#And we are back!

[flakops]

do what you want

[all-yoichi]

Chapter 318 | Reckless

[lxgentlefolkcomic]

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Dialogue transcripts:

Panel 1

Caption: Port Burdock, house of Dr. Kemp

Panel 2

Dr. Kemp: So. What is it you all wanted?

Panel 3

Irene: We were told, Dr. Kemp, that you had information about…the Invisible Man?

Panel 4

Kemp: Information? Ha. Ha! You could say that. You could certainly say that.

Panel 5

Kemp: He was in this very room, you know. He sat in that chair you’re in now!

Panel 6

Godfrey: So you’ve met him, then?

Panel 7

Kemp: Met him? He broke into my house! Made me wait on him hand and foot! Paranoid fellow, he was, and mad—completely mad!

[grimnyr]

I AM READY FOR THE BOOPENING

[cyten0]

A Symphony in Crimson

Act 2: A Movement in White

Chapter 1-A

When brought to light, the monster's pain

Is clarified and can bring shame

Yet bit by bit, their pain is cleansed

But will aught be left, in the end?

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

You awaken in the clocktower. Your nightmares were tame this time…

…You aren’t that hungry. Why, again? Think…

▲ “Morning Sif.”

Oh. Isa’s here… You just noticed you’re holding them. Oh! You let go.

▲ “You’re all good Sif! Feeling better?”

Better… Right. You… You got out of the timeloop yesterday…

✦ “Y-yeah. Better.”

▲ “Good! Others are already up, we better join them! Don’t wanna miss breakfast.”

...Right. You imagine they have a bunch of questions. You… Didn’t talk much yesterday, after… all that. Just… wanted to rest…

You head downstairs, and see a bunch of groggy faces.

◆ “Morning Siffrin. Grab some food, Bonniface made extra so grab plenty.”

You nod, and grab a plate. You might be mostly okay, but you still grab extra. Could always eat more.

◉ “Please tell us at least ONE of us slept well?”

✦ “oh. uh. I guess you all didn’t?”

◆ “Nightmares all around, I’m afraid. Not a surprise, but breakfast certainly helps.”

✿ “Yeah! Chocolate chip waffles make anything better!”

◉ “Agreed, Thank you Bonnie.”

Oh, pun time!

✦ “Yeah. Thank you for… Chipping in.”

▲ “HA!! HAHA!!”

Bonnie and Odile groan, while Mira holds back a light chuckle.

You sit down and get a few bites in, taking the time to actually savor the food this time. First time in a while you could. You thought you’d had enough of sweet, after all that sugar scent from wishcraft, but you think this redeems it. Bonnie’s food is too good! And the eggs and bacon on the side is VERY nice…

◆ “… While we’re here, Siffrin, I know we held off asking too much yesterday, to give you a bit of a break. But I suppose now’s a good time to start asking things. Let’s start off with something light, how exactly does your diet actually work?”

Oh. Well, you suppose that this IS the most important question.

✦ “Um. Normal food helps, but I’ll likely have to go out hunting about every week, or maybe two if I find something good. Animals for nutrients, Sadnesses for craft.”

◉ “Huh. I knew you ate sadnesses, but those are distinct?”

✦ “Kinda? I don’t recover craft very easy, so I grab sadnesses to refiill. But well. Their just saltwater? So it’s not very nutritious. Doesn’t help the body much.”

▲ “Wait you need sadnesses to recharge craft? Huh.”

✿ “Next question! How much food do I gotta make to keep up with hunting?”

Right, Bonnie won’t like this part.

✦ “Sorry, hunting's kinda important. Or at least some form of meat. I kinda can’t eat other stuff otherwise.”

✿ “Wait WHAT?! Whats that mean?!”

✦ “I kinda have to make a fake stomach to eat normal food at all. Otherwise I can only eat meat, and I’ll struggle if it’s processed too much.”

◆ “Wait, does that mean normal food isn’t nutritious at all for you?”

