#AND ARE YOU EVER FREE!!! YEAAAAAH

[ozzieinspacetime]

OOOOOH THE COME A TIME COVER.... Alex Reed did this for me specifically. Theowing up

There's an official piano version of my favorite industrial album.. ooooooh Christmas it continues to come early 4 me‼️‼️‼️‼️

[zylian]

—— Many quotes from devotion talk

“Who’s there”

“We had good intentions, they do not care- that’s kab, she’s helping, come here”

“Okay”

——

“So basically, right, they’re just gonna keep blowing up spawn until they get they’re silly little 1v10, right, that’s their idea”

“Yeah so fuck them, we’re never gonna give it to them”

“EXACTLY! I have a skematic of spawn- *laughing* the entire thing from before it got blown up”

*laughs*

——

“If they make an obi farm to like try medusa-ing it, we just kill them, we just stop them, we just get them while they’re afk-ing or blow up every end portal or something- it doesn’t matter”

“It’s so easy to counter them, none of them have the drive or motivation that we do- I feel like together we could totally kick their asses”

“Yeaaaaah, I’m not gonna lie, wemmbu kinda pissed me off-“

“I KNOW RIGHT!”

——

“…Spawn repairing, fighting them back with literally no violence- I mean, you can fight them if you want, I lowkey don’t care but don’t show up to flames stupid 1v10 yknow”

——

“So zam, your not gonna fight flame ever, no matter what he does”

“No, nah”

——

“What’s up with the eyeball, I don’t remember that”

“He beat the shit out of me, it was not good, not pretty”

“aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

——

“They’re never gonna get me below 7, so I don’t care”

“You- you died 3 times?”

“Yeah”

“That sucks, he basically scammed your ass”

“Yeah I don’t care bro, he said ‘3 more if the volcano ever gets touched’ like okay buddy okay”

*laughs*

——

“At least they didn’t touch my castle”

“OH he says it’s his castle now by the way”

“Does he really”

“Fuck him, yeah I’m not letting that happen, I put too much time into that, that’s not his”

——

“I was talking so much shit in chat bro”

“Really?”

“Like the worst I’ve ever have, maybe-“

“Damnnn”

“Maybe the worst I’ve ever had”

——

“We just have to make him sit down, but than again, I don’t wanna do anything violent, I can’t”

“Yeah you do, yeah you do”

“Nahhhh”

“Well”

“It’s better if I don’t

“Yeah but”

“…It’ll send the message better”

——

“Do you have a full inventory? Do you need stuff?”

“I’ve a full inventory of dirt bro, if he comes here and kills me, he comes here and kills me, I don’t care”

“No stop giving him hearts”

“I’ll keep respawning till I’m at 7, so it doesn’t matter”

“Use the fu- No, he fuels his ego every time he kills you, so you gotta start making escape tunnels and getting out casually, that’s what pisses him off the most”

“That’s okay, he’ll realize that it means nothing, cause spawn will keep getting repaired-”

“No he won’t bro”

“If he wants to farm hearts… he’ll farm hearts off me, ugh your right, okay”

“Have you met this dude, no he won’t bro, he will not- he will get the exact same ego boost he gets every single time”

“Really?! I don’t even fight back???”

——

“Next time they chase you, splash turtle on both of them and keep running with speed”

*laughs* “that’s lowkey a strat”

“Yeah it gets you out for free, yeah I’m not even playing, used that shit in mane pear”

——

“They were yelling the entire time, ‘no more honour bro, none of this dumb shi’, they sounded exactly like us last season exactly the same

“That’s funny”

——

“And the fact he tried to take my fucking castle like I wasn’t the number one advocator for that fight”

“Exactlyyy I was an advocator for that fight too”

“Like he just lost a supporter bruh”

——

“He’s dumb as fuck why did he blow up all your shit”

“I don’t know”

“You were about to break your morals for him”

“Exactly! Exactly!!! I have done nothing but be there for him…”

——

“It’s dumb”

“It’s okay, none of this matters to me”

——

“Let me know if you want me and spoke to constantly harass him, we can beat him in a 2v1”

“Oh please do, actually please do, unironically”

——

“..like I kinda realized that wait I lowkey could get everyone’s support, like if your on board with this like I can get anyone”

“Yeah ata a certain point you realize sucking up to flame frags is pointless and lame”

“It’s so pointless yeah cause he has no value for loyalty whatsoever which is like damn”

——

“He was saying some crazy shit, like ‘everyone’s gonna start calling me immortal demon again’ while blowing up all of spawn, thats crazy bro

“Are you serious?!”

“Yeah”

“Damnnnnn Leo killed his ass”

“We broke him bro… the tier list was his lowest point”

——

“I’m just gonna say it, I think we should lay our lives down to the flame frags allegiance”

*laughs a lot*

“I’m just gonna say it! Guys! Guys- he could burn down trees like I don’t know…”

“He could burn down trees while no one’s around except prince zam, sb 737 and terrain”

——

“I survived all 64 golden apples, went through most my turtles um my xp ran out though so that was it”

“Nice, did you chorus?”

“Yeah I was chorusing, I was wind charging bro, I was the runner bro”

“Yeah ngl you need to start making pre-made shit, make a couple of escape routes”

—— bonus w/ woogie

“I am sorry about your tree zam, if there’s anything I can do to help”

“Ehh don’t worry about it, it’s fine……..It’s fine”

“ok”

“I don’t think it’s fine”

“It’s fine- no it is, seriously”

“Bros lying about it”

——

“He’s giving me 2 hearts for 10 god apples”

“You should not supply him I think”

“2 hearts is crazy, supply him”

“Yeah whatever”

“Big fucking deal, I’ll smack the god apples out of his mouth”

“Good work”

[liquidstar]

Just wanted to say that because of your re:zero posting i started reading the LN of it a month or so ago, and ive been really enjoying it! But i also feel the need to tell you about an incredibly funny thing that happened because of it

I had just finished volume 12 and am talking to my younger sibling about how i was eagerly awaiting the next book, which i had to order online. They expressed interest in it, and asked if i wanted to try watching the anime with them! I had watched around half of season one when first reading and decided i liked the LN version better, but i thought it would be fun to experience it with them.

Now, my favourite character even before reading re:zero has been and will always probably be Otto. Something about his cringe fail vibe had captivated me. However i was under the impression he was truly just some guy whos purpose was to be a little bit unfortunate and help out every now and then and his existence in the story would remain as such. This did NOT stop me from hyping him up to my sibling like the liar i am saying he was actually super important and he was gonna save everybody and was the specialist guy ever. Normal things to jokingly say about your fave deal.

You can maybe then imagine my surprise when RIGHT AFTER we got past where i had read in the anime, Otto is suddenly the key element in helping Subaru, giving him the will to continue and trying to help free the Sanctuary and save everyone and getting sad backstory and cool power moments and everything. And now my sibling is upset at me for spoiling things while i am standing there jaw on the floor. I am really truly shocked about how the timing of it all worked out.

moral of the story Otto enjoyers win ? dont spoil important character moments for your sibling through delusional hypemaning of your special guy ? i dont know im still confused how this happened to me

YEAAAAAH OTTO LETS FUCKING GOOO OTTO

OFFICIAL OTTO POST!!!!!!! GO OTTO YAAAAAAYYYY OTTO SUWEN #1 GUY OF ALL TIME

[hypocriticaltypwriter]

COLLAGUE!?!? NEW JOB!? CONGRAAATS!?!?🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Well I feel like a deadbeat- (I dont....yeah anyways-)

That'd awsome tho that your doing good!! I'm decent, been sick a lot recently...which is murder on me honestly-

God damn tho, a Bill and Ted self insert? HELLLL YEAAAAAH!!!!🎉🎉 speaking on non lost boys related self inserts~ help me I've fallen obsessed with Archie comics and want to draw myself in them- HELP! HELP ME CHERRY!

"I'm cringe...but free-" <- me with anything I like in the history of ever...

Yeah haha! Haven't started/tried out college yet, but I'm hoping to go for film school! Or maybe get some marketing under my belt. And I'm gonna try and get a job working in for my City/State cleaning parks and gardens n stuff!

I'm kinda nervy still with the Bill and Ted stuff, but I hope I can get more comfortable to share! Still fighting the cringe in my soul, my friend 😔 I wish to have ur confidence for it real soon LMAO

I love the Archie comics! I used to read em with my dad, I'm glad you're liking em!! You should totally draw your self being silly with em trust me it's healing 🙌 and if you do you should totally tag me... 👀

[tophat-cy]

It's that time of the year again, huh?

Hello everyone! Here is TopHat_Cy with probably the last Tumblr post of this year. Since 2023 is coming to a close, I'll just put down a little summary of the experiences I had this year. Let's get started ^v^ ✨💗!

⚠️CW/TW since there may possibly be some ranting and/or venting at some points⚠️

To be honest here, 2023 was pretty rough, and I'm not talking about that I had the baccalaureate in June, oh no. I was honestly waiting for that time so I can just do myself after that, right after I supported 4 years in that hellpit people called it high-school (or pedagogic college...whatever 🙄), just to get like over 3 months later on a worse hellpit called college, where all my personal issues has awakened...and felt horrible and lonelier like I've never been.

Despite being in overall horrible, high-school was great because mostly because I wasn't feeling the loneliness and self misery I feel now. Now that I'm at college I get almost hit daily by the fact that 1) I'm lonely and I'll always remain lonely (since who tf wants a little antisocial freak who literally draws all day lmao??) 2) I'm worthless, mostly because my French skills (at least) suck, and a good amount of my marks suck as well in comparison with other students (and honestly I wouldn't be bothered that much about this fact if it wasn't for my mom who haves the great habit to remind me by times to make sure I take big marks only to get the scholarship, hahahaha shut up bitch), which guess what, it makes me feel ✨horrible✨, and 3) Your life is a pure lie. This is sooooooooooo great isn't it :D ??!

*sigh*

I realized within my current college experience that I'm lonely not only in society, but with my own mom. I realized I'm even more of a worst daughter than I ever thought...I realized that I'm getting more horrible as the time goes by, or at least this is how I feel. I feel like losing myself slowly, becoming into nothing but a setinent shell of the former self. With those realizations, I'm getting hit in the face once again by the most saddest fact that I've encountered so far in my life but I always tend to forget it to make myself feel better (but you know how life is...it needs to offer you some lemons in the eyes 👁️👁️)...

...the fact that my life is nothing but a pure LIE.

But hey! Can we look into the bright side of what this year offered for some hot minutes?? It's not all black and misery! I had part of wonderful and fun times with my boyfriend (we did Whiteboards and rambled about our silly stuff like two neurodivergents that we are 😁✨), I had part of several fanart moments from people, I had Art Fight (yeaaaaah, our old pal Art Fight, which kinda started to become a pain in the ass every year when I have to bring my REFs up to date for this event...mmmmmmm 😊/pure af hot sarcasm, but honestly here, do I really care :D ???), I even joined my first Original Characters Tournament, Ressurection, in which I met wonderful people which appreciate my skills and also willing to help and support. And most importantly, I had YOU! All of you! If it wasn't for you guys, I definitely wouldn't been here, sharing this thoughts with YOU. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, once again ❤️!

As a mini conclusion to all of this speech, I'll admit that this year was still decent so far, with all it's ups and downs, along with the fact that I'm returning myself at being genderfluid (hence the Pic at the very beginning of the post lmao :')) )

The latest events from this year at least made me think that being feminine related makes me feel worthless about myself, and I don't want to feel like that anymore. I want to be strong at its full and I want to feel and be free with who I am. I'm not the most social person, yes. I'm far off from being a great daughter, yes of course, and I'm definitely far from being the best person out alive, or at least a great one. But at least I want to do something about it, so I can have the right to say that I tried my best for real.

So, that's it. I'm genderfluid. I go by he/they/cee from now on (although cee/ceer pronouns are most likely optional, like if you want to use them, go ahead, although I'll still be ok if you used the he/they ones, just don't refer to me with she/her or any fem aligned pronouns).

🌙⭐Plans for 2024⭐🌙

(aka my favorite part from this post so far 🤓)

Just like everyone else, I have prepared some future plans for the next year and which I'd like to share with you. Here they are!

I want to make EITHER an OCT or a world-building RP server somewhere around February-March or later (I would've done it sooner, but I have to prepare for the exam session in January). The OCT thing may take a while though since I want it to be good, so this plan might get extended for 2025 as well. As for the world-building RP thing, with some effort, it could be done next year.

Returning on developing some miscellaneous projects - those being Insanity AU and a somewhat game-like concept that my boyfriend made plans about it in this year and which I'd like to develop on. Insanity AU is a thing that I've made with dustyisegg back in 2022 but discontinued it for 9 months due to [DATA EXPUNGED] and resumed it's development, by remaking the characters and their plot entirely. (Dusty if you see this tell me if you still want to work on this, yeah yeah I'm a huge procrastinator lawl 👾✨)

JToH, JToH, JToH projects - my dear and beloved JToH...(I've been in this Fandom for almost 3 years...more than I've been in the Doll Eye one, can you believe that?). Most of those projects will consist on simply designing new towerhumans, respectively redesigning the old ones. Along with that I have a comic project which I will start making it's script soon enough, other side projects that I have in my mind...and JToHVerse, which I don't know when it's that going to be started (earliest date will apparently be around 2025, but let's see how the comic project goes 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Putting some content in Toyhouse - a thing that I should worry about eventually ;v;

GET YOUR ARTFIGHT SPIRIT BACK PSYCHE 😩!!!

