#1920's marvin

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Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 2: Switch

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Switch | Read SwitchSwap | AO3 Link

Prologue | Chapter 1 Taglist: @brokentimewatch

It's not too long before two cars pull up to the train station. Out of the first one steps a tall dark-skinned person with chin-length hair. They talk with Anti briefly, demanding an explanation but accepting that this isn't the time and leaving with Will, who Anti gives a short hug before he heads out. And out of the second one--

"Why the FACK can we not have five minutes of peace in our goddamn lives?!" Schneep looks pissed and annoyed, but he softens when he sees Bro. "Ah... good to see you again, of course, but it seems there is bad news, too."

Bro shrinks a bit at Schneep's anger but he also can't help but laugh because, same. "haha- I feel that bro..." He then looks scared and bites his lip. "Yeah... I need to find Alt... who knows what Mag is doing to him... or to one of your guys- i think... he really wanted Jameson last time, didn't he?"

Jackie sighs. "Are you okay? Anti said something about you healing really fast, but I can take a look, if you want. I've patched up this guy often enough." He vaguely gestures at Schneep.

Bro then looks back at Jackie and tries to smile, lifting up his singed shirt. "Uh- you can try, if you like. I dunno if it's like... good or not. I don't really... get checked often. Gotta keep go go going, you know? Hero work is never done..."

Dr. Parker can see the edges of the burn are a bit darker, tinged green. But the main part seems pretty much filled with healing skin, raised and pink. A bit hot to the touch but also cracking and Bro squirms uncomfortably. "Fucking shit- god i hate how it itches, jesuss!"

"Sorry," Jackie mumbles. "I didn't really bring anything to treat ichiness." He crouches to get a closer look. "...well, it's definitely healing, but there's some green... tinge here. It might be because of magic. In which case, I'm not qualified to do anything.”

Bro nods and pushes himself to sit up straighter, "S'probably the magic- green fire sucks ass, it lingers a bit longer than I would like. But thanks for checking, Doc."

"No problem," Jackie smiles. "Happy to help. If you feel up to move, we should go meet up with JJ and Marvin. I think—"

Before he can continue, Anti's phone starts to ring. Well, not ring, it's on silent, but the vibration is loud and noticeable. "Shit, sorry," he says, pulling it out. He looks at the Caller ID and frowns in confusion. Then picks it up. "What is it? Whoa!" He holds the phone away from his ear. On the other side a man is yelling. "Fucking shit, calm down! You scared the bejeezus out of me. I—what? Sam? I..." He glances at the others. "Hang on, you all keep talking." He turns to the side and listens to the call.

Bro readjusts himself after being checked on and then jumps slightly at Anti’s exclamation.

"That is probably not good," Schneep mutters. "Neither is it good that Magnificent may be in our world." He laughs. "Though I do wonder now... He has other magic, but those tricks... I wonder if..."

Jackie gives him an odd look. "I don't think we should go testing stuff like that out. We need to come up with some way to get Chase and Alt home--and Magnificent, too."

Bro looks back and studies Schneep with curiously, "Wait testing what out? You got something you think could help against Mag, Volt??"

"Heh." Schneep gives him a wan smile. "Well... a lot has changed since we got sucked into your universe. I do not... wish to discuss it too much, but I will simply say that our villain's illusions and manipulation no longer works on me." If Bro looks close, he'll notice that Schneep is playing with his hands in an odd way. Running a finger down the side of his left hand.

Bro looks excited by this and he grins, "Hey! Maybe that will work- but... I dunno- Mag's magic is... weird. I guess- I dunno much about magic though."

“How'd you get here, by the way?” Jackie asks, “Anti didn't fill in those details in the group chat. Only something about Magnificent doing shit. Do you remember anything specific? If we want to get you back home, it'd be easiest to do it the same way... probably."

Chase looks back at Jackie and nods, "Ah right- so he... he took Alt from our house, puppeted him in a super horrible way that isn't.... like him- not unless he's desperate. and he was... cuz he found this like... doorway thingy- But he needed Alt to glitch to work it. He used his magic and alt's glitches and then there was like- an explosion and i... woke up on the train tracks." He then frowns and tries to remember, "mmm... i dunno if something like that would be here... it was in some shady basement of this fucked up agency we have in our world- calls themselves Sclera."

"That's a werid name for an evil organization," Jackie says absentmindedly. "What is a shlcerla? I mean--sclera?" He sounds the word out carefully.

Schneep sighs. "Jackie, I thought you were a doctor."

"I am! That doesn't mean I know everything! Why, do you know about a sclera?"

"I do." Schneep grins smugly. "I wondered if there was a word for it in English, turns out, yes. It is the white part of your eye."

Jackie is silent for a moment. "Part of an eye... Like an iris?"

Schneep's grin fades.

Jackie turns to look at Bro. "We might have something like that here. There's this group called IRIS, they study weird shit. Anomalies. They call them ALTRs. And they... do a lot of fucked up stuff besides that." He glances at Schneep, then quickly looks away. "Maybe they'll have something to help. I think... I think I heard about them talking about other worlds..."

Bro also seems to pale, gripping slightly over his heart. "... Sclera does that too- but... with magic." He narrows his eyes and thinks, "If Iris is like Sclera then.... then yeah- that might be our best bet..." He shudders though but tries to hide it. "God- I hate places like that though- fucking freaky scientific-messed-up bullshit..."

Schneep looks at him sympathetically. He opens his mouth to say something, but--

"Fuck!" Anti shouts, drawing everyone's attention. "Okay, take Sam home and make sure they're okay, okay?! The rest of us will check on them. Yes, I'm sure! Yeah! No, stay there. Don't--don't let anything happen to you." His voice softens. "Be careful. Okay. Bye." He hangs up and spins around to look back at everyone else. "Okay. So. Chase was right. Magnificent is fighting Jameson."

Chase zips up to his feet, eyes wide, "Oh no! I hate when I'm right!" He curses and then adjusts his utility belt, pulling out his phone and looks about ready to burst into the air. "Okay where is he?? We can't- we can't let Mag get him again!"

"He's by the bus stop by his house," Anti says.

"Fuck! That's far!" Schneep curses.

"Not if I run red lights!" Jackie's head snaps towards his car, then back to Bro. "Hey, can you fly or do you need a lift?"

Bro nods and shoots into the air to hover, "I'll fly ahead! I know the look of Mag's magic by now, just point me in the right direction!"

"It's that way!" Anti points. "West and a bit south. We'll head there on our own. Remember to text us if you need to, calls might not work!"

Meanwhile, Schneep grabs Jackie and starts pulling him towards the car.

Bro nods, storing away his phone. "Right! Be careful!" He then blasts into the air and follows Anti's instructions, trying to push himself to fly as fast as he- scanning the area below for any signs of magic.

"Good luck!" Jackie calls. Then the three of them run to the car.

-----------

That was risky, JJ says.

Marvin smiles at him. "But it paid off, didn' it?" He pushes his cards back into a single deck on the dining room counter.

I suppose. JJ pauses. He somehow...drained some of my magic. I still feel...weak.

"Really? Fuckin' bastard..." Marvin mutters, then frowns. "T'at shouldn' be possible, t'ough. It should've brough' you back to the state you were in before. Did I do somet'ing wrong...?"

JJ shakes his head. You didn't do anything wrong, he reassures him. This is just... tricky.

Before Marvin can respond, there's a knock at the door. "They're here already?" Marvin says, surprised. "Okay, I'll get it." He heads into the entrance hall and opens the door.

But instead of any of his friends, Alt Brody falls into their house.

Alt was resting against the door as soon as he knocked on it- and as soon as it opens he stumbles forward, his head heavy. But, it's momentarily cleared of fog as he raises his red stained face to meet Marvin's eyes. He's still gripping his arm, magic pulsing weakly. "...m'rvin... moore...?" He slurs, confusion clear on his face. Then, he feels a wave of dizziness crash onto him that has him falling towards the ground.

"What the--?!" Marvin shoots forward and barely manages to catch Alt. He almost falls himself in the process but stays up. For now. "Jems! It's--it's t'at Anti from the other world!"

JJ rushes into the the front hall. He gasps at what he sees. What's wrong with him?!

"I don' know! Ah--a little help?" His legs are starting to go out.

JJ nods and hurries over, transfering support of Alt from Marvin to him. Living room, he signs awkwardly. Marvin nods, and the two of them move into the other room, where they set Alt down on the sofa.

There's a voice in Alt's mind. So familiar. {This is good,} it says. {Do as you would for now. But that man with the mustache...you should try to get rid of him when you have the chance. Knock him out...or worse. That'd be good, too. That would make me happy~}

Alt's eyes seem distant as something whispers in his ears, letting the others take him and move him into the living room. Even when hes out on the couch, He's still for a second, staring out ahead. Then, he shakes out this head and looks in between Marvin and Jameson. He feels really sick, his body is shaking in a way he can't really control. But... he knows these guys... right? He weakly shakes his head again and tries to stop the trembling in his corrupted arm.

"Are you alrigh', lad?" Marvin asks.

"..hngh... n-no- not... r-really..." Alt pants, feeling faint and leans back against the back of the sofa. "M-Mag... Mag did somethin' to... to m'magic... s'hurts... and I... i dunno... what's...." His eyelids flutter like he's ready to pass out again but he shakes his head to try to stay awake. "m'broth'r... i... i needa find Chase...I... I gotta s-stop Mag..."

JJ frowns. Who?

"Oh! Yes, Chase!" Marvin nods. "He was the one who isn' here, remember?"

Understanding dawns on JJ's face and he nods. Yes, he's the one Anti mentioned. Don't worry, Alt, our Anti saw him, he's fine and on his way. He uses the same name sign for Alt as the Henrik in Alt's universe: A-lightning.

"As for Magnificent, the bastard..." Marvin grumbles. "I'm sure he'll be comin' to us sooner or later. We have time to prepare."

Yes, get some rest and recover, Alt, JJ adds.

Alt seems comforted by seeing a familar sign, his chest suddenly aching for his friend. But, Hen would be in danger here... its good he's still back home. He almost wants to nod to them- he wants to relax- when he stiffens, blood starting to try to leak out of his eye again.

{Just wait here? Wait for him to come for you? No, that seems like a bad idea, doesn't it? They're trying to stop us from going after him.}

"... w-we can't j'ust wait here... w-we'll be just s-sitting ducks! We... we gotta... gotta stop him... s'mehow..." Alt's brain was fuzzy on the details- god he'd give anything to use his magic right now. He needs... he needs to get rid of this corruption.

He looks up at Jameson, head fuzzy as its assaulted with suggestions. Knock him out. Or worse. Make me happy. get rid of him. "y... you... do you know how... how to get rid'f dark magic...?" He shakily holds out his arm to Jameson, showing off the claws marks that match the ones on his own. Though, Alt's seem much more severe, pulsing with purple magic with every tremor of his muscles. JJ's are dark like stains- more just a sign of what was used to steal his magic.

JJ tries to hide his alarm at the marks on Alt's arm--and the ones on his own. We don't have to deal with black magic on a regular basis like you do, JJ says, but I'm sure I have a purification spell upstairs somewhere. I can check my book of shadows.

"T'at's a great idea," Marvin says. "We can take care of t'at, and t'en we'll talk about how to stop Magnificent."

JJ nods. He turns and starts leaving the room, heading towards the stairs.

{Go with him.} The voice comes with a bit more of a push than the last times. Some fog rolls in with the command.

Alt doesn't hesitate to push himself off the couch, the command to follow JJ filling his head with nothing else. He doesn't even look at Marvin as he stumbles after the magician.

This was good... he can get this black magic fixed... and then get rid of the magician.

"Alt...?" Marvin stares, confused, as Alt follows JJ upstairs. It's not too weird, maybe he just wants to get the magic taken care of right away, but... Was it just him, or was there something... on Alt's face? Just in case, he hurries back to the kitchen where he left the cards.

JJ glances back at Alt. Oh, you want to come? Alright, I'd be happy to show you my workroom. He smiles and continues up the stairs.

The workroom is halfway through being reorganized, with some of the books on the shelves and desks where they're supposed to be and some on stacked on the floor around the central table. And on the table itself is a black crystal sphere, nestled on a purple cushion.

Alt nods to Jameson, and looks dazedly around the house and the workroom as he's lead through.

When Alt looks at the crystal, he sees flickers of other people's faces in the reflection. They all look familiar, and yet... different. Some are wearing masks. Some are children. And there's one with a slit neck, green strings holding it closed.

Alt pauses and stares at the crystal, eyes widening slightly as he saw the visions within them. What... what was-

But none of this is important.

Oh. It didn't matter. Any concern that was trying to surface was quickly stuffed under heavy fog.

JJ goes right for the desk, sorting through the books there until he finds what he's looking for. He then skims that book, and after a few seconds, smiles triumphantly. Hand me your arm, he says, putting the open book on the desk.

It takes a second for Alt to react to Jameson, more blood slithering down his face. But, he turns and wordlessly offers his corrupted arm to him, staring intensely at his face.

JJ gently takes Alt's arm. He hesitates for a moment, glancing back at the instructions in the book. His eyes start glowing a bright blue, and that same blue light encases his hands. He carefully presses his palm against the claw marks. A cooling magic washes over the marks. It takes a couple waves, but soon the corruption of the dark magic disappears.

There we are, JJ says, letting go of Alt's arm and smiling at him.

...Wait.

Something... Something is wrong...

Jameson blinks. He squints at Alt's face. What is...

It's blood.

Jameson gasps and takes a step back. How did he not notice it before?!