✦ “No! It still helps, I just need to put effort to do so. And it’s not as efficient as with normal people.”

◆ “Hm. If you’ve been relying on hunting this whole time, that explains your ‘off days’. So in that case! Let’s keep a supply of dried meats as backup in case hunting goes poorly. Maybe see if we can’t buy some wildlife bait, make things easier for you. And don’t have you bother with craft unless you’ve hunted some sadnesses.”

You nod, thankful.

You all continue to eat for a bit. Your glad there’s plenty of protein in this meal.

◉ “..T-There is. One thing. I think. Should be asked. B-But it’s a bit awkward, and maybe now’s not the best time, and-”

✦ “It’s okay, Mira. Just. I’d rather not have you worry.”

◉ “… Okay… It’s just… In that fight with Loop… They mentioned you um…”

She takes a bit of a deep breath.

◉ “You’re struggling with… the taste of… human.”

Everyone jumps a bit at that mention, yourself included. Oh stars, oh no, this is the one thing you are not prepared for! You have to take a second, you were trying not to focus on that!!

◉ “N-Not going to pry! I-It’s okay, and you don’t have to tell us anything! J-Just!… Is… Is there a way to make it… easier?”

You… Their still here with you, their not running, it’s fine, it’s fine.

Just take a deep breath and don’t think too hard.

✦ “I… It’s okay. It’s… I’ve gotten better at… Ignoring it. But... The smell of blood is bad. Hard to ignore it now… But I’ll manage.”

Nobody knows how to respond. You all know, adventuring, battles often happen, and there’s rarely a fight with no blood…

▲ “...I’m sure we can think of something to at least help!”

◆ “Of course. We do still need to get supplies for the trip to Bambouche.”

You nod. The faster you avoid THIS topic the better. And you need a moment to breathe after that reminder.

✦ “I’ll see about helping the house with repairs…”

▲ “Gotcha! I’ll help Bonnie get a letter to Nille, so they know we’re coming. And look for any news to find out the best route.”

◉ “I’ll help Madame with Supplies. We have a lot to get and might need to search a bit for what we need.”

◆ “Alright. Where shall we meet up?”

… You want to go there before you leave.

✦ “… The favor tree?”

Everyone take’s a moment of silence before nodding.

Alright. Best go about it then.

>>>

You sit in front of the favor tree. The Spiderlily still retains it’s color. You wonder if it’s permanent? Or if it’ll fade into shades eventually… You hope it stays. So that no one can ignore it. A little marker of them. So people will look at it and, even if they don’t know why, respect it.

Helping fix the house went… easier then expected. They were mostly fine, and you used a bit of monster strength here and there to carry stuff around. And made use of that webbing ability to help scaffold once. Made sure to head into the woods and locate a deer after that though, just because it seemed like a good idea. Also you noticed their craft generator was really outdated, so you did some tinkering and gave it a few upgrades. Euphrasie thanked you herself for that!

...Not that it was all pretty. Some people, having unfrozen after you beat the king, saw what you turned the house into. And some had even seen the sadnesses, before you had them die. Some saw your monster features and put 2 and 2 together. Though, one person thought you were a victim of it, which was kinda funny… The rest were just scared…

But now you’re just here. Sitting next to where they sat. Thinking about everything that has happened...

◉ “Siffrin! You’re here already?”

✦ “Yeah.”

◉ “Hehe! Me too. Got some nice stuff, Odile’s just doing double checking…”

She sits down next to you, looking up at the tree.

◉ “...Kinda feels strange, doesn’t it? That all that could happen just because people made a few idle wishes at trees like this… I’ll admit to some curiosity as to how that works.”

✦ “If you like, when everyone gets back, I could do a lesson? I… The real Siffrin was kind of an expert on this stuff. Even designed the Favor tree ritual. For Vaugarde.”

You made sure to grab those books while in the house. Nobody minded, since no one else could even read them. Felt they were important.

◉ “Wait, really? For Vaugarde?… I guess it got some use, in a way. Even if it went bad.”

