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mooooonnnzz · 5 months ago

Note

HIIII I THINK REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN! in that case can I have something about celebrating your birthday with the pines and co :3 LOVE YOUR WRITING!!! It inspired me to start writing my own gf things, thank you!

Mable's Surprise Birthday Special

Platonic! Pines Family x Reader

★ BIRTHDAYYY!! FANFICC!!

★ its funny cuz u requested like a day after my bday and then a day before the twins bday like what a perfect timing!!

★ tw: fiddleauthor im kidding i love them sm i had to put fiddleford here

★ 4,5k words

★ gn!reader

★ a silly cute fic!!! i hc soos is a really good baker

★ req r still open!

“Welcome to Mable’s Birthday Special!” Mable noisily raved directly into the camera that she set up on a stand. “Now, I know what you’re thinking. Mable, it isn’t your birthday! And you’re correct on that. But it’s a special someone's birthday!” She plopped herself on her pink chair, pulling out a large colorful book from below and slamming it on the table. Clouds of glitter powdered the air, a fit of coughs spewing out of her mouth. “Agh, glitter attack!” She croaked out, swatting away the sparkling glitter with her hand.

Now covered in rainbow glitter, she broadly smiled at the camera. “Now, what was I saying?” She pondered out loud, tapping her chin as she looked up. “Oh!” She jumped up, looking back down at the book that was labeled ‘[Name]’s Birthday Ideas’.

“My siblings birthday is today!” She opened the book, flipping through an assortment of pages before stopping and striking her hand down on a certain page. “Believe or not, this is all the data I collected on [Name] so I can properly throw a birthday party extravaganza!” She leaned forward, passion flowing out of her. “And today, we are going to throw the best party ever.”

The footage unexpectedly cuts to another shot where she, Dipper and Wendy were decorating the living room and kitchen. “Hello, my fellow Mabelins!” She feverishly waves at the camera. “We are in the living room!” Dipper peeks his head into frame, his eyebrows furrowing. “Mabelins?” He repeats slowly. “Yeah! Mabelines. That’s what I call my fans.” She motions to the camera. “Mable, no one is going to see this.” Dipper blankly said, rearranging the party streamers in his hand so they wouldn’t get tangled. “Dude, don’t say that. That’ll totally ruin her spark!” Wendy tittered, taping individual letters one by one on the wall.

“But it’s true. Who’s actually going to sit down and watch Mabel’s videos?” Dipper remarked, taking a measured step up on the chair then onto the table. “[Name] is definitely gonna see this after the party.” Mable leaned in closer to the camera, whispering: “Brothers, am I right?”

Grabbing the camera, she aimed it at Dipper who was jumping up from the table, trying to stick up the party streamers on the ceiling. Zooming in on him, she spoke in an Australian accent. “And now, we have an orangutan in his natural habitat.”

Dipper grumbled, stomping his foot down on the wobbly table. “Mab–Ahp!” Dipper fell, taking the table along with him. Mable howled out in laughter, running towards him and capturing him twitching painfully on the floor. “Woah, dude. Are you okay?” Wendy got on one of her knees, helping up Dipper from the ground. Dipper quietly fussed under his breath, sending a deadly glare to Mable who wasn’t even paying attention, too wrapped up in her laughing frenzy.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Thanks, Wendy.” He dusts himself, picking up the discarded party streamers from the floor. “I’ll hang these up for you, dude. Don’t worry.” She takes the streamers from Dipper’s hand, much against his protests. “I can do them, Wendy. It’s okay!” He watched enviously as Wendy grabbed a chair and stood on it, taping the streamers randomly around the ceiling. “There!” She hops off the chair, putting her hands on her hips and admiring her work. “Now Dipper won’t have to be sent to the hospital on [Name]’s birthday.”

Dipper sighed out, grabbing a bowl of confetti and sprinkling it all over the floor to make a confetti runway. “Thanks so much, Wendy.” A glum look fell on his face and Mable couldn’t help herself and zoom in on his face. “Poor Dip. Too short for his own good.” Bringing her hand in front of the camera, she waves at it. “I’ll see you in the next part!”

The footage cuts off to Ford in his red turtle sweater and black jeans, an apron that says ‘Kiss the Chef’ adorning his waist. She aims the camera up at his face. “Say, Grunkle Ford. What are we making today?”

Uneasily smiling at the camera, he hurriedly stirred the batter. Some splattered out of the bowl and landed on the counter. “We are making a cake!” He tried to sound chipper but he couldn’t hide the distressed look on his face. Oblivious to his stress, she backs up, showing the messy countertop. Batter dripped from the counter and onto the floor where a little goopy pile had been ever so slowly festering. And upon further inspection, Ford had clumps of batter and flour stuck to hair. The white powder was dusted in streaks on his face and clothes.

“And who’s we?” She spun around for dramatic effect, making her own drumming effects. “Pumpkin, what are you doin’?” Stan walks in, walking past the spinning Mabel and peering his eyes over to the cooking cake in the oven. She stops nowhere near Stan and has to turn back around to show Stan in the frame. “This is my Grunkle Stan! Twin brother of my Grunkle Ford–,” She zooms in on their faces. “--If you couldn’t tell!”

“Ford, the cake isn’t risin’.” He grabs a mitten and opens the oven. A blast of black smoke wafted into his face. “What?” Ford drops the bowl onto the messy counter, walking over to Stan who was coughing like a maniac while waving the mitten around to disperse the cloud of smoke. “How is it not rising? We added baking powder into the cake, didn’t we?” He snatches the mitten from Stan and slips it on. Grabbing the steaming pan, he placed it on the counter. “Is it supposed to be that color?” Stan grimaces at the muddied charcoal black cake. “How is the consistency still the same an hour later!” Ford scooped the slimy goo and watched it grossly plop back down on the pan. “Who’s taste testing the cake?” Mable curiously asked. Ford and Stan looked at each other before sticking their hand out, yelling, “Not it!”

The clip cuts to Ford and Stan violently spewing out the cake into the sink or trash can. “What are we doing wrong!” Stan forced out through gags. “I don’t know!” Ford heaves out into the sink. “What’s goin’ on?” Fiddleford saunters into the chaotic kitchen with Soos following behind him. “Hey, dudes!” He waves at Ford and Stan who are still coughing into the sink and trash can. “Hey, Grunkle Fiddleford! Hey, Soos!” Mable turned the camera over to the newcomers.

Fiddleford stepped into the kitchen, careful with where he put his feet down and went over to Ford’s side. He put his hand on Ford’s back and moved his hand up and down in a comforting manner. “Darlin’, what in the hell happened here?”

“Me and Stan tried making cake.” The mention of cake has Ford’s stomach churning once again. “Oh, yikes.” He breathes out, teeth bared. “Hun, why don’t ya sit down with Stan? Me and Soos can handle this, right Soos?” Soos’s head perks up at hearing his name. “Yeah! We can make a pizza cake out of real pizza with like, ten layers!” Stan cringes. “That doesn’t sound right.”

Stan sweetly smiles at Fiddleford. “Thank you, my love.” Fiddleford matches his smile, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Ewww!!” Mable shields the camera with the palm of her hand. “Cover yer eyes, Mable!” Fiddleford laughs. “You don’t have to ask me twice!”

Another clip plays and it's Mable marveling at a beautifully made and decorated tall 8 layered cake. “Now this is how you make a cake!” She dips her finger towards the cake to snag a bit of frosting when she was scooped up by Stan. “No, you don’t!” He moves her away from the cake, placing her back down on the floor. “I feel like out of all the people here, I thought you’d be so strict on not letting anyone touch or eat cake.”

“I just grow weak in the knees when I see a cake as beautiful as that one.” Mable stared at it starry eyed. “Alright, that’s enough of that.” His hand flop around the camera as he attempts to find the turn off button. “Okay, so how can I turn this o–”

The next clip is Soos delightfully munching on cake with Mable beside him. “We just couldn’t resist!” Mable says with her mouth full of cake. “I just wanted some cake, dude!”

Footsteps approach the kitchen and both Mable and Soos look at each other with fear stricken on their faces. Jumping off the chair, she grabs her plate of cake and shoves it into her sweater. Soos shoves the whole piece into his mouth, smearing the frosting and cake crumbs all over his mouth.

“Grunkle Ford, have you seen my–” Dipper stops dead in his tracks, eyes wide at the marvelous cake. “Is this the cake I heard Grunkle Fiddleford talk about?” He whispers, his eyes looking over to Mable and Soos who were rigid statues.

“This thing?” Mable jabs a thumb in its general direction. “I have no idea what this is!” She nervously laughs out, pieces of crumbled cake sludge out of her sweater and plops down on the floor. “Righhhtt…” Dipper takes a step back. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He sends a cautionary glance at Soos and Mable before walking out. “Phew!” Soos wipes his forehead with his forearm. “That was close, wasn’t it?”

“Super close.” She grabs on a piece of cake that was in her sweater and munches on it. She offers one out to Soos who happily takes it and shovels it into his mouth.

The clip choppily jumps to the entrance door to the gift shop. “Stan went out to grab [Name] cause we kinda left them alone in the mall. Sorry not sorry [Name]! But he’s getting them over here, so any minute they’re going to come in here!” Mable whispers to the camera. She’s hiding behind a can of monster eyes, the camera very obviously on top of the canisters. “Dipper is hiding in a box full of plastic peanuts. Soos is behind the counter with Wendy, they have party poppers in their hands. Fiddleford and Ford are in the living room. They’re act two.” She brought up two fingers and wiggled them.

Distance voices could be heard coming from outside the shack. “They’re here, they’re here!” She loudly whispers.

“Who’s idea was it to leave me in the mall?” Mable you ask. She snickered quietly and pointed at herself, the culprit of the idea. “We didn’t leave you at the mall? We were there with you.” Stan terribly lied and you saw right through it. “Grunkle Stan, I don’t know why you lie so much.”

The knob of the door jostles a bit, altering everyone that they were here before it opened. “Why is it so dark–”

“Surprise!” Popping noises came from Soos and Wendy and clumped up colorful strings fell on top of your head. Dipper tripped out of the box full of peanuts, running over to give you a self-Mable made birthday sash. “Oh!” You grab the sash, slinging it around you with a chuckle. “What is all of this?”

“Happy birthday!” Mable popped out from behind the cans, camera in hand. “Say hello to the camera [Name]!” You gave a shy wave. “Was this the reason why I was left behind at the mall?” You remove the colorful strings off your hair and throw it at Stan who sputters in surprise. “Yeah! And there’s one last surprise.”

“Happy Birthday!” Ford and Fiddleford jump out of the living room doorway into the gift shop, blowing a party horn into your face.

“OH MY–”

The frame freezes on you midway screaming for a second before it switches to a whole new piece of footage where Ford is covering your eyes, blindly leading you into the kitchen where your eaten cake resides. “Okay, ready?” Ford looks at you, a huge excited smile playing at his lips. “No, not really.”

Ford ignores you and peels back his hands and bestows you the beautiful sight of your unnaturally tall wobbling cake. “That’s a really tall cake.” You watch it dangerously wobble to the side. “Is the cake supposed to be wobbling?” You ask, looking around to see everyone’s mortified faces and two stray guilt stricken expressions. “What? That’s ain’t supposed to be happenin’…”

Fiddleford approaches the cake and oggles it, his eyes landing on a certain spot on the backside of the cake, a wave of fury flashes on his face before he calms himself down and very sweetly smiles at the little crowd gathered in the kitchen.

The camera catches Mable’s nervous gulp.

“Who was takin’ big chomps of the cake me and Soos made?” His voice betrayed his sweet smile with how snappy he sounded.

“Wasn’t me. I was with Dipper decorating.” Wendy coolly said. “Y-Yeah! We were.” Dipper solidifies his alibi, eyes locking with Mable’s anxious ones. “You can’t point any fingers at me! I was real busy gettin’ [Name] back from the mall.” Stan lifted his hands up defensively. “Again, out of all the options, why mall?” You grumbled under your breath.

“I was with you the whole time, Fidds.” Fiddleford smiled at Ford, his voice sickeningly sweet when he spoke to Ford. “I know, hun.” Then he changes back to finding the culprits who ate his cake. “He’s really serious about that cake we ate.” Soos spoke into Mabel’s ear loudly. Fiddleford’s gaze locked down onto Mable and Soos.

“Mable, sweetheart. Could ya quit recordin’ just for a quick second.”

The footage cuts to a somber Mabel sitting in a cold desolate corner with Soos on the other end. “I got put in the naughty corner! What is this joke!” Mable threw her hands up in the air dramatically, having them flop down to her sides with a loud melodramatic sigh.

“It’s only just for a bit, pumpkin! After we set up the table you’ll be back here! Same goes for you, Soos!” Stan’s gruff spoke from the kitchen.

“Okay, thanks Mr. Pines!”

“Ugh, we shouldn’t have ever eaten that cake.” Mable dragged a heavy hand down her face, pulling at it. Soos’s stomach roared in hunger. A laugh leaves Soos, his attention turning to Mable. “Do you still have some of that cake in your sweater? I’m kinda hungry.”

“I think so? Let me check.” She digs her hand into her shirt and pulls out a clump of cake that had strands of hair and sweater fuzz on it. “Our last one.” Mable whispered dejectedly.

“Mable, do you have your camera?” Ford peeks his head out of the kitchen to see Mable handing a mysterious ball to Soos, the camera in front of her. “You’re not supposed to have this, missy.”

“I know.” She frowns deeply when Ford snatches up her pink glitter camera. Ford fumbles with it a bit, the last shot before the scene switched was Soos taking a hearty bite of the ball of cake.

“Is this thing working?” Stan’s voice spoke from behind the camera. “Yeah, it’s working.” Wendy confirmed, tapping at the blaring red light to signal its recording. “Today is [Name]’s birthday! Right, sweetie?” He accidentally shoves the camera right at your face.

“Woah, okay!” You giggled, carefully pushing Stan away from you. “It is my birthday. I think you all are more excited about it than me.”

Wendy walks over to you with a party hat in hand. “It's like you’re asking for us to forget it.” She hands you the hat. “If any of you ever forget my birthday, you will not hear the end of it!” You glared at everyone, pointing at them in a smooth motion with your party hat.

“They’re not kidding, guys.” Dipper’s eyes have a distant traumatized look to them. “I have seen it firsthand.” Stan added, flipping the camera to his traumatized face before flipping it back onto you.

You snap the party hat on you with a smile. “I feel stupid being the only one with a party hat.” You walk over to the box full of party hats and grab an armful of party hats. “Tune in and find out if I’m able to put party hats on everyone!” You make a swooshing noise as your hand descends on the camera, palm covering the lens.

“Stan, that’s when you stop record—“

The next set of footage had everyone, even the ones who were grounded for a short while, all huddled up in a group, party hats on. “I got them to all wear party hats!” You cheered, picking up Waddle’s who innocently trudged into the kitchen. “Even Waddles has one.” You cooed at the pig before putting him back down on the floor. “Okay, everyone disperse! Time to start singin’ happy birthday.” Fiddleford announced.

Everyone surrounds the decorated table with the wobbling cake. Each shove and push to the table had Fiddleford sucking a nervous breath in.

“Okay, ready?” Ford held up three fingers and started counting down by three.

The whole room erupted into singing the second all of Ford's fingers were down. “Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to [Name]! Happy birthday to youuuu!”

“Make a wish! Make a wish!” Mable thrummed her hand against the table. The cake shook and trembled and everyone watched with bated breath.

The cake stills and everyone lets out a sigh of relief. “Welp, wasn’t that close? Am I right?” Stan laughs, slapping his hand on the table. “Stanley!”

The cake plunges down, splattering everyone with its frosting and filling. Silence filled the room.

Waddles squeaks happily at the delicious treat, feasting on the piece of cake on the floor. You lick around your lips, grabbing a taste of the cake. “Mmm! This is good. Fiddleford, Soos, you guys really did a good job on making the cake!”

“Thanks [Name]!” Soos is wolfing down a piece of his own cake that had showered all over him. “Glad ya like it, sweetheart..” Fiddleford sighed out, plopping his head on Ford’s shoulder.

“My camera!” Mable cried out, darting over to her camera that was weighing down from heavy frosting. She fortunately caught it in her hand, wiping off the icing with the sleeve of her sweater and accidently turning off the camera.

The footage clips to the last video Mable took of the day. You were sitting down on a chair, a table full of gift bags and hand wrapped objects filled the table. “We are now opening presents!” Mable exclaimed, chucking a fist full of glitter in the air. “Ah, my eye!” Stan screeched out, sprinting into the kitchen to run water over his eye, bumping into the camera in the process. “Grunkle Stan! Be careful.” Mable held the camera stand, keeping it still. After a few minutes of hearing running water, Stan walks out with an irritated eye. “Open, open!” Mable chanted.

You pluck a gift from the table, flipping it on its back to read the name sharpied on it. “Okay, the first gift is from…” You squinted, reading it out. “Grunkle Ford!” You show the mysterious gift to everyone. Curious questions left their mouths as you opened the book shape gift. Shedding the last piece of gift wrapper, you saw what you had gotten. “A book on quantum physics?” You let out a pensive ‘hm’.

“You could never go wrong with math!” He proclaimed, sticking out a finger into the air. You awkwardly laugh. “Yeah, thanks Grunkle Ford.” You look under the table to see Waddle’s resting on his belly. “Here, Waddles. I got a new toy for you.” You whisper, waving the book in front of his face. He brings his snout to the book, sniffing it before letting out a snort. He grabs the book with his mouth and places it down on the floor, he pads around it for a minute and flops down on the book, snuggling into it.

“Next gift!” You pop your head out from under the table and grab the next gift by its handles. You stuck your hand inside and latched onto something. Pulling it out, you came face to face with a Mystery Shack coupon. You didn’t even need to guess who this was from. “Really Grunkle Stan?”

“Oh, shut it. There’s one more thing left in there!”

You place the card on the table and dig your hand back into the bag. You grabbed onto a bottle and took your hand out, your eyes widening at the wine bottle. “Um?” You warily look at Stan whose jaw is dropped on the floor. “Who put that there?” Stan marched over to you and took the bottle of wine from your hand. A few quiet snickers came from Dipper and Mable. “That’s my bottle. You get your own.”

“Uhm?” You look back down in the gift bag and flip it upside down. A wad of neatly folded cash plopped down on your lap. Your eyes brighten and you look over to Stan who’s smiling proudly to himself. “Is this real cash?” You grab the cash from your lap and inspect the dollar bills. “How in the world would I ever give ya fake money? Put some more faith in your Grunkle!”