The last but not the least...To start developing at least one of my original storylines FOR FUCK'S SAKE 😂😂😂!!!!!! I've been waiting for this for years already hajshshdvbssb :')) I'm not sure which of them is going to come out tho. Definitely not PK though, that one will most likely get an extend to next year.

So...I guess that's it??

I'm going to assure you with two things before I finish. First of them is that, again I think, I'm fine. I'm not upset or anything. I had hard times like everyone else (maybe) this year and I had to left it out somehow. But in rest everything is alright, so don't worry about me. I will keep existing for you and for what I love ^v^.

The second thing that I will say is about this blog. Starting with January 1st, I do not allow anyone below the age of 15 to interact. I have an age now, and at this point I want to entertain people, not to babysit them. So don't get upset if you possibly get blocked, that would be one of the reasons (I hope to remember to unblock you after you get the age hhgjgjfjf 😅)

That's it guys! If you read til here, thank you very much for the attention and time spent on reading this. Hope everyone haves a wonderful 2024 and nice days! See ya around 💗💗💗!

[eartheats]

DUMBASS AMA

((ooc: so!! a while back i made a post saying if we got to 200 followers over here, i'd make an AMA for the dipshit brigade of ren's blog, and well...here we are now!! feel free to send any questions you'd like to them all, i'm gonna put all the introduction stuff under a cut o/ this is just something fun and dumb for me, and also a thank you to everyone who's been watching these dumb adventures for a while! <3 ilu all, thank you so much!! we'll be doing this until 12am EST on the 28th, so feel free to get questions in!!))

<a tumblr live goes up! it seems to be showing a shot of...a very dusty desert area that's probably an all too familiar backdrop in ren's life: welcome back to zapapico>

"--Oh! I think I got it workin' finally!"

There's a very distinct sound of Ren speaking up, ever cheerful, and then the next person speaking up's booming voice comes and practically knocks the rotom phone's shot over with the enthusiasm--

"YOOOOOOOO!! LET'S GOOOOOO REN, tech wizard IN THE HOUSE!" The rotom phone turns to a very tall young man with long, messy blonde hair who's bangs practically cover his eyes.

At that, the rotomphone turns back to a very familiar mop of blue hair, bowing exaggeratedly--in the background, a brown haired young man in a Pokemart uniform stands, along with an amused looking Pokemon Center nurse. Ren speaks up though, grinning, "Thank you, thank you! I'm here for only a day, but I'll gladly put on a show!"

"Oh my Arc, you fucking morons." The Pokemon Center nurse speaks up, waving into the camera when it turns to her. "Anyway, uh. If the dumbass brigade is too distracted, hi. Ren got stuck on a small layover so..."

"I decided to come back here and visit for a bit! Oh, but even if I didn't, I have some business here I had to take care of anyway!" Ren seems to come back to reality after that, grinning brightly as they lean just a bit. "So, um, I figured I'd introduce all of you guys to all of my friends on Rotomblr, since you guys are cool with it? Because you guys are real great! And everyone on Rotomblr is real great too! So...let's answer some questions together, maybe?"

"Hell fucking yeaaaaah, let's do it!!"

"I can't disagree with that." The young man in the Pokemart uniform speaks up, politely. "Ren, should we all introduce ourselves?"

"Ohhh, yeah, totes! Honestly, I was gonna wait until L got here, but--"

"Hihihi! Oh gosh waaaaait!"

The Rotomphone turns to a woman with a slightly messier looking Pokemon Center nurse uniform running down through Zapapico with a Charcadet in tow to try and catch up to them--she seems to be carrying...rocks...?

"Right on time, Lyd--L!" Ren waves her on over, and gestures out to the group. "So um, feel free to bring us some questions! We'll answer everything we can, yeah? But first! Introductions!!"

As Lydia catches her breath, the first Pokemon Center nurse speaks up with a tired expression.

"Alright, so. Hi I guess, I met some of you back when the squirt ended up in the hospital, so I don't need much of an introduction. Hi, name's Madison, couldn't get a job in my field despite my Poke Veterinary License, so I'm a Pokemon Center nurse. Good to meet you all."

"Mads is like, super knowledgeable about Pokemon Care! So if you got any specific questions, feel free to ask her!" Ren grins a bit, before leaning into the camera. "But ohh, if you ask her about Eevees, she might just melt!"

"Okay, that is so not true. I love Eevees a normal amount, thanks."

That gets a laugh from everyone involved, before Ren speaks up again, "And next up, we've got..."

"Oh, me?! Is it my turn?!" The blonde man speaks up, and the camera turns to him easily. An entire Maushold seems to climb up his shoulders, all squeaking into the camera. "Yooooo, what's up Roto-Gs! It's ya boy Kevin here! Or I guess 'K', from Ren's post! I'll answer just about anything you throw at me!"

Ren and the others laugh, but Ren's guffawing takes over pretty quickly. "Kevin loves giving his opinions on stuff, so please, feel free to ask him anything! He'd love to answer it, and next up...how about you, J?"

"Oh, me?" J, the pokemart employee, turns around with a smile. "Well, certainly. My name is Jacques, but everyone just calls me Jay. Ah...if you have any questions about fairy types, I'm more than happy to answer them!"

"Damn right he is!" Ren grins easily. "He's got the prettiest Florges in all of Paldea, and it's only because of that big brain of his that she's so beautiful and strong!"

"Aww, Ren, you flatter me..." Jacques rubs his head and laughs a little. There's a wave over to the side of the camera, and it turns to the slightly disheveled Pokemon Center nurse, who smiles at the camera.

"Oh gosh, so hiya! My name is Lydia, and I'm kind of an amateur geologist?"

"Amateur?" Ren pipes up and laughs, prompting some loud guffawing from Kevin off to the side. "Girl, what're you even saying! You're the biggest rock nerd in all of the regions, I'd say!"

"Noooo, no! Listen, I love rocks--I got some excellent specimens today while chasing after lil miss...um..." Lydia pauses, looking down to the Charcadet who's running in circles around her feet. "...Did we ever decide on a name for the little lady you're giving to that Professor, Ren, or--"

"Her name is 'I Write Sins, Not Tragedies, by Pani--"

"We are not naming her that."

"Aww, come on Maddie Thee Stallion, don't be a killjoy!"

Ren laughs from the slightly petty squabble, easily defusing it, "Hey, hey, come on. This lil lady is for Mr. Hemp! He should be the one to decide it, yeah?"

"Aww...but yeah, you got a point there!" Kevin laughs a bit, scritching his Mausholds chins. "And I mean, his name's Hemp, he's gonna pick out a dope ass name for her!"

"I'm certain that he will. But I believe introductions are out of the way, yes?" Jay turns to look to Ren, who smiles and gives a thumbs up.

"That should be a decent primer! Anything else they can all ask! So...let the questions begin!!"

[khaosophist]

Don't simp Don't simp Don't simp don't simp don't simp don't simp. Don't simp. DON'T. SIMP.

...

"Sooooo uuuuh...starting a cult one of these days?"

//FUCK// 💀

NO. DON'T SUGGEST. NO! NOOOOOO OH GOD! You're gonna do it! 😭

" Maybe a nice black robe sliding off under a blood moon sky with a fire that reflects in your eyes? Would be a nice Halloween pic! Heck, a Halloween pic! OH! Maybe a pastel goth outfit. Or a nice sitting pose on a bed."

If this wasn't so cathartic...oh GOD, are we addicted to shortstacks?

//NOOOOOO why do you keep saying words? PUT DOWN THE PHONE!//

" Hi, I'm K...mind the..." *Stares blankly into space.*

//Yeaaaaah...//

Is this truly who we are?

[Why so serious?]

Being too free spirited can hurt those we care about.

//Oh my god, you're working this through on a shitpost?//

Guess so...it is what it is. Plus. It's funny...Laugh into the void and whatnot. Instead of screaming, or crying.

//Yikes...//

" Mind the voices...It's...nice to meet you."

[There, was that so hard? Move on. Embrace the emptiness, and use it to reflect.]

Whatever...fluffy lamb makes us forget...

//So...that's it then...we're a voice now?//

For now...

" Hahaha...just gonna...go over there and continue criticising our life choices."

[Disco, K share all your Guts. At least it moves the pain somewhere else, and might make a bridge out of it.]

A bridge to what?

[ *Desperate, eerie laughter...*]

Ooooo kaaaaay....

//Oof. ' I don't take drugs. I am drugs' vibe...is it?//

[Look at you and your fuckin hopes.]

//Hey! They're not hopes...they're...standards...like we don't deserve to be happy if we're not spewing the good stuff.//

[According to WHO?]

//...//

[ Yep. Will you ever have a real audience? Doubt there's a market for imitators.]

//Listen. It's not to market. It's to just be!//

[ You saying you wouldn't be who you are without the insights from Disco Elysium; finding philosophy in a fucking VIDEOGAME? BAHAHAHA]

//Listen, I've killed voices before. I can kill you.//

[Yeah? You think they'll choose you over me? You're not the silence in between buddy.]

Okay stop. Just...stop.

[Aaaaw, afraid you won't have any friends pity party?]

No...I'm afraid I'll never have IRL friends that I'll trust as much as strangers on social media...

[ You're really...oh man...we gotta digest that one...]

Yeah...

* We stare at the lamb...and miss the days when we would flay our flesh...the curves of her fluffy body silences everything. Like a vanishing point of perspective. The silence returns. We breathe...and wave goodbye with **The expression.**. We realised we had the expression and look away. Real life don't got time for monologues...Besides...would you have listened? A captive audience doesn't listen...it abides and clenches their teeth until it's over...then again it's another ego thing. As if you had the power to captivate anyone...let alone keep them close...At least you liked writing it...don't mean anyone will like reading it, Berk.*

The cicadas are dead, and the wind has begun to bite...

Summer might be over so I’ll just enjoy some time in the sun n heat one last time -w- imma miss swimming

Imma start posing n makin more photos, y’all can go ahead and make suggestions and I’ll do em!

[bougiebutchbitch]

I don't know alot about eds but I appreciate you talking about it so openly. Sorry if this is rude I have rheumatoid arthritis which I think is something a little similar and am very intereseted in all of these things. Dislocations do not sound like a good time

Neither does rheumatoid! You have my condolences <3

And haha yeaaaaah I'm just yelling a lot because I'm (relatively) freshly diagnosed and like. I finally have an answer for ALL THE SHIT that's been wrong with me for my entire life! It's genuinely a big relief.

But if you wanna know something interesting... the dislocations & subluxations suck. But they don't bother me nearly as much as the other stuff!

Like, don't get me wrong. It's annoying & painful when joints lock up and need to be popped back in, and it's especially annoying in that I really struggle with a lot with say... cleaning, or writing with a pen, (or drawing, more and more.... :c) because my fingers and thumbs pop in and out and twist at the slightest application of pressure. But that doesn't have nearly as much day-to-day affect on my life as all the hEDS-adjacent issues - i.e., falling over and fainting a lot, gastrointestinal issues, swallowing difficulties, internal bits falling out, overreactive MAST cells, the constant draining joint pain and fatigue and frequent migraines... like anyone who has CFS is a fucking TROOPER, I could not live with any greater level of fatigue lmao

I think a lot of hEDS folks find that. The dislocations and subluxations are the most obvious issue, and what everyone knows about. But the other issues often fuck up your day-to-day life just as much, if not more!

I'd love to know more about rheumatoid arthritis, too! I'm only vaguely aware of it as an autoimmune disease that can cause some pretty serious damage to hands and feet??? But I'm sure there's a lot more to it! If you ever wanna yell, feel free to, because I'm super interested in all connective tissue disorders too xxx

[fazar234]

Chapter 3: Stumpy - Helping Hand

So remember when I said I'd go on hiatus? Yeaaaaah, that turned out to be a lie. (I'M SORRY OK). With Amphibia (and TOH) coming back on March 19, I wanted to try to get this fic done before canon obliterates it completely.

Nevertheless, I managed to finish it, so I hope you enjoy!

Summary: When Stumpy’s restaurant faces a massive amount of customers, it’s up to Sasha to keep everything in order.

Tags/Inspirations: @writingamongther0ses, @eclipsewarrior101, @d-blue02, @dawn-is-gay, @hughjidiot, @eeveearoace, @eeveearoace-creative, @sonofrose, @iamthelordoftime, @shikokiomi, @space-lynn, @astro-inthestars, @waybrights, @skibs-scribbles, @casswithmywholeheart, @starsfic, @luna--dragon, @mira-blue, @thatonedorkthatdraws, @dodelidoo

Stumpy’s Diner.

A restaurant owned by a frog of the same name that was once merely a run-down shack on the verge of going out of business, but thanks to Anne Boonchuy, became a successful paradise of Thai and Amphibian cuisines for everyone to enjoy, with business booming like never before.

Today, though, business seems to be booming a bit too much.

Sasha can tell because the moment she walks in, she sees the longest line ever in front of the counter, maybe even longer than the lines she’s seen at Thai Go, consisting of residents from the town as well as newts and toads that joined the rebellion, most of them yelling impatiently at none other than Stumpy Stumpson himself, who appears to be frantically balancing a plate of Pad Thai on his interchangeable hand (which is currently a spatula) and trying to reach for a spoon with his other “hand” (which is actually just a meat cleaver made from the remains of his hand), only to drop the plate, causing the food to spill on the floor. He curses to himself as he gets a towel to wipe up the mess, and heads back into the kitchen.

