#OH MY FUCKING GOD. FEFERI IS IN JUST 8. YOU KNOW WHO ELSE HAS AROUND THAT MANY?????????

[usernameproxy]

Tip: Looking at the amount of pesterlogs that characters are in can make you Very Mad!

[riverboundao3ff]

Riverbound, Chapter 1

Your name is MSPA READER, and you are currently vibing outside of the known multiverse.

Well, you don’t really use that name anymore, on account of it not actually being a name. Names sound something like Emily, or Muhammad, or Patrick, or Shamita, or a million other put-together syllables and sounds.

Names are something personal. A title is anything but.

You do have a new title, though, one you like much better.

The Guardian.

Because that’s what you became when you yoinked the timeline away from the control of Ultimate Dirk and that Director lady, whoever she was. You looked Canon-With-A-Capital-C in its ugly face, spit on it, and then bent over to wipe your ass with the fabric of reality itself. Out of desperation, love, and most importantly sheer spite, you took it upon yourself to defy fate so that there is at least one timeline where everybody gets to live happy lives. This was victory at its finest. This is what it felt like to finally get everything you wanted. Your friends? Safe. Multiverse? Secure. Hotel? Trivago.

In the vast and rich history of pro-gamer moves, you believe you might have made the most powerful move of all.

After using the Green Sun- no, sorry, the Green Sun to make your own timeline, you did what any other person would do and took a big fuckin’ snooze, curling up around your universe like a mama cat protecting her kittens. You earned it.

And, if you were being completely honest with yourself, that’s how you would have spent the rest of time.

It’s not like you didn’t want to live. No, living was good. It’s just… you were so damn tired. You’re tired of always running from place to place, person to person, era to era. You’re tired of being injured, scared, and alone no matter how many friends you made. All the gods of the Furthest Rings know you’d gone through more in like a year than most people go through during their entire lives. Couldn’t a bitch just enjoy eternity in the void?

Apparently not.

The dreams began innocently enough. Playing video games with Dave, John, and Karkat. Exploring Jade’s island with Jake and Bec. Baking with Jane. Kanaya teaching you and Sollux how to sew. FLARP-ing with Vriska.

Laying side-by-side with Roxy as you two watched the sun rise. Role-playing with Nepeta. Movie night with Eridan. Getting high off your ass with Gamzee and scaring the shit out of some teal visiting their kismesis a few hives away. Discussing politics with Feferi.

Escaping that hellhouse the Soleil twins called their home. Watching those eerie lights in the corpsefield beside Fozzer. You and Remele beating a purpleblood to death.

You barely realize how nightmares had invaded your mind until you woke up with Karako’s yowls of terror in your ears. You didn’t have ears anymore, though, or a physical form, so it just sounded like your favorite clown son was screaming all around you in the abyss.

Okay. This was fine. This was fine, you kept telling yourself. After everything that’s happened to you, you were bound to develop PTSD at some point. That was completely natural.

Except this wasn’t just PTSD. This was something else entirely, because even when you were awake you saw the faces of your oldest friends burning in your mind’s eye. Something churned in your gut, ancient and primal. It was a feeling you knew well, and was usually accompanied by you launching yourself into whatever stupid shit you found next. The longer you tried to ignore it, the stronger it became, until you were permanently wrapped up around yourself like the most pathetic ball of Guardian that had to have ever existed.

You knew long before you actually put words to what was going on.

Of course. Of course it wasn’t over, because why would you ever get to have anything for yourself? Why would you ever get to just rest? For the first time in… who even knows how long, you sob hysterically into the sleeves of your hoodie.

A galaxy twinkles in the outer shell of your universe, lighting up the zig-zag sign on your chest. Mallek’s lazy smile fills your thoughts. If at all possible, everything hurts even more, until you can’t even cry to let out the pain.

Did he miss you? Did all of them miss you?

Oh, God, Daraya. You promised her you’d take her to Earth sometime, and then you just totally fucking vanished from the face of Alternia. What a fucking dick move. Granted, you hadn’t meant to do it, but still!

Your traitor-asshole brain reminds you of the fact that all of them are dead now. As in, Tyzias tried to lead a rebellion against the Alternian Empire, and then they all got killed. Your traitor-asshole brain also notes that it’s all your fault for encouraging those kinds of ideas.

Way to go, you absolute tool.

Except… they don’t have to be gone. You are the Guardian of your universe, and you make the rules. It feels so wrong to even think about it, but… yeah. You’re basically a god now. You can do what you want and nobody has the power to stop you.

Which brings about a whole new plethora of fuckery. If you were to go back, if you were to rewrite history… are you any better than Ultimate Dirk? Granted, you’d do it out of love, not because you’re a power-hungry bastard, but still. Shenanigans of this level are not to be taken lightly, even by sad Guardians with absolutely nothing better to do.

You sleep on it, which of course results in you waking up bawling like a baby as you remember the best roleplay sesh of your life, which was when Wanshi proudly gave your Soldier Purrbeasts OC her full name: Twinklemoon. You had a Soldier Purrbeasts OC named Twinklemoon. That’s why you were crying.

That’s it. You couldn’t stand it anymore.

You need advice, and you know exactly where to get it.

<>

You find her on the 8rigantine, furiously scribbling something down on a chart with a bunch of little figurines in the middle of it. You know better than to just haul your little friendslut ass up there while Vriska Serket is in the zone, so instead you knock on the hull and call up to her.

“Hello! Lady Spinneret, an old friend is in dire need of some advice!”

It takes about two seconds for a familiar spiky head to poke over the side of the deck. Vriska’s one dark eye lights up upon meeting your gaze, followed by a toothy grin that’s both menacing and completely genuine. She reaches back to grab something behind her. A rope ladder drops down and nearly nails you in the noggin, just like it did whenever you dropped by to FLARP with her.

“What the hell, bitch! I missed you!” she yells. Despite everything, you can’t help but smile. Vriska’s wild personality and no-bullshit attitude was just what you needed.

You’re very proud of yourself when you scale the ladder with ease and scramble up onto the deck without getting too much out of breath. With the amount of insane shit you’ve gotten yourself into during your travels, getting into shape came pretty easily. You’ve been told by several reliable sources that your legs are to die for.

“The 8-ball foretold your arrival. I brought snacks.” Vriska points to a bag next to her chart, not looking up from where she was drawing an impressively detailed kraken-looking thing. “Eat something before you start gabbing.”

That was sound logic, so you drag the back closer to you and start rooting around for something good. You find a bag of stinkroot chips, open that bad boy up, and start munching. Damn, did it feel good to eat something, and to also have a corporeal body to eat things with.

As you gather your thoughts, the hairs on the back of your neck prickle with the sensation of somebody’s eyes on you. You instantly look up to see Vriska staring at you. Her expression is blank, but her good eye held all the energy of a thunderstorm.

You swallow your chips. “What is it?”

“You look… different,” she says, setting down her pencil. “It’s like I can really see you now.”