You gleefully put the cash back into the side and place it beside you. “Up next is…” You grab a hold of a large square wrapped in Christmas wrapping. The name Soos was elegantly written on the wrapping paper. “Soos!”

“Yes!” Soos pumps his fist in the air. “You are going to love it, dude!”

Peeling off the wrapping paper revealed the gift to be your favorite music artist vinyl. “Soos! These are expensive, how did you get this?”

Soos glanced over to Stan and looked back at you. “I have my ways!” He smiled.

You put the vinyl in your bag with the cash and moved to the next present. Fiddleford’s gift was next and he had given you a beautiful heartfelt note accompanied with a photo of you, Fiddleford and Ford. You thought that was it when he told you to shake the envelope with a wink. A few couple hundred bucks fell out that had you gasping for air.

“There’s no way you just copied me, Fidds.” Stan pointed an accusatory finger at him. “We just had the same idea, Stanley.”

“Grunkles, Grunkles! Please, no fighting.” Mable stood in between them, her hands flat against their stomachs. “My gift is next and [Name] needs their full attention on it!”

Mable’s gift was a conflicting mess. You couldn’t decide if it was cute or oddly weird. She had given you a scrapbook, innocent at first, but opening the book showed that she had been harvesting everyone’s hair and gluing them in the book, crudely making a heart full of hair with your name spelt in cursive on the inside. The pages following had copious amounts of glitter, stickers and the strong scent of glue, but they were pretty normal enough, sharing memories of you, her and Dipper in some pages and then others had the family all together. Then there was a page that had you sit back and question your sister's mental wellbeing. She had a whole page dedicated to candid photos she had snapped of you while you weren’t looking.

She had a photo of you sleeping, brushing your teeth, talking to Stan, playing ddnmd with Ford and Dipper, etc. And to make it a little more weirder, she had made everyone write little comments of what was their favorite thing in the picture. At least what everyone wrote was normal…

“Mable, thank you very—“

“—Go to the last page!”

You flip to the last page that was blank. A puzzled look formed on your face and you opened your mouth to ask Mable what was this when you were pelted with a wave of confetti, glitter and sprinkles. A drawing of everyone holding hands launched out of the book and harmoniously started singing happy birthday. Mable started singing along, busting down her own moves, satisfied with the gift she gave you.

You were coughing up glitter and confetti for the next few minutes. Stan came up behind you to pluck the stray sprinkles that got caught in your hair. Waddles made the gracious effort to clean the floor by eating the sprinkles and a bit of the confetti.

Dipper’s gift was more sentimental. In a rainbow colored envelope, made by yours truly Mable, was a letter that Mable and him collaborated on and wrote together such a nice letter that you doubted if your younger siblings really had made this themselves. With teary eyes, you opened your arms wide and they didn’t waste a moment to run up to you and jump in your arms.

“That really sweet, thank you guys.”

You held them in your arms for a minute or two before they let you go and went back to their spot.

Wendy’s gift was a nice way to top everything off. Seems like she had roped everyone in it and made this whole poster board full of their favorite moments that you had shared with everyone. Branching from embarrassing ones that some were unfortunately captured by Mabel’s trusty camera to unforgettable beautiful memories.

“Who came up with this idea?” You ask with a laugh, looking at a pinned photo where you were mid horrified face when Stan was cannonballing into the pool. He was halfway in, water already sprouting out and ready to splash you and drown Dipper and Mabel.

“It was a mix of Grunkle Ford and Mable. They’re surprisingly creative when put together.” Wendy said, jerking a thumb over to Mable high sixing Ford. “You guys really went all out for this, didn’t you?” You smile softly. A mix of playful scoffs and ‘of course!’ filled the room. “Who wouldn’t want to go all out for you?” Stan wrapped an arm around your neck, pulling you in a side hug. “I think we might need to drill that into yer head. Yer jus’ full of sugar, who wouldn’t want to give ya such an amazin’ birthday?” Fiddleford affectionately ruffled your hair.

Ford hugged your other side, slipping a note in your hand. “Is this another sappy note that’s going to make me cry?” Ford chuckles, nodding. “Group hug without us? What is Mable going to say?” Wendy joked. “She’s probably going to kill them.” Dipper laughed. “Who’s killing wh–” She turns around and gasps loudly. “Group hug!” She grabs Soos’s hand and practically hurls herself into the hug. “Dipper, Wendy. Get in here!” They join in on the hug.

“Happy Birthday [Name].” Dipper tried his best to at least give you a slight hug but everyone was so jumbled up together, all he could do was pat his head against your upper stomach. Everyone else joined in and told you happy birthday. Snuggling further into the hug, you smiled. “Thank you guys.”

A warning beep rings in the air. “What is that?” Soos asks. Another final warning beep. “Oh my god! My camera!” Mable shuffles out of the hug and darts over to her camera. The frame freezes on Mable reaching out for her camera with everyone staring at the cameras with wide owl eyes.

Pink glitter mixed in with blue plain text faded into the screen saying ‘Happy Birthday to the best sibling in the world!’ and the video ends.

Taglist: @boredwithlifeatthispoint, @lovexsage, @teddycricketdream, @theilluminatidragonqueen, @raventeen @cedarmoonzz, @katharine3000

dm or comment if you want to be added/removed!!

i also posted my first fic on ao3!! it's a fiddleauthor drabble cuz i just love them sm. so if anyone wants to check it out the title of it is Amore Mio Aiutami (Main Theme) n my username barbatoz!! :p i'll only post fiddleauthor and billford over there :3

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octuscle · 4 months ago

Text

The ghost of Beta Rho Omega

Jeff and Scott were standing in front of a hovel. It must have been an impressive house once. But the broken porch, the half-collapsed roof, the broken windows, it was all pitiful. And all in such an excellent location. The university campus was around the corner, with a few remaining fraternity houses in the neighborhood, but the majority of them were investment properties such as student residences, boarding houses and office buildings, with coffee shops and co-working spaces on the first floors. Not exactly their world. Jeff and Scott were the children of laborers, their children were laborers. In their minds, students were freeloaders and ne'er-do-wells. And in many cases, even voters for the Democrats. As I said: Not their world!

Their job today was to clear out the wreckage, tear down the porch and prepare the construction site for the excavators that would arrive tomorrow to clear the way for a new Starbucks or something. They didn't need to unlock the door, and they didn't have a key anyway. A powerful kick was enough. And the rotten wood gave way with a crash. A cat fled screaming from the dark room, which smelled musty. The young colleagues would have put on face masks by now. Wimps, Jeff thought to himself. They shone flashlights around the room. It looked as if a farewell party had been held many years ago and then the building had been abandoned. Beer bottles and weathered pizza boxes could still be seen in the thick dust. The furniture was covered in droppings from pigeons, cats and other animals. Scott went to a window and forcefully pushed it and the shutters off their rusty hinges. Fresh air! Thank God! And light that offered an even better view of the chaos. Part of the ceiling had come down. Water damage. The wallpaper was hanging in shreds from the walls. The only thing that looked surprisingly clean and intact was a large banner above the fireplace “verum homines olet, verum homines amant odor verus hominum”. Scott asked what that meant. Jeff replied if he looked like that, would he speak Spanish.

The two of them searched the first floor. The stairs leading upstairs didn't look like they could withstand two massive workmen. They would need a ladder. The kitchen smelled like rotten food and animal droppings. There were pictures hanging in a hallway. Some of them were a little yellowed. But surprisingly, the frames of the pictures were dust-free. On the frames were brass plates with names on them. And in front of each one was always the same: “Bro of the Month” and a date. Some of the plates were from the 50s, some from the 70s, some from the 90s. There must have been many more pictures in the past.

The shadows of the missing pictures could be seen on the wall. The last two Bros of the Month whose pictures were still hanging were called Jeff and Scott. And the Bros, who, like the other shirts, had BPO printed on them, clearly looked like what Jeff and Scott would have looked like if they had spent their high school days in the gym and on the football field. Jeff and Scott turned pale. Pale like the freshly painted wall behind them. Shit, Jeff had to throw up, was there a bathroom around here? He opened the nearest door.

White tiles, urinals, toilet boxes. Jackpot! He opened a box and broke into the toilet bowl. Shit, shit, something was wrong! Yes, there were puddles of piss and obviously more than one guy had jerked off here. But everything was in good condition. “Bro, everything okay in there?” Was that Scott? His voice sounded different. Younger. Deeper. ”Dude, are you jerking off? Or why is it taking so long?”

Jeff went back to the hallway. The guy standing there was probably Scott. With longer hair. And somehow… younger! Had he changed his clothes? Or had he been wearing the overalls all along? And damn it, why wasn't he wearing a helmet or a T-shirt. And Scott stank! Of sweat and musk. Shit, shit, shit! Scott raised an arm and scratched the back of his head. Like the Scott in the picture “Bro of the Month.” He inhaled the stench from his hairy armpit. A deep cave between large pectoral muscles and impressive biceps and triceps. Was Jeff seriously getting a boner? Scott began to knead the bulge in his crotch with the hand that wasn't scratching his head. “You like what you see, bro?” Why did Scott talk like that? “Bro,” that's what young, stupid college students called each other. Not workers. Like Jeff and… Were they workers? Scott had been his buddy since high school. Most successful quarterback in ten years. And he himself… Wasn't he… Right, the linebacker. Shit, maybe he'd just had too much to drink yesterday. Jeff flexed his pecs. He knew that made Scott hot. ”Of course I like it, bro! How about you? Do you like it?” On Jeff's naked chest, beads of sweat glistened in the chest hair. Scott lowered his dungarees and freed his cock from the yellowed and encrusted jockstrap. With one hand he jerked his cock, with the other he worked Jeff's right nipple. Jeff moaned, unbuttoned the waistband of his trousers Scott pushed Jeff back to the toilets and pushed him against a wall. He spat on his dick and began to insert it into Jeff's ass. Shit, why couldn't the two of them be together for half an hour without having sex?

Last night's party had gotten out of hand again. Like almost every party at Beta Rho Omega. Jeff and Scott were on garbage duty this time. Damn, a few of the chairs in the dining hall had been broken. That happened quite often, too; the BPO members were the biggest guys on campus. The alumni were used to writing regular checks for new furniture. The guys from Rho Epsilon Epsilon Kappa across the street had really overdone it again two years ago; their house had to be completely renovated. But hey, that was the neighborhood: a bunch of frat houses where big, dumb guys competed to see who could throw the best parties. A few went to college. But they were just a few nerds.

Pics by @ki-kink, inspiration by @rowdy317

#male tf #muscle tf #reality change #age reduction #ai image #frat bro #bro tf #jock tf #douchebag #football jock #time warp

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dallasgallant · 3 months ago

Text

Country/southern slang and vernacular-

This is what I’m going with for the title as honestly I’m not sure what else you would call it, but it is also linked to class a little bit? It’s complicated. Anyways, surprised I haven’t done one like this sooner as I’ve done:

JD slang. 60s slang. Rodeo terms

However, it can’t include everything! As usual take this as a jumping off point, it’s funny as Oklahoma is technically southern, culturally and such. Some are sourced from general knowledge, others from southern or “Oklahoma slang” which heavily overlaps but is more accented.

A lot of this ended up actually being more writing accented speech with some slang thrown in, a lot of it is about contractions! Also word usage! They’ll be a more “general grammar” and accent section at the bottom.

—

All get out- sentence enhancer (ex. Funny as all get out)

Air up - Pump air into something (Tires, mattress)

Ain’t - am not; are not; is not. has not; have not.

An’ all - and all

Awfulest - Most awful *air guitar* , very bad [Appalachian?]

Belted- beaten

‘Bout - about

Billfold- Wallet (Oklahoman, used in place of wallet)

Caint- Can’t

‘Cos - cause/because

Coke- soda (any kind) (ex. You wanna get a Coke? What kind?)

Crick- creek

Do up - prepare : clean/repair (Ex. Y’all do up the dishes)

Do wut - say again

D’yall - Do y’all or did y’all

don’tcha - Don’t you

Drop trou- pull down one’s pants , especially as a stunt in public

dyeet - did you eat?

Figure- Calculate, consider, decide

Fixin’ - on the verge of something : getting ready to

fronta - in front of

Fo’ sure- for sure

Fussin’- overexagerated concern, fidgeting

Gettin’ round - getting ready to go somewhere or do something (ex. Gettin’ round to it)

Gonna- going to

Good-for-nothin’ - Worthless/useless person or object (usually said while worked up)

Gussied up - dressed nicer than everyday (ex. Church clothes)

hafta- have to

Hankering- desire, yearning, craving

Heap - a large quantity (ex. Heap of trouble)

Highfalutin- pompous/pretentious/fancy

Holler- loud cry or shout

Honky tonk - bar where people dance (typically to county, line dance )

Hootin’ and Hollerin’- wild shouting, making a bunch of noise

Howdy- Greeting or used to express surprise

howta - how to

Hush- quiet, shut up

Ice box - fridge (Oklahoman or rural)

I’mma - I’m gonna or I am

Imma geddin sig n tard" - I’m getting sick and tired

ja'eet yet?- did you eat yet?

Keep your shirt on- stay calm (also see : Be cool)

Kin- family (not always by blood. Could be someone you’re close to)

Laying out - staying the night (doing something illicit) or

Let alone - leave alone or to indicate somethings less likely

Like to - Almost (rare)

Lick [Noun] - any amount (Ex. Didn’t get a lick of sleep last night)

Lick [Verb] - beat (ex. Steve Licked that soc good)

Musta- must have

Mom’ n’ em - Mom and them (literal), asking how one’s family is doing

Might could - might be able to

Muddin’ (Oklahoman) - off-roading, going down muddy trails

‘N - then/than or and

‘N em’ - And them

Naw- no

Neither- not one or other (sometimes used in place of either)

Nuss - To nurse

Okie- native resent of Oklahoma (formerly derogatory during dust bowl)

Ornery- combative, mean

Ought- indicate something correct or probable

Oughta- ought to

Ope- oops

Outta- out or

Preddy sure - pretty sure

Prolly- probably

Pop- soda

Purdy- pretty

Pitch a fit- throw a fit, be really upset

Reckon- think: suppose

Rise- upset someone (ex. He sure got a rise out of her)

Rile- upset someone (ex. Don’t rile up the dog)

Ruther - rather

Shouldn’t’ve- shouldnt have (double negative)

Shoot- polite way to say shit : go ahead and speak

Sho’ nuff - sure enough

‘Sides - besides

s’not - it’s not/is not

s’okay - it’s okay

Sorta- sort of

Sprinklin’ - light rain

stocking feet - wearing just socks

Sumbitch - son of a bitch

Tailing- follow without being noticed

The city - Oklahoma City (even if you live in Tulsa. ‘The city’ is Oklahoma City)

Tore up - upset

Tryan- Heavily accented Tryin’

Twister- Tornado (used to be more regional)

Upitty- conceited, fancy, snobby

Welp - well or expression (ex. Welp, I better head out)

Whup/whoop- hit

Whipped- beaten

won’tcha = won’t you

Y’all - you all

Yall’re- y’all are

Y’ain’t - you ain’t

Yer - your

Grammar-

The more I added to the list the more I realized writing for the gang is just as much learning to write accent than it is slang, it’s the way they talk and that includes grammar etc. Im going to try and explain some points that I’ve noticed in an understandable way, but it’s also important to note that these rules don’t apply every time necessarily.

Using the wrong word

less words in certain sentences (ex. Don’t mean nothin’)

With above, fewer words to describe things.

Drop the G occasionally (ex. Nothin’ )

Adding ‘d instead of saying ‘would (ex. Soda’d)

Real> really (descriptive)

Anybody > anyone

Weren’t typically goes with a double negative ( ex. weren’t nothing we could do)

Use of ‘you’ (used instead of a name or ‘your’)

Use of ‘was’ instead of ‘were’ ( ex. I knew you was)

Both Aren’t and isn’t become ain’t (sometimes even more)

A LOT OF CONTRACTIONS

Combing words - either a new contraction or new spelling to emphasize accent, especially around questions (ex. ja'eet yet?)

Use of expressions/idioms (ex. That dog won’t hunt)

#the outsiders #outsiders #lemme know what I missed and I’ll add!#outsiders novel #outsiders book #slang #vernacular #accent #outsiders meta #writing help #fandom dictionary #southern/country slang dictionary #time period post #time period post : accent and vernacular

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yinemw · 2 months ago

Text

𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬

context: catching bf Felix taking care of stray kittens (gender neutral reader)

warnings: none

character: Felix from fire emblem three houses/three hopes

m.list

It was weird, really. Catching Felix doing something embarrassing, or, what he thought was embarrassing. Everyone knew him for his cold attitude, only interested in sparring and learning new techniques with the sword. Spending day and night at the sparring grounds, perfecting his skill. Yet here he was, sitting on the ground, pants full of dust and milk as five kittens crawl on top of him.

“Don’t” was the first word leaving his lips, cheeks dusted with a light shade of pink as he grabs one of the kittens off his shoulder. Your lips parted, not sure if you should laugh or help. Only reason you had even caught him in this position was simply your curiosity. Felix had started to leave class in a rush, mumbling a quick excuse your way before he was already off. You knew he wasn’t a cheater, he simply didn’t have the time for that. It was hard enough to convince him to date you. But still, you were curious to what he was up to, rushing off like he always did.

“Felix—”

“I know what you’re going to say. You’ll tease me, and I don’t need that right now. Will you just help me” he asked, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh Felix” you sigh, sitting down on your knees and taking one of the kittens in your arms. Feeling the small purrs vibrate against your fingers. There was a moment of silence as Felix filled the bowl with fresh milk, the kittens all surrounding the bowl and drinking up the liquid with their small tongues.

“I found them near the entrance to the abyss. Their mother was nowhere to be seen and…it felt wrong to leave them there. I asked Mercedes hypothetically how to take care of kittens and she told me to give them milk and make sure they’re warm” he explains as he looks down at the five small creatures, a certain fondness in his eyes.

A smile creeps up to your lips, this was the side of Felix few had seen before. A side which you of course had started to see more often, his softness creeping to the surface whenever it was just the two of you. “Hypothetically, huh? You stubborn man, why didn’t you just ask for help?”

“You’d go around telling everyone I’m soft, and I certainly don’t need that, and…”

“And?”

He stays quiet, reaching out a finger and gently petting one of the kittens as it continued to drink the milk. “I enjoy spending time with them…” he confesses, the tips of his ears slightly red. It was clear confessing something like that was hard for him, but he trusts you. More than anyone.