Sasha, having witnessed the scene, decides to go check up on him and entering the kitchen, sees the frog grumbling to himself as he dunks his spatula hand into a pot of rice for the colossal amount of customers and begins stirring. He’s so busy cooking he doesn’t notice Sasha until she speaks up.

“Rough day at work, huh?”

Startled, Stumpy trips and falls backwards, specks of rice tumbling onto his face. He looks up, annoyed, but his expression softens upon seeing the Slavic girl.

“I suppose you could say something like that,” he replies as he gets up and continues stirring the rice.

“Why don’t you hire someone to help?” Sasha presses. “It’d be really handy for you, because you wouldn’t have to deal with all those crazy customers all by yourself.”

“Ay, that would be nice.” Stumpy admits. “But it’d also be costly. And besides, I don’t have a lot of, uh, how do you humans call it? Dough, on me as of late.” He brings up his spatula from the pot, goes to a sink to rinse it, and sighs. “Ever since the rebellion started, I’ve had people piling in nonstop!” He added a quick “No offense, of course.” before continuing. “When I dreamed of running a successful restaurant, I didn’t mean it like this! How am I supposed to deal with all of those customers? I’m only one chef!”

Sasha doesn’t respond, too busy brainstorming a solution that could get the chef out of his conundrum. She herself had some experience with cooking, having to make meals for herself back home due to her parents always being away at parties or events, leaving the blonde to look after herself. She was able to make Thai cuisines too, but she had a small feeling that she alone wouldn’t be enough help.

Unless she could find some more people to offer assistance…

“You said you don’t have the money to hire someone, right?” she asks slowly. “What if you had someone who’d be willing to help for free?”

Stumpy barked out a laugh. “Ha! Good one! Working without pay isn’t a job, it’s slavery! And besides, who’d want to help anyway?” His smile fades when he sees the look on Sasha’s face. “…just to be clear, you were joking, right?”

“You stay here and keep cooking, Stumpy,” Sasha says, a smile forming on her face, ignoring the question just asked. “I’m gonna put together a team.”

——————————————————————————

Turns out, recruiting members to help out at Stumpy’s for free is a lot less easier than anticipated.

Then again, Sasha shouldn’t have been surprised. Lots of people who joined the rebellion were hoping to find some work that could help them earn a raise for their families, and seemed interested in working at the restaurant, that is, until they found out that they wouldn’t get paid. By then, only a few members, who consist of Felicia, Wally, Loggle, Mrs. Croaker, and Mr. Flour are willing to assist the chef.

In the evening, Sasha and her team head into the restaurant, which is more crowded than last time, amphibians of all kinds packed at tables and a large majority of them waiting impatiently in a line which seems even bigger than before. The group make their way past the livid customers while trying to avoid bumping into anybody and reach the kitchen, where they see a frazzled Stumpy trying to pour Fly Ice Tea into the cups, only to get some of it on his apron.

“Stinkin’ Salamanders!” he growls to himself. He soon notices the group in front of him. “What are you lot doing here?”

“Stumpy, I did exactly as I said. I put together a team.” Sasha replies with a confident smile on her face. “So, how can we—”

Before she can get the chance to finish, the customers outside start yelling, furious from not having gotten their food yet.

“Well…” Stumpy begins. “For starters, some of you could do me a favor by taking care of the mess outside.”

——————————————————————————

The rest of the evening goes by in a blur. Stumpy, with the help of Mr. Flour, Felicia, and Sasha, is able to quickly whip up some dishes, new and old, for the customers, who are being managed and served their food by Wally, Mrs. Croaker, and Loggle. Soon enough, the line grows short, and by the end of the day, the entire restaurant is empty, with the exclusion of Stumpy, who seems happier than the day his restaurant was saved, Sasha and the residents who lent a hand.

“Mother of pearls, you actually did it!” he exclaims gratefully. “How would you all like a free meal tomorrow afternoon? I’ll make sure to pay you all for the—”

“No need to, Stumpy,” Mrs. Crocker interrupted, a smile forming on the elder frog’s face. “We just wanted to help out.”

“Suit yourself,” Stumpy shrugged. “Oh, that reminds me! I’ve gotten myself a new squid! Anyone up for Squid & Basil—”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish as the residents immediately scurry out of the restaurant at the mention of the word “squid”, while Sasha stares in confusion.

“What was that all about?” She asks, and Stumpy sighs.

“Long story.”

——————————————————————————

I think I'm going to go on hiatus after I finish the full fic, lol.

Anyways, leave your thoughts in a reply or reblog (constructive criticism) is welcome, and I'll see you all soon!

[claaaaaaaaaar]

Yeaaaaah! Well done, it's a nice fic!

If you ever want another drawing, feel free to ask! ^^

I Need Inspiration, So-

If someone reblogs their own injured 2012Donnie image with his brothers/a brother comforting him within the next few days, I will write a OneShot specifically for that image and I will post it on A03&Tumblr and then tag you here on this post so you can find it and save it and if you have A03, I will dedicate it to you.

As a TMNT writer, this I swear.

[mooifyourecows]

Hi Moo! Can I ask do you have a degree in anything? Besides daisuga love language that is ❤

i have a second degree burn on my hand from when i accidentally (aka drunkenly) touched the ceiling of the oven while checking my jalapeno poppers last week

other than that though, i am degree-less

i dropped out of college after a year and a half. i realized that i really love learning but my ADD brain doesn’t like following orders or doing homework and the stress was NOT worth paying 600$+ on books i only pretended to read. 

not to mention i was working part time at walmart (ew! stinky! ew ewie ew walmart is ew! down with capitalism!) and i never had any time to just relax and write. so i quit school, then a few months later, quit work (okay i got fired but in my defense fuck walmart i stole so much chocolate milk from those bastards and feel zero remorse, suck my dick Waltons)

honestly, i just want the knowledge without the pressure. i am so bad with authority and routine so school was kiiiiinda miserable for me. 

i hated that i had to take certain courses i didn’t give a frickity frack about just to meet requirements for a degree i prooooobably wasn’t going to use anyway. whyyyyy did i need to take college algebra for an english degree? whyyyyy? 

even the classes that were a little more relevant to my degree were so tedious and boooorrrring. i hated reading classic literature and would just fake my way through all the class discussions. i wrote an essay for a book i didn’t read and my frickin professor liked it so much she sent it to these word nerds out of state and i had to READ IT AT AN ENGLISH CONFERENCE like yo pls i just made it all up, don’t make me answer questions i won’t be able to answer pls

i was constantly late for classes and i never paid attention, just sat in back and wrote my shitty little stories in my notebook, pretending to take notes. it sucked man it SUCKED. i just wanna pick super specific concepts that i’m interested in, learn all about them, and NOT have to write an essay at the end to prove i understand it

like, literally, if any of my followers are super knowledgeable about something and ever want to info dump about it, feel free to slide into my DMs because i am always looking for niche knowledge to pack away into my stupid little brain. it gives me lots of options for character writing 👀👀👀 just make sure to explain it to me like i am a small, idiot child, for i am very dumb

uhhhhh anyway

this turned into a ramble of an answer but yeaaaaah that’s my whole college life story. well not whole story, obviously, but it was a boring time anyway so ya know 🖤

[sneakymalou]

Piers S/O pregnant with triplets??

OH YEAAAAAH 🤩🤩🤩

Baby trend baby treeeend 🥰🥰🥰

Piers x reader 🍭

Tears.

The results in your shivering hands, tears brimmed in your eyes, as you couldn't possibly stop them. A true nightmare ? No. A mix of a mountain of love and fear.

Triplets. You were pregnant with triplets. How could this possibly happen to you ? A baby was nothing less than a blessing. Twins, wonderful luck. But triplets... damn.

Luckily, Piers would soon be home. All you had to do was wait. “Take a deep breath, everything’s gonna be alright” you mumbled to yourself, starting pacing up and down. Minutes turned into hours, and you fear turned into impatience. Where was your man when you needed him the most ? Well, the answer came right to your mind ; his gym stadium, obviously. Maybe a challenge took longer than expected... as you tried to compose yourself back together, you finally heard the door.

���Babe ?”

Finally. Piers was home.

In a matter of seconds, you ran to him, your frail and shivering body holding him tight. “What happened babe ?! Are you hurt ?? Is the baby alright ??” he almost fell into panic. Of course you burst into tears while he rubbed your back. Of course you were afraid... when he was out, you never felt so lonely and lost in the same time. “Three...” you murmured painfully. “Three... what ?” he repeated, frowning, trying his best to understand without asking too many questions. But after this long day he had been through, he needed a little more than just a word to explain the issue. “Three...” you enunciated. Giving the ultrasound to your man was the beginning of a clue to him. Piers took a minute to observe the photo, trying his best not to burst into tears. Clearly, he had never been so overwhelmed in his entire life.

Then it hit him.

Three.

Three.

Three babies ?!

“Holy mother of Arceus !!” he claimed, a smile so big you almost thought he was going to cry in your arms. As you were afraid like you never had been before, nothing came to his mind but joy. “We’re gonna have three little punkies ?!” he expressed later, with a smile even bigger and brighter, if only that was possible. You simply nodded, erasing your own tears from your cheeks.

“Oh babe... you were scared, weren’t you ?” Luckily, Piers knew you far too well for far too long not to understand instantly what crossed your mind. As you thought his joy won’t possibly last, he raised you from the air and made you turn over and over, laughing loudly. “WE’RE GONNA HAVE THREE PUNKIIIIIIES !!” he yelled without warning, kissing you all over your sweet, pale face. Why did you feared the worst exactly ? Well, no reason. The dark-type gym leader had never been so happy. After all, he wanted to have a baby with you more than anything else in the world. Looking after his sister Marnie, not as a brother but more as a ‘father’ was probably the most beautiful thing he had to do in his life. Now, the woman of his heart was not pregnant with one beautiful angel, but with three... he had all reasons to be not only happy, but overjoyed for months !

“Babe, look at me” he finally said with a quiet, gentle voice once he put you back on the ground. “I love you. I always did and always will. Nothing could possibly parted me from you, ever... never forget that. After all, Marnie’s gonna take my role as gym leader so I’m gonna have plenty of free time ! Yeah, I wanted to be a challenger but that matters little now... you matter. You and the babes” he explained with such serious he made you smile a little. Of course you were still very anxious, the doctor said this pregnancy won’t be a easy one, but with your man by your side... there was nothing you couldn’t accomplish.

“Theeeeere...” Piers carried you like a true bride-to-be, and sat you comfortable on the couch. Obstagoon came to hug you and rest his big head on your very pregnant belly, as if he knew in an instant that you needed to be reassured. “Big guy is ready to be a big bro, see that ?” your man said jokingly, sitting by your side in order to hold you tight. He only spoke to the babies after that, with a voice so sweet and warm your heart was about to burst out of love. “Be sweet my angels... daddy’s here for you and can’t wait to hug you my punkies...” he murmured, erasing discreetly a tear from his eye.

You stood here for a long moment, Obstagoon looking after the both of you, like a only a big bro could do. Later, you would finally fall asleep in the arms of your punk boy, singing especially for you and for the babies to come. Truth is... he had never been so happy in his life. Maybe that was why he couldn't help himself but speak to your very pregnant belly all night long. Needless to say, he would do the same all nights after that...

(Gif by me 🍭)

[wildcatofgreen]

Ah SHIT!!! Did she just FORGET to send the second stream to Tangle???

it's not like she was feeling great that day--it'd make sense if she forgot. It took a bout of happenstance for her to remember the first time--and she had to have Cory do it in the first place. Spirits above.

She gave the lemur a sheepish grin as she scratched the back of her head. "Haha, yeaaaaah, my bad on that one Tangie. Remind me 'ta send ya the vid later.

"But like, I was totally kicking that panda's butt!!! He ain't even stand a chaaaaance against a girl like me! I was usin' moves from my bestie an' everythin'--have ya met Lyli yet? I gotta introduce ya! "But then like, Zao was being a total lameo and made me stop doin' that stuff.

"But you know that can't put a wildcat down!!!!! So I came back stronger than ever!!! And BAM BAM BAM, I WAS KICKIN' HIS ASS!!!!" She starts to move her arms exaggeratedly, high into the sky! To her left and right--she's trying to illustrate the fight with only her arms and hands! And her mouth--she will repeatedly make the sound effects with her mouth. "BWOOM! POW! We were tradin' blows an' shit! "An' then I used my trusty gemerald 'ta like, teleport all over the place!!! Only did that like, once before, by the way. It was crazy, that whole thing was crazy."

She put her own arm around the lemur and and gave her that titular smug Carol smirk, "But of course, ya girl won it all. When ya corner a wildcat, ya get the claws!!!" She makes a clawing motion with her free hand, just as they reached the table with all the food. The wildcat picked up slice of cake--it was the first thing she saw--and started chowing down.

"An' Sohny's ah whole 'nother thing--thahnk yah ahgahin by the way. Dunno where I'd be if yah ahn't help me with thaht stuff!" She swallows, her food, clearing her throat right afterwards.

The mercenary visibly cringed at the scar across the wolf's neck. Corazon rubbed at her own neck in response, closing her eyes ad she did. That's gotta fucking hurt, holy hell.