✦ “It normally doesn’t… Siffrin put a lot of work into it. And died before the people they wanted to use it ever got to know… I think they’d be glad it got some use at least.”

◉ “Well, if it makes you feel better, you could tell people how to do it? So it gets to live on a little!”

You nod. You’d like that a lot… You can still bring a little closure… In fact…

✦ “… Do you think everyone would like to try, before we leave?”

◉ “H-Huh?! I.. I mean, probably? I guess I wouldn’t mind myself… though I guess I’ll have to think a bit to figure out what I want.”

✦ “Of course! We wouldn’t... leaf you out.”

Mira chuckles at that.

◉ “That’s so bad Siffrin!”

The others start to round the corner. Odile waves at you all, bags in tow.

◆ “Caught these two on their way back. They sent that letter, charted a route, and I got all the supplies. Though Boniface did come up with a few extra suggestions, so I’ll grab those before we go.”

▲ “What were you two talking about?”

◉ “Siffrin has a fun idea before we all leave!”

✦ “Yeah! But first, since you’re all here, want a proper lesson on wishcraft?”

◆ “Well, I’m not opposed, Loop only gave us the short version.”

✿ “The cool magic stuff?! Crab Yeah, I wanna know!”

▲ “I’m super interested! It comes from your home right? It’d be nice to know a bit more!”

You nod enthusiastically, and pull out the main book! Oh Stars your excited to do this again, you love talking about this, and this time they’ll remember it! Which means you can talk about extra stuff later!

◆ “Ah, You have a book ready and everything?”

✦ “Yeah, it’s all island speak so they didn’t mind giving it to me, since right now only I can read it.”

▲ “Oohh so this would be proper lost knowledge. I’m even more excited!”

Oh, lets do that teacher bit again, you liked doing that, actually.

✦ “Sit down, class, and we can begin!”

You get a few chuckles out of that. They take your seats and you begin.

You explain the stars, the constellations, the way the many worlds contribute to wishes, the way your world does the same, The way rituals are made, the way their guided, the types there are to use. You make sure to let Bonnie know about the paper cranes, and on request, you also explain how the king did their wish. It brings a bit of a damper on things, but then you explain the wishing tree wish.

As you read it out, you see that that name and title, and it brings down your heart a bit.

▲ “Something wrong Sif?”

You… Guess you should mention it. Being quiet about things like this worked out poorly last time… And they kinda already know about what happened so...

✦ “It’s just. This ritual was made by the real Siffrin. And lists them by full name and title. And well… I didn’t know beforehand…”

◆ “Title? They were a notable figure then, I presume.”

✦ “… Crown Prince, Siffrin Polaris.”

✿ “WHAT!!!”

◉ “Wait, really?!”

✦ “Yeah… I don’t want to think about it too much…”

▲ “Oh. Fair enough, that must bring up some complicated feelings.”

◉ “… Okay. But I will have to show you something later!”

You nod, and close the book, putting them back away in your cloak. Your a little curious why Mira would have something to add to that, but… later.

✦ “Regardless, now that you know all of that, I have a favor to ask!”

◆ “Really? I’m interested, what do you have in mind?”

✦ “The original Siffrin made that ritual as a gift for Vaugarde, and as such, I’d like my fellow saviors to be the first to learn, and more notably, properly use it! So, before we leave town today, If any of you have an idea for a wish, I ask that you do so!”

✿ “Coolest! Homework! Ever!!”

▲ “Hm… I’m gonna have to think for a bit.”

◆ “I presume that does not include yourself, given everything?”

You nod. You think you’ve had enough wishcraft to last several lifetimes. Helping others do it is okay, fun even! But STARS you are never doing it again.

◉ “It should be something small, just in case! But it has to be something we care about.”

✿ “Well, I already asked to see Nille already, and don’t wanna double wish. Specially since everyone else got theirs granted, so I don’t wanna mess that up.”