{Now.}

The second the black magic is cleared, electric magic builds up around Alt and he starts to glitch again. Then, he throws out a hand and sends a wave of blue green electricity at Jameson.

Jameson lets out a little squeak--the closest to a shout he can manage right now-- and throws up a clumsy shield. Luckily, it blocks most of the electricity. What gets through isn't enough to shock him. Alt, snap out of it! he signs, backing up. He doesn't have the magic for another fight after Magnificent drained him. And he doesn't want to fight Alt! Glancing around, he rushes for the open doorway.

That familiar sign has Alt hesitating, something trying to spark in his foggy mind. But, that hesitation quickly leaves as Jameson starts to run. Alt tries to glitch in front of him, throwing out more barrages of charged magic.

Jameson skids to a halt, surprised by Alt's sudden appearance. Before he can recover or try that new teleportation spell again, Alt is throwing electric magic at him. Again he tries to conjure a shield but the magic breaks through this time. This time he manages a scream as the magic shocks across his skin.

Downstairs, Marvin's head snaps up at the sound of JJ's cry. "Jems?!" he gasps. He runs for the stairs, tightening his grip on his cane and the cards, already thinking of what combination could help. Was it Alt? Had he really seen what he thought?!

Alt doesn't hesitate again to glitch towards Jamie- and this time he attempts to grab Jameson's neck and then throw him into the wall, pressing hard against his throat. There's no recognition in his eyes as blood pools out of them. He thinks he might hear another voice- but its faint and it doesn't matter. He needs to get rid of the magician.

Jameson gasps in surprise when Alt grabs him. He pulls at his hands, trying to pry them away before something could happen--!

And he manages to push Alt away just in time. He scrambles backwards across the floor until he hits the central table. The black crystal ball is almost jostled from it's spot.

A voice comes from down the hall. "H-hang on, Jems!" Marvin shouts. He's struggling with the stairs, pushing himself faster.

Jameson nods. He ducks his head and crosses his arms. A blue dome appears around him, wavering for a second before solidifying.

Alt tsks quietly under his breath and then lashes out and throws lightning magic over and over at the shield. Trying to get it to crack-

The shield shudders with every hit, but it doesn't break. And yet JJ knows it will only be a matter of time. He feels his strength failing.

"Jems! Alt!" And then Marvin rushes forward, almost collapsing in the doorway of the room. He takes in the situation quickly--yes, he thought it was something like that.

Alt pauses in his attack to turn towards Marvin, regarding him with a slight head tilt. He's panting slightly, sweat dripping down his face and his hands trembling. His magic is being depleted really quickly so soon after getting drained by that curse. Yet, he needs to keep going. He has to.

Quickly, Marvin bends over and places three cards on the ground in a triangle formation: Five of Diamond - Six of Heart - Queen of Spade

Jameson's shield is reinforced, curving golden lines running over itse surface in a geometric pattern. He breathes easier.

Marvin hears a voice in his head. {That's not really fair, is it? Have you forgotten whose side your on? Or are you too afraid to remember?} He flinches, pushing away the accompanying fog.

At the same time, Alt hears it say something different. {A friend of ours has lost his way...so sad. He shouldn't be here. Make him leave.}

.... he lost his way? Well... Alt hated using these spells but- if they needed to convince Marvin then... Alt flares out a hand to his side, and a collection of glitches forms beside him- and then forms a wobbly electric field of magic that swirls in hues of green blue and white. Though the edges are harsher than Mag's, the colors are soothing and easy to look at. Maybe they could just lull you to sleep... make you forget all your pain, just for a second.

Marvin isn't expecting it. He looks down for a moment, fumbling with the cards--he'll need to use five or more, he's not leaving this to chance--and when he looks up again... there it is. An electric spiral hovering next to Alt. What? How... strange. But... nice. Marvin's eyes trace the spiral's motion, the ever-inward movement. His eyelids feel heavy all of a sudden.

JJ sees what's happening. "Marv--!" he tries to shout, but it breaks off into a wheezing exhale. The reinforcement around his shield stays--it will stay until the card formation is disrupted--but Marvin's other cards flutter to the floor, followed shortly by him collapsing to his knees, eyes blinking slowly...

"Sleep." Alt drones out to Marvin, watching him coldly and emotionlessly, pushing magic into his words.

He thinks he hears something slamming open from downstairs- but he's focused on his task. Nothing else matters. He doesn't even consider anything else is wrong until suddenly he's being tackled to the ground, his head hitting it hard enough for him to see spots.

"O-Oh my god, Alt!" A man in a pink mask is gasping desperately over him, looking worried. ...why...? No no wait- he's... he's important- he's so so important. Alt makes a choked noise of pain, the fog in his head hurting all of sudden. No no no its hurts- why does it hurt?

"C- Ch...!" Alt tries to choke out, shaky hand trying to grab onto his jacket.

For the others- as soon as Jameson shouted out, Bro flew past a house with bright lights flickering in different hues in the windows. He recognized the color of some of them- and it wasn't Mag... it was Alt!

He hurried down to the door of the apartment then tried to doorknob- not wanting to cause too much damage to the house. By some miracle it was open and Bro skids in and looks around, shouting out, "Alt?! ALT!!"

He sees the hues of blue and greens and doesn't hesitate to fly up the stairs- and hovers just a bit above them to see his brother trying to entrance Marvin. He yells out and tackles Alt back farther into the room- the magic bursting into pixels as the two boys crash into the bookshelves in the corner. Marvin can feel the influence leave him like he's waking up from being underwater.

Marvin gasps, starting backwards. JJ stares with wide eyes at Chase and Alt. His shield finally disappears as he stands up and scrambles over to Marvin's side. He reaches down to help him up.

"I-I... what?" Marvin shakes the image of that spiral out of his mind. "Th-t'at was—he can do t'at...?" he whispers. Then he looks up at JJ. "A-are you... alrigh'...?"

JJ smiles weakly. I should be asking you that.

"'M... fine. Physic'lly." Marvin takes JJ's hand and lets him pull him to his feet. In unison, the two of them turn and stare at Alt and Bro. "Y-you're the—the hero from the other world. Chase. Chase!" Marvin shakes his head again. "Chase, Alt's bein'—Distorter's in his head, I—oh!" And then Marvin gets back down on the ground and starts gathering up the cards. "T-try to get t'rough to him, if you can', I-I can try somet'ing!"

Bro looks back at the others and seems to relax at seeing they're both okay. "H-Hey- glad you two aren't hurt-" He then makes a face and his eyes glow with hatred as he looks down at the power that's taken over his brother. "Right... that bitch. Okay- lemme see what I can do!"

{Shhh. Shhhh.} The voice hisses in Alt's mind, like the comforting sound of rain falling. {Don't worry. You don't have to worry about anything. Shhh. Let me take care of this.}

Alt's eyes glaze over more as the voice of his friend comforts him. His hand falls back down and he lays limply on the ground, head lolling to look out past Bro. Nothing but the sound of rain blanking his mind, like what he would listen to in his headphones when sound was too much. His mind is calm and still- Even though his body is panting and shaking and trembling- he can't feel it at all.

"No No! fuck- Anti! C'mon lil bro, stay with me!" Chase whispers desperately, trying to shake Alt's shoulders.

Then, Chase hears something in his mind, too. {Oh? So where were you when your brother appeared right outside my house? Where? Why weren't you there with him? You don't care, I see. You're right not to. He doesn't care about you. He barely knows you, really, he wouldn't give two shits if you just died.}

Bro winces as the voice slithers into his head. He closes his eyes and then growls out, "No shut up! I do care- we know each other better than anyone! You're the one who doesn't care- or you wouldn't be running him ragged!"

He shakes Alt more, pleading, "Alt c'mon! Wake up!"

"Shit," Marvin curses, watching Chase and Alt. He has all his cards gathered, now he just needs to find the right ones! "H-hang on, you two! Jems, can you--I-I dunnae, help t'em?"

Distorter doesn't respond to Chase, instead continuing to speak to Alt. {Look, Anti... it's Magnificent. He's right in front of you. It's time to show him how you really feel. You're so much stronger than him, right? I believe you are.}

Alt's eyes narrow and flood with green and blue magic as Distorter makes him see Magnificent in front of him. His shoulders start to glitch, electricity building up around him. He starts to latch back onto Chase- then his arm is grabbed and-

JJ looks Alt. He doesn't have much magic left right now, but he can try. Maybe... He steps forward, up next to Chase, and grabs Alt's arm. His eyes flare blue, and frost suddenly flares from the point of contact, flashing sudden cold through Alt's system. It won't work if he's too deep in, but maybe...

It's like the gray is blown away by an icy chill, startling Alt back into his own mind with a painful jolt. He gasps, back arching as the connection breaks. He slumps back towards the floor and dazedly looks back and forth between Bro and Jameson. "..h..how did I...?" He then winces and curls his face into the ground, groaning softly. "F-Fuck..! My head...!"

Bro slumps with relief and then lifts Alt up and crushes him in a hug. "Oh thank fucking christ! God... god.... you fucking scared me Alt..." He buries his face in his brother's shoulders for a bit before letting go and helping to sit against the floor. Alt just dazedly lets him, trying to take everything in.

JJ lets go of Alt, slumping in relief. He was so glad that worked. He was so worried... But it was fine. It was all fine. It was Distorter, he explains to Alt. You remember him, right? Do you... know where you are right now, Alt? And is there... anything you need?

"I...I'm..." Alt swallows shakily and goes to hold his arms and curls up on himself. It was really hard to piece things together- but... he knows these guys. JJ and Marvin... this must be... their world. Once he thinks this though, he remembers how they got here and he gasps, looking around at the others in panic. "M-Mag-! Magnificent! He's here- he's...! He's trying to get to other universes- and-!" He then takes in the slight claw marks on Jameson's arm and he looks back at him with a pale face. "... shit- did he already...?"

"Wait what?? He already got you??" Bro asks, looking at JJ with worry. "Fuck! I flew so fast to try to stop that! Damn that slippery cat goddd im gonna skin him one of these days!"

JJ looks down at his own arm. Right... the marks. He could feel the effects, but he forgot they were visible. I'm fine, he reassured them. He did... somehow drain some of my magic, but... I'll recover with enough time and rest.

"They're righ', t'ough," Marvin says from the doorway. "We need t'stop him before that bastard does anyt'ing too big to recover from. If you're goin' to skin him, tell me so I can join." He chuckled.

Well... Jameson pauses thoughtfully. If he was trying to get to other universes, he succeeded. I don't know what we're going to stop him from now.

"Uh, how 'bout we stop him from murderin' us? Or from whatever he did to you! Or from doin' all t'at..." Marvin waves his hands around his head. "All t'at shit."

JJ chuckled, then turned serious again. You're right. I suppose I'm just a bit tired. This was a lot. He turns to Alt and Chase. Our house is warded against all sorts of nonhuman intruders. Distorter can't get in, but Magnificent might be able to. We'll be safe... briefly. Do you know of anyone else from your universe who could be here? Or is it just you two and him?

"It's just us this time," Bro sighs, "He got the jump on Alt and made him use this- weird doorway thingy! He almost got away with just Alt- god that would have been bad..."

Alt shudders and holds himself tightly, "If i was drained doing the spell... then Mag probably was too... which is why he tried to find the nearest source of magic. Then he'd... god... I... I don't know... h-he made puppets of you all once but- not even as himself... That was Distorter too... I dunno if he'd stick around for that though... and i... i dont think he'd kill you all... not yet at least. He... He likes making people useful to him. Or keeping trophies..." He grips tighter on his arms, digging his nails in. "h-he might just be trying to get to the next universe somehow... since he's experienced this one... in a way." The glitch hates that he's been around Mag long enough to know his thought pattern but... he did work with him for a long time.

Bro makes a face as he thinks and then perks up, "Oh! Yeah! I need to message the others! They were gonna be driving here! Then they uh- they mentioned someplace we can try to see might have something to help- somewhere callleedd ah fuck what was it- its like Sclera!" He scrunches his face and looks up to think. "...what do you call the colored part of your eye?"

"Iris-" Alt mutters.

"Iris! Yeah that was it!" Bro whips out his phone and sends a text to Anti. I found JJ and Alt! Mag got to JJ but hes okay- and Alt was affected by Distorter... anyways! JJ and Marvin were here so i guess we're in their house :)

Marvin and JJ stiffen. JJ looks back at him. Do you think IRIS could help?

"I... s'ppose," Marvin mutters, shuffling his card deck. "Probably. Yes. They... like t'is sort of stuff. Time and space and all t'at. So the question is jus'... which one of their places we go to t'find somet'ing helpful."

I don't think either of us are... the most qualified to answer that question, JJ says.

Meanwhile, Chase gets an answering text: Great we're reall close then. Just a few minutes and well be there.

Soon after, JJ and Marvin's phones both ding. They take them out and read the text that Anti just sent THEM.

"They're on th'way," Marvin reports.

JJ nods. Let's all head downstairs and wait for them. He turns and looks at the bookshelves Chase and Alt ran into. He frowns. You've ruined my shelves.

Marvin bursts into laughter. "Is--is t'at really your priority?"

I've spent a couple days organizing them. That one's all...ker-fobbled now.

"Did ye really jus' spell out t'at nonsense word?"

Chase looks back up and then blushes, getting to his feet, "Ah fuck! I'm sorry! I just- acted on instinct! I'm not that tired i could reorganize them if you want!"

Alt glitches to his feet and then shoves Bro towards the door. "Let's focus on the important stuff, Chase- like getting back home and stopping the evil maniac thats skulking through town?"

"...oh yeah-"

Alt shoves him more out the door, "My god you're impossible... did you take your meds today?!"