“Huh?”

Vriska huffs, but she still doesn’t take her eye off you. “Before, you kinda looked like… I dunno, like somebody cut out a whole in reality and shoved the silhouette of a person inside? Like, I know what you looked like, but I couldn’t tell you the color of your hair, or what facial structure you have, or, like… dude, you have freckles.”

“I have freckles?” You reach up and touch your cheekbone, feeling the soft skin. Oh, hey, there’s some acne. Dammit. “Are they cute?”

“Sure? I think freckles are more of a human thing, so you’d have to ask John or Jade or whatever. Also you’re blonde, like Rose,” she tells you, thoughtfully scratching at her chin. “You’re still short as fuck, though. I could probably punt you off the poop deck.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Congrats on not looking like a hole in reality.”

You finish off your chips and flop back to stare at the night sky. With all the time you’ve spent on Alternia, you can now name a lot of the constellations. Right now, the Empress’s Trident poked up at a forty-five degree angle behind the pink moon. “I think I know how we can overthrow the Alternian Empire.”

Vriska’s pencil falls out of her hand.

You continue. “Have you read any records on a rebellion that occurred about… like, fifteen sweeps ago? I don’t know the exact date.”

Vriska’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times, and then she nods. “I sure fuckin’ did. Sollux did some of his mumbo-jumbo and got me some documents. He called it an early wriggling day present, but I know he wants to help my little… agenda. How do you even know…?”

“Because I helped encourage the right people to do it. I was there, Vriska. Those kids were my friends, and now they’re dead.”

She’s silent for a moment. “The leader was a teal named Tyzias.”

Your eyes are hot with tears. “I knew her. We met because she tripped on the sidewalk while carrying a shitload of her homework, and I helped her pick it all up when it went everywhere. She had a matesprit named-”

“Stelsa,” Vriska mutters. “Holy shit. She worked closely with some jades who lead their little army. They caused a hell of a lot of damage to the Empire before it all went down, I’ll give them that.”

Neither of you speak for a long moment, which you appreciate as you try and hold your messy self together. The longer you think about your old friends and all the good times you had with them, the more you’re certain about what you want to do.

They deserve to be here.

Your blood pressure spikes just thinking about it.

It’s Vriska who puts your thoughts into words. “You want to go back and help them win the rebellion.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fucking crazy.”

“Yeah.”

She scooches over to you so she can stare down into your soul. “If we combine our resources and collaborate back and forth between the past and the future, we can make it so less people die. We could even take out that pathetic bitch of an Heiress they had back in the day. With your powers…”

“It’s possible I could compact time itself to create a world where we… where we can make things right. We could even help Feferi…”

You can’t bring yourself to say it in case you jinxed something, but by the look on Vriska’s face, she knows what you mean.

“It could work,” she breathes.

Slowly, you sit back up. Your heart was pounding so hard you felt it in your skull. “How do you think the others would feel about it?”

“Oh, they’d shit themselves,” Vriska snorts. “A full-scale rebellion across time and space?”

“True.”

“But it could work!” she repeats, staring into empty space.

“And they’d have a huge advantage they never had before. Me,” you say, talking to yourself more than to Vriska. You’d created this universe with your own power. It was time to protect it. “Vriska, I need to go before I chicken out. Tell the others what’s happening and that I’m sorry if this all goes to shit.”

“Wait!”

You look back at her as she grabs your arm, claws digging into the fabric of your hoodie. “I… you need supplies. No frickin’ way you’re going anywhere without at least a hydration flask.”

You know what she’s trying to say, and your chest fills up with all the warmth of a bonfire. God, you love this absolute bitch of a kid.

Vriska drags you to your feet, and then you’re both sprinting for her hive.

Amazingly, you don’t die trying to keep up with the cerulean as you charge up the stairs to her respiteblock together. You’re still out of breath by the time you reach the top, though, but Vriska’s already grabbing a backpack and tossing shit into it.

“Get me that jacket off the door,” she orders as she tosses in what looks like a small medical kit. You obey and throw her the jacket, the black leather one with the bright red hood.

She then waves you over, and you slip around her desk to see what’s up. In her hands is a black sheath, with a matching handle sticking out at the top.

Vriska pulls the sheath off to reveal the blade: a brilliant silver-blue metal that nearly glowed in the darkness. It’s incredibly beautiful and very scary to look at.

“I’ve had this thing forever, so I’m giving it to you, okay? Don’t fucking lose it. Press that little gray button at the top of the handle to heat up the blade. Good for starting fires and cauterizing wounds.” She shoves the jacket into the backpack and hands you the dagger.

“Vriska, I don’t know what to say,” you begin, but she smacks you.

“Shut up and strap it to your belt. You better come back soon. I want a detailed report on everything. Single-spaced,” she snaps.

You grin. “Yes, ma’am. I should be back, in like, ten nights. Maybe eleven.”

“Ten,” Vriska growls. “I’m coming for your ass otherwise.”

“Noted. Tell everybody I said hi.”

“Obviously.”

You reach into that little part of yourself, which in turn reaches back out into that chaotic river that is the flow of time. You throw the anchor down and wade upstream. It’s a little rougher than usual, but you won’t let that stop you. There was no turning back now.

Time travel is always like trying to hit a moving target, but you have great aim, and when you find what you’re looking for you feel your face split into another huge smile. There’s nothing different about this part of the river than any other, but you know. When it comes to the people you care about, you always know.

Everything feels more real to you than it has in years. Two moons shine even brighter in the sky, the chilly air stinging your face, and you’re no troll but it still feels like you’re going home.

You open your eyes.

“Ten nights,” you say to Vriska, and you let yourself fall through the current.

Your name is MSPA READER, and you are currently vibing outside of the known multiverse.

Well, you don’t really use that name anymore, on account of it not actually being a name. Names sound something like Emily, or Muhammad, or Patrick, or Shamita, or a million other put-together syllables and sounds.

Names are something personal. A title is anything but.

You do have a new title, though, one you like much better.

The Guardian.

Because that’s what you became when you yoinked the timeline away from the control of Ultimate Dirk and that Director lady, whoever she was. You looked Canon-With-A-Capital-C in its ugly face, spit on it, and then bent over to wipe your ass with the fabric of reality itself. Out of desperation, love, and most importantly sheer spite, you took it upon yourself to defy fate so that there is at least one timeline where everybody gets to live happy lives. This was victory at its finest. This is what it felt like to finally get everything you wanted. Your friends? Safe. Multiverse? Secure. Hotel? Trivago.

In the vast and rich history of pro-gamer moves, you believe you might have made the most powerful move of all.

After using the Green Sun- no, sorry, the Green Sun to make your own timeline, you did what any other person would do and took a big fuckin’ snooze, curling up around your universe like a mama cat protecting her kittens. You earned it.

And, if you were being completely honest with yourself, that’s how you would have spent the rest of time.