"Yeaaaah," she opened her eyes again and took her glass in her hand, "That's some fuckin' scar. Got good resolve, though--I swear most people would've given up if some shit like that happened to 'em. Hard to be positive when you're disabled from the get go."

Similar scent? H'oh boy--dogs always got some sort of superior sense of smell or whatever going on. Of course she could tell their relations from that. She's willing to bet the other dog girl could've did the same if she hadn't got so confused by their looks.

"You canines got some really strong noses. Yeah, the girl's my baby sis--proud as hell of her for gettin' this far. Came a loooong since she cried for her older sis. Now look at this crazy bitch--saved the world twice and got a whole ass man to boot.

"Your girl and my sis feel like this," she raises her right hand and crosses her first two fingers, "It's like somebody making smores--the pieces just fit together perfectly. "It's a treat, sure, but I ain't never been a fan of smores. How long have they known each other, even?"

Tangle rubbed her head but honestly it'd take more then a little bonk to hurt her and whisper knew it. Still she hoped she wasn't angry with her, as she watched the Wolf walking away and that single blue eye peak open to glare at the two mischief makers! It make Tangle shiver from head to toe! Boy she could say so much with a glance couldn't she? She wasn't pissed of course just annoyed but still! Obviously she would get a talking to later probably!

She casually put an arm around Carol and walked toward the table with all the goodies as she talked. Course she wanted to know all the deets along the way!

" Ah yea! Food does sound great! I wanna know how that second Battlesphere thing went anyway! i didn't exactly get to see! and the first one was so hype!?! "

She literally missed all the crazy moves Carol pulled off! all the super cool stuff she missed it and didn't have a clue!

" And tell me about the Mr.! never said much about him before... he defiantly looks like a keeper! "

Whisper leaned against the table in the meantime just sighing and giving Tangle a side glance. For as much as the wolf cared for her, she could certainly be a handful. Those tow together? Might as well toss a hand grenade at the other feline. She wasn't angry per say, but she did think Tangle didn't always know when to stop. She got like that when she was excited though so she didn't blame her, not entirely. Plus she'd lie if it wasn't nice to see her, she'd also lie if she said she didn't enjoy the wedding.

Her attention diverted once Corazon spoke and smiled lightly in her direction. Glad she at least understood her, not everyone she met could read sign fewer could speak with it back. She wished desperately to use her voice but she'd lost that ability long ago. She barely remembered what she sounded like back then. The question though had her hand travel to her throat as she looked very distant like she was reliving some dark moment in her life.

She gently pulled her black choker down to reveal the wicked scar along her throat, as if showing it told a better story then she could ever muster up on her own.

✋ Lost my voice when i was a child, Never let it slow me down. So i have to talk like this or not at all. You'd be surprised what body language can convey though ✋

She took a drink from her own glass just downing the whole thing looking at the glass disappointed---not her choice in drink.

✋ Still sorry about Tangle, she's just excited. She really enjoys Carol's Company. I assume you two are related? You have very similar Scents ✋

[acraftedmistake]

A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM Chp. 9

YEAAAAAH CHP 9!! 31 PAGES!! I’m weirdly excited over this gjnfbdsfdhfgdgg Hope you guys will like it!!

Today was the big day!

The day everyone had been anticipating for months! Weeks upon weeks of preparation, everybody doing their part, sharing the workload of the decoration, careful planning to make sure everyone could attend, countless nights of reading and rereading the plans for how the day would play out, and now it’s finally arrived!

Everyone was excited, but no one could compete with the exhilaration Radar had!

Radar viewed the sea of people he stood before, making out familiar faces as they all chattered to one another. He remembered being so fearful of crowds, now he feels nothing but enthusiasm. The people were seated in the beautifully embellished nave. Bold, red flowers with their mesmerizing petals were used to make wreaths which hung on the stone walls, along with banners of the same vibrancy as the flowers that hung from the ceiling.

Radar stood proudly on the stage with two others by each side. He had put hours into his appearance, making sure his red suit--a shade he’d always compare to a ruby--was wrinkle free, that his dark yellow tie could be put on without hassle, his black shoes shone, and being extra determined to keep his hair combed back and slick. His hair would always stick up, it was nearly impossible to control, but it seemed merciful for this special day.

He looked at the people next to him, he was placed in between two individuals who he was well acquainted with. On his left was a woman about his age, freckles scattered on her pale face, and long, red hair that stopped midway at her back. Unlike Radar, she was not wearing formal attire of any sort, instead, she had a clean, white towel wrapped around her body which she held together tightly.

Radar could’ve gone unclothed as well, but when he was shown the optional attire, he knew he had to wear it for such an event. He was warned his suit would get ruined today, and to not fret about his appearance, but he wanted to look wonderful regardless.

The man to the right of him was older--though by how many years was unknown--and had been here far longer than Radar. He was extremely pale, which could’ve been because he was nervous, his hair was somewhat frizzy and a light blond. He also wore a suit, it was a dusty brown instead of Radar’s red.

‘Of course his suit is different,’ Radar thought to himself, ‘He is being honored for a different reason.’

Besides them, there was nothing too much on the stage except for a sturdy, spruce chair. However, more people would be stepping on soon.

“Everyone!” Brenner, one of their three leaders spoke as the other two stood aside, “I’d like to thank you all for joining us on this very special day…”

Brenner was no ordinary man. He was a man whose loud, confidence-filled voice would immediately steal your attention, his judgements were law and he’d speak only the truth.

His red robe, sleeves and its end decorated with gold-colored engravings, was loose around his body yet everyone knew it was perfect for him. His white eyes stood out from his dark brown skin and he wore his bold red and pink burn marks with pride. He was blind, but he had no need to see.

There was no flaw in this man.

Brenner continued his speech and Radar wanted to listen, yet he found his attention going elsewhere. On each end of the dark wooden stage were two big, white ceramic pots with shiny blue paint splattered on the tops. Large fires had been set in each pot, and had flowers carefully surrounding each flame, delicately placed to prevent them from being set ablaze.

‘Red dahlias,’ Radar remembered, ‘They’re wonderful.’

Radar, among a few others, had helped Brenner dig up a bundle of these gorgeous flowers. It was that very day when Brenner spoke to him.

“Radar,” Brenner had said, “Your journey, your progression… You are a vastly different man compared to the one I first met nearly a year ago.”

He placed his hand on his shoulder and gifted Radar with a smile, something he hardly ever did, “The next generation of The Awakening has been gifted to receive a future Vision as you, Radar.”

A Vision. Radar. He never thought hearing those three words together was possible. He had only been in The Awakening just shy of a year, compared to the tens of hundreds of other people who had been here--some for over a decade--he thought he still had years to go. But the leaders told him his growth and his leadership skills outshined many others. They told him they needed him.

Who could refuse an honor like that?

A Vision. What a powerful word. What a title.

Radar turned back to the center of the stage. The woman had sat down on the chair, clutching her towel tightly. She was sobbing. Two of the leaders surrounded her as she told her tragic story, how she had lost everything until The Awakening had helped her. Hearing her story and seeing the crowd’s tearful, sympathetic faces as they nodded along to her words brought a weird happiness to Radar. This was a community. A safe place. A home.

The third leader, an older man with a similar attire to Brenner, carefully made his way onto the stage, carrying a deep dish specially made to carry whatever substance was in it. It must’ve been a darker red, but it’s coating began to chip away from years of usage. The old man wore thick gloves.

Once her story had finished, everyone cheered.

Brenner stood behind her and placed his hands where her collar bone was, carefully massaging it to help her relax as he continued his speech.

“Your years of hardships and development are soon to be rewarded. Are you ready to be gifted with The Vision’s gift?”

“I am.” She answered, wiping away her remaining tears.

“Do you love the people you will soon shine for, our history, and wish to make the future brighter for our remaining days on this Earth?”

“I do.”

“Are you ready to become the next, brilliant flame for future generations?”

“I am.”

She glanced up at Brenner, who gave her a small but warming smile, before taking a deep breath. She tilted her head back as far as she could, Brenner held her hair.

The old man approached and the substance began to trickle down before becoming a slow, steady pour.

The liquid was heavier, as it fell onto her face instead of drizzling down smoothly like Radar expected it to. It also had a brilliant glow to it and lit up a portion of the stage; the light made the steam from the substance visible.

A strange smell soon came. Radar couldn’t perfectly describe the smell, an odd clash of sweetness and naustiation, it was becoming stronger by the second. He could practically taste the scent.

He stared at the woman as the liquid kept coming, her skin was becoming red and slowly falling off her face and onto the floor, sizzling. Odd bubbles began to form and Radar swore he saw what used to be her eye melting and mixing along with the liquid.

Lava.

What are they doing?

Radar looked back at the crowd, who still had the happiness from before, and felt his stomach begin to knot up.

Do they see nothing wrong with this?

Why aren’t they doing anything?

What are they doing?

What are they doing?

What is he doing?

He stopped breathing. The stench had become overwhelming, he was afraid he’d choke. This isn’t right. This can’t be right.

This can’t be right.

“Radar?” He heard Brenner say, a firm grip on Radar’s shoulder, “Are you alright?”

Radar couldn’t tell if he was shaking his head or if his whole body was trembling tremendously, but seeing Brenner’s concerned--almost worried--expression means he must’ve looked awful.

Radar kept shaking, he shook his head violently to make himself clear as he stepped away.

He kept stepping back and back and back until his body bursted into a full sprint. He held his breath and ran faster than he ever had in his entire life. He ran through the hallway of the shrine until he saw the exit, never looking back. He heard shouts and screams, hollers, voices pleading for him to come back, people calling him ‘quitter’, but he refused to listen.

The moment his foot passed the exit, Radar finally took in a lungful of fresh air and expected to see the lushious field of grass and flowers he was so used to seeing, but there was nothing to greet him.

He stood in nothing. No signs of life. No buildings. Only nothing.

Was he dead?

“Radar.” He heard Brenner’s voice again. The melancholy wrapped around it sunk into Radar’s mind.

He had done wrong.

Something terribly wrong.

Radar tried to keep moving, he found very little energy to run, but he tried to walk. He may as well have been moving with cinder blocks chained to his legs, his feet dragging against the unloving void as he begged his body to move faster.

“You’re so much better than this.”

A hand crept up and held Radar’s hand. He tried to pull away but more locked his arm in place. He couldn’t see the hands, the arms, where they were coming from, but he could feel them. Their tight, unforgiving fingers gripped his clothes, tearing them off and stabbing his skin. More came and wrapped themselves around his bare body, some around his chest and stomach, almost as if hugging him. He wanted to throw up. This was wrong. This was wrong.

He felt fingers caress his face and remove his glasses before forcing his head up and his eyes wide open. Radar could see the dish looming over him crystal clearly. Radar couldn’t move his head, he tried rolling his eyes to the back of his head yet he could still make out the disgusting clumps of lava falling to his face.

“The next generation of The Awakening has been gifted to receive a future Vision as you, Radar.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Maya awoke to Radar’s screaming followed by a stingful slap in the face. She almost didn’t recognize her own room because of how unfocused her vision was. Maya felt the headboard of her bed against her stiff, aching back. Why was she sitting on her bed? Did she fall asleep sitting up? She squeezed her eyes and shook her head, wondering why she received a wake up call like that.

“I’m blind! I’m blind--!” She heard Radar’s high voice cry.

Maya shot her eyes down and jumped. On top of her blue blanket, arms flailing and legs kicking, was Radar with tears streaming down his face. Rays of the sun shot through her windows and into Radar’s eyes.

The aches have been completely forgotten as Maya jumped off her bed, and ran towards the windows as Radar continued to shout about how he couldn’t see. How he was blinded. The way he covered his face with his hands and wailed with his body thrashing about, you’d almost believe someone had tore his eyes out.

Maya hurriedly yanked the curtains over the windows--the thick, blue sheets immediately blocking all light--and she rushed over to her nightstand to grab Radar’s glasses; she had to tape one of the hinges back together after he had fallen asleep.

“No you’re not. No you’re not. No you’re not. ” She said in a quick breath, fumbling with the glasses, trying to open them without accidentally snapping the hinge off.

She held the glasses carefully, trying to figure out how calm Radar down so he could put them back on. His hands dug into his face, he continued to sob. She couldn’t possibly put them on at the moment.

“Hey,” She said loud enough through the man’s sobs. His hands remained firmly on his face but his body settled down when hearing Maya’s voice.

Radar opened his mouth, wanting to talk, but he could hardly get the first letter out. His breathing was loud and unsteady, and his body shook.

Maya carefully reached out, “Can I see your hand?”

She couldn’t tell if he was nodding, but he extended his hand out, searching for her’s.

She made sure to grasp gently as their fingers locked. He was ice cold.

Radar had covered his eyes with his arm. Maya stared at him and slowly breathed in.

“What’s your name?” She asked carefully.

He didn’t respond right away, he took a moment to process the question as his teeth chattered.

“R… Radar.” He answered with an unsteady voice.

Maya nodded and held his hand a little tighter, “Do you know where you are?”

Radar slowly began to uncover his face. His eyes peeked out and he scanned the room. Everything was blurry and dark, but the layout felt familiar to him.

“A h… A house?”

Maya brought the glasses to his face, trying her best to slip them on with one hand. She didn’t want to poke his eyes. Radar helped push the glasses into place.

He wiped away the remaining tears, used his arms to hoist himself up, and looked around the room again.