"'course I did but a lot is happening, Alt!"

Alt rolls his eyes then glitches downstairs.

Marvin giggles. Then he stops. The others couldn't hear the voice he just did. {You know fixing this won't get rid of me. We're stuck together. Embrace it now.} After a second, he shakes off the uneasy feeling and finally stands up, using his cane as support. "Yea, let's all go downstairs. We can settle the IRIS t'ing t'ere when the others arrive."

Alt finds the same space the others put him on earlier and slowly goes to curl up, holding his headphones and hiding his face behind his knees. He never thought he'd be so far away from home without his mask...

Bro watches Alt vaguely then sticks by the others, ready to help if they needed it. He wants to make sure they get down okay first- especially with JJ looking so spent.

JJ notices Chase sticking by. He smiles at him tiredly. Don't worry, I'm not actually mad. It was an emergency. And I understand the, ah, mile-a-minute effect, if you know what I mean.

"We shoul' lock you and Jems and Jackie in an empty room, see how insane you all become," Marvin mutters. "C'mon, Mr. Fantastic." He starts walking down the hallway. A bit slower than usual, but he did run up the stairs. The energy had to come from somewhere.

That's a different superhero, JJ says, following him. A fictional one.

"As far as we know! If other universes are real, perhaps all stories are, too!"

JJ smiles. He glances back at Chase to make sure he's following.

Chase laughs and then hovers over the others as they go down the stairs. “Oh yeah! Jackieboy- the one from our universe- he’s a hugeee comic nerd- gave me an earful once about my name being so close to that guy’s but I didn’t know! I didn’t read comics?? I had like… rugby to play and shit- pints to drink…”

Ah, you were one of those uni people, huh? I don't know why I'm surprised. JJ smiles again. I was a theatre major, which, I'm told, says everything about me and how I acted in uni.

"Imagine goin' to a second'ry school," Marvin says.

You mean a university?

Marvin pauses. "Well, I finished primary school, at least." JJ raises an eyebrow. "Don' give me t'at look, do you know how hard t'at was to do under my circumstances?!"

I'm very proud of you, Marvin. Sincerely.

Bro touches down to the steps once he’s sure the others are fine and then glances back at the living room. He sees his brother all curled up and his heart aches. He slowly makes his way over and sits down next to him. He waits a beat- then opens one arm to Alt’s backside but doesn’t move, waiting to see how Alt would respond.

Alt blinks up at Bro and seems to hesitate. But then he slowly adjusts so he can lay his head on Bro’s shoulder. Chase wraps a light around Alt’s back and the glitch seems to relax some.

“….I hate this.” Alt whispers weakly to Chase, trying to hide the frustrated tears wanting to leak out of his eyes. He scrubs hard at the drying blood on his face.

Chase closes his eyes and leans against Alt’s head. “I know…”

“I mean… im… im glad to see these guys again… just…” Alt shudders and curls up more. “…I know it’s good they’re not here but… I miss the others…”

“Yeah…” Bro sighs. He then presses light lips to his brother’s head, “We’ll figure it out though…”

Alt nods and hides his face against his brother’s shoulder.

Jameson and Marvin join Chase and Alt in the living room, noticing the way the two of them are acting with each other. They exchange looks, then decide not to say or do anything to interrupt the moment. "Won' be long now," Marvin says, going over to sit in his usual chair. "Jus' a few more minutes."

————

Frustratingly for Magnificent, he seems to have appeared in an area with few magicians or otherwise magic people. Sure, the city at large is very magical, but the west and south neighborhoods are odd dry spots. There are occasional empty houses full of spellbooks and the occasional talisman, but great amounts of magic are few... except for Jameson Jackson, of course, lessened as his magical signature is now that he's drained.

The dark magician curses as he comes up short on any other magic sources. Guess it was time to go back to what he knew- that Jameson could still prove useful to him, if he could find where he escaped to. And well- remembering the bonds between his puppet and his friends- where jj was- so would his failure crippled counterpart would be. It would be good to get rid of such weakness.

Flaring his eyes- he tries to locate that faint spark of Jameson’s magic.

It’s hard to find, but it’s there, glowing faintly… in the opposite direction he’s been walking all this time. How ironic.

Magnificent curses to himself- he'd been walking in the complete wrong way! Cheeky little magician... what a rookie mistake.

But as he stands there trying to locate it… he hears a voice. A voice that sounds like it’s coming from right next to him. “I knew I’d see you eventually.”

Mag freezes hearing that voice and whirls around, hurtling magic towards the voice. "You-!"

The attack misses, because Distorter is not at all where his voice was coming from. Now there’s laughter on Magnificent’s other side. Distorter is sitting on a house’s doorstep, watching casually. “Last time we met because of an accident, but not this time. You came here on purpose, right?” He stands up, head tilting to the side. “Couldn’t make it back home so you decided to try somewhere new? Hoping you wouldn’t fail as much here?”

Magnificent bares his teeth for a second but then stands up taller and tries to stay composed. He smirks, “A being like you couldn’t possibly understand my ambitions. You’re stuck as this- dead thing. But, I’m pushing past my limits. You’re just a speck in the grand scheme of things, cadaver.”

"It's funny how you think you're more than that. Cute, even." Distorter puts a hand on his cheek, a silent gesture of "awww." "You'll die too one day. There's no magic to stave that off forever. And even if you somehow find something that does, do you think it will change your core? Strip away my powers, I'm just a dead guy. Strip away yours and you're just a man with abandonment issues and a mean dad. There's a million of those."

Magnificent tries to keep his expression schooled, even as the demon claws at his inner most fears, his deepest feelings he's long tried to supress. He'd never admit it but yes- He's afraid to die. But, this was to that end. However, the last comments ignite rage in the mad magician as he lashes out with a wild yell and tries to grab where he sees Distorter.

Distorter doesn't move as Mag lunges at him, not even as his claws dig into his flesh. "Looks like I struck a nerve there~!" he sings. Still smiling. Always smiling.

Magnificent yells more and slams the cadaver into the ground, trying to choke him as his eyes light up with power. "Shut up! Don't you dare- dare compare me to any other lowly human! I am more- I am MAGNIFICENT!" He digs his claws in tighter and snarls, "I will not be judged by a being so consumed by sadness for a life that was obviously as meaningless as your very existence."

Distorter's grin widens. He doesn't breathe so the choking isn't bothering him, but he does need air to talk and so can't respond. Instead he reaches up, blackened nails scraping the edge of Magnificent's mask... and all of a sudden he doesn't look like himself anymore. He looks like Jackie--the one Magnificent remembers.

Magnificent's eyes widen in shock. It's instinctual- he lets go of Distorter and backs up, looking at him in confusion. But, then he snarls and teleports back, lighting his hands on fire to try to seem threatening. "No-! No I- I won't fall for your tricks, demon!"

Laughing, Distorter sits up, then stands. The movement is just a bit too fast to be natural. “It’s not a trick,” he says. “It’s a distraction.” And then he attacks—not physically. Mentally, psychic claws digging for a grip in Mag’s mind.

Magnificent looks caught off guard again then yells out as a powerful force is slammed onto his mind. He cries out and falls to his knees, gripping at his skull. Green light tries to ignite in his good eye, trying to push back the force. "N-No! You- You can't...!"

“I can’t? Then how am I doing it?” Distorter steps up to him, leaning down so their eyes are level. “Our goals aren’t really that different you know. And this is my home. It’d be so much easier if you let me show you the way.”

Mag meets distorter's eyes with hatred, snarling. "You- You overpowered when I was weak before- I-! I won't be bested by you ag-" He then pauses, the mental load slamming more against his mind as Distorter's logic tries to worm itself in. To Magnificent though, it feels like he's letting the wheels turn himself, figuring out a plan. Would it be so bad... to team up? They almost brought down their enemies together last time, but Magnificent hardly remembered himself. "... you... don't want to help me-" The dark magician breathes, though he seems unsure of that statement, narrowing his eyes at the other villain.

"Why wouldn't I want to? I don't hate you." Distorter's smile hides the half-lie. He does mildly dislike the dark magician, but he was so useful that he was willing to put up with it. "And helping you would help me, too. We could do so much together."

Magnificent's eyes are starting to slip- the pressure on his head becoming too much. Why- fight it though?

Because he didn't need anyone else! He was powerful enough on his own- he didn't need help!

Are you really going to look a gift horse in the mouth, sorcerer? You're in a foreign world- already weakened. Take what you can get.

Mag's furious expression starts to fall, face slacking. His claws loosen from his skull as he better looks Distorter in the eyes. "...we could... could do so much...together."

"Exactly." Distorter offers a hand to help pull Magnificent up. "I know where they are now, but I don't think they'll stay there for long. Your cub and that hero want to get back to their world soon, and the others have an idea to help them. We need to hurry."

For a fraction of a second, Mag hesitates. But then he lets himself get helped up and nods, blood welling up in one of his eyes. "Alright. Show me."

Distorter's grin widens. "I think I know where they're going. We can intercept them, take them off guard. Follow me."

[ashtonisvibing]

egos normalcy au

everyone's just fucking normal, average people (but still queer as fuck, but that's a given)

anti and jackie both work in tech in some way. jackie has no powers, he doesn't save anyone. anti isn't some weird glitch goblin. they probably hate each other, though. anti is so xenogender, so "anti" isn't its birth name

chase is a video game streamer. still very depressed still very divorced, but no connections to IRIS (IRIS doesn't exist)

marvin is a clothing store retailer who does magic acts for kids on the side

henrik... well, still a doctor. just the stuff with sean doesn't happen.

jameson isn't a wacky guy from the 1920's. he's either a historian or plays violin, i can't decide on which. still mute and uses sign language, obviously. ooooooooo, or maybe he crafts puppets! actually yeah, i like that more, he makes puppets and marionettes ^^

robbie is henrik's adopted child but is actually fucking alive for once

general info (age, pronouns, sexuality, gender)

jackie: 35, he/him, pansexual asexual, trans man

anti: 32, it/its xe/xim, aromantic asexual, glitchgender/agender

chase: 35, he/him they/them, aromantic bisexual, cisqueer

marvin: 33, they/them, gaybian, genderqueer/nonbinary

henrik: 39, he/him, bisexual, cisgender

jameson: 38, he/him they/them, gay asexual, transmasc bear

robbie: 17, they/them he/him it/its, unlabeled/queer, nonbinary/xenogender

in terms of relationships:

jackie and chase are still childhood friends, you can pry this from my cold, dead hands

jackie and marvin are engaged

jackie and anti are step siblings and have a rocky relationship. jackie's trying to mend it a bit but anti is not having it (trauma from your parent's divorcing can be a bitch)

chase and marvin are twins, used to have a bad relationship but through some healing thanks to their childhoods they're okay now

debating on if i wanna have henrik and chase have a friends with benefits thing currently happening. depends on if i wanna bring the iplier egos in (if i do, the fwb will be a past thing, and chase and bing will be dating)

jameson and marvin are exes but on extremely good terms (it was a mutual breakup). now jameson and anti are dating

if i decide to draw stuff for this i'll include a full fledged relationship chart. despite this honestly starting out as a joke post... as you can see i have- many thoughts-

i'll probably bring a couple'a the ipliers in, i love the goobers too much lolol

[greydoesthearts]

Non-Canon Ego Headcanons

Long post under cut but I'm gonna get into some headcanons/my own personal lore I have about the non-canons that aren't talked about as much on my page.

In other words, I've done my Robbie bits, but we've got S34N, Angus, and Shawn, too, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ here we go!

S34N (he/it):

6'4, one of the tallest egos. My Marvin is generally 5'11/6'1 (not consistent) in comparison so he is tall :)

Man liker. He's not exactly programmed to experience these kinds of emotions, all he knows is that he very much understands his own feelings.

Is about 5 years adjusted but Seán's age programmed. Hence "S34N" (because as of 2024 he's 34 get it?) Model only got released this year 👍

S34N hates fire. He's not sure why, it's not even programmed into him, but he hates fire.

He dislikes most people, doesn't even trust the people who've made him, and refuses to be the teaching robot he was made to be. After escaping his creators, he struggled to find a place, but made home in an abandoned IRIS electronics warehouse. Makes things with old parts and sells them, or sells the parts.

_____

Angus (he/they):

5'6, a shorter guy compared to everyone else (who're like 5'8 and above). He wears boots that make him seem taller, however he's perfectly happy how he is.

Man liker. He struggled with coming to terms with it only because he'd never been in love before, but when he realised... oh boy he fell hard.

29 years old. Been into specifically nature survivalist stuff since they were a kid because their dad was an apocalypse survivalist.

Is a nature explorer and photographer, aside from a survivalist. Mostly the nature survivalist thing these days is him making youtube videos about surviving in the wild, but it's not his main thing and he makes money travelling and taking photos of places and animals.

He would prefer to live alone, but hallucinates random sounds a lot so does live with a roommate (Jackie) who of course is nice enough to help him out.

They're a great cook! Prefers to cook from scratch, and doesn't eat all that much meat though they enjoy it sometimes.

_____

Shawn Flynn (they/he/it):

5'9, but slouches literally all the time so they have major back problems.

Man liker (yeah I know they all are what of it lol) but aromantic, just that he's also a hell of a hopeless romantic :3

Not sure how old it is anymore, but it thinks it's in its 40's.

Shawn was a toymaker/designer in the 1920s who happened across unfortunate timing and luck. With some studio hauntings hanging over his head that ultimately caused the studio to shut down, he soon became possessed, then depressed and stopped doing art for a long while. (Shhhh yes I edited the Bendy stuff a little, love me.)