It’s not like you didn’t want to live. No, living was good. It’s just… you were so damn tired. You’re tired of always running from place to place, person to person, era to era. You’re tired of being injured, scared, and alone no matter how many friends you made. All the gods of the Furthest Rings know you’d gone through more in like a year than most people go through during their entire lives. Couldn’t a bitch just enjoy eternity in the void?

Apparently not.

The dreams began innocently enough. Playing video games with Dave, John, and Karkat. Exploring Jade’s island with Jake and Bec. Baking with Jane. Kanaya teaching you and Sollux how to sew. FLARP-ing with Vriska.

Laying side-by-side with Roxy as you two watched the sun rise. Role-playing with Nepeta. Movie night with Eridan. Getting high off your ass with Gamzee and scaring the shit out of some teal visiting their kismesis a few hives away. Discussing politics with Feferi.

Escaping that hellhouse the Soleil twins called their home. Watching those eerie lights in the corpsefield beside Fozzer. You and Remele beating a purpleblood to death.

You barely realize how nightmares had invaded your mind until you woke up with Karako’s yowls of terror in your ears. You didn’t have ears anymore, though, or a physical form, so it just sounded like your favorite clown son was screaming all around you in the abyss.

Okay. This was fine. This was fine, you kept telling yourself. After everything that’s happened to you, you were bound to develop PTSD at some point. That was completely natural.

Except this wasn’t just PTSD. This was something else entirely, because even when you were awake you saw the faces of your oldest friends burning in your mind’s eye. Something churned in your gut, ancient and primal. It was a feeling you knew well, and was usually accompanied by you launching yourself into whatever stupid shit you found next. The longer you tried to ignore it, the stronger it became, until you were permanently wrapped up around yourself like the most pathetic ball of Guardian that had to have ever existed.

You knew long before you actually put words to what was going on.

Of course. Of course it wasn’t over, because why would you ever get to have anything for yourself? Why would you ever get to just rest? For the first time in… who even knows how long, you sob hysterically into the sleeves of your hoodie.

A galaxy twinkles in the outer shell of your universe, lighting up the zig-zag sign on your chest. Mallek’s lazy smile fills your thoughts. If at all possible, everything hurts even more, until you can’t even cry to let out the pain.

Did he miss you? Did all of them miss you?

Oh, God, Daraya. You promised her you’d take her to Earth sometime, and then you just totally fucking vanished from the face of Alternia. What a fucking dick move. Granted, you hadn’t meant to do it, but still!

Your traitor-asshole brain reminds you of the fact that all of them are dead now. As in, Tyzias tried to lead a rebellion against the Alternian Empire, and then they all got killed. Your traitor-asshole brain also notes that it’s all your fault for encouraging those kinds of ideas.

Way to go, you absolute tool.

Except… they don’t have to be gone. You are the Guardian of your universe, and you make the rules. It feels so wrong to even think about it, but… yeah. You’re basically a god now. You can do what you want and nobody has the power to stop you.

Which brings about a whole new plethora of fuckery. If you were to go back, if you were to rewrite history… are you any better than Ultimate Dirk? Granted, you’d do it out of love, not because you’re a power-hungry bastard, but still. Shenanigans of this level are not to be taken lightly, even by sad Guardians with absolutely nothing better to do.

You sleep on it, which of course results in you waking up bawling like a baby as you remember the best roleplay sesh of your life, which was when Wanshi proudly gave your Soldier Purrbeasts OC her full name: Twinklemoon. You had a Soldier Purrbeasts OC named Twinklemoon. That’s why you were crying.

That’s it. You couldn’t stand it anymore.

You need advice, and you know exactly where to get it.

<>

You find her on the 8rigantine, furiously scribbling something down on a chart with a bunch of little figurines in the middle of it. You know better than to just haul your little friendslut ass up there while Vriska Serket is in the zone, so instead you knock on the hull and call up to her.

“Hello! Lady Spinneret, an old friend is in dire need of some advice!”

It takes about two seconds for a familiar spiky head to poke over the side of the deck. Vriska’s one dark eye lights up upon meeting your gaze, followed by a toothy grin that’s both menacing and completely genuine. She reaches back to grab something behind her. A rope ladder drops down and nearly nails you in the noggin, just like it did whenever you dropped by to FLARP with her.

“What the hell, bitch! I missed you!” she yells. Despite everything, you can’t help but smile. Vriska’s wild personality and no-bullshit attitude was just what you needed.

You’re very proud of yourself when you scale the ladder with ease and scramble up onto the deck without getting too much out of breath. With the amount of insane shit you’ve gotten yourself into during your travels, getting into shape came pretty easily. You’ve been told by several reliable sources that your legs are to die for.

“The 8-ball foretold your arrival. I brought snacks.” Vriska points to a bag next to her chart, not looking up from where she was drawing an impressively detailed kraken-looking thing. “Eat something before you start gabbing.”

That was sound logic, so you drag the back closer to you and start rooting around for something good. You find a bag of stinkroot chips, open that bad boy up, and start munching. Damn, did it feel good to eat something, and to also have a corporeal body to eat things with.

As you gather your thoughts, the hairs on the back of your neck prickle with the sensation of somebody’s eyes on you. You instantly look up to see Vriska staring at you. Her expression is blank, but her good eye held all the energy of a thunderstorm.

You swallow your chips. “What is it?”

“You look… different,” she says, setting down her pencil. “It’s like I can really see you now.”

“Huh?”

Vriska huffs, but she still doesn’t take her eye off you. “Before, you kinda looked like… I dunno, like somebody cut out a whole in reality and shoved the silhouette of a person inside? Like, I know what you looked like, but I couldn’t tell you the color of your hair, or what facial structure you have, or, like… dude, you have freckles.”

“I have freckles?” You reach up and touch your cheekbone, feeling the soft skin. Oh, hey, there’s some acne. Dammit. “Are they cute?”

“Sure? I think freckles are more of a human thing, so you’d have to ask John or Jade or whatever. Also you’re blonde, like Rose,” she tells you, thoughtfully scratching at her chin. “You’re still short as fuck, though. I could probably punt you off the poop deck.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Congrats on not looking like a hole in reality.”

You finish off your chips and flop back to stare at the night sky. With all the time you’ve spent on Alternia, you can now name a lot of the constellations. Right now, the Empress’s Trident poked up at a forty-five degree angle behind the pink moon. “I think I know how we can overthrow the Alternian Empire.”

Vriska’s pencil falls out of her hand.

You continue. “Have you read any records on a rebellion that occurred about… like, fifteen sweeps ago? I don’t know the exact date.”

Vriska’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times, and then she nods. “I sure fuckin’ did. Sollux did some of his mumbo-jumbo and got me some documents. He called it an early wriggling day present, but I know he wants to help my little… agenda. How do you even know…?”

“Because I helped encourage the right people to do it. I was there, Vriska. Those kids were my friends, and now they’re dead.”

She’s silent for a moment. “The leader was a teal named Tyzias.”