“Aiden’s home.” He corrected himself.

He heard Maya’s ‘Mhm’ as he continued to observe the room. It was clean. It was barren. There was only an oak nightstand with an old, red alarm clock. Two chests were in between the two windows across the bed, a sword laid on top of one of the chests. Then there was the dresser pushed against the wall to the right side of the room, it was the only thing to be considered ‘messy’. One of its drawers was open, exposing the neatly folded clothes, and on top of the dresser laid two more swords, a pickaxe, and bandage wraps.

He recalled a second bed used to be here, but Aiden had moved it to the guest room.

‘This is Maya’s room.’ Radar remembered.

He was beginning to relax when he heard Maya ask “And The Awakening?”

Radar froze up again, adrenaline rushed through him, his brain begged him to escape, yet he remained still. Flashes of the dream--memories--quickly came and went. He turned his head stiffly to Maya, his shrunken pupils locked onto her face. She looked worried. Was that his fault?

Radar gripped her hand tightly and started with a shaky voice, “The… They…”

He swallowed, “They can’t get here.”

“Right.” Maya nodded, her brows creased, “Because we’d do everything we can to stop them. You’re safe.”

“I’m safe.” Radar repeated. He fell back onto the bed. He was finally able to regain control over his breathing as he took slow, deep breaths.

The two remained in the bed--hands still holding--for several minutes. Maya wanted to give Radar some time to take it easy after such a rough day, but a part of her wanted to converse with him. Maybe he needed someone to talk to. But what could she say? She could never start conversations. She never knew how to.

Maya stared at the wall across her bed for a minute, clenching her jaw

“Bad dream?” She finally asked.

Radar nodded, rubbing his eyes.

“You wanna talk about it? You don’t have to.” She said in her gruff voice. Maya never hated how she sounded, but there were times she wished she could sound a bit more… Emotional? Softer? Her words always sounded far colder than she intended them to.

“I’d love to forget it.” Radar said weakly, squirming in bed trying to get comfortable. He laid on his side, staring at the room’s door, trying to concentrate on anything that wasn’t his dream or what had happened yesterday.

“We were supposed to go to Petra’s today,” He took a deep breath, “Am I holding you back?”

Maya shook her head, “No. Everyone else will be heading to her place, I’m staying here with you.”

She saw Radar’s head sink into the pillow, visibly disappointed. She pressed her lips together.

“You wouldn’t like it there.” She said.

“Oh?”

“Petra’s place. It’s…” She thought about her next words carefully, “Sorta creepy.”

Radar could only respond with a weak nod. He turned on his other side so he could face Maya again. Everything was beginning to slow down. His blinking, his breathing, his heart beat.

“Did I hurt you?” Radar avoided looking at her face. He forced his eyes to stare at his free hand.

“It was an accident.” She acknowledged, “Don’t worry about it.”

He mumbled a barely audible apology and dug his face deeper into the pillow. He kept staring at his hand. It was shaking. He was still shaking.

He inhaled sharply tore away from Maya’s hand and tightly gripped his wrist, determined to cease his trembling. The more he kept staring the more frustrated he got. This is pathetic. This is pathetic. This is pathetic. Why is this still happening?

“How can I be expected to do anything properly if I can’t even stop my own hand from shaking!” He grinded his teeth and kept crushing his wrist.

Maya was about to stop him when Radar suddenly sat up, threw both hands onto his head, and dug into his hair.

“I promised--I promised Olivia and--and him a tour of the town.”

There’s no way he’d be able to do it today nor tomorrow. Maybe not even for the rest of the week. He’s not sure how well he’d handle being on the empty streets of Obsidian Town... In the middle of the day… Seeing him… Hearing his voice… Being close to him.

Olivia would be there, but would she make any difference?

“They’re good people. They’ll understand.” Maya assured him.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay you can’t do it. Doesn’t make you a failure.”

“I know.” Radar’s hands steadily slipped off his head as he rested against the headboard of the bed.

He felt his body leaning closer and closer to Maya till he found his head resting on her shoulder.

“Maya?”

“Hm?”

“I want to… Wanted to thank you for all that you did last night.” Radar felt his eyelids getting heavy.

“Yeah,” Maya glanced at him, “Yeah, don’t mention it.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse cracked his eyes open ever so slightly and was met with an intense brightness. The window’s blinds were wide open, allowing sunlight to spew in and take over his bedroom. Jesse squeezed his eyes shut and shifted around in the bed, his head was pounding, he wanted a few extra minutes of sleep. Just a few. But he was finding the task rather difficult. Was his bed always this uncomfortable? Hard? How did he manage to fall asleep in the first place?

‘This isn’t your bed.’ A thought echoed in his head.

His eyes shot open. Oh no. It wasn’t a fever dream.

Jesse instantly sat up and scanned the room, ‘Guest room.’ He reminded himself.  Where was Olivia? The place was rather empty, if she was in here, he would’ve spotted her already. Is she okay? Did something happen last night?

Jesse threw the covers off, slipped on his shoes beside the bed, and tried to recall what happened.

“Okay, you found out you’re in a different world--in a different universe, filled with different-familiar people, what else? What else?” Talking outloud tends to help refresh his memory, “Radar got attacked by Other Jesse--oh, I hope he’s okay!”

Jesse ran to the door, swung it open and… Was greeted with a surprised Stella.

“Oh, you’re up!” Stella’s fist was raised, she must’ve been a moment away from knocking. She was wearing a soft, striped, lavender-colored, short sleeved pajama top with a pair of dark purple flannel pants. She also wore fuzzy slippers that were the same shade as her shirt.

Jesse stopped in his tracks and dug his fingers into the doorway, bouncing his leg rapidly. He needed to know if his friend was safe, or--at the very least--still in this house.

“Yep, woke up a second ago. Have you seen Olivia?”

Stella blinked, “Yes, she asked if she could read in the living room.”

Jesse’s body loosened, his hands melted off the door’s frame as he sighed with relief. He peeked back at Stella, who looked like she wanted to say something.

“What about you? Why are you up so early?” Jesse had no idea what time it was. He knew the sun was out, so he assumed it was morning.

“I… Couldn’t sleep.” She clasped her hands together, “Jesse I--I owe you an apology.”

Jesse tilted his head, last night was overwhelming. So many moments merged together into one, chaotic nightmare.

Stella breathed in, “The way I treated you last night, I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t the nicest. I genuinely thought you were our Jesse, I’m very sorry.”

“Oh, hey!” Jesse leaned against the door, “After what happened to Radar, I totally understand. Better safe than sorry.”

“But still,” Stella tucked her hair behind her ear, “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“It’s all good.” Jesse assured her with a smile. Stella smiled back.

She stretched her arms high, “Well, there’s a few more hours of the day left, I’m going to try to get as much sleep as I can. You and Olivia should too.”

Stella waved and began walking off, leaving Jesse to think to himself. He wasn’t too tired, he wouldn’t be able to sleep again. Sleep. Sleep? What time is it? Wait a minute--

“Hold on, Stella!” Jesse whisper-shouted to her before she went any further. She spun around, strands of hair flying into her face.

“When do--What time do you usually go to bed?”

Stella answered, “10:30 sharp. I go to bed the earliest out of everyone else.”

Jesse inhaled, “... AM or PM?”

“... AM?” She replied, raising a brow.

‘Oh no.’ Jesse thought to himself as he held his breath.

“What time do you wake up?”

“8 PM--Why are you asking me this?” Stella asked.

‘Oh no. There’s a time difference.’ A major one at that.

He glanced back up at the confused woman and finally exhaled, “You see, in our universe, we fall asleep when it’s dark out. Polar opposite to your’s.”

Stella stared for a moment longer before her eyes widened. She let her mouth hang as she tried to figure out how to approach the situation.

“Oh dear, that possibility didn’t even come to mind! Are you two going to be okay? Aiden will probably be waking us up at 6--6 PM--you’re going to be waiting for a while.”

“Don’t worry,” He waved his hand, “We’ll find a way to kill time.”

Stella tapped her foot, thinking of what him and Olivia could do for the next several hours. She wanted to suggest they rest so they wouldn’t tire out too soon during their trip to Petra’s, but if they’re used to being up at this time, it’ll certainly be difficult for them. Plus they’d have to tire themselves out to want to rest.

“Alright,” Stella started, “There are plenty of books downstairs for you to read, if you get hungry, help yourself to whatever. If you see a container of butter cookies, don’t eat those, those are Cassie’s…”

Jesse nodded along to Stella’s list.

“And don’t--!” She raised her worried voice but immediately stopped herself. She continued on in a whisper, “Don’t go outside. At all.”

“I won’t! Pinky promise.” Jesse held his pinky up high.

“ ‘Pinky promise’ ?” Stella repeated with a laugh, “That’s adorable. I need to go back to bed, I’m trusting the two of you to be safe.”

She began walking back to her room, her fuzzy slippers making flip-flop sounds with each step she took.

“Alright, goodn--Sleep well!” Jesse corrected himself.

He made his way to the stairs, could he say ‘Goodnight’? Or did he have to say ‘Good morning’ instead? ‘Good day’? Do phrases change with such a major time difference? He could only assume so.

Jesse would carefully place one foot on each step, trying to be as quiet as he could to not wake anyone, but the pressure he’d put on the stair would release one loud groan after another, making him cringe. Everything he did always seemed louder whenever he was trying to be quiet. Maybe it was his brain being overdramatic or maybe he was plain bad at being quiet.

He tried to take another step, carefully pressing down onto the wooden planks, but an exceptionally loud creak pierced his ears and stopped him in his tracks. He gritted his teeth. How hard was it to walk silently down steps?

“Is someone there?” He heard a familiar voice ask. Jesse perked up and leaped down the remaining stairs, completely forgetting the concept of ‘quiet’, slipping off the last step, and nearly breaking his legs.

He gripped onto the railings and caught himself before he could land on the floor face first.

“Oh my gosh!” Olivia leapt off the couch and hurried towards the moron, “Are you okay?!”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.” He repeated, his heart racing with the surprise adrenaline rush. Olivia grabbed Jesse’s hand and hoisted him back to his feet.

“Do you know how much easier it would’ve been to just say ‘It’s me, Jesse’, instead of throwing yourself off a flight of stairs?” Olivia asked.

Jesse brushed himself off, “Sorry, sorry, I got excited. I woke up, you were missing, I was gonna find you but Stella stopped me--already a real wild morning.”

“Afternoon.” Olivia corrected.

“Hm?”

“It’s 1 PM, Jesse.”

“What?!” Jesse sputtered. Had he really been asleep for that long?

Olivia went back to the green couch and picked up a small book--the one she got from the library--laying on one of the cushions, “After we were told to go back to the guest room, you sat on the bed for a while. You were… Pretty quiet. You looked shaken up, so I wanted to give you space.”

She began flipping through the book, trying to find her place, “I read for a bit, then when I turned back around, you were asleep again. I was going to stay in bed and keep reading, but you kept moving around and taking up a lot of space.”

Olivia chuckled at the recollection.

‘Oh jeez, do I really do that?’ He had always slept alone, never shared a bed before. He hoped he wasn’t too much of a nuisance to her at night.

“Don’t worry about sleeping in though,” Olivia spoke up, she scooched to the side of the couch and patted the cushion beside her, inviting Jesse over, “you needed the rest.”

As Jesse walked over, Olivia looked around the living room.

“Nobody else seems to be up besides Stella.”

“Oh, speaking of which--” Jesse plopped down, his body bounced from the cushion, “There might be an itty bitty, teeny tiny little time difference. These guys apparently sleep in the morning and most of the afternoon.”

Olivia clicked her tongue, “I thought so.”

She had her suspicions earlier today when Aiden had told them to go back to bed, along with everyone’s odd amount of energy from last night. Having her speculations confirmed, she felt more at ease and wanted to use the time they had to continue reading her book and--hopefully--get more comfortable in their temporary world.

Jesse was watching Olivia hunt down the page she had stopped at--visibly annoyed--and decided to ask her on what she’s read so far. Olivia’s face brightened as she began describing what she'd learned.

She started with the story of a man who had done it all, someone who had defeated monsters of all kinds, traveled thousands of miles across a variety of biomes meeting new companions along the way, taking on beasts in the Nether--and other dimensions--and inspiring many people. He was referred to as “The Impossible Man”. The next two sections were shorter, the first discussing the rising creation of shrines made for gatherings and offerings, each shrine having their own unique origin story.

The second section was the vaguest of the bunch, briefly talking about a period of time where everyone believed the world was falling apart, horrid quakes would tear the floor open, storms would come and flood towns, and while there weren’t too many details, it seemed to be the darkest time of this world. Finally, there was the chapter she was currently reading: Tearing down the Nether. Years and years ago, hundreds of people began creating their own portals to the Nether in an attempt to find something. Trying to find Obsidian was risky enough, but people would go to the extremes when trying to find iron, flint, or obsidian to the point where people were killing each other over it. Portals would deteriorate and destroy anything surrounding them because of how poorly constructed they were.

Olivia scrunched her nose and flipped through a few pages as she continued talking, “That’s the most I’ve read. I’m struggling to piece certain parts together because someone took their time carefully removing specific pages. Who does that?”

The missing pages did explain why the book was on the thinner side.

“Can I take a peek?” Jesse asked, holding his hand out. Olivia passed him the dark blue book.