Took up many hobbies through some years and ended up getting really into 80's and 90's music, that somehow pulled them out of their funk. Thank you Tae for the 'Shawn likes Bon Jovi' headcanon agsjsgjs

[ashesofangst]

duo names for egos? you know, like how dsmp has duo, trio, and group names. i wanna see what you think are good duo names for them.

Alright gonna list them, but you’re all welcome to disagree or agree! Some of them are based on lore, some of them are based on personal headcanons, and some are based on headcanons everyone has!

Dark and Anti - Void Duo (Because in DvA, they’re fighting over a void).

Chase and Henrik - Dad Duo (Because in cannon, Chase is a Dad, and I think Henrik mentioned having kids as well as a wife so-).

Marvin and Bim - Spotlight Duo (Because Marvin is a magician, and Bim is a gameshow host).

Marvin and Jackie - Power Duo (Because Marvin is a powerful magician, and Jackie is a powerful superhero).

Jackie and Chase - Brothers/Media Duo (Because I hc them to be brothers and because Chase runs a YouTube channel, and Jackie has to have faced press at least once as a hero).

JJ and Marvin - 20’s Duo (Because JJ is from the 1920s, and in the video with Marvin, I’m pretty sure it the book’s printing was 1920-something).

JJ and Anti - Conspiracy/Possession/Puppet Duo (Because there’s so many conspiracies that I’ve seen about the two of them and because Anti has possessed him before).

JJ and Wilford - Mustache Duo (Because mustache).

Dark and Wilford - Old Friend Duo (Because they’re old friends).

Dark and Actor - Date Duo (Because ADWM).

Actor and Wilford - Murderer Duo (Because both have killed someone).

Actor and Bim - Lights, Camera, Action! Duo (Because both are stars).

Angus and Anti - Knife Duo (Because fanart of Angus with knives, and Anti is known for knives).

Anti and Robbie - Undead Duo (Because undead).

Henrik and Anti - Antidepressants Duo (Because of the video that made Henrik just dip for a year-)

I have more, but this all I have for now. Feel free to comment and/or reblog with your versions! I’d love to here them!

[hiddenspaceplant]

Ego theory time!!

Ok, after twenty minutes of stimming extremely at the video, I’ve got my rational back on.

One of the posters in the video references a Time Stealer, ALTR 5914. There’s also imagery of a clock melting in the video. Something has to be wrong with time. 

My first suspect is Marvin. From his video, he’s been researching the philosophers stone, which heals and stops aging. Turn back the clock, if you will. What if in his attempts to find the philosophers stone, he began distorting time? Remember that strange portal we see in his orb that shows everything we’ve already seen. But what if the order of events isn’t what we perceived it as? I’m not too sure of a timeline, but I think it could hold.

The second suspect is Jameson Jackson. After all, he’s themed to around the 1920’s, based on his speech patterns and outfits. But why does he sit in this cast? Henrik makes sense as a doctor, and possibly being employees by IRIS. Marvin and his magic, Jackie ..is Jackie and we’ll find out one day, Chase and his association with Anti. 

But JJ doesn’t fit. He’s from a different time period. But thankfully, we have an east the in. IRIS turned 100 this year, and 100 years ago is the 1920’s. Someone had to create IRIS after all. And when he’s brought to the future (maybe by Marvin trying to help Jack) Anti, a product of his company decides to punish him, maybe even following him back.

[fear-is-nameless]

Antimatter

From the spellbook in Argentum Inanis;

IRIS = Antimatter

But what exactly is antimatter?

(It’s complicated).

In the 1920′s, scientists were figuring out an equation to go with the theory of relativity (E=mc²; mass transforms into energy/ energy into mass) to describe the behavior of an electron moving at a high speed.

They succeeded. But this new equation could have 2 solutions; 1 for an electron with negative energy & the other an electron with positive energy. The conclusion is for every particle there exists a corresponding anti-particle that's an exact match & behaves identically, but with an opposite charge.

The theory is matter & antimatter existed in equal amounts after the Big Bang. However, if true, as soon as each atom connected to its’ twin counterpart, they should’ve obliterated each other into pure light energy. It’s thought there was ever slightly more matter for unbalance, but that (& why antimatter’s so rare) is a mystery.

So, what does this mean for Anti?

It shows more of his persona- deeper than just “Jack’s evil ego”.

Think about it; particles that behave in the similar way but with the opposite charge. His text is zalgo. His speech is electronic/ layered. His movements unnatural, glitchy & spontaneous. He distorts reality itself at his height of power. 

He is broken in our world. It’s not by his own choice, but what he’s created from & existing in a universe that can’t support him.

Also, it explains some destructive traits. Antimatter is extremely unstable; any contact with its’ twin counterpart would be instant annihilation for both-

into an enormous amount of pure energy. Maybe Anti has the scale tipped in his favor to not be destroyed himself permanently, or he’s a lesser form of antimatter all together. But that potential energy. Can Anti harness it? Is that how time travel is possible or why time is broken at all?

If he really is a fractured entity misplaced in this world, maybe that’s why he’s willing to lash out;

To make everyone else suffer for his own existence ?

In KJSE, Anti kept saying that “there are no strings on me”, how he's “in control” & “this is MY world!”. Almost as if he wants that stability (no matter how to get it), that normality, & that's why;

But how? How do we help someone so unhinged, violent & constantly tearing apart the fabric of reality? Or can we only watch?

Finally, I’m curious about IRIS = Antimatter.

I wondered if it was an acronym as it’s all capitalized, but (at this time) I couldn’t find anything 6/22 update; it is an acronym! I also think of the the colored band of an eye around the black pupil.

That thought alone brought back a lot of old theories. How often we’ve been told to keep watching, even though in the very same spellbook (& vid description/ title at one point) said DON’T MAKE EYE CONTACT. How eyes (even Jacksepticeye/ Sam, the channel logo) are like reflective surfaces, not unlike mirrors. 

And Anti’s been making said eye contact with US since the start.

Perhaps our attention is still something he needs, as he knows we’ll never stop watching.

But... Why is this sidenote, “IRIS = Antimatter” in the spellbook in the first place?

Why was Marvin researching this? What exactly is he looking for? I know the video’s short, but he didn’t seem to take the warnings seriously (use with caution, inform an AIMC immediately! DON’T make eye contact) he still touched the orb. Yes, he was startled to see those images, but that same vortex also appeared at the end-

..... Marvin, despite the risks, either intentionally or by accident,

what have you DONE?

[iamliteraltrash1]

Hey just getting into this new surge of JSE lore stuff-

I’ve noticed that poster seems to be a position to contain Anti, possibly - as “The wtchr” not only describes what Anti does, but the letters A and E are not there…. Possibly standing from AntisepticEye?

That 100th anniversary seems like when something big is gonna happen - maybe someone could try to get in rp contact with the account?

-SepticSquid

Several people have actually interacted with the IRIS account on Twitter ever since this morning! As for the A and E it could be AntisepticEye, but I personal am either leaning towards WTCHR being an acronym like IRIS, or the A and E missing are a part of a larger puzzle that will be unveiled as time passes.

I am excited for the "100th anniversary" of this company. I am curious to see if it will fall on a certain superheroes birthday cause it SEEMS like everything is correlating to begin next month and JBM's birthday is July 10th!

As for the 100th anniversary thing.. let's think about that. This means they've been around since the 1920's 👏. Does this mean Jameson is involved? Also we never asked ourselves.. what time period is Marvin the Magnificent from exactly? Why is IRIS seemingly targeting Chase (They're following Chase bank, but let's be honest, this is in reference to Chase Brody)? Is Schneep involved with the IRIS as well. How to all of these characters' stories connect?

So many questions, so many theories to create from them

👁️

👁️ 👁️

[crystalninjaphoenix]

JSE Renaissance Day 3: Theorist’s Day

Almost forgot about the renaissance week oops XD But! I am here now!

I mean what can I say about the theories? There are so many good ones out there. And I mean...there are a lot, too. You know, technically most of the fanon out there about the septic boys are just theories. Even the bit about c!Jack being in a coma: it’s never been explicitly stated or shown, but we’ve put it together from a bunch of little pieces and hints, to the point where it’s widely accepted as canon. Schneep’s time travel is in the same boat. JJ being a puppet was just a theory up until JJJJ. Everything is a theory! You get a theory! And you get a theory!

I’ve had exactly one (1) theory of my own in the past, and it was related to the JJ puppet theory, back before it was confirmed. I thought that maybe JJ was like...Anti’s “host” before Jack, and the being possessed stopped him from aging, hence why a 1920′s man is now in the present day. That theory actually led to my first ever fic, Possessed, because I just really liked the idea and had to write about it ;)

But as for some theories from other people, here’s a list of my favorites:

Anti is trying to corrupt/puppet Chase

Marvin or Schneep somehow brought Anti into the world

Marvin is working on his own to bring all the others together to stop Anti

Schneep messing with time brings JJ to the present (Even though it’s different from my own, I think this is solid!)

Some of the let’s plays series with glitches (like DDLC) are what’s happening to Jack in his coma dreams

And one that I think is really cool but probably not likely to actually happen: all the septics are different versions of c!Jack from different alternate universes. Doesn’t have a high chance at being canon imo, but a very interesting concept for a fic or comic!

I wish I could remember who originally proposed each :( If anyone knows or if you see your own theory up there, tell me so I can properly thank you for your great ideas!

[vintageoculus]

Maazel (LOC) by The Library of Congress Via Flickr: Bain News Service,, publisher. Maazel [between ca. 1920 and ca. 1925] 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. Notes: Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards. Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). Format: Glass negatives. Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication. For more information, see George Grantham Bain Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/274_bain.html Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print Part Of: Bain News Service photograph collection (DLC) 2005682517 General information about the George Grantham Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.33096 Call Number: LC-B2- 5549-4

[unlikely-cypher]

Jameson Jackson Headcannons

-He  L O V E S to garden. Like whenever he gets stressed he absolutely takes it out on his garden. His garden is the envy of the neighborhood, its so bright and colorful and well attended. 

-I feel like if he could talk he would sound like Alastor from Hazbin Hotel. (I want Chase to teach him all kinds of modern slang like yeet & its lit fam. Chase and Jameson underrated best bros.)

-Was quite the showman back in the 1920′s, real ladies man, absolute gentleman. Incredible dancer. Just the way he carries himself, everyone wants to be around him. 

-Backstory kinda similar to the movie “The Artist” but he gets to a certain point where he wants to keep his fame so he somehow contacts Anti and then gets roped into the whole puppet mess. 

-Can do his own sleight of hand magic, doesn’t like to use it unless hes trying to show off or he really needs to because it reminds him of being under Anti’s control.

-Has a HUGE sweet tooth. Loves all kinds of sweets and will find any excuse to have a tea party, invite Warfstache over for a cup to catch up. 

-Amazed and confused by modern technology but Chase is trying to teach him. Unfortunately hes very scared of the roomba. 

-Jameson dealing with the things in the modern world after he's set free. Like “what in the blue blazes do you mean its not 2 cents for a loaf of bread! this is highway robbery i say!”

-Will dress how he normally dresses (vest, bowtie, dress pants and dress shoes) to do anything. Man woke up and chose to be fancy everyday. Taking out the trash? Fancy. Staying home all day? Fancy. Midnight taco bell run and he has to supervise Chase? Fancy. 

-Loves to read. Adores a good mystery novel but romance is his guilty pleasure. Likes to do puzzles, the ships in a bottle, telling stories of the old days, and bird watching. 

-The most respected of the egos even though he's technically the youngest. Marvin will go to him for advice with magic and things to spice up his shows with. If Henrik isn't home and Jackie gets hurt he helps bandage him up. Makes sure to remind them all to drink water and eat 3 times a day, packs lunches for all of them. Just an absolute father figure. But god save them if they ever play poker or any competitive game against him because all kindness is out the window and Jamie will play for blood.  

[sciencespies]

The National Weather Service Began as a Crowdsourcing Experiment

https://sciencespies.com/nature/the-national-weather-service-began-as-a-crowdsourcing-experiment/

The National Weather Service Began as a Crowdsourcing Experiment

Illustration by Lucille Clerc

For centuries, humans complained about the weather. In 1848, the Smithsonian Institution decided to do something about it. Weather conditions had been considered to be either God’s will or explainable only by homespun nostrums like “Clear moon, frost soon” or by observing, say, the behavior of ants, which don’t like rain. The Farmer’s Almanac promised readers more accurate forecasts when it debuted in 1818, but even those predictions were determined by a “secret formula.” And still are.

Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, tried something new: crowdsourcing. The Institution handed out weather monitoring equipment such as thermometers, barometers and rain gauges to 150 volunteer observers across the country. Each day their localized reports arrived by telegraph, and the Smithsonian generated a national weather map that it displayed on the National Mall. The map became a popular attraction. Tourists who viewed it, Henry noted, “appear to be specially interested in knowing the condition of weather to which their friends at home are subjected at the time.”

An amusing novelty, but no consolation for those pioneers crossing North America, the continent with some of the most violent weather on earth. Only two years before, 42 members of the Donner Party perished in an early Sierra Nevada snowfall they had no way of foreseeing.

In time the number of Smithsonian volunteers grew to more than 600. Technology improved, and slowly auditors found ways of determining what rudimentary climate data collected about the skies over Denver might soon mean to the skies over Chicago and New York as weather moved east. Reports about temperature, humidity, wind and cloud formations flooded in. Still, data didn’t always reach the right place at the right time. For example, on the Great Lakes, 97 ships were lost in one four-day gale in 1869.

Secretary of Agriculture Howard Gore, left, and Charles Marvin, chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau, view a map of weather stations, c. 1924. The bureau was the forerunner of the NWS.