Your eyes are hot with tears. “I knew her. We met because she tripped on the sidewalk while carrying a shitload of her homework, and I helped her pick it all up when it went everywhere. She had a matesprit named-”

“Stelsa,” Vriska mutters. “Holy shit. She worked closely with some jades who lead their little army. They caused a hell of a lot of damage to the Empire before it all went down, I’ll give them that.”

Neither of you speak for a long moment, which you appreciate as you try and hold your messy self together. The longer you think about your old friends and all the good times you had with them, the more you’re certain about what you want to do.

They deserve to be here.

Your blood pressure spikes just thinking about it.

It’s Vriska who puts your thoughts into words. “You want to go back and help them win the rebellion.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fucking crazy.”

“Yeah.”

She scooches over to you so she can stare down into your soul. “If we combine our resources and collaborate back and forth between the past and the future, we can make it so less people die. We could even take out that pathetic bitch of an Heiress they had back in the day. With your powers…”

“It’s possible I could compact time itself to create a world where we… where we can make things right. We could even help Feferi…”

You can’t bring yourself to say it in case you jinxed something, but by the look on Vriska’s face, she knows what you mean.

“It could work,” she breathes.

Slowly, you sit back up. Your heart was pounding so hard you felt it in your skull. “How do you think the others would feel about it?”

“Oh, they’d shit themselves,” Vriska snorts. “A full-scale rebellion across time and space?”

“True.”

“But it could work!” she repeats, staring into empty space.

“And they’d have a huge advantage they never had before. Me,” you say, talking to yourself more than to Vriska. You’d created this universe with your own power. It was time to protect it. “Vriska, I need to go before I chicken out. Tell the others what’s happening and that I’m sorry if this all goes to shit.”

“Wait!”

You look back at her as she grabs your arm, claws digging into the fabric of your hoodie. “I… you need supplies. No frickin’ way you’re going anywhere without at least a hydration flask.”

You know what she’s trying to say, and your chest fills up with all the warmth of a bonfire. God, you love this absolute bitch of a kid.

Vriska drags you to your feet, and then you’re both sprinting for her hive.

Amazingly, you don’t die trying to keep up with the cerulean as you charge up the stairs to her respiteblock together. You’re still out of breath by the time you reach the top, though, but Vriska’s already grabbing a backpack and tossing shit into it.

“Get me that jacket off the door,” she orders as she tosses in what looks like a small medical kit. You obey and throw her the jacket, the black leather one with the bright red hood.

She then waves you over, and you slip around her desk to see what’s up. In her hands is a black sheath, with a matching handle sticking out at the top.

Vriska pulls the sheath off to reveal the blade: a brilliant silver-blue metal that nearly glowed in the darkness. It’s incredibly beautiful and very scary to look at.

“I’ve had this thing forever, so I’m giving it to you, okay? Don’t fucking lose it. Press that little gray button at the top of the handle to heat up the blade. Good for starting fires and cauterizing wounds.” She shoves the jacket into the backpack and hands you the dagger.

“Vriska, I don’t know what to say,” you begin, but she smacks you.

“Shut up and strap it to your belt. You better come back soon. I want a detailed report on everything. Single-spaced,” she snaps.

You grin. “Yes, ma’am. I should be back, in like, ten nights. Maybe eleven.”

“Ten,” Vriska growls. “I’m coming for your ass otherwise.”

“Noted. Tell everybody I said hi.”

“Obviously.”

You reach into that little part of yourself, which in turn reaches back out into that chaotic river that is the flow of time. You throw the anchor down and wade upstream. It’s a little rougher than usual, but you won’t let that stop you. There was no turning back now.

Time travel is always like trying to hit a moving target, but you have great aim, and when you find what you’re looking for you feel your face split into another huge smile. There’s nothing different about this part of the river than any other, but you know. When it comes to the people you care about, you always know.

Everything feels more real to you than it has in years. Two moons shine even brighter in the sky, the chilly air stinging your face, and you’re no troll but it still feels like you’re going home.

You open your eyes.

“Ten nights,” you say to Vriska, and you let yourself fall through the current.

Your name is MSPA READER, and you are currently vibing outside of the known multiverse.

Well, you don’t really use that name anymore, on account of it not actually being a name. Names sound something like Emily, or Muhammad, or Patrick, or Shamita, or a million other put-together syllables and sounds.

Names are something personal. A title is anything but.

You do have a new title, though, one you like much better.

The Guardian.

Because that’s what you became when you yoinked the timeline away from the control of Ultimate Dirk and that Director lady, whoever she was. You looked Canon-With-A-Capital-C in its ugly face, spit on it, and then bent over to wipe your ass with the fabric of reality itself. Out of desperation, love, and most importantly sheer spite, you took it upon yourself to defy fate so that there is at least one timeline where everybody gets to live happy lives. This was victory at its finest. This is what it felt like to finally get everything you wanted. Your friends? Safe. Multiverse? Secure. Hotel? Trivago.

In the vast and rich history of pro-gamer moves, you believe you might have made the most powerful move of all.

After using the Green Sun- no, sorry, the Green Sun to make your own timeline, you did what any other person would do and took a big fuckin’ snooze, curling up around your universe like a mama cat protecting her kittens. You earned it.

And, if you were being completely honest with yourself, that’s how you would have spent the rest of time.

It’s not like you didn’t want to live. No, living was good. It’s just… you were so damn tired. You’re tired of always running from place to place, person to person, era to era. You’re tired of being injured, scared, and alone no matter how many friends you made. All the gods of the Furthest Rings know you’d gone through more in like a year than most people go through during their entire lives. Couldn’t a bitch just enjoy eternity in the void?

Apparently not.

The dreams began innocently enough. Playing video games with Dave, John, and Karkat. Exploring Jade’s island with Jake and Bec. Baking with Jane. Kanaya teaching you and Sollux how to sew. FLARP-ing with Vriska.

Laying side-by-side with Roxy as you two watched the sun rise. Role-playing with Nepeta. Movie night with Eridan. Getting high off your ass with Gamzee and scaring the shit out of some teal visiting their kismesis a few hives away. Discussing politics with Feferi.

Escaping that hellhouse the Soleil twins called their home. Watching those eerie lights in the corpsefield beside Fozzer. You and Remele beating a purpleblood to death.

You barely realize how nightmares had invaded your mind until you woke up with Karako’s yowls of terror in your ears. You didn’t have ears anymore, though, or a physical form, so it just sounded like your favorite clown son was screaming all around you in the abyss.

Okay. This was fine. This was fine, you kept telling yourself. After everything that’s happened to you, you were bound to develop PTSD at some point. That was completely natural.

Except this wasn’t just PTSD. This was something else entirely, because even when you were awake you saw the faces of your oldest friends burning in your mind’s eye. Something churned in your gut, ancient and primal. It was a feeling you knew well, and was usually accompanied by you launching yourself into whatever stupid shit you found next. The longer you tried to ignore it, the stronger it became, until you were permanently wrapped up around yourself like the most pathetic ball of Guardian that had to have ever existed.