Huh, they did, didn’t they? Isa saved you, Mira helped save Vaugarde, and Odile won their coinflip. Strange, they didn’t do the ritual right, but it still worked out? Weird! Maybe it’s enough that they visited the tree?

✿ “I’ll just think of something else!”

◆ “Hm… I’ll go ahead and do mine now then, I’ve had an idea for one for a bit now.”

Odile gets up, and starts looking around the tree for a leaf. She eventually finds a very smooth, flattened one, and whispers into it four times, then lets it go on the wind. As it flies off into the breeze, you smell a bit of sugar.

Suddenly, in a bright gleam, a book appears in her hands.

◆ “Well then! That’s efficient.”

✿ “WOAH!!!!!”

◉ “That’s So Cool!!”

▲ “Oh that is so crabbing awesome.”

She flips through the pages quickly.

◆ “Hm, yes, this is exactly what I needed, and seems to come with the side bonus of being able to read Islander… And this frankly terrible handwriting, Gems.”

✦ “Islander? What did you wish for?”

She raises up the book, and shows you the title.

Project Starchild Research Notes, by Siffrin.

◆ “Wished to know more about YOU, of course. Should save us some time. And already, some intriguing details, right on the cover!”

◉ “Really, like what?”

◆ “For starters, these notes are about a ‘Project Starchild’. Which gives some ideas for your origins, doesn’t it? And the fact it was written by the original Siffrin… Makes me wonder if you remembering them isn’t a coincidence.”

▲ “Hey, might even get to know a bit about your past! That could be nice!”

◆ “And help mitigate some concerns you may have. With that done, Anyone want to go next?”

Everyone thinks for a bit, now putting a bit more effort into their ideas…

◉ “Oh! I think I have an idea! It’d be really hard to do normally, but it should be simple enough!”

Mirabelle looks around for a leaf, and picks a very round leaf. Avid follower of Change as usual! She breathes her wish into the leaf three times, and lets it go onto the wind.

You smell sugar again... And then suddenly, a powerful floral scent?! Mira’s stumbles to the ground.

✦ “Mira!? Are you okay?!”

You rush to her side, and briefly see… A hint of violet in her eyes?

◉ “I-I’m okay! I don’t know what just happened?”

Huh?!???? Her voice! It… You can hear it in that sound only you can hear!!!

✦ “Mira. What did you wish for?”

◉ “I-I just wanted to know more about the Change God! You said we met them, and It got me thinking and… Is something bad, was that not Okay?!”

… OH. Wait a second… Her voice sounds familiar.

✦ “… You’re good. It’s just uh. Your voice. I wasn’t expecting that.”

◉ “Huh? My voice?… Wait, it does sound different? Why would that be the case?”

✦ “… It sounds like the Change Gods.”

▲ “Huh?!? It sounds normal to me?!”

✦ “It’s kinda in this sound normal people can’t hear. But this seems an odd way to fulfill that wish, and wishcraft doesn’t smell so floral normally...”

◆ “… Did the Change God interfere? If Mirabelle gained a trait of the change god then…”

Mirabelle’s expression goes to a mild nervous panic.

◉ “...Oh Change, what did they do to me?”

Heh. In hindsight, this sees fairly in character for them. Even when talking with you, they were often fairly light hearted, and they did like Mira a bunch.

✦ “Looks like the change god is quite the trickster!”

◉ “Only for the best effect! (⌒▽⌒)☆”

Mirabelle covers her mouth in surprise. You all just sort of look at her in surprise. She waits a few seconds before speaking again.

◉ “T-That was them… wasn’t it?”

✦ “Yep…”

◆ “Ah. I presume that means… You’ve literally become part change.”

She just stands there unmoving, before letting out a massive sigh.

◉ “Oh no….”

▲ “I, for one, accept our new Demigod!”

◆ “Don’t worry, we’ll keep it quiet, lest rumors about you get worse.”

◉ “Please. I don’t think my heart could take it!”

Well. That wish didn’t go as smoothly as you’d like, but you can’t exactly blame the ritual for that.

✦ “Okay, lesson learned, don’t make wishes involving the change god.”