Library of Congress

In the year following that tragedy, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a resolution into law creating the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce. The Smithsonian’s weather observation network was turned over to the Army, which began issuing official forecasts capable of seeing, if hazily, 24 hours ahead. The threat from sudden weather disasters diminished. Ship-borne commerce vastly improved; doing business in America increasingly meant knowing the weather ahead. The division would evolve into the National Weather Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Commerce Department.

The first U.S. weather balloons took flight in 1909, improving the study of temperature, humidity and air pressure. Another breakthrough came in the 1920s when the balloons were equipped with radio transmitters, and real-time observation of the stratosphere became possible. For the first time, researchers observed not only the width of a weather system but also its height. During World War II, radar operators noticed patterns of interference on their screens aligned with heavy weather—and the science of radar meteorology took off, and is still in use today.

So confident were some mid-20th-century weather mavens that they speculated the heavens could be manipulated by chemically altering the atmosphere. Bespoke weather, they believed, would bring rain to farmlands, snow to ski resorts. That quixotic dream didn’t pan out, however, and Americans today are delighted to settle for smartphone weather apps, powered by NWS computer and satellite data, that give accurate information they can access instantly to stay safe. The average three-day hurricane landfall forecast can now pinpoint a much more specific swath of at-risk coastline—100 miles in 2020, compared with 300 miles in 1990—reducing the stress and cost of false alarms. Over the same period, the average tornado warning time has risen from 5 minutes to 8 to 10 minutes.

Will climate change erode our confidence in everyday weather prediction? Not in the short term, says Beth Carpenter, a meteorologist and co-founder of Thermodynamic Solutions, an Indianapolis-based firm. “Climate change itself won’t affect weather modeling because the time scales are vastly different. We are forecasting on a much smaller time scale, usually only out to three months at a time for seasonal forecasts at the longest range. Climate periods are defined as average conditions over 30 years.”

North America’s weather is no less violent than it was when the Donner Party, oblivious, set sail in their prairie schooners before succumbing, victims of what Joseph Henry would call “the problem of American storms.” But the NWS, now with 4,000 workers, will keep finding safer ways for us to live with them. That’s a sunny forecast no matter where you are.

Some ingenious methods for getting a fix on atmospheric conditions and even the earth’s crust

By Shi En Kim

Reading a rain gauge in the 1920s. The ancients kept track of rainfall, but 17th-century Englishman Richard Towneley was known for his systematic measurements, noting “how little trouble there is to this task.” Library of Congress

A snow gauge, in the Northwest in 1917. A quantity of snow collected over a given time span was melted. The water volume indicated the depth of the snow cover. Library of Congress

An early meteorograph, a device that combines and charts numerous variables at once, such as temperature, precipitation and barometric pressure. Library of Congress

A helium- or hydrogen-filled pilot balloon, circa 1943, rose at a predictable rate; it measured wind speed and direction, as well as cloud altitude. Library of Congress

Meteorologists employed a spotlight and theodolite, like scope surveyors use, to measure the height of cloud cover. The value was derived by triangulating the light source, the reflection on the ceiling and a fixed object nearby. Library of Congress

In this early 20th-century seismograph, a pendulum weight suspended at the end of the horizontal bar responded proportionately to an earthquake and marked the rotating disc. Library of Congress

Inventions

rain

Scientists

Smithsonian Institution

Technology

Weather

#Nature

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 3: Switch

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Switch | Read SwitchSwap | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch Chapters Taglist: @brokentimewatch

The living room is crowded with everyone in here. There's not enough chairs for everyone, but the Switches all silently agree to let Alt and Chase have the sofa to themselves. Then, of course, Marvin has his usual chair, which leaves JJ, Anti, Schneep, and Jackie standing.

"I know everyone's tired," Jackie says, looking at Bro and Alt sympathetically, "But we might not have much time. I-I don't know how good Magnificent is at tracking, but... yeah... A-anyway, is there anything anyone needs?"

Rest, ideally, but as you said, we may not have much time, JJ says.

Alt, while glad to see the others again, hasn't moved from Bro's side. Bro looks at everyone with worry but he nods, "Yeah I... I think I'm okay."

"... i need something to eat- so I can at least glitch without passing out." Alt admits quietly. "Something fast- you're right... Mag can sense magic... he might already be on the trail to this... Iris place. If it has magic."

"We have some snacks in the kitchen," Marvin says, starting to get up.

No, I'll go get them, JJ says. You stay here. And the rest of you keep talking without me, I'll still hear you. And he turns and leaves the room.

"Sensing magic, huh?" Anti repeats. "I'm... not sure if IRIS is magical. They're more on the... techy side. But, uh... Shame that JJ just left right now, but apparently their facilities have some sort of weird... not-magic-but-sorta... aura."

"He has described it as artificial-feeling in the past," Schneep recalls. "But that might not stop Magnificent."

"So where shoul' we go?" Marvin asks.

"Well, we all know about the north one, that's probably not a good idea," Jackie says, causing all the Switches to shudder at the memory. "And I know a lot about the east one, enough to know the multiverse time-space stuff wasn't their focus. Uh, Volt, what about that one in--"

"Too small," Schneep interrupts.

"Right. That just leaves the one to the west."

“Well at least that narrows it down…” Bro agrees.

Alt grips over his chest and sighs, “That’ll be enough for Mag. He can’t sense the difference between artificial magic and true magic. Anything with power- he’ll find.”

"Well that's fucking worrying, then," Anti states, concerned. "We might have even less time than we thought. Jackie, did you hear about anything that could help get them home?"

"Um..." Jackie shifts where he stands uncomfortably.

JJ returns. He puts a handful of snack foods next to Alt: a bag of chips, a bowl of raspberries, and two granola bars. I wasn't sure what you would want so I got a couple things, he says. We have more if you need it.

Alt relaxes some and smiles at Jj, “Nah this’ll help- thanks JJ.” Alt isn’t usually big on eating in front of others- but he sees the food and realizes just how hungry he is. He had to glitch a lot… he tears unto the granola bars, trying to chew quickly.

“Wait- did Jackie… did you like- work for Iris or something?” Bro asks with a tilt of his head. “…if they’re like Sclera…”

"I--It's--it's a long story." Jackie looks away, ashamed. "I didn't know about all the, uh, immoral stuff going on with them. Just their tech. I-I thought it... might be able to help protect us from Distorter..."

"It was not a bad idea on paper," Schneep says quietly. "If you do not know about what they do, you would take what you could."

Jackie clears his throat. "Anyway. Because I was focusing on Distorter protection, I didn't know much about anything else. But I think... I think I heard they were working on something to help... travel? Maybe that could... I don't know."

"Well, it's a shot, isn' it?" Marvin says, putting some cheer in his voice.

Bro nods, no judgement at all in his expression or stance. He smiles warmly at Jackie. “Hey no worries bro- I get it. Distorter is freaky as fuck. Doing whatever it takes to try to help is really brave.”

Alt pauses in his eating- though he’s practically finished everything off. “Yeah- even if nothings there… if Mag thinks there might be… he could hurt a lot of people to get it.”

He glitches to his feet and then shakes himself off, letting his shoulders and upper arms fizzle with pixels before popping back into place. “How far away is the west branch? And… you guys don’t have to come with us- if you don’t want to. Sounds like they’re a lot of hang ups around this place…”

Jackie lets out a breath, silently relieved that the two of them didn't judge him. "No, I-I have to go. I know the general layout and signs and stuff. Besides, it's out of town, so we need to drive and JJ and I are the only ones who can... assuming you guys can't."

“Fucking hate driving,” Alt mutters, crossing his arms. “Too slow-“

Bro smiles and nudges Alt a bit, “But we can… manage. We just don’t normally need to much.”

I don't know how much use I'll be with my magic still recharging, JJ says. Perhaps I should stay. I can try another teleportation if... someone gets here.

"If you are staying, I should go to help in case of a fight," Schneep says.

"Are you sure?" Jackie asks.

"Yes." Schneep nods firmly.

"Well if you're going I feel bad if I don't go," Anti mutters.

"I'll stay wit' Jems," Marvin offers. "If somet'ing happens I can protect him." He shuffles his cards nervously.

Alt looks worriedly at Jj and Marvin, “…you’ll be safe… right? Cuz of the wards- so… yeah… yeah okay.” Alt breathes and then meets the others eyes, determination bright in the glowing green ring in his eyes. “Alright. Let’s get on it then…”

Bro hesitates and then walks over to Jj and Marvin and smiles warmly, “hey- if something.. happens. Or we manage to get ourselves back home… it was good to see you all again. Youre getting really good at using those cards, Marv!” He beams, “Take care of yourselves alright? And.. sorry for all this mess.”

"We'll be fine, don' worry," Marvin reassures them. "We have a few tricks up our sleeves now." He grins, looking almost mischievous. "T'ank you for noticing the cards, by t'way. I've been rememberin' more and more."

It was good to see you, too, JJ says, smiling. Wish it could've happened under better circumstances. Maybe another time. Good luck on getting back.

Alt smirks, “…if we can figure out how to do this without dragging danger with us… it’d be nice to chill, someday.” Alt throws his hands into his pockets and looks away, red on his cheeks. He tries to pull up his mask- but it’s not there so he just blushes more. “Thanks guys… for everything.” He mutters.

"Come on, guys!" Anti is already back in the front hall. "Your cat is trying to get out!"

Marvin gasps. "Don' let him!"

"I'm not!"

Jackie laughs. "Alright, everyone, let's head out."

Bro and Alt look up at the shout and chase laughs. He waves goodbye and follows the others. Alt lingers for a second before glitching after them.

Marvin and JJ wave goodbye back. "Good luck!" Marvin calls. "An' goodbye."

Everyone piles into the car and heads out.

-----------

Mirygale is surrounded by a field. Most of the roads heading out are highways and motorways that cut through it. But out west there's just a single winding road. It's easy to tell if someone's coming. Which is why Distorter tried "convincing" Mag to come out this way. That, and he was pretty sure they'd be trying to go to the IRIS facility over here. It was the only one left when they really thought about their options.

Even influenced, Magnificent is not gonna subject themselves to walking for miles. So- he gets the location from Distorter and manages to portal them right outside of the facility. He scans the building- trying to find a magic signature to catch onto.

Distorter laughs, delighted. "That's a handy trick you have there. Makes things a lot easier." Then he turns and looks at the facility. "Hmm... this one's different than that one up north."

The facility is actually about three buildings, none of them larger than the average house, surrounded by a high chain-link fence. It used to be an old military base before IRIS swooped in and repurposed it. Right now, it looks abandoned. There are no cars or people walking the asphalt between the buildings. But... Magnificent can feel a faint signature. Not like magic, but something similar. Like the artificial taste of a cherry candy versus the real thing. One is a mere imitation. Or is it even trying to imitate anything at all? Either way, it seems to be coming from all of the buildings. Like there's something strange about the structures themselves.

Magnificent narrows his eyes as he takes in the signatures, a sour expression on his face. “…there’s faint power coming from all of them but… it’s artificial. Strange… I believe that doorway gave off something more than this…”

"Doorway?" Distorter leans closer. As Magnificent thinks about the doorway, an image of it pops up in his mind that Distorter can see. "Hmm. Never seen something like that before. Then again, I don't get out much." He giggles. "You shouldn't bet on just one mode of transportation. What if you go to a universe without magic? I doubt they'd have one of those. You need something else. IRIS is resourceful enough to figure that 'something else' out."

"hm... yes- I suppose so..." Magnificent hums in thought.

He takes a step back and scans the fence. There's a gate some ways away, but it'd be much easier to climb over the fence. Which he does, grabbing the links and scuttling up like some sort of spider. There's barbed wire at the top but he just climbs over that, too, not minding the way it digs into his skin. "Come on. You don't have to go over, of course, but come on."

Magnificent looks at the gate and Distorter climbing and makes a face before walking forward and in a wave of static appears on the other side of the fence.

Distorter grins as he watches that happen. Teleportation again so soon? After such a large jump? Yes, Magnificent is powerful indeed. Not nearly as great as his self-chosen name would suggest, but it'll be useful. Distorter drops down from the top of the fence, landing on his feet. "Well, I'm sure there's a lot that'll be useful in here. I'll keep watch. You can check out as much as you want. When they come, I'll tell you."

Magnificent nods distantly and looks towards the buildings. "Alright." He says simply then fizzles away into static to start to rifle through the buildings. What could there be here...?

Distorter watches him go. Then he walks over and hides around the corner of one building. Normally he'd be able to hide in plain sight, but they might have... that one... with them. He can't take that chance. He's hidden from the gate here and that's good enough.

...some time passes. And then a car appears, driving down the dirt road to the facility. Distorter recognizes it immediately. {They're coming,} he tells Magnificent.

Magnificent hears the warning and narrows his eyes. {Noted. Let me know if they get in our way.} He continues his search, brushing aside things, looking for any sign of- well he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Maybe it would give off the right magic- or maybe it’d be labeled. That would be nice.

Inside the buildings is an environment of painted white walls and keycard-locked doors. Many of them have labels--identifying them as labs of various kinds--but some do not. There are also offices full of filing cabinets and storage rooms full of boxes with strange ordinary-looking tech inside: anything from CPUs to TVs to microwaves. But every single thing gives off that strange artificial magic feeling. There are cameras everywhere, visibly dangling from the ceilings.

As Magnificent walks, tiny bursts of static fizzle over the cameras as he passes. He did not want to be watched. He tries his magic to open some of the doors-

The locked doors are surprisingly sturdly. They look like wood but that's merely a facade, they're actually metal wrapped in a wooden exterior. But surely a big enough blast will knock them in. If Magnificent is willing to try.