You knew long before you actually put words to what was going on.

Of course. Of course it wasn’t over, because why would you ever get to have anything for yourself? Why would you ever get to just rest? For the first time in… who even knows how long, you sob hysterically into the sleeves of your hoodie.

A galaxy twinkles in the outer shell of your universe, lighting up the zig-zag sign on your chest. Mallek’s lazy smile fills your thoughts. If at all possible, everything hurts even more, until you can’t even cry to let out the pain.

Did he miss you? Did all of them miss you?

Oh, God, Daraya. You promised her you’d take her to Earth sometime, and then you just totally fucking vanished from the face of Alternia. What a fucking dick move. Granted, you hadn’t meant to do it, but still!

Your traitor-asshole brain reminds you of the fact that all of them are dead now. As in, Tyzias tried to lead a rebellion against the Alternian Empire, and then they all got killed. Your traitor-asshole brain also notes that it’s all your fault for encouraging those kinds of ideas.

Way to go, you absolute tool.

Except… they don’t have to be gone. You are the Guardian of your universe, and you make the rules. It feels so wrong to even think about it, but… yeah. You’re basically a god now. You can do what you want and nobody has the power to stop you.

Which brings about a whole new plethora of fuckery. If you were to go back, if you were to rewrite history… are you any better than Ultimate Dirk? Granted, you’d do it out of love, not because you’re a power-hungry bastard, but still. Shenanigans of this level are not to be taken lightly, even by sad Guardians with absolutely nothing better to do.

You sleep on it, which of course results in you waking up bawling like a baby as you remember the best roleplay sesh of your life, which was when Wanshi proudly gave your Soldier Purrbeasts OC her full name: Twinklemoon. You had a Soldier Purrbeasts OC named Twinklemoon. That’s why you were crying.

That’s it. You couldn’t stand it anymore.

You need advice, and you know exactly where to get it.

<>

You find her on the 8rigantine, furiously scribbling something down on a chart with a bunch of little figurines in the middle of it. You know better than to just haul your little friendslut ass up there while Vriska Serket is in the zone, so instead you knock on the hull and call up to her.

“Hello! Lady Spinneret, an old friend is in dire need of some advice!”

It takes about two seconds for a familiar spiky head to poke over the side of the deck. Vriska’s one dark eye lights up upon meeting your gaze, followed by a toothy grin that’s both menacing and completely genuine. She reaches back to grab something behind her. A rope ladder drops down and nearly nails you in the noggin, just like it did whenever you dropped by to FLARP with her.

“What the hell, bitch! I missed you!” she yells. Despite everything, you can’t help but smile. Vriska’s wild personality and no-bullshit attitude was just what you needed.

You’re very proud of yourself when you scale the ladder with ease and scramble up onto the deck without getting too much out of breath. With the amount of insane shit you’ve gotten yourself into during your travels, getting into shape came pretty easily. You’ve been told by several reliable sources that your legs are to die for.

“The 8-ball foretold your arrival. I brought snacks.” Vriska points to a bag next to her chart, not looking up from where she was drawing an impressively detailed kraken-looking thing. “Eat something before you start gabbing.”

That was sound logic, so you drag the back closer to you and start rooting around for something good. You find a bag of stinkroot chips, open that bad boy up, and start munching. Damn, did it feel good to eat something, and to also have a corporeal body to eat things with.

As you gather your thoughts, the hairs on the back of your neck prickle with the sensation of somebody’s eyes on you. You instantly look up to see Vriska staring at you. Her expression is blank, but her good eye held all the energy of a thunderstorm.

You swallow your chips. “What is it?”

“You look… different,” she says, setting down her pencil. “It’s like I can really see you now.”

“Huh?”

Vriska huffs, but she still doesn’t take her eye off you. “Before, you kinda looked like… I dunno, like somebody cut out a whole in reality and shoved the silhouette of a person inside? Like, I know what you looked like, but I couldn’t tell you the color of your hair, or what facial structure you have, or, like… dude, you have freckles.”

“I have freckles?” You reach up and touch your cheekbone, feeling the soft skin. Oh, hey, there’s some acne. Dammit. “Are they cute?”

“Sure? I think freckles are more of a human thing, so you’d have to ask John or Jade or whatever. Also you’re blonde, like Rose,” she tells you, thoughtfully scratching at her chin. “You’re still short as fuck, though. I could probably punt you off the poop deck.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Congrats on not looking like a hole in reality.”

You finish off your chips and flop back to stare at the night sky. With all the time you’ve spent on Alternia, you can now name a lot of the constellations. Right now, the Empress’s Trident poked up at a forty-five degree angle behind the pink moon. “I think I know how we can overthrow the Alternian Empire.”

Vriska’s pencil falls out of her hand.

You continue. “Have you read any records on a rebellion that occurred about… like, fifteen sweeps ago? I don’t know the exact date.”

Vriska’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times, and then she nods. “I sure fuckin’ did. Sollux did some of his mumbo-jumbo and got me some documents. He called it an early wriggling day present, but I know he wants to help my little… agenda. How do you even know…?”

“Because I helped encourage the right people to do it. I was there, Vriska. Those kids were my friends, and now they’re dead.”

She’s silent for a moment. “The leader was a teal named Tyzias.”

Your eyes are hot with tears. “I knew her. We met because she tripped on the sidewalk while carrying a shitload of her homework, and I helped her pick it all up when it went everywhere. She had a matesprit named-”

“Stelsa,” Vriska mutters. “Holy shit. She worked closely with some jades who lead their little army. They caused a hell of a lot of damage to the Empire before it all went down, I’ll give them that.”

Neither of you speak for a long moment, which you appreciate as you try and hold your messy self together. The longer you think about your old friends and all the good times you had with them, the more you’re certain about what you want to do.

They deserve to be here.

Your blood pressure spikes just thinking about it.

It’s Vriska who puts your thoughts into words. “You want to go back and help them win the rebellion.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fucking crazy.”

“Yeah.”

She scooches over to you so she can stare down into your soul. “If we combine our resources and collaborate back and forth between the past and the future, we can make it so less people die. We could even take out that pathetic bitch of an Heiress they had back in the day. With your powers…”

“It’s possible I could compact time itself to create a world where we… where we can make things right. We could even help Feferi…”

You can’t bring yourself to say it in case you jinxed something, but by the look on Vriska’s face, she knows what you mean.

“It could work,” she breathes.

Slowly, you sit back up. Your heart was pounding so hard you felt it in your skull. “How do you think the others would feel about it?”

“Oh, they’d shit themselves,” Vriska snorts. “A full-scale rebellion across time and space?”

“True.”

“But it could work!” she repeats, staring into empty space.

“And they’d have a huge advantage they never had before. Me,” you say, talking to yourself more than to Vriska. You’d created this universe with your own power. It was time to protect it. “Vriska, I need to go before I chicken out. Tell the others what’s happening and that I’m sorry if this all goes to shit.”