▲ “… But. If it can contact beings like that… Then maybe… I think I know what I’m gonna wish for.”

✦ “What do you mean?”

▲ “I know you said just wish for small stuff but… I have to try this.”

◉ “Please don’t do anything rash!”

▲ “Don’t worry this should be fine!”

Isa looks through the leaves, finds a leaf already bent in half, and whispers their wish five times into the leaf.

As they let it into the wind. You feel something stir. As Isa begins to glow Red…

And promptly collapses!

▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲

What the… What happened? You felt weirdly faint and then… Where are you?

It’s dark all around. You don’t even see the ground.

You feel something behind you. You turn, and see a single, massive eye, in that strange shade, towering over you as it stares at you. It’s bigger then the whole crabbing house!!! And… It’s no normal eye. It’s like Sif’s new ones but. It’s like one horizontal slit, with multiple vertical ones across it. But still oddly star-like. Speaking of stars, you see many start to fill the space around you.

A feminine yet otherworldly voice echoes through every fiber of your being.

✧ “Greetings. Child of Mankind. You have made… a Most interesting Wish.”

You don’t know how to respond. Crab, you don’t even know who this is!! Your heart is pounding out of your chest. Crab, Crab, Crab this isn’t good!!!!

✧ “I am the Empress Arcana. And I have chosen to take charge of your wish. For while you wish to speak with one of my fellow fragments… Another has made a wish that may be merged with yours, if you are willing to accept.”

Okay, breath, breathe. You gotta do this for Loop. You aren’t leaving any version of Sif alone.

▲ “Uh.. I uh. Just wanted to talk to Loop. Wasn’t… expecting this.”

✧ “The one you knew as Loop has become one with the Fool Arcana. And while your wish may grant you but a handful of words, so detached from reality as we are… Someone has wished for me to bless another with true Communion. To Give another the Royal Blessing.”

...You’d only get one talk with Loop otherwise?… No, they deserve better then that! You won’t let them be alone.

▲ “… I’ll hear you out. What’s this involve?”

✧ “You would be given the power to call to us, your very Blood infused with my own power. And if need be, summon us into the world, at a price. Even without us present, we will expend no cost to keep you alive. And when we ARE summoned, the power of the universe itself will be at your beck and call. For in doing this, you would become our hope.”

▲ “Your hope?”

✧ “We Arcana were once one. And we yearn to be whole again. We can only do so when all of us are returned to the world at once. You need not summon us all yourself, your gentle heart would not willingly shed such blood. But… This blessing can be passed down through your bloodline. And if even one of them lives, then there is a chance we may return.”

This… Is way more then you were bargaining for. Dangerous power, costly prices, and a hell of a responsibility… But you guess, Someone’s gonna have to do it. And given Loop’s one of them now, maybe It’ll help them out. They took on rougher responsibilities anyways.

▲ “…That’s… a heavy responsibility… But. I guess. Loop deserves my best, for all they did for us. So, okay.”

✧ “There are two caveats. One knowledge you should know. And one a task you must complete.”

You breathe in and out. Change, Isa, you really have gotten into something way bigger then you should have...

… But you knew something like this might happen, the moment you made that wish. You knew that whatever Loop dabbled in to become whatever they were, it wasn’t gonna be pretty. But you aren’t gonna back down now.

▲ “Alright, I’m ready.”

✧ “First. I know not who made this wish for a New Royal Blessing. There are few who even know of such things. And to give this much power yet evade us… They will have plans. Plans that you will be wrapped into. And We may not protect you from this if it serves our interests. We sadly cannot afford to.”

Harsh. But… You get it. They need this… You get the feeling they don’t have many options.

▲ “Alright. That’s okay, We can handle it.”

✧ “Indeed. Even if we cannot protect you… I know the fallen star you cherish will… it is good they found you. They deserve your kind heart.”

Fallen star?...Do they mean Sif? Madame did mention they might be a 'starchild', but what does that mean?

