechi is a dual class hunter and titan to me whenever i think abt it sorry that those words dont mean anything to anyone else in the persona fandom. but if it did theyd be nodding. joker is a warlock hunter btw. if you even care. anyways

[dayabot]

i may hate daegen but she does give really good daya content

girl not Haaaaate hashtag #NOH8 i'm only a daegen anti because she blocked my little sister honey urmommysfavelesbian and because i'm jealous i don't get to hang out with daya (sad) when that should be me

[snekdood]

Damn well. One of the clear ways you can tell my ex is bullshitting about me being anywhere near conservative is the fact that i get along well w the left leaning portion of my family vs the right leaning portion whomst i Do Not get along with or interact with