Meanwhile, Jackie parks the car right outside the gate and gets out of the driver's seat. "Did not anticipate a locked gate," he mutters.

"At least it's only a fence," Anti adds, getting out of the passenger side. "Remember the walls up north?"

"I don't think any of us will forget those."

Even before they’ve parked all the way, Alt glitches out of the car. He shakes himself off like a disgruntled cat.

Bro doesn’t act nearly as desperate as his brother. He carefully steps out, then studies the facility. “…it looks abandoned… is that good or bad?”

"Well, good because it means we will not have to deal with them," Schneep says, getting out of the car last. "The IRIS guards and their CC group, I mean. They would be very interested in you two. I think it is bad because... why would they clear out?"

"Do you think it's a trap?" Anti asks quietly.

"Either that, or something just as bad for our health." Schneep narrows his eyes and scans the grounds beyond the fence. "How do we get in?"

"There's a keycard scanner there." Jackie points. Next to the gate is a little black box. "That's probably our best chance. I'm betting this fence is sturdier than it looks."

Alt and Bro seem to shiver at this, Alt gripping at a scar on his wrist.

Chase frowns, “They.. wouldn’t know all of us are here though so.. maybe not a trap? Unless… Distorter or Mag did something.”

“Mag has moved fast before in these places,” Alt mutters bitterly. He then glances at the others and then back at the fence. “I mean- if we don’t want to be detected- Chase can fly over and I can glitch some of you. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

"That could work," Anti says. "Are you sure that won't, uh, drain you too much?"

"I could try to work with this." Schneep walks up to the keycard reader. "Perhaps if we short it out the gate will open."

"Or maybe it'll stay closed and an alarm will start going off," Jackie says. "I think the glitch thing is safest. If it's not too much trouble."

Alt seems a bit apprehensive but he quickly nods and then offers his hands out to the others, green glowing in his eyes. “I got it- should be quick. But uh, warning I hear it doesn’t feel… great if you’re not used to it. But uh- just link up with me.”

Bro is already vaulting over the gate, climbing up some then doing some high flying parkour move to land on the other side. Show off.

"Is fine, I'm sure it won't be the worst thing." Schneep is the first to link up with Alt. Then Jackie, then finally, after a moment of hesitation, Anti.

"Show off," Anti mutters, watching Chase's fancy flying parkour moves.

Bro just waves excitedly from the other side.

Alt rolls his eyes, “He doesn’t mean to- but yeah.” He laughs. He then channels his glitches and in a quick zip the 4 of them appear in a zip of electricity on the other side of the fence. The feeling is disorienting- but it feels more like a full body shiver, like your whole body fell asleep then woke up with a quick jolt. Though, the others can feel alt breaking into pixels for a second before he snaps back together, he quickly steps back and looks around.

"Whoa." Anti quickly pushes away from Alt. No offense, but feeling someone dissolve is very, very unpleasant for him.

"Th-that was weird..." Jackie whispers, shivering.

Schneep doesn't say anything. He looks down at his hands, though.

Inside, Magnificent bares his teeth then sends a blast of magic at the door.

The door gives way, blasted off its hinges. The resulting BANG! and clatter rings out like a gunshot.

Alt glitches in surprise at the sound of the bang. He lights up electricity and looks around, already on edge. “Fuck- did Mag beat us here??”

"What the fuck?!" Anti jumps and immediately pulls out a knife. He wishes he had time to bring his gun! Even if it has been a while since he used it. "He fucking must have, jesus christ..."

Distorter turns towards the sound, annoyed. They were trying to be subtle!

"Where did that come from?!" Schneep's head darts around, looking for any sign of Magnificent--but he sees something else instead. A face that he can't identify, which is an identity itself. He gasps. "The magic man is not the only one here. It is our bitch, too."

"Fuck!" Jackie shouts.

Alt stiffens and in a panic holds out his hand towards where Schneep is looking. “No no! fucking- Why is he here?!?”

Bro narrows his eyes and tries to see if he can tell where Schneep is looking. He builds up some power in his fingers, then shoots them off towards where Distorter is, electricity rocketing out like a bullet.

Magnificent hardly blinks as he steps through the wreckage and steps inside the room, lighting up a flame on his hand so he can see.

Magnificent has found himself in a wide room--wide as in it extends far to the left and the right, seemingly along the length of this building in particular. There are mechanical work stations going in a row across the room, robotic parts and boxes of metal bits. It looks like a place where they build cell phones. Some of these parts are giving off a stronger magical signature. Particularly some rectangular red computer chips.

Magnificent quickly looks around the room, sweeping his light across the walls to try to see the magic signatures better. He sees the chips and speeds towards them-

{They're here.}

Mag curses as he hears Distorter’s warning. {Keep them distracted! I think I found something-}

The red chips have power, but as Magnificent examines them, he sees no way for them to use it. They're just sitting there, emitting a signature. Perhaps he could drain them, but they're very small. It seems they're only a part of a whole.

Magnificent curses and then grabs the chips, as many as he can stash away in his pocket. Then he sprints to try to get through the next room- seems like they were on a timer now.

Distorter barely has time to receive Magnificent's mental message before--ZAP! Bro's electricity smacks him directly in the face, knocking him into view of the group. He spasms on the floor for a moment, then laughs and goes still. "Is that a new one? Are you actually trying now?" His head turns towards the group, grinning. "Oh? Looks like we're missing some people. You just left them behind? Ah, well." He stands, going from laying on his back to a backbend to pushing himself upright with some disturbing cracking noises. "But we have some friendly faces out there. Hello, Anti. Hello, Jackie. Hello, Aodhan."

Anti stiffens. Then immediately rage clouds his face and he lunges forward. "Get my fucking name out of your fucking mouth!" he shouts. Luckily, Jackie holds him back before he can do anything stupid.

"There is no use hiding!" Schneep says, curling his hands into fists.

"I'm not hiding now, am I?" Distorter spreads his arms wide. "Welcome everyone! So good to see you."

Bro glares and puffs out his chest, standing taller. Until Distorter back bends and he jumps back with wide eyes. “Oh what the fuck?!”

Alt’s eyes widen as Anti’s name gets spoken and then he bares his teeth, electricity crackling. “Fucker! Leave us the hell alone! Why are you even here anyways?”

"I'm here because you're here," Distorter says. "You can't just forget about me and leave!"

"Why not? You--you want to be forgotten." Jackie stutters. He's pale just looking at Distorter but holds his ground.

"Not by my friends!" Distorter's grin widens. "We are friends, aren't we, Jackie?"

Immediately, Jackie's eyes start to glaze over behind his glasses. He lets go of Anti, who stumbles forward and then looks back in shock. "Jackie," he says quietly. "Don't listen--"

Distorter laughs. "I knew it." He turns to look at Alt and Chase. "I'll handle this. You handle them."

Jackie nods slowly, a single drop of red falling from his eye, and lunges at Anti. "No!" Schneep runs for Jackie, trying to pull him back. The three of them are immediately fighting. Jackie's putting his all into fighting his friends, throwing punches and grabbing throats, but the other two are reluctant to hurt him.

Alt’s stomach drops, “Jackie-!”

Distorter turns to look at the Swaps. "You know who's inside this building?" he says. "You old friend. It's just the two of you now. You can't win that fight. Maybe I can help..."

Alt stumbles back as Distorter looks at them.

Bro scoffs and crosses his arms, “We’ve handled Mag more times then you have, ya grayscale bitch.”

Alt tries to growl at Distorter, but his hands are shaking. He’s scared- he’s scared of being so close to Distorter. Of what Mag could be doing. But, he can’t let himself get distracted by Distorter. “Where is he?”

"Hmm. Somewhere in one of these buildings," Distorter says noncommittally. "And I'll point out that quantity does not imply quality. I've won every time so far. You? Not so much. Right, Blitz? Or do you prefer Impulse? Maybe you'd be able to handle Magnificent more if you had some cat tranquilizers on hand, you know."

Alt feels his blood go cold, hearing those names. He staggers back, feeling like he got punched in the gut.

“Hey! Leave him fucking alone!” Bro yells as he tries to fire another electric shot at him. “You’ve done more than enough to him today!”

Distorter laughs and tries to dodge Bro's attack.

In the background, Schneep has managed to pin Jackie to the ground with both hands behind his back. Anti breathes heavily, but looks at Jackie. "H-he's in your head, doc! You hate this, remember? Do you remember what he did to you? Fucking months, Jackie! We were all worried about you! Rama and Michelle were worried about you!"

Jackie shudders. "Anti..." he breathes. "Aodhan... it's... i-it's hard..."

Bro's attack goes wide, and Distorter just laughs harder. "Fucking useless as always!"

"Oh you shut the fuck up!" Schneep snaps from where he is. "Do not listen to him, Chase! You are one of the strongest people I know!"

Chase snorts and grits his teeth, trying to shoot out another shot. “Alt! See if you can help Jackie or try to look for Mag! I’ll handle the gray bitch!”

Alt seems hesitant, glancing at the others. He remembers that- that JJ could shock him out of it… and Jackie didn’t like the glitches. He hurries over to the others and kneels down by Jackie. “Jackie just- sorry- I think this’ll help!” He then grabs Jackie’s shoulder and tries to send a bit of his glitches and magic under his skin.

The glitches under Jackie’s skin don’t feel- great. It’s like fizzling soda but sharp, bringing a bit of an electric jolt through his system.

Jackie's eyes immediately fly open and he gasps, jolting. "Ack! Okay I'm back I'm back! Volt, let me up!" Schneep waits for a moment before standing up, pulling Jackie with him. "Th-thanks, Alt. I guess."

Alt blushes and holds up his hands, “Fuck sorry- I just… jj shocked me out of it but with… cold- god I guess that would be more pleasant…”

At once, the group switches their attention to the conflict between Distorter and Chase.

Inside, it seems like the chips are the most powerful thing in this particular building of the facility. No matter how many doors Mag breaks open, he doesn't find anything more powerful than that.

Magnificent snarls and then tries to teleport into the next building, rushing as fast as he can to try to find something- anything that he could use!

Magnificent has teleported into a building that is just one big room, lined with lockers and...what look like weapons racks. But they don't hold guns or knives. Instead, there are weird metallic boxes and collapsible staffs, handheld devices with extending prongs and loops of black metallic rope. They are all giving off that artificial magic feeling, though more electric than the rest.

Magnificent looks around the room in confusion. Fuck- tech… his cub was better with all of then him. He tries to search around to see if the chips might work with any of these. Before quickly remembering these look like phone chip cards. Okay no fuck! Time to try the last building then- he quickly teleports to the last one, starting to feel a slight drain of his magic that has blood falling from his eyes.

This next attack takes Distorter off guard and hits him square in the chest, knocking him over. His limbs jitter for a moment before he gets back up, shoulders rolling, knees bending. He looks at Chase and growls, dropping the smile for a split second. "You know you're going to die alone," he whispers. "And you know you'll deserve it." Before he tries for a blunt mental attack--not looking for control. Just looking for pure damage.

Bro feels his blood run cold as he sees Distorter’s smile drop. But before he can brace himself there’s a mental weight so severe on his mind that he doubled over and screams, curling up as he digs fingers into his skull.

Alt screams at seeing Bro fall and then glitches to try to tackle Distorter to the floor, electricity sharp and bright around him.

Distorter is so concerned with torturing Bro that he doesn't notice Alt until it's too late. The tackle slams him to the ground, Alt's loose electricity zapping him into immobility. He screams--not in pain, but frustration.

The other three all immediately rush over, following Alt. Schneep helps him pin Distorter to the ground, grabbing his blackened wrists. He's not bothered by the proximity to Alt's zapping.

"You shut the fuck up!" Anti shouts. "You shut the fuck up! Leave him alone! Leave all of us alone!"

Alt repeatedly slams Distorter into the ground, pulling him up and down by his shirt. “TOUCH MY BROTHER AGAIN!! I’LL KILL YOU İ̵̘’̵̤͒L̶̆ͅĹ̷̳ ̵̯̃F̴̩͋U̵̙͆C̵̥̆K̵̹͆I̴̗̽NG KILL YOU!!” Alt screams, voice glitching with his body as he slams more and more electricity into Distorter- his magic reaching dangerous levels.

Jackie rushes for Bro. "What happened?!" He's instantly in doctor mode, looking for injuries but seeing none.

Bro slowly uncurls and blinks blearily out, his head absolutely killing him. His whole body feels off and heavy but- there’s no fog. “hngh- yeah yeah i- im okay…” He pushes himself up and then stares at Alt losing his shit with wide eyes. “Alt! Hey I’m okay! It’s okay!”

Both Anti and Schneep stare at Alt with wide eyes--the reaction makes sense but it's more than they were expecting. "Alt, please! Stop!" Schneep tries to push Alt away from Distorter but Alt is too furious to be stopped, and Anti doesn't want to get close to the electricity.

The last building has its power off, looking locked down. This is rooms and rooms of storage of some kind. Everything in here is either on a shelf or in a box, labelled with a series of numbers or letters and a reason why it's in here instead of being used. Most of them are labeled "failed prototype" and have an attached explanation.

Somewhere in the mess is a small, phone-sized box. And inside are three devices stacked on each other that very much resemble smart phones. They are made of white metal with a glass screen, and a single power on button at the top. This box is labelled "TRVLR - failed prototype. Lack of adequate portable power." They feel like the chips do.

Mag hurries to look around and finally stumbles across the box. His eyes widen, seeing the name and then fumbling to try to insert one of the chips into the TRVLR.