✧ “Finally, my task… We do not give this blessing lightly. We cannot risk it on the weak. You must prove yourself strong enough to follow this path…"

Oh you do not like the sound of that...

✧ “To defeat me would be unfair. So. I simply ask that you survive my trial. But do not think I will be merciful. If you fail. Your life is forfeit.”

You watch as titanic claws of twisted pale flesh, adorned with Gold and gemstones, eyes and faces peering from the skin’s surface. You tremble, you have no idea what the crab you can even do about this!!!

You hesitate knowing this will be very dangerous. You’re putting your whole life on the line…

But the sheer thought. Of ANY version of Sif. ESPECIALLY one that’s gone through as much as they have. Being stuck. Alone?...

You know this is your last chance to back out but…

▲ “...Okay. Let’s do this.”

You raise your fists. You will win this.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

You try and shake Isa awake!! Nonononono Please please let them be okay!! Blind it you should have stopped them! Shouldn’t have asked any of this! Please!! Let them be Okay!!!

Wait… You watch as Isa’s hair alights a bright Red for a brief second! And then, when it fades, it seems like a slightly darker shade then before?

He opens his eyes, now a matching shade to his hair.

▲ “...Hey Sif. Sorry for scaring you.”

You cry. Blind it! Blind him for scaring you like that!

◆ “Gems Alive, what did you even wish for that could have caused that?!”

Isa coughs up some blood! Stars!!!

▲ “Sorry, I uh. Just kinda fought a god? I think? No idea what that was.”

◉ “I have SEVERAL questions?!???”

▲ “Sorry! Sorry. I just. I wished to be able to talk to Loop. Turns out, that’s a complicated situation. But hey, I think I should be able to talk to them whenever now!… Might want to wait till I’ve recovered though.”

He wished for?… Of course. He really cares about you. EVERY version of you… That he’d go so far…

✦ “Please don’t do that again…”

▲ “Course Sif. I Promise! Sides, kinda part of the contract... I’ll explain later!”

Mirabelle gives Isa some healing, and they sit down in a comfy spot.

✿ “… You all picked funny wishes. Guess I gotta do this wish!”

Bonnie goes up to the tree, and grabs a leaf with a few worm bites taken out of it. They whisper something into it six times, and then let it go into the wind.

You smell sugar, but nothing happens. Bonnie looks unfazed.

✿ “Aw. Kinda hopin something would happen. Guess it’ll just kick in later.”

✦ “What did you wish for?”

✿ “Well you had to deal with a lot of stuff that none of us remember. And it’s super crabbin annoying, cause we can’t talk about it!”

✿ “So I just did the smart thing and just wished to member it.”

...Bonnie… Wants to remember. The timeloop? Oh no...

▲ “Oh that isn’t good.”

✿ “I know it’s not gonna be nice, Frin had a bad time, but somebody’s gotta know bout it! Sides, it can’t be that crabbin bad!”

Odile points at the spiderlily. STARS you didn’t even consider that, and you were already about to gag from your own memories.

✿ “Oh. Crab. Right.. Do those count? I mean, they kinda stopped bein Frin, so...”

◆ “I suppose you’ll find out, probably.”

You still can’t get that blinding taste out of your mouth, you feel like your going to choke, it’s hard to think. Breathe. Breathe.

◉ “Siffrin?”

Blind, it you… You have to warn them!

✦ “B-Bonnie. I… Even if they don’t, it’s… It’s not good. Mine weren’t… You… The king!”

▲ “Hey, Sif, calm down, it’s okay, it’ll be fine.”

✿ “Yeah, It’s okay, I knew it was gonna be bad, you can tell me later if I need to know, once we see if the crabbin wish did anything!”

Later. Okay. Later. Their right. Maybe they won’t even remember it, and it’ll just be a vague thing. You take some breaths, in and out, try not to think about that BLINDING memory. Shove it into the back of your mind. Don’t think about it, Don’t think about it.

◆ “Sigh Well, at least every wish got granted in some form, far as I can tell. Can’t deny it’s effectiveness, even if… Some of them were complicated.”