“Wait!”

You look back at her as she grabs your arm, claws digging into the fabric of your hoodie. “I… you need supplies. No frickin’ way you’re going anywhere without at least a hydration flask.”

You know what she’s trying to say, and your chest fills up with all the warmth of a bonfire. God, you love this absolute bitch of a kid.

Vriska drags you to your feet, and then you’re both sprinting for her hive.

Amazingly, you don’t die trying to keep up with the cerulean as you charge up the stairs to her respiteblock together. You’re still out of breath by the time you reach the top, though, but Vriska’s already grabbing a backpack and tossing shit into it.

“Get me that jacket off the door,” she orders as she tosses in what looks like a small medical kit. You obey and throw her the jacket, the black leather one with the bright red hood.

She then waves you over, and you slip around her desk to see what’s up. In her hands is a black sheath, with a matching handle sticking out at the top.

Vriska pulls the sheath off to reveal the blade: a brilliant silver-blue metal that nearly glowed in the darkness. It’s incredibly beautiful and very scary to look at.

“I’ve had this thing forever, so I’m giving it to you, okay? Don’t fucking lose it. Press that little gray button at the top of the handle to heat up the blade. Good for starting fires and cauterizing wounds.” She shoves the jacket into the backpack and hands you the dagger.

“Vriska, I don’t know what to say,” you begin, but she smacks you.

“Shut up and strap it to your belt. You better come back soon. I want a detailed report on everything. Single-spaced,” she snaps.

You grin. “Yes, ma’am. I should be back, in like, ten nights. Maybe eleven.”

“Ten,” Vriska growls. “I’m coming for your ass otherwise.”

“Noted. Tell everybody I said hi.”

“Obviously.”

You reach into that little part of yourself, which in turn reaches back out into that chaotic river that is the flow of time. You throw the anchor down and wade upstream. It’s a little rougher than usual, but you won’t let that stop you. There was no turning back now.

Time travel is always like trying to hit a moving target, but you have great aim, and when you find what you’re looking for you feel your face split into another huge smile. There’s nothing different about this part of the river than any other, but you know. When it comes to the people you care about, you always know.

Everything feels more real to you than it has in years. Two moons shine even brighter in the sky, the chilly air stinging your face, and you’re no troll but it still feels like you’re going home.

You open your eyes.

“Ten nights,” you say to Vriska, and you let yourself fall through the current.

[undertakinggraveshift-blog]

Law at Death’s Door Pt 1

@Law AR and PI will be having a meeting at Pendleton's Parlor, Death's funeral home. AR has extended the meeting to the rest of the law force so. Scene: Death's funeral home. Death: Perplexed and vaguely bewildered Tea: On Coffee: Also on

@dilldaydreamer @lawtula @lassofthelaw @cautionarylaw @dickshalfthesolution @fishprincessofthelaw @ectocrimefighter@redstringsandpidgeons ....I probably forgot a few I’m sorry 8′B

Mabs (PI/02)Today at 8:14 PM

You enter the parlor, pick up your cat who is already waiting for you, and proceed to beeline to the pile of pillows so that you may begin the slow suffocating death of comfort.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:21 PM

Death is skittering about, making the parlor people friendly. It's always people friendly, actually, but now it's got a whole lot of law around and Death cannot help but worry he might have a mobster-delivered body around. Oh god, don't somehow magically know about all the real unfortunate bodies buried in unmarked graves. Ahahaha. Anxiety isn't something unbeknownst to Death but lord is it at an all time high. However, he does know the danger is over for now... and things are hopefully settling down, for now, so it eases soon enough. For the officers who have come, a short hallway leads into a large room. Death leads those who come in into the kitchen connected. Nicely lit, with a kitchen table and awaiting chairs. Coffee is in the process of being made and a kettle is on the oven. Uh... snacks are... hm. He should probably make something but, he's only oh so fast and honestly his concerns are more on Pembrooke who went off into hiding for now.

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 8:25 PM

You drive yourself and Feferi to the parlor in a slightly damaged by yourself car. You are mostly silent during the entire ride, you have turned your phone off and by this point all you want and need is a break. You aren't quite sure if you want to actually go somewhere or you are looking from solace of this mess. You could do with something to de-stress. For now you park out of the Parlor. "Lets go in shall we."

Lissaloo (Ms. Paint/Feferi)Today at 8:28 PM

"Yes sir," you hop out of the car and wat for him by the door. You keep your own phone on, just incase something happens and Eridan needs you. Or Sol. You should check on him too. Another text is shot off. Hopefully your matesprit and friend will be fine.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:29 PM

The door is open and waiting, but Death pops up regardless, smiling and tapping his fingers together.

Mabs (PI/02)Today at 8:32 PM

Pembrooke is currently being suffocated by his cat and will make an appearance later once he realizes this is not going to work.(edited)

Resh (NB)Today at 8:33 PM

After making the arrangements for the royalty stay at the hospital, you make sure that all the officers on duty there are up to date. Soon, Amir is texting you with coordinates for a meeting. He doesn’t necessarily soon urgent, so you deem it appropriate to acquire healthy snacks and such for everyone. Heaven knows they probably forgot. You show up and walk through the door with a few bags of food and an expression of weariness, melted only at the sight of who you assumed was Elliot.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:36 PM

Death gives Nuavi a mental gold star for showing up with food. A blessed woman.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 8:37 PM

@Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD) [AR>JH: [COORDINATES REDACTED] AR: if you wanted that interview.

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 8:37 PM

"Hello, thanks for the invite." Ace walks in. "Nuavi, good to have ya here too. " OH FOOD, good lord you could eat a whale.

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 8:38 PM

(JH>AR: RIGHT AWAY SIR over I WILL BE THERE IN 10 over)

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:38 PM

"Not a problem." He motions down the hall, taking a step while offering to help Nuavi with the bags, jumping right into funeral director mode. "There's coat hangers if you would like to shrug them off. I'll have the doors locked behind you once everyone is here, not to worry. Follow me into the main room and we're settling in the kitchen."

Lissaloo (Ms. Paint/Feferi)Today at 8:39 PM

You enter as well, quiet which is abnormal for you, but you're in a mood and your worried. You go to stand out of the way, leaned against a wall and watch the people around you.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:40 PM

(Pokes Mabs into the RP-DMs first!)(edited)

Mabs (PI/02)Today at 8:42 PM

(woops! So much chats!)

Skippy (13/John)Today at 8:44 PM

When you arrive you see some of the others are already here. Oh yay, no awkward being early or last stuff, thank god. You walk up just as Death finishes speaking. "Hey. Officer Egbert reporting for the meeting." You shrug off your jacket and hang it on a coat hanger. "Don't worry, I come prank free." Not really, you have a joy-buzzer in your pocket but that's just because you forgot to take it out earlier. Still, you don't exactly plan on using it. This is serious so it's time to get into serious mode. You follow Death, giving a friendly wave towards Fef.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:46 PM

"You're a blessing, Officer Egbert." Death's lip tugs to the side, an amused smile. He leads them towards the kitchen, motioning to the seats if anyone so wished. "Officer Ra... mm, I'm using first names. Amir will be down shortly to speak with you all. I have coffee, and can make tea. Water, milk, and apple juice are options too. For tea there's-- well, I'm not sure how much everyone knows on tea, but feel free to use a descriptor and I'll surprise you I suppose ahaha. Floral, fruity, mint."