The back of the TRVLR slides open easily enough, but it looks like it already has all the parts, chip included. After all, the labelled issue with it was the power source. Perhaps it just needs a jolt. A zap.

Magnificent sees the chip there already and is confused- until he remembers how they got here in the first place. He grins and laughs to himself, already feeling the familiar spark of his cub.

He grabs the device and then teleports back out into the battle, reaching out and yanking Alt off of Distorter, quickly wrapping his arm around Alt’s neck, choking him.

Alt flails and tries to claw his way out of Mag’s arms.

“Now now Anti! We really must teach you how to manage your temper~!” Magnificent laughs sinisterly and then holds up the device. “I think it’s time we had a change of scenery, don’t you?”

"Whoa, what the fuck?!" Anti aims his knife at Magnificent. "Put him down you bitch!" He knows that a single knife is not so threatening but fuck it, he's not going to let Mag get away with that!

Distorter is very shaken from Alt's attack but still tries to lunge forward. Schneep grabs him. "I have this!" He says through gritted teeth.

"The only reason you 'have this' is because IRIS fucked your brain into pieces!" Distorter spits, venom in his voice as he struggles. Schneep flinches but won't let go. A few blue sparks fly off his hands.

Jackie gasps and stands up as well. "What is that?! What does that do?!" He points at the TRVLR.

Magnificent laughs wildly, “I can feel it- this must be it! It must be how I can get to another world~! But of course, I need help from my favorite cub~!”

Alt pales and then fights more against Mag, “No! Fucking- let me go! I just want to go home!”

“But this will let us go home, Alt! Don’t you wanna help us get back to your precious family?” Magnificent whispers smoothly. Alt hesitates.

Bro struggles up and glares at Magnificent’ “Let him go Mag! You can’t keep fucking using him like he’s a battery!”

Magnificent tilts his head to the side and smirks, “But that’s all he’s good for, isn’t he? Can’t do much but hurt others with those powers of his~ at least with me, he can serve a higher purpose!”

Alt cringes and looks away, fighting a little less, a look of regret and sorrow in his eyes.

"Oh you shut the FUCK up!" Anti snaps. "Alt is more than his powers! And he doesn't need the self-delusional bullshit that you live on to convince yourself that you're more than some sad pathetic man who doesn't have anything he cares about or anyone who cares about him!"

Distorter laughs, oddly endorsing Anti's words. Schneep zaps him again.

"You don't even know if that'll work in the first place!" Jackie adds desperately. "And you don't know how to use it! You could end up somewhere terrible!"

Magnificent turns to Anti with a murderous expression, throwing out green fire towards him in a fit of rage. “SHUT UP! You know fucking nothing you second rate failure of a father!”

He then grips Alt’s arm and builds up black magic again, digging his claws in. “I don’t care- as long as it works, I don’t care! I’ll find something more than the wasted magic here.”

Alt pleads, tears in his eyes.“No! S-Stop! I don’t want to do this again! Just let us go home!” He wants to glitch away but he could set off the machine and send Mag rampaging into another world!

“Mmm how bout we make this a bonding trip, kitten? It seems like your brother will be in good hands here!”

“No- no!! Fucking let me GO!!”

Bro looks at this with fear in his eyes. He can’t let Mag just leave him here. But- he can’t let Mag corrupt Alt either! He’s gotta think- gotta think!

The fire is unexpected. Anti barely dodges it. But it does get the end of his jacket sleeve. He hurriedly pulls it off and stomps out the fire. "Yeah?! Yeah?! Tell me something I haven't heard before you piece of shit! You got nothing on me after the shit I've been put through!"

Faintly, Distorter smiles proudly. But this isn't good. They just got here, he can't lose two great asset--friends now. Schneep's electricity is preventing him from moving, but if he concentrates... he still has a hold on Magnificent.

{Let go.} The words are accompanied by a push of fog.

Magnificent growls, pressing claws further into Alt’s skin, ready to corrupt Alt fully again.

Then, the link with Distorter rushes over his mind, everything turning into fog. His eyes widen and go hazy, and he slowly lets Alt fall to the ground.

Alt doesn’t hesitate to run, then once he’s far away, glitch back over towards the others. But he does look back at Mag with confusion, panting heavily.

The others know the signs of Distorter's influence when they see them. "What the fuck?!" Schneep gasps.

Distorter looks up at him. "Did you think I couldn't--"

Schneep shocks him again and looks at the others in alarm. "We have to get out of here!"

"There have to be more of those things somewhere in here!" Jackie says, indicating the TRVLR. He glances around the buildings, noticing the small difference in the IRIS logos painted on the side. "There!" he points. "I-I think that's the storage!"

"Gotta go either way!" Anti says. "Go go go go!"

They all break into the run. Schneep makes sure to give Distorter a big shock before he runs.

Alt stares at Mag with apprehension but Bro is quick to scoop him up and then carry him fireman style after the others. “H-Hey! Chase!”

“I can run faster than you just- c’mon!”

Magnificent tries to shake his head, trying to push past the gray. He was… doing something important.

The group get stalled at the door for a moment befoer Schneep shouts "Fuck it!" and grabs the keycard scanner, jolting it with so much electricity that it smokes. Nothing happens--but now the door is unlocked. Jackie leads the way inside, scrambling through his memories. Where would IRIS store a multiverse jumping device?! It looked like a phone--somewhere they could tuck it away easily, maybe--

The group checks a couple different doors before Anti yells out. "This it?!"

Bro sets Alt down once they’re inside and they quickly help the others search. Once Alt hears that Anti found something, he glitches over.

Everyone else rushes to him. He's found the box with the two other TRVLRs. "It says they don't have a good power source--that's why that bitch wanted Alt."

Alt looks at the device curiously- and now that they have some distance from Mag… he sends a bit of his electricity into the machine. Worse comes to worse… he’ll destroy it if Mag tries to take it.

The TRVLR's screen lights up as soon as Alt sends a jolt into it. There are three white circles arranged on a triangle against a black background. The top one has an X icon, the left one has an upwards-pointing arrow, and the right one has a gear icon. "Weird," Anti mutters. He taps the gear and it opens up a screen of technical-looking text. "Nope." Luckily, there's a handy Back icon at the bottom. "What is this?"

Jackie leans over and presses the circle with the up arrow. A pop up appears, with the words Are you sure you want to initiate jump? and a Yes and No option.

"Nooooo no no, not yet." Jackie quickly presses No. He looks at Alt and Chase. "I, uh... I think that button can... get you home. If you're ready."

"What about the top?" Schneep asks.

Anti presses the button with the X icon. The three circles disappear, now replaced by a list of letters and numbers. In the middle is U-0407019SW - Current Location.

"Oh. It's a map. Uhhh... how do we know which one is these guys's home?"

"It must be close, for them to get here so easily," Schneep says. "Perhaps the one above or below?"

Alt stares at the device as the others poke and prod at it. At least he knows now Mag would have been just as confused… Alt’s heart leaps into his throat as Jackie tells them about the jump button. He nods.

Chase squints at the numbers, “god- that’s confusing… we wouldn’t know the fucking area code of our dimension! We just get dragged places…”

“What if we chose wrong,” Alt asks quietly. “What if we really do end up somewhere worse? And we… we can’t leave Mag here- he’ll…” He swallows thickly.

"Hey," Anti says gently. "There's going to be risk with this no matter what you do. Even if you could find that weird doorway, how would you know you'd go back home using it? If you'd rather stay for a while and figure this out... It'd be fine. We'd be cool with that. But...It won't make the risk go away."

"Well, uh, if it helps, you probably shouldn't go to the ones marked with exclamation marks." Jackie points to one on the lists that has a red exclamation point in front of the code. "Those are probably marked off for a reason."

Alt narrows his eyes at the exclamation points and then nods. Okay… at least they know what to avoid. “…we need to get Mag out of here… the longer we stay- the more we put the rest of you at risk-“

Outside, Distorter gets to his feet and stretches, arching his back so far that it pops. He looks at Magnificent, who is still confused. Hmm... you know what? That was a mistake. He should've taken the opportunity to get into Alt's head while he was freaking out because of the magician. But he was distracted by the shock-induced convulsions. Well, Mag will get over the confusion. For now, Distorter heads towards the building where they ran. Even if Mag recovers and takes Alt away, he might still be able to get rid of that copy of once-him.

Magnificent clutches at his head as he’s left alone. He then blinks and through the slowly clearing fog starts to stumble towards the storage building. Right right- he was looking for something- god c’mon! Think!

Distorter can hear them talking. He walks closer--slowly, he can't just hide from them with that one there. What are they talking about? Risk?

{You don't have to go anywhere if it's too dangerous,} Alt hears the voice in his head. {Stay here, where it's safe.} It's accompanied by a gentle push.

Alt pauses, the voice slithering in his head. There’s a push but Alt quickly shakes himself out of it and whips around, wide eyes looking around for Distorter. “Fuck- he’s already here?”

Magnificent digs his claws into the doorway and leans against it, dazed eyes narrowing at the group. He sees- they have the device too. He growls, pushing himself forward. His cub was going to pay for escaping him- trying to steal his victory.

Bro hears this and spins around, sliding in front of the others and holding his arms out protectively, flashing silver blue eyes at Mag. “Don’t you fucking dare, Mag.”

"Well it's all just going to shit, isn't it?" Anti mutters. "Here." He hands the TRVLR to Alt. "You should at least hold onto it."

"He's dazed," Jackie whispers, too quiet for Mag to hear. "Because of Distorter. You might not have another chance to get him out of here." He glances back and forth between Chase and Alt. "Don't worry about us. We've dealt with our bastard before, we can do it again."

“Alright, I can grab him. Then Alt- you try whatever address feels right-“ Bro replies.

“Wait i-!” Alt holds the TRVLR close and then starts searching through the addresses with wide eyes, trying not to panic.

Distorter sees Magnificent coming. He got over that sooner than expected, actually. And he can feel the link between them straining. He can't push it too far or it'll break. Fine. He'll settle for taking care of the once-him copy. If Mag takes Alt, that one will no doubt have a crisis he can use. {Well? What are you waiting for? Don't you want to get out of here?}

Magnificent sees the device is working and he yells out in wild desperation, especially as he hears Distorter echoing in his head. He tries to push past Bro to grab at Alt. Bro quickly tries to grab him, trying to wrestle him to the floor. “Choose one, Alt! Hurry!”

"Mother fucker!" Schneep spots Distorter ducking out of sight. "Stop this! I have it, you guys, go on!" He only hesitates for a moment to look at Alt.

"Good luck. And goodbye."

Alt is trying not to panic but he meets Schneep’s eyes. He nods, “G-Goodbye Volt.”

Then Volt lunges for Distorter, who shrieks in frustration and actually runs, not wanting to enter another cycle of shocks.

"Make sure you've all got a hold of each other!" Jackie advises.

There's a number close to the current location on the list reading U-1030018ST. That has to be promising, right? It doesn't have a mark and has the same prefix as this one. That means it's probably similar, right? Their home is similar, right?

Alt hesitates but scrolls to the address and thinks it looks right- but he can’t hesitate for too much longer. He rushes to Chase, who holds out a hand for him to take while Magnificent squirms and hisses in his grasp. Alt takes Bro’s hand and then looks back at Anti and Jackie. He looks scared but- grateful. “..t-thank you guys- for everything!”

He then chooses the address and clicks the jump button, confirming yes before he can hesitate further.

The others barely have time to nod in acknowledgement before Alt presses the jump button. Then, to Alt, Bro, and Magnificent, there is a split second where they area falling--through space?--it's dark with pinpricks of light--and then they are no longer here.

Anti stares at the spot where they just were, before green light enveloped them and they disappeared without a trace. "I hope they make it," he whispers.

Jackie can only nod. Then he takes a deep breath. "Let's get Schneep and get out of here."

"Yeah."

They both stare at the spot for a second longer before running out of the room.