He began flipping through and, sure enough, pages were missing. Some sections were only missing a few, while others had tens of them gone. Whoever took these pages out did so with precision, the only evidence of the pages ever existing were the small, barely noticeable torn paper in the gutter of the book.

“Hm.” He handed it back, “Maybe someone’s trying to hide something. We might have to wait for everyone else to wake up so we can ask.”

Jesse slumped over the couch’s armrest and let his arms dangle as his hair hung in his face. They’ll have to wait five hours for anyone to wake up, and hope Aiden and the others were energized enough to want to explain. Five hours. Five long, agonizing hours in this house with windows taunting the outside world to him.

Jesse blew the hair out of his face and turned his head to the right. His eyes fell onto the wall across the couch, specifically the large portion of the wall with thick, long, oak shelves covering most of the area. The shelves carried a variety of items, from a worn down, iron helmet, pickaxes dangerously close to edges, carefully rolled maps and… Books!

Jesse’s face lit up and he lifted himself off the couch, “Hey, tell you what!”

He walked over to the shelves, “I’ll take a peek at some of these suckers,” he took out a random book, “and maybe they’ll help fill in any missing chunks!”

Olivia smiled, “Sounds great. Good way to pass some time.”

As Olivia continued on with her book, Jesse opened his and saw it was a recipe book. ‘Not gonna help unless we suddenly crave honey pie.’ He chuckled to himself and placed the book back. There were a number of books waiting to be checked out, he was sure to find something useful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few hours had passed, Jesse wasn’t sure how many, but he was absolutely bored out of his mind. Most of the books shelves were recipe books, fictional, and a few autobiographies of people he didn’t know. He had also found a photo album but decided against looking through it, he felt it’d be an invasion of privacy. Jesse had rummaged through the few chests in the room and saw Aiden and his friends were loaded with weapons and armor, all which were kept in fine condition. He surprisingly wasn’t too hungry, but took a granola bar from one of the kitchen cabinets to fill him up just in case.

Olivia still had her face buried in the small book, she remained quiet for the most part except for the occasional page flipping when she’d get stumped.

Jesse pressed his face against one of the long windows by the front door, looking out on the few small businesses across the street who mocked him. The two-storied black smith with a dark wooden overhang that shielded the furnaces and hanging tools from the sun, the cute little general store with flower pots hanging off the roof, and the worst one, the public library. It was the biggest building of the bunch, it was two stories, made up of primarily dark oak and cobblestone, and had large, white tinted windows that exposed bookshelves filled to the brim. Their two front doors had a sign hanging in the middle reading “Closed”.

Jesse squeezed his face against the window harder. Oh, how he’d love to dash outside, run into the library, and nab a book.

As much as Jesse didn’t want to, he started wondering about this universe’s Jesse. He originally had a theory that the roles had been reversed in this universe. Good guys were bad, and bad guys were good. But when he remembered Aiden being friends with the other Olivia,  and there’s the fact the other Jesse used to be friends with them, caused his theory to crumble. Along with hearing bits of the world’s history, it was obvious this universe wouldn’t follow the “role reversal” formula.

‘This is a different universe,’ Jesse thought to himself, ‘Things are different. Things have changed. And there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Jesse sat on the couch and sunk into the cushion. Hopefully an idea to keep himself occupied would pop into his mind, but for now, there is nothing he can do.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Jesse?” He heard Olivia’s voice, “Come on, sleeping beauty.” She shook Jesse harder.

Jesse shot up from the couch, had he dozed off? Was he that tired? Bored? He did feel more energetic than before, so maybe he needed the nap.

“What’s up?” Jesse asked with a yawn as he pushed the hair out of his eyes. He glanced out the window, the skies were still blue and the Sun was still up, but it had lowered notably.

Olivia was about to answer when they heard thumping from above them. Several footsteps could be heard on the second floor, slowly approaching the stairs, along with an array of mumbled voices. Jesse hopped off the couch and bounced in place, eagerly eyeing the stairs as the footsteps got louder and louder.

Finally Aiden came down.

“Woah.” Aiden blinked, “You two are up early.” He rubbed his face. He was wearing an oversized, long sleeved, green shirt as opposed to his usual, buttoned up green top Jesse was used to seeing. His pants looked the same as last night’s, a black pair of jeans. Did he sleep in them? That couldn’t have been comfortable.

“Yes, we found out there’s a time difference.” Said Stella, who followed behind. Unlike her drowsy friends, she appeared wide awake and prepared for the day, already dressed in her purple, thin striped suit top with long, striped pants to match. She had already put her makeup on as well, her face glowed.

“Uh-huh, Good morning!” Jesse paused to think, “... Afternoon? Uh… Good wake-up-ning!”

Jesse had never been more excited to see this particular group of people in his entire life. He had no idea what they planned out for today, but he was hoping it’d involve going outside. Even if it was a quick pit stop to the general store, anything was better than nothing.

Everyone scavenged the kitchen for a quick breakfast, most getting a granola bar and whatever fruit their eyes landed on; Aiden was brewing coffee. Cassie was hoarding the tupperware of butter cookies and shoving a few in her mouth, her eyes barely open.

“Don’t you think you should eat something more… Filling?” Jesse asked, watching Cassie with concern.

“My energy is sustained on Gill’s butter cookies at this point, you don’t get to criticize me.” Cassie grumbled angrily, pointing at Jesse with a cookie in her hand.

“Where’s Maya?” Asked Gill, taking a bite out of his bar as he looked around the room.

“She won’t be coming with us, her and Radar are staying here.”

“Oh no, Radar can’t come with us. Bummer.” You could practically feel the sarcasm in Cassie’s tone.

“What? What happened?” Gill looked at both Aiden and Stella.

Aiden went on to explain what took place early in the morning, how he was reading the journal from Hadrian’s and heard their door slammed open. When he--and Stella--had found Maya missing, they were about to search for her when she came rushing back in with a beaten Radar. That’s when they discovered that their Jesse was close.

Aiden also mentioned he found old crafting recipes in the journal, recipes for alternatives of flint and steel which must’ve been used to activate different portals. The main items they’d need would be iron, flint, netherrack, red stone, and gold. While he wasn’t certain either of these activators were used on the portal in the Shrine of Eyes, it’d be good to try.

Aiden carried on, “... It’d be hard to find these things on our own, so we’re going to Petra’s. If anyone would have weird items, it’d be her.”

“YES!” Jesse shot his arms up and surprised everyone with his unrestrained excitement. They were going out. HE was going out. Not only that, but he’d see the Petra in this universe!

“Jesse, I’m sorry, you can’t come with us. Neither can Olivia.” Stella told him, her brows creased.

Jesse’s arms fell back down, his smile dropped, and his head hung. Was his reaction a little overdramatic? Perhaps. He understood why he couldn’t be let out, the main concerns were him being mistaken for the other Jesse or running INTO the other Jesse. Neither would end well if they were to happen, but he was allowed to feel let down. Olivia came over to pat him on the back.

“Stella’s right, we can’t let you outside…” Aiden stared down at the moping Jesse. He breathed in, “... Without a disguise!”

Cassie Rose, Gill, Stella, Jesse, and Olivia all turned to him and, in unison, exclaimed “What?!”

“We have some spare clothes upstairs, you just need to hide your faces until we’re far enough from town, it’ll be like last night.” Aiden said.

Olivia looked baffled while Jesse was beaming. He bounced about, “Yes! Yes! Thank you! This is the BEST!”

“Maya and Radar are sleeping!” Stella shushed Jesse.

“Right, right, sorry!” Jesse responded back in a whisper.

Jesse didn’t know why he was so excited to be going out, maybe it’s because the sense of adventure--no matter how small--always felt thrilling, maybe his body yearned to move around without restrictions, who knows! Who cares! He’s going out!

He ran to the stairs with Olivia following behind, “I’ll meet you guys!”

Aiden was about to leave the kitchen when he was stopped by Stella, who pulled him back by the sleeve of his shirt. He turned around and faced her, Rose, and Gill.

“What are you thinking?” Stella asked, staggered by what she had witnessed.

“Yeah, you sure bout this?” Gill tilted his head.

“Yeah--Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. Just wanted to do something nice.” Aiden attempted to move past their concerns.

“That’s great and all, but be realistic.” Cassie said, pushing her glasses aside to rub her eyes.

“Exactly, what if a member from The Awakening sees us? Or our Jesse?” Stella said.

“That’s why they’re gonna wear disguises,” Aiden said, walking to the stairs, “and it’s early. Even if we did run into someone, there’d be six of us and one of them. Let’s get ready.”

The three went upstairs to get dressed, select a weapon for the road, and--no matter how unhappy they were with Aiden’s decision--helped Jesse and Olivia with hiding their identities.

Stella had an array of coats and jackets for a variety of occasions in her closet. For Olivia, she had selected an oversized, olive green jacket to hide the shape of her body. For her face, Cassie lent Olivia a dark gray hoodie to wear underneath the jacket. Olivia had to put her hair into a ponytail to allow the hood to cover her head completely.

For Jesse, they mostly needed to hide his top--specifically his red suspenders--and his hair. Aiden had fished out a black leather jacket with a silver zipper chain that popped out, and had managed to convince Rose to lend one of her beanies to them. Jesse took the time to carefully tuck the curls of his hair under the beanie to the best of his ability, though there were always a few strands that’d stick out no matter what he did.

He knew the beanie looked ridiculous on him, but the jacket made up for it. He thought he looked great in it. Jesse would occasionally imagine himself in a leather jacket, thinking he’d look good, and always seeing Lukas in his jacket made Jesse consider getting one of his own.

Lukas.

‘I wonder how he and the others are doing. We’ve been gone for over a day now, I wonder if they’ve noticed.’ Jesse thought to himself, staring at the floor.

“Hey, you ready?” Aiden asked, grabbing Jesse’s attention.

“Uh-huh!” Jesse nodded. He followed Aiden out the room and back downstairs where the others had gathered.

After everyone had quickly shared what they were taking along, Stella bringing her bow, Cassie had her axes, Gill was equipped with a sword and a few torches in case it got dark out, and Aiden was bringing a sword of his own, along with the journal so he wouldn’t forget the items.

Aiden opened the door and tilted his head outside, “Alright, let’s go.”

The walk through Obsidian Town was similar to Jesse and Olivia’s first experience, head down no matter what and moving at a fast pace. However, no one held Jesse’s hands together tightly or forced his head to stare at the floor, he felt more freedom than he did yesterday. And despite this being the time when everyone was asleep, Aiden, Gill, and the others stayed alert for any citizens who could be roaming around.

Aiden told the two of them when they’re far enough from the watchtowers of the town, Olivia and Jesse could look up and roam around. To get to Petra’s place, they’d have to walk through a forest which was located past the town, far right. Gill said the walk wouldn’t be too long.

Jesse watched the ground below him transition from the concrete road, to the creaking, wooden bridge, then finally, to the dirt path. Jesse felt someone grab onto his shoulders without warning and steer him into the right direction; he nearly tripped over the uneven path.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, Aiden said “Coast is clear.”

Jesse lifted the beanie--which kept sliding down his face throughout the walk--and looked around. They were in the same field from yesterday, but this was his first time seeing it under the blue sky. The green of the tall blades of grass were far more brilliant compared to the evening’s, and the array of bold colored flowers could be spotted through the grass, miles and miles away.

Jesse turned to face Obsidian Town as they continued walking farther and farther from the main road, it appeared all the more dreary compared to its surroundings. It’s dark, obsidian border acted as a shield for the town and the people against the colorful, outside world. Who would want to stay cooped up in a town when the outside world is like this?

Olivia took her hood off--her hair flying about thanks to the static--and saw what laid ahead of them: A thick, vibrant forest with a hill behind it. She peered through the trees, the forest was devoid of sunlight. Compared to the rest of their environment, it appeared to have consumed and trapped darkness itself.

Most of the group was quiet, still drowsy from being awoken early.

“So,” Olivia said to no one specifically, “Petra doesn’t live in Obsidian Town but… By it?” She tilted her head.

“Yeah, not a people’s person.” Cassie replied, kicking around a small stone as she walked.

“Petra has a variety of items one would consider… Illegal. Items which she gets in… Illegal ways.” Stella added on, her nose scrunched. “Not that I mind! She’s not hurting anyone, but I’ve never been fond of her place. It’s so messy.”

Gill commented as well, “If she lived in town and kept doin’ her trades, she’d prolly get her stuff taken away. Or arrested. I think.”

“Oh!” Gill turned his head to Jesse and Olivia, “Do y’have a Petra where you’re from?”

The two of them lit up.

Olivia nodded, “Mm-hm, great friend of ours, actually!”

“Boy, do we have some stories.” Jesse chuckled.

Gill nodded, eager to hear. Cassie seemed interested as well, taking a few steps closer to listen in. Jesse was doing most of the talking, talking about the wither storm, the sickness Petra got, portal hopping, how amazing and loyal she was… Jesse could recall these times as if they happened yesterday, everything was extremely vivid. He could remember the emotions, the intensity, the pain of all those events, all the while Gill listened on in awe, his eyes sparkled as he imagined the events Jesse shared in great detail.

Olivia’s focus wandered elsewhere when she started thinking of Petra. She missed her. She missed her friends. It was unsettling only her and Jesse in this universe, she was so used to traveling in big groups. Yes, her and Jesse weren’t alone, there was Aiden, Cassie Rose, Gill, Maya, Stella… But she couldn’t find herself trusting them. They’re technically strangers. Not to mention the countless times she or Jesse would trust someone, only to be betrayed and find out everything they’ve learned was a lie. Olivia didn’t think Aiden and his friends were awful people, but she wasn’t ready to trust them completely. Not yet.