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 8:49 PM

"If you got one of those spicy teas I'm down for that." You are slightly peppier with the mention of possible nutrients. Ace needs nutrients. "If you need setting with anything I'll be glad to help." You say at Death as you are basically tail him around. Thats a way to put that you are nervous and hungry.

Resh (NB)Today at 8:51 PM

You nod at Ace with a smile and let Elliot help you with the bags as you follow the rest of the crowd over to the table. After setting down the snacks, you take everything out and just, dump it there. “F-f-“ You cough, casually, “Free for all sustenance here, if anyone would c-care to indulge.”(edited)

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 8:51 PM

You had no idea if you were supposed to bring something, it was an interview so you thought colombian coffee package was a good gift, would that be considered bad? to bring a gift to your future boss?. You thought so but also you realize that the address wasn't the police station and so maybe this was a bit more personal, besides who makes interviews at this hours of the night. You drive yourself to the...parlor? what. You check the message twice to make sure this is the place. >knock on the door and wait.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 8:56 PM

Spicy, spicy, did he have spicy. Now that was an interesting one he didn't partake in often. Desth watches Ace play the nervous role, and he keeps the smile, brows knitted down. If the man wanted to get to work, he could do that. "Middle shelf,  over there-" Death motions in the direction of the cabinet, "There's a number of mugs, cups, and what have you. Please bring enough to the table for everyone, if you could? Now do forgive me, some of you are new faces, and some are those I've only met online... I am Death, or Elliott, Amir might have introduced m-- ah..." Door knock. "One, one moment." He shifts to go answer that real quick.

HandyToday at 8:59 PM

Latula had kind of been privvy to what was going on, but just barely. She'd been outside when everything happened, doing the sk8ter gorl thing before everything went to shit. She spends a good long time marveling at the sight in the sky before the message sends her towards Death's. She kicks her board up into her arms and begins in a walk before approaching the dude waiting outside. He must be new! She stops right next to him and gives him a nudge with her shoulder. "Sup my dude. You here for the big sleepover?"

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:02 PM

"Hello-- oh! Latula! And ah, a new face I see." He knew the troll thanks to Amir, he talked of her occasionally. The skateboard gave her away, and the well, everything else. "Do come in, Amir will be down shortly I'm sure."

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 9:02 PM

"alright." Ace follows the instructions as requested, he goes back and forth bringing all those dainty cups and mugs, this are particular of ... huh Elliot as he said. Its interesting. ACe raises an eyebrow, thats the first time you've seen that troll. Ace shoots a look at Feferi like trying to get an explanation before noticing that obviously not all trolls know eachother. Idiot.

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 9:05 PM

"Ah- Jude! i'm Jude It's ah- very nice to meet you " Stretch your hand to salute then don't then again. Try again Jude "T-thanks - over". Don't trip on your own feet when you enter the place.You say on a corner like a god damn spider.

HandyToday at 9:10 PM

Latula giggles at the new guy, turning to beam brightly at the person she recognized as Elliot by description. "Thanks so much for hosting our lil' meeting! It's super awesome of you." She's sure to leave her board by the entrance before following them inside with a tip of her shades.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:11 PM

Death chuckles softly at the stumbling. "And I am Death. Pleasure- I think I've seen you about."  He makes sure to lock the door behind them, before leading them to the kitchen with the others. "Make that too more cup if you could."

Lissaloo (Ms. Paint/Feferi)Today at 9:12 PM

You eye your phone for any messages, then seeing none, fetches the extra cup for Death.

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 9:14 PM

"Death?...." DO NOT ASK WHY HIS NAME IS DEATH JUDE TAHT'S RUDE "You have? ah- I don't remember you but ah. It's good to meet new people"duck duck duck you follow as tense as a board

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:15 PM

AR, feeling very. Very tired. Lets the ducklings mingle while he finishes coffee cup number two, silently closing the door behind him as he returns downstairs. He picks out Elliott in the crowd, giving him as soft a look as he can manage. He cannot thank the man enough. What an excellent host.

Mabs (PI/02)Today at 9:16 PM

Pembrooke finally makes his entrance, holding the tiny potato of a cat in his hands.  Bastet immediately wiggles free, new people meant new pets.  As she beelines for the one that smells a wee bit fishy, Pembrooke zombies his way to the coffee.

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 9:18 PM

Jude is separated from the crowd holding the coffee hoping somebody would take it.

Lissaloo (Ms. Paint/Feferi)Today at 9:18 PM

Feferi, seeing the cat, kneels and pets like crazy. Nothing like a soft creature to help sooth one's mind

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:19 PM

"Apologies for that. The door is locked by the by, to let everyone know. I assume there may be others coming, I'll handle that as you all get comfortable." Death offered a hand towards the coffee with a soft inquiry? If given, he'll take that up and incorporate it into the coffee going on. After, Death moved to the tea cupboard, rummaging before finding a spicy chai for Ace. "Introductions, as I was trying to go for, to help me familiarize." He spots Amir and Pembrooke, perking some, but in the process and not about to break it even if he wants to.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:28 PM

Zombieing for coffee is the exact verbage applicable. AR steps into the kitchen silently, maneuvering around the crowd of officers, and interrupts Elliott's tea process, looping his free arm around the man's chest to hug him from behind. He needs to convey his gratitude just as much as he needs the scent of chamomile to calm him. He stays like that a bit too long, sluggish from the days events. He breaks the hug with a soft peck and whispered 'thank you' to the side of Elliott's hair. Fuck it. He's too tired to pretend. He proceeds to move past him, settling in front of the counter. The dersite leans for a long moment, looking over the gathered crowd. He assumes they are waiting for him to speak. Hm. ...... A long sigh. A turn behind him to pour another cup of black coffee. And a returns to face his team. "Good evening."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:30 PM

Death dies.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:30 PM

.......................... He proceeds to quietly, slowly, drink the entire cup of coffee in one go. A fourth is poured. "Let us start with a debriefing."

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 9:31 PM

Jude looks very confused. Why is he in such an important meeting.

Resh (NB)Today at 9:32 PM

Nuavi gets comfortable leaning against one of the walls with a bag of dried fruit. This was her first meeting with Amir, so she was almost excited to see how much of his character she had guessed right.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:34 PM

Death's entire momentum is thrown off and he's not sure what to do at this point. Okay so. He was making... a thing. What was he making. Oh, the thing is in hand. Chai tea. ...How make tea. Oh fuck, he didn't say thank yo-- er, you're welcome. You're welcome is what you say to thank you. A noise is made. It's probably a 'You're welcome', and Death then goes back to making the tea for Ace.