✦ “… Yeah, I think… That’s enough wishcraft for today. Lets… let’s head back to the clocktower for now.”

Everyone nods. As you walk away from the tree. You wonder if doing this was worth it in the end…

>>>

As you all rest in the clocktower, Most of you just resting from your exertions, while Bonnie makes some lunch. Mirabelle seems to be thinking really hard, trying to figure out her weird connection. Isa is nearly passed out from… whatever he just did. And Odile is flipping through her book.

◉ “… Um, Siffrin? I have an odd question. It might seem a little out of the blue but… I think, at some point yesterday, you mentioned having lost people you cared about?”

Oh…

◉ “S-Sorry! I know it... Must be a sore spot. I wouldn’t ask normally but… I kinda feel like it’s important?”

✦ “...Right. Change god did remind me of them in the first place. I had… honestly forgotten about them. Hard to remember anything from my old home.”

◆ “It must be rough. A few names do pop up in this book though… But I’m curious what you remember of them?”

✦ “Barely anything… Oh! But I do have a picture of at least one of them!”

You pull out that special device. Can’t remember what it’s called, still.

✿ “Woah! That looks fancy!”

Bonnie walks out with some nice grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.

✦ “Yeah! I can’t remember exactly what all it does, but I do know it can store pictures and stuff! I have a picture from when I lived on the Island here, but I can’t browse the rest of it, cause it gives me headaches.”

◉ “Oh! I wanna see!”

▲ “Absolutely, I wanna see young Sif! And their friend!”

You turn on the device as your family gathers round. They look at the pigtailed woman, and the old version of you.

Their about to make comments when suddenly, a weird symbol pops up on screen.

✦ “Huh? What’s tha-”

The device flashes with an odd light, and you all suddenly feel a bit dizzy.

◆ “Gah, gems, what was that?!”

◉ “I think it was some kind of craft?”

And right when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, the device starts shaking, and an icon pulls up, with text in your home language next to it, and another picture of the pigtailed woman.

Call from Re. Answer?

✦ “Call from?…”

But… Who would even be able to call you? That’s impossible…

… You hit answer. You have to know...

[zipzapzopzoop]

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Chapter 14: Somebody's Watching Me

It had all happened so fast.

Laszlo hardly had a moment to react before Art pulled him into a tight hug. Had he not been entangled in netting, he would’ve eagerly returned it.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you. Thank you, Art.” Art set him down and began to work on untangling him. Even Buster did what he could to tear the netting. Once his arms were free, Lasz worked on getting the rest off. “Don’t thank me, it was old Buster here that led me right to you. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to find you.”

Buster yipped happily as Laszlo showered the dog with affection and kisses. “Good boy, Buster! Very good boy!” Art laughed and joined in when something got his attention.

There was a quiet beeping coming from the pile of torn netting on the ground. Slowly, Art approached and sifted through to find the source. The moment he saw the blinking light, he instantly knew what it was.

“Laszlo, what happened when you got caught?” Art asked over his shoulder. The artist looked up from petting the dog. “I was painting more arrows when those guys came along. I tried to ignore them, but then they started coming towards me and… well, I tried to fly off and next thing I knew, you were there.”

“Do you have any idea what their motives could’ve been?”

“I assumed they saw me alone back here and were going to mug me or steal my equipment.”

“Normal thieves don’t carry throwing nets on them. Whoever those guys were, they knew you could fly and were using the net to stop you from getting away.”

Laszlo looked worried. “I… don’t understand.”

Art turned around and showed him the net.

“There’s a tracking device on this net. That wasn’t a robbery. That was a premeditated kidnapping attempt. Someone’s after you.”

Laszlo paled, and promptly moved to stand closer to Art. The spaceman noticed the artist had begun trembling with fear. “We should probably get out of here then…” Despite the casual tone, Art didn’t miss the slight tremble in his voice.