Your eyes land on his rolled up sleeves, revealing all of the small cuts and scrapes that had become more frequent on his skin. Not being able to resist, you reach out your hand and touch his arm, feeling the strong muscle beneath your fingers. “You told me you got these from sparring, you liar. Turns out just a bunch of kitties were climbing on you”

He lets out a scoff, golden eyes meeting yours. “Didn’t think you’d believe me when I told you Sylvain had scratched my neck last week, yet you did. So gullible”

“Hey, call me whatever you want, you’re the father of five”

Felix picks up one of the kittens, it was clear they trusted him. The way they purred, rubbing their fuzzy faces against his body. “Shut up”

Lifting your hand from his arm, you brush the stray strands of hair away from his eyes, something you used to do even before your relationship. “I’ll help you Felix, if you promise I can name one of the kitties”

“Tsk”

You frown at him, grabbing his chin lightly, making him look up at you. “You clearly need the help, and since we are obviously gonna keep all five kittens, it seems only fair you let your co-parent name one of the children”

“You’re using co-parent wrong” he rolled his eyes, wrapping his fingers around your wrist and pulling it away from his face.

“What do you mean?”

“Co-parent means if the parents are separated— we’re not even parents Y/n, just taking care of a bunch of kittens”

Ready to protest, yet you close your mouth. Knowing there was no reason, Felix was set in his ways. The fact he hadn’t pushed you away and let you help him was enough for now. “Fine, but I’m still naming that one Lix” you point to the black kitten.

“…why Lix?”

You hesitate, but end up acting on your urges and cup his cheeks, squishing them together. “He has the same grumpy face as you”

Felix lets out a grumble, shaking your hands away from his face. Even though he seemed to dislike it, you catch the way the tips of his ears turn a pinkish color yet again.

“Fair enough, I named the greedy one always drinking the most milk Y/n”

“Hey! Rude!”

☆

Next time class finished, the blue lions watch as you and Felix rush out together. A bottle of milk in your hands as a small smile plays on Felix’s lips.

“What are those two up to?” Dimitri asks in amusement as your silhouettes disappear in the distance.

“No idea” Ingrid had answered, shrugging her shoulders, just as confused as the young prince.

Mercedes couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle, “I might have an idea of what they’re doing”

𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒙 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒚: ★

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem felix #fire emblem three houses Felix #Felix Hugo Fraldarius #fire emblem fanfiction #felix fraldarius fluff #felix x reader #felix hugo fraldarius x reader #fire emblem x reader #blue lions x reader #feh3 #fe3h felix #fe3h x reader #fire emblem felix x reader

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jezebelblues · 4 months ago

Text

let it snow | h.s

[ .ii ]

summary: summer of 1979. where y/n just got a new position in the DEA with harry's little crew in miami. but are there ulterior motives? (pt. 2)

cw: 18+ drugs / drugs usage. unedited. fem!reader. maybe angst? idk, this is just a testing-the-waters type series.

word count: approx 5.7k

| this was rushed. ugh

The morning sun crept through the blinds of Y/N’s hotel room, painting the walls in soft hues of gold —dust bunnies dancing the stream of light. She lay awake, staring at her ceiling. She couldn’t shake the unease from how the previous night came to an end, but it felt out of her hands.

With a deep breath, she pushed out of the lush white bed and got ready. The city outside was alive with traffic and the distant buzz of people, but she felt a slight disconnect from it. She slips into a pair of jeans and a white shirt, her usual. Her beat up converse are pulled on, with her duty belt wrapped around the top of her hips, her silver badge glimmering in the light. She shoves her notepad into her back pocket, her red pen tucked behind her ear before she rushes down to the large conference room on the main floor.

As she entered, a hum of conversation filled the air. Her colleagues discussed cases, and the plan for the day. Some nursed coffee cups, while others flipped through files with furrowed brows. Y/N scans over the room as she steps further in, her eyes landing on Harry who stood at a tall table with a few others. He seemed relaxed, which was a 180 from the demeanor he had when last night ended. There was no cowboy hat this morning, he wore an unbuttoned tropical blouse, a white tank top tucked into a pair of beige slacks. His swallows peaked out again, his cross hanging loosely from his neck. “Good mornin’ sunshine!” He calls out, his trademark grin spread across his lips as he caught sight of her. Y/N could feel her heart flutter despite the weight of uncertainty that lingered in her mind. she approached him, the chatter around them fading into the background.

“Morning.” she mumbles, forcing her lips into a smile. “Sleep well?”

He shrugged lightheartedly. “Like a baby. Y’know the usual —coked out fish, late night reports. How ‘bout you?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at his nonchalance. “Same here.” She utters, though the truth was far from it.

Harry shifted in his stance, adjusting his belt absentmindedly. His eyes lingered on her a moment longer than necessary, as if gauging her mood. It was an easy read to see that she was still worried about last night, but comforting her about it wasn’t on his list of priorities. He clears his throat, feeling her eyes on him once more. “Y’got a press interview at noon.” He mumbles, plopping a lukewarm grape into his mouth.

She swears she could wince at how soon this interview was happening, but if word got out already, she’s sure the public was curious about drug stuffed fish on the beach. “Will it be live?”

He knits his brows together, shaking his head lightly as he chews. “M’no. just a few journalists.” He muttered with a gentle shrug, his eyes stuck on the bowl of grapes next to him. “It’s soon, I know.” He pauses, glancing up at his press analyst. “Police don’t want us here. Gonna make things harder if they can help it.”

Y/N nodded, her hand instinctively reaching for the notepad in her back pocket, fingers brushing over the worn leather cover. “Yeah, I figured as much,” she muttered, her mind racing through the events of last night. Harry’s casual attitude wasn’t doing much to ease her tension. The entire team had been on edge after the discovery of the fish that were dragged off the boat. They were supposed to be in control of the situation, but something was off.

Harry popped another grape into his mouth, his eyes darting between her and the rest of the team. He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “They’ll try to pin it on someone. But don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” He flashed her another grin, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes this time.

She couldn’t help but feel that there was more beneath the surface —something he wasn’t saying. Everyone in the team knew about Harry’s side hustle, his cut of the drugs slipping through the cracks. It was risky, and they were all too aware of how dangerous that game could be, but Harry had a way of making it seem like a joke, like nothing was ever really serious. Y/N, on the other hand, was still in the dark about it. But Harry kept his cards close to his chest.

“Jus’ keep your head down today, hm?” He continued, leaning casually against the tall table again. “Don’t need more attention than we already have. Press interviews can go sideways real quick.”

She crossed her arms, the tension from the previous night still weighing heavy. “You think they’re gonna ask us about it? Why we found it, drugs hidden in their seafood”

Harry’s grin faltered just slightly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his eyes before he smoothed his expression again. “We stick to the script, we’re just here for damage control.”

She nodded, even though something gnawed at her. The script. It was always the script with Harry —clean, simple answers, nothing too revealing. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that the truth was slipping through her fingers, just out of reach. Maybe it was the way the team acted around him, the shared glances when he wasn’t looking, or the way they all seemed to dance around the subject of numbers. Something wasn’t adding up, and deep down, she knew Harry was at the center of it.

As she opened her mouth to push further, Niall interrupted, walking over with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. “You two ready for the circus?” he asked with a grin, though his eyes seemed as tired as hers.

“Damn right. Our ringmaster won’t disappoint, hm?” He quips, laid-back demeanor never faltering. He gave Y/N a small, almost knowing look before he turned to Niall, shifting the conversation toward logistics.

Y/N felt a wave of frustration wash over her. Harry had a way of brushing things off, deflecting questions with charm and humor, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could play along. Still, she couldn’t deny the tension between them, the way her heart raced whenever he was close, even when she knew he was hiding something. It was a dangerous line to walk —between wanting to trust him and knowing she couldn’t.

As she stood there, watching Harry and Niall exchange casual banter, she made a silent vow. She would get to the bottom of this, one way or another. And when she did, she’d be ready.

The conversation shifted around her, but Y/N was only half-listening now. Harry’s ease was irritating, the kind of calm that came from someone who was used to playing with fire and never getting burned. She forced herself to look away, sipping on the stale conference room coffee that tasted like it had been brewing for hours. The tension in her chest hadn’t let up since last night, and now the looming interview was only adding to the weight.

She glanced around the room, scanning the faces of her colleagues. They all seemed locked into their routines —coffee, reports, the usual morning chatter —but there was something else in the air today. The fish incident had stirred up more than just bad press. It was the first real sign that their operation had a leak. Drugs were slipping through the cracks, and the only one who seemed unaffected by it was Harry.

Y/N’s fingers itched to flip open her notepad and start jotting down her thoughts, the little things she’d noticed over the last few weeks: the late-night meetings, the way the office phone always seemed to ring at odd hours, and how some of the shipments had gone missing, only to reappear later. But something stopped her. She wasn’t ready to commit those suspicions to paper. Not yet.

Niall broke into her thoughts again. “Y/N, you’re on point for the interview, right? Shouldn’t be too bad. Just a couple of local reporters, nothing major.”

She nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. “Yeah, I’ll handle it,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm inside her.

Harry caught her eye again, his smile softening into something that almost resembled concern. He stepped closer, his voice lowering. “Don’t let it get t’you. It’s all under control.”

“Is it?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes searched his, looking for any crack in the facade, any sign that he might drop the act for a second and be real with her. But he only shrugged, his grin reappearing like a shield.

“Y’worry too much, sugar.” he mumbled, brushing it off like he always did. “We’ve got this handled.”

She wanted to believe him, but the weight in her chest told her otherwise. There was a storm coming, and she wasn’t sure if Harry was the one steering them straight into it or trying to guide them out.

The door to the conference room opened, and the local PD captain stepped in, his expression all business. “Alright, folks, time to get moving. The interview’s in an hour, and the brass want us prepped. Stick to the basics —no overcomplicating things. You’re here to clean up the mess, not make a bigger one.”

The team nodded, scattering to gather their things. Y/N lingered a moment longer, her gaze still fixed on Harry. He caught her staring and raised an eyebrow, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “What? Y’thinkin’ too hard again, sweetheart?”

She rolled her eyes, though her pulse quickened at the pet name. “Just making sure you’re ready for this.”

He chuckled, running a hand through his messy hair. “Born ready.” His eyes softened for a moment as he added, “Don’t stress. We’re a team, right?”

She nodded, but the word felt hollow. The team was only as strong as its weakest link, and right now, she felt it was her. Harry might be the one lying, but she was starting to wonder if the rest of the team was just as complicit.

The press room was modest, with a few chairs set up in rows and a podium at the front. A handful of reporters were already gathered, their notepads and tape recorders ready. YN took a deep breath as she approached the podium, Harry and Niall flanking her.

“Alright, let’s keep this easy peasy.” Harry murmured, standing just close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating off him. “We tell them what they need t’hear. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.”

Y/N nodded, her pulse quickening again. As she stepped up to the podium and faced the waiting reporters, she could feel Harry’s eyes on her, watching, waiting.

The first question came quickly, a reporter with a sharp suit and a sharper gaze raising his hand. “Can you confirm the discovery of drugs hidden in the fish that washed up on shore yesterday?”

Y/N opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Harry spoke up. “It was a mighty discovery and we’re still investigatin’ but yes, drugs were found in the fish. We’re workin’ closely with the local authorities t’get to the bottom of it.”

The reporter’s eyes flicked to Y/N, clearly wanting more, but she could only repeat Harry’s words. “It’s an ongoing investigation,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “We’ll provide more details when we have them.”

The interview continued, with questions flying and answers carefully crafted. Harry was hiding something —she knew it, and maybe the rest of the team knew it too. But for now, she had to play the game, stick to the script.

And as she stood there, fielding questions and trying to ignore the heat of Harry’s presence beside her, one thought kept running through her mind.

This was only the beginning.

The next day dawned hazy, the sun a dim glow behind the clouds. Y/N stood behind her large window, nursing a cup of bitter coffee as she watched the city slowly come to life. Below, cars crawled through the early morning traffic, and the distant sound of construction echoed between the buildings.

She had barely slept after the press interview. The reporters had been relentless, pushing for answers that she and Harry couldn’t give —wouldn’t give. And though they had stuck to the script, Y/N couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling that something was about to break open and pull her underneath the current.

With a sigh, she set the cup down and rubbed her eyes. She needed to clear her head before she faced the team again. The unease about Harry had only grown, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized how little she truly knew about him. The easygoing charm, the quick smile —those things had pulled her in, sure. But what’s underneath?

After getting dressed, she made her way downstairs, her beat-up Converse squeaking against the polished hotel floor. The lobby was quieter than usual, but as she stepped outside, the city hit her full force. It was loud, buzzing, but she still felt detached from it all. Almost like she was watching everything from behind a screen.

When she arrived at the makeshift command center they’d set up at the local police department, the atmosphere was tense. Her colleagues were already gathered around the long table, files and photos scattered across it. Harry was there too, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a half-eaten apple in his hand. His eyes resembled that of the fallen angel, and perhaps Miami was the garden he slithered throughout. He was dressed in the same style as always —black slacks and a light yellow button-up (with the top 3 undone, of course.) with vibrant embroidered flowers. His hair was messy, but in that effortless way that looked like he didn’t care. His black cowboy hat sat on the edge of the table closest to him.

He shot her a lopsided grin as she entered, but she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. “Mornin, sugar,” he said, voice soft and easy. “Slept like a rock, I bet.”

She rolled her eyes, settling into a chair across the table. “Something like that.” The tension between them was thick, though unspoken. Her mind flashed back to the way he had handled the reporters yesterday, effortlessly deflecting their questions. He had a gift for it. A dangerous gift. But today, she wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.

Niall cleared his throat from the head of the table, pulling their attention. “Alright, we’ve got some news.” He flipped open a file and spread a few photos across the table. Grainy images of the beach, the washed-up fish, and what looked like a new shipment. “Another batch washed up last night, only in bags. But here’s the kicker: the packaging’s different.”

Harry, who had been quietly eating his apple, perked up at this. “Different how?” he asked, his voice casual but alert.

Niall pushed one of the photos closer to Y/N. “These aren’t the same bags we’ve been seeing. The markings are different. Whoever’s behind this is changing their method. It’s almost like they’re trying to cover their tracks, or maybe they’re onto us.”

Her eyes narrowed as she examined the photos. The plastic bags tucked inside the fish were marked with a different symbol than before —but these were cruder, hastily done. It was clear whoever was behind this was getting sloppy, or desperate.

“Could be a new supplier,” Harry said, tossing his apple core into the trash can across the room. “Or someone tryin t’throw us off.”

Y/N leaned back in her chair, her mind racing. “Or maybe someone on our side is making a move,” she said, her voice quiet but pointed. The words hung in the air, and for a moment, the room went still.

Harry’s grin faltered, just for a second, but it was long enough for her to catch it. His eyes met hers, and there was something unreadable in them —a mix of amusement and warning. “You accusin’ someone, sunshine?” he asked, his tone light but with an edge beneath it.

Niall cut in before Y/N could respond. “We’re not pointing fingers yet. But we need to lock this down fast. The police are sniffing around, and if we don’t get ahead of this, they’re gonna make our lives hell.”

The team murmured in agreement, but Y/N barely heard them. Her eyes were still on Harry, her mind turning over everything she’d learned in the past few weeks. The late-night calls, the missing shipments, the way the team seemed to tiptoe around logistics if pressed.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was playing both sides. And the worst part? She wasn’t sure if she cared. Something between them still lingered, complicating everything. Every time she got close to confronting him, to demanding the truth, something pulled her back. It was maddening.

“Alright,” Niall said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s hit the beach and see what we can find. The sooner we figure out who’s behind this, the better.”

The team started gathering their things, the tension lifting slightly as they prepared to head out. But Y/N stayed behind for a moment, her eyes still fixed on Harry. He met her gaze, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.

“You alright?” He asked, his voice low.

She crossed her arms, the words she’d been holding back bubbling to the surface. “I don’t know, sir. Am I?”

He chuckled, pushing off the wall and walking toward her. “What’re you hinting at?”

She stood up, stepping closer to him until they were inches apart. “I think you know exactly what it means.”

For a moment, the air between them crackled with unspoken tension. His eyes locked onto hers, the playful mask slipping just a little. He leaned against the part of the table beside her, white knuckling the edges. He didn’t bother to meet her gaze, only staring out the glass door as if she wasn’t there to begin with. “I think you oughta remember who you’re takin’ to.” he mumbles, voice flat. “M’your boss down here. You’re questioning my authority, puttin’ black holes in our investigation.”

Her shoulders falter, heart sinking down to the pit of her stomach. “Harry I-“

He shifted his weight, straightening his posture and leaning over the table to grab his hat before shooting a pointed glance at her. “Know your rank, Y/N.”

But before either of them could say anything more, Niall called from the doorway. “You two coming or what?”

Harry broke the stare, his grin returning as he winked at her. “Always.” He turned and sauntered toward the door, leaving Y/N sitting there, her heart pounding in her ears.

As she followed him out into the sunlight, something tugged at her. She was crossing a line, undermining her superior. Although her chest felt heavy, she took a slow, deep breath and decided whatever is, will be, as long as she’s kept from it.

The drive to the beach was quiet. Y/N sat in the backseat of the van, her eyes fixed on the passing streets as the buildings gave way to the coastline. The tension from the conversation with Harry still gnawed at her. She had pushed him —too far, maybe. And while her suspicions about him hadn’t gone away, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had crossed a line.

The unease from the night before was still with her, but now it was tangled with something else —guilt. She knew she had been undermining him, questioning his every move. It wasn’t her place, and the weight of that realization settled heavily on her shoulders.

Harry sat in the passenger seat up front, his arm resting lazily out the open window as the salty ocean air blew through his messy hair. From the back, Y/N could see the relaxed set of his shoulders, the casual way he leaned back in his seat. He hadn’t said a word since they left the office, and it only made her feel worse. She had to drop the attitude, before things spiraled out of control.

As they pulled up to the beach, the morning fog still clung to the shoreline, casting an eerie haze over the sand. The team piled out of the van, gathering near the water’s edge where the latest smuggle had been found. The remnants were already being cleared away by local authorities, but the scene was still fresh. The stench of saltwater and something rotting filled the air.