[beerecordings]

I hc that Marvin is actually really old. Like, if you look into it enough you can find references to him from medieval times. He's not completely immortal, but his magic keeps him from aging physically. He has burns all over his arms and legs as a result of being captured for a witch trial. He escaped, but he couldn't get rid of the scars. Around the late 1800's he shifted from sorcerer to performer. I like to imagine that at some point JJ might have been to one of his shows.

that’s really cool! JJ would probably really like to have someone who understood what it was like to feel out of time and they could go do things they liked from the 1920s like swing dancing

[esculentevil]

JSEgo (Shipping) Headcanon (8): Terms of Endearment

((Inspired by @a-septic-mind​’s Cute Gender Neutral Things to Call Your Significant Other post. Just wanted to brainstorm and list the pet names I think the Septics would use for each other. This is also being compiled as a reference for my future works, both ego shipping and not. =D))

Anti

calls Jackie “Láech” [only privately tho because it means Hero in Old Irish (sidenote: Anti usually uses the English translation, which comes out like ‘Ero, because my Jackie’s American and barely knows Irish, never mind Old Irish) and that’s embarrassing as balls to be caught saying out loud; in public, he uses Hero Boy because it’s easy to make it sound teasing, like a jab, or even crude; EDIT (because I’m dumb and forgot about this): sometimes Anti calls him He’rt, which is his accented way of saying “heart” and comes from that fact that one of the most popular terms of endearment in the Irish language is “mo chroí” which means “my heart”—and also the fact that it kinda looks like the word hero… ;3]

calls Jameson “Whiskey” [I explain this fully in Canti Cong (A Canti Script) but, basically, Anti calls Jameson this because of Jameson the Whiskey and because it lets him make the joke “Com’ere, lemme get drunk off ye!” lmao]

calls Chase “Teardrop” [for all the tears shed during Chase’s chronic depression, suicide attempt, and recovery period—a reminder that even Anti cried for him]

calls Henrik “Needle” [after how much he gets under people’s skin, even Anti’s; how many times he’s stitch them all up, including Anti’s forever neck wound; and h͜ow ̶per҉fec̕t̴l̸y ̧A͢nti’̛s͏ str͏ing̶s ̨were ͏ab̴l̸e̛ t͟o͘ thre͝a͡d̡ ͢th̷rouģh̛ ͟H͢e̸n͡rìk̴’s ͟fr̸a̶gi͘l̵e̕ ̢m̢i͘nd͢~̶]

calls Marvin “Cat C*nt” [it’s loving, I swear xD]

Jackie

calls Anti “Gorgeous” [this has been an ongoing thing since First Vibrations (although, the first time I called Anti “Gorgeous” in general was in Fowl Glitch), but never actually explained; so: I literally just do this because I think it’s sweet, it’s very similar to what my Mate calls me, and it’s a compliment starting with G! (this is important because Glitch starts with G and I’m OCD so they must match I’m soft for the idea that, although Anti takes great pride in being a Glitch, sometimes he’s hyperaware of how that might make him unattractive—constantly falling/breaking apart, being unstable to the point of disintegrating, etc—so, when Jackie rolls both words together... Gorgeous Glitch just kills him~)]

calls Jameson “Sheik” [which is actually a pun told in three parts! First, according to Flapperspeak: Dictionary of Words From the 1920’s and 1930’s, Sheik defines “A man with sex appeal (from the Valentino movies)” >=3; second, Sheik comes from the Arabic word for “Elder” and commonly refers to a leader; and, third, Sheik is a disguise used by Zelda in Ocarina of Time which I think JJ would have loved about her character and Jackie thinks relates to JJ’s Jaunts]

calls Chase “Switchel” [after the whiskey chaser of the same name made of vinegar, syrup, and ginger served in Brooklyn (because my Jackie’s a Yank)]

calls Henrik "Watson" [this is a reference to my Septic Holmes AU where Jackie is Sherlock and Henrik is Watson mainly because just “doctor/doc” is too plain but also because I generally see their relationship as constant help and support as in they can always rely on each other both in terms of heroics and medics but also in terms of friendship and general understanding (like if Jackie can’t make heads or tails of some coded message Anti left behind to flirt mess with him, Henrik can because it’s a chemical formula etc.; and if Henrik can’t understand why he, say, pissed off someone because he’s a touch emotionally stunted... xD) also, low key, this was going to be Iron Man until I realized that wouldn’t work!]

calls Marvin "MJ" [as in Marvel's MJ/Mary Jane(/Michelle Jones for the movies) because Jackie likes to think he's this world's version of Spider-Man xD;;;]

Jameson

calls Anti “Master” [because puppet play is THE thing with them, no matter what]

calls Jackie “Bo” [covered this during Inktober but that was a pandemic ago so: According to Al Capone’s 1920 Slang Dictionary, Bo means “Pal, buster, fellow.” and is also, obviously, (usually, not in all AUs) part of his name: Jackieboy-Man]

calls Chase “Daylight” [in a continuation of Jameson’s shockingly dark humor, this means “"fill him with daylight": Put a hole in, by shooting or stabbing” which, clearly, is a horribly dark reference to Chase’s suicidal self-shooting tendency; but, of course, it can also be taken as a variation of the much sweeter Sunshine]

calls Henrik “Croaker” [which Al Capone’s Dictionary says means “Doctor”; however, this is also an unintentionally dark pun because to croak is to die but also a choked sound people make as they die by strangulation or similar things and Henrik literally did both as Anti strangled him with that phone cord...]

calls Marvin “Cat” [as in “cool cat” but also the 1920′s Slang meaning of “Man”] or “Tom” [as in “tomcat” (but it’s only used when Marvin’s flirtations get uncomfy)]

Chase

calls Anti “Monster” [this is affectionate/loving, I SWEAR xD; it’s sort of teasing or even ironic; it’s like Chase is calling Anti his adorable sweet little monster]

calls Jackie “Queen” [after the New York borough Spider-Man’s from]

calls Jameson “Sweetheart” [because JJ’s the sweetest Ego in his eyes; also, there’s an old-timey feel to this endearment because it stems from swete herte (aka 13th century Middle English) and JJ loves history so much he finds it cute]

calls Henrik “Doc” [which sounds like a very boring cop out kinda nickname but is actually a reference to Bugs Bunny’s catch phrase “What’s up, Doc?” (because I have a never before addressed headcanon: Chase loves Bugs and Looney Tunes in general because it helped him through tough times in the 90s and is also the comfort show he shared with his kids when they were little; basically, Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes is the fav of the Brody House #notspon)]

calls Marvin “Kitten” [I don’t think this needs an explanation. It’s just... obvious.]

Henrik

calls Anti “Eye” [which could be a reference to the “eye” in Antisepticeye, SepticSam (or SepticSuain), the “i” in Anti, or even two “i”s in Antisepticeye; honestly though, this is a reference to crochet and Anti’s nickname for Henrik: the opening/hole of a needle (that you put the thread through) is called the eye, so, in a way, Henrik’s acknowledging Anti’s power over him and his mind, but also pointing out that Anti’s both vulnerable due to the “hole” in him (neckwound) and Anti’s only as powerful as those he’s threaded/strung up/taken control of (because a needle only stabs you; it’s the string that prolongs your suffering)]

calls Jackie “Sherlock” [which is again, a reference to my Septic Holmes AU completely ironic in two ways: first, it’s like he’s calling him and Sherlock heroes; but then, second, he’s saying it with sarcasm like the insult “No Sh*t Sherlock”]

calls Jameson “Java” [in other words: Jameson Java; coffee; another drink joke]

calls Chase “Bugs” [yes: because Chase loves Bugs Bunny (and calls him Doc)]

calls Marvin “Felis” [which is the genus for cats (so yes another cat joke) and the first half of the species name for domesticated cats (which Marvin kinda is xD)]

Marvin

calls Anti “Circles” [partly as a reference to eyes, majorly a reference to my Anti’s agender identity (which is represented by a circle with a line through it; think of Mae’s shirt from NITW!), but mostly just because Anti hates them and Marvin wants to get back at him for this own endearment loves to see him twitch]

calls Jackie “Cap” [in his words: “No, I’m not calling you Spider-Man or Peter; you’re way more like Captain America with your leadership qualities, powers, and general outlook on life—no, stop staring at me like that; idc what you say: YOU ARE LITTERATLLY OUR SEPTIC SUPER SOLDIER!”]

calls Jameson “Ritzy” [this means “Elegant” according to Al Capone’s Dictionary]

calls Chase “Daddy” [because he is one we all know Marvin’d make this joke (however, it’s also in sync with Chase’s rather kinky nickname for him)]

calls Henrik “Vet” [to carry on the Marvin’s legit a cat theme xD; sometimes, however, Marvin switches things up and calls him “veteran” which is a reference to my personal headcanon of Henrik being a war doc like (John Watson was), my Septic Holmes AU, and my Hero’s Harem AU (lots of AU refs, I know xD)]

[myhauntedsalem]

Alcatraz

It was home to some of the most notorious gangsters of the prohibition era, the likes of George “Machine Gun” Kelley, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and Al Capone have all spent time on “The Rock”, better known as Alcatraz. Everyone, from kidnappers, to murderers, have all called Alcatraz home at one point. Even though its been closed since 1963, some of the former inmates who died within the walls still remain.

A brief history of the famous West Coast prison: It was discovered in 1775, when Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala charted San Francisco Bay and named this tiny speck of land, La Isla de los Alcatraces, or translated in English, “Island of the Pelicans.” At this stage of age, it had little to offer, but that would soon change. The U.S. Army saw this island as an ideal location for a military base.

By 1853, they had built the military fortress with long range cannons, four 36,000 pound, 15 inch Rodman guns with the power to sink any invading ship which posed a threat to “The Rock.” But only one cannon was shot it its history…and missed its target. Decades later, Alcatraz would soon turn into what it’s now known as…

Because of it’s isolation from the rest of civilization, the island would soon be considered for a new role-a prison. 1861, Alcatraz got its first inmates from the Civil War and then the Spanish-American War in 1898. By 1912, construction started for a three story cell house, and by the 1920′s it was already full. Harsh conditions, severe diets that included the inmates being given only bread and water, wearing a twelve pound ball and chain on their ankle, and solitary confinement were enforced on those who violated the rules. Buckingham Palace? Not here. In its twenty-nine year history, there was thirty-six escape attempts. But twenty-three were caught, six were shot and killed, two men drowned in the icy cold waters of San Francisco Bay, and two of the other men caught were executed by gas chamber in San Quentin in California State Prison.

No wonder with all the blood, sweat, tears, broken bones, shattered minds, and twisted souls that were locked within the confines of one of America’s most famous prisons would be such a great home for some of the spirits of the damned that still lay condemned to this island. This prison does have a history of activity and we’re going to explore just some of these spirits who still call Alcatraz their domain.

Clanging sounds, cold spots, glowing eyes of fright, and terror in the night of been reported within the concrete walls. Uncontrollable sobbing, moaning, and banjo music (yes, you read correctly) have been also been reported. Here’s some interesting ghost stories that I’ve read over the years:

Al Capone’s Ghost:

Perhaps one most famous gangster of the 1920′s make or break, kill or be killed, prohibition era. Al Capone (1899-1947) served almost seven years in Alcatraz, but his memory lives on and strangely it’s through song. The sound of a banjo playing no less, and the reason some speculate it’s the ghost of Capone is because back when he was in the prison, he, along with other inmates, started a prison band that he played the banjo in. Now, decades later, the sound of a banjo can be heard playing within the prison walls.

Haunted Utility Room:

Inmates Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard, and Joseph Cretzer were killed in this room when guards opened fire on them with machine guns, killing them in this very room in 1946. Their presence, however, has been felt 60 plus years later. This is where an eerie clanging noise can be heard coming from inside the room. Once a guard would go in there, to see what the noises were, and would find no noises. He would then close the door and almost immediately the clanging noises would resume. Again he opened it, and was baffled that he could not find the sources for the sounds.

Cell 14D:

One of three of the solitary confinement cells in Alcatraz, but it could be better known as the layer of the beast. This is where some of the roughest, toughest, men of fear, would go in there just to cry for help. Guards would laugh it off, not take in account that the prisoner’s plead for help were legit as this block was notorious for claims of ghost activities. On one such occasion, the guards would wish that they had listened to the pleads of help.

In the mid-1940′s, a former guard of Alcatraz recalls locking an inmate in the hole, but seconds later he heard screaming coming from inside the cell. Again, taking it as just a prank to get out, they ignored him. The next day, after the screams finally withered to nothing, they opened the cell to find the inmate dead with a look of terror frozen in his face. The convict was yelling about a beast with yellow eyes that was locked in the cell with him.

[septic-dr-schneep]

Hi, hello! I thought I could ask you since you have a vast knowledge of the egos, but what is going on with the egos?? I have been asking that since the first time I watched a JSE video (two years ago). I’ve never been super invested in them, but I love the fanart and fanfic you all come up with! So I was wondering if you could help me understand?

Thank you very much! My universe is based partially on canon and partially on my sole interpretation of the characters. I’m glad you enjoy it! <3 There’s a lot going on with them that Jack hasn’t revealed yet; the Egos’ plot is going very, very slowly. Here are the canon basics that we know!

Antisepticeye: An evil, demon-like Glitch entity who preys on Jack’s (and the other Egos’) fears. We don’t know much about his motives or backstory but so far he seems hellbent on killing Jack and terrorizing the others, Chase Brody and Dr. Schneeplestein especially. He once slit Jack’s throat, then put Jack in a coma, stalked and then possessed some of the other Egos to use as his puppets.

Jackieboy Man: A superhero, physically the strongest of the Egos, and an enemy of Antisepticeye. That’s all we know. He appeared once and then has been missing in action for four years.

Marvin the Magnificent: A magician, a keen, intelligent man who knows more than he lets on. Jack has called him a “phoenix”. That’s all we know. He appeared once and then has been missing in action for four years.

Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein: A German doctor, a dear friend to Jack and Chase Brody. His wife cheated on him and took their children to live with a tennis instructor. When Jack was attacked by Anti, Schneep saved his life, at the cost of Jack going into a coma and Schneep being attacked and possessed by Anti. Schneep went missing for nine months and then returned angry and scared. Since then we’ve seen him working frantically on what looks like time travel and wormholes. 

Chase Brody: A Youtube vlogger who has a channel, Bro Average, based loosely on Dude Perfect. Jack has called him “the protagonist” of our story. He and his wife Stacy divorced and Stacy took their kids, leaving Chase to fall into alcoholism and then a failed suicide attempt. (Schneep saved his life.) When Jack fell into a coma and Schneep disappeared, Chase spiraled even further. He visits Jack in the hospital often and pretends to be Jack to keep the Jacksepticeye channel alive. He got evicted and is now living out of his car. Last time we saw him, he got teleported onto an unknown rooftop by an unknown force -- maybe Marvin.

Jameson Jackson: A cheerful and sweet silent actor from the 1920′s who was brought here by time travel. He is mute and uses sign language and “speech slides” to communicate. As soon as he reached the future, Anti possessed him and made him his unwilling puppet. We suspect Jameson is being used to hurt/kill people. Last time we saw him, he addressed the audience in sign language, begging us to help him as Anti took him over again. 

If you’d like a list of EVERY appearance, including small glitches Antisepticeye has scattered throughout otherwise unrelated videos, see HERE.