 Art dropped the tracker and stomped on it under his heel. Buster growled at the broken bits on the floor. Art turned back to Laszlo, who kept looking around warily, like he was waiting for something to pounce. 

Art put his hand on Laszlo’s shoulder, frowning when the other jumped.

“Come on, let’s go somewhere safe. Maybe we can hide in the observatory. I remember it was abandoned before Bud and Lucille bought it. Maybe they haven’t moved in yet.”

Laszlo smiled. Home sounded wonderful right about now.

------

There was a brief static and a low voice over the walkie talkie.

“I'm not seeing the tracker on the map, what happened? Where are you?”

The scientist growled. He felt like his back was broken, and his partner was still out cold. He shifted around in the dark and filthy dumpster and grabbed his walkie talkie off his belt.

“The target escaped.”

A loud cuss. “Are you kidding me?!”

“There’s two of them.”

The anger over the speaker quickly changed to silent curiosity.

“Are you sure…?”

“Of course I am! The other one nearly broke my back!”

There was a long pause over the device. Almost like the listener was in awe at such a find.

“I want them both.” The voice was almost giddy. “The more the merrier!”

---

Check out the chapter on my Archive!

[flippythegodzilla]

Puss: How do I deal with my enemies?

Death: Kill them

Puss: That's a bit extreme, I was hoping for a more passive solution

Death: Kill them only a little?

[cartoonsinthemorning]

Since you guys liked Marcille as Kermit that much, it seems fitting to thank you for my 12k milestone with MORE Kercille. And this time, Miss Falin is also here.

Thank you so much again everybody! MWAH 💗

[aromantic-diaries]

"why is EVERY song about love" I'm begging you to dig just a tiny bit deeper, there's literally thousands of songs that aren't love songs. You don't even have to look for the most obscure underground artists ever, the fucking Beatles of all people have a song about a guy who kills people with a hammer

[ender-voidron]

Since the booping has returned, reblog if it's okay to spam you with boops!

I wanna be polite and not spam random people without permission , ,

[sunbentshadows]

Hey all, you know how internet searches suck now? When the results are awful, full-of-AI, death-of-the-internet levels of bad?

Start appending date constraints to your searches - "before:2023".

My results have gone from 90% AI bullshit to ~60% usable - which frankly at this point is a huge improvement.

[marzipanandminutiae]

"hey why are all the barrier garments like linen shirts or chemises or combinations going away?"

"oh we have more washable fabrics now! you don't need to worry about sweat reaching your outer clothing when you can just chuck it in the washing machine!"

"cool!"

[100 years later]

"so uh all of those new washable fabrics are leaching microplastics into our water, and the constant machine-washing wears garments out faster. they're also not really sturdy enough to be mended, so we keep having to throw them out and now the planet is covered in plastic fabric waste that will never break down. also it turns out that the new washable fabrics hold odor-causing bacteria VERY well. so could we get those barrier garments back please?"

"sorry babe linen now costs $100000/yard and since it's been so long without them, nobody knows how to adapt barrier garments to the current styles anyway"

"..."

"maybe try this new $50 undershirt made of Special Sweat-Wicking Plastic Fabric! :) :) :)"

[obsob]

i am a being capable of immeasurable love and whimsy

[darksouls2yuri]

hey is it okay if i eat my nature valley oats and honey granola bar here. yeah its the kind that comes as a two pack and immediately disintegrates into millions of annoying crumbs. its okay my ants that follow me everywhere will eat them. youll have ants now though.

[bananonbinary]

also worth noting that "abusive" doesn't actually mean "irredeemable" either.

there's a lot of people that have done things in the past that were bad, because they weren't taught any better, or they were in an overall toxic situation where EVERYONE was shitty (like a cult), or they were just at an especially low point and hurt others for it.

you don't have to forgive them. you don't have to ever speak to them again. you can be angry with them until you die if you want.

but society cannot function if we don't allow them to move on. to change their behavior and fuck off somewhere else and build meaningful relationships without bothering you again. we need a path for people to change, or nothing ever will.