“Oh!” Jesse spoke up, pulling the beanie back, “Thanks again for letting me use you beanie, Ros--”

“Cassie.” Cassie Rose corrected him.

She shoved her hands into her hoodie’s pockets, “And, uh, no problem.” Despite being exhausted, she managed to give him a small grin.

Once the group reached the forest everyone spreaded out to give each other space as they walked along the wide trench, which was rather damp thanks to the trees shielding it from the sun. The trees--ranging from dark oak, birch, and spruce--had rather thick leaves, only allowing a few rays of the Sun to push its way through and barely illuminating their way. Aiden’s group didn’t worry too much about the barely lit trench, their destination was a straight walk through. The group would jump over any large, torn branches, rocks, or cracks in their way and step onto dead leaves too soaked to be crunched, and twigs too moist to be snapped by their weight.

The forest was a natural, chaotic mess. Trees would clash and twist into each other, vines would hang and create vague, human-like silhouettes, the grass was much longer and untamed compared to the field, the chirping of birds and bugs would blare from all around, and bits of the sky could be seen through the thick, tangled branches.

“Moon’s up early.” Aiden observed, looking up to catch a snippet of the pale, waning gibbous from a small clearing through the branches.

Olivia was grateful for Stella’s jacket, though it was on the thinner side, it protected her from the cold captured in the forest. She’d be cautious around the cracks in the ground, none were as deep or as intimidating as the ravines she saw before, but she didn’t want to tempt fate.

‘I can’t believe we’re out here.’ Olivia thought to herself, ‘What was Aiden thinking?’

Like Jesse, she too wanted to explore the outside world, but with another Jesse out there and a cult, what made him believe taking the two of them along to be a good idea? Her eyes would dart around, mistaking the silhouettes of fallen trees as people or a terrifying monster from the depths of her mind.

While Olivia stayed close to Aiden, Stella, Gill, and Cassie, Jesse was hopping about and picking up whatever rock, stick, or wild berry that caught his attention. He’d observe them in wonder before running to the next eye catching object.

“Are forests not a thing in your universe?” Cassie asked aloud while Jesse continued running about.

“No--I mean--Yes! This whole ‘alternate universe’ thing is finally kicking in!” Jesse said, picking up a stick by a large, dark oak tree and waving it about. The group slowed their walking to not leave Jesse too far behind.

“Look at this! It’s a different universe tree!” Jesse exclaimed, pointing at the old oak with the stick.

“Jesse, it’s still a tree.” Olivia said.

“A tree from another universe.” Jesse smiled playfully, he tossed the stick aside and reached for one of the many smooth stones on the ground, “Do you think I could take one of these back--”

His question was interrupted by a low rumble. The world began shaking. Jesse’s first instinct was to latch onto the tree with all his might. Olivia and Cassie went to nearby trees to grab on to, Aiden stood his ground while Stella held onto Gill’s arm.

‘Another quake?!’ Olivia gripped the thin, birch trunk tightly. The shaking wasn’t nearly as violent as it was last night, but her mind created visions of the cracks on the road opening up and consuming them all.

She squeezed her eyes shut, praying they’d be okay when suddenly… The shaking stopped.

Everyone stood still for a moment, making sure it was truly over.

“Early ‘n quick.” Gill commented. Stella nodded and let go of him.

He, Cassie, Stella, and Aiden continued their walk, talking amongst themselves like nothing had happened. Olivia and Jesse, on the other hand, held onto their trees for seconds longer, exchanging equally freaked out expressions before catching up with the group.

“... I’m telling you, gibbous’ are superior.” Stella was saying, “They may not look the best, but compared to the other phases…”

“Uhm, excuse me?” Olivia peeped, her eyes wide. The group kept talking.

“Dunno why you keep defendin’ that phase,” said Gill, “Quarter’s where it’s at.”

“Yes, but--”

“Excuse me!” Olivia raised her voice. Everyone turned to her as they kept walking.

Her face reddened and she glanced elsewhere, “Sorry--This may sound ridiculous but… Are tremors common here?”

“What?” Stella’s mouth hung open, “Are those not normal for you two?”

Jesse shook his head, “I don’t remember the last time we had an earthquake.”

Cassie rolled her head back, “Ugh, lucky. I’d kill to have a month without a stupid quake.”

“They happen weekly,” Gill said, “Like two or three times a week. They’re usually not too bad, just part of life.”

“Olivia,” Stella spun around to face her, walking backwards, “you remember back at the library with Logan? Him warning us about the full moon?”

“Yes?” Olivia thought back to what happened yesterday, how an intense shake came out of nowhere and--despite Olivia nearly falling--the girls had shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

“Well, quakes are the absolute worst during the Full Moons and New Moons. They’re longer, more violent… Overall unpleasant.” Stella rolled her eyes, annoyed.

Cassie cleared her throat and added onto Stella’s statement, “I think you mean ‘the scary open eye’.”

Stella threw her head back dramatically with the back of her hand on her forehead, “Oh, how uncultured of me! Of course! I can’t disrespect the ‘opened eye’, or the terrifying, ominous ‘closed eye’!”

The two girls laughed.

“HEY.” Gill shouted with a serious tone wearing an equally serious expression, both the girls--even Aiden--turned to him, surprised by his reaction.

“This stuff’s serious…” A grin crept across his face, “The spooky blind man might getcha.”

“You had me for a second.” Cassie let out a sigh before chuckling at Gill’s words. Aiden shook his head and smiled.

Olivia turned to Jesse, relieved to see him as confused as she was. He stared at the three laughing, trying to figure out what to ask and how to word it.

“I’m sorry… Eyes?” Jesse questioned.

Stella’s laughter dwindled and looked back at Jesse, “Oh, right! You… It’s safe to assume you don’t have a cult where you’re from, right?”

Olivia and Jesse shook their heads.

“Well, there’s quite the history behind calling the phases of the moon ‘Eyes’, but I’ll do my best to simplify it. You see, The Hero’s Awakening has been around for many, MANY years, so they’ve made quite an impact on our world. One of these is with the moon.” Stella gazed up to the sky.

“The Awakening worships The Hero, someone who is supposedly capable of committing terrible acts and has no eyes. When the moon is full, it’s referred to as the ‘Opened Eye’, since it… Well, looks similar to The Hero’s eyes. ‘Opened Eye’ means that he is watching us all, and the horrendous quake is his attempt to destroy and wipe us out. A ‘Closed Eye’ is, well, The Hero’s eyes are closed. His wrath is raw and the quake will be even more ferocious.”

Jesse nodded along, absolutely fascinated yet frightened by what he was hearing.

“A few questions: Is The Hero real and do we need to worry about him?”

If this man was real, then he’d be added to the already long list of “Things to be afraid of in this different universe”.

“His true name is ‘Herobrine’,” Stella started, “but he’s called The Hero to fit into The Awakening’s stupid narritive. There are many reasons to doubt his existence. Honestly, the cult itself is a much bigger threat than their imaginary friend.”

Olivia began thinking back to her book and it’s missing pages. She wondered how The Hero had been around, and if he happened to have any influence on the events she had read. While she pondered a variety of theories, Jesse didn’t want to leave the conversation one sided, he wanted to contribute somehow.

“In our universe, we had someone sorta similar to The Hero. He called himself the Admin…”

Cassie Rose watched Jesse share his story for a couple of minutes before catching up with Aiden. She stared at the path ahead of her and could see the wide, manmade entrance of the hill surrounded by jumbled vines, and a lit torch placed beside the ‘doorway’ which illuminated a fraction of the cave-like interior. The exposed stone stood out from most of the hill’s grassy exterior.

“I can’t believe we have two Jesse’s now.” She muttered.

Aiden glanced at her, “We’ll get them home as fast as we can, don’--Shoot!”

“Hey Jesse!” Aiden said. Jesse’s tale came to a halt and he, Olivia, and Stella brought their attention to Aiden.

“I just remembered, we’re gonna have to call you something else. You know, prevent any confusion. How does…” Aiden thought for a moment, “Does ‘Jess’ sound good?”

Jess smiled, “Works for me!”

Their walking started to slow and came to a complete stop when they reached the front of the hill. Besides the torch, Olivia saw no signs of anyone inhabiting the cave she stared into. She looked up and spotted another small entrance on the side of the hill, and-- like the cave in front of them--its shape seemed too… Geometric to have happened naturally.

Aiden’s hand went through the entrance and knocked a few times against the stone wall. The noise started loud, bouncing around the walls before dwindling and fading back to silence.

“Who is it?” A tired but familiar voice asked, also echoing.

He stuck his head in and raised his voice, “Aiden. With friends.”

“Alright. You know where I am.” She replied.

Aiden tilted his head towards the cave, motioning for everyone to follow. Jess was behind Aiden and Gill was behind Jess; Jess wasn’t able to see how far Olivia was from him.

Upon stepping foot into the cave, one thought immediately came to Jess’ head, ‘Man, it is dark in here.’

The only light source, besides what little sunlight managed to make its way in, was a single torch placed on the far opposite end of the entrance, barely providing any help. Jess stuck his hands out, hoping he’d be able to feel around and not run into anything. He could barely make out who or what was in front of him.

He could hear people’s breathing, their steps, the water dripping from the ceiling of the cave, being quiet here was impossible.

Another feature of this cave was how cold it was, even with the leather jacket on he felt chills running throughout his body. He felt his hands make contact with the surprisingly smooth, freezing stone walls, which were closing in on them more as they continued walking--to the point where Jess could hardly extend his arms out anymore--forcing the group to follow a riggidy, zig-zag path. His fingers would occasionally collide with the thin streams of water trickling down, making him shudder.

Olivia was pressed between Stella and Cassie, she had zipped up her jacket to preserve as much warmth as possible. Olivia could feel the discomfort in Cassie’s murmurs about how she wished they had taken the other entrance. Olivia wondered if this ‘other entrance’ had a more spacious walking path than the one they were taking, she wasn’t thrilled about the limited space and borderline blindness this place provided.

Despite the tight squeeze, everyone was moving at a decent pace. As they strayed further and further from the opening, both Jess and Olivia were getting worried Aiden had no idea where he was going, and they’d all get lost or have to turn back

Jess tried his best to peek over Aiden, to see what sort of progress was being made, and his eyes instantly landed on thin rays of golden light coming from the right side of the cave’s wall. He concentrated, staring harder to see what could be the source of said-light, and was soon able to make out an old, mossy, dark brown door with vines hanging in front of it. Had it not been for the light, the door could have been easily missed.

Jess could no longer hear Aiden’s footsteps, he took it as a sign to stop walking. Shortly after Jess stood still, everyone else stopped as well.

Jess heard a clicking sound echo, followed by an ear piercing creak. Suddenly, the golden light flooded in and lit up the entire cave, Jesse squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He’d have to enter the room the door led to soon, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed forever. He cracked one open, adjusting to the brightness, then opened the other. The light honestly wasn’t as intense as he thought it was. The light was a deep, welcoming golden-yellow with flecks glistening in the air.

Aiden pushed aside the vines and squeezed through the door. Everyone followed in, one after another.

Olivia’s eyes widened when she walked into the ‘room’, which was a portion of the hill hollowed out and decorated with all sorts of items. Lanterns hung from the high ceiling by thick ropes, giving the area a golden hue. There were no flames in them, however, but dust. Glowstone dust.

The walls had blocky ledges which held up chests, crafting tables, anvils, and somewhere, a jukebox playing a tune of low chimes with a consistent beat.

Standing tall on the opposite side of the group was a deactivated Nether portal, which sat upon a mossy stone base. On the left side of the portal were cracked nether bricks, and on the right, blocks of diamonds that had seen better days. Both of these were constructed in a shape nearly identical to the Nether Portal. Resting by these structures was a skull too large to be human’s, it had a white coat of paint with little bits chipped off.

Chests were lined up against walls, others could be seen beside staircases, others were on staircases, some were on top of other chests, there was no rhyme nor reason to their placements.

Olivia noticed there were several different--probably equally messy--rooms the area branched off into, each with their own staircases. There were a few rooms built high up into the walls, which were connected to the main stone floor with long, uneven stairs held up by sloppily constructed poles of wood. It was a miracle they hadn’t collapsed yet.

It was amazing how such a spacious place could feel so cluttered.

“Some place…” Jess whispered to Olivia.

“You’re telling me.”

“Could you imagine if Axel was here?” Jess chuckled, “He’d love this.”

“Oh, I ran into Axel at the library!” Olivia remembered.

Jess’ eyes brightened, “Seriously?!”

“Comin’.” Petra’s voice came from one of the higher rooms. She hopped out of the gaping hole and ran down a couple of steps from the dangerous staircase before leaping off the side nonchalantly.

Petra held onto a sleek, diamond pickaxe with one hand while brushing herself off with the other. She pulled her black and gray striped bandana back into place with her other arm, which had a bandage wrapped tightly around it. Another bandaged was seen on her left leg below her torn, dark gray shorts as she headed towards the group. Her boots were worn down, gray, and had two straps securing their place.

“Hey guys,” Petra glanced up, “Hey Rose. What do you ne-- Woah.” Her eyes locked onto Olivia and widened.