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 9:39 PM

Well thats a thing. Ace just kinda takes a seat.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:41 PM

The coffee. It does nothing. "Earlier today, as many of you witnessed..." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Many of you witnessed, our very own white queen had been located, followed by an outburst from the white king, who made arrangements with Snowman of the felt to make an exchange for the queen, completely disregarding proceedings of the law, and if I am being frank, embarrassed our outfit as a whole." He observes particularly the prospitians, making note of their reactions. "I brought you here, and not to the precinct, because I wanted to address you without....the royals. I am surprised to see most all of you. Though will admit I do not know half of you."

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 9:42 PM

Jude is even more confused, also , take notes.

Resh (NB)Today at 9:43 PM

As soon as the outburst is mentioned, Nuavi seems to shrink in on herself. Disappointed and visibly ashamed of how the king had acted towards the situation and everyone involved.

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:45 PM

A hot cup is placed near Ace, murmuring a quiet, 'Be careful, it's hot' as to not interrupt Amir's speech. He makes sure to set the pot of coffee on the table on a cozy to keep it from damaging the table, along with a pitcher of water. Everyone could pick from the finger foods and drinks while they listened during the meeting before Death went off to park himself next to Pembrooke.

Skippy (13/John)Today at 9:45 PM

John leans back in his chair and resists his usual habit of propping his legs up on the table. Don't forget your table manors Johnny boy.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:47 PM

"We have taken a blow tonight. The law as it stands now is just a puppet of prospit's 'missionary' services. The media knows we answer to the dime of thugs. There is nothing we can do if we do not work together." "I want to start with your names. I need to know you. You need to know each other. Consider this a team building exercise." John is picked out of the crowd for those rude table manners. "Egbert. Proceed. State your name and rank and where you are from."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 9:48 PM

Death gives Amir a double thumbs up!!

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 9:52 PM

Ace whispers a 'thank you' back to Death before sipping onto the tea. It is hot in all ways possible, you love it.

Skippy (13/John)Today at 9:54 PM

John perks up when he's called upon and then grins wide. "John Egbert. I'm a standard patrol officer. I was born and raised on Earth, till Dad and I moved to Derse a few years ago."

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 9:55 PM

"Next.""Which of you was briefing me earlier on the computer."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 10:01 PM

Death was about to point someone out to help people choose since... in a large room, and telling everyone to make their own line, generally ended in disaster. Understandable for Rashid to make that hiccup- or any of them. It's been a night. Amir continues though and Death hesitates briefly, side eying Pembrooke before looking around the kitchen. "Ace, would you like to go?" Death looks to the man, knowing him well enough. It was easy to make guesses for some of them when he put two and two together with how they behaved online and how they behaved  face to face.@pi3shark (Eridan/AD)

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 10:03 PM

"Shit." Amir rubs his hand over his face. "Scratch that, I do not need your ranks. Those are on paper. State your name. Where you are coming from. And why you joined the law."(edited)

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 10:05 PM

Oh no this makes Jude sweat even more. he haven't yet.

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 10:12 PM

"Sure why not." Ace gets up and leaves his tea on the table. "Name is Ace Dick... Bullock." Besides WQ and PS no one knew that little extra tibit. "I'm form prospit and huh....I just wanted to make things right you know. Its cheesy as heck but I was made to be the Enforcer what a better way to enforce an protect my huh... citizens than being a cop. Make them follow the law, all of the laws make this place safe. So when the offer and eventual move happened I got here late I figured this was going to be the hardest thing any of us ever had done... and intuition was right. And after the archagent got fuckin stabbed it got reafirmed on what i wanted to do, thats about it. I will protect everyone who deserves to be, thats what I am."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 10:15 PM

Death nodded. "A noble wish if I ever heard one. Thank you, Ace. You do a wonderful job. ... Nuavi?" Death picked her up quick, catching that controlled stutter when she spoke. @Resh (NB)Death also sounded a little unsure. New-ah-vee? He looks apologetic. Sorry.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 10:23 PM

"You did not have to stand up." He mutters, but Ron Swanson nods at Ace. Good answer.(edited)

Resh (NB)Today at 10:36 PM

Nuavi perks up at the mention of her name, mid fruit grab, and slides off her spot on the wall. She was already standing, so Amir’s correction wasn’t of much use to her. After nodding at Elliot’s correct pronunciation of her name, she speaks. “Greet-tings. My name is Nuavi Bakul, agent of Prospit and servant of the innocent. I joined the law bec-c-cause I knew that I could do it better then the fools that kept being assigned to it. Up t-to that point, every time I had seen an officer do their duty, they did it sloppily. Simple, obvious steps were skipped, and I couldn’t bare t-to see that kind of incompetence within a profession that demanded perfection.” She looks miffed, angered by something, or maybe someone? “That’s why, when I was asked t-to come here by my Queen, to make a difference in a place that needed it more the prospit could ever c-care to have, well, it’s no wonder I couldn’t t-turn her down.”

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 10:37 PM

"Do you want to do this job well to protect people."

Resh (NB)Today at 10:39 PM

She gives him a surprised look of disbelief. “Of course! Why else would I w-want to do this job?”

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 10:42 PM

"How is your coding handling this." He has never beat around a bush in his life, addressing both NB and AD. "I ask to all whiteshells. I do not know if there are more here."

Resh (NB)Today at 10:52 PM

Nuavi raises a brow, not suspicious, just curious. There is a very dull and aching pain that hums throughout her nerves, but that’s just because she’s had years to perfect her ability in dulling the sensations she gets through her connection to the Queen. “It’s fine. I c-can control what I receive from it. Granted, as long as long as the Queen doesn’t wish t-to override my commands. Which has only ever happened near t-two or three times over the many years I’ve worked with her, ergo, it-t’s not an issue.”

pi3shark (Eridan/AD)Today at 10:58 PM

"Aside form the obvious stress nothing too particularly bad. A headache that is gone was the worst part of it. Even during overrides I can work around it, I've had to train to not let emotions take me over since everything is at 200% all the time so it aint that complicate to flush all extra things out. Also an emotional cop is not a fuckin' good idea."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 10:59 PM

Also Death gives Nuavi two thumbs up for her part. That was wonderful, I'm so proud.

Resh (NB)Today at 11:00 PM

Nuavi’s trying her best not to show it, but, at Elliot’s silent encouragement, she’s immediately filled with pride.

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 11:01 PM

Nods at those two. Will go with coding workarounds later. "Egbert clone. Who are you."

Percy (06/💀)Today at 11:01 PM

Death clears his throat lightly, "Possible family member, humans don't have clones."

fuck this shit (01/AR)Today at 11:02 PM

"Oh."

Homosexual Shark (05/JH/CD)Today at 11:02 PM

Jude just look all around see if anybody reacts to the call then points at himself.