Y/N stood back as the rest of the team started examining the scene, taking notes and exchanging theories. Her eyes found Harry again, standing near Niall and a couple of the other guys, hands in his pockets, surveying the area like he’d done a thousand times before. She watched him for a moment, her stomach twisting. She hated this feeling —the doubt, the suspicion, the way her mind had been turning everything over and over.

With a deep breath, she stepped forward. She knew what she had to do. She wasn’t going to let her pride get in the way of her work, or worse, let it destroy the fragile trust they had. As she approached him, she felt the weight of her earlier accusations settle in her chest.

“Harry,” she said quietly, stopping just a few feet away. He turned to her, his expression unreadable, though there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

“Hm?” He hummed, like nothing had happened between them earlier, but Y/N could feel the tension beneath the surface. She swallowed her pride, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

“I- ” She paused, glancing down at the sand for a second before looking back up. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier. I was out of line.”

Harry’s eyebrows lifted slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. He didn’t say anything for a beat, just watched her, like he was waiting for her to explain. She cleared her throat, feeling the need to fill the silence.

“I shouldn’t have questioned you the way I did. You’re my superior, and I know you’re just trying to handle the situation. I’m sorry if I made things harder,” she added, her voice soft but sincere.

For a moment, he didn’t respond, and Y/N felt her heart rate spike as she wondered if he was angry or just brushing it off. But then he shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Don’t sweat it, sunshine.” He shrugged, his voice low and calm as a smirk spread across his lips. “We’re all on edge right now. I get it.”

She blinked, relief washing over her. He was letting it go —just like that. It almost caught her off guard, the ease with which he brushed aside her earlier behavior. But then again, that was Harry, wasn’t it? Always smooth, always knowing just when to pull back and keep things cool.

Still, she didn’t want to leave it at that. “No, really. I mean it. I trust you. I don’t want you to think I don’t.” The words felt strange in her mouth, especially after all the doubt she had harbored over the past few days. But as they left her lips, she realized that, despite everything, there was a part of her that did trust him. Or maybe wanted to.

Harry’s eyes softened, just for a second, although she could only see a portion underneath the tip of his hat. He looked at her in that way he sometimes did, like he was seeing something behind her words, something more. “I know you do,” he said quietly, his voice gentler now. “N’ I appreciate it.”His expression then shifted, something darker flickering in his gaze. He stepped closer, his voice low enough that only she could hear. “Y’not messing up, Y/N. But you gotta know —this line of work? S’not always clean. Not everything’s black n’ white.” His eyes locked onto hers, intense and serious in a way that made her heart race. “You gotta learn t’live in the gray, or y’won’t last long.”

The words hung between them, heavy with meaning. Y/N swallowed, understanding what he was saying—what he wasn’t saying. She nodded again, her chest tight with the weight of it. The gray. She was already in it, whether she liked it or not.

Before she could say anything else, Niall called out to them from the water’s edge. “You two! We found something!”

Harry turned, the moment between them broken. His easy grin returned, and he gestured for her to follow. “Ramble on over, honeybee.”

Y/N followed him toward the shore, her mind still spinning from his words. She had apologized, and Harry had let her off the hook. But there was something in his warning that stuck with her —something she couldn’t shake. Living in the gray wasn’t just about the job. It was about trust, about loyalty, and maybe even about the lies that had already started to blur the lines between them.

The team had on blue latex gloves, packing away evidence and examining the scene. Y/N did her job, taking notes, while Harry slipped on a pair of gloves. His covered hands shifted through remnants of the shipment, discovering unloaded guns without a serial number and bags full of bricks of white powder, the occasional dime bag thrown in. Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, holding one of the smaller bags up toward the sun. His lips curled, eyes narrowing as he swiftly takes off his hat and places it next to him. Niall watches from behind, standing with his arms folded over his chest. Y/N couldn’t help but approach the group, especially when he started to part the lip of the bag open. His pinky dipped inside the powder, pulling it out and rubbing the grains between his fingers. He let out a breathy chuckle that didn’t seem sincere as he stood up, throwing the dime bag to the ground and letting the powder that slipped through dance in the wind. “Son of a bitch.” He muttered, picking his hat off the ground and brushing it clean. “S’ fucking baby powder.”

Her eyes widened, a line of profanities stumbling from Niall’s lips as he went to insect the product himself. Harry was upset, something Y/N hadn’t seen before. His hand dived into his pocket, pulling out his cigarette box and she assumed he was grabbing a toothpick —no. He placed a cigarette in between his lips, hand hovering over his lighter as he lit it, avoiding the ocean breeze. The end brightened with each drag he took, and he had a far away look in his eye. Harry started to stride through the sand, darting to the pavement toward the van. After she had scribbled a few things down in her notepad, she rushed after her boss —not even 100% sure if this is something she should be writing down in the first place.

His cigarette hung lazily, the smoke fluttering in the direction of the wind. He doesn’t greet Y/N as she nears him, only gently takes the notepad and pen from her fingers. He flips it over roughly, his hand moving quickly as he jotted things down over the hood of the car. “Harry?” She squeaked, shifting her weight.

“If it was a snake it woulda bit us in the ass.” He grumbled, moreso to himself. There was a crease in his forehead, the scent of tobacco between them. He scooted the notepad and pen back toward Y/N as he spoke. “We’re here twiddlin’ our thumbs while they’re dealing.” Harry shook his head, another dry laugh escaping him. “tou-fuckin-chè.”

The drive back to the precinct was silent. Harry had a thousand thoughts running around his mind, and Niall already hashed it out with the police for not knowing the difference between cocaine and baby powder. The only hit they got was the smuggling of illegal guns.

Back at the conference room in the hotel, the weight of the day hung heavy in the air. A radio buzzed with static that was connected to dispatch, and there was muted conversations throughout the room. The local cops went off to do their own thing, leaving Harry’s team of seven to settle in the large room. She sat at the long desk, tapping her pen against the polished wood surface. Harry’s hurried lines only listed the intimate basics of what transpired today —his handwriting even looked frustrated. He hadn’t said much since they’ve left the beach, although it was clear his tension started to ease. Niall had stormed off the moment they arrived, clearly fed up with the department and dead end operation. She flipped through her notes, eyes scanning over the listed details. Baby powder, guns, no drugs. Baby powder, guns, no drugs. Her sigh was heavy as she pushed herself from the chair, leaving the room without so much of the word to cross the lobby and through the doors, wanting some air. It was warm, the breeze lighter than it was this afternoon.

The door swung open from behind her, and Harry strode out, cigarette in hand despite the no smoking sign plastered near the door. He let out a breath as he stood beside her, fumbling with the cigarette box to shove the unlit one he had back in. He had put in a toothpick instead. His hat was left in the conference room, allowing his curls to sweep with each gust of wind. “Spoke to someone on the phone earlier.” He mumbled, eyes focused on the street in front of the hotel parking lot. “Have a lead.” His voice was low and smooth, his toothpick twisting. “We head out at three-thirty this morning. Early bird gets to make an arrest, or whatever.”

A small smile finds her lips, enjoying that his personality is starting to peek through. “Just the team?” She asked, looking over at him even though he was still focused on the surroundings in front of them.

He scoffed, a tinge of humor laced with it. “ ‘Bout as sharp as a ball over there.” The agent smiled, nodding his head toward the department across and down the street. “They’re not steppin’ near our movements without my go ahead.”

She bit her lip, nodding along to his words. “Avoiding ‘em like the plague.” She mocked, feigning his southern accent the best she could.

He laughed, finally turning his head to look down at the woman beside him. “Yes ma’am.”

There was a beat of comfortable silence between them, the distant sound of waves kissing the shore and the cars driving down the road. The block over was bars and clubs galore, allowing the bass to echo into the air accompanied by faint laughter.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” She thought out loud, their shared gaze unwavering. “Just thought the box was to make your toothpicks look cool.”

He chuckled, fumbling with the red and white box before shoving it back into his pocket. “M’supposed to quit it.” He admitted with a shrug, their shoulders brushing against each other briefly. “Sometimes I’m weak.”

She chuckled softly, bobbing on her heels every now and then. “Makes sense now, replacing one with the other.”

“Atta girl.”

The moment lingered, a brief spark igniting in the evening air. Y/N felt a rush of warmth, one that had little to do with the balmy Miami night. “You know,” she said, tilting her head playfully, “for someone who’s supposed to be setting a good example, you sure are full of vices.”

Harry smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Well, darlin’, I never claimed to be a saint. But if you keep up this sharp wit, I might just start thinkin’ you’re my better half.”

“Is that so?” Y/N raised an eyebrow, leaning into the playful banter. “Last I checked, I was still learning the ropes here. You’ve been at this a lot longer than I have.”

“True,” he conceded, leaning a little closer, his tone dropping to that serious edge again. “But sometimes it’s not about how long you’ve been at it; it’s about how quick y’catch on.”

She felt the weight of his gaze, those intense eyes searching hers, and her heart quickened again. “And what if I catch on too fast? What if I start outshining you?”

Harry laughed, the sound rich and genuine. “Then I’ll just have-ta keep you on y’toes, won’t I?”

Before she could reply, a shout from Mitch, another man of the team, broke their moment. “Harry! YN! Need your brains!”

They both turned toward the voice, and for a second, YN felt a sense of reluctance to break the connection. Harry straightened, his expression shifting back to business. “Swing and a miss.”

Y/N nodded, her cheeks flushing a faint pink. As they started walking back, something in her chest fluttered with excitement —a shaky leaf floating from a branch. “What’s up?”

Mitch was already striding back toward the conference room, animated and out of breath. “Their lieutenants pissed we’re going over their head.”

“Pot meet kettle” Harry huffed, his tone shifting to that of the confident agent she had come to admire.

As they entered the conference room, the air buzzed with renewed energy. Y/N settled back at the desk, her heart racing not just from the thrill of the chase but from the promise of what lay ahead —both in the case and in her growing connection with Harry.

“Y/N.” He paused, glancing at her. “Keep y’eyes sharp, alright? This could get messy.”

She nodded, determined. “I will. And Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Just —remember what you said about living in the gray. I’m learning from the best.”

He met her gaze, a mixture of pride and something deeper flickering in his eyes. “Keep usin’ that head of yours, honeybee. Y’doing great.”

As the team began to gather around, Y/N felt the weight of the night pressing in, filled with the thrill of uncertainty and danger. But she also felt something else —a burgeoning trust in Harry, a connection that was becoming harder to ignore. Whatever lay ahead, she was ready to face it, gray areas and all.

#harry styles writing #harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfiction #cop!harry #harry styles drugs #harry styles au #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles concept #harry styles headcanon #cowboy!harry #southern!harry #harry edward styles

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pennylanewrites · 2 years ago

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sur le fil [levi ackerman x f!reader]

chapter 2: el valse

your neighbours learn about your secret skills; cooking and painting. the latter causes some disturbance. petra makes a scene and you see what levi is actually like when he’s furious.

a/n: this one’s short but hey, flustered levi makes his appearance. the next chapter’s bigger 😏

masterpost | previous | next

you almost jumped out of bed when a loud thud echoed through the second floor. someone giggled and someone else shushed them. groaning, you slowly opened one eye to check your phone. 6:22 am.

“there goes my saturday…” you stretched and got up, pulling your flip flops from under the bed. with heavy-lidded eyes, you dragged your feet down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen.

“what the fuck? why are you all up?” levi was sitting down on the kitchen table, newspaper in one hand, a cigarette in the other. zoe and moblit slowly lifted their heads from the counter, looking up at you with guilt.

“i told you you’d wake her up, zoe.”

“that thud was you? i thought the ceiling fell.” you pushed the pair out of your way and looked at your coffee machine. “what did you do?”

“nothing! not yet, at least. we wanted to make coffee and levi wouldn’t help.” zoe scratched the back of her head as moblit sat her down on a chair. levi scrunched his nose and moved away from zoe.

“here.” you poured two espresso shots in shot glasses and placed them on the table. “drink these.”

“and take a shower,” levi added as zoe inspected the espresso shot, “you guys stink of gin.”

as your coffee poured, you took out an array of ingredients; flour, cheese, chocolate, eggs and more.

“breakfast is served in two hours.”

“thanks, y/n. come on, chérie.”

you were glad you took the time to fill up your share of the pantry in the week. you had loved cooking, ever since you were a kid. you always thought cooking for someone, sitting down to share the meal was one of the most intimate experiences.

you could cut the tension in the kitchen with a knife. every so often, you would peek at levi as you dusted flour off your hands, and he would shove his newspaper closer to his face. you still took it as a win; it meant he was already looking.

you were taking reference photos of the mess on the counter, the half-set breakfast table, levi’s newspaper and cigarettes, when you felt a cold hand on your waist. startled, you looked back at levi, who simply wanted you to get out of his way.

“sorry!” you squeaked out and went back to pour the pancake dough into the pan. what the fuck was that?

he chuckled. he actually chuckled as he poured a second cup of tea for himself. the shit was making fun of you.

after two long hours, you finally set the table; a platter of sliced mango and papaya, a bowl of warm pão francês with a side of butter and jam spreads, a plate of tapioca pancakes, filled with nutella. you finished the table with another plate of pão de queijo, cheese-filled heavenly balls of dough, and a ceramic jug of fresh-squeezed orange juice.

zoe and moblit entered the kitchen right on time, eyes lighting up at the assortment of food. levi excused himself, but zoe easily lifted him up and shoved him back in his chair. you couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, trying -and failing- to disguise with a cough.

after explaining the brazilian-inspired recipes, everyone digged in.

“ha-ha. levi’s eating balls.” zoe giggled, shoving half a pancake in her mouth. levi shot a glare her way.

“zoe.” moblit pleaded, knowing a simple word from her could result in one of levi’s outbreaks. zoe took one of the cheese-stuffed balls, and when levi opened his mouth to speak, shoved it between his teeth.

everyone stared at him. he was trying to be serious, but it was impossible with a ball keeping his mouth half-open. you muffled a gasp with your palm and looked at your lap, the table shaking from you keeping your laughter in. now it was your turn to be stared at from the rest of the table.

when you finally composed yourself, you looked up at levi. he had already chewed the dough ball and was now, while keeping eye contact, licking his thumb and then his pointer finger tantalisingly slow. a foot found it’s way against your calf, stroking it and gradually heading north. you shoved your legs shut and looked away flustered. he had won this one.

“turn off the porn.” zoe whispered to moblit, but both you and levi caught the comment.

you and zoe were left alone in the kitchen to clean up. she was washing the dishes, you were putting away the leftovers.

“levi and petra are still together, you know,” she started and you gave her a warning look, “but i’m pretty sure it’s over.”

“okay.” you shrugged.

“he wants to have sex with you.”

“zoe!”

“what?” she continued humming a song from an infomercial. you pulled saran wrap over a half-cut mango and sighed.

“levi does not want to have sex with me. we just started getting along.”

“he was about to have sex with your leg.”

“how did you know about that?” you looked at her with horror. zoe had this weird aura around her, and she always knew what you were thinking. at times you thought maybe she was a psychic. a low, evil laugh came out of her lips as she patted her wet hands on her skirt.

“because he thought my leg was yours at first.”

you had a moment where you both stared at the floor before looking at each other and bursting out laughing.

you were struggling to carry an unfinished painting, your easel and supplies to the terrace, when levi stepped out of his bedroom, a female voice yelling behind him in french. he shut the door and leaned back on it with a sigh. he looked so tortured, with his eyes shut close and his chest moving up and down with every sharp breath, as the female screamed behind the door. you pretended not to notice him and headed up the stairs.

“you’re going to fall.” he called out and walked up to you. he was right, but you were stubborn. looking down at your painting, you grinned.

“help me then.” you gave him the canvas. the back of it wrote self portrait and levi was instantly intrigued. you climbed the stairs with levi right behind you. any moment now…

levi stumbled on the very last step, almost falling on the floor. you looked back, and he quickly turned the canvas back around, cheeks rosy and eyes shifting around the ceiling.

“thanks, ackerman.” you placed your easel down and placed the canvas on it, admiring your work. a detailed silhouette on a mattress. the rest of the background was undefined, but the portrait of your naked body was finished, and it was engraved in levi’s brain for the rest of the day.

the afternoon rush hour had gone smoothly, even with levi’s mysterious absence. your mind wandered to petra; they were obviously fighting earlier that day, and she sounded furious. you wondered if she knew about the little…whatever it was, between you and levi. you really doubted it, however; nothing was happening, just a stupid act in the moment. as if on cue, levi stepped in. you suddenly were very interested in the dainty porcelain tea cups you had on display. levi worked around you as he got ready for his shift. you both jumped away when your pinkies touched under the bar.

“you can go now.”

“i’m working for another five hours.” you were not about to lose a day’s pay just because levi didn’t want you around.

“i have this covered.”

“it’s fine, ackerman,” he glared at you at the use of his last name, “i won’t pull any self portraits from behind the fridge.” you took a step back and grinned when levi looked away.

you worked in sync for a while longer, trying not to touch one another. what was this weird tension and when did it start? if levi didn’t basically try to fuck your leg that morning, none of this would be happening; you would still be bickering and muttering curses. you would definitely not be looking at his jean-clad ass and thick thighs. what kind of sorcery was this that they looked so muscly, even under jeans?

“i’m taking my break!” you yelled behind you before leaving through the back door. levi shook his head and even contemplated slapping himself as he watched your hips swing with your step.

you were mindlessly scrolling on your phone, eating a sandwich from the deli around the corner, when you heard commotion from inside the café. you grabbed your stuff from the bench and walked back inside.

petra, despite her petite appearance, was making a scene in the middle of the café. levi had his arms crossed against his chest and was staring at her, an empty look in his eyes. you were pretty sure that made petra even angrier.

despite your broken french knowledge, you caught a few phrases; ‘emotionless’ ‘cheap bastard’.

the only words levi spoke at the girl, you understood loud and clear.

“get the fuck out.” a few tears escaped petra’s eyes and your heart broke for her. she could tell she wasn’t welcome anymore, so she gathered her bag and jacket and ran out.

zoe and moblit had a fair share of stories with levi getting mad, frustrated, furious. they all ended in someone getting punched. but no, this. this is what levi actually was like when furious. he appeared emotionless to the naked eye, but if you put him under a microscope, you could see his chest puff in and out frantically, his nostrils flare, a bead of sweat fall down the vein popping on his forehead.

levi apologised to the customers with a polite smile, looking around before his eyes fell on you. you gave him a sympathetic smile before returning to your spot inside the bar.

“take a break.” you told him, but he just shook his head no. “you can’t even make tea, your hands are trembling.”

“i’m fine.” he muttered, hissing when the mug slipped from his hand, splashing the burning liquid all over his front. he slammed the mug down, lifting his hands to his temples and massaging them as hard as he could.

“are you trying to give yourself a lobotomy?” you took his wrists in your hands and turned him around, so his back was to the customers. “let me clean this up.”

you took a damp towel and lifted it to his chest, patting down the stain on his white shirt. you trailed down to his stomach, the pads of your fingers grazing his belt. he swiftly grabbed your wrist, looking at you from behind his black hair.

“stop.” he choked out. you nodded and took a step back, eyeing him from the top to the bottom. “i-i’m going to take my break now.” levi muttered and you noticed he held his bag over his crotch as he walked to the back room.

you danced around with a giggle as you prepared the next order. this one felt a little bittersweet after petra’s outburst, but it was still a victory for you.

levi 1 - y/n 2

taglist: @belovedackerman @bibemiiu @thisisketchy @ch-4-s-3 @kingfleury (bold can’t be tagged. lmk if you changed your user!)

#aot x reader #aot smut #attack on titan x reader #aot x reader smut #attack on titan smut #attack on titan #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #attack on titan fluff #levi ackerman fluff #levi x reader fluff #levi x reader smut #levi ackerman x you #levi ackerman au #aot modern au #hange zoe #hange x moblit #moblit berner

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harveybwabbit92 · 5 months ago

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[Spark doll au: R/n gives doll!Belial some random food for him to try and see if he likes it, today's snack is Grapes.]

Belial, grimaces after he tries to take a bite out of one: Eurg, How can you like this these? They're hard and taste like dust!

R/n, holding a bowl: That's cos those red grapes you've been gnawing on for the last minute or so are plastic...I have the real ones right here.

Belial, spits the fake grape out: Why didn't you say anything?

R/n, shrugs: I wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice.

{She puts the bowl of freshly washed green grapes down in front of Belial who looked between the grapes in the bowl and the red decorative ones in the basket.

He reluctantly pick up a green grape which almost looked like an apple in his hands due to his small size; he gave it cautionary sniff before taking a bite out of it Belial must've liked it cos he nearly ate entire bowl on R/n.]

#ultraman incorrect quotes #tokusatsu incorrect quotes #tokusatsu #ultraman #Spark doll au #ultraman belial #ultraman belial x reader #afab reader #frost giant! reader

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cameronspecial · 1 year ago

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Secrets In Tangled (Part 2)

Pairing: Anthony Lockwood x Reader

Warnings: N/A

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.3K

Summary: Y/N has been living at Lockwood & Co. for three months now and she keeps accidentally revealing some of her secrets.

Masterlist

Y/N has been living at 35 Portland Row for three months now and she really feels as though she found her place amongst the other inhabitants of Lockwood & Co. The work she does as their talentless assistant may be a little menial, but she enjoys the fact that she gets paid for a job she can do with minimal brain power. Her thoughts can wander as she helps get the laundry done or cleans up the massive mess that George left in the kitchen. She is currently in the basement filing some paperwork. The others had gone to the library to do some research, so she could blast the music from the radio as loud as she wanted. Y/N sways along to the music as she dances from the desk to the filling cabin. She is so caught up in her air guitar solo that she doesn’t notice Lockwood has come down the spiral staircase. He watches the scene with a smirk on his face and leans against the handrail. He gives a little chuckle as she finishes up her little dance. Y/N jumps at the sounds and turns towards him.

“Boss, you scared me. At least, announce that you are coming down when I am home alone, please,” she exclaims with her hand to her heart to try to steady its beat. Lockwood descends the rest of the stairs, “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you know that we were back and to ask if there were any calls that came in while we were gone.” She puts away the file in her hand. “Nope, no calls since you left.” Lockwood nods his head and throws his thumb over his shoulder to indicate upstairs, “Well, George is starting dinner if you want to come up. Those files can wait another day.” Y/N arranges the rest of the files into a neat pile on the desk to be arranged later and heads towards the staircase. Lockwood allows her to go up the stairs first. He gently lays a hand on her lower back and he helps guide her upstairs. As they head toward the kitchen, he gently rubs his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

Lockwood is always doing things like this for her. He finds some way to touch her in some way (consensually, of course). He’d brush her hair out of her face while they flipped through tabloids and his hand would always linger just a little bit longer on her face than he needed to. He would bring her little gifts. He lets it slide when she doesn’t finish her work for the day even though a normal boss would chastise her. It made Y/N’s heart swell with joy. It made it impossible for her not to fall for him and she just wished he felt the same way about her as she does for him.

They settle themselves at the table with Lucy as they watch George cook. “How was your day, Y/N?” Lucy asks, drawing a little sketch of a bunny on the thinking cloth. Y/N gets up to turn the kettle on to make tea for everyone, “It was good. I did some dusting and then just filed last week's paperwork away. I’m going to the shops tomorrow, so let me know what you guys want.” She moves to get a bowl for George to put the cooked food into, but she accidentally drops it. The bowl shatters into tiny pieces and she feels embarrassed. She kneels down to pick up the pieces. Her embarrassment causes her to be clumsy and she cuts herself on one of the ceramic pieces. The loud yip she lets out causes Lockwood to jump to his feet. He rushes to her side and looks at her hand. “Here, let me take care of that,” he offers, cradling her hand into his bigger one. He leads her to the sink to get it washed off and then gets a bandage from the first aid kit under the sink. “There you go. All done. I’m no doctor, but I would say it’s as good as new,” he tells her. He lifts her finger up to his lips and presses a soft kiss to the pad of her finger which is now bandaged.

Y/N’s cheeks heat up and she turns her head shyly away from his prying eyes. George and Lucy quickly watch the two in front of them give each other googly eyes. It was quite obvious to both of their friends that they were both head of heels for each other; however, Y/N is clueless because she just thinks it’s how friends look at each other and Lockwood believes that he isn’t good enough for her. The pair quickly separate and go to sit in their respective chairs beside each other. “Dinner is served,” George announces, setting the bowl he retrieved himself now filled with food onto the table.

———

“Lucy, you need to move your back leg before the front leg in your gathering step. It’s why you are having a hard time shuffling forward.” Currently, Lucy is doing some solo drills with the training air jets, while Y/N is finishing up the filling she didn’t do yesterday. Lucy pauses the machine for a second, turning toward the other girl. “What do you mean?” she inquiries, giving her friend a confused look. Y/N walks over to the empty area and demonstrates what she was explaining, “Makes sense now?” Lucy nods her head and follows Y/N’s instructions. Again, Lockwood lurks on the staircase, watching Y/N help Lucy train. “I didn’t know you knew how to fence,” he observes, continuing down the stairs. Y/N faces Lockwood and her cheeks heat up at being caught, “I may have dabbled a little bit with it growing up.” Lockwood unsheaths the rapier at his side and swings it around a little. “Care for a friendly match.” She nods her head and picks up one of the extra rapiers they have.

They both get into position and begin. This and martial arts are her element. They are the only time she feels she can understand a human’s body language correctly. Y/N decides to begin with a simple lunge, but when Lockwood goes to counter the thrust, she quickly changes gears to cut around his move. She catches his point, and then, in preparation to make the cut, she keeps the point away by rolling her guard up. She uses the full rotation of her rapier to strike after moving past the point. Her final move is to slice as she cuts. To gain back priority, Lockwood parries her attack and moves her backwards closer to the wall. To get back the advantage, she feints an attack and quickly changes course when he goes on the defence. The only problem is that he catches her change in direction and uses as much force to disarm her. Her rapier goes flying in the other direction and he moves in to touch her with his point so he can win, but she quickly dodges his arm.

She quickly changes from fencing mood to self-defence, so she grabs his arm and pulls it past her shoulder. She twists her body so that her back is pressed up against his chest and flips him over her shoulder onto the floor. Before she did the flip, she squeezed his wrist so that he dropped his own rapier. She goes down to straddle his waist and pins both of his hands above his head. Her face is so close to his that she can feel his breath on her skin. She knows he can thrust his hips to cause her to face plant into the floor above him, but something tells her that he doesn’t know that. “I don’t think that was a fencing technique,” Lockwood laughs, he tries to get up but she doesn’t let him. Instead, she just stares into his eyes. They sparkle in a special way when he laughs.

Lucy is quick to snap them out of their moment, “How are you so good at fencing and, from what it looks like, self-defence?” Y/N looks up at Lucy and quickly gets off of Lockwood. She doesn’t know what to say that wouldn’t give away her secret. “Uh, I just pick it up from watching competitions and stuff on TV. I’m going to go to the shops now before they close,” she answers, going up the stairs without another word. Lucy turns towards Lockwood, “There is no way she learnt how to do all of that so well by just watching people. She doesn’t have a talent, so why would she learn how to fence?” “I don’t know, Luce. Must be a part of her secret childhood,” Lockwood offers. He stares at the stairs Y/N had just used to leave and Lucy can see the amazement he felt for her in his eyes.

———

Y/N watches from her bed as Lucy applies a little bit of makeup for Lockwood & Co’s staff dinner at a fancy restaurant. Lucy notices the girl’s curiosity about her process and turns towards her. “Do you want me to do your makeup?” Y/N turns her head to pretend she isn’t staring. She nods her head, a little embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, and goes to sit on Lucy’s bed beside her. “Okay, I don’t have the right shade for your foundation and stuff, but I can do some eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner and some lipstick if you want. Maybe next time we go to the shops, we can get you your own stuff and I’ll teach you.”

Y/N isn’t too sure what any of those things mean but nods at Lucy’s comment. Y/N didn’t have any reason to learn how to do her own makeup because she never had anywhere to dress nicely. Lucy approaches Y/N with an eyeshadow pallet and applies a light amount of light pink onto the girl’s eyes. She curls her lashes to apply the mascara and gives her a cat-eye with the eyeliner. She moves on to Y/N’s lips, opting for a light pink glossy lip gloss that would match Y/N’s eyeshadow.

“Voilà. Perfect. What do you think?” Y/N turns towards the mirror and smiles at her reflection. Lucy did an amazing job. “This is absolutely brilliant. Thank you,” Y/N thanks, giving the other girl a massive hug. The girls are now finished getting ready so they go downstairs to join the boys. Lockwood spots Y/N and he is put in a trans. The makeup accentuates her beauty. His eyes are instantly drawn to her lips. He wonders what flavour her lipgloss is and if he will ever get a taste of it. George notices Lockwood’s face and his turns to annoyed, “Would you stop staring? You are going to burn a hole into Y/N’s head if you do.” Lockwood shakes out of his spell. “Don’t we look lovely this evening, ladies,” he quips with his signature smirk. Lucy just waves her hand dismissively and Y/N turns away to hide the way her mouth turns into a massive smile. “Let’s go to dinner, shall we?” Lucy demands, walking out the door without waiting for the others.

———

George is again pulling an all-nighter to do some of his research about the problem. He has his books and notes spread out across the table and he is hunched over them. Y/N comes down to make herself some tea to help her go to sleep. She walks over behind him and reads his notes over his shoulder. “You want to know how they figured out that silver can stop the visitors. My mu- uh, my mentor said that Rotwell had been randomly throwing objects at the visitors and Fittes noticed that certain objects would cause the visitor to dispel completely while others don’t,” she starts lecturing. “She put two and two together and then acted on that hunched. She was lucky enough to find a silver jewellery box in the bedroom that they were in and she put the source in the box. And bada bing bada boom, they figured out how to contain a source.”

He looks up at her in confusion and leaves through a few of his books, “How do you know that? It doesn’t say that anywhere in the books that I’ve read.” Y/N realizes her mistake quickly and has to think quickly about what to say. “Umm, my tutor was really into the history of the problem. He had a chance to interview Fittes and asked. I’m going to go to bed, now. Goodnight,” she says, going back upstairs to her room. George stares at the doorway she just left through in wonder. Who was Y/N Y/L/N? How does she know so much about the problem? Why would she have tutors if she was able to go to school instead of working for an agency? He is left with all of his questions as he keeps working through the night.

#secrets in tangled #lockwood & co #lockwood and co #anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood oneshot #anthony lockwood imagine #anthony lockwood #lockwood #lockwood x reader #lockwood netflix #lockwood and co netflix #anthony lockwood x you #lockwood x you #lockwood x y/n

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paz-45 · 1 year ago

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EE Lyrics Study: teeth/bones/nails

Hello! This is my first "lyric study" for the band Everything Everything and the topic is: BONES/TEETH/NAILS.

Basically, when listening to their music, I kept noticing words related to this topic and I was curious if the topic actually existed across their discography. I marked every lyric that included key words:

bone, skull, teeth, vertebrae, fossil, etc.

I did a little research to see the cultural significance or any other meaning/symbolism of these words. I didn't want to dive too much into the actual meaning of the lyrics*** or the greater context of the song, but instead looked at the overall patterns of the key words.

I notice that in EE's lyrics, bones/teeth are mostly used to evoke images of graphic things being done to a body or to liken humans to other animals/creatures. There's mentions of bones both inside a living human and in someone/something that's dead.

Personally, I interpret these uses as a more shocking or uncomfortable way to refer to those parts of the body (e.g. teeth instead of smile, clavicle instead of collar, skull instead of head), which is pretty on-brand for EE's provocative lyrics/themes.

And half the street was under my nails -MY KZ, UR BF

Cos even now, there's a bone snapping -Leave the Engine Room

My teeth dazzle like an igloo wall, I inhabit, I inhibit ya'll -Photoshop Handsome

But right above my clavicle, the world becomes so laughably old -Wizard Talk

Teeth and nails your little anatomy -Luddites and Lambs

Past-tense -- what's a trilobite to anyone? -Kemosabe (marked because it only exists in fossil form)

Coiled heart, eye-tooth, feral child -Torso of the Week

And cloudy with potential, muscle mass and vertebrae begin... -Choice Mountain

While Princes fly drones that can see through your bones - Undrowned

The street is a boneyard she glances -Armourland

And now who's the fossil who gets the girl? -The House is Dust

Bic your head and show your teeth to them honey -Don't Try

And sweat runs up his neck and spine -Awe/Arc

You take the poleaxe out of your spine, push your shoulder back in its place -A.D.

Canine, fangs up out my throat -Distant Past

Teeth on a wire -Get to Heaven

Swing the hammer, the fragments, a skull exploding -Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread

Bone, to the blade -The Wheel is Turning Now

Bones in a bowl like a toad-in-the-hole, take the shape out of the mould -No Reptiles

And your spine is a glass spire -President Heartbeat

I can feel my bones screaming out -Yuppie Supper

Yet the concrete burns at the back of your skull -Night of the Long Knives

I'm just a knuckle dragger with a knuckle dragger grin -Desire

If my bones just fall away -Good Shot, Good Soldier

Skeleton boy with the skeleton girl souvenir -Big Climb

As fresh as my bouncing bones -Arch Enemy

The bones snap into place -Black Hyena

Stretching my lips over my teeth -SUPERNORMAL

I want the teeth of the enchanter - I Want A Love Like This

Drinking from a hollow skull -Cut UP!

But the seed inside your skull is now a watermelon -HEX

You can sing you can play my ribcage like piano -My Computer

***I feel like we'll never know exactly what Jonathan means when he writes (lol seems like he doesn't know sometimes either) so I didn't want to get caught up in guessing what he meant. I find it tiring to try to figure out 'why did he say that?' and instead just enjoy and find my own meaning :)

#everything everything #everything everything band #ee #e_e_#e e #ee lyrics #man alive album #arc album #get to heaven album #a fever dream album #reanimator album #raw data feel album #lyrics study #lyrics analysis

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huffle-dork · 6 months ago

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Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 13: Outer Space AU

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

Alt lands in a... very unusual room. Its walls and floor are made of metal, with rivets along the edges close to where they meet. But the room is not small, nor is it dark. There are bright, square lights in the ceiling that light up the area. The room is also, fortunately, not some sort of science lab. It looks more... casual? Strangely? There's a desk in the corner, rounded and sleek, with big, smooth monitors on top. One of the monitors is on, showing a video that seems to be the same thirty-second clip of someone talking to the camera looping over and over. There are a couple chairs in the opposite corner, made of a strange rounded shape. There's also a white, circular table full of very strange mechanical and technological parts that even Alt can't identify... though he thinks he sees a camera lens in there. Or maybe a projector? There's another screen mounted into a wall, showing an image of a snowy mountain landscape at sunset. Like a fake window of some kind. There are no real windows, but there is a circular... is that a door?

Alt blinks and looks around the area with wide eyes. “…what a wild juxtaposition to the last one.” He mutters. But, he also looks fascinated.

"Welcome to UF-0908355OS," Anti says, sounding... excited. "I was looking forward to this one."

Alt glitches over to look at the table full of stuff and hums. He looks surprised at Anti’s tone and brings out his phone to raise an eyebrow at him. “You sound… really excited dude- what’s up with this world?”

"It's the technology, Alt," Anti says, grinning. "You can see it just looking around, can't you?!"

The door slides open then, going up into the ceiling. "--ready soon," a voice is saying from out of sight. And something flies into the room. A--a Sam! Clearly a Sam, what else could that big round eye be? This Sam is a bit bigger than a basketball, and they're not flying on their own. Instead, they're resting in some sort of floating device, a white bowl-shaped object with glowing blue concentric circles on the bottom. There's also what looks to be a keypad on the floating device. The Sam's big eye immediately locks onto Alt. Their tail raises up and types on the keypad. "Intruder!" says a computerized voice.

Alt blinks in surprise, “S-Sam?!” He says- before it types on Intruder. He holds up his hands, shaking them as he tries to say, “w-wait no I’m-!”

"Intruder?!" the voice from outside calls, and a man rushes into the room as well. A very... strange-looking man. He's wearing black pants and a cropped black T-shirt, which shows off the fact that his body is mostly metal. The only part that seems organic is the head...though there's still something a bit robotic about that, as well. Something about the dark green hair and the black-sclera'd green eyes ruins the illusion. But... putting all that aside, the man's face... it's Alt. Or, well, it's closer to the Anti in his phone, but same thing, right?

Alt’s eyes widen further as he stares dumb founded at the …man? That just walked in. “…w-what the hell…??” He breathes, looking unnerved by the sight of the robotic man.

“How did you getten here?!” Sam types out. “We’re well hiding!”

The robotic man shakes his head. “Tere’s no good splanation. You know wat we hafto do.”

“Anti!” Sam spins around to look at him. “Not egahn!”

…is something wrong with these two? The way they’re talking is… off.

“An tat dozen splain HOW or WIE tey gotten!” Sam continues.

The robotic man tilts his head. The green irises in his eyes turn blue and start circling like a loading screen. “Aksessen Camra Systm…” he says, voice slightly more robotic. The loading circle stops, and his blank expression shifts to one of confusion. “Tey dust… eppeer’d. …Strenge.”

Alt looks freaked out as he staggers back. “W-Why are you guys talking like that?? The fuck is going on?!”

Now the two of them look at him. The robotic man still has that confused expression, and Sam narrows their eye—oh, this Sam has eyelids. Weird.

The loading circle comes back into the man’s eyes. “Lungwaj dialec unnawn,” he says “Serten base… dialec vound.” Then the circle disappears. “The real question is why you are speaking in a form of English that hasn’t been used in a couple hundred years,” the man says. “And how you got in here. You simply appeared on the camera system. What are you doing here?”

“C-Couple hundred years?!” Alt stammers in confusion. “J-Jesus Christ o-okay uh… well if this place is this advanced… I’m Alt and I’m… you- from a parallel universe.” He says slowly, looking at the robotic man.

And now the robotic man looks confused again. It’s the exact same expression, like he only has one face to make for this emotion.

Sam fiddles with the touchscreen of their keypad. “They do look like you a bit, Anti.” Adjusting the language settings, probably.

“Shut up,” Anti says.

Sam’s eyelid curves, like the way eyes move when someone is laughing.

“The multiverse theory does not have concrete proof,” Anti continues. “This could be an elaborate trick.”

“So you think they time traveled?”

“That is also unlikely. It’s most likely that this is because of IRIS.” Anti’s expression shifts to something angry. “Show us what’s in your bag.”

Alt glitches back a bit, curling in on himself as he looks at the robotic Anti with fear. “I promise- we have nothing to do with IRIS- but uh… here, my phone is probably proof enough.” He says, holding it out for Anti to look at.

Anti takes it immediately, holding it delicately as he turns it over, green irises locked onto it. Sam flies over to get a closer look.

“A design like this has not been used in…” Anti trails off. “One moment.” He turns to the side and walks over to the desk, placing the phone on a black square attached to its surface. “Not even compatible with the lescharge. Interesting. But it seems to be good as new, with my limited scanning abilities. Sam? Should we take it down to the scan?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, if they offered it up,” Sam says.

“It could be refurbished.”

“Uh please don’t take my phone?? I really need it-“ Alt says. He takes his bag off his shoulders and opens it up, “Here you need more proof?” He starts pulling stuff out- leaving the pirate clothes but pulling out his iPad, his spellbooks, a leftover granola bar, and a med kit. “Is this enough?” He asks.

Sam flies over and stares staring at all the stuff, their pupil dilated wide. Anti wanders over afterwards, his neutral expression on his face again.

“Anti, look!” Sam jabs their tail at the granola bar. “Plastic wrap!”

“That is… unusual,” Anti says slowly.

“…you guys don’t have… plastic anymore?” Alt asks, confused. “…guess that’s probably you know… better for the environment…”

“We have bioplast, and big plastic parts for industrial work, but this is true plastic wrap," Sam says, their tail flying as they type. They seem really excited.

Anti folds his arms. “So… you are a time traveler, a multiverse traveler, or got this from some company breaking several galactic laws.”

“Don’t be so stubborn, Anti!” Sam says, narrowing their eye at him. “That, along with everything else here? Look, this old tablet looks like it has been used a lot. It’s case is worn. They wouldn’t go that far to trick us.”

“I… suppose…” Anti says reluctantly.

“Believe me- I know how insane it is to say I’m a multiverse traveller,” Alt mutters, putting his stuff back in his bag, “so I only say it when there’s no other explanation.” He then looks around the room again and hums, “Um… so- what year is it… exactly? And where are we?”

“It is 4317 by Standard Galactic Time,” Anti says, becoming more robotic again for a second. “But by Terra years, it is currently 2355. We are on the IRIS Zypso Station, though we are currently disconnected from the power and WiFi grid in a self-sustaining secure location.”

Alt blinks comically, processing all that information. “…what the fucking hell- uh- okay… 335 years in the future that’s not terrifying at all-“ he mutters to himself. Then he straightens and addresses Anti again, “Okay well uh- I’m here with my brother and… we’re looking for something important. Our multiverse device broke and one of the pieces fell here…” as he says this he checks the tracker.

The tracker tells him that the TRVLR piece is in the IRIS building in the center of the station.

Anti tilts his head. “Fascinating. I wish your brother luck, then.”

Alt freezes, “uh…. What? Why just… my brother? I-I need to go find him!”

“We cannot let IRIS know where are location is,” Anti says calmly. “That would be disastrous. So I’m afraid that now that you know our location, you cannot leave.”

“For Myr’s sake, Anti!” Sam says. “You make it sound like we’re going to kill him!”

“We are not,” Anti hurriedly adds. “But you cannot leave.”

“What?!” Alt shouts, glitching back. “Y-You can’t keep me here! I need to find Chase! I need to get this piece and go home!”

“He can find the piece and then find you,” Anti says calmly.

Sam rolls their one big eye. “You can’t do this again, Anti.”

“I can do almost anything I want,” Anti says, expression switching to a smile for a second before returning to neutral. “This bunker is self-sustaining. There is only one exit and I am locking it right now. I am in control of all systems.”

“How is he supposed to be able to find me if this place is hidden?!” Alt yells, “If this is 300 years in the future our phones won’t even work!”

As Anti says he’s locking the system Alt’s stomach drops and he quickly tries to glitch out of the room and hurriedly tries to find the exit.

Alt glitches into a corridor, metal with those squares of light in the ceiling just like the room before. He’s in a + shaped intersection, and each corridor ends in another one of those circular sliding doors. There’s no sign of which door is the exit.

Alt panics hurtling towards the first door and trying to pull it open-

There is no door handle to pull, but as he approaches it opens on its own and he stumbles into a very different sort of room. It has the same metal walls and ceiling lights, but these walls have been colored blue, with some faux-wood paneling on the lower half, and the false window on the opposite wall shows a green forest at sunset. One wall has a door that’s half/slid open to show a small room beyond—what is that, a futuristic bathroom? This room itself has a desk in the corner made of copper and dark wood. There’s a circular rug in the center, along with a table and two chairs done in the same wood and copper style. Random bits of metal are piled on shelves in the corners, mostly coppery or golden in color. There’s a man sitting at the desk, who looks up in surprise. He’s wearing a brown and blue outfit with some intricate geometric designs at the edges, done in gold. One of his blue eyes is hidden behind a monocle stylized to look like a copper gear. He also has a thick mustache.

Alt blinks in confusion and yelps as he tumbles through the door. He flushes as he sees the man and stammers out, “S-Sorry!” Before he glitches away to try another door.

Anti is in the corridor now. He’s leaning against the wall silently, his neutral expression still on his face. He doesn’t make any move to stop Alt as he glitches into the intersection.

Alt pants and glares at his robot copy and yells out, “where’s the fucking exit?! You can’t keep me prisoner here!!”

“I can.” Anti shrugs.

The door Alt just tried slides open again and the man steps out, looking back and forth between Anti and Alt in confusion. He raises his arm, and it’s revealed there’s a brace on his wrist, similar to that hero JJ’s from one of those first worlds. It serves a similar function too, as he types on a golden keyboard and a voice comes out of it. “Wat’s goen on? All tis nowz abow?”

“Set your device to the Marvelan dialect, please, JJ,” Anti says.

The man, JJ, laughs a little and looks around like he’s expecting someone to say this is a prank.

Alt briefly looks at JJ through his anger- but when he laughs Alt snaps. His magic crackles around him like exposed wires as he grabs robot Anti by the shirt and pulls him down to his level- or tries to at least. “Listen here, you piece of shit! I will not be trapped in some weird future cage by some freak robotic version of myself! Let me out!”

Anti's face shifts to surprise--and for a moment, something like fear. But then it returns to neutral. "I cannot do that," he says. "And what will you do to try and make me? Shut me down? Fry my circuits? I don't feel pain, you cannot threaten me with that. And if you shut me down, Sam will boot me back up. And neither Sam nor JJ have access to the bunker systems. If I am gone, they cannot help you open the exit."

JJ backs away, looking very overwhelmed by this situation, and a little afraid.

"Even if you can force your way out, you're not much better out there," Anti continues. "With something like that energy of yours, IRIS will not hesitate to take you. They will be very curious about it, I'm sure. And there are very, very few spaces on their station where they cannot see what's happening. They will find you. Don't... put yourself at risk like that."

Energy crackles more and more around Alt as he snarls, “I don’t care! I-I won’t be a fucking captive here! You can’t just l-lock people up! I-I’ll…!” Underneath all this anger is very clearly fear as he can barely contain the panic gripping at his heart. “I-I need to go to IRIS anyways! That’s where the piece is!! So just stop being a stubborn ass and let me out!”

"IRIS has your piece?" Anti repeats. "And--you said it was for a multiverse travel device?" The loading circles are back for a couple seconds. "We cannot let that happen. Sam!"

Sam flies out into the corridor from the first room. "You know, Anti, I was thinking, and I can't let this happen twice--"

"It's not happening twice," Anti interrupts. "We are going to plan a way to get this device piece back from IRIS."

"IRIS has it?!" Sam's eye widens in alarm.

"Yes. If Alt is not lying." Anti looks back at Alt. "We are going to help you get that back. We are. But I am very serious. You cannot simply walk out into the station. So... if you will only stay here until we are ready... I will... reveal the exit."

Alt furrows his eyebrows in confusion and lets Anti go, glitching back and looking at him skeptically. “Happen… twice? W-What are you talking about? You’re gonna help me just like that?”

"Sam was referring to--" Anti states.

"I was referring to f u c k i n g kidnapping people!" Sam interrupts. "Because this would be the second f u c k i n g time!"

JJ looks at Alt and gives a little wave, still looking a bit nervous.

"You are not helping us look less threatening," Anti says.

"You're not helping yourself look less threatening," Sam rebuts. They fly over to Alt. "But yes, we will help. Or at least I will, if you don't trust Anti. I don't want to think of what IRIS would do with tech to travel the multiverse."

Alt’s eyes widen and he looks back at Jj. He points wildly at him, “You’re keeping him trapped here too?! What the fuck!”

"That sounds worse than it is--" Anti says.

"There's no way to make it sound GOOD," Sam says.

JJ fiddles with a dial on his brace and then types something out. "Actually I can leave whenever I want."

Anti turns to look at him, confusion on his face. "What?"

"I made a door hacker the second week after you gave me parts to mess with," JJ says.

Anti's expression shifts to fear.

Alt blinks back at JJ with raised eyebrows. He then grins and looks back at Anti, crossing his arms, “Huh- not as secure as you thought, is it?”

"How--h-h-how--" Anti's stutter is more like a glitch in his voice. He pauses to get it under control. "How did I not notcie?"

"No one here is familiar with Olinion technology," JJ says.

"Well it's very ineffic--" Sam says.

"It's artistic," JJ insists, interrupting Sam's typing with his own.

"You--you didn't l-leave, though," Anti stutters again. "Why--why didn't you leave?"

JJ hesitates. "I... thought this wasn't so bad." He looks at Alt. "Also... who are you and why are you making us talk like we're at a Digitalrise Faire?"

Alt gives JJ a look at him saying it wasn’t so bad here. Then he blinks comically and points at himself. “Wha?? Digitalrise what’s it??” He coughs then gestures at himself. “I’m Alt- and I’m… from the past. Kinda. I’m from parallel universe that’s in the past- about 335 years or so… and I’m supposed to be this bitch.” He gestures his thumb back at Anti.

JJ's eyes go wide. He looks back and forth between Alt and Anti.

"It is, as far as we have determined, true," Anti says.

With that, JJ then starts to grin. "Oh! So in that case--you're probably from the Digitalrise! That era of time on Terra when computers were made and started appearing everywhere and doing everything--"

"Nerd." Sam presses a single button to say that.

"You can't tell me that optels don't also have events to celebrate the past!" JJ says.

"We look towards the future, not the past. And when we do have events, we don't call them 'faires'."

"The word actually comes from the historical event called Renaissance Faires--"

"Nerd."

Alt holds his head a bit, all of this overwhelming him a bit. “Ugh… thinking about the present becoming an historical event is making my head spin…”

"We won't talk about it, then," JJ says, physically backing away.

"But returning to the topic of before," Anti says. "Alt, if you would... please... agree not to go out into the rest of the station until we have a plan, I will show you the exit."

Alt shakes his head and looks back at Anti. He frowns and glares at Anti before eventually sighing as he crosses his arms. “…fine. I guess I can do that.”

Anti nods. And immediately, one of the glowing squares in the ceiling turns off, revealing that there is a seam around the edge of it. Anti points up towards it.

"Trapdoor entrance," Sam comments.

Alt blinks and looks up in confusion. “Uh… what? Are we- going in there??”

"No, not right now," Anti says. "Unless you are going to break your word. Something I am incapable of doing."

"That is the way out," Sam explains.

“Oooh. Okay. Good to know,” Alt mutters, narrowing his eyes at the trapdoor. Then he looks around, “…I hope Chase is okay…”

JJ blinks. "Chase? Do you know him?"

"His brother is also here," Anti explains. "I assume that is his name."

"Not a very common one. I had a customer named that."

“That’s not a common name anymore?” Alt asks JJ, “But yeah… that’s my brother, Chase Brody… he came to this universe with me.”

JJ blinks. "That's the name of my customer, too."

"If you are, supposedly, an organic version of me, then perhaps your brother is another version of that customer of yours," Anti says. "Would that mean your brother is near him, perhaps?"

“It’s a possibility…” Alt mutters, “We usually appear around the same people when we pop up in these universes…” he looks back at JJ, “…what do you sell?”

JJ perks up. "All sorts of Olinion devices! I make them myself! Our technology is very unique, you know! But they function the same as anything else. Here, my brace and scanner are good examples." He reaches up and takes off his monocle, tilting it back and forth. The glass seems oddly shimmery.

Alt blinks more in confusion, “What’s Olinion?” He asks. Then he glitches a bit closer and tilts his head at JJ curiously.

JJ hands the monocle to Alt to examine. Oh, the glass is shimmery because it doubles as a screen. The one side of it that's meant to go into the eye has tiny, tiny text on it, appearing and disappearing. "It's my home planet," JJ says casually.

“Oh! You’re from… a different planet-“ Alt says as he looks at the monocle in awe. “That’s… that’s so cool! So you sell tech that’s based from there? Is that what your planet is known for? What else can you make??” His eyes are sparkling.

JJ nods, just as excited. "Yes, Olinion is very unique in its technology! We can do just about anything, but it will be very different from everywhere else. Regular things like cameras and speakers and lights of course, but we're really good at modes of transportation in particular--"

Suddenly, there's a chiming noise from the other room. Everyone looks towards it. "Alt, is that your phone?" Sam asks.

Alt listen intently to JJ then blinks in confusion as he looks back. “Uh… yeah I think?” He glitches back into the other room to look for it.

The phone is on the desk where Anti left it after he took it from Alt. It looks like there's an alarm going off. But not for long, as Anti--the eye-patch Anti--appears on the screen and silences it. "Sorry bout that, had to get your attention," he says. "I feel slightly offended that you forgot about me. But not really. I heard everything. So... you're okay with staying here?"

“I’m sorry- I… I just panicked.” Alt says quietly, picking back up the phone. He then nods. “I think I have to be… cuz I’m like… seriously out of my depths here… I just hope Chase hadn’t gotten into worse trouble…”

"Hmm..." Anti frowns. "Well, if you think you'll be fine on your own, I can go find him. This bunker seems to have its own self-contained power system, so I can't connect to the grid, but I should be able to manifest outside it anyway. But I'll stay here if you'd prefer that."

Alt deflates, “…if you could, I’d appreciate that… it seems like I’m pretty safe here… and you’ll know where to find me if anything happens. I-I just… if IRIS is around… I don’t want Chase to get hurt.”

Anti nods. "I'll keep an eye on your phone. If you need me, send a text to Chase's phone. It probably won't go through but I'll notice it." He pauses. "Um... be safe, okay?"

Alt’s face softens and he smiles, “Thanks, Anti… I’ll be okay. You be safe too.”

Anti nods, giving a small smile back. "I will. See you soon." And then Alt's phone screen becomes static, and when it's clear, Anti is gone.

There's the sound of the room's door sliding open, a slight swshh. JJ appears. "Is everything okay in here?"

Alt looks back at JJ and smiles, “yeah sorry- looks like I left my alarm on… I tried to call Chase but- didn’t go through so…” He pockets his phone and heads back out to the others.

JJ nods. "That makes sense. There's no WiFi or cell down here." He pauses. "Do you... want to keep talking about Olinion tech? I don't often get the opportunity."

“Yeah I think I’d really like that,,” Alt smiles shyly. “And uh… if you want to know… anything about my time- I could try to tell you. But I’m really interested in your tech!”

JJ lights up. "Alright! Let's go sit down in my room to talk. That will be more comfortable than here." He turns and leads Alt away.

-----------

Bro falls with a jolt, and lands in a very different environment than the pirate ship he was just on. He lands on a soft mound of grass. Around him are trees and bushes and vines, all of which look... a bit strange. Some of the vines are red, and the tree's branches are strangely curvy and regular. This is some sort of indoor park, as it's surrounded by a glass-and metal railing. A glass bubble surrounds the park, a window showing the night sky outside... filled with more stars than Bro had ever seen before, in any other universe.

Bro groans and rubs his head, peeking his eye open to look around. Then he gasps as he looks up, seeing all the multitude of stars, awe-struck. “Woahhhh!” He laughs breathlessly.

There are voices coming from behind him. "Luk, bruh, Im tellen you, it wuhs hillary! You had t'be tere, I gess."

"I gess I did. Chase, I'll mire yor hard wark, but Im dust not inresed in streams."

"But you'd watch fur meeee, rye?"

A laugh. "Maibeh I'll stoby okashonly."

...what the hell? Who talks like that?

Bro blinks as he hears his name and tunes into the conversation. Then he furrows his eyebrows and digs at his ear- did he get sea water in it or something??

Behind him, there's the glimpse of metal through the plants--no doubt the inside of whatever place this park is in. Walking down a path, from left to right, are two people. The one closer to him is partially hiding the other, but he can see a white coat and some reddish brown hair. The other person--the one blocking his view of the other--is very familiar to him. That's his face again. Though the clothes are a bit weird... some alternative fashion that's mostly black with some splashes of neon bright color. But the cap is still in place.

"I cehd make you a mod, if you wunded, I tink you'd be ged ad tat," the version of him says.

"Chase, dyou reelay tink I haf time teh mod yor streams?" the other person replies.

Chase shrugs. "You cehd make time."

"No, I reelay can't."

Bro freezes as he sees his face on the stranger and he looks around more in confusion. “…the fuck is happening right now? Am I losing my mind??” He whispers.

To make things even more confusing, something comes into sight through the bubble window. Slowly rising up from the bottom. A blue, white, and green sphere... a globe coming into sight. No, it's not the thing that's moving. Wherever Bro is standing right now--that has to be moving, tilting slightly downwards. Because that's... that's a planet.

That's a whole ass planet.

Bro’s eye widen and he shouts in surprise, “what the fuck?!”

That immediately draws the attention of his other version and the other person with him. "Ya, bruh!" Chase says, raising a hand and waving at him. "Nice cohsyum! Is tere a Digi Faire hapnen?"

The other person leans around the side of Chase. He... looks familiar. But there's something off. His hair is a reddish brown, but his skin is pale, no peach undertones at all. Behind his metal-frame glasses, there are some red-pink things on his forehead and cheeks. Decoration or makeup of some kind? "Maibeh a peeryot drameh?"

"In eny cehs, yor reelay comittad!" Chase laughs.

Bro turns around and looks freaked. “W-Why are you guys talking like that?! W-Where are we?? What’s going on??” He’s trying to hide his panic but they’re IN FUCKING SPACE???

The two of them stare at him, slowly becoming confused. "You okay, bruh?" Chase asks slowly.

"I'm a dahkter, if you need medcahl help," the other person says. "Or we cehd kull somwan?"

“I’m not okay because you two are talking WEIRD!!” Bro says, pointing almost accusingly at the two of them. “Where the fuck am I?! Why are we just floating in FUCKING SPACE?!”

"We're tawken weered?" Chase repeats, confused. "Yor tawken weered! Like Schneep saed! You sawnd like a peeryot drameh."

Bro blinks rapidly, “Yor tawken weereddd- that’s how you sound!!”

"Ah!" The other one--clearly this is Schneep--holds up one hand. He reaches into a pocket of his coat and takes something out, walking over to Bro. He holds out a small, crescent-shaped device made of white metal with some padding on the inside. "Pud tat here." He taps his ear. "Ten press tis buden." He indicates a small button at the bottom of the crescent. "Myite take amenut teh wark."

Bro looks at Schneep and knits his eyebrows in confusion and takes the device. “Ooookayyy? What is this? A headset??” He follows his instructions and places the device on his ear and presses the button.

A little microphone shoots out of the crescent, and a bit of the crescent lowers close to his ear.

"Chase, tawk a liddol," Schneep says.

Chase blinks. "Tawk abow wat?"

"Anytin."

"Uh... well tat's a lodda presher. I gess I can talk about my channel or something? Or would that self-promotion be too much?"

Schneep chuckles. "No, it should be fine." Suddenly, their voices seem to sort out.

Bro blinks even more and then points at the two of them again, “Oh! Now you sound normal! What the fuck kinda language was that?? Like I could kinda understand you but also it was like you were talking with marbles in your mouth!”

"Now we sound normal?! Now you sound normal!" Chase shouts. "Bitch???"

"Chase, please, stop being so stubborn," Schneep says.

Chase sighs. "Sorry. I don't know what your deal is, bruh. Speaking fucking... Marvelan out here. Good call on the translator, Schneep, but why did you just have one?"

"I always carry one, just in case there is a language barrier with a patient," Schneep says, then turns back to Bro. "I am guessing you are from some farther Terran colony?"

“You just used so many big words I do not know,” Bro says bluntly as he crosses his arms, “I’m from Earth - you know? The planet where humans like you all come from?”

Chase blinks. Then he laughs. "Bruh, no way. I've never met anyone from Terra who talks like you do unless they're at a Digi Faire or in some historical holo. Also... humans like you all?" He points at Schneep. ...that's not makeup on his face. Those are scales, standing out against the unnatural white of his skin. There's more on the back of his hands, too, which also have curved nails. The overall effect is somewhat reptilian... but he has hair, and reptiles don't have hair. So... what the fuck?

"Have you never met a kritzein before?" Schneep asks. "Did you think I was in a costume?"

Bro staggers back with wide eyes, “…what the fuck?! You’re - you’re a huh???” He pales a lot and starts to laugh a bit hysterically, gripping at his hair. “What’s happening?? Digi fair?? Historical holo?? Lizard- person??!! I’m losing my mind! Too many multiverses have scrambled my brain!! That must be what’s happening!!” He laughs a bit more but he looks very very freaked out.

Chase and Schneep are at a loss for a moment. "Um... there... there?" Chase says awkwardly, patting Bro on the back. "I, uh... don't know how you're feeling right now but... it must bite. So... sorry."

"Wait... multiverses?" Schneep's eyes widen--they're yellow eyes holy shit--and he grabs Chase and pulls him back. "One moment, please." He pulls Chase out of a normal person's earshot and starts whispering. "Chase, I see three possibilities here."

"Okay?"

"One, he is ill and we need to get him to a hospital. Two, the multiverse theory is real. Three, time travel is real."

"Where'd you get time travel from? He said multiverse, so I get that, but what?"

"If he does not know what a holo is, or what the Digitalrise Faires you humans have are, or recognize a kritzein when he sees one, then perhaps he comes from some time before them."

"...or maybe he's just from some really isolated planet and has lost his memory?"

"Hmm. I like my last two theories better."

For once Bro wishes he didn’t have super hearing. But he stops his hysterics and listens. He finally coughs and waves his hand. “Um- …I guess you’re right? I’m from a parallel universe and… must be from the… the past.” He says sheepishly.

The two of them turn towards him. Schneep's eyes widen and he slowly smiles wide, keeping his lips pressed together, and then makes a gesture like he's clapping his hands but only his fingertips are touching. He must be excited. "The proof," he whispers. "Proof of the many worlds!"

"Uh... do you have... anything from your universe?" Chase asks, a bit more doubtful than Schneep. "H-how did you get here, even?"

“A rift, from our friend Sam. They’re also from another universe.” Bro says casually. “And uh… guess I have my phone?” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone and hands it to Chase.

"Bruh whaaaa?" Chase's eyes widen as he looks it over. "Comp, no way. This thing is ancient. And it doesn't look like a replica. I mean, I guess you could've gotten this from a museum, but uh... you don't look like the type to be able to do something like that.

“A museum?? Pretty sure this is new…” Bro whines.

“Schneep, look at this. It's fucking pog."

Bro laughs, “Oh! You still say Pog! That’s nice.”

Schneep takes it as well, turning the screen on and off. "Hmm..." He raises one hand into the air and flutters his fingers in happiness. "That is so fascinating. Ah, here." He hands it back to Bro.

"Well that's... definitely... compelling." Chase laughs. "So, uh... who are you, bruh? Like, your name, I mean."

Bro takes the phone back and blinks before pointing at himself with his thumb and grinning, “Oh! I’m Chase! Chase Brody! Back home though, I’m known as Bro Fantastic, the superhero!”

Chase's eyes widen. "Wait! Wait, that's--that's me!"

Schneep looks back and forth between Bro and Chase. "Oh! I do see the resemblance now!"

"Are you--me?! From another world?!" Chase gasps. "And--are you a real superhero?"

“Oh yeah most likely!” Bro grins. “And yup! Watch this!!” He pushes off the ground and starts to hover about a foot in the air.

"What the fuck?!" Chase shouts.

"Humans--humans do not do that," Schneep says slowly. "I-I do not think any creature can do that, not without wings or some other means of propulsion."

"Well--I'm sold on the multiverse thing now." Chase shakes his head. "So... what're you doing here? Oh, or was this an accident? Do you even know where here is? Uh... probably not. This place didn't exist until like fifty years ago, and your phone is much older than that."

Bro quickly lands and shakes his head. “I know I’m supposed to be here but I have no idea where here is. Only that I need to find my brother and this piece of a device we’re searching for.” He pulls out his tracker to see exactly where that is.The tracker tells him that the piece is in the IRIS building at the center of the station.

Schneep nods. "Well, you are on the Zypso Station--"

"'Powered by: IRIS'," Chase says, clearly mimicking something he's heard before; it's probably an announcement of some sort. "--which is circling the planet Terra," Schneep finishes. "This is a sort of... space city."

"Or an airport where people live," Chase says. "You guys have airports, right?"

"Even I know that humans had airports in the Digitalrise, Chase," Schneep says, sounding exasperated.

Bro feels a pit in his stomach, “…IRIS, huh? Ah fucking…” he sighs heavily, “Why is it always involving those guys?? In every universe? Really?” He calls up in exasperation. Then he pinches at the bridge of his nose, “okay- so… we’re on a space station… not earth- and IRIS controls it- and they have the piece I’m looking for… and I need to find where the fuck Alt is-!” He throws his hands up, “How am I supposed to find him on a space station!??”

"Alt? is that your brother?" Chase asks. He shrugs. "Sorry, comp. I don't know anyone named Alt."

"At least it is better than trying to find him on a planet or moon?" Schneep suggests.

"The two of us were going to meet up with some friends, soon," Chase says. "Uh... we maybe should have started going there earlier, actually. But maybe they've seen your brother?"

“Oh well… know anyone named Anti? Cuz that’s who Alt is too- but I’m the only one that calls him that. Big brother privilege and all that.” Bro says. He hums in thought, “hmmm there’s a possibly he could be with your friends!”

"Nope, don't know any Antis," Chase says, shaking his head. "Schneep? Any patients with that name?"

"Not that I can think of right now," Schneep says slowly.

"Ah well." Chase shrugs. "In any case, let's go. I can call them on the way." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small square of metal. He pinches it between his fingers, some yellow circles appear around his fingerprints, and the square expands into a full phone. Then Chase takes out a pair of bright yellow irregular circles and puts them in his ears--ah, wireless earphones.

Bro blinks in confusion as he watches Chase use his phone. “What the fuckkk…???” He whispers.

Schneep looks at Bro and jerks his head to the side. "Do you want to come?"

Bro blinks at Schneep now and nods, “Ah yeah- might as well… best lead I have so far…”

Schneep gives another close-lipped smile. "Great! Let's head on, then."

Chase and Schneep lead Bro out of the small park area and into... into a cyber-city. Tall buildings reach into the air, up to a distant metal ceiling. Walkways and railways and wires for floating cable cars cross through the air, an intricate web of transportation. Everything is brightly lit from varying light sources, so many that it's practically indistinguishable from natural daylight. And there are people everywhere. Some of them have even set up little booths on the sides of the walkways. Most of them are human, of all different sorts of ethnicities, but many are not. There are more kritzeins, the species that Schneep is, and there are really tall humanoids with pink and blue hair and eyes that seem too big for their heads, and there are smaller species flying through the air with the buzz of insectoid wings, and there are species with four arms and four legs like some kind of centaur, and there are species that are just piles of goop like something out of D&D--the variety is endless.

Bro is constantly circling to look around at everything with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. “Holy fucking shit…!” He whispers, stunned by everything.

Chase puts his phone away--collapsing it into the tiny square and putting it in his pocket, and looks back at Bro with a smile. "Fucking wild, right? I moved here a couple years ago. The place still amazes me. It's probably blowing your mind."

"Especially the other species," Schneep says. "The, ah, aliens." He chuckles. "Though humans are aliens to me. Chase, have Marvin or Jackie found other-Chase's brother?"

"Nothing so far, but they promised to look out for him," Chase says. "I told them he'd probably look like he came from 200 years ago. Marvin wouldn't have a good reference for Terra from that era but he says he'll try."

“Do we really look that out of place?” Bro asks, “I mean… I’m still human- there’s still humans around… I’m just wearing jeans and a jacket! S’not like I’m… dressed like a pirate or anything-“ he mumbles. “Also… what year is it??”

"Well... I guess you're not too strange," Chase says slowly. "But it's like... like seeing someone in a costume, you know? You won't think about them too much, but you will wonder why they were wearing that, if they were going to a costume party or something. As for the year? It's 2355."

At the same time, Schneep says, "It is 11009."

The two of them glance at each other. "I think the Terran year will probably be the most relevant to you, not the Atraton year," Chase says.

"Atratov is a wonderful planet, though," Schneep says.

"Yeah, I know, but he's clealry human."

"By GS it is 4317," Schneep points out.

"And that still probably isn't relevant." Chase rolls his eyes and looks at Bro. "He gets stricted about time and how it's relative."

Bro looks very confused as he looks in between the two, “time is all different here?! Why can’t they just pick one date??? Hello???” This seems to be a lot for him.

"Well do you think all planets move around their stars at the same paces?" Schneep points out.

"You're breaking his brain," Chase mutters. "Which I get. I can barely keep Terra time in track sometimes."

The three of them step onto a circular platform along with a few others. Railings appear around the edge of the platform and it raises into the air--an elevator.

“Okay so terra… must be earth… so it’s… 300 something years in the future???” Bro says quietly. Then he gasps a bit in surprise as the platform goes up and he holds onto the rail and looks down. “Yooo??”

"'Terra must be Terra'? Yeah, of course, bruh." Chase laughs. "I think the translator is screwing with things. Anyway--yeah! Elevator! We're heading up to the Gateway area. It's sort of like a shopping slash restaurant level."

“Ah- okay… that makes more sense,” Bro grumbles. He then tries to look closer at the elevator. “How is it moving?? There’s no- like… hidden wires or a box or??? Is it magic??” He asks.

"Magic?" Schneep chuckles. "I suppose if you are from a world where people can float, magic probably exists there."

"It's Trulanth anti-grav tech," Chase says. "With some IRIS stuff mixed in to help it lift up heavier stuff, I think. I don't know how the fuck it works either, so it might as well be magic."

"The optels from Trulanth are very intelligent," Schneep says. "I think it is evolution making up for how small they are."

"Yeah, these guys." Chase pulls out his phone again and pulls up a picture, showing Bro. This is a stock image of a couple aliens, spherical with long tails and a singular big eye with a green sclera. ...huh. That looks familiar. The platform stops, and Chase and Schneep get off, gesturing for Bro to follow.

Bro’s eyes kinda glaze over with all the names. “Huh…” he looks at Chase’s phone and then gasps, “That looks like Sam!!” He hurries after the others, “those guys are called.. optels here?? …we just know them as… eyesss-“

"Oh, you've seen something like them before?" Schneep repeats.

"Sam? Isn't that the name of your friend who helped you get here?" Chase asks. "They're an optel? Cool. I've always wanted to meet one. They make all sorts of devices to help them move around, and they do that with just one little... tail thing! They don't have thumbs or anything!" He laughs. "Dunno how they do it, but they do."

“Yeah! We’ve met a couple in a couple different worlds! The one that’s helping us is a hugeee one! They can shrink and stuff but They can also take up the whole sky! They’re really powerful! …never seen one make tech before though.” Bro says.

Chase's eyes sparkle. "That's so cool..." He whispers. "Normally optels are about this big?" He holds his hands out like he's holding a basketball. "But their kids are smaller, of course."

They're walking along a walkway lined with storefronts. A lot of these shops have signs that change their lettering, reading the name in English, in other languages that Bro recognizes as Earth languages like Spanish, German, Russian, or Chinese, and in languages that look completely alien. He swears he sees one that looks like the Minecraft enchanting table language. Not all of the shops have these signs, though. Some just have to stick with one script.

Bro grins. He looks at the storefronts and all the languages with fascination. “…I can’t believe this is real dude-“

Chase stares at him, then shrugs. "I... don't really know what that's like. We've had contact with aliens for a long time... Since, uh..." He screws up his face in concentration. "Sometime in the 2050s, I think? So about three hundred years. Hell, Zypso Station is older than me! It's bizarre and amazing, but I've like... grown up hearing about it, you know?"

“Back home- it’s 2020…” Bro days quietly, “almost halfway to 2021! But… still- we haven’t… found aliens yet. And you know- only astronauts go into space.”

"Yeah... I remember that from high school history." Chase nods. "Well. I don't know if it will happen like this in your universe, but here, the aliens found us first. Three of them all at once, they were like 'hey we're making a government thing, want to join us?'"

"The optels, zoas, and dajkisa," Schneep says. "They and the humans were the founders."

"And they were all super smart so they helped us humans out," Chase continues. "And then we all started going into space and finding others and making new colonies on uninhabited planets--It was probably absolutely crazy living in that time period."

“I thought living in 2020 was crazy…” Bro comments, looking bewildered and in awe about the history. “There was like.. sooo many movies about aliens like… destroying humans and shit.”

"Oh, things weren't perfect," Chase says. "There were fights. I think there still are somewhere else? But Terra hasn't gone to war in a while."

"Because you all scared everyone off," Schneep says.

"Whaaaat?"

"You humans are fucking insane. You just keep fucking going, what the zyzz? And you do things like eat poison for fun."

Chase grins. "Cranky because you'll never be able to have spicy food, are you?"

Schneep sticks his tongue out at him. It's forked.

“Oh- aliens think that’s us eating poison??” Bro laughs, “Man- that’s crazy! Spicy food is sooo good!”

"Anyway, we're getting close to Kissarso's now," Chase says. "Marvin and Jackie are probably already there."

Bro blinks at Chase, “Oh! Awesome! Man- I wonder what they’re gonna be like…” he muses quietly.

"Well--Marvin's a felorr," Chase says. "They're kinda like cats, in the same way Schneep here is like a lizard. Jackie's human, though. Grew up on Terra like me--but he's from the Irish Union, I'm from Califoregon."

“The Irish union?? Huh- never thought that would happen…” Bro comments, looking most surprised about that.

They reach a small restaurant that looks a lot like an old-fashioned bistro, but with the sign switching back and forth between the word "Kissarso's" in English and some language that looks like cursive spaghetti. There's an awning and a bunch of tables and chairs that look pretty much normal, except that the chair legs all end in ball-like wheels. Guess there's not many ways to improve on table technology.

Bro looks around the restaurant and then laughs a bit, “…at least the tables and chairs are normal!”

"Yeah... chairs vary depending on what planet you're on and how many legs its native species has, but tables are the same pretty much everywhere... all that changes is how tall they are." Chase chuckles. "Now where are they...?"

Nearby, as it turns out. Even Bro can see the man standing up and waving his hands for attention. He has ruffled brown hair dyed green at the tips, and is wearing some sort of hoodie-cloak outfit with a belt around his waist. His hands are... shiny? Is he wearing gauntlets or something? Also sitting at the table is another man who's partially hidden from sight, but Bro can see big pointed ears.

Bro laughs too. He blinks as the man waves and he brightens up- his hair looks just like his Jackie’s! He waves.

"Oh! There they are," Schneep says, following Bro's wave. "Let's go."

The group of three dodge around groups of customers of various species until they reach the table.

"Wow, he really does look like you!" the man in red says. "Except with more muscles!"

"Heyyyy," Chase complains.

"I'm Jackie Kelly." The man in red smiles and holds out his hand for a shake.

Bro laughs, “Nice to meet ya!” He tells Jackie as he shakes his hand.

"This is Mrrfn, we call him Marvin." The other man at the table raises his hand. The catlike features are evident in his face, and the fact that he's entirely covered in cinnamon-brown fur. Big triangular cat ears stick out from his head, twitching slightly. There are small devices in them--earplugs of some sort. He also has a long tail, and even sitting it's clear that his legs bend differently. He raises a hand in greeting--a hand with pads on the palm and fingers.

Bro looks over at Marvin and his eyes widen and he can’t help but gasp. “Woahhh! you’re like- a legit cat person!! That’s so wicked!” He hides a laugh behind his hand, “Oh my brother would be so excited to meet you!”

Marvin's eyes widen--literally, his pupils dilate. They're very catlike, blue irises taking up most of the visible space. "You think so?" he says in a quiet voice.

“Oh for sure!! He loves cats! He’ll lose his mind!” Bro giggles.

Jackie grins. "We'd love to meet him! Not often you meet someone from uh... so far away, if you know what I mean." He takes a seat (as do Schneep and Chase), and as he taps his fingers on the table, Bro slowly realizes something about his hands. They look a bit like metal gloves but... they're solid. There are small blue circles denoting every knuckle and joint, and they're solid. Bro can see the place where one ends at Jackie's wrist, connecting to the flesh there, but the other disappears up the sleeve. They're... prosthetics of some kind.

Bro goes to sit down then looks down at Jackie’s hands and he makes a small pog face. “Yo??? Do you have… robot hands??”

"Oh, did I not mention that?" Chase says.

Jackie laughs. "Yep! I'm a cyborg." He holds up his hands, flexing them. "My legs too!" He raises one up, showing that he's not wearing shoes, instead having a metal prosthetic that ends in a shoe-shaped foot.

“Woahhh!! That’s metal!! …literally metal!” Bro laughs.

"No feet on the table!" Schneep says. "Not even metal ones!"

"Oops." Jackie lowers his leg.

Marvin's tail swishes in amusement, then he looks at Bro. "Sorry we couldn't find your brother, other-Brody. We both looked on the way here."

Bro looks at Marvin and sighs, “It’s okay, I appreciate it. …there’s two other people he could have appeared by… but these guys already don’t know an Anti… do you guys know a JJ, though?” He asks.

Chase blinks. "I do, actually."

"You do?" Jackie says, surprised.

"He's the Olinia shop owner. I know I've mentioned him before. Oh, uh, other-me, that's not an alien species. Olinion is a planet that humans settled on. One of the first ones, actually. They have really cool tech, I bought a projector and speaker set there, they make movies and holos really immersive--" He shakes his head. "Sorry, rambling. The point is, I think I know him."

"What does he look like?" Marvin asks. "Human, obviously. Brown hair, blue eyes... really nice mustache." Chase reaches up to his face and curls up the edges of an imaginary mustache.

“That’s him!” Bro says excitedly. “Do you know where he is? He probably knows where Alt is!”

Chase frowns. "Probably in his shop...? I haven't been there in a while, but I remember where it is very distinctly. We can go check. We'll have to take the rail from here."

"So... are we going to leave now?" Jackie asks. "Because I was looking forward to getting lunch."

Bro pauses, “…I mean… I guess it wouldn’t be… so bad to see what future food is like…”

Jackie grins. "Pog!"

"If your brother is with JJ, I'm sure he's safe," Chase says. "He's a good man... even if I haven't seen him in a while."

Bro nods, though he seems a bit nervous. He wished he had a way to check in on Alt but if his phone was ancient here it probably wouldn’t work.

"Menu." Marvin leans forward and taps a black circle in the center of the table. A slit in the middle of it slides open and out pops something that looks like a pane of glass, but with glowing blue text on it. Marvin takes that, and then the rest of them repeat the gesture, taking a menu each. "You'll need to do it yourself, by the way," Jackie tells Bro helpfully.

Bro looks fascinated as he taps the black circle cautiously.

Another glass menu pops up. It's initially written in that cursive spaghetti language, but there's a tab that says 'English' on it. The menu works like a touchscreen, so when Bro taps the 'English' tab the text immediately responds, becoming readable. There are more tabs with different species names on them. Tapping 'Human' brings up a list of recognizable food like pizza and french fries... and a lot that are strange, too.

"These are the foods that your species can eat," Schneep explains, leaning over to help Bro. His own menu is written in some blocky language, and has fewer menu items than the selection for humans. "What are you feeling? The familiar or the strange? Or something that is only a bit different?"

Bro whispers a ‘woahhh’ under his breath as he presses around on the menu. He then blinks over at Schneep and hums, “Well… how often am I gonna be in the future like this? I wanna try something strange! My friends all say I got an iron stomach so-“ He laughs.

Schneep grins. "Alright. Any advice from the other humans?"

"If you're not a vegetarian, I really like the boral wings," Chase says. "They're kind of like chicken but... saltier? And juicier. Oh, and it comes with this side of something called levooras, which, uh... I don't know how to describe but it's a really interesting texture."

"Definitely get the hassilye juice," Jackie suggests. "It's a drink that comes from a vegetable that tastes like fruit."

"Or if you want something really fucking bizarre, there are these things called wissyi," Chase adds. "They're like... purple crunchy things that... I really don't know how to describe the flavor. But they're like this long and you eat them like how you eat a carrot." He holds out his hands six inches apart.

“Oooh!” Bro says, fascinated. “…I think I’ll get those wings and the juice then! Those sound good-“ then he blinks rapidly and pats himself down, “Wait I- I have like… ancient money… I can’t pay you guys!”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Chase says. “We can cover you.”

Bro flushes, “oh… that’s so nice…” he says quietly.

“Oh! Do you have like—money on you right now?” Jackie asks. “I’d love to compare!” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out—actual paper money of some kind. It looks like a 10-euro note, but the design is different and the shade of red is brighter than Bro is used to.

Bro blinks and grins at Jackie. “Yeah! Here-“ He fumbles for his wallet, and pulls out a 5, 10, 20 and 50 euros. He blinks down at Jackie’s, “Woah you guys still use paper??”

“Also tap the items on the menu to order,” Marvin points out, doing the same on his.

Bro blinks at Marvin and fumbles with his menu, “Oh right!” He quickly taps on the boral wings and hassilye juice.

“Oh believe me, every planet has the ‘let’s get rid of physical money’ movement,” Schneep says. “And yet, somehow, the physical persists.”

“Whoa… they don’t actually look too different,” Jackie says, comparing the two 10-euro notes. “I guess the Peacegiving Building wasn’t built back then.”

“Right? Kinda weird for like 300 year old money!” Bro laughs.

“You can’t use most currencies on stations, though,” Marvin says. “There’d be too many. You always have to convert to galaxy pieces.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of metal squares, ranging in size from American penny to not too much bigger than an American quarter. They’re tinted slightly purple in color and are inscribed with weird symbols.

Bro looks over at Marvin’s pieces, “oooh neat!”

“This is my lucky note, though, so I’m never gonna convert it,” Jackie says, folding and unfolding his note.

Bro grins at Jackie and nods, “Understandable! I think lucky stuff like that is good to keep around.” He puts all his bills back in his wallet.

Jackie laughs and puts his note back as well. "I guess they need to standardize it, or something. And then it's just persisted."

"It probably helps that humans are a very stubborn species," Schneep says.

"It's in our DNA," Chase says proudly.

Bro let’s out a short ha! Of a laugh. “Cheers I’ll drink to that!”

It's actually not long before their food arrives. Incredibly quick, in fact. It's brought over by a tall alien covered in silver scales, with a long tail and wings, too, giving an overall draconic effect. "Hello boys," they say in what sounds like a raspy female voice--though you can't really assume with aliens, can you? "Never seen your friend before."

"He's, uh... a relative of mine," Chase says. "From the surface. Big history fan, up here to learn about the history of the station."

Bro blinks at the food coming, “yo that was fast!” He stares a bit at the server then waves shyly.

"Ssss." The server nods understandingly and passes out the food, which was carried over on some floating trays. Bro's boral wings turn out to be three large pieces, each a zigzag shape, covered in dark red-brown breading. There's a side of some really alien looking stuff--that must be the levooras. They're small blue spheres, bigger than grains of rice but smaller than peas, covered in a darker blue sauce. The hassilye juice is a pale orangish yellow, and comes in a funky-looking curved glass.

Bro marvels at the food and pokes at it a bit. “Yooo! This is crazy!!” He eagerly brings out his phone to take a picture of it. “My mates aren’t gonna believe me without photo evidence!”

"Oh! Get us all in the picture, too!" Jackie says, making a fingergun gesture and grinning.

"And all the rest, too!" Chase says. He's ordered another set of boral wings, while Schneep has something that looks like a salad but with long, thin leaves, Marvin has some sort of stew with chunks of dark brown meat, and Jackie has... is that literally just pizza? Well, pizza if all of it was green.

“Fuck yeah!!” Bro says with a big grin as he jumps up and gets the food and all the rest of the guys in the picture. “Dude I can’t believe how wild this is! I’m glad I’ll have these to remind me this isn’t a fever dream!” He laughs as he sits back down. He starts to dig into his food.

Chase's description of the boral wings as a saltier, jucier chicken really holds strong. The levooras side tastes a bit like buttery pasta, heavy on the butter. And the hassilye juice is sweet, with a slight sour bite at the beginning of each sip.

Bro beams and digs in heartedly, “Holy fuck this is delicious!”

As they eat, Chase suddenly gasps. "Oh! We should've ordered something for your brother!"

Bro blinks at Chase then gasps with him and face palms, “Oh yeah!! He’s probably even hungrier than I am! He used a lot of magic last world…”

"We can order takeout dessert, it's fine," Jackie says. "They do great chocolate yessiyrs. Which is funny, because yessiyr isn't even a human dish!"

"If a species can eat chocolate, they will," Schneep says, chuckling.

Marvin sighs, sounding disappointed.

Bro smiles warmly at the others, “god that’d be so nice you guys… he loves chocolate!” He goes and gives Marvin a sympathetic smile.

"That is settled, then, we will get him some yessiyrs,"Schneep says.

Marvin blinks back at Bro and says nothing. Chase nudges Bro. "That's Marvin's way of smiling back. A lot of other species don't smile naturally."

Marvin nods. "I'm enjoying myself though." His tail is flicking back and forth. "I do wish I could try chocolate though... but your vanilla is good, too."

“Ohh! Just like a cat!” Bro grins, “Don’t worry i got a cat back at home- I know cat body language!”

"I've seen Terra cats--they actually really resemble felorr ancestors," Marvin says.

"Like the way monkeys do with humans!" Jackie says cheerfully. "Evolution and stuff."

"So I know what you mean." Marvin blinks again.

Once they're done with lunch, Chase taps the black circle in the table again and gets another menu. "So we're getting some yessyirs to go, then, anyone else want anything?"

"I think we are fine," Schneep says.

“Yeah I’m good!” Bro pats his stomach. “that was crazy good, dude… I might get too full if I get anymore!”

"I know, the food here is amazing, isn't it?" Chase says, grinning. "We come to Kissarso's all the time. Alright, the yessyirs come in sets of four so I'll get you three chocolate ones and one classic, just so you can try it."

As he orders the dessert to go, the light up signs in the area all... flicker. All at once. The other restaurant patrons and passers-by all cry out in surprise. Bro sees another dragon-like alien--this time with coppery scales--lean out from the entrance to Kissarso's. They shout something in a rasping, hissing language that the translator on his ear tells him is, "Where's Sissel?! Our camera system just went down!"

The other four at the table all look around as well. "...Weird," Marvin says slowly.

"Oh, d'you think it's that guy again?!" Jackie gasps.

Bro sits up straight and narrows his eyes as the lights flicker, on high alert. He tries to listen out for anything then turns to Jackie, “…what guy?”

"They call him 'Septic,'" Jackie says, leaning forward.

"Which, I'm told, is a very strange thing to call yourself in English," Schneep says.

"Yeah, it's a bit weird," Chase agrees. "But I'm BruhAverage, so... can't really say anything weird."

Bro’s eyes widen as he looks at the screen, “woah… septic huh? Weird… close to my brother’s stage name. He calls himself AntiSepticeye.”

"He's been hacking the Zypso Station systems for about four Terra years now," Jackie continues. "Some sort of anarchist. Sometimes he plays videos on all the screens, hang on, I have a video-ception of one." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out that same collapsible phone model that Chase has, activating it. "Sorry, I don't have the volume on in public, but it's stuff like this." He turns it around, showing Bro a shaky handheld filming of a sign that's been hacked, playing a video of a brown-haired human man speaking to the camera. The man's left eye is green and mechanical-looking, and metal plates surround his face on that side.

And then Bro's own phone starts to buzz in his pocket.

Bro jumps slightly and blinks wildly before pulling out his phone. “Wha?? I didn’t think this would work here??”

"Yeah, no, it doesn't." Anti is now on his phone screen instead of Alt's. "I just needed to get your attention.

Bro yells in surprise and nearly drops his phone but holds onto it with both of his hands. “Anti!! Oh uh?? Hi!

“So this is where you are. Having fun?" The question is surprisingly genuine, missing the bite that Anti would usually have.

“Yeah I… I found a bunch of the others! All we’re missing is JJ and well- other you!” Then it hits him and he holds the phone closer to him, suddenly looking panicked, “Wait if you’re here! I-Is Alt in trouble?!”

"He's fine, don't worry," Anti says. "There was a uh... tense moment, but he's fine. He's actually with JJ right now."

Bro sags in relief, “oh hey that’s good! Can you lead us to where they are! We got him dessert!”

Chase leans over. "Yoooo, do you have a screen assistant? I didn't know they had those back then!"

Bro blinks then tilts his screen to show Chase, “Not… exactly? This is our friend Anti! He’s been helping us go from universe to universe to find the pieces we’re looking for!”

Anti waves. "Hey."

Chase blinks. "Huh. Actually, you kind of look like Septic. But not exactly..."

"I do, hm?" Anti looks thoughtful for a moment. Then he dismisses the thoughts. "Yes, I can take you to where he is. But... it's going to be difficult."

"Difficult?" Marvin asks, also leaning over. "I heard you say that he was with JJ. Don't we just need to go to his shop?"

Anti shakes his head. "He's not at his shop right now... You all have internet searches, right? Can you look up local news?"

"Uh... sure." Chase takes out his phone. He taps at the screen for a bit... and then his eyes widen. "Wait, what? JJ... disappeared?"

"He's safe," Anti says. "I just saw him, don't worry. The point is, he's not there. He's somewhere else that needs to be secret."

“Wait what??” Bro says with raised eyebrows, “then- Alt’s in this secret place too?? But he’s okay- but oh god is he trapped there? Cuz that’s gonna make him freak out! Also why does this place need to be secret?!”

"He's not trapped there," Anti says, tactfully leaving out the fact that his robotic other self definitely wanted to keep him trapped there. "And I don't want to share many details. Even though I knocked the camera systems down, there's still a chance I could be missing something high-tech."

"Wait, that was you?!" Jackie says, leaning over.

"Basically, you've probably heard by now that IRIS runs this place?" Anti continues, ignoring him. "Has to do with that."

“Ohhh… right. Okay… so- how are we gonna get to Alt then?” Bro asks, leaning forward. “The piece is in the IRIS building too apparently. Which… seems bad.”

"Yeah. It does, doesn't it?" Anti says. "But something I noticed while looking for you is that there is a very distinct path through the station towards the place that's out of view of cameras. It's a bit winding, but it should work." He had no doubt that the robotic Anti and Sam use this route to get in and out of their bunker.

“Oh okay! Pog!” Bro grins.

"Um... should we come?" Schneep asks slowly. "I, ah... don't think the rest of us had plans... and this seems like... something serious you might need help with..."

Bro blinks at the others and perks up, “yeah you guys should come! Alt will want to meet you!! And like… in other universes- all of you and JJ and sometimes the other Antis too are friends! Maybe this is your chance to all meet!”

"Yeah... guess the least I can do is check on JJ," Chase says. "Make sure he's okay."

"I'm really curious about this now." Jackie is grinning wide. "It's like we're in an old superhero story!"

"I don't have anything," Marvin says, tail flicking excitedly.

"Well... that will make getting there a bit more difficult, but I'm sure you can all handle it," Anti says.

Bro grins wide, “Hell yeah!”

"Oh!" Anti gasps and suddenly disappears.

The server from before returns with a clear box of the desserts, the yessyirs. They're about the size of Bro's palm, small caramel-colored domes that jiggle a little as the box is set on the table. Three of them have chocolate sauce drizzled over the top and are sitting on top of a disk of chocolate. The last one has some sort of purple-ish sauce and a purple disk as the base.

Bro blinks curiously as Anti leaves then giggles at the sight of the yessyirs- slightly shaking the box to watch them jiggle.

"Thanks, Lessya," Chase says. He takes out a card and hands it to the server, who scans it with a device. The other three at the table all do the same.

Once the server, Lessya, is gone, Anti reappears on Bro's phone screen.

Bro smiles, “Well lads? You guys ready?”

"Yep!" Chase nods. "Who's carrying the box?"

"I have a bag," Marvin says, reaching down and pulling up some canvas shoulder bag. "If other-Chase is okay with that."

“Yeah sure dude! Thanks!” Bro grins. He pushes himself up and stretches before looking back at Anti. “Alright dude- where do we start?”

"We have to get down to the ground level of this layer," Anti says.

"Oh good, we can take you right there," Jackie says to Bro.

Chase stands up. "No time like now, then! Let's go."

#SBTCV #Swap beyond the Crystalverse #SBTCV outer space #outer space au #YEAHHH SPACE TIMEE!!#sorry I’m late I forgot how hefty this section is #but omg the world building in this one is so great!!#cry really out did themselves :)

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