She pointed at Olivia with her pickaxe, “Aren’t you… Supposed to be dead?”

“She was--she is! It’s…” Aiden paused, “We need your help.”

Aiden, with the help of Cassie Rose, Stella, and Gill, and with the confirmations from Jess and Olivia, caught Petra up on what had happened. Petra listened carefully, resting her arm on the head of her pickaxe as she nodded along.

“So lemme get this straight…” She started, straightening herself up and adjusting her black vest with dark yellow lining at its end and collar. She wore a blue and light gray striped shirt underneath.

“Some crazy portal to another universe opens up,” She pointed at Jess and Olivia, “These two pop out… And your first conclusion is that I’m somehow responsible for it.”

“No, no, no! Not at all! We needed to see if you had any specific items.” Stella assured her. Petra still didn’t seem convinced.

“Petra, we’re not accusing you of taking part of this.” Aiden said, “Maybe you sold materials to someone who ended up activating the portal. I know you’ve had to deal with creeps before.”

Petra glared at Jess, “How do we know he’s telling the truth?”

Aiden pushed Jess in front of her, “Say whatever’s on your mind, Jess.”

Jess turned to Aiden then back to Petra. He cleared his throat.

“Hi, I’m Jesse--Jess--and, uh… It’s real great to meet an alternate Petra…” He wasn’t good at forcing a conversation out. He glanced around the cave to spark an idea of what to talk about.

“I am absolutely loving this place, the hanging bottles, the chests everywhere... “ Something inside of him clicked and got the ball rolling, “Do you like treasure hunting? Our Petra LOVES treasure hunting, everytime we’re adventuring she’s all excited for what we’ll find! Oh, like this one time, we entered a--”

“Stop.” Petra put her finger in front of his face, silencing him. “You’re too cheerful. I’ll believe you if… You tell me what Stella’s like in your universe.”

“Stella?” Jess glanced at the woman in question, who wore a puzzled expression as well. “Well, we aren’t too close… She ran Champion City, mostly acts real high and mighty, always wants to be in charge, that’s the most that comes to mind.”

“Oh, so nothing’s changed?” Petra said with a straight face.

Cassie failed at holding back her laughter as she hunched over with her hands covering her mouth. Aiden and Gill did a far better job at hiding their smirks from their friend. Petra grinned at Cassie Rose’s reaction.

“Excuse me!?” Stella’s face reddened. She whipped her head over to Cassie, “Do you really think I’m like that?!”

“No--no, it’s just--” Cassie kept covering her face, “Just the way she said it--I love you Stella, I swear, I swear I’m just--” She said through chuckles.

“Okay, jokes aside…” Aiden said, wanting to get back on topic, “Did you deal with anyone who looked even a little suspicious? We need to get these two home.”

Petra stared for a moment longer before glancing at Jess and Olivia. She sucked in air through her teeth and folded her arms, “There was… One guy who kinda weirded me out.”

“I’ve never seen him before, but he told me a friend had sent him. He was a big guy, looked harmless enough. He was rreeealll antsy about getting his hands on some redstone and gold.” Petra began making her way to one of the many chests lined up against the wall, her pickaxe over her shoulder.

Aiden cursed to himself as he took out the journal, flipping through the pages to find the crafting recipes. Those were a part of the materials they needed.

“Do you have any left?” Gill asked as Aiden continued searching.

Petra opened the chest and dug through it, “Nope. They took the whole stock. He sure was loaded…” She mumbled the last part to herself.

Cassie recalled the other items, she stood back up and pushed up her glasses, “What about iron or netherrack? Any of those?”

“Actually--Huh.” Petra pulled out a porkchop from the chest, “I didn’t know that was in there. Anyways...” She shoved it into her mouth. Stella repressed the urge to hurl.

“The guy did take a bunch of iron but I might have a few pieces left.” Petra closed the chest, moved over to the next one, dug around, and when she couldn’t find what she was looking for, moved on to the next. She’d grab nearby jars and used their light to help her search through the chests’ dark insides.

Stella placed her hands on her hips as she watched Petra search, ���This place is so chaotic. I need to come over one day and help you reorganize everything, maybe label some chests, rearrange your rooms…”

“No. No way. This is organized chaos. I know where everything is--Found ‘em!” Petra pulled out a few bars of iron along with chunks of netherrack. She tossed them over to Gill, who quickly snatched them from the air and held onto them tightly.

“You better be smart with how you use that netherrack,” Petra said, “I might like the Nether, but it is Hell to deal with. I don’t wanna be jumping in and out of there cause you keep messin’ up your crafting.”

“What about the redstone or gold? How soon could you get those?” Aiden asked, looking up from the journal.

“Oh jeez…” Petra scratched her face and thought, “If I’m really lucky, then maybe a week? Stuff’s not easy to find.”

Aiden let out a sigh, “No--yeah, I understand. Thanks.” He closed the journal, “What do we owe you?”

“Nothin’. Friend discount.” Petra gave them a smile, “When I find the other materials, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The walk back to Obsidian Town was nice, the sky was still blue but the Sun was nearing the horizon. Jess was grateful to see natural light and feel warmth again, while Olivia was thankful she didn’t have to walk through the tight walls of the cave ever again.

Everyone was talking to one another about different topics. Olivia and Jess were excitedly discussing Petra and her home, Stella and Aiden were figuring out what to do about the missing materials, and Cassie and Gill were exchanging past experiences with Petra.

Of course, once they got near the town, Olivia and Jess hid their faces and looked down. More people were up and walking about, so Aiden and the others stayed close to hide the two the best they could.

Once they reached the house, Maya opened the door and gave them a tired ‘Welcome back’.

They all poured into the house, laying on the couches, stretching, or going into the kitchen in search for another breakfast.

“Radar still asleep?” Aiden asked, sitting on one of the stools by the bar.

Maya shook her head, “Took him back to his place. He’ll be okay.”

She was about to ask how everything went with Petra when she suddenly remembered something.

She huffed, “Shoot. Left his board back in my room.”

“Don’t worry.” Aiden scanned around the room, “Hey Jess!” He called.

“Yeah?” Jess was sprawled out on one of the couches.

“Radar left his clipboard in Maya’s room, think you could get it?” Aiden needed to catch Maya up on what had happened, and Jess was the first person his eyes landed on.

“You got it!” Jess stood up and stretched his legs before running to the stairs.

When he reached the second floor, he stopped to think. He didn’t remember which room was Maya’s… But he did remember her room was in the left hallway on the left side.

‘There’s three doors on the left side. Guess I’ll quickly look in each one and see if I spot it.’ Jess approached the first door and opened it. He popped his head into the room and scanned it. A green messy bed, a neatly done red bed, a really cluttered desk and…

‘Hey! Is that…?’ Jess slipped in and walked up to a relatively tidy bookshelf where Olivia’s hat laid.

He picked up the hat, ‘So that’s where you’ve been.’

Jess saw something reflecting the Sun’s light from the corner of his eye, he shifted his head down and saw a pair of thick, bulky, gray goggles which rested atop a brown, leather journal. He placed the hat down and carefully lifted up the goggles. They had a thin layer of dust on them and looked fragile.

The goggles sort of reminded him of Lukas’. Jess started getting curious about the journal and moved it closer, only to reveal a piece of paper underneath it.

Aiden came rushing upstairs and skidded to a halt when he saw Jess.

“I just remembered you have no idea where anything is,” Aiden chuckled, “Sorry about…” His smile faded as he stared at the back of Jess.

“Aiden?” Jess asked, “What is this?”

Jess turned around, and in his hands he held a picture of a brightly smiling Lukas with bold words below it reading “MISSING”.

[maraudererasmut]

Ah! You’re so welcome! I’m glad I could help make your Monday great! I’m so happy that you liked the chapter!! Ahaha, yeaaaaah, Lily playfully interrogating Remus is kind of a mood, to be honest. I know I’ve done that to friends once or twice. :P

You are so wonderful, Anon! Thank you for such a sweet ask! <3 <3 I love you!

<3 I’m so happy that you love it!! Don’t worry, I don’t plan to stop any time soon! I’m having WAY too much fun with it! And I just had a whole flood of ideas the other night that I had to write down in a doc before I forgot them all! So there are a few plot points that I need to cover before I’m anywhere near ready to call this done! 100K words, here I come! XD

You’re welcome!! If anyone else ever wants recs or is looking for other authors to explore and check out, feel free to hit me up! There are some amazing authors out there, and I am MORE than happy to shout about how much I love them! :P

Hooray!! I’m so thrilled that you’re enjoying the fic! And I am also SO excited for them to be boyfriends! Especially since I have the distinct feeling that neither of them are going to be very good at it. :P 

Aaaah!! *blushes* Well, thank you!! You’re making me all soft and giddy! :P And I WISH I could have that writing set up everyday all day. That’s absolutely my new favourite spot in the world! Unfortunately, I was only at the cabin for a long weekend, but oh boy did I need it. I feel so well-rested, for the first time in a LONG time.

Welp. Time to quit my day job and write full-time at a cabin in the woods, amiright?

I love ALL of your anons and asks, guys! You are all so wonderful and I want to give you all HUGE hugs! Thank you for helping me stay inspired and for keeping my morale up! It’s so encouraging and it really brightens my day to see these in my inbox! I love you all! 

[rustybutterknife]

Lydia headcannons pt. 2!

She’s half Mexican!

She celebrates la dia de los muertos (Day of the dead) every year with her dad and Delia

She’ll just talk to her mom’s grave about how things have been so far, how everyone’s doing, and what crazy things her and Beetlejuice have been up to

She also does the thing where she expects foods to be in the wrong containers (Soup in a butter container, sauce in a cream cheese container, an old guacamole container filled with beans) because of how used to it she is

Then she’s like “oh yeah, they’re middle class, suburban, and white.”

She’s fluent in Spanish!

She takes Spanish class because she just wants to get her credits without having to do much work

She’ll talk in Spanish when she’s angry, and in that really fast Spanish. You know the kind.

Nobody can understand her, except for Delia, who’s a polyglot.

She found this out by accident when she was ranting to a friend on the phone in Spanish

Delia just asks her about it casually in Spanish and Lydia is like “!!?”

She used to love Pocoyo as a kid

She owns black platform crocs that she has decorated with the little croc charms

One of them is of pocoyo

She’s made a hobby of making the most obscure shirts ever

Beetlejuice has one that just says “Do you fear god?” With a beanie baby worm on it, courtesy of Lydia.

She had a scene phase, which turned into an emo phase, which then turned into her current goth phase.

She still owns a few hair clips and kandi bracelets because they’re cute

She wears a rainbow one every once in a while

Speaking of rainbow

Pride!

She’s goes to pride with Beetlejuice every year!

He’ll be decked out from head to toe in pride gear with a big ass bi flag

Lydia however just goes in summer friendly goth attire, a lesbian flag tied around her shoulders like a cape, and a little button of a puppy with a trans flag bandana on her shirt!

Beetlejuice hugs almost every mama bear (an LGBT organization where moms give hugs at pride) at pride

First time he did it, he almost cried because holy shit, this man is SO touch starved

(Also he wasn’t used to being accepted in the netherworld but that’s for a later post)

Lydia took a photo of it and taped it to her wall

They both try and get as much free shit as possible

They once had a contest to see who can get the most bead necklaces

Lydia came out with 32

Beetlejuice ended with 53 somehow

They just have a giant box filled with bead necklaces, the special ones (different shaped beads, ones with little things at the end, etc) put in a separate box.

When it comes to the kink floats, Lydia always covers shields her eyes because fetish

Beetlejuice, however, fucking wolf whistles and is like “YEAAAAAH BABEY!!”

The first time they went to pride, there was a man in a harness, leather pants, and a dragon mask cracking a big ass leather whip.

“Damn, I wish Adam could do that to me.”

“B E E T L E J U I C E”

She calls Adam and Barbra her “dadam” and “maman”

They absolutely love it

(*cough cough* the children we didn’t have *cough cough* look it up on YouTube *cough cough cough*)

She goes to Barbra for advice

They don’t always know, so she’ll sometimes to go Beetlejuice.

Usually a bad choice.

Like 9 out of 10 times it’s bad

But those 1 in 10 moments?

Tender.

She’ll sometimes do duets with Beej, who can play the ukulele (as seen in “The whole being dead thing”)

It’s usually very soft and tender songs

She gets Adam and Beetlejuice to sings “breathe” from In the heights with her

They absolutely butcher the Spanish but they’re trying

She does eventually learn to play the ukulele on her own

But that makes it her 3rd instrument

She knows how to play the violin and piano!

She’s 12/10 at both

She learned violin at 6 and piano at 8

Ukulele, she struggles a bit at first because “HOW DO I POSITION MY FINGERS LIKE THAT HOLY FUCK”

She gets the hang of it pretty quickly because ukulele is one of the easiest instruments to learn (or so I’ve been told. I’m still struggling, but I don’t play too often so that’s most likely why.)

She quit violin for a couple of years before figuring out that “holy shit, I can play more than just classical music!”

She’s learned megalovania on all 3 instruments

She’ll sometimes just randomly get up in the middle of the night to play a song or two.

It’ll just be 2am and all you hear is discord on the violin

Barbra and Adam don’t mind

Delia doesn’t mind too much

Charles very much minds because he’s a light sleeper and a coward

He doesn’t tell Lydia though

She’s serenaded a couple of girls in her days