#a bit longer this time

[avis-and-panda]

To Be or Not To Be- chapter three

Enucleation V.S. Witch 

Aizawa groaned tiredly as he leaned back in the guest chair of Tsukauchi’s office. For the past six hours, the two of them had been going over the evidence, and for six hours they hadn’t come up with any other conclusions than “something is up with these kids.” 

He was only made aware that it was past midnight when Yamada had informed Aizawa that his students were all in bed by then. He would have been there to check himself but he needed to go over this mess of a case at least one more time before returning to the school. 

Except it had been six hours and there was still little to zero progress. 

Aizawa stared at the file before him with frustrated contempt. Tsukauchi had put together three files, one for each kid, of everything they knew about them. Which extended from their ID to their race and practically nothing else. 

“Their school?” Aizawa asked in tired repetition. 

“Checked the UK and the surrounding countries. There’s no record of there being or ever being a Kuran Private High School.” Tsukauchi calmly responded. 

“Their family?” 

“No clue. The only one that has contacts labeled as her parents in her phone is Elena Bell and contacting them has come up fruitless.” 

“Are the phones still not working?” 

“That, and we tried using a quirk to find any blood relatives of theirs. The quirk allowed the owner, if given some DNA, to track down the source. If she focuses, she could even track down close relatives. However, it has a range, so we sent her to Europe yesterday, and then instructed her earlier today to go to the UK.” Tsukauchi sighed, “No luck so far.” 

Aizawa hummed as he narrowed his eyes, “What about citizenship? Wouldn’t that narrow the search even more?” 

Tsukauchi shook his head, “No luck on that one either. If it wasn’t for the fact we just saw them in the hospital, I would have assumed they didn’t exist.” 

A lot of things didn’t seem to “exist” at that moment. 

Aizawa scanned Elena’s file repeatedly. It had her birthdate, blood type, race, social security number, and a full report on her injuries. Speaking of… 

“It says here that Bell needed a blood transfer.” 

“Yeah. Recovery Girl couldn’t heal her much because her energy was practically drained, so they needed to do everything manually. They were worried they wouldn’t be able to save her because her blood type is on the rarer side, but they managed.” 

All of her energy was drained? That was odd. Aizawa scanned the file until he found the column labeled “blood type” and noted that Elena’s was type B. 

Blood type B was fairly rare, so it was good they were able to manage. If he recalled, some of his students had blood type B as well. If all else failed, they could have called them in, even if they weren't a registered blood transfer; but it probably would have been too late anyways. 

His attention moved from her blood type to her birth date. For some reason, he had a feeling he’d seen it before. It was in the middle of the holidays, so it was the kind that was hard to forget. But then again, he never cared to remember people’s birthdays. 

Aizawa picked up the other files and scanned the other two’s birthdays. Yeah, he definitely recognized their birthdates, but from where? It was like he learned them from somewhere but didn’t deem it important and let it slip his mind in favor of something else. 

Then it hit him. 

Her blood type was B. 

And her birthday was— 

No. No, it didn’t make any sense; they weren’t even the same race! But the way Arlo talked… It was as if he was from a completely different world. 

Before Aizawa could voice his concerns, Tsukauchi’s phone rang. 

“It’s Recovery Girl,” he told Aizawa before he answered and turned slightly away. 

“Detective Tsukauchi. Oh, don’t worry about it, I was up anyway. …I know, I know. …Really? Is he—Ah, that’s good. So, we can talk to him tomorrow? Okay. …Lunch? I’ll ask him.” 

Tsukauchi turned to Aizawa, “Nikolaus Brandt woke up. Are you okay with meeting up with him tomorrow in the afternoon? I know you have class in the morning—” 

Aizawa sighed tiredly; looked like another questioning was in store, “I’ll have to find a substitute, but I should be able to make it.” 

Tsukauchi gave him a grateful nod, “Thank you.” He said before returning to his call, “Around lunch is good. Yes. Don’t worry, I will. Goodnight.” 

He ended the call and turned back to his desk. 

“Sorry you’ll have to miss your class, but we want to get the questioning done as soon as possible. This case was already strange, but it seems to be getting weirder the longer we wait.” Tsukauchi said with an apologetic smile. 

Aizawa gave him an understanding nod, “Don’t worry about it, I could use the extra sleep anyways.” 

Aizawa looked back down at the files and grimaced. 

Well, that’s only if he’d have the time to get to sleep in the first place. 

- 

For the second questioning, principal Nedzu didn’t come along. Understandable, considering that he was the principal of a school and had a lot more to do than interrogate a teenager. However, it seemed that someone else was going to take his place. 

As Aizawa approached the hospital room, he noticed Yamada standing outside it. Aizawa eyed him curiously. 

“I thought you were kicked out.” 

Yamada snapped his head up from the spot on the ground he was staring at with undying boredom and beamed. 

“Eraserhead!” Yamada seemed to have had the foresight to not activate his quirk in the hospital; Recovery Girl probably had to beat it into him. “I thought I was gonna die of boredom.” 

Aizawa rolled his eyes, “don’t be so dramatic. And you didn’t answer me.” 

“I suppose ‘kicked out’ was an exaggeration.” Aizawa turned to see Recovery Girl walking up to them, “I actually just sent him away to watch over this room instead.” 

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in mirth, “And I assume you’re the one who got him to be quieter?” 

“Hey! She whacked me with her cane at least ten times,” Yamada responded pitifully. 

“I wouldn’t have to if you stopped yelling! We’re in a hospital for goodness’ sake!” Recovery Girl scolded as she whacked him once on the head. Aizawa sighed and shook his head tiredly. 

“Let’s just get this over with already. It’s past noon and I’m already tired.” 

“Gotcha Eraser!” Yamada mock saluted him, “I’ll see if the patient is done with his lunch!” 

Yamada turned and barged into the room, loudly announcing his presence, “Yo—" 

Suddenly, a plastic food tray flew out of the room, hitting Yamada square in the head.  

‘You’d think a pro hero could dodge that...’ Aizawa thought as he stalked into the room behind Yamada, who was crouched on the ground in pain. He sighed, feeling as though the bags under his eyes were growing heavier.  

Aizawa stepped around Yamada, who was still frozen in shock, to see Nikolaus who was kneeling on his bed in a semi-defensive stance. In contrast to Arlo, who was completely English, Nikolaus looked to be mainly Japanese in terms of appearance; despite his German name. His right arm was in a sling and his left arm was outstretched slightly, clearly the one he used to throw the plastic tray. A bandage was wrapped around his head and when they met eyes, Aizawa couldn’t help but notice the large scar stretched over his right eye. 

“You’re awake,” Aizawa stated. 

The boy scanned him scrutinizingly. “And you’re not a cop.” 

Aizawa raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Something about his tone reminded him of someone, though he couldn’t quite name who… 

“He isn’t, but there’s nothing to worry about,” Tsukauchi said as he stepped into the room with Tsuragamae and Recovery Girl. “He may not look like it, but he’s here to help with the investigation.” 

Nikolaus glanced at the detective as he settled back in his bed. 

“I’m Detective Tsukauchi,” He gave the boy a small smile and bowed in greeting. Nikolaus nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything before he looked over to Tsuragamae. 

His eyebrows drew together in confusion slightly as he took in the dog-man's appearance. It wasn’t until Nikolaus’s eyes flicked to Tsuragamae’s did he speak.  

“I am Tsuragamae Kenji, the police chief! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Nikolaus’s eyes widened slightly, clearly in shock. The police chief bowed in greeting as well, but this time, Nikolaus didn’t nod. He simply turned away from them and slapped himself across the face. 

“SMACK!” 

The adults flinched, surprised both by how loud it was and the fact he did it in the first place. 

Immediately, Nikolaus pressed a hand, the same one he used to slap himself, to his cheek and made a pained face. 

“Ooww, that actually hurt. Dammit.” 

“Of course it hurts! What were you expecting?” Recovery Girl reprimanded as she approached Nikolaus. “I swear, kids these days. Getting themselves nearly killed and then hurting themselves even more!” 

Nikolaus glowered softly but didn't say anything as Recovery Girl inspected his then red and swelling cheek. 

Realizing this conversation would most likely go like the one with Arlo, Tsukauchi stepped forward, “We would like to ask you a few questions regarding what happened to you and your friends a couple days ago. Is that okay?” 

Nikolaus’s eyes flitted to Tsuragamae for a split second before landing on Tsukauchi. 

“Sure.”  

Tsukauchi smiled warmly and took out his notepad, all the while Recovery Girl sprayed ointment on Nikolaus’s cheek. 

“Okay, first off, how much do you remember?” 

Nikolaus tilted his head and furrowed his brow in thought, “Hmm, all of it? I mean, I got hit in the head, so the beginning’s a little blurry, but pretty much everything.” 

Tsukauchi nodded, “Good, so could you tell me what happened right after you were hit?” 

Nikolaus nodded and began telling his story. 

- 

When the object, most likely a large rock, hit his head, it took him a moment to process what had happened. He could tell something hit him, but the shock was great enough that he couldn’t feel it right away. Nikolaus’s knees buckled as he stumbled into the wall. Elena and Arlo shouted in alarm but froze when something else caught their attention; Nikolaus was too distracted by the blood coming out of his head to notice. 

(Tsukauchi asked if the cut was deep, but Nikolaus simply shook his head and said, “Head wounds bleed a lot.”) 

An unfamiliar voice said something, to which Elena yelled something back. To this, Nikolaus turned his head and saw two figures standing before them, dressed in black hoodies, masks, and glasses, most likely to conceal their identity. Suddenly, the shorter one, who apparently had a knife, lunged at Elena, who easily defended herself with magic. 

Nikolaus stood, bracing himself against the wall, as the other lunged at him and Arlo. His form was weak, so Arlo was able to dodge and counterattack with ease. However, when the attacker stumbled back, he lifted his arms and moved them in a way that seemed like he was manipulating something. As Arlo watched in confusion, Nikolaus stepped forward to join him and he saw Arlo floating up slightly. When he realized what was happening, Nikolaus lunged forward to grab Arlo, but was too late as he was abruptly shot up. His back hit the ceiling with a concerning “crack”, and his body fell to the floor limply. 

In a panic, Nikolaus kneeled on the ground next to Arlo and began to check his wounds. Arlo’s head was bleeding and his breathing was becoming irregular. He needed medical attention. 

“One down, two to go,” said a male voice. 

Nikolaus looked up and glared at their attacker, who then crouched in an offensive stance, ready to attack again. Nikolaus stood up and took a defensive stance in front of Arlo.  

He glanced at Elena for a moment. She was still fighting the one with the knife and he wondered briefly why she didn’t just use her magic to take the attacker out. 

He looked away just in time to dodge a burning projectile their attacker had sent his way. He must have used some sort of fire magic. 

Nikolaus kept his distance, dodging what appeared to be blades made of fire left and right. It wasn’t too hard, considering the attacker’s aim was a bit off, but he was still wary, knowing that the fire blades could produce some nasty injuries. 

Eventually Nikolaus decided he had enough and ran up to the man. Based on what he saw with Arlo, the other wasn’t that good at close combat, hence why he was trying to take him out with long range projectiles. 

The attacker was surprised at the sudden change and reared his arm back to send another fire blade but Nikolaus ducked below to set his aim off. He then reappeared in front of the attacker and sent a punch straight to his jaw. 

The man stumbled back, allowing Nikolaus to grab the front of his hoodie and roughly pull him forward as he kicked him in the stomach. The attacker let out a pained yell as Nikolaus grabbed his arm, twisted it, pulled it behind his back, and used it to throw him to the ground. 

The attacker’s face was pressed into the ground as Nikolaus pressed one knee into his back. He was still holding his arm, which was twisted and pulled back. 

“Why did you attack us? Are there more of you?” 

The attacker glared at him and attempted to use fire magic on the arm Nikolaus had a hold of. However, he saw it coming and simply pulled on the other’s arm, causing the guy to exclaim in pain and pause his magic immediately. 

“I don’t think so.” Nikolaus pressed his knee hard into the guy’s back further, causing him to grunt, “Answer my question or I’ll break your arm.” 

The attacker opened his mouth, about to say something, when a knife flew past Nikolaus, barely grazing his cheek. 

Nikolaus swiveled his head and saw Elena angrily attacking the other one with fire. He then felt the one under him shift and he realized he had loosened his grip on him. 

The man yanked his arm away, twisted his body, and used his other arm to send some fire in Nikolaus’s face. The attack was weak, it barely made a mark, but it was enough for Nikolaus to jump off of him in alarm. 

As soon as Nikolaus released him the attacker got to his feet; not before grabbing the knife, which had landed within reach. 

Now that his attacker had a weapon, Nikolaus knew he had to keep his distance. He knew how to disarm someone with a knife but that didn’t mean he could just charge up to him. 

The attacker lunged forward, with his knife ready for attack. Just as Nikolaus was about to parry, his body froze. In a panic he tried to figure out the reason why and noticed that the attacker’s free hand was in a fist. 

Before he could analyze it further, the attacker stabbed him in the side and pushed him to the ground. As his back hit the ground, Nikolaus let out a pained grunt through clenched teeth. 

The attacker straddled him and Nikolaus attempted to throw him off, only to then realize he was still frozen. He surmised that his attacker must have been using puppet magic to manipulate his body. 

The attacker grabbed the knife that was still lodged in his side and plunged it deeper. Being unable to move, he couldn’t do much to react to the pain than close his eyes and clench his teeth harder as he tried not to scream. 

Nikolaus was panting from pain by the time the other stopped moving the knife. He opened his eyes and glared at the attacker, who didn’t seem to react, not that Nikolaus could tell much when his face was covered. However, he did unclench his fist and Nikolaus felt control return to his body. The relief only lasted a second though as the attacker then flicked his wrist and Nikolaus’s arm twisted back, lifting his shoulder in a weird angle. 

“Now, I have some questions I want you to answer,” the attacker began closing his fist again, “or I’ll break your arm.” 

He closed his fist and Nikolaus’s arm snapped; his elbow bending the opposite direction. Nikolaus screamed in pain before clenching his teeth again. He opened his eyes, having closed them before and sent another teary glare in his attacker’s direction. Absently, he registered Elena yelling his name in alarm.  

“Do you know someone named Ethan Wright?” 

Nikolaus blinked, before confusion settled on his face. “What?” 

“Ethan Wright. Do you know him?” The attacker repeated. 

“Why do you want to know? Who’s asking?” Nikolaus demanded, glaring at him. Even if he didn’t know, he wasn’t about to answer this guy unless he knew the risks. 

The attacker twisted his fist, crushing Nikolaus’s arm a bit more, “I don’t have to answer you. Now, I was informed you were friends with Ethan Wright. I’m here to see if that’s true.” 

Nikolaus scoffed, though the sound came out sounding more like a gasp, “A little overdoing it, aren’t you? A simple talk over lunch would have been just fine.” 

The attacker glared, or at least he assumed so based on his tone, “Don’t patronize me, you—" 

He was then cut off by a boulder hitting him in the head, knocking him off Nikolaus. 

He turned to his side, the one without a broken arm and knife, and moved away as he attempted to stand up. Elena came to his side and helped him. 

“I’m sorry I took so long. Are you okay?” Elena asked as she held his good arm to help stabilize him. 

“I’m fine.” He said painfully, “What about you? You’re bleeding a lot there.” 

He scanned her body and saw many cuts and gashes on her arms and legs. They must not have been too bad, since she’s moving with only a slight limp. 

“These didn’t take as much out of me as my magic did,” she said simply. 

The attacker she just hit with a boulder groaned and sat up. When he faced them, they noticed that the attack must have knocked his glasses off because they could clearly see golden eyes glaring at them now. 

“I’ll get you for that you little bitch—” 

Elena sent him a furious glare and let go of Nikolaus to send a wave of water at the man, only to freeze it once it hit him. 

“How dare you refer to a young lady that way!” she huffed once she was done. 

‘At least she didn’t freeze his head,’ Nikolaus noted absently as the man yelled at her to release him. 

Elena stumbled a bit and Nikolaus reached out for her. 

“I-I think I overdid it…” Elena panted as she held her head. She leaned on him for a second before she straightened up and scanned Nikolaus’s wounds. “How are your injuries?” 

“They’re…” He looked down at his injuries. His arm was broken, hanging limply at his side and the knife wound was still bleeding. However, he had a feeling that pulling it out would make it worse, so he left it alone. 

“I’ll manage,” he said simply. Elena gave him a look and was about to say something when Nikolaus decided to divert their attention somewhere else. 

“Arlo is in a worse condition than me.” 

Elena’s eyes widened as she swiveled her head around, looking for Arlo. “He took a bad hit earlier, didn’t he? How is he?” 

When she spotted him, they both limped their way over and knelt beside him. Nikolaus checked his pulse and breathing; the former was slow and his breathing was ragged and low. 

“I’ll call the police. We can’t do much for him now, but we can stop the bleeding from his head at the very least,” Nikolaus decided. 

Elena was silent as Nikolaus pulled out his phone, which had cracked a little, and started calling the police. 

“I-I think I can heal him,” Elena said after a moment. 

Surprised by the unexpected statement, he promptly turned his attention back to her and eyed her in confusion. “You can heal?” 

Elena nodded, “My mother taught me. It drains a lot of my energy though.” 

Suddenly a loud noise came from the attacker encased in ice, causing them both to flinch. 

Nikolaus eyed the male attacker warily, before turning back to his companion. They needed to take care of Arlo first. 

“Are you sure? You seem pretty tired already,” he asked, feeling weary and worried.  

“I’m sure.” Elena nodded in finality and carefully set her hands on Arlo’s back. A light emanated from her hands, and, after a moment, Nikolaus could see Arlo’s breathing evening out. 

Nikolaus was so distracted by her healing that he forgot to call the police for a moment and even dropped the phone to keep Elora upright when she started tipping from exhaustion. 

“He… should be… better…” She said in between pants; her magic had taken more out of her than she seemed to have expected. She fell sideways and Nikolaus found that it’s really hard to hold someone with one arm, even if they’re sitting. 

As he laid her down beside Arlo, her face seemingly going paler by the second, he deduced that she must have used up too much of her energy. Then he saw blood trickling under her and he paused. 

Ah. 

She’d been losing blood the entire time. 

Hurriedly, he flipped her over and clearly saw the large cut on her back that he somehow missed earlier; probably too busy with other things to notice. He cursed as he attempted to stop the bleeding but then he realized that he didn’t have anything to wrap it up, much less to disinfect it with or any of the other basic medical procedures one would do in medical emergencies.  

After the bleeding slowed significantly, he remembered that Arlo had brought a small first aid kit in his bag, so Nikolaus stood up to go get it. 

Or, at least he attempted to as he simply fell back on his knees the second he tried. 

Nikolaus clutched his side, the pain from the knife more noticeable the more he moved. He tried to ignore it earlier, he’s used to masking pain with a neutral face, but he couldn’t say the same for the rest of his body. 

Just as he was about to try standing again, a loud crack came from behind him, and he realized it was the sound of ice breaking. 

The same ice Elena had encased their attacker with. 

He turned to see the attacker breaking away the ice, all the while shivering. When he turned to the three teenagers, he had a furious glare on his face and if his mask was down Nikolaus probably would have seen him snarling as well. 

“Since you refuse to answer our questions…” The attacker started, turning his shivering body toward Nikolaus menacingly, “I suppose we have no use of you anymore.” 

Nikolaus narrowed his eyes. His heart raced in anticipation as he propped himself up with one knee on the ground. He grabbed the handle of the knife in his side, ignoring the pain, and decided to stab the attacker once he got close enough. 

That, however, never happened. 

The man had just started to lunge at him when a strong wind had picked up, causing him to pause because… 

…Well, because wind doesn’t exactly blow indoors. 

The wind blew harder, swirling around the three teenagers. Forgetting all about the attacker, Nikolaus knelt beside the other two. He grabbed Elena, holding her close, all the while keeping an eye on Arlo. As the wind blew harder and lightning formed, a light started to glow all around them. Nikolaus shut his eyes as the light grew bright and the wind continued to swirl harshly around them. Suddenly, he was falling and all he could do was hold Elena closer as he blacked out. 

[humming-fly]

I love how Gerald was trying to keep Shadow from spoiling anything about the future meanwhile literally everything Shadow says and does around Maria is the biggest death flag ever

[inkskinned]

you said you were stuck in a time loop, which was fine. i feel like late-stage capitalism has us all in a time loop, ammiright? you came barging in at 5:33. in the morning. i hadn't even processed the idea of coffee.

but you had this look of utter panic in your eyes. terror like the ocean. you grabbed my cheeks. im in a time loop.

i don't know why in movies the first reaction is to deny it. when someone is panicking like that, it's not appropriate to ask them to calm down. it didn't matter if i believed it, what mattered was that you believed it so much that it was consuming you.

so here we are. i pour you some of the dark roast. "you look like utter and entire hell," i say.

you push your fingers into your eyes. "you always say that."

i try to think of something funny to say that i wouldn't have said on previous time loops, but jokes don't land without the proper timing (lol). "remind me to think -"

"-yeah, of a joke that only works in the future. and before you say anything, i know you're pissed i just stole your punchline." you bolt the coffee, which is wild. it's very hot. you don't seem to notice.

i blow on mine to cool it down. i both am very pissed at you and also i can't see you in this amount of panic without wanting to help. but i'm also not really sure what we are, not since i saw you kiss her like that, no offense. it just was like, kind of rude when you knew i liked you.

and besides. i'm just like, barely a person. i write omegaverse fanfiction. i love the concept of a time loop, but what the fuck am i gonna do? send an alpha in there? i open my mouth.

you point at me. "you're about to ask why me. and then say some disparaging shit about yourself. i'm just a nerd who plays dnd or something. that self-own is slightly different each time." you sigh. "i know you think you can't really help me. i don't know who can help me. i only came to you because you fucking believe me." you check your watch, sigh, and throw your head back. you cover your eyes with one hand. "i've come here on 26 separate revolutions," you say. "you have believed me every time. and yeah, i have no idea how you fit into this but i just -" you sigh again. "i just like fucking talking to someone about it."

"do you need more cof-" i start, but you're already holding the empty cup out. i frown at it. "you're not getting any more until you promise not to bolt this one like an animal."

you laugh a little and sit up, pushing your hair out of your face. "okay, that's new dialogue. but to be fair to you, i'm not usually this rude. i'm still pretty new at all of this." you check your watch again. another sigh. i guess you're cruising for a personal best in the Sigh Olympics.

i almost tell you im not an NPC but i've played enough video games to know i'm very much an NPC. i pour you another cup. "so what happens in the loop?"

"really bad explosion." you mutter into the mug. you put your elbows on the table (rude) and bury your face in your arms like an angsty teenager. one hand floats up while you talk, because evidently you literally can't talk without your hands. "i have to save the day and there's this bomb and i have no bomb training and it keeps moving, you know."

"do i die?"

you peek up from your arms. "yeah. bigtime. you keep trying to run or stay or do anything and you always super die."

"oh."

"to be fair, like, everyone dies in it though.... so you're in good company."

i hate that you make me laugh. i hate that being around you always feels tingly and strange, this electric tension between us. something that is evidently (given how you stuck your tongue down a stranger's throat literally 3 days ago) (well. 3 for me) super one-sided. i take a sip of my coffee and close my eyes.

i die today, i guess. a little spark of panic starts at the top of my hands and starts whipping up my wrists.

"shit," you say. you look at your watch and jump to your feet. "i have to go. if i can come back, i will. i am still trying to figure out when is best to do everything, you know? the order of stuff. maybe morning isn't good for us."

i look up at you and think about how you keep kissing me in the back of my car and in alleyways and in the dark. and i can never fucking get a read on you. and i also think about how incredibly panicked you look. how broken. how long have you been doing this? "i don't want to die," i say.

you glance downwards. "well, you're not really dead, you'll come back in the loop."

"but i will have died." my hands are shaking. i am trying really hard to stay calm.

you push your hands through your hair again. "i really have to go. i will have this discussion with the next version of you, though. it is like, something i am thinking about."

"but i don't get a next version," i say. i don't really have the language for this, because i haven't had 26 tries with you. i only have my memories: you, a week ago. drunk and telling me you loved me in my ear. you, kissing her anyway. you, months ago, throwing up on my birthday, whispering to me i ruin everything i touch, always, over and over. please don't ask. i can't ever fucking have that be you.

i run my finger along the rim of the mug. "i don't want to die in this one."

you seem baffled by this. "i get that but - time will reset, you'll be fine, you won't even remember we talked about this."

"but i know now." i stand up too. "i have to live the rest of this day knowing i could die. knowing i probably am going to."

"you could always die, to be fair."

i feel my hands get out of control. "earlier, you said i always say a different insult about myself. what if you're just going through different parallel universes and those are all just different - but real - versions of myself? what if you're not in a time loop, you're in a fucking universe loop?"

"if it helps, i've wondered this too. also, you're hot in all of them. if that helps."

i point at you. "no flirting. i'm trying to figure out if i die today."

"who's flirting?" you catch my wild hands and give me that long, perfect smile. like we're in this together. "i won't let ya die." you check your watch and sigh again. "well. maybe not this time."

i grit my teeth. you are so not making quips at me while i try to explain the existential dread i'm having. "does the time loop reset if i fucking kill you?"

"honestly i don't know how long it continues after i die, because i just wake up. it could be that the loop goes until the explosion for everyone, and we're all in the loop, or it could be that when i die, the loop restarts. when i die i wake up, is all."

i pull away from you and stalk into the kitchen and start doing all 3 of my dishes. "okay, first, you know i was joking. and secondly, this is exactly my point. you don't know if this is just a parallel universe. maybe in the ones where you died, the explosion happened and nobody reset and it's just you travelling." i have to stop and push the heel of my palm into my eyeball. "... how often have you died?"

i look at you. you look at me. you give me this very sad, halfway smile and a little what can ya do shrug. something in that action seems so old and weary that i want to burst into tears.

"i have to go," you say. "really. for real. there's this family of five i save from getting into a car crash. and i know it's like oh but we're all gonna die in the explosion anyway, what's the point. and..." you shrug again. "it matters to me, is all. at least i saved them for now. at least i saved anything."

you pad over to me and wrap me in a tight hug. you always seem so tall against me. i feel your cheek rest against the top of my head for a moment. for a second, it's just us, and the space is warm, and my heart is a little broken hare.

you leave me there, and i stand in my stupid badly lit kitchen with my stupid mugs. i think about you. i start texting my mom that she needs to get out of the city, but it feels pointless.

i don't know what to do. tomorrow is the same day for you. but i have to prepare to die in my today.

[aalghul]

once again thinking about jason as duke’s robin. he’s ~4 years younger than jason, and that puts him at 8-12 during Jason’s time as robin. that’s prime time to get attached to your local kid vigilante before your own life goes downhill.

and if we try to keep duke’s meeting with bruce in zero year + duke’s age (so he can remember the meeting and hold that conversation with bruce), he has to be around 8. if he starts following batman through the news at that time because of the mess that just happened, the robin he sees is probably jason. I’ve literally connected the dots

[hinamie]

i don't normally participate in these redraw challenges but it's megumi so i'll make an exception

[bulbabutt]

rise leo does know whats going on with his brothers, dont you worry

previous part | all comics in this crossover (chrono) | tip jar (kofi)

[lucabyte]

i feel like people are sleeping on the occam's razor situation of how buckwild it is to outright accuse a guy of being a clone of your friend even if you DO have a lot of circumstantial evidence. there's other options is what im saying. they could just be like. a guy. that's a sensible deduction. you should explore that deduction. ignore my shirt that reads I <3 RED HERRINGS.

i still think odile has the correct theory on lock but she's smart enough to know it needs like... a real smoking gun to be able to bring it up without sounding insane.

anyway. (mirabelle voice) i know its rude to speculate but has anyone else noticed the grieving? they seem to be grieving. does anyone have any thoughts on the grieving? i have some thoughts on the grieving.

[time-woods]

formal company event ! yes im pullin out all the romcom tropes for this series

[seiwas]

you wear katsuki’s clothes to bed.

among all your cotton and silk pajamas, you prefer the thinning fabric of his faded tees. there are holes in some of them, just a few more seams away from their undoing as they fit far too large on you—but that’s why you love them.

they’re comfy and worn; lived in with love from the man that you love. when katsuki is gone for days or weeks at a time, you find his warmth intertwined within the threads of his t-shirts. when the fabric presses against your back, the bed doesn’t feel nearly as empty as it is.

(though it can never replace him. nothing can, you fear.)

“hoggin’ all my shirts,” he tuts, but you know it means nothing. the roll of white fabric is neatly folded unto itself, its crisp corners unfurling once handed over.

you giggle, shaking off its folds and fitting the hem right over your head. from the corner of your eye, you see katsuki’s gaze, watching you wrangle the fabric over you as the towel wrapped around your body slowly drops to the floor.

he turns away then, a little too quickly, a little too abruptly. if you look at him now, you’re sure you’ll find flushed cheeks and crimson eyes burning in shame for wanting you so inopportunely.

“guess you’ll just have to take me with it then.”

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

Hey hey hey may 31th anon! How's 2024 going? ☆ヾ(*´▽｀)ﾉ This year I have for you a leaked Sherlock season 5 image. Thinking of you!! And everyone!!

[nell0-0]

Hyrule Warriors but instead of the lil' hero of time there's the hero shade :)

[aroaceleovaldez]

the dynamic of demigods thinking which other demigod is the most powerful is always amusing to me because. like, we know the big 3 kids are all the most powerful. That's just a fact of their universe. And then we know nearly every character views Percy as the strongest demigod, and most people are very rightfully intimidated by him.

and you look at the powers of the Big 3 kids and there's Percy, but then you realize Nico is just kind of objectively more powerful than him but simply chooses to hang out in Percy's shadow like he's Percy's scary dog privileges. Like, the two of them are pretty equally capable of causing multiple different apocalypses. Nico just also has like four different instakill powers and it's not like he doesn't use them. He very much uses them! Not infrequently, even! And they don't seem to take a significant amount of energy from him! And other demigods are pretty intimidated by both of them! But Nico makes a conscious point to keep his cards close to his chest and not let on exactly how dangerous and scary he can be if he wants to. People are already scared enough of him without knowing anything about him and he doesn't like that. Percy doesn't think about that nearly as much, and so usually just goes in guns blazing and that's part of why he's considered a wildcard. And then Nico himself puts Percy on a pedestal, so those who do know more about Nico's abilities then presume Nico knows something they don't about Percy that implies Percy is even stronger than him.

And even on a meta level Nico's narrative role requires him to be functionally more powerful than Percy, because he very often serves the purpose of getting Percy out of situations he can't handle on his own. That's just part of his function as a character! But also narratively he can't overshadow Percy so he just takes a backseat of his own accord and that's very amusing to me.

[ruporas]

MINI WOLFWOOD! less than 3 hours left to get him!

[chodzacaparodia]

it's hard to be a shipper

what ship is on your mind right now?

[royalarchivist]

Over 6 years ago, Technoblade and Etoiles played together on United UHC. Although they never got to meet each other on the QSMP, it's nice to see that they already had some nice banter and a fun dynamic developing during the brief time they knew each other. Here are some highlights from the video where they played together!

Subscribe to Technoblade! Technoblade's United UHC video

[ Part 1 || Part 2 || Subtitle Transcript ↓ ]

-

Technoblade: Bonjour, mis amis! (Hello, my friends!) Oh god, we already have a zombie on us. No! It's targeting me 'cuz I have subs!

Etoiles: Excellent teammates.

Technoblade: Do trees spawn in these worlds?

Etoiles: [Laughing at a screenshot of Technoblade saying "deforestation has gotten pretty bad"]

Technoblade: It's gotten pretty bad, man. What is this?

Etoiles: B-bonjour.

Technoblade: Stop speakin' Chinese.

Etoiles: You're the best Skywars player, dude. That's why.

Technoblade: That doesn't mean much.

Technoblade: Oh my god, I found diamonds!

Etoiles: Oh, whoa.

Technoblade: Subscribe to Technoblade! I'm suddenly a UHC god.

Etoiles: Oh, I got diamonds too! :D

Technoblade: ...Wow, way to ruin my moment. Wow. Can I just have this one moment?

Etoiles: Yeah.

Technoblade: Does everything- does everything need to be a competition? First diamonds I've ever mined in Minecraft.

Etoiles: Let's redo it, Techno. Let's say I don't have diamonds. I don't have diamonds, you have-

Teammate: I found diamonds!

Technoblade: Oh my god.

Technoblade: I have seven diamonds! And I'm not saying that to one-up you, but- I mean I am, but I mean I'm- I'm also tellin' the truth.

Teammate: Nobody knows which one of you guys is the mole.

Technoblade: Yeah, that's gonna be very awkward.

Etoiles: Maybe Technoblade is already-

Technoblade: I'm right behind you.

Etoiles: Technoblade is already saying to his friend-

Technoblade: I'm already in the Mole chat, plannin' your death.

Etoiles: Like, I'm kind of scared of Technoblade, actually.

Technoblade: I'm not even good, why would you be scared of me?

Etoiles: Because you're the King of Bedwars.

Technoblade: Alright, ok, ok, so here's how it works- I get paid per episode, right? So I'm not gonna betray you on Episode 2.

Etoiles: [Laughs]

Technoblade: Now let me enchant.

Etoiles: I'm so bad at hearing sound because when I'm hearing lava-

Technoblade: Nah, it's 'cuz the sounds are in French, isn't it?

Etoiles: [Laughs] I'm gonna kill you, bro.

Technoblade: No!

Etoiles: [Laughs] I'm gonna kill you.

[biblically-accurate-dca